United News of Bangladesh

The Czech Republic has launched a $19 billion nuclear expansion aimed at doubling its output and phasing out fossil fuels, with work already underway at the Dukovany power plant for two new reactors. Mobile drilling rigs are carrying out deep geological surveys at the site, part of a broader plan to secure the country’s long-term energy supply and meet emissions targets. The new units, each expected to produce more than 1,000 megawatts, will be built by South Korea’s state utility KHNP, which beat France’s EDF in a competitive tender. Once operational in the second half of the 2030s, the reactors will operate alongside Dukovany’s four 512-megawatt units from the 1980s. The agreement also gives Prague the option to add two more reactors at the Temelín plant, which currently houses two 1,000-megawatt units. Officials say small modular reactors will follow. “Nuclear will generate between 50% and 60% of electricity around 2050 in the Czech Republic, or slightly more,” said Petr Závodský, head of the Dukovany project. Officials say expanding nuclear capacity is crucial as demand rises from data centers, electric vehicles and industry. It also supports Prague’s plan to replace coal, which currently supplies about 40% of the country’s power. The Czech investment comes amid renewed interest in nuclear energy across Europe as governments seek low-carbon alternatives. The EU has categorized nuclear as a “sustainable” investment, opening the door to financing. Belgium and Sweden have reversed plans to phase out atomic power, while Denmark, Italy and Poland are reassessing their options. Twelve EU states are now considered pro-nuclear. The U.K. plans its largest nuclear build since 1995, and the Czech utility CEZ has partnered with Rolls-Royce SMR to develop small modular reactors. The government will hold an 80% stake in the Dukovany expansion and secure a long-term loan that CEZ will repay over 30 years. Prague will guarantee stable electricity revenue for CEZ for four decades, subject to EU approval. Uncertainty over financing previously stalled the program, including the cancellation of a major tender in 2014. Russia’s Rosatom and China’s CNG were excluded from the Dukovany tender on security grounds after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. CEZ has since signed fuel supply deals with Westinghouse and France’s Framatome, reducing dependence on Russia. The KHNP contract guarantees 10 years of fuel. While nuclear enjoys broad domestic backing, environmental groups argue the investment is too costly and note the absence of permanent storage for spent fuel. Austria, which borders both Czech nuclear sites and remains strongly anti-nuclear, has already opposed plans for small modular reactors. The countries previously clashed over Temelín in 2000, triggering border blockades. Despite concerns, Czech officials insist the expansion is essential to replace coal and ensure long-term energy security.

A ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely before spring, and Europe must stay committed to Kyiv despite a corruption scandal shaking the Ukrainian government, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in an interview. Speaking at a military base near Helsinki, Stubb said Europe will need “sisu” — the Finnish concept of endurance and grit — to face the coming months as Russia escalates hybrid attacks across the continent. Finland, which joined NATO after Russia’s 2022 invasion, shares a long border with Russia and sees itself as a key bridge between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Stubb said he regularly speaks with Trump and uses Finland’s history — including the territory it lost to the Soviet Union in the 1940s — to explain why European security hinges on Ukraine’s survival. He urged Kyiv to quickly address allegations of kickbacks and embezzlement, warning the scandal benefits Moscow. He said the lack of progress toward a ceasefire reflects unresolved questions over Ukraine’s security guarantees, reconstruction and territorial issues. Progress by March would be ideal, he said, though he remains cautious. Stubb praised Trump’s recent sanctions on Russian energy firms but said Europe and the U.S. must do more, including leveraging frozen Russian assets and strengthening Ukraine’s military capacity. Ukraine continues negotiating for additional weapons after the U.S. declined to supply long-range Tomahawk missiles. Stubb described Russia’s incursions, drone activity and sabotage across Europe as part of a broader hybrid warfare campaign aimed at spreading fear and instability. Europe must respond calmly and firmly, he said. Facing shifting U.S. positions on Ukraine, Stubb said patience and realism are essential. “You can’t have illusions,” he said. “You need a bit of ‘sisu’ in these negotiations as well.”

Turkey on Friday held a military funeral for 20 service members who died when a C-130 cargo plane crashed in Georgia earlier in the week. The aircraft was flying from Ganja, Azerbaijan, to Turkey when it went down Tuesday in Georgia’s Sighnaghi municipality near the Azerbaijani border. Investigators are still examining what caused the crash. Those killed included the flight crew and military technicians who had traveled to Azerbaijan to service Turkish F-16 fighter jets that took part in Victory Day events. The commemorations marked Azerbaijan’s 2020 victory over Armenia in the long-running conflict for Nagorno-Karabakh. Families, senior officials and troops gathered at an Ankara airbase where the 20 flag-draped coffins were displayed for a ceremony. The remains were later sent to hometowns for burial. The Turkish military has temporarily grounded its remaining fleet of 18 C-130s pending technical checks. The aircraft are central to military transport and logistics operations. Turkey sent an investigative team to the crash site and moved the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders to Ankara for analysis, the Defense Ministry said. Officials also confirmed the aircraft was not carrying ammunition when it went down.

Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone assault on Kyiv early Friday, killing four people and injuring at least 34 others, including a pregnant woman, Ukrainian officials said. Explosions echoed across the capital as debris set buildings and cars on fire. Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said emergency crews responded to multiple impacts throughout the night. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia used more than 430 drones and 18 missiles in the nationwide attack. The barrage also targeted Odesa and Kharkiv, but Kyiv was hit hardest, with missiles and drones striking high-rise residential areas. Zelenskyy called it a “deliberately planned attack” aimed at causing maximum civilian harm. Moscow claimed it targeted military and energy sites, a statement Ukrainian officials rejected. Ukraine said its Patriot air defense systems intercepted 14 missiles, but widespread damage was still reported across eight of Kyiv’s 10 districts. Authorities warned of potential power and water outages as firefighters battled blazes in apartments and homes. Residents described narrow escapes. One woman said she awoke to find her hair on fire after her building was hit, while another recounted being knocked to the floor by an explosion before she could reach a shelter. Ukraine army chief visits front line amid Zelenskyy graft scandal Russian strikes also killed two people in Odesa’s Chornomorsk district. In the wider Kyiv region, critical infrastructure and private homes were damaged. Meanwhile, Russia claimed it shot down 216 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions, including Krasnodar, Crimea and Saratov. Local authorities in Novorossiysk said an oil depot and coastal facilities were damaged, and a civilian ship was hit by falling debris. Ukraine, however, said it struck targets deep inside Russia using modified Neptune missiles, part of its ongoing effort to weaken Moscow’s military and energy assets. Source: AP 

Ukraine’s top military commander visited troops defending the besieged eastern city of Pokrovsk on Thursday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faced a growing corruption scandal in his administration. Following the resignation of Zelenskyy’s justice and energy ministers over an alleged energy sector graft scheme, the government dismissed the vice president of state nuclear firm Energoatom, along with heads of finance, legal, and procurement departments, and a presidential consultant, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said. Investigators say the scandal may have generated roughly $100 million in kickbacks, with five people already detained and seven more implicated. Tymur Mindich, co-owner of Zelenskyy’s Kvartal 95 media company, is suspected to be the mastermind and remains at large. The scandal has sparked public anger and renewed scrutiny of what top officials knew. Zelenskyy had faced criticism last summer for trying to curb Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs, a move reversed after protests and EU pressure. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a €6 billion ($7 billion) EU loan to Ukraine, assuring continued financial support for the next two years. She emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s belief that he could outlast Ukraine was “a clear miscalculation.” On the battlefield, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces are holding street battles in Pokrovsk and working to secure logistic routes and evacuate the wounded. “There is no question of Russian control over the city of Pokrovsk or of the operational encirclement of Ukraine’s defense forces in the area,” he said on Telegram.  

France on Thursday solemnly marked the 10th anniversary of the deadliest peacetime attacks in Paris, remembering 132 victims and honoring the resilience of survivors and families. Sophie Dias stood near the Stade de France, fighting back tears as she recalled the night her father became the first person killed in the coordinated assaults of November 13, 2015. “The absence is immense, the shock is intact, and the incomprehension remains,” she said, describing a “void that never closes” a decade later. President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron joined her in a wreath-laying and minute of silence. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also attended. Officials followed a “families first” approach, placing relatives closest to commemorative plaques at each attack site, including cafés in the 10th and 11th arrondissements and the Bataclan concert hall, where 90 people were killed. At Place de la République, Parisians lit candles and laid flowers, recreating the spontaneous memorials of 2015. A new November 13 Memory Garden, designed with victims’ associations, will open opposite City Hall, featuring granite blocks engraved with the names of the dead. The Eiffel Tower will again glow in the national colors, and church bells, including Notre-Dame’s, will ring in tribute. The attacks reshaped France’s security landscape, leading to stronger counterterrorism measures. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez cautioned that the threat remains “very high,” though large-scale attacks are less likely today. Survivors, such as Arthur Dénouveaux of the Life for Paris association, said the anniversary reopens old wounds: “You never fully heal. You just learn to live differently.” Tributes emphasized remembrance, honoring responders, and protecting everyday joys — football, music, and shared meals — that the attackers sought to destroy. The commemorations aimed for “grief without spectacle, memory with room for the living,” officials said.  

Ukraine’s foreign minister pressed top diplomats from the G7 industrialized nations on Wednesday for support as Russian air strikes caused rolling blackouts across the country. Speaking at a meeting on Ukraine and defense cooperation, Andriy Sybiha warned that Kyiv faces a “very difficult, very tough winter” and called on allies to pressure Russia and raise the cost of its aggression. The meeting was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other G7 counterparts. Canada announced new sanctions targeting 13 individuals and 11 entities linked to Russia’s drone program, while the United Kingdom pledged 13 million pounds ($17 million) to repair Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and support heating, water, and humanitarian needs. Rubio made no immediate announcements but said on social media that discussions focused on strengthening Ukraine’s defense and seeking a “durable and lasting peace.” The G7 meeting comes amid fluctuating U.S. support under Republican President Donald Trump, whose policies toward Ukraine have alternated between urging territorial concessions and backing Kyiv’s ability to reclaim occupied areas. U.S. arms transfers to Ukraine have been inconsistent, and Trump has at times sought a ceasefire deal between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, with little progress. Zelenskyy has requested 25 Patriot air defense systems from the U.S., while Russian missile and drone strikes continue to target Ukraine’s energy grid and eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk. Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Ottawa is “doing whatever is necessary to support Ukraine” and emphasized that countries enabling Russia’s war will face consequences. The G7 discussions also included ministers from Australia, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, and Ukraine. The two-day meeting in southern Ontario takes place amid broader tensions between the U.S. and traditional allies over defense spending, trade disputes, and uncertainty over Trump’s foreign policy priorities.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Romania’s capital on Wednesday to protest government austerity measures, demanding higher wages, lower taxes, and stronger action to curb inflation. Demonstrators gathered outside the government headquarters in Bucharest before marching toward the Palace of Parliament, waving banners and banging drums. Some carried placards reading “We want decent salaries!” and “Don’t hit those who save you,” alongside photos of ambulance workers. The protest was organized by the National Trade Union Bloc, which represents dozens of professional groups, as Romania’s government pushes forward with strict measures to address its widening budget deficit. The deficit stood at more than 9% of GDP in 2024 — one of the highest in the European Union — with a target to reduce it to 8.4% this year under an agreement with the EU. The austerity package includes higher taxes, freezes on public sector wages and pensions, and cuts to government spending and administrative jobs. “Workers are once again being sacrificed for their jobs — even though we work harder, we are getting poorer,” the union bloc said in a statement, accusing the government of turning “the impoverishment of the population into state policy.” Union leaders later said they had been invited by ruling parties for discussions following the demonstration. Protesters also demanded an end to job cuts in the public sector and stronger efforts to combat tax evasion. Romania’s ruling coalition, which took office earlier this year, had pledged to focus on fiscal discipline and institutional reform. Political analyst Cristian Andrei said the government faces mounting challenges in narrowing the deficit without triggering more unrest. “The perception now is that only ordinary people are suffering, not those at the top,” he said. “Unions are just one voice in a growing chorus of discontent.”  

Russia has seized control of three more settlements in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region as its forces intensify attacks along the front lines, Ukraine’s top military commander said Wednesday. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Telegram that thick fog allowed Russian troops to infiltrate Ukrainian defenses in the region, sparking “grueling battles” as Ukrainian forces fought to push them back. He added that the most intense clashes remain centered around the besieged eastern city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, which accounted for nearly half of all combat incidents over the past day. Fighting has also intensified near Kupiansk and Lyman in northeastern Kharkiv. Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago, now occupies about one-fifth of the country’s territory. The latest advances come as new U.S. sanctions targeting Russia’s vital oil industry are set to take effect on November 21, aiming to pressure President Vladimir Putin into agreeing to a ceasefire. Ukraine’s leadership is meanwhile grappling with a corruption scandal involving senior officials. Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko was suspended Wednesday pending investigation, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko confirmed. Despite its recent territorial gains, Russia continues to suffer heavy losses in personnel and equipment. Ukrainian officials say Moscow’s larger, better-equipped army has expanded the front line to nearly 1,250 kilometers, placing Kyiv’s forces under severe strain. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that Russia has deployed around 170,000 troops in Donetsk alone. Over the past month, Moscow has claimed to have captured multiple settlements — nine in Donetsk, eight in Zaporizhzhia, seven in Dnipropetrovsk, and five in Kharkiv. The Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia’s advance on Pokrovsk remains slow, despite deploying elite drone units and special forces, due to overstretched logistics and widespread offensive operations across multiple regions. Meanwhile, Ukraine has continued launching long-range drone strikes deep inside Russian territory. Its latest attack targeted the Stavrolen chemical plant in Budionnovsk, in Russia’s Stavropol region, which produces polymers used in military-grade materials, Ukraine’s general staff said.  

In a quiet warehouse in northern Denmark, workers are assembling anti-drone devices now being used on the Ukrainian battlefield and across Europe to counter a growing wave of mysterious drone incursions into NATO airspace. Two Danish defence companies — Weibel Scientific and MyDefence — have seen soaring demand for their technology, as governments and security agencies rush to protect airports, military bases, and other sensitive sites targeted by drone flyovers in recent weeks. Weibel Scientific’s radar-based drone detection system was deployed at Copenhagen Airport ahead of a key EU summit earlier this year, when unidentified drones forced the closure of Danish airspace for several hours. MyDefence, meanwhile, produces handheld and wearable radio-frequency devices capable of severing the connection between drones and their pilots. While such “jamming” technology is tightly restricted within the European Union, it is widely used on Ukraine’s front lines. There, both Russia and Ukraine have intensified electronic warfare to disable each other’s drones — prompting the use of fiber-optic-tethered models that can’t be jammed by radio interference. Europe’s concern has deepened since September, when a surge of drone flyovers across NATO territory prompted EU leaders to propose building a continent-wide “drone wall” for surveillance and interception. NATO has since deployed a new U.S.-made anti-drone system, Merops, along its eastern flank, where Denmark, Poland and Romania are among the first to implement it. Experts say the drone incursions may be testing NATO’s readiness. “All countries in Europe are struggling to find the right solutions to detect drones and build early warning systems,” said Andreas Graae, assistant professor at the Royal Danish Defense College. Founded in 2013, MyDefence has delivered more than 2,000 of its “Wingman” detectors to Ukraine since the war began and doubled its revenue last year to nearly $19 million. Its CEO, Dan Hermansen, said the Russia-Ukraine conflict was a “turning point” for the company. North of Copenhagen, Weibel Scientific has been adapting its long-established Doppler radar technology — once used for aerospace tracking — to detect drones by measuring their velocity and direction. The firm recently secured its largest-ever order worth $76 million. “The Ukraine war, and especially the rapid evolution of drone technology, has driven unprecedented demand for this kind of product,” said Weibel’s chief executive Peter Røpke. With NATO nations reinforcing their defences and discussing a potential “drone shield” across Europe, Røpke said Denmark’s radar systems could play a vital role in securing the alliance’s skies.