United News of Bangladesh

China is ready to work with Germany to open a new chapter in their all-round strategic partnership, to steer China-EU relations toward new progress and to make new contributions to the stable growth of the world economy, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday. Speaking to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over phone, Xi once again congratulated him on assuming office. Xi said that as the world undergoes accelerated changes unseen in a century and the international landscape is marked by transformation and turbulence, the strategic and global significance of China-Germany and China-EU relations has become even more prominent. A sound and stable China-Germany relationship serves both countries' interests, and meets the expectations of various sectors in China and Europe, the Chinese president added. China and Germany have developed their bilateral relations based on mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and win-win cooperation, Xi stressed, calling on both sides to maintain and carry forward this fine tradition. First, Xi called for consolidating political mutual trust. He said China views Germany as a partner, welcomes Germany's development and prosperity, and is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with Germany, respect each other's core interests and consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations. Second, Xi urged the two sides to enhance the resilience of the bilateral relationship. He said both sides should not only continue to expand the existing cooperation in traditional fields such as automobiles, mechanical manufacturing and chemical industry, but seek more collaboration in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum technology, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in areas including climate change and green development, contributing the wisdom and solutions of China and Germany to global sustainable development. Third, Xi noted that bilateral cooperation should continue to gather momentum. He said that China is willing to share with Germany development opportunities brought about by its high-level opening-up, adding that China hopes Germany will offer more policy support and facilitation for two-way investment, and provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises. Xi pointed out that facts have fully proven that partnership is the proper positioning of China-Germany and China-EU relations, and a stable and predictable policy environment is essential to ensuring bilateral cooperation. As major countries, he added, both sides share a common responsibility. Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, Xi said that the two sides should jointly review the successful experience in the development of China-EU relations and send a positive signal in support of multilateralism and free trade, as well as deepening openness and mutually beneficial cooperation. 

The death toll from a school bus bombing in southwestern Pakistan rose to eight on Friday after three more critically wounded children died, according to the country’s military, which blamed rival India for allegedly supporting rebels behind the attack. The victims included two soldiers who were aboard the bus when it was attacked Wednesday in Khuzdar, a city in Balochistan province, where a separatist insurgency has raged for decades. A total of 53 people, including 39 children, were wounded in the attacka, reports AP. The children were going to their Army Public School when the bombing happened. Military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif said that several of the wounded children remain critical. He said an initial investigation suggested the bombing was carried out by insurgents from the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019, on India's instructions. Pakistan school bus bombing kills 3 girls, 2 soldiers Sharif said Pakistan had evidence that India is orchestrating “terrorists attacks inside Pakistan" and the international community should take its notice. India has not responded to the allegation and Pakistan has presented no proof to back up its claim. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Tensions between India and Pakistan remain high after the two sides earlier this month engaged in a four-day border conflict before agreeing to a cease-fire.

The Chinese government said Friday that the Trump administration's move to ban international students from Harvard would harm America's international standing, as anxious students and parents overseas fretted over what would come next. Among the two largest parts of the international student community in Harvard are Chinese and Indian students. The university enrolled 6,703 international students across all of its schools in 2024, according to the school’s data, with 1,203 of those from China and 788 from India.  Trump threatens 25% import tax on Apple unless iPhones made in US The Trump administration's move, announced Thursday, was a hot topic on Chinese social media. State broadcaster CCTV questioned whether the U.S. would remain a top destination for foreign students, noting Harvard was already suing the U.S. government in court. “But with the long litigation period, thousands of international students may have trouble waiting,” the CCTV commentary said. It went on to say that it becomes necessary for international students to consider other options “when policy uncertainty becomes the norm.” Educational cooperation with the U.S. is mutually beneficial and China opposes its politicization, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing in Beijing. “The relevant actions by the U.S. side will only damage its own image and international credibility,” she said. She added that China would firmly protect the rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars abroad but she didn't offer any details on how it would do so in this situation. Indian authorities say they currently assessing the impact of the U.S. order on Indian students who are already enrolled with Harvard, as well as those aspiring to study there in future, but have not issued any statements of criticism. Chinese students in U.S. previous point of tension The issue of Chinese students studying overseas has long been a point of tension in the relationship with the United States. During Trump’s first term, China’s Ministry of Education warned students about rising rejections rates and shorter terms for visas in the U.S. Last year, the Chinese foreign ministry protested that a number of Chinese students had been interrogated and sent home upon arrival at U.S. airports. Chinese state media has long played up gun violence in the U.S. and portrayed America as a dangerous place. Some Chinese students are opting to study in the U.K. or other countries rather than the U.S. Meanwhile, two universities in Hong Kong extended invites to affected students. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said it would welcome international students already at Harvard and those who have been admitted in a statement Friday. City University in Hong Kong did as well without mentioning Harvard by name. Some people in China joked online about having the university open a branch in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, whose name shares the same character as Harvard’s name in Chinese.  Germany's economy grew by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. That's double the initial estimate Wait and see Mumbai-based higher education and career advisory firm, ReachIvy, is receiving anxious queries from aspirants and their parents about the impact of Trump administration’s latest move. The company’s founder, Vibha Kagzi, herself an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, said they were advising students to keep calm, and wait to see how the situation unfolds as legal challenges were underway. “Harvard will surely fight back,” she said, adding that the situation remains fluid. Kagzi, while recalling her days from 2010 at Harvard, said the U.S. was then welcoming international students and its immigration policies supported educational aspirants. “Indian students should stay hopeful. Universities value global talent and are exploring all options to ensure continuity in admission and learning,” she said.

A magnitude-5.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, early Friday morning, damaging over 100 homes but causing no reported injuries, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The quake occurred at 2:52 a.m. local time (1952 GMT on Thursday), with its epicenter located offshore near Bengkulu province and a depth of 68 kilometers (42.2 miles), the USGS reported. Indonesia’s meteorological agency, however, recorded the quake at a magnitude of 6.0 and a depth of 84 kilometers, adding that it posed no tsunami risk. According to Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the earthquake damaged more than 100 homes and at least six public buildings in the city of Bengkulu. "In Bengkulu city, 140 houses were affected, eight of which collapsed beyond repair," he said during a Friday press briefing. In Central Bengkulu district, two homes sustained minor damage, he added. No casualties had been reported as of Friday morning. 6.2 magnitude earthquake jolts Turkey’s Istanbul Local residents described being jolted awake by the tremor. “The windows were shaking strongly, and that woke us up,” said 36-year-old Erick Catur Nugroho. “We immediately took the children outside, and most of our neighbors were already outside their homes too.” Indonesia, situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire—a zone of frequent seismic activity due to colliding tectonic plates—regularly experiences earthquakes. In recent years, the country has seen several devastating quakes, including a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in Sulawesi in January 2021 that killed more than 100 people, and a magnitude-7.5 quake followed by a tsunami in Palu in 2018 that claimed over 2,200 lives. The 2004 magnitude-9.1 earthquake in Aceh province remains the deadliest, triggering a massive tsunami that killed more than 170,000 Indonesians. Source: With inputs from agency

Prosecutors in Turkey issued arrest warrants for 63 active-duty military personnel Friday over links to a group accused of attempting a coup in 2016. Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the suspects included four colonels and came from the army, navy, air force and gendarmerie. Early morning raids across the country resulted in 56 suspects being detained. They are allegedly tied to an outlawed group that Turkey refers to as the Fethullahist Terror Organization, or FETO. Its leader, Fethullah Gulen, died in October last year in the United States, where he had lived since 1999 in self-imposed exile. Some 290 people were killed in July 2016 when rogue military units took to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul in a bid to depose the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Jet fighters bombed the parliament building and presidential palace while Erdogan narrowly escaped assassination or capture while vacationing on the west coast.  Gaza's main hospital overwhelmed with children in pain from malnutrition A subsequent purge of the military, police, judiciary and other state agencies saw tens of thousands arrested. Schools, businesses and media organizations tied to Gulen were closed down. The prosecutor’s statement said those targeted Friday were identified through telephone communications and said FETO still posed the “greatest threat to the constitutional order and survival of the state.” Since the failed coup, 25,801 military suspects have been detained, it added. The statement did not specify the exact charges against the suspects. Gulen, a former cleric, amassed a worldwide following over decades and aided Erdogan’s rise to power in 2003. The alliance broke down after the government closed some Gulen-run educational establishments and Gulenists in the police and judiciary pursued corruption allegations against Erdogan’s government. Gulen always denied any involvement in the failed coup. He was wanted in Turkey, which repeatedly demanded his extradition from the U.S.  China prioritises neighbourhood diplomacy to foster peace and prosperity The coup attempt contributed to the acceleration of authoritarian tendencies in Turkey, with Erdogan’s government implementing measures that consolidated his powers.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will undertake an official visit to Indonesia from 24 to 26 May, at the invitation of President Prabowo Subianto, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Besides, Li will participate in the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit in Kuala Lumpur from 26 to 28 May, at the invitation of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, the current chair of ASEAN, the ministry added. Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, highlighted that China-Indonesia relations, which span 75 years, have been progressing steadily with significant achievements through practical cooperation. Last year, the two heads of state reached important consensus on building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future with regional and global influence, elevating bilateral relations to a new level. China prioritises neighbourhood diplomacy to foster peace and prosperity Li's schedule in Indonesia will include talks and meetings with Indonesian leaders, including President Prabowo, during which they will engage in in-depth discussions on deepening high-level and all-round strategic cooperation. Li will also attend activities of local business community, Mao said. She said China hopes to carry forward the traditional friendship with Indonesia, deepen solidarity and cooperation, continuously consolidate cooperation in the "five pillars" of politics, economy, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, maritime affairs and security. It is hoped that the two countries, along their respective modernization paths, will constantly enrich the connotation of the China-Indonesia community with a shared future, and make greater contributions to peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and beyond, she added. On the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit to be held for the first time, Mao said that both ASEAN and GCC countries are emerging economies in Asia, important members of the Global South, and important partners in the Belt and Road cooperation. Foreign Ministers laud progress in China-Afghanistan-Pakistan trilateral cooperation China supports Malaysia, ASEAN's rotating chair, in proposing to hold the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit, she said. Under the current international and regional circumstances, it is of great significance for the three parties to jointly discuss plans for solidarity, cooperation, development and prosperity, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation across regions, she said. Mao said that China looks forward to expanding practical cooperation with ASEAN and GCC countries across various fields, leveraging their complementary advantages to achieve win-win outcomes, while jointly safeguarding the multilateral trading system and defending the common interests of the Global South.

The civil war in Myanmar, maritime disputes in the South China Sea and U.S. tariff hikes will top the agenda of a two-day Southeast Asian summit next week, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. The meeting in Malaysia, the current chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, on Monday will be followed by a summit on Tuesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The GCC already has strong links with the U.S. and “wants to be close to China too,” Anwar said. “We want to have that synergy to enhance trade investments, more effective collaboration,” Anwar said in a media briefing late Wednesday. ASEAN countries, many which rely on exports to the U.S., have been hit by U.S. tariffs ranging from 10% to 49%. U.S. President Donald Trump last month announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs, prompting countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam to swiftly begin trade negotiations with Washington. Anwar said the U.S. has promised to review Malaysia's case “sympathetically.” He said ASEAN is also working together to see how it can negotiate with the U.S. as a bloc. At the same time, he said that ASEAN must build its economic resilience by deepening links with other partners such as China, India and the European Union. China, ASEAN media and think tanks urged to embrace AI, address its challenges Anwar said the U.S.-China rivalry would not split the bloc as the region continues to engage both superpowers. He also downplayed territorial disputes between ASEAN members and China in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety, and Myanmar's conflict since the 2021 military takeover. Anwar met last month with Myanmar military chief Gen. Ming Aung Hlaing in Bangkok and held virtual talks with the opposition National Unity Government. Even though the talks were focused on humanitarian aid following a devastating earthquake in March that killed more than 3,700 people, Anwar said he hopes they could eventually push a peace process forward. Ultimate goal is to join ASEAN as full member, says Dr Yunus seeking support from Thai elite Min Aung Hlaing has been barred from attending ASEAN meetings after the military refused to comply with ASEAN’s peace plan, which includes delivery of humanitarian aid and negotiations. Opponents and critics of the military government say aid is not freely allowed into areas not under the army’s control, and accuse the army of violating its self-declared ceasefire with dozens of airstrikes.

Landslides struck a rural area in China's southwestern Guizhou province Thursday morning, leaving 21 people trapped, officials said. Rescuers were dispatched to Qingyang village, where eight households and 19 people were trapped in a landslide, while another landslide struck nearby Changshi township. The village is in a remote, mountainous area of the province. The People's Liberation Army in Guizhon and a local militia sent 120 people to help in the rescue, according to state broadcaster CCTV, in addition to 60 military police. Death toll in deadly flooding and landslides in Indonesia rises to 21 A resident of the village told state media that it had rained all night. A drone video of the area showed a large swathe of brown earth that cut through the green slope of the hilly terrain.

Hundreds of mourners in Pakistan on Thursday attended the funerals of three schoolgirls and two soldiers killed in a suicide bombing that targeted a school bus. The girls, aged 10 to 16, were students at the Army Public School in Khuzdar, a city in Balochistan, local authorities said. Another 53 people were wounded, including 39 children, on Wednesday when the bomber drove a car into the school bus in Khuzdar.  Kashmir tourism bears the brunt after tourist massacre and India-Pakistan military strikes No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, one of the deadliest targeting schoolchildren in recent years. The separatist Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, has claimed most of the previous attacks in the southwestern province. Both the BLA and the Pakistani Taliban typically refrain from taking responsibility for attacks that result in civilian or child casualties. The BLA has led a long-running separatist insurgency in Balochistan. The U.S. designated the group a terrorist organization in 2019.  Thailand to tighten cannabis rules amid rise in smuggling Pakistan’s military and government blamed rival India for the attack without offering any evidence. India has not commented. India and Pakistan this month fought a four-day conflict before agreeing to a ceasefire.

There are hardly any tourists in the scenic Himalayan region of Kashmir. Most of the hotels and ornate pinewood houseboats are empty. Resorts in the snowclad mountains have fallen silent. Hundreds of cabs are parked and idle. It’s the fallout of last month’s gun massacre that left 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, dead in Indian-controlled Kashmir followed by tit-for-tat military strikes by India and Pakistan, bringing the nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of their third war over the region. “There might be some tourist arrivals, but it counts almost negligible. It is almost a zero footfall right now,” said Yaseen Tuman, who operates multiple houseboats in the region’s main city of Srinagar. “There is a haunting silence now.” Tens of thousands of panicked tourists left Kashmir within days after the rare killings of tourists on April 22 at a picture-perfect meadow in southern resort town of Pahalgam. Following the attack, authorities temporarily closed dozens of tourist resorts in the region, adding to fear and causing occupancy rates to plummet. Graphic images, repeatedly circulated through TV channels and social media, deepened panic and anger. India blamed Pakistan for supporting the attackers, a charge Islamabad denied. Those who had stayed put fled soon after tensions between India and Pakistan spiked. As the two countries fired missiles and drones at each other, the region witnessed mass cancellations of tourist bookings. New Delhi and Islamabad reached a US-mediated ceasefire on May 10 but hardly any new bookings have come in, tour operators said. Sheikh Bashir Ahmed, vice president of the Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association, said at least 12,000 rooms in the region’s hundreds of hotels and guesthouses were previously booked until June. Almost all bookings have been cancelled, and tens of thousands of people associated with hotels are without jobs, he said. “It’s a huge loss.” Ahmed said. The decline has had a ripple effect on the local economy. Handicrafts, food stalls and taxi operators have lost most of their business. After days of heavy firefights, calm reported along Indian and Pakistan borders Idyllic destinations, like the resort towns of Gulmarg and Pahalgam, once a magnet for travelers, are eerily silent. Lines of colorful hand-carved boats, known as shikaras, lie deserted, mostly anchored still on Srinagar’s normally bustling Dal Lake. Tens of thousands of daily wage workers have hardly any work. “There used to be long lines of tourists waiting for boat rides. There are none now,” said boatman Fayaz Ahmed. Taxi driver Mohammed Irfan would take tourists for long drives to hill stations and show them grand Mughal-era gardens. “Even a half day of break was a luxury, and we would pray for it. Now, my taxi lies standstill for almost two weeks,” he said. In recent years, the tourism sector grew substantially, making up about 7% of the region’s economy, according to official figures. Omar Abdullah, Kashmir’s top elected official, said before the attack on tourists that the government was aiming to increase tourism's share of the economy to at least 15% in the next four to five years. Indian-controlled Kashmir was a top destination for visitors until the armed rebellion against Indian rule began in 1989. Warfare laid waste to the stunningly beautiful region, which is partly controlled by Pakistan and claimed by both countries in its entirety. As the conflict ground on, the tourism sector slowly revived but occasional military skirmishes between India and Pakistan kept visitors at bay. But India vigorously pushed tourism after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government scrapped the disputed region’s semi-autonomy in 2019. Tensions have simmered, but the region has also drawn millions of visitors amid a strange calm enforced by an intensified security crackdown. According to official data, close to 3 million tourists visited the region in 2024, a rise from 2.71 million visitors in 2023 and 2.67 million in 2022. The massive influx prompted many locals to invest in the sector, setting up family-run guesthouses, luxury hotels, and transport companies in a region with few alternatives. India, Pakistan military officials to hold talks as ceasefire brings border calm Tourists remained largely unfazed even as Modi’s administration has governed Kashmir with an iron fist in recent years, claiming militancy in the region was in check and a tourism influx was a sign of normalcy returning. The massacre shattered those claims. Experts say that the Modi government’s optimism was largely misplaced and that the rising tourism in the region of which it boasted was a fragile barometer of normalcy. Last year, Abdullah, the region’s chief minister, cautioned against such optimism. Tuman, who is also a sixth-generation tour operator, said he was not too optimistic about an immediate revival as bookings for the summer were almost all cancelled. “If all goes well, it will take at least six months for tourism to revive,” he said. Ahmed, the hotels association official, said India and Pakistan need to resolve the dispute for the region’s prosperity. “Tourism needs peace. If (Kashmir) problem is not solved … maybe after two months, it will be again same thing.”