Un terremoto de magnitud 5,5 sacudió el centro de Bangladesh el viernes a las 10:38 de la mañana, cobrando al menos nueve vidas y dejando más de 300 heridos, de acuerdo con autoridades gubernamentales y varios medios locales. El epicentro se localizó en Ghorashal, dentro del distrito de Narsingdi, aproximadamente a 25 kilómetros de Daca, la capital del país, y a una profundidad de 10 kilómetros, según datos del Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos (USGS).

El sismo, que según el Departamento Meteorológico de Bangladesh tuvo una duración de 26 segundos y fue registrado con una magnitud de 5,7, desencadenó escenas de pánico en la capital, donde los edificios temblaron y miles de habitantes abandonaron apresuradamente sus viviendas y oficinas.

De acuerdo con reportes de la televisora DBC y el diario Prothom Alo, entre las víctimas mortales se encontraban al menos dos niños. Las muertes se produjeron principalmente debido a la caída de techos y muros, además del colapso de barandillas en un edificio del área de Armanitola, en la parte antigua de Daca, que mató a tres personas que compraban en una carnicería. Estas personas fueron trasladadas a un hospital cercano, donde se confirmó su fallecimiento. El diario Prothom Alo también señaló que alrededor de 252 empleados de la industria de la confección resultaron heridos durante estampidas mientras intentaban evacuar rápidamente sus lugares de trabajo en el distrito de Gazipur, adyacente a Daca, donde se concentran numerosas fábricas y centros industriales.

Familiares y testigos presenciaron escenas de angustia mientras las víctimas eran llevadas a centros médicos, como el Hospital Universitario de Daca, y estudiantes universitarios saltaron desde pisos altos de residencias estudiantiles durante el temblor, reportaron canales de televisión locales. AFP informó que en Daca fue visible el llanto y el miedo de los pobladores en la calle, tras verse sorprendidos por el desastre en el día de descanso nacional.

El Departamento de Bomberos y Defensa Civil movilizó equipos a edificios que presentaban inclinaciones preocupantes y atendió un incendio originado en una estación de energía en el barrio de Baridhara. Además, el gobierno interino declaró que al menos 14 edificios resultaron dañados, según la oficina del líder interino Muhammad Yunus, quien expresó su “profunda conmoción y tristeza por las víctimas reportadas en diferentes distritos” y aseguró que “se están tomando todas las medidas necesarias”.

El impacto del terremoto se sintió incluso en la ciudad india de Calcuta, a más de 325 kilómetros del epicentro, donde habitantes salieron a las calles en busca de resguardo, según testigos entrevistados por AFP. Hasta el momento, no se reportaron daños significativos ni víctimas en India.

El USGS precisó que el norte y sureste de Bangladesh son zonas sísmicamente activas por la interacción de las placas de India y Eurasia, pero la región central, donde ocurrió el sismo reciente, es menos propensa a este tipo de eventos. Históricamente, desde 1950 solo se han registrado 14 movimientos telúricos de magnitud similar en un radio de 250 kilómetros del epicentro.

Según expertos citados por AFP y medios locales, Bangladesh, con una población de 170 millones de habitantes, no está suficientemente preparada para enfrentar terremotos de mayor magnitud, situación que pone en alto riesgo a Daca, con cerca de 2,1 millones de edificaciones.

Las autoridades continúan evaluando los daños e instan a los distintos organismos públicos a permanecer atentos ante posibles réplicas y nuevas emergencias.

(Con información de AP y AFP)

The White House dubbed Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse a scam victim after he publicly complained the Trump administration would not fund or support his junket to the COP30 climate change conference in Belém, Brazil this week.

The Trump administration largely ignored the confab of global climate change leaders; a stark contrast to former President Joe Biden sending Clinton confidant John Podesta to lead a substantial U.S. delegation to COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2024.

«Sadly, Senator Whitehouse has fallen victim to the biggest scam of the century: the Green New Scam,» White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said of Whitehouse, D-R.I.

«The senator can foolishly spend time and money attending this radical ‘climate’ conference, but the Trump administration refuses to waste taxpayer dollars.»

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Whitehouse spoke at a press conference on the House side of the Capitol Thursday with the blessing of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Whitehouse held up his COP30 badge and lamented that it did not label him a representative of the «United States of America» but instead «Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment: GLOBE.»

That group was co-founded by then-Sen. Al Gore, D-Tenn., and the late Sen. John Heinz III, R-Pa. in the 1990s, and Whitehouse said that without support from Secretary Marco Rubio’s State Department, he relied on a House of Representatives «energy and environment coalition» to facilitate his travel.

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Whitehouse said the confab – to which California Gov. Gavin Newsom also traveled – showed a «failure of the United States to be present.»

«For the first time in history that I’m aware of, the State Department refused to support or facilitate my travel or my credentialing. My credentials don’t say United States of America,» he said, adding that it is typically State Department or executive branch protocol to support «CODELs» or congressional delegations.

«[T]he State Department refused to support this – that’s how bad the Trump administration has become.»

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Whitehouse said President Donald Trump is ignoring COP30 because he does not effectively represent the U.S. government on climate matters.

«He represents the fossil fuel industry, and specifically his big billionaire fossil fuel donors,» Whitehouse said, before pivoting to his contention at the conference that «carbon pricing» – which critics call «carbon taxes» – is crucial.

«The good things that have come out of COP[30] so far mean that the plane crashes higher up the mountain. But if you want to get the plane over the mountaintop safely, you’ve got to have carbon pricing.»

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The Ocean State Democrat said he warned European COP30 attendees to hold firm if Trump attacks their climate commitments.

Jeffries later echoed Whitehouse, saying Trump is showing an unwillingness to address «issues of importance to the American people,» including climate change and affordability.

«The Trump administration and the United States government chose not to be involved and engaged at the most recent conference, essentially ceding leadership on this issue in the world to our rival: the Chinese Communist Party — while leaving America and Americans behind,» Jeffries said.

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Meanwhile, Daniel Turner, founder of Power The Future, a Virginia group that focuses on energy policy advocacy geared toward industry effects on workers and rural communities, said Whitehouse was out of line to make such an issue of the matter.

«It was bad enough that while the nation was reeling from the Democrats’ government shutdown, Senator Whitehouse took a tropical vacation and praised the communist Chinese,» Turner said.

Turner appeared to reference a Fox Business segment in which Whitehouse filmed himself at COP30 lamenting his lonely official presence, and saying how large the Chinese official «pavilion» was.

«I will never kiss the boots of the Communist Chinese that use slave and child labor to build crappy wind and solar which drives up the price of American electricity,» Turner said, saying it showed how «out of touch ‘blue-blood, Whites-Only-Country-Club Whitehouse’ is.»

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In 2021, Whitehouse refused to apologize for his family’s membership in a Newport, R.I., club that was accused of, but denied, retaining a discriminatory membership policy.

«I think the people who are running the place are still working on that, and I’m sorry it hasn’t happened yet,» Whitehouse said at the time.

Whitehouse further defended his presence at COP30 in a statement this month, saying that Republican «corruption» is deliberately raising costs on American families to the benefit of donors from the fossil fuel industry.

«Amidst sinking approvals and a shellacking in the most recent elections, it’s no surprise the Trump administration is unwilling to defend the fossil fuel industry’s unpopular and corrupt climate denial lies on the global stage,» Whitehouse said. 

«In Belém, I hope to rally our allies to stay steady on climate action, including CBAM, in the face of attacks from the fossil fuel villains running the Trump administration.  There is no pathway to climate safety without CBAM, and we must protect that pathway at all costs.»

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

An Indian fighter jet crashed Friday at the Dubai Air Show in the United Arab Emirates, killing the pilot onboard, officials said. 

Videos circulating on social media showed the IAF Tejas aircraft bursting into flames as it struck the ground, drawing gasps from crowds gathered at the event. 

«The pilot sustained fatal injuries in the accident,» the Indian Air Force wrote on X, noting that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash. «IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief.» 

«A Tejas fighter aircraft from India participating in today’s flying display at the Dubai Airshow has crashed, resulting in the tragic death of the pilot,» added the Dubai Media Office. «Firefighting and emergency teams responded rapidly to the incident and are currently managing the situation on-site.»

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An SUV bearing diplomatic plates flying the Indian flag was seen at the crash site, along with police and emergency personnel. 

The air show later resumed flight demonstrations, with the Russian Knights aerobatics team flying overhead as emergency crews still worked the crash site, the Associated Press reported. 

Tejas is India’s indigenous fighter aircraft, built by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

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Smoke billows following a crash of an Indian Tejas fighter jet, after it lost altitude and crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show in this screengrab obtained from an eyewitness video.  (Jignesh Variya/Reuters)

The lightweight, single-engine jet is expected to bolster India’s depleted fighter fleet as China expands its military presence in South Asia, including by strengthening defense ties with India’s rival Pakistan, according to the AP. 

In September, India’s Defense Ministry signed a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, or HAL, to procure 97 Tejas jets for the air force. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2027.

The Indian fighter jet is seen flying during a demonstration moments before crashing at the Dubai Air Show on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.  (Jon Gambrell/AP)

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A Tejas fighter jet crashed in the western Indian state of Rajasthan last year, but the pilot ejected safely in that incident. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.