International News
Palestinians disappointed with US policy ahead of Biden’s visit
Ahead of US President Joe Biden’s first visit to the Middle East, the Palestinians are disappointed with the US’ failure to present any new peace initiative and fulfill its promises on the Palestinian cause.
Biden is scheduled to visit Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia during his first trip to the region which starts on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
In the past weeks, the Palestinians ramped up their voices calling on the Biden administration to deliver its promises by reopening the US consulate in East Jerusalem and the office of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in Washington, and removing the PLO from the US terrorism list.
Meanwhile, the Palestinians criticized the US for its silence over the escalation of Israeli unilateral practices in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Ramzi Rabah, a PLO executive committee member, said that within the PLO executive committee, there is widespread criticism of the US policy as its members urged the Palestinian Authority “not to bet on any actual US role in the region”.
The Palestinian leadership “must go to alternative options in dealing with Washington,” Rabah told Xinhua in an interview.
He said that as the US refuses to take any serious steps to stop Israel from escalating its practices against the Palestinians, “there is a need to go to the UN and the UN Security Council to create an international political initiative.”
“I think that the essence of Biden’s visit to the region is to arrange a regional alliance, to secure the American interests and confront Iran,” Rabah noted, expressing the Palestinians’ disappointment at the US inaction to break the protracted stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Wassel Abu Yousef, another member of the PLO executive committee, ruled out major positive results from Biden’s visit on advancing the Palestinian cause, citing that the US has increased support for Israel and its practices against the Palestinians, including confiscating land, demolishing homes and expanding settlements.
The Palestinians “do not expect anything new from Biden’s visit to the region regarding the implementation of the US promises, except that it will result in more support for Israel,” he told Xinhua in an interview.
Frustration and despair are prevailing among the Palestinians as nearly 29 years have passed since the Palestinians signed the Oslo peace agreement with Israel, under the US sponsorship, to end the conflict between them.
The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been deadlocked since 2014 mainly due to Washington’s refusal to change its biased pro-Israeli policy that ignores the political rights of the Palestinian people, who hope to establish an independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Abdulmajid Sweilem, a Palestinian analyst from the West Bank city of Ramallah, said that Biden’s visit to the Palestinian territories is just “a political courtesy”.
Biden is expected to “repeat Washington’s old slogans of adhering to the two-state solution and protecting the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and security, among other cliches,” he told Xinhua in an interview.
“Ultimately, these cliches mean improving the lives of the Palestinians under the framework of Israeli domination and limited Palestinian self-rule,” Sweilem added.
International News
Pakistan rebuilds Jaish-e-Mohammed Bahawalpur base destroyed by India during Operation Sindoor: Report

New Delhi, Aug 25: UN-designated terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) headquarters in Pakistan’s Bahawalpur, which were damaged in strikes launched by India under Operation Sindoor last year, have been rebuilt, according to reports.
According to images and intelligence inputs accessed by several media reports, the Markaz Subhanallah, which was badly damaged in India’s strikes last year, has been rebuilt with new plaster, paint, and polished marble.
The central hall of the facility, which had been damaged, has been repaired, with the craters filled and the structure refurbished. The structure, which was fully damaged, now seems to be prepared for regular use by JeM.
The Pakistani establishment provided approximately (Pakistani) Rs 25 crore to JeM in cash instalments, with approximately Rs 11 crore reportedly given for reconstruction of the central hall, several media reports claimed, citing intelligence inputs.
The structures adjoining the main complex, including the Madrasa Al-Sabir, described as an indoctrination centre, and residential quarters used by JeM commanders, which were damaged during Operation Sindoor, have been cleared or demolished, and new construction has taken place at the site.
The Bahawalpur facility was among the sites targeted by India during Operation Sindoor launched in May last year, in response to the terrorist attack carried out in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
India struck at the heart of Pakistan-based terror infrastructure, targeting well-known training camps in Muridke and Bahawalpur in a joint operation conducted by the Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy.
The highly coordinated operation, launched on May 6 and 7, saw firing of 24 missiles that precisely hit nine terror facilities across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), killing an estimated 70 terrorists.
Only verified terror camps were targeted, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters in Muridke and key facilities in Bahawalpur — both long identified as hubs of extremist training and indoctrination.
Operation Sindoor was a significant demonstration of India’s military and strategic capability, combining both military and non-military measures.
India launched the operation in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that took place on April 22, 2025, in which Pakistan-backed attackers singled out victims after asking about their religion, forcing them to recite the Islamic ‘kalima’ to identify non-Muslims. Among those killed were 25 tourists and one local pony ride operator who tried to save the tourists.
International News
Iran’s President says Washington must change tone, approach toward Tehran

Tehran, Aug 25: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that the United States must change its tone and approach toward Iran.
“The US reliance on coercion and bullying will only complicate executive processes,” Pezeshkian said at a meeting with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir in Tehran on Monday (local time), according to a statement published on the website of the presidential office.
Pezeshkian stressed the need for the United States to remain committed to its obligations toward Iran “based on the (country’s) legitimate rights and international regulations.”
He expressed hope that the objectives stipulated in the US-Iran peace memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be achieved “with the continuation of the will and joint cooperation.”
On June 18, the United States and Iran signed the MoU, under which the two were scheduled to hold negotiations within a period of 60 days, which ended on August 17, to reach a final agreement. However, the talks’ fate remains unclear following renewed escalation between the two countries, reports Xinhua news agency.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Iran will not let the war end based on conditions set by the “aggressive” parties.
“We have definitely not been the party to start the war, but we will not let the war’s end be based on the aggressive parties’ conditions,” Baghaei told a weekly press conference in Tehran.
He said that Iran remained determined to defend its territory and would not “compromise with the aggressive parties” or surrender to their “excessive demands.”
Baghaei dismissed US claims that the Strait of Hormuz was open and that millions of barrels of oil were passing through it each day, describing them as part of “psychological and media warfare”.
He also slammed Washington’s newly announced anti-Iran economic operation, saying Tehran would use all its “multilateral capacities” to counter US sanctions, which he described as a blow to free trade and national sovereignty.
The spokesman also warned that countries assisting US anti-Iran operations could face consequences, and called the US naval blockade an “act of aggression”.
International News
Bangladesh: Two arrested over brutal killing of four members of Hindu family in Rangpur

Dhaka, Aug 24: Bangladesh police have arrested two young men in connection with the killing of a retired Hindu schoolteacher and three members of his family in Rangpur city.
Police said the duo planned and carried out the murders after the former Rangpur Zilla school teacher tried to prevent them from using yaba, a potent illicit methamphetamine-based drug, on the rooftop, according to local media reports.
The accused were identified as 23-year-old Siddhartha Das and 19-year-old Mugdha Das, both detained from the Dakhiganj cremation ground in the city. They allegedly ransacked the house to make the killings appear to be linked to a robbery.
The incident occurred on August 20, with police recovering the bodies of all four family members two days later, on Saturday night.
After the incident, the accused allegedly used the bathroom, ate dates from the table, and consumed yaba. They further allegedly soaked the mobile phones of Ganapati and Pritilata in washing-powder solution to wipe away fingerprints, according to police, Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune reported.
The deceased were identified as retired Rangpur Zilla School teacher Ganapati Chakraborty, 65; his wife, Pritilata Chakraborty, 50; their daughter, Agami Chakraborty Prarthi, 23; and their son, Priyam Chakraborty, 12.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud said that the suspects were allegedly consuming yaba on the rooftop of Ganapati’s house late Thursday night when the retired teacher went upstairs after hearing a noise.
Ganapati reportedly spotted the suspects consuming drugs and asked them to stop, following which they allegedly strangled him with a towel.
Hearing his screams, his wife, Pritilata, and daughter, Prarthi, rushed to the rooftop and were also allegedly strangled. The suspects then went inside the house and killed Priyam, the couple’s only son, in the same manner, the commissioner said. They allegedly stayed inside the house until Friday morning.
Following the brutal incident, hundreds of Rangpur Zilla School students on Sunday abstained from classes and staged a protest seeking the immediate arrest and capital punishment of those responsible for the killings.
The students marched to the offices of the Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the district administration and submitted separate memorandums demanding justice. They later staged a human chain and demonstration on the main road in front of the school, Dhaka Tribune reported.
Meanwhile, the leading minority human rights organisation Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council strongly condemned the brutal killing, calling for proper investigation and exemplary punishment for those responsible.
The incident comes amid escalating attacks on minorities across Bangladesh that have persisted since the tenure of the former Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and continue under the current Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) administration.
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