INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(12150, 12150, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Students at one of India’s most prominent universities gathered in protest over an event involving the US ambassador to New Delhi on Monday, as they stood up against American support for Israel’s war on Gaza.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti was invited for a talk on US-India ties at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi on Monday afternoon, which would take place amid protests on American campuses demanding their universities cut financial ties with Israel over its military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the university’s convention center, over 100 students organized by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union protested the invitation of Garcetti, calling out his complicity “in the genocide Israel is currently doing in Palestine.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">JNUSU President Dhananjay told Arab News: “By calling such a person in the university … who is supporting the genocide, we want to tell them that JNU is not silent on this issue and we want to speak up.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are protesting against the US support for the genocide in Gaza committed by Israel.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hundreds of US college students have been arrested and suspended as peaceful demonstrations calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from companies linked to Israel spread across American campuses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The student-led movement comes after nearly six months since Israel began its onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which Tel Aviv said was launched to stamp out the militant group Hamas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hundreds of thousands of housing units in the besieged territory have either been completely or partially destroyed, while the majority of public facilities, schools and hundreds of cultural landmarks have been demolished and continue to be targeted in intense bombing operations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">JNU student leaders said they stood in solidarity with the protesting students in the US.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are students, and we need to ask questions. If some atrocities are taking place and there are mindless killings going on, speaking out against this should be the responsibility of all sections of society,” Dhananjay said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The visuals that we see make us shiver and shake our conscience. If we don’t speak up, then I don’t think we have a right to be a social being.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the JNU campus on Monday, the student protest led to a cancellation of the event involving the US envoy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We feel happy that we forced the administration to cancel the talks by the ambassador,” JNUSU Vice President Avijit Ghosh told Arab News.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite India’s historic support for Palestine, the government has been mostly quiet in the wake of Israel’s deadly siege of Gaza.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When Indians went to the streets in the past months to protest and raise awareness on the atrocities unfolding in Gaza, their demonstrations were dispersed by police and campaigns stifled.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Members of Indian civil society have since come together to challenge their government’s links with Tel Aviv and break Delhi’s silence on Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, reflecting similar concerns that some university students also felt, reports Arab News&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The US is supporting Israel in the killing of Palestinian people in Gaza. It’s also suppressing students in its country who are raising voice against the genocide in Gaza,” Ghosh said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are agitated that India is being a mute spectator and not taking a clear stand against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"34\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-29 15:21:50', '2024-04-29 15:21:50'),
(12151, 12151, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Given the urgency of the current economic situation, focusing on trade policy issues and improving export competitiveness should be a central part of Bangladesh’s reform agenda, said the Asian Development Bank in its latest policy brief.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>In the context of Bangladesh’s upcoming LDC graduation in 2026 and the current economic challenges, there is a growing realisation that policy reforms to enhance export competitiveness might receive stronger domestic support than in the past, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>While national planning documents like the 6th, 7th, and 8th Five-Year Plans have recommended relevant reforms, these have not been adequately prioritised for implementation, according to the document.</div><div><br></div><div>This policy brief suggests several recommendations for promoting export diversification.</div><div><br></div><div>The policy brief, \"Expanding and Diversifying Exports in Bangladesh: Challenges and the Way Forward\", is authored by Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, an economist (Consultant), South Asia Department (SARD), ADB; Rabiul Islam Rabi, Research Analyst (Consultant) SARD, ADB; and Barun Kumar Dey, Senior Economics Officer, SARD, ADB.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite the success in garments exports, Bangladesh’s overall export volume remains modest and suffers from a staggering concentration.</div><div><br></div><div>Recent unfavourable macroeconomic developments and the impending graduation from least developed country (LDC) status, underscore the importance of expanding and diversifying exports.</div><div><br></div><div>High tariff protection favouring import-competing sectors, coupled with weak domestic product standards and compliance, have created policy-induced disincentives for non-readymade garments exports.</div><div><br></div><div>With over 70% of Bangladesh’s exports benefiting from LDC-specific trade preferences, graduation could impact export competitiveness.</div><div><br></div><div>Improving export competitiveness and achieving diversification will necessitate various actions, including tackling policy induced anti-export bias, enhancing product quality and standards, attracting</div><div><br></div><div>foreign direct investment to connect with global supply chains, conducting prudent&nbsp; exchange rate management to promote external competitiveness, dealing with sector-specific supply-side constraints, and addressing the high business costs.</div><div><br></div><div>Proactively seeking trade preferences post-LDC graduation is also crucial for sustaining export competitiveness.</div><div><br></div><div>POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Tackling policy-induced export disincentives is crucial for export diversification. Bangladesh’s protective measures, through high tariffs and para-tariffs, encourage a focus on the domestic market over exports, creating an anti-export bias.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Tariff rationalisation is thus critical in dealing with this policy-induced bias. Lowering tariffs can stimulate domestic manufacturing, potentially balancing any revenue loss&nbsp; from reduced import tariffs.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Enhancing the export performance of non-RMG sectors requires eliminating discriminatory access to policy incentives. The bonded warehouse facilities, in particular, should be granted to all export sectors and units irrespective of whether they are 100% export-oriented or not. Many firms can serve both domestic and international markets, and requiring separate production facilities for exports to access bonded warehouses is impractical. Instead, all exporting firms should have access to bonded warehouses, with import duties adjusted later based on the proportion of goods for domestic and export use. In getting finance, subsidised loans, and other policy support measures, non-RMG sectors should be given equal access.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;For non-RMG export items, enhancing product quality and meeting international standards are key for market expansion, as higher standards often yield higher prices. Investing in capacity building to meet international quality and safety standards is essential for potential exporters. Acquiring relevant certifications is critical for building credibility and trust in global markets.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The government can further aid businesses by establishing or supporting accessible testing and certification facilities. Strengthening institutions responsible for quality control and compliance is also crucial, which involves investing in laboratories, equipment, and skilled personnel for efficient testing and certification.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Attracting foreign direct investment can be a driver of export growth and diversification. It can facilitate knowledge and technology transfers and better management practices.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;FDI firms are well-integrated into global value chains and can command higher export prices. Bangladesh needs to improve its investment climate, streamline investment procedures, and promote sustainable investment practices to attract&nbsp; foreign investors.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Tackling the high cost of doing business is critical for boosting investment and trade competitiveness. Bangladesh faces a significant disadvantage due to the high cost of doing business.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Weak infrastructure, inefficient inland road transport, complex customs procedures, inadequate port facilities, and inefficient trade logistics contribute to longer lead times and higher costs, which undermine competitiveness.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The two-way shipping costs for exporters importing raw materials and exporting final products exacerbate the problem. Addressing these infrastructural and logistical inefficiencies presents an opportunity to offset some of the losses from the withdrawal of LDC trade preferences and to improve Bangladesh’s standing in international markets.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A prudent exchange rate management strategy could significantly enhance export competitiveness, benefiting sectors beyond the RMG industry. Maintaining a competitive and stable exchange rate ensures that exports remain attractively priced in international markets.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;This is particularly beneficial for non-RMG exporters who may be trying to&nbsp; establish a foothold in global markets and are more sensitive to price competitiveness. An effectively managed exchange rate can offset some of the cost disadvantages faced by&nbsp; these sectors, making their products more appealing to&nbsp; international buyers.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Addressing the sector-specific supply-side constraints can help with export response from non-RMG sectors. To enhance the supply response of potential export sectors in Bangladesh, it is recommended to address sector-specific supply-side issues through a time-bound action plan.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;This plan should be based on the constraints identified in studies like the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study and its 2023 update. The action plan should include specific measures tailored to the unique challenges of each sector, setting clear timelines and responsibilities for implementation.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;This targeted approach will ensure that interventions are focused and effective, directly addressing the issues that hinder the productivity and competitiveness of these sectors on&nbsp; the global stage. By systematically tackling these identified constraints, Bangladesh can significantly improve its export&nbsp; performance in these key sectors.</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Devising WTO-consistent export-incentive mechanisms is crucial for Bangladesh, given its impending LDC graduation. As export subsidies may not be possible after LDC graduation,&nbsp; learning from non-LDC countries can guide in formulating&nbsp; effective support measures. For example, how the PRC and Vietnam support their export industries can provide important lessons for Bangladesh. Complying with WTO guidelines, especially regarding subsidies and sector-specific support should be important.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>·&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Seeking trade preferences beyond LDC graduation comprises an important strategy for export competitiveness. Graduating from the LDC group does not imply the cessation of preferential treatment altogether.</div><div><br></div><div>The UK’s Developing Countries Trading&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Scheme, for instance, will continue to provide improved market access even after LDC graduation. Proactive engagements with the EU may be critical to secure similar preferences. Seeking unilateral trade preferences in the post-graduation period will be essential for Bangladesh, as many competitor countries have taken advantage of free trade agreements (FTAs) to obtain preferential market access.</div><div><br></div><div>For instance, Vietnam has secured FTA arrangements with Canada, the EU, and the UK; Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam benefit from duty-free access in India due to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) free trade agreement; and in Japan and the PRC under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, among others.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>For Bangladesh, striking FTAs within a short period of time will not be feasible. Thus, a renewed focus on retaining trade preferences will be an utmost policy priority.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In preparation for Bangladesh’s upcoming LDC graduation, strengthening trade policy and negotiation capabilities to support the export sector is important.</div><div><br></div><div>This involves developing a comprehensive capacity-building strategy that focuses on enhancing the skills and knowledge of trade officials, negotiators, and policymakers. It is also important to enhance the capacity of the private sector so it can comprehend the changes in trade preferences and policy space following LDC graduation and thus can take other measures for improving firm-level competitiveness. Souce: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 08:15:48', '2024-04-30 08:15:48'),
(12152, 12152, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $121.55 million financing package with Dynamic Sun Energy Private Limited to build and operate a 100-megawatt (MW) grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plant in Pabna, Bangladesh.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The plant is the country’s first private sector utility-scale solar facility to secure support from global financiers, said the Manilla-based lending agency on Monday (April 29, 2024).&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">ADB arranged, structured, and syndicated the debt package as the sole mandated lead arranger and bookrunner.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The financing package comprises a $46.75 million loan from ADB, a syndicated B-loan of $28.05 million from ILX Fund I, an Amsterdam-based emerging market private credit fund focused on supporting the Sustainable Development Goals with ADB as lender of record, and a syndicated parallel loan of $46.75 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“As Asia’s climate bank, ADB welcomes the opportunity to support renewable energy in Bangladesh, where obtaining long-term financing for such projects is a challenge,” said ADB Private Sector Operations Department Director General Suzanne Gaboury.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This partnership exemplifies our lead role in mobilising financing for clean energy facilities and stimulating further investment in sectors where it’s needed the most.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The solar power plant will generate 193.5 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually and avoid 93,654 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are delighted to secure financing for one of the largest private sector solar projects in Bangladesh to date, with the support of international lenders led by ADB,” said PT Managing Director Shakhawat Hossain.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Partnering with an internationally reputable financial institution such as ADB affirms PT’s dedication to sustainability and marks a significant stride in our journey towards sustainable growth.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">DSE is owned by Paramount Textile PLC (PT), one of the largest woven textile manufacturers in Bangladesh, which also operates several power plants.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PT manufactures high-quality yarn-dyed and printed woven fabrics using a wide range of yarns, modern weaving technologies, and print types.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PT was publicly listed on the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges in 2013. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 08:35:57', '2024-04-30 08:35:57'),
(12153, 12153, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad A. Arafat has voiced concerns over the actions of police during peaceful demonstrations at various US universities, describing the use of force as “disproportionate” and “inappropriate.” These protests, primarily led by students and faculty members, were organised to support Palestinian rights.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The rallies are mostly being conducted peacefully; there hasn\'t been any violence, arson, or killing of cops, children, or women, unlike what the BNP-Jamaat arsonists did in Bangladesh,” Arafat stated in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The protests have taken place across numerous prestigious US college campuses, with participants advocating for the freedom of the Palestinian people. Arafat emphasised the peaceful nature of these demonstrations, highlighting the absence of violence and arson, which are often associated with protests elsewhere.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It’s only some students and professors who are protesting against what they believe is wrong. There was no sign of violence or arson,” Arafat reiterated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite the peaceful conduct of the protesters, the response by law enforcement has been notably aggressive, according to Arafat. The number of police forces seen to contain the people shows no respect for protests by civilians, he observed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reflecting on how such situations are handled in Bangladesh, Arafat speculated on the reaction of the US administration to similar circumstances. “I wonder what the US administration would do in the face of BNP-Jamaat violence and arson in the name of the so-called protest that they displayed a few months ago to impede the election and obstruct the democratic process in Bangladesh,” the state minister said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arafat condemned violence, stating, “I strongly believe that there is no place for violence in democracy.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also shared a distressing account of a university professor who, despite her academic credentials from the University of California, Berkeley, was mistreated by police. “Unlike the BNP-Jamaat terrorists in Bangladesh, she did not seem like an extremist, getting herself indulging in violence or arson,” he explained. The professor was reportedly verbally abused and violently arrested, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arafat concluded by affirming the fundamental democratic rights to assembly and protest, which he argued should be respected universally: “The right to assembly and the right to protest need to be respected in all democracies.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 09:29:13', '2024-04-30 09:29:13'),
(12154, 12154, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads, and Railways (NCPSRR), a prominent civil society group, has vehemently opposed Bangladesh Railway\'s decision to eliminate fare discounts starting May 4, which will lead to a significant increase in train fares by 20 to 30 percent for journeys exceeding 100 km.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Md Shahid Mia, the convener of NCPSRR, and Ashish Kumar Dey, the general secretary, expressed their concerns through a public statement on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They highlighted the current economic hardships, including the steep rise in the cost of living, exacerbated by an ongoing heatwave and reduced incomes among laborers and the lower-middle class. The fare increase, under these circumstances, is completely illogical and against public interest, the NCPSRR leaders stated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The statement also referenced the challenges posed by crop failures and anticipated hikes in agricultural product prices, stressing that such an environment makes the fare increase particularly burdensome for ordinary citizens.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Governments worldwide often subsidise state-run transport to ease public burdens, a practice that includes Bangladesh. The government is no exception in providing subsidies, and it could increase these subsidies instead of letting the public suffer through fare hikes, said the statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The leaders of NCPSRR called on all relevant authorities to reconsider the planned fare adjustments, advocating for the continuation of subsidies to prevent additional financial strain on the populace during these trying times. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 10:01:46', '2024-04-30 10:01:46'),
(12155, 12155, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Five people died and 10 others sustained injuries when an ambulance collided head-on with a Shyamoli Paribahan bus on the Cox\'s Bazar-Chattogram highway near Eidgaon in Khodaibari around noon on Monday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The victims were returning home from treatment at Baytush Sharf Eye Hospital in Cox\'s Bazar.</div><div><br></div><div>Malumghat Highway Police Sub-Inspector Md Mozammel Haque confirmed the matter.</div><div><br></div><div>The deceased were identified as Abu Ahmed from Ilsha Puratana Bari, Baharchhara, Mahmuda Begum from Paschim Ilsha, Baharchhara; Sayra Khatun from Dongra, Khanakhanabad; and Dula Mia from Kufiya Dongra, Khanakhanabad. One person\'s identity remains undisclosed. The victims hailed from Banshkhali upazila of Chattogram and had been receiving eye treatment at the hospital for eight days.</div><div><br></div><div>Two passengers died on the spot, while three succumbed to injuries during hospital treatment. Several others are still receiving medical care, with the conditions of two individuals reported as critical.</div><div><br></div><div>The accident involved a microbus carrying 14 passengers from Banshkhali, which collided with the Shyamoli Paribahan bus. The police have seized the vehicles involved, and the driver of the bus is currently at large.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Ashikur Rahman, Medical Assistant Officer at Cox\'s Bazar Sadar Hospital, said one woman and one man passed away during treatment, while another person died before reaching the hospital, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>Shahid Ali, General Secretary of Banshkhali Samiti Cox\'s Bazar, mentioned that arrangements have been made to transport the deceased to their village homes in Banshkhali.</div><div><br></div><div>This devastating collision highlights the ongoing road safety challenges faced on highways and underscores the need for enhanced measures to prevent such accidents in the future.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"39\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 10:09:21', '2024-04-30 10:09:21'),
(12156, 12156, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear science, particularly in energy, food safety and medicine, and health sectors.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He shared this commitment during his meeting with Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in Vienna on Monday evening (Vienna time).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister Hasan also reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to nuclear disarmament and to the safety and security of nuclear materials.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He recalled that Bangladesh became a member of the IAEA in 1972 which was one of the earliest memberships of Bangladesh in any international organisation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Foreign Minister thanked IAEA for providing necessary support and cooperation for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He assured the Director General that Bangladesh will maintain the highest level of transparency, safety, and security of its nuclear power plants. Referring to the national energy vision, he mentioned that Bangladesh has contemplated a fair share of nuclear energy in her future energy mix since it is a green and clean source of energy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mentioning the unmatched success of Bangladesh in becoming self-sufficient in staple food production as well as successes in pharmaceuticals and health services sectors, Hasan thanked IAEA for its technical support to Bangladesh in nuclear agriculture, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy fields.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Foreign Minister appreciated the Director General’s initiatives like Atoms4Food and Atoms4NetZero, and assured him continued support from Bangladesh for these noble initiatives.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Director General reaffirmed the agency’s sustained support to Bangladesh on human-centric development issues leveraging nuclear science and applications.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He expressed particular interest in working together with Bangladesh under the ‘Atom for Food’ initiative, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Director General of IAEA congratulated Bangladesh for setting up nuclear power plants, which has added an altogether different dimension to Bangladesh’s engagement with IAEA.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He assured of IAEA’s continued support for training and capacity building on nuclear safety and safeguard issues.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Foreign Minister invited the Director General to visit Bangladesh during the commissioning of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 10:11:31', '2024-04-30 10:11:31'),
(12158, 12158, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>At least seven Maoist insurgents were shot dead by Indian security forces today, police told AFP, the latest clash in a decades-long conflict waged in the country’s wild central forests.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The guerrillas were killed in a remote part of the central state of Chhattisgarh, which has been the site of a number of deadly assaults on rebel encampments this year.</div><div><br></div><div>Security deployments in the state have been bolstered in the past month with India currently in the middle of a six-week general election.</div><div><br></div><div>“Bodies of seven Maoists have been recovered,” Bastar district police inspector-general Sundarraj Pattilingam told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>Two of the cadres killed were women, he said, adding that a large quantity of weapons including automatic firearms had been recovered.</div><div><br></div><div>Today’s clash was the third of its kind this month in the state, after the killing of 29 Maoist guerrillas on April 16 and another 13 on April 2.</div><div><br></div><div>Around 90 Maoists have been killed in India this year, according to police figures, the vast majority in Chhattisgarh.</div><div><br></div><div>The insurgents, who are known as Naxalites and say they are fighting for the rural poor, have carried out guerrilla attacks since 1967.</div><div><br></div><div>India has deployed tens of thousands of security personnel to battle Maoist rebels across the insurgent-dominated “Red Corridor”, which stretches across central, southern and eastern states but has shrunk considerably in size over the past decade.</div><div><br></div><div>India has pumped millions of dollars into infrastructure development in remote areas and claimed to have confined the insurgency to 45 districts in 2023, down from 96 in 2010.</div><div><br></div><div>The conflict has seen a number of deadly attacks on government forces over the years.</div><div><br></div><div>Twenty-two police and paramilitaries were killed in a gun battle with the far-left guerrillas in 2021.</div><div><br></div><div>In March 2020, 17 police from a commando patrol were killed in an attack by more than 300 armed rebels in Chhattisgarh.</div><div><br></div><div>Sixteen commandos were also killed in the western state of Maharashtra in a bomb attack that was blamed on the Maoists in the lead-up to India’s election in 2019. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><span style=\"white-space: pre; white-space: normal;\">			</span></div><div><span style=\"white-space: pre; white-space: normal;\">					</span></div><div><span style=\"white-space: pre; white-space: normal;\">						</span></div><div><span style=\"white-space: pre; white-space: normal;\">		</span></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 10:53:47', '2024-04-30 10:53:47'),
(12159, 12159, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Four people died from possible heat stroke in different parts of Nilphamari district amid the sweltering heat across the country.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The deceased were identified as Lal Babu, 52 of Sadar upazila, Manir Hossain, 52 of Bimla upazila, Mansur, 55 and Khodeza, 65 of Jaldhaka upazila of the district.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All of them suddenly fell sick and died while working under the open sky amid the intense hot weather, said officer-in-charge of Jaldhaka police station Ashraful Haque.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local Met office recorded 42 degrees Celsius temperature in the district on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, a very severe heat wave is sweeping Jashore, Chuadanga, Pabna and Rajshahi districts and a severe heat wave is sweeping Dhaka division and parts of Khulna and Rajshahi divisions, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, a mild to moderate heat wave is lashing Barishal, Rangpur and Chattogram divisions and Mymensingh district and it may continue, said a bulletin of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Day and night temperatures may remain nearly unchanged over the country. Due to increase of moisture incursion, the discomfort may persist.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 11:05:01', '2024-04-30 11:05:01'),
(12160, 12160, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">China said today that rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah met in Beijing recently for “in-depth and candid talks on promoting intra-Palestinian reconciliation”.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Representatives of the Palestine National Liberation Movement and the Islamic Resistance Movement recently came to Beijing,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, referring to the groups by their formal names.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The two sides fully expressed their political will to achieve reconciliation through dialogue and consultation, discussed many specific issues and made positive progress,” he added, without specifying when the sides had met.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Islamist movement Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 after ferocious fighting with its rivals in Fatah, which maintains partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank through the Palestinian Authority.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Beijing has been calling for an immediate ceasefire since the start of the current Israel-Hamas war in October last year, when attacks by the group resulted in the deaths of about 1,170 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,488 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That tally includes at least 34 deaths in a 24-hour window, the ministry said yesterday, down from a peak this month of at least 153 deaths on April 9, reports AFP&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chinese president Xi Jinping has called for an “international peace conference” to resolve the fighting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 11:49:00', '2024-04-30 11:49:00'),
(12161, 12161, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the 7-month-long war.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Netanyahu said Israel would enter Rafah to destroy Hamas’ battalions there “with or without a deal.\" Israel and Hamas are negotiating a cease-fire agreement meant to free hostages and bring some relief to the Palestinians in the besieged enclave.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the questions. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas\' battalions there — with a deal or without a deal, to achieve the total victory,” Netanyahu said in a meeting with families of hostages held by militants in Gaza, according to a statement from his office.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Netanyahu has vowed to achieve “total victory” in the war and has faced pressure from his nationalist governing partners to launch an offensive in Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas’ last major stronghold.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hopes have risen in recent days that the sides could move toward a deal that would avert an Israeli incursion into Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are sheltering.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The international community, including Israel’s top ally, the U.S., have raised an alarm over the the fate of civilians in Rafah if Israel invades.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected stopping the war in return for hostage releases, and says an offensive on Rafah is crucial to destroying the militants after their Oct. 7 attacks on Israel triggered the conflict. His government could be threatened if he agrees to a deal because hard-line Cabinet members have demanded an attack on Rafah. - AP </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 11:55:35', '2024-04-30 11:56:05'),
(12162, 12162, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Tuesday called upon all political parties of the country to give priority to public interest in adopting and implementing political programmes.&nbsp;</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was addressing the function at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium on Community Clinic\'s 24th founding anniversary in Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stating that the main aim and objective of politics is public welfare, he said public interest should be given priority in all decisions taken by governments and politicians.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Who or what government took the decision is not important - what matters is whether the decision is taken in public interest or whether public interest is being protected,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said subverting public interest for political expediency exposes the vindictive nature of politics.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"After the change of power in the 2001 election, this popular initiative to get health care for marginalised people was stopped. It was a vindictive anti-public interest decision of the then government,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina started the community clinic on April 26, 2000 in Gimadanga of Gopalganj district to ensure health care for the marginalised people of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also requested to avoid such programmes as the development and progress of the country is hindered and the suffering of the people increases.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Work together irrespective of party affiliations and opinions to make all the public interest-related initiatives of the government successful,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Shahabuddin put emphasis on extending all-out cooperation to ensure a sustainable progress of the community clinic, a public welfare institution of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Noting that public interest should be given priority in every aspect of the government\'s activities, the president said, \"In addition to food, clothing, shelter and education, multifaceted programs are adopted and implemented to reach medical services at people’s doorsteps to improve public health.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mentioning that community clinics have become the place of people’s trust in terms of medical care for marginalized people, especially women and children, the president said the utility and reputation of the community clinic has spread beyond the village-town to the national level and even around the world as well.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said a total of the ‘Ten Special Initiatives’, including community clinic activities, shelter house, electricity for all, my home my farm, social security programme were taken by the government to materialize the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to build a ‘Sonar Bangla’ and to fulfil the basic needs of the people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said this historic proposal by the United Nations under the title of \'Community Clinic\', ‘The Sheikh Hasina Initiative’ is an important international recognition of Bangladesh government\'s innovative leadership in primary health care in public-private partnership.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also sought united work in implementing all the steps taken to ensure the economic and social security of the people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At present, 14,173 community clinics are working as a model of public-private partnership and providing health education at the grassroots level along with creating public awareness, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The president also highly appreciated the contribution of community clinics in implementing mass vaccination programme during the Covid-19 pandemic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh has won many prestigious international awards like the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Award, South-South Award, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) Award and Vaccine Hero Award in recognition of the achievements in the health sector, he said, adding that this achievement of the prime minister has brightened the image of Bangladesh in the world and made the nation proud, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Professor Dr. Syed Modasser Ali presided over the function while health and family welfare minister Samanto Lal Sen, health services division secretary of the Health and Family Affairs Ministry Md Jahangir Alam, additional secretary AKM Nurunnabi Kabir and line director of Community Based Health Care (CBHC) Dr. Md Qaiyum Talukder also spoke there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina\'s personal physician Emeritus Professor Dr. ABM Abdullah, the guest lecturer of John Hopkins University, freedom fighter Dr. Ahmad Al Kabir, and Director of Gopalganj Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Eye Hospital and Training Center Professor Dr. Nahid Ferdous were awarded \'The Sheikh Hasina Initiative\' gold medal for their outstanding contribution towards the establishment and further development of community clinics in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, a documentary titled “Smart Community Clinic - Globalization of Community Clinic” was screened on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 13:19:27', '2024-04-30 13:19:27');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(12163, 12163, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Although the extent of loadshedding was lower compared with the previous day on Monday, the country was reeling from over 2000 MW of shortage in electricity generation on Tuesday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The data of the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) at the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) shows that the country experienced loadshedding in excess of 2100 MW at 3pm in the day peak hours, when the generation was 14,273 MW against a demand for 16,400 MW.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At any given time, the amount of loadshedding is the difference between the amount of electricity generated and its demand, when the former is in deficit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is a forecast that the demand will go up to 17,300 MW in the evening peak hours and the extent of load shedding may exceed 2,200 MW amid what is already the hottest as well as longest heatwave on record in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The NLDC data also shows that the country’s on-grid installed generation capacity is 27,057 MW, but almost 7000 MW of that is currently out of the equation due to fuel shortage and plant maintenance programme.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Some 4,761 MW of power remains out of generation only because of gas shortage,” a top official of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) told UNB, referring to the NLDC data.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another 2196 MW remains out of commission due to scheduled maintenance work.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BPDB official, who was granted anonymity to speak on matters considered sensitive, said they have been receiving 1,293 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of gas against a demand for more than 2,317 MMCFD.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials also noted that consumers at the rural areas are the principal victims of the power outages this time as many areas have to experience several hours of loadshedding at different times, reports unb</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to an official from the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), \"Power outages in rural areas are so frequent that any interruption means consumers have to wait several hours to get electricity back.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The data shows on Monday the areas under Dhaka region experienced 360 MW of load shedding while Chattagram 165 MW, Khulna 132 MW, Rajshahi 182 MW, Comilla 245 MW, Mymensingh 275 MW, Sylhet 44 MW and Rangpur 130 MW while there was no load shedding in Barisal on the day.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 14:10:51', '2024-04-30 14:10:51'),
(12164, 12164, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Editors\' Council and Newspaper Owners\' Association of Bangladesh (Noab) on Tuesday demanded resumption of unhindered entry for journalists to Bangladesh Bank at the earliest.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The demand was placed in a joint statement as the central bank has recently slapped unwritten restrictions on journalists\' entry into its headquarters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The statement says journalists from different media outlets have not been able to enter Bangladesh Bank for more than a month to perform their professional duties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Noab and the Editors’ Council think that this unwritten ban on journalists\' access to the central bank goes against free press, democracy and fundamental and constitutional rights, it reads.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this regard, the statement given by BB spokesperson Mezbaul Haque to the media has come to the notice of Noab and Editors’ Council as he said, “From now on, journalists can only go to the spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank with specific permission (entry pass). If an official gives a pass to journalists, then only that official can be met. But journalists will not be able to freely enter any department of the central bank as they did in the past.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Noting that his statement is the manifestation of an undeclared ban on the entry of journalists, the Noab and Editors’ Council said this decision is tantamount to snatching the freedom of media.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result of this ban, the people will be deprived of the right to know the actual condition of the bank and financial sector as well as the country\'s economy. On the other hand, it will increase public mistrust regarding the sector, said the statement made by Noab and Editors’ Council, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the same time, it will further encourage irregularities and corruption in the banking and financial sector, it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this situation, the Noab and Editors’ Council are demanding to ensure the unhindered entry of journalists immediately.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"33\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 14:12:50', '2024-04-30 14:12:50'),
(12165, 12165, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The year’s highest temperature was recorded at 43.8 degrees Celsius in Jashore on Tuesday as mild to very sever heat wave is sweeping the country.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Dr Md Abul Kalam Mallik, a meteorologist of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said the country’s highest temperature was recorded at 43.8 degrees Celsius in Jashore today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Capital Dhaka experienced 40.5 degrees Celsius temperature on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">UNB Chuadanga correspondent reports: Chuadanga recorded Tuesday’s temperature at 43.7 degrees Celsius, the highest in 36 years in the district.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jaminur Rahman, in-charge of Chuadanga weather observatory, said it is the highest temperature recorded in Chuadanga since the official opening of the weather observatory in the district on December 12, 1988.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“There is no possibility of rainfall activities in the next two days and the temperature may rise or remain unchanged further in Chuadanga, \" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2005, Chuadanga experienced 43 degrees Celsius temperature while in 2014, it saw 43.2 degrees Celsius temperature.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Monday, Chuandanga experienced the hottest day in the country with a record of 43 degrees Celsius temperature.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 1972, Bangladesh recorded its highest temperature at 45.1 degrees Celsius in Rajshahi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, at least 10 people died from heatstroke amid the countrywide heat wave situation in eight days till Monday that has been prevailing for over 15 days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Health Emergency Operation Center and Control Room (HEOC &amp; CR) of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) confirmed the deaths.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, five people died from heat strokes in Nilphamari and Natore districts on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) on Tuesday said Jashore, Chuadanga, Pabna and Rajshahi have been experiencing extreme hot weather with a ‘very severe’ heat wave sweeping the districts, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the regular bulletin of the Met office, “Very severe heat waves are sweeping Jashore, Chuadanga, Pabna and Rajshahi and severe heat waves are scorching Dhaka division and parts of Khulna and Rajshahi divisions.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, a mild to moderate heat wave is lashing Barishal, Rangpur and Chattogram divisions and Mymensingh district and it may continue.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 14:16:23', '2024-04-30 14:16:23'),
(12166, 12166, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The BNP has expelled its four more grassroots leaders for participating in the first phase of upcoming upazila elections violating the party\'s decision.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The punitive action was taken against the party leaders as per its constitution, said a press release on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said Dhaka’s Keraniganj Model Thana unit BNP vice president Sabira Begum, Sunamganj\'s Shalla upazila unit BNP joint secretary Haziurul Islam Azhar, Swechchasebak Dal convener Abdul Majid and Jubo Dal member Saifur Rahman have been expelled from all levels of party positions, including the primary membership, for taking part in the first phase of upazila polls ignoring the party\'s decision.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;Earlier the party expelled 76 grassroots leaders on the same ground on April 26 and 27.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later on April 28, the expulsion order against Romana Ahmed, organising secretary of the Meherpur district unit BNP, was revoked as she refrained from participating in the first phase of upazila elections and apologized for defying the party\'s decision.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 152 upazilas across the country will go to polls in the first phase on May 8 as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The elections to 492 upazilas will take place in four phases. The second phase of upazila polls will be held on May 23, the third phase on May 29 and the fourth phase on June 5, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP high command earlier decided not to join any elections under the current government and the Election Commission.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 15:33:25', '2024-04-30 15:33:25'),
(12167, 12167, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Twenty Bangladeshis returned home from India through the Benapole check post on Tuesday evening, handed over after serving sentences in the Indian prison system.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among the returnees, there are six women and fourteen children. Indian Immigration Police handed them over to the Benapole Immigration Police.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the time of their return, representatives of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Border Security Force (BSF) were present at the No Man\'s Land.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">These returning women and children hail from various districts including Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Dhaka, Keraniganj, Pirojpur, Comilla, Gazipur, Chandpur, and Gopalganj.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They were repatriated as part of joint efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the task force formed in West Bengal to prevent trafficking of women and children.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A delegation from the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, including a representative from the women and child affairs department, handed over the returning women and children .</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Immigration Police at the Benapole check post, Kamruzzaman, said that lured by the promise of good work, they fell into the trap of brokers and were sent to Kolkata.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While working there, Kolkata Police arrested them and sent them to court. After serving their sentences, they were kept in safe homes in various districts of West Bengal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After discussions between high-level officials of both countries, they were sent back through travel permits. After the formalities of immigration were completed, they were handed over to the Benapole Port Police Station. - UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-04-30 15:37:24', '2024-04-30 15:37:24'),
(12168, 12168, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the government will not spare anyone&nbsp; who would deprive workers of their fair wages and dues in spite of that person\'s international recognition.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“If anyone deprives our workers of their fair wages, we shall not spare them no matter how big they are and internationally recognised ,” she warned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister was addressing a programme marking the Great May Day on Wednesday at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She categorically said that dues of the workers must be paid properly and their welfare has to be looked after.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She, however, did not mention anyone’s name when she spoke of&nbsp; powerful individuals or internationally recognised person.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has recently been facing several charges of violating labour laws.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On September 9, 2021, a case was filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment against&nbsp; Yunus and three others for violating labour laws.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to case files, the department noticed several labour law violations during an inspection at Grameen Telecom.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The violations include failure to make the jobs of 101 workers and employees permanent,&nbsp; not forming a workers\' participation fund and welfare fund, and failing to provide 5 percent of the company\'s dividend to workers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Yunus was facing more than 100 other charges over labour law violations and alleged graft.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On January 1 this year, a Dhaka court sentenced him, and three others to six months in jail over labour law violations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka Labour Court 3 judge Sheikh Marina Sultana announced the verdict and later granted them bail after they filed separate petitions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The court also fined them Tk5,000 under one section and Tk25,000 under another, in default of which they would have to spend an additional 10 and 15 days in prison.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">State Minister for the Labour and Employment Ministry Md Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour and Employment Ministry HM Ibrahim, Country Director of International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Bangladesh Tuomo Poutiainen, President of Bangladesh Employers\' Federation Ardashir Kabir, Jatiya Sramik League president Noor Qutub Alam Mannan and Labour and Employment secretary M Mahbub Hossain also spoke at the event.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A video documentary on the May Day was screened at the function.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cheques were distributed among the destitute workers from the Bangladesh Workers Welfare Foundation at the programme, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A colourful cultural function performed by the workers was also held.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 08:41:32', '2024-05-01 08:41:32'),
(12169, 12169, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud will attend the 15th session of the OIC Islamic Summit in Banjul, The Gambia.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The preparatory meeting of the foreign ministers will start from May 2, which will be led by the Bangladesh foreign minister.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasan will be travelling to Gambia today by wrapping up his Europe visit, said an official.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold the 15th annual Islamic Summit Conference on May 4-5 in the Gambian capital, Banjul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A variety of issues will be addressed, including the Palestinian question, youth, women, family, Islamophobia, climate change, and Muslim minorities in non-member states, among others.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The leaders of OIC member states will discuss the political issues of the Islamic world, most notably the Palestinian cause, and economic, humanitarian, social and cultural issues, youth, women, family, science and technology, information, Muslim communities and minorities in non- OIC member states, Islamophobia, hate speech, climate change, food security, and legal matters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The OIC secretary-general will present a report at the summit reviewing the most prominent activities, programmes, and projects undertaken by the organisation since the previous session of the Islamic Summit Conference.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 15th conference will issue a final communique that includes the organisation\'s positions on the issues submitted to the summit, a resolution on Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the Banjul Declaration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The preparatory meetings of the 15th session of the OIC Islamic Summit started in Banjul, The Gambia, on Tuesday, under the theme “Enhancing Unity and Solidarity through dialogue for sustainable development”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The two-day-long senior officials meeting is being led by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia & Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the OIC, Javed Patwary, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Nigeria and Non-Resident High Commissioner of Bangladesh to The Gambia, Masudur Rahman, Director General (International Organizations), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wahida Ahmed, are participating at the senior officials meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The senior officials meeting is finalizing the “Draft Resolution on the issue of Palestine and Al-Quds Ash-Sharif”, “Draft Final Communique”, and “Banjul Draft Declaration” to be adopted by the preparatory meeting of the Foreign Ministers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The discussions are dominated by issues related to Palestine in view of the recent atrocities in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The senior officials meeting will also discuss economic, humanitarian, social, cultural, and issues concerning women and youth that have an impact on the Muslim Ummah. - UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 09:57:16', '2024-05-01 09:57:39'),
(12170, 12170, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) on Wednesday said&nbsp; Jashore, Kushtia, Chuadanga, Pabna, Rajshahi, Bagerghat and Satkhira have been experiencing extreme hot weather&nbsp; as ‘very severe’ heatwave sweeping over the districts.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the regular bulletin of the Met office, “very severe heat wave is sweeping Jashore, Kushtia, Chuadanga, Pabna, Rajshahi, Bagerghat and Satkhira and severe heatwave is sweeping over the districts of Tangail, Faridpur, Gopalgonj, Narayangonj, Noagaon, Sirajgonj, Dinajpur and rest part of Khulna division.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, a mild to moderate heatwave is sweeping elsewhere over the country and it may continue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at one or two places over Chattogram and Sylhet divisions with hails at isolated places, it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Day and night temperatures may remain nearly unchanged over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Country\'s maximum temperature on Tuesday was recorded at 43.8 degree Celsius at Jashore and minimum temperature today was recorded at 22.7 degree Celsius at Dinajpur.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Country\'s maximum rainfall for the past 24 hours till 6 am today was recorded at 53 millimeters in Sylhet.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trough of low lies from West Bengal to the North-west Bay across southwestern part of Bangladesh, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Due to the increase of moisture incursion, the discomfort may persist.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 10:00:53', '2024-05-01 10:00:53'),
(12171, 12171, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>At least twelve shops were gutted in a major fire that broke out at a market in Chandpur\'s Sadar upazila in the small hours of Wednesday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 10 people suffered minor injuries while trying to tame the blaze.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The identities of the injured could not be known immediately.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Locals said the fire broke out at a shop in Baghra Bazar of Bagadi Union of the Upazila around 2:45am and it soon engulfed the adjoining shops.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On information, four fire tenders were pressed into service and it took them nearly two hours to bring the flames under control,  Chandpur Fire Service and Civil Defense Office Deputy Director Syed Morshed Hossain said, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fire officials suspect an electrical short-circuit at a shop has triggered the fire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the exact cause of the fire and amount of loss could not be ascertained immediately, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 10:24:06', '2024-05-01 10:54:32'),
(12172, 12172, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said River Teesta\'s flow has doubled this year compared to past&nbsp; seasons due to the excessive heat that led to ice melting in the Himalayas.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Himalayan ice is melting due to this scorching heat. As a result Teesta River has double water flow this year comparing to the past times,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She made the remarks while delivering introductory speech in the AL Central Working Committee (ALCWC) meeting at her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;Hasina said that all the rivers that originate from the Himalaya are having comparatively more water this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Because of ice melting rivers are having higher water level. That is a bit of silver line for us. This will ensure better irrigation for us,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that the paddy harvesting is going on in Haor areas, it is about to finish and the country is going to have a bumper production from there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“But drought hit in some areas as there is scarcity of water there. We are arranging irrigation for those areas,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this connection she mentioned that the government provides subsidy to&nbsp; electricity used for irrigation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also mentioned that heatwaves not only swept over Bangladesh, rather it has hit&nbsp; whole of South Asia and South East Asia, reports unb</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that in her just concluded Thailand tour she also experienced excessive heat there.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She urged all to go for plantation in the coming rainy season. She mentioned that through Krishak League, Awami League each year plants huge number of saplings across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister also urged all to remain safe, stay under shadow and drink huge water.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 10:42:10', '2024-05-01 10:42:10'),
(12173, 12173, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will visit Evercare Hospital in the capital this (Wednesday) evening for health check-up.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Madam [Khaleda] will be taken  to Evercare Hospital in the evening for health check-ups as per the advice of her medical board,” Shamsuddin Didar, the BNP chief’s media wing member, told UNB.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Khaleda will undergo some necessary medical tests at the hospital. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 78-year-old former prime minister has long been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues related to kidney, lung, heart, and eye.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on March 31, the BNP chairpersons was admitted to the hospital and stayed there for two days for some pathological tests and regular examinations. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since her conditional release from jail in 2020, the BNP chief has been receiving treatment at the hospital under a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Khaleda was sent to the Old Dhaka Jail after a lower court sentenced her to five years\' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. Later, she was found guilty in another corruption case the same year, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order suspending her sentence on March 25, 2020, with the condition that she stay in her Gulshan house and not leave the country. That has since been extended multiple times to keep her out of jail.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Khaleda’s doctors have been recommending sending her abroad since she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in November 2021.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On October 26 last year, three US specialist doctors completed the hepatic procedure known as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS procedure) to stop water accretion in Khaleda Zia’s stomach and chest, and bleeding in her liver.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd/fas</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 10:53:54', '2024-05-01 11:15:47'),
(12174, 12174, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Philippines on Wednesday accused China’s coast guard of elevating tensions in the South China Sea after two vessels suffered damage from water cannon use by Beijing, an official said.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Philippine officials have said a coast guard ship and a fisheries vessel were damaged when Chinese coast guard vessels fired water cannons at them while on their way to the disputed Scarborough shoal on Tuesday to help Filipino fishermen at sea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine coast guard spokesperson on South China Sea matters, said their Chinese counterparts have elevated tensions after it directly used water cannon against one of its vessels for the first time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It just goes to show that Goliath is becoming more Goliath. They don’t hesitate to use brute force to violate international law,” Tarriela told a briefing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China has previously used water cannons against Philippine navy-crewed civilian supply vessels in the region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">No country has sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing patch close to major shipping lanes that is used by several countries. The shoal falls inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and has been a constant source of flashpoint between it and China.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tarriela added China’s actions do not count as an armed attack against a Philippine vessel, but he said China has been raising the pressure of its water cannons which have damaged their ships.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Philippines has a longstanding mutual defense treaty with the United States and Washington has pledged its “ironclad commitment” to defending its ally against an armed attack on Filipino military and public vessels, including coast guard ships, anywhere in the South China Sea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A spokesperson at China’s embassy in Manila said Scarborough shoal, which it calls Huangyan Dao, “has always been China’s territory” and urged the Philippines to “stop making infringement and provocations at once and not to challenge China’s resolve to defend our sovereignty.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China claims sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An international tribunal in 2016 said China’s expansive claim had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected. - Reuters </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 11:51:04', '2024-05-01 11:58:20'),
(12175, 12175, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A group of newspapers, including the New York Daily News and Chicago Tribune, sued Microsoft and OpenAI in New York federal court on Tuesday, accusing them of misusing reporters\' work to train their generative artificial-intelligence systems.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The eight newspapers, owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital\'s MediaNews Group, said in the lawsuit that the companies unlawfully copied millions of their articles to train AI products, including </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Microsoft\'s Copilot and OpenAI\'s ChatGPT.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The complaint follows similar ongoing lawsuits against Microsoft and OpenAI, which has received billions in financial backing from Microsoft, brought by the New York Times and news outlets The Intercept, Raw Story and AlterNet.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An OpenAI spokesperson said on Tuesday that the company takes \"great care in our products and design process to support news organizations.\" A spokesperson for Microsoft declined to comment on the complaint.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The newspaper cases are among several potential landmark lawsuits brought by copyright owners against tech companies over the data used to train their generative AI systems.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A lawyer for the MediaNews publications, Steven Lieberman, told Reuters that OpenAI owed its runaway success to the works of others. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The defendants know they have to pay for computers, chips, and employee salaries, but \"think somehow they can get away with taking content\" without permission or payment, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The lawsuit said Microsoft and OpenAI\'s systems reproduce the newspapers\' copyrighted content \"verbatim\" when prompted. It said ChatGPT also \"hallucinates\" articles attributed to the newspapers that harm their reputations, including a fake Denver Post article touting smoking as an asthma cure and a bogus Chicago Tribune recommendation for an infant lounger that was recalled after being linked to child deaths.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The plaintiffs also include the Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register and Twin Cities Pioneer Press. They asked the court for unspecified monetary damages and an order blocking any further infringement. - Reuters </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"18\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 12:04:11', '2024-05-01 12:32:00'),
(12176, 12176, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>India Women clinched a 19-run victory over Bangladesh Women in the second T20I at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The match was interrupted by rain, with the DLS method ultimately deciding the outcome.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Batting first, Bangladesh Women struggled to build momentum and were restricted to a total of 119 runs in their 20 overs. Murshida Khatun top-scored with 46, while Sobhana Mostary contributed 19. India\'s bowlers were disciplined, with Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil taking two wickets each, while Radha Yadav chipped in with three.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In reply, India Women started aggressively, with Dayalan Hemalatha smashing a quickfire 41 off just 24 balls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, rain intervened with India at 47/1 after 5.2 overs. With the DLS par score at 28, India were declared winners by 19 runs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India lost only one wicket when Marfua Akter scalped Shefali Verma.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hemalatha\'s explosive innings earned her the Player of the Match award. The Indian bowlers\' disciplined performance and Hemalatha\'s aggressive batting proved to be the decisive factors in securing the series victory for India Women, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The remaining matches of the series will be played on May 2, 6 and 9 in Sylhet. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 12:06:57', '2024-05-01 12:53:12'),
(12177, 12177, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">In response to the imminent threat of flash floods in the north and northeastern regions of Bangladesh, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) has issued alerts and recommendations for local communities.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The FFWC, managed by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and the Department of Disaster Management, is closely monitoring the situation and advising on precautionary measures.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to recent reports, water levels in rivers in the northeastern districts are rapidly rising, posing a risk of flash floods in several areas. Vulnerable districts including Netrakona, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, and Moulvibazar are expected to experience swift inundation as rivers overflow their banks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Over the next 48 hours, districts along the northeastern border, including Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Sunamganj, and Habiganj, are likely to face significant water inflows, breaching pre-monsoon levels. Residents are advised to take immediate precautions and be prepared for potential evacuations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To stay informed, residents can access real-time updates and flood forecasts through the BWDB Flood App and the FFWC website at www.fwc.gov.bd and www.ffwc.gov.bd/flashflood. Additionally, emergency hotlines are available at 1090 (toll-free) and 01841-002299 for rapid response coordination.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BWDB and relevant authorities have urged residents in flood-prone areas to remain vigilant and follow official guidelines to ensure their safety and the safety of their communities. According to UNB reports </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 12:25:37', '2024-05-01 12:33:20'),
(12178, 12178, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Clashes broke out today at pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, as dozens of universities around the US struggle to contain similar protests.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">CNN reported that the clashes erupted between rival pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“At the request of UCLA, due to multiple acts of violence within the large encampment on their campus, the LAPD is responding to assist UCLA PD, and other law enforcement agencies, to restore order and maintain public safety,” LA police said in a post on social platform X.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Protesters and counter-protesters were seen clashing with sticks and tearing down metal barricades, TV images showed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Others were seen launching fireworks or hurling objects at each other in the dark – lit up with laser pointers and bright flashlights.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">TV footage showed one group trying to pull down barriers while another brandished sticks as unidentified projectiles flew overhead.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">UCLA chancellor Gene D Block warned ahead of clashes that protesters including “both members of the UCLA community and others unaffiliated with our campus” had set up a camp last week.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Many of the demonstrators, as well as counter-demonstrators who have come to the area, have been peaceful in their activism,” Block wrote in a letter posted on the university website yesterday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“But the tactics of others have frankly been shocking and shameful. We have seen instances of violence,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“These incidents have put many on our campus, especially our Jewish students, in a state of anxiety and fear.” - AFP </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 12:40:45', '2024-05-01 14:30:07');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(12179, 12179, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Saudi Arabian authorities shuttered schools in several regions today as flash floods inundated roads, the latest instance of heavy rains disrupting life in the desert Gulf.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">AFPTV footage showed partially submerged cars struggling to drive through standing water in the central region of Qassim, one of the areas hit hardest overnight.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The rain continued for seven hours from the afternoon until near midnight in very large quantities,” said Mohammed, an Egyptian resident of Buraidah, capital of Qassim, who spoke on condition that only his first name be used.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Water accumulated to a height of more than 10cm in front of the residence and prevented us from going out to the street. The sound of thunder was loud and lightning was illuminating the city.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The national meteorological centre issued red alerts for Qassim and other areas, including eastern province on the Gulf, the capital here and Medina province bordering the Red Sea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It warned of “heavy rain with strong wind, lack of horizontal visibility, hail, torrential rains, and thunderbolts”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Schools in Eastern Province and Riyadh also cancelled in-person instruction and moved classes online.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Medina education department posted on X pictures of maintenance workers repairing electricity and air-conditioning units and removing standing water from schools.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There was some standing water on Riyadh’s roads today, but traffic was not significantly disrupted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rainstorms and flooding are not unheard of in Saudi Arabia, especially in winter, and larger, more densely populated cities can struggle with drainage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Such problems are an annual occurrence in Jeddah, the port city on the Red Sea coast, where residents have long decried poor infrastructure.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Floods killed 123 people in the city in 2009 and 10 more two years later.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This week’s heavy rainfall in Saudi Arabia follows the intense rains that lashed the region in mid-April, killing 21 people in Oman and four in the UAE, which received the heaviest rainfall since records began 75 years ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions “most likely” exacerbated those rains, an expert group of scientists said in a study published last week. - AFP </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 12:43:44', '2024-05-01 14:28:38'),
(12180, 12180, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on governments, the private sector and civil society to join them in reaffirming their commitment to safeguarding press freedom and the rights of journalists and media professionals around the world.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"A free press is not a choice, but a necessity. Our World Press Freedom Day is very important,\" he said in a message marking World Press Freedom Day that falls on May 3.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Without facts, the UN chief said, they cannot fight mis- and disinformation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Without accountability, we will not have strong policies in place. Without press freedom, we won\'t have any freedom,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The world is going through an unprecedented environmental emergency which poses an existential threat to this and future generations, Guterres observed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">People need to know about this â€“ and journalists and media workers have a key role in informing and educating them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local, national and global media outlets can highlight stories about the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and environmental injustice.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Through their work, people come to understand the plight of our planet, and are mobilized and empowered to take action for change,\" said the UN chief.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said media workers also document environmental degradation and they provide evidence of environmental vandalism that helps to hold those responsible to account.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is no surprise that some powerful people, companies and institutions will stop at nothing to prevent environmental journalists from doing their jobs.Media freedom is under siege,\" Guterres said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And environmental journalism is an increasingly dangerous profession, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dozens of journalists covering illegal mining, logging, poaching and otherenvironmental issues have been killed in recent decades.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the vast majority of cases, no one has been held to account. UNESCO reports that in the past fifteen years, there have been some 750 attacks on journalists and news outlets reporting on environmental issues. And the frequency of such attacks is rising.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Legal processes are also misused to censor, silence, detain and harassenvironmental reporters, while a new era of climate disinformation focuses on undermining proven solutions, including renewable energy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"But environmental journalists are not the only ones at risk. Around the world, media workers are risking their lives trying to bring us news on everything from war to democracy,\" said the UN Secretary General.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said he is shocked and appalled by the high number of journalists killed in Israeli military operations in Gaza.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United Nations recognizes the invaluable work of journalists and media professionals to ensure that the public is informed and engaged. - UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 12:49:40', '2024-05-01 12:49:40'),
(12181, 12181, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The number of unemployed people in Bangladesh is only three percent of the total population, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Wednesday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She provided the figure matter  while speaking at a programme in observance of the Great May Day at Bangabandhu International Conference Center.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that the unemployment rate has decreased due to the government\'s various initiatives for the expansion of education and jobs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are giving free books and we are also providing technical education and vocational training to enabling youth of the country competent  for employment,” she said. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said that the government has opened up the private sector on a large scale to increase employment, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Today our unemployment rate is down to 3 percent Which was about 2/3 times more,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also said the government has established Karmasangsthan Bank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"> “Any youth can take loan there without collateral. They can do their own business with that and We have created that opportunity,” she said. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Briefly describing the government measures for expansion of education and employment opportunities , she said that her government is giving text books free of cost alongside arranging vocational and technical training to build skilled manpower.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">State Minister for the Labour and Employment Ministry Md Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour and Employment Ministry HM Ibrahim, Country Director of International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Bangladesh Tuomo Poutiainen, President of Bangladesh Employers\' Federation Ardashir Kabir, Jatiya Sramik League president Noor Qutub Alam Mannan and Labour and Employment secretary M Mahbub Hossain also spoke.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 12:52:24', '2024-05-01 13:10:12'),
(12182, 12182, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered an increase in weapons production for the war in Ukraine, his ministry said, days after the United States approved a delayed multibillion-dollar military aid package for the Ukrainian government.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">At a meeting on Wednesday with Russia’s top military brass, Shoigu said the volume, quality and speed of arms production needed boosting, and also ordered the repair of units on the front lines in Ukraine’s east and south to improve their efficiency, the Ministry of Defence said on the Telegram messaging app.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“To maintain the required pace of the offensive … it is necessary to increase the volume and quality of weapons and military equipment supplied to the troops, primarily weapons,” Shoigu said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While Russian troops are advancing at key points along the 1,000km (620-mile) front line, some Russian officials have expressed concerns that the US support will escalate the conflict.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine’s troops are running out of ammunition. Outnumbered, they have been forced to make tactical retreats from at least three villages in the country’s east.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskii, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, warned on Sunday that the country is at risk of losing more ground if its Western allies do not deliver weapons quickly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia has taken about half a dozen villages in the Donetsk region while firming up battlefield positions in the Kharkiv region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the military alliance’s members failed to deliver what they promised to Ukraine in time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield,” Stoltenberg told a news conference in Kyiv on Monday with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On April 24, US President Joe Biden signed off on more than $61bn in military aid for Ukraine, including an array of artillery, rocket systems, antitank munitions and ammunition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelenskyy said that vital US weapons were starting to arrive in Ukraine in small amounts, but that deliveries needed to be faster in the face of advancing Russian forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Russian military attacked the command headquarters of the Ukrainian army’s southern grouping, which is based in the port of Odesa, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, but did not provide details.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While Ukrainian prosecutors said residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged in Odesa in an overnight strike, the southern military command said administrative and residential buildings, and medical and educational institutions were hit. - Al Jazeera </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-01 13:09:21', '2024-05-01 13:13:03'),
(12183, 12183, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The number of people aged 60 and above in developing Asia and the Pacific is set to nearly double by 2050 to 1.2 billion—or about a quarter of the total population—significantly increasing the need for pension and welfare programs as well as healthcare services, said a new report on Thursday.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the same time, economies have an opportunity to reap a “silver dividend” in the form of additional productivity from older people, which could boost gross domestic product in the region by 0.9% on average, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Asia and the Pacific’s rapid development is a success story, but it’s also fueling a huge demographic shift, and the pressure is rising,” said ADB Chief Economist Albert Park.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Governments need to prepare now if they’re going to be able to help hundreds of millions of people in the region age well. Policies should support lifetime investment in health, education, skills, and financial preparedness for retirement. Family and social ties are also important to foster healthy and productive populations of older people and maximize their contribution to society.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Developing Asia and the Pacific is unprepared to secure the well-being of its rapidly aging population as the growing share of older people in the region face challenges from low pension coverage to health problems, social isolation, and limited access to essential services, according to the multilateral development bank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While longer lifespans reflect the region’s development success, comprehensive policy reforms are urgently needed to support the welfare of older people, according to “Aging Well in Asia: Asian Development Policy Report,” released on Thursday by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at its 57th Annual Meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the report, 40% of people over age 60 in Asia and the Pacific lack access to any form of pension—with women disproportionately affected, as they are more likely to do unpaid domestic work.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result, many older people in the region have no choice but to work well beyond retirement age to survive.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among those still working at age 65 or older, 94% work in the informal sector, which typically doesn’t provide basic labor protections or pension benefits.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Physical and mental health challenges also increase with age.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Around 60% of older people in Asia and the Pacific do not attend or receive regular health checks, while 31% report depressive symptoms owing to illness, social isolation, and economic insecurity.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Older women in the region are also more likely than older men to suffer from ill health, from depression to diabetes and hypertension.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The report recommended a wide range of policy measures to support healthy and economically secure aging.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among these are government-assisted health insurance and pension plans, improved health infrastructure, and free annual check-ups and lifestyle evaluations.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Policy makers should aim for universal healthcare coverage, while basic labor protections should be extended to older informal workers, according to the report, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By making mandatory retirement ages more flexible, helping older people stay healthy, and providing them with suitable work opportunities as well as lifelong learning and skills development, economies in the region can help older people stay productive longer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 07:05:28', '2024-05-02 07:05:28'),
(12184, 12184, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Four members of a family were among five killed in a head-on collision between a microbus and truck on Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Madhabpur upazila of Habiganj district early Thursday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The deceased were identified as Md Jamal, 40; his wife Kamrunnahar, 35; their son Ananta,11; Jamal’s younger brother Enamul Islam, 35, of Galachipa under Patuakhali district and driver Harun Bepari, 35, a resident of Bakerganj in Barishal district.</div><div><br></div><div>According to locals, the Dhaka-bound microbus from Sylhet collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction at 1:45 am on Thursday. Five people, including the microbus driver, died on the spot.</div><div><br></div><div>On information, locals, Madhabpur Fire Service, Shayestaganj Highway and Madhabpur Police rushed to the spot and conducted rescue operations, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>Rakibul Islam Khan, officer-in-charge of Madhabpur Police Station, confirmed the matter.</div><div><br></div><div>The bodies are in the custody of Shayestaganj Highway Police Station, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"39\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 07:09:06', '2024-05-02 07:09:06'),
(12185, 12185, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared her recent six-day trip to Thailand as a landmark success, aimed at safeguarding Bangladesh\'s economic interests and elevating its regional presence. The visit, which took place from April 24 to April 29, was prompted by an invitation from Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During a press briefing at her official residence, Ganabhaban, today, Prime Minister Hasina said, \"Overall, this visit was a significant step forward in our efforts to protect our economic interests and enhance our regional involvement.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The trip included a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings, underscoring a commitment to strengthening ties between Bangladesh and Thailand.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This official visit will serve as a milestone in our bilateral relationship and ushers in a new era of fruitful partnerships,\" stated Prime Minister Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also highlighted the importance of her visit to Thailand, an influential ASEAN member, as being crucial for advancing economic and diplomatic ties. \"The visit will play an important role in enhancing our bilateral economic relations, including advancing talks on a free trade agreement, boosting communication, and more,\" she elaborated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Furthermore, Prime Minister Hasina expressed optimism regarding the impact of her discussions with Prime Minister Thavisin on the issue of Rohingya repatriation, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She was also hopeful that her discussions with the Thai Prime Minister will encourage Thailand to adopt a stronger stance on the speedy repatriation of Rohingyas, both bilaterally and within the ASEAN framework.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Hasina also pointed out that the visit is expected to significantly support Bangladesh\'s bid to become an ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner by 2024, marking a significant step in its diplomatic endeavors in the region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 07:24:44', '2024-05-02 07:24:44'),
(12186, 12186, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>With temperatures reaching unbearable levels, there is a call from public health experts and meteorologists to officially declare the heatwave a disaster and to establish a comprehensive action plan to address its impacts. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief says it is considering the ongoing heatwave in Bangladesh as a “disaster”.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the current summer season, the country has been experiencing a prolonged period of heat, causing widespread disruption to daily life. Instances of heatstroke have led to fatalities, numerous hospital admissions, and significant damage to crops and fruit trees.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In response to inquiries about whether heatwaves should be declared disaster like droughts, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md. Mohibbur Rahman emphasized, “I certainly would call this extreme heatwave a disaster.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ministry is actively gathering data on the severity of the heat, which has caused various forms of damage, including deaths from heatstroke, illness, and agricultural losses. This information will guide their decision on whether to extend financial and other forms of assistance to those affected, the state minister said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Secretary Md. Kamrul Hasan of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief stated that while the government last declared lightning a disaster in 2016, the suggestion to categorize heatwaves similarly is under consideration. The ministry is collecting data on the highest temperatures and their impacts to determine the next steps.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Public health expert and former director of Disease Control at Directorate General of Health Services, Professor Dr. Be-Nazir Ahmed, warned that the current extreme temperatures pose a serious health risk, potentially leading to outbreaks of diseases like cholera.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr. Ahmed advocated for strategic planning to prevent heatwave-related deaths and suggested that such a strategy should aim to make the heat more tolerable, including increasing vegetation and maintaining water bodies as cooling measures.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr. Md. Zillur Rahman, Dean of the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Dhaka University, stressed that preparation is crucial as average temperatures have risen by one degree Celsius from 2011 to 2020. He noted that the country is experiencing hotter summers and emphasized the need for strategies to adapt to these increasing temperatures.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Meteorological Department, a heatwave is categorized based on temperature ranges, with the highest category being \"severe\" when temperatures exceed 42 degrees Celsius.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On April 20, 2024, the country recorded its highest temperature of the season at 42.6 degrees Celsius in Jashore, indicating the severity of the current heatwave. Schools remained closed due to the extreme heat following the Eid holiday break.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ministry and experts are considering implementing national strategies to mitigate the effects of heatwaves, emphasizing the need for a proactive approach to protect public health and ensure economic stability in the face of increasing temperatures. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 08:46:31', '2024-05-02 08:46:31'),
(12187, 12187, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Microsoft is investing $2.2 billion over the next four years in Malaysia\'s new cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure as well as partnering with the government to establish a national AI center, its CEO Satya Nadella said Thursday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It marks Microsoft\'s single largest investment in Malaysia, as the tech giant seeks to bolster support for AI development in the region and worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are committed to supporting Malaysia\'s AI transformation and ensure it benefits all Malaysians,\" he said. \"Our investments in digital infrastructure and skilling will help Malaysian businesses, communities and developers apply the latest technology to drive inclusive economic growth and innovation across the country.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nadella on Tuesday also announced a $1.7 billion investment in cloud and AI services in Indonesia during his visit there as part of his Southeast Asia tour. On Wednesday, he said Microsoft will build its first regional data center in Thailand.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In April, the tech giant similarly unveiled a $2.9 billion investment in Japan and $1.5 billion in G42, an AI firm in Abu Dhabi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Microsoft also pledged to provide AI training for 2.5 million people in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam by 2025.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nadella earlier met Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who said the investment will be the key support pillar for the government\'s goal to enhance AI capacity in Malaysia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new investment will include AI training for another 300,000 people, the establishment of a national AI center of excellence, enhancing the nation\'s cybersecurity capabilities and supporting the growth of Malaysia\'s developer community, Anwar said on Facebook.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Microsoft runs one of the world\'s largest cloud computing operations and has taken a leap into artificial intelligence through its partnership with OpenAI, developers of ChatGPT.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since then, Microsoft has integrated an AI assistant into its Microsoft Edge browser, named Copilot, helping lift its profits by 20% in the first quarter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Microsoft sees Southeast Asia, with its population of over 600 million people, as a growing market and potential location for more AI product development. A study held by global consulting firm Kearney said AI could contribute nearly $1 trillion to Southeast Asia\'s GDP by 2030. Indonesia is expected to capture $366 billion of the total and Malaysia $115 billion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Microsoft said in a statement that the investment in Malaysia will build on its 2021 program to support inclusive economic growth. It said the proposed national AI center will drive AI adoption across key industries and public sector, while ensuring AI governance and regulatory compliance, reports AP&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Together with Microsoft, we look forward to creating more opportunities for our (small and medium-sized enterprises) and better paying jobs for our people as we ride the AI revolution to fast-track Malaysia\'s digitally empowered growth journey,\" Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz said in the statement.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"18\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 09:06:08', '2024-05-02 09:06:08'),
(12188, 12188, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least five people were killed by lightning strikes in Rangamati and Cox’s Bazar districts on Thursday.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Rangamati, three people were killed and seven others injured when thunderbolts struck them in separate places in the morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The deceased were identified as Najir Ahmed, 50, a resident of Sylheti Para in Rangamati district town, Baharjan Begum, 55, wife of Lal Mia of Baghaichari upazila and Tripura Grihini, 37 of Sajek.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Shawkat Akbar Khan, resident medical officer of Rangamati General Hospital, said Najir Ahmed died on the spot when a thunder bolt struck him while he was catching fish at Kaptai Lake in the morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Baharjan was killed by the lightning strike while bringing cattle from the field amid rain, said Jasmin Chakma, chairman of Rupkari union.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A goat also died during lightning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, Tripura Grihini was killed when a streak of thunderbolt hit him while she working at her yard in Sajek’s Longthianpara.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shirin Akter, Baghaichhari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), said two people—Baharjan and Tripura died in the upazila and Tk 10,000 each was provided to the family members of the deceased.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Seven people were also injured during lightning strikes in different parts of the district.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Cox’s Bazar, two workers were killed as a thunderbolt struck them in separate places at Chhari Para in Pekua upazila of Cox’s Bazar district early Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The deceased were identified as Didarul Islam, 35, son of Jamir and Md Arman, 25, son of Jamal of the upazila.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yunus Chowdhury, chairman of Magnama union, said Didar died on the spot when a streak of thunderbolt struck him while he was working at the salt field at Kodailladiya early in this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Arman was hit by lightning strike and died on the spot when he was working in the early morning, said Rajakhali Union chairman Nazrul Islam Shikdar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lightning strikes kill 250 people on an average every year in the country, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. Thunderbolts also kill or injure a large number of livestocks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lightning strikes mostly occur in from April to May till June and most of the deaths occur in flat lands and haor areas, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, 2,164 people died in lightning strikes in the country from 2011 to 2020. Considering the upward trend, the government in 2016 declared it as a national disaster.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 09:27:28', '2024-05-02 09:27:28'),
(12189, 12189, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The death toll climbed to 48 on Thursday as search efforts continued in southeastern China after a highway section collapsed in a mountainous area, sending more than 20 cars down a steep slope.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials in the city of Meizhou said three other people were unidentified, pending DNA testing. It wasn’t immediately clear if they had died, which would bring the death toll to 51. Another 30 people had non-life-threatening injuries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The collapse happened about 2 a.m. on Wednesday after a month of heavy rains in a mountainous part of Guangdong province. Vehicles fell down the slope and sent up flames as they caught fire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The search was still ongoing, Meizhou city Mayor Wang Hui said at a late-afternoon news conference. No foreigners have been found among the victims, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Search work has been hampered by rain and land and gravel sliding down the slope. The disaster left a curving earth-colored gash in the otherwise verdant forest landscape.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Because some of the vehicles involved caught fire, the difficulty of the rescue operation has increased,\" said Wen Yongdeng, the Communist Party secretary for the Meizhou emergency management bureau, reports AP&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Most of the vehicles were buried in soil during the collapse process, with a large volume of soil covering them,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added that the prolonged heavy rainfall has saturated soil in the area, \"making it prone to secondary disasters during the rescue process.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 09:34:42', '2024-05-02 09:34:42'),
(12190, 12190, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Israel has threatened in discussions with US counterparts that it will retaliate against the Palestinian Authority (PA) if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrests warrants for senior Israeli officials, according to a report published Wednesday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israel has been increasingly fretting over the possibility of arrest warrants being handed down by the ICC against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the Israel Defense Forces, the Axios news website reported, citing two anonymous Israeli and US officials.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israel has told the US it has information that PA officials are pressuring the ICC prosecutor to hand down the warrants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israel could choose to withhold the PA\'s tax revenue, which it collects and then distributes to the government. The economic retaliation could lead to the collapse of the PA, which administers some areas of the occupied West Bank under the landmark 1993 Oslo Accords.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ICC has been leading an investigation since 2021 into potential war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian groups dating back to 2014. The probe has grown to include ongoing attacks in the war in Gaza.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A US official told Axios that Washington believes that arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials would be a mistake, saying, \"We are quietly encouraging the ICC not to do it. It will blow up everything. Israel will retaliate against the Palestinian Authority.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Tuesday, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby reiterated the US position that it does not support the ICC\'s ongoing investigation but said that the Biden administration \"would certainly not support judges at the ICC or anywhere else for that matter to be intimidated or threatened.\" - Anadolu Agency </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 10:01:34', '2024-05-02 10:02:02'),
(12191, 12191, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday asked the country’s leftist parties who they want to bring to power by ousting her.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“The leftists have turned by 90 degrees. Well, they want to oust me. But could they determine who would come next? It is my question. Who would come to power and who would work for the country? But it is not clear who they want to bring,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said this while addressing a press conference arranged at her official residence Ganabhaban on the outcome of her recent six-day visit to Thailand.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Replying to a question, she said since it is not clear whom the leftists want to bring in power next, none of them don’t get response from the people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said yes, movement is being carried out. Staying in a foreign land as a fugitive, someone is doing movement as well as giving orders online everyday thanks to Digital Bangladesh made by her government, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Let those who are waging a movement do it. We at least are not hindering it,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Criticizing the US style to curb ongoing demonstrations carried out against Israeli aggression on Palestine, the PM said there is a possibility now for Bangladesh to stop the movement here following the American style.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I think our police now can follow the American police. We asked them (Bangladesh Police) to show patience,” she said, adding that their member was beaten to death in October 2023.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“So, our police can take measures to curb movement in American style,” she went on.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Replying to another question, the prime minister said her government’s goal is to make the ongoing upazila election a meaningful one.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this context, she said a good number of political parties boycott elections as they have no capacity to run in the polls, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Why do they boycott elections? The reason is that they actually don’t have capacity to compete in the elections,” said Sheikh Hasina, also the President of ruling Bangladesh Awami League.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister returned to Bangladesh on April 29 after concluding her visit, which began on April 24 at the invitation of her Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 10:18:48', '2024-05-02 10:20:51'),
(12192, 12192, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) forecast rain or thundershowers in parts of the country inclduing Dhaka in 24 hours commencing 9 am on Thursday.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at a few places over Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Dhaka, Mymensingh and Barishal divisions with hails at isolated places,” said a Met office bulletin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, a very severe heat wave is sweeping Jashore, Khulna, Chuadanga, Pabna and Rajshahi districts and severe heat wave is scorching&nbsp; Tangail, Faridpur, Gopalgonj and parts of Khulna division, it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The heat wave may abate from some places over the eastern part of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Day temperature may fall slightly over western part and it may fall by 1-2 °C elsewhere over the country, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 11:00:23', '2024-05-02 11:00:23');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(12193, 12193, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dozens of Iraqi university students and professors rallied Thursday at a Baghdad campus in solidarity with Gaza and pro-Palestinian protests at US universities, AFP correspondents said.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iraqi Education Minister Naeem Al-Aboudi earlier this week expressed his support for the “free voices in universities” around the world, and called for protests in solidarity with the embattled Gaza Strip.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Students at Al-Nahrain University waved the Palestinian and Iraqi flags.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“With all that is happening to our people in Gaza... of course I must be among the first to come to raise our voice,” student Aya Kader, 20, said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It is very positive to see the Palestinian flag being waved at American universities,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Weeks-long pro-Palestinian protests that have swept campuses across the United States have “encouraged us,” she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Students and professors also carried banners calling for a “free Palestine,” with some wearing the keffiyeh scarf that has long been a symbol of the Palestinian cause.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are here to tell them to stop the killing and to thank the free voices around the world,” said Professor Jomaa Salman, head of the engineering faculty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“If the storming of Columbia University had happened in another country, especially in a third world country, they would have moved heaven on earth.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Iraqi embassy in Washington called Wednesday for “restraint, calm, respect for human rights and peaceful expression” as unrest over Israel’s war in Gaza simmered on US campuses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iraq does not recognize Israel while all Iraqi political factions support the Palestinian people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2019, popular protests broke out in Iraq against the ruling establishment, and a security crackdown left more than 600 people killed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United States is Israel’s largest military supplier.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Student protesters on American campuses say they are expressing solidarity with Palestinians in the war-devastated Gaza Strip, prompting large-scale police arrests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Gaza war broke out after the unprecedented October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel which resulted in the death of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel retaliated with a massive offensive that has killed at least 34,596 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Militants also seized hostages during the attack, estimating that 129 of them remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 11:38:56', '2024-05-02 11:38:56'),
(12194, 12194, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The “Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred” of Reform UK MP Lee Anderson is “fuelling hate crime and violent threats,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said in a statement.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His comments come after ITV News released a secret recording of Anderson talking to party members at an event in which he claimed Khan “hates this country ... our heritage, our culture.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The news also follows revelations ahead of the London mayoral elections on Thursday that Conservative candidate Susan Hall has followed social media pages and groups in which other people allegedly posted racist content and abuse aimed at the Muslim mayor.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Anderson was previously deputy chair of the Conservatives, but switched parties after he was suspended by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for claiming that Khan was under the control of “Islamists” and had “given our capital city away to his mates.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the ITV recording, Anderson is heard saying former Conservative colleagues had offered him support and sympathy for his words, saying senior party officials had told him “you’re saying what millions of people are thinking up and down the country.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While not naming anyone specifically, Anderson said: “At least two Cabinet ministers contacted me to say I’d been treated poorly.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added: “I would never betray the confidence of my colleagues, regardless of what political party they’re in, that was sent in confidence. A lot of those people who I sit opposite are still my friends.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Khan said: “In the past 24 hours we have seen my Tory (Conservative) mayoral opponent endorsing Facebook groups rife with antisemitism, Islamophobia and death threats against me. And now we have a former Tory party deputy chair caught on camera being racist, reports Arab News&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It is deeply depressing that he confirms his Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred was cheered on by current Tory party staff, MPs and Cabinet ministers.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Khan added: “It’s unpatriotic to talk down modern, diverse, brilliant Britain in this way. And it has real-world consequences, fuelling hate crime and violent threats.”&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 11:44:22', '2024-05-02 11:44:22'),
(12195, 12195, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir left the country for Saudi Arabia on Thursday afternoon to perform Umrah.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fakhrul along with his wife Rahat Ara Begum left Dhaka\'s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight around 3:15pm, his personal assistant M Yunus Ali told UNB.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the BNP leader and his wife will first go to Medina to offer fateha at the grave of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Pbuh) and offer prayers in the Prophet\'s Mosque.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, they will go to Makkah to perform the holy Umrah and offer prayers in Masjid al-Haram.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP leader is scheduled to return home on May 8 .</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mirza Fakhrul was arrested on October 29, the day after the BNP\'s grand rally in Dhaka\'s Naya Paltan was foiled by the police. He was released on bail on February 15 after almost three and a half months of imprisonment, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP secretary general has been suffering from various physical complications since going to jail. His wife Rahat Ara Begum is also sick.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After his release from jail, the couple went to Singapore for treatment on March 4.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 12:35:09', '2024-05-02 12:35:09'),
(12196, 12196, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Thursday lowered the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Tk 4.1 per kg, setting the new rate at Tk 116.08 per kg, down from previous Tk 120.18.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This new price will be effective from 6 pm today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">BERC at a press briefing said that the price for a standard 12kg LPG cylinder will now be Tk 1,393 down by Tk 49 from the previous price of Tk 1442.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This adjustment follows a rational scale across various LPG cylinder sizes, ranging from 5.5kg to 45kg, addressing the need for a proportional price revision across different consumer segments.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Furthermore, the price for \"auto gas\", the LPG variant used in motor vehicles, has also seen a lower rate at Tk 63.92 instead of the previous price of Tk 66.21 per litre.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">LPG prices marketed by the state-owned LP Gas Company will remain unchanged. This exception is attributed to its local production and the company\'s minimal market share, which is less than five percent, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, The decision to adjust LPG prices comes in the wake of declining costs in the international market, specifically tied to the increase in the Saudi CP (contract price), which serves as a benchmark for local operators importing LPG primarily from the Middle East.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 12:38:54', '2024-05-02 12:38:54'),
(12197, 12197, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina remains dedicated to strengthening their robust trade, investment, aviation, climate, defence, security, and migration cooperation with the UK and taking it to the next level in her current term.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasan thanked UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for emphasizing his commitment to enhancing the economic and security partnership between Bangladesh and the UK in his congratulatory letter to Prime Minister Hasina after the national election on January 7 this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The foreign minister also called upon the UK government to collaborate with Bangladesh to establish a \"peaceful and conflict-free\" world and to put an end to the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, according to a message received from London.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During his speech as the guest of honour at a high-profile diplomatic reception hosted by Bangladesh High Commission, London to celebrate the 54th Independence and National Day of Bangladesh, the foreign minister emphasised the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire in conflict zones worldwide, including Gaza and Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He stressed that stopping the killing of innocent people is crucial to restoring normalcy and establishing peace.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaker of the UK’s Parliament Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP was the chief guest at the event where Leader of the House of Commons Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, UK FCDO Minister for Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations Lord Tariq Ahmad, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed MP, and Chairman of All-party Parliamentary Group on Bangladesh Rushanara Ali MP spoke as special guests. ‍Source: UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 13:01:49', '2024-05-02 13:01:49'),
(12198, 12198, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A Dhaka court on Thursday placed Milton Samaddar, chairman of Child &amp; Old Age Care, on a three-day remand in a case over alleged death certificate forgery.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Tofazzal Hossain passed the order when sub-inspector of Mirpur zonal team Mirpur and also investigating officer of the case and&nbsp; Mohammad Kamal Hossain produced him before the court with a seven-day remand prayer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Md Wahiduzzaman Biplab, a counsel of Milton, filed a bail petition and sought cancellation of remand.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the remand prayer, Milton provided 50 fake death certificates through fraudulence. Milton, who used to identify himself as a physician, gave shelter to elderly persons, children and people with disability in his health care center named Child &amp; Old Age Care.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The remand was sought to investigate whether he had any certificate of physician he was involved in killing people or torturing them physically and mentally in the name of providing treatment and whether he was involved in organ smuggling, it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Detectives on Wednesday arrested Milton from the city’s Mirpur area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The report claimed that Samaddar, who had been recognised for his public service through various awards, was allegedly involved in significant wrongdoing. While his social media profile publicized his work in building an old age home for the helpless and providing shelter to the homeless, more sinister allegations have surfaced.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Allegations include the illegal trade of human organs, specifically pointing to the cutting and selling of kidneys.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The revelations led to individuals speaking out and a flurry of discussions on social media, culminating in Samaddar\'s detainment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mohammad Kamal Pasha, sub-inspector of DB of Mirpur division, filed the case with Mirpur Police Station on Thursday morning. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd/fas</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"42\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 14:04:59', '2024-05-02 14:04:59'),
(12199, 12199, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Speakers at a panel discussion in Dhaka on Thursday said there is no alternative to freedom of the press and freedom of expression to ensure democracy.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">It is also imperative that the safety and freedom of the press be prioritised to tackle the ongoing environmental crisis and natural disasters, they said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Marking World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) 2024, speakers made these remarks at panel discussions organised jointly by UNESCO, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), and Article 19 at MIDAS Centre in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The discussions centred on the WPFD theme of this year, “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis.” There were two separate panel discussions where the panellists talked about issues like the ongoing oppression against journalists and their safety concerns in the context of climate-related issues, freedom of expression and the press, tackling misinformation, and access to information.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Iftekharuzzaman, TIB executive director,, said, “In the period from 2022 to 2023, while covering environmental issues, there were 23 attacks on the media, resulting in the torture of 43 journalists.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Between 2016 to 2021 alone, 12 individuals, including environmental rights activists, were killed for protesting against coal-based plants.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He further stated that those who are legally responsible for protecting the environment are the ones leading the destruction of the environment. Therefore, it is imperative to create an environment where journalists and civil society organisations can play their active roles. But in reality, such space is being shrunk by the use of repressive acts like the Digital Security Act, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Taking part in the “zero-sum political game,” journalists and rights activists are harassed by misusing laws, which ultimately benefits a certain faction. The harassment of media workers and civil society actors has been normalised through this process, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are additional risks while reporting on land grabbing, water bodies\' destruction, or the construction of training centres by taking over protected land. To tackle such challenges, those who are responsible in the government have to respect the commitment to freedom of press and speech enshrined in the constitution, so journalists and activists working on environmental issues do not become the victims of \"shoot the messenger\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking at the opening session, Susan Vize, Head of Office and UNESCO Representative to Bangladesh, said, “Raising public awareness about climate change and other environmental issues in Bangladesh is critical to achieving behavioural change. The media remains the single most influential source of credible public information. WPFD 2024 aims to build the capacity of Bangladesh’s media to ensure accurate and impactful coverage of the current environmental crises.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Alexandra Berg von Linde, Ambassador to Bangladesh, Sweden Embassy, said, “Public interest is inextricably linked to climate change and environmental degradation. The negative effects of climate change are becoming more visible, affecting people\'s daily lives. People want to know about the results and effects of negative climate change. Freedom of the media and the ability to report independently on all such matters of public interest are important elements of democracy.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Responding to a question about the misuse of repressive acts (ICT, DSA and CSA) and the safety concerns of journalists, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad A Arafat said, “We always talk about ensuring freedom of the press. However, in some cases, vested interests exploit this freedom to publish agenda-driven news and disseminate misinformation. Instances of such misinformation regarding Rampal or Adani power plants have been observed. Therefore, alongside ensuring media freedom, accountability must also be ensured.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If media freedom is misused to spread false information or disinformation, appropriate legal action should be taken. However, I will take necessary steps to ensure the protection of journalists in the country who report on environmental crises or climate issues based on truth and scientific evidence.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first panel discussion titled “A Press for the Planet: Free Press and Freedom of Expression in the Context of the Current Global Environmental Crisis” kicked off with the presentations of Shamsuddin Illius, bureau chief of Chattogram, The Business Standard, and Usraat Fahmidah, freelance journalist, regarding the challenges of journalism in environmental issues and training young journalists.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The second panel discussion focused on the safety issues of journalists under the theme of “Media Defence for Crisis Reporting,” where journalists and experts from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka participated.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 14:25:22', '2024-05-02 14:25:22'),
(12200, 12200, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have published a list of 80 Saudi companies that are keen to invest in various sectors of Bangladesh, said Salman F Rahman, Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime Minister.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Salman, who is currently visiting Saudi Arabia, attended meetings with the Saudi Ministers and various important persons in the country and discussed potential investment opportunities in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After attending the special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Salman held these meetings with Saudi officials, according to a press release on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also met with the Chief of Staff and Secretary General of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saad Alkroud, reports unb</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“PIF Secretary General praised the economic development of Bangladesh and gave this information in a meeting: 80 Saudi companies have expressed interest in investing in Bangladesh,” Salman said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said Saudi Arabia is interested in energy cooperation with Bangladesh. Saudi Arabia\'s Assistant Minister of Energy, Mohammed Al Ibrahim, said that the Saudi government is actively considering the proposal to buy crude oil on a deferred payment basis from Bangladesh. At this time, they discussed various issues of partnership between the two countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-02 14:50:29', '2024-05-02 14:50:29'),
(12201, 12201, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa on Saturday highlighted harnessing AI for inclusive growth and the need to adopt digital technology and ensure its careful and equitable use.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Artificial Intelligence offers tremendous potential to drive growth and help address development challenges in areas like healthcare, agriculture, and climate change,\" he said, shedding light on priority for the future.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ADB President added that developing countries will miss out if they are not able to adopt this technology.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are also risks from AI, such as bias and lack of transparency, he said while speaking at the formal opening session of the 57th Annual Meeting at Concert Hall here.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Georgia\'s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, among others, was present. A colorful event showcasing the rich Georgian culture followed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ADB President said the organization is working hard to strengthen the capacity of the developing member countries to deploy responsible AI solutions that follow an ethical framework and drive inclusive growth.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We believe that bridging the digital divide, and opening opportunities from AI, are key to a more prosperous future,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ADB President said they have come together at a time when people of the region face challenges that demand close attention and coordination.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The impacts of climate change are unrelenting, and the risks from conflict and crisis can quickly undermine their livelihoods, and even their survival,\" Asakawa said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Let us move forward together, as we build the bridge to a more prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Beginning with the threat of climate change, he said this threat cannot be ignored, and their response cannot be delayed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"2023 was the hottest year on record. We see its effects on people and risks to future development. Crops and food systems are increasingly vulnerable,\" Asakawa said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the bridge to the future must be one that is inclusive. \"No one should be denied the benefits of development because of barriers to obtaining financing.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Driving green globalization</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our presence in this room demonstrates how deeply our world is connected. We should celebrate this. We should also develop these connections to build greener and more open economies,\" said the ADB President.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It might be easy to look back at the pandemic, or at current geopolitical tensions and conflicts, and conclude that globalization is dead. \"I do not believe it.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is true that global trade and supply chains are vulnerable to shocks. But the answer cannot be protectionism and segmentation,\" Asakawa said, adding that free trade and free movement of capital have benefited the Asia-Pacific region for decades, and this must be the way forward.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He laid emphasis on exploring how to deepen regional cooperation, in order to build resilience in supply chains, promote cross-border trade, bolster private sector investment, and strengthen financial and tax cooperation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trade-related activities account for up to 30% of global carbon emissions</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The uncomfortable truth is that with Asia’s strong growth, our contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is rising,\" Asakawa said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said now is the time to act to reduce global value chain-related emissions for a more sustainable future.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Supporting members with the greatest need</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ADB President stressed that their bridge to the future cannot leave behind those with the greatest need, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The poorest and most vulnerable populations, including those in small island developing states, face the heaviest burdens from climate change, economic shocks, and conflict,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ADB chief said their financing must continue to include resources on concessional terms, including grants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The Asian Development Fund has been a crucial vehicle for this. And with a replenishment completed on Thursday, we will be able to deliver up to $5 billion to meet these needs,\" the ADB President said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"33\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 10:39:57', '2024-05-04 10:39:57'),
(12202, 12202, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A national guideline on heat-related illnesses will be launched on Sunday (May 5, 2024) to protect children and vulnerable populations including pregnant women from heat-related health risks.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in Bangladesh, with UNICEF\'s support, will launch the national guideline.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This national guideline, developed in collaboration with experts from health and other sectors, provides a comprehensive framework for responding effectively to heat-related health risks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">UNICEF has been a proud supporter of this initiative, working closely with DGHS to ensure the development of the guideline and the training of healthcare professionals across hospitals and health centers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The event marks a significant milestone towards achieving Universal Health Coverage and ensuring the well-being of citizens, particularly vulnerable children, pregnant women and their unborn children, said UNICEF on Saturday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen will join the launching ceremony as the chief guest while Sate Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Rokeya Sultana will attend as special guest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Md Jahangir Alam, Secretary, Health Services Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Emma Brigham, Representative, UNICEF Bangladesh; and Professor Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam will also join the launch of the national guideline on heat-related illnesses. - UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 10:48:04', '2024-05-04 10:48:04'),
(12203, 12203, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Renowned economist and Professor Emeritus of Dhaka University, Dr. Atiur Rahman, will be awarded an honorary doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">This prestigious accolade, confirmed through a formal letter by Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Habib on April 30, 2024, recognizes Dr. Rahman\'s extensive contributions to economics and poverty alleviation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scheduled for early September 2024, during the annual graduation ceremony, Dr. Rahman will receive the Doctor of Science (Economics) degree. His recognition stems not only from his academic contributions but also from his practical applications in economic development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr. Rahman is celebrated for his role as the former Governor of Bangladesh Bank where he was instrumental in initiatives aimed at pro-poor public expenditure, environmental and climate policies, sustainable development, financial inclusion, and social innovation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr. Rahman also founded Unnayan Shamannay, a globally recognized research and advocacy organization committed to socio-economic development. His work with the organization has been pivotal in advancing discussions and actions around poverty alleviation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">SOAS University of London has a history of honoring distinguished individuals who have made significant global impacts. In 2023, the university awarded honorary degrees to several international figures including eminent Indian screenwriter Javed Akhtar (Doctor of Literature), London-based culinary artist Asma Khan (Doctor of Science in Social Science), UK-based public health expert Professor Kevin Fenton (Doctor of Literature), and renowned Buddhist scholar Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (Fellow).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The university anticipates that Dr. Rahman’s illustrious career and achievements will inspire both its students and the wider community during the graduation ceremonies, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As an alumnus of SOAS, Dr. Rahman\'s accolades extend beyond this honorary degree, including multiple national and international awards that underscore his influence and legacy in the field of economics and beyond.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 11:21:55', '2024-05-04 11:21:55'),
(12204, 12204, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Chief Heat Officer for Dhaka North City Bushra Afreen has said they are working to make life bearable for women in the communities with some solutions amid heatwaves.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"We are prioritizing solutions like providing drinking water at bus tops and coupling this with accessible women-friendly washrooms to ensure that women can easily find relief and safety during their daily commutes,\" she said in a video message.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Afreen, who attended a session as a panelist at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), said this is only the beginning of their journey to counteract the threat of heat and create a sustainable and cooler future for Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said 2023 was the hottest year on record and last month’s heatwaves in Dhaka were longer and more intense than ever before.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Afreen said the heat felt suffocating making it literally too hot to breathe.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"As the Chief Heat Officer, I have observed the impact of these temperatures on women living in informal settlements,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Chief Heat Officer said the recent closure of schools due to the heat have left them juggling childcare alongside their works, which further marginalized them in a city which was never built for them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our efforts are centered on closing the gap that makes our heated city so unlivable for women,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leading up to their heat awareness campaign, she said, they are identifying their daily greatest challenges and the risks they face during heatwaves.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Country\'s maximum temperature was recently recorded at 43.8 degree Celsius in Jashore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arsht-Rock, a Washington-based non-profit organisation, appointed social entrepreneur Bushra Afreen as its chief heat officer who is working in Dhaka North City Corporation area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) set out to reach one billion people worldwide with resilience solutions by 2030. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"39\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 12:00:50', '2024-05-04 12:00:50'),
(12205, 12205, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has suggested setting the minimum wage for tannery industry workers at Tk 22,776, a figure calculated based on the current food prices and inflation rates.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This recommendation was part of a media briefing titled \"Challenges of Determining and Implementing Minimum Wages in the Tannery Industry,\" held at CPD’s office in Dhanmondi, Dhaka on Saturday, May 4.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the briefing, the think tank also advocated for a revision of the wage grading system to ensure fair compensation across the sector.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The research leading to these recommendations was spearheaded by Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Research Director at CPD, with Senior Researcher Tamim Ahmed presenting the keynote paper.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Key industry stakeholders, including Liaquat Ali Mollah, chairman of the Minimum Wages Board, and Md Shaheen Ahmed, President of the Tanners\' Association, were present and contributed to the discussions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">CPD\'s proposed wage structure takes into account a total monthly expenditure of Tk 33,445, which includes Tk 20,564 for food and Tk 12,881 for non-food expenses. The proposed wage calculation also considers the income of other family members, reflecting a comprehensive approach to wage determination in the current economic context.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Furthermore, Dr. Moazzem highlighted the need for a simplified and unified grading system within the tannery industry, noting the limited opportunities for advancement due to the sector’s diverse job roles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As there is no scope for promotion within the current system, it is proposed to introduce subgrades within some grades (A, B, and C within Grade 5), which would create opportunities for promotion and enhance worker motivation, stated CPD.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The CPD emphasized the significance of the tannery industry as a key economic sector in Bangladesh, following the garment industry in importance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Tanners\' Association, the industry comprises approximately 200 active tanneries spread across 127 plots in the Savar area, contributing a substantial US $1.2 billion in leather product exports in 2023. According to UNB reports</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd/fsa</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"33\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 12:56:50', '2024-05-04 12:56:50'),
(12206, 12206, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The United Nations humanitarian aid agency says hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel carries out a military assault in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The city has become critical for humanitarian aid and is highly concentrated with displaced Palestinians.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leaders internationally have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be cautious about any incursion into Rafah, where seven people — mostly children — were killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Thursday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said any US response to such an incursion would be up to President Joe Biden, but that currently, “conditions are not favorable to any kind of operation.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turkiye’s trade minister said Friday that its new trade ban on Israel was in response to “the deterioration and aggravation of the situation in Rafah.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Israel-Hamas war has driven around 80 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities, and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials, and the territory’s entire population has been driven into a humanitarian catastrophe.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, abducting about 250 people and killing around 1,200, mostly civilians. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dozens of people demonstrated Thursday night outside Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to release the hostages. Meanwhile, Hamas said it would send a delegation to Cairo as soon as possible to keep working on ceasefire talks. A leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of talks languishing in a stalemate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Across the US, tent encampments and demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war have spread across university campuses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 2,000 protesters have been arrested over the past two weeks as students rally against the war’s death toll and call for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza. According to Reuters reports</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 13:27:11', '2024-05-04 13:27:11');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(12207, 12207, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The global allure of Korean dramas continues to grow, capturing the hearts of viewers worldwide with their intricate plots, imaginative storylines, and a blend of traditional and modern themes. Known for their vivid cinematography and emotive performances, K-dramas resonate with a global audience, breaking cultural and linguistic barriers. This May 2024, Netflix is set to enrich its catalog with a fresh batch of Korean dramas, each promising to bring its unique charm and excitement. Here’s what subscribers can look forward to.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Upcoming Korean Dramas on Netflix This May</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Frankly Speaking | Premiering May 1, 2024</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Directed by Jang Ji-Yeon and penned by Choi Kyung-Sun, this comedy melodrama features Go Kyung-Pyo, Joo Jong-Hyuk, and Kang Han-Na. It revolves around Song Ki-Baek, a 33-year-old radio announcer who suddenly can\'t filter his words due to a unique disorder. This leads him to a partnership with variety show writer On Woo-Ju, crafting a live show that capitalizes on his unfiltered candor.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Atypical Family | Premiering May 4, 2024</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This series is a romantic drama helmed by Jo Hyun-Taek and scripted by Joo Hwa-Mi. It stars Jang Ki-Yong, Chun Woo-Hee, and a supporting cast that includes Go Doo-Shim and Oh Man-Seok. The plot follows Bok Gwi-joo and his family, who lose their superpowers to a chronic illness, dramatically altering their lives as they cross paths with a mysterious character, Do Da-Hae.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Super Rich in Korea | Premiering May 7, 2024</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This reality TV show, led by Cho Saeho, BamBam, and Mimi and directed by Yuh Woon-Hyuk, explores the opulent lifestyles of the wealthy who are united by their love for Korean culture. From Singapore\'s elite to Arab socialites and Italian fashion icons, the show promises a glimpse into the lives of these affluent figures as they converge in Korea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dare to Love Me | Premiering May 13, 2024</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This romantic comedy is directed by Jang Yang-Ho and stars Kim Myung-Soo and Lee Yoo-Young. The series portrays the budding romance between Shin Yoon-Bok, a respected MZ scholar known for his empathy, and Kim Hong-Do, a woman tired of superficial relationships.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 8 Show | Premiering May 17, 2024</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A blend of thriller and dark comedy, this series is directed and written by Han Jae-Rim. It draws from the Naver Webtoons Money Game and Pie Game and features an ensemble cast including Ryu Jun-Yeol and Chun Woo-Hee. The plot centers around eight individuals who find themselves in a secretive, multi-layered venue where they participate in a dangerous game to earn money over time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Summary of May 2024’s Korean Drama Offerings on Netflix</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The selection for May 2024 is a testament to the diversity and richness of Korean dramas. From the solitary romantic drama \"The Atypical Family\" to the lavish \"Super Rich in Korea,\" the range spans various genres and themes. The comedy is ever-present, with \"Frankly Speaking\" infusing it into a melodrama, \"Dare to Love Me\" weaving it through romance, and \"The 8 Show\" incorporating it into a thrilling dark narrative.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Netflix’s May 2024 Korean drama lineup promises to sustain the momentum of the Korean Wave with stories that appeal to a broad spectrum of emotions and interests. Whether you’re in for a laugh, a dose of romance, or a touch of suspense, this collection is poised to deliver memorable moments and gripping storytelling, maintaining the K-drama craze that viewers globally have come to cherish and anticipate each month. - UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 13:30:54', '2024-05-04 13:30:54'),
(12208, 12208, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamas was the only holdup to a Gaza ceasefire as the militants prepared to send a delegation back to Cairo on Saturday for talks.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“We wait to see whether, in effect, they can take yes for an answer on the ceasefire and release of hostages,” Blinken said late Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The reality in this moment is the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Blinken pointed to difficulties in negotiating with Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist group and does not engage with directly and which Israel has vowed to eliminate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The leaders of Hamas that we’re indirectly engaged with — through the Qataris, through the Egyptians — are, of course, living outside of Gaza,” Blinken said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The ultimate decision-makers are the folks who are actually in Gaza itself with whom none of us have direct contact.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Blinken was addressing a dinner at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum in Arizona two days after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top leaders on his latest visit to the Middle East.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahead of his talks with Blinken, Netanyahu vowed to push ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah to root out Hamas regardless of the outcome of negotiations for a temporary ceasefire that would involve the release of hostages.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Joe Biden’s administration has repeatedly warned Netanyahu’s government against moving on Rafah, where some 1.4 million Palestinians have taken shelter after fleeing the Israeli assault in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas, reports AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Blinken said that Israel, which counts on the United States for military and diplomatic support, has yet to present “a credible plan to genuinely protect the civilians who are in harm’s way” in Rafah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Absent such a plan, we can’t support a major military operation going into Rafah because the damage it would do is beyond what’s acceptable,” Blinken said.&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 13:42:55', '2024-05-04 13:42:55'),
(12209, 12209, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A fire broke out in the Amurbunia area at Chandpai range of the Sundarbans East Zone on Saturday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fire originated this afternoon, said Kazi Muhammad Nurul Karim, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Sundarbans East Zone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On information, the staff of the forest department, Community Patrol Groups, Morelganj fire brigade and local villagers are trying to douse the fire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fire is being extinguished by bringing water from Bhola River about two kilometres away.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fire lanes have been cut to prevent the fire from spreading into the forest, said the officer, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">DFO Nurul Karim also said that the fire might have originated from a cigarette. An investigation committee will be formed to find out the exact cause of the fire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The forest officer could not confirm the overall damage of forest plants in the area where the fire originated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 13:48:05', '2024-05-04 13:48:05'),
(12210, 12210, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The BNP has expelled 61 more of its grassroots leaders for participating in the second phase of upcoming upazila elections by violating the party\'s decision.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">With this latest action, the party has so far expelled 140 leaders for contesting the upazila polls in violation of its directives.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Previously, BNP had ousted 79 grassroots leaders who had filed nominations for chairman, vice-chairman, and female vice-chairman positions in the first phase of upazila polls scheduled for May 8.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to a press release issued on Saturday, these punitive measures were taken in line with the party\'s constitution.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said the 61 leaders of BNP and its associate bodies contesting for the post of chairman, vice chairman and female vice chairman in the second phase of upazila polls in violation of the party\'s decision have been expelled from all party positions, including its primary membership.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;Of the expelled leaders, 26 were contesting for the post of upazila chairman, 19 for vice-chairman, and 16 for female vice-chairman.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;A total of 152 upazilas across the country are set to go to polls in the first phase on May 8 as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission. The elections for 492 upazilas will be held in four phases, with the second phase scheduled for May 23, the third on May 29, and the fourth on June 5.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">BNP remains steadfast in its decision not to participate in the upazila elections, mirroring its stance on the last national election, asserting that fair elections are impossible under the Awami League government.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on Friday, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi criticised their party leaders for participating in the upcoming Upazila Parishad (UP) polls against the party\'s decisions, describing them as misguided.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking at a press conference at BNP\'s Nayapaltan central office, Rizvi also warned that the opposition leaders seeking to participate in the election race under the Awami League are living in fools\' paradise, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On behalf of BNP, Rizvi urged opposition leaders and workers to boycott the \"so-called\" upazila elections and said people will not accept the local body polls like the January 7 national election even if some misguided BNP leaders remain in the race.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 14:00:13', '2024-05-04 14:00:13'),
(12211, 12211, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Russia has opened a criminal case against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and put him on a wanted list, the state news agency TASS reported on Saturday, citing the Interior Ministry\'s database.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The entry it cited gave no further details.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia has issued arrest warrants for a number of Ukrainian and other European politicians since the start of the conflict with Ukraine in February 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russian police in February put Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Lithuania\'s culture minister and members of the previous Latvian parliament on a wanted list for destroying Soviet-era monuments.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia also issued an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor who last year prepared a warrant for President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 14:14:47', '2024-05-04 14:14:47'),
(12212, 12212, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has suggested Bangladesh to think of ways for accelerating adoption of renewable energy across the country as intensive heat in the country will further increase the demand.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"One of the challenges that Bangladesh will face is the increase of demand for energy,\" ADB\'s climate envoy Warren Evans told UNB, noting that Bangladesh is already taking really good steps for awareness building on the risks of intensive heat for people, specially the women.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said investment is required in the coming years to be able to survive and grow economically in the face of climate impact. \"It is going to require a substantial investment.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Warren provides broad oversight and guidance for ADB’s climate operations, including optimizing climate finance scale and impact, mobilizing new and additional technical and financial resources, strengthening ADB’s external climate partnerships and engagement with international climate agreements and initiatives, and reinforcing capacity development for climate change operations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Responding to a question, he said it will require a lot of policy and regulatory reforms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The envoy referred to a policy based loan (PBL) with Bangladesh that looks at those policy and regulatory reforms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said that was set in place, giving a new direction for ADB\"s system in Bangladesh, which is largely focused on climate action.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"So, there are a lot of challenges, but we see great real progress,\" said the climate envoy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He mentioned the \"Gender and Heat Initiative\" launched recently to better understand and invest in adaptation to the impacts of heat stress on women and girls across Asia and the Pacific.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under the new technical assistance program, ADB sees how the growing threat of heat stress affects women and identify specific policies, actions, and investments that can help governments reduce the impacts of heat on women and girls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The initiative marks ADB’s commitment to integrating heat action-planning into all new operations in vulnerable regions, focusing on enhancing women’s climate resilience and advocating for gender-responsive measures.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The programme covered Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tajikistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Extreme heat has been linked to more than 650 billion hours of annual labour losses worldwide, equivalent to about 148 million full-time jobs—a scale of disruption comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Women are disproportionately affected by these rising temperatures, facing life-threatening conditions and substantial socioeconomic losses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The programme aligns with the bank’s ambition to provide $100 billion in climate financing from its own resources from 2019 to 2030, including $34 billion for adaptation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2022, ADB committed $7.1 billion of climate finance, including $4.3 billion for mitigation and $2.8 billion for adaptation. The bank mobilized an additional $548 million in climate finance from the private sector last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Warren said Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to every climate impact - storms, floods, and droughts. \"Bangladesh is highly exposed to all these.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He, however, said Bangladesh has taken very serious actions already in terms of disaster management, ensuring less impact when any disaster comes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The climate exert, a special senior advisor (Climate Change) at the office of the President at the Asian Development Bank, said Bangladesh and India are well advanced in terms managing disasters and rest of the world will learn from these two South Asian countries, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To mitigate intensive heat-related problems, he said some fairly simple measures can be taken.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It will require more sheds and early morning system so that employers can make their workers aware of the heat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, he said, it is all about water and making it available to everyone. \"There are many things that can be done.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 14:24:08', '2024-05-04 14:24:08'),
(12213, 12213, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">UNRWA has accused Israel of persisting in targeting women in its attacks on the Gaza Strip.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The war in Gaza continues to be a war on women,” UNRWA said in a statement posted on its social media platform X, adding that more than 10,000 women have been killed and 19,000 others injured in the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“37 children lose their mother every single day,” UNRWA added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Living conditions are particularly “appalling” for more than 155,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women in Gaza, who are facing extreme difficulty in accessing water and sanitary items, the agency said. Source: The Palestinian Information Center </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 14:29:22', '2024-05-04 14:49:02'),
(12214, 12214, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Summer is a time of heat and outdoor activities, but for pregnant women, it also brings the challenge of coping with intense heat waves that can pose serious health risks. From dehydration to heatstroke, the heightened vulnerability of expectant mothers requires careful strategies to ensure their health and that of their developing babies. This comprehensive guide explores practical and effective measures to safeguard pregnant women during these critical months.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Understanding the Risks for Pregnant Women in Summer</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pregnancy demands a lot from the body, which is already managing increased blood volume and the energy requirements of carrying a baby. In the summer, these challenges are compounded by higher temperatures and humidity, which can lead to faster dehydration and overheating. This increased susceptibility makes it essential to adopt preventive measures against heat-related health issues.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hydration: The First Line of Defense Against Heat</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Water is a vital ally for pregnant women during hot weather. Staying well-hydrated is crucial, as dehydration can trigger complications such as overheating, urinary tract infections, and even preterm labor. At least 8-10 glasses of water daily are recommended. Using a reusable water bottle makes it easier to stay hydrated on the go.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Electrolyte Management</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Alongside hydration, maintaining electrolyte balance is critical. Loss of electrolytes through sweating can be significant in summer. Electrolyte-rich drinks or adding a pinch of salt to water can help restore balance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Natural sources such as coconut water are also beneficial. It is important to check with a healthcare provider before incorporating new items into the diet, particularly if there are underlying health conditions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Choosing the Right Clothing</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Appropriate attire can significantly influence body temperature. Pregnant women should opt for loose, lightweight, and breathable clothing. Fabrics like cotton and linen are ideal as they allow air circulation and help prevent overheating.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Light colors are preferable because they reflect sunlight, whereas dark colors absorb it, increasing heat retention. Comfortable, well-fitting shoes are also essential to accommodate swelling in the feet, a common issue during pregnancy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sun Protection Strategies</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sun protection is vital for preventing skin damage and managing body temperature. A wide-brimmed hat, UV-protective sunglasses, and sunscreen with at least SPF 30 are key to guarding against the harmful effects of UV radiation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Limiting Exposure to Extreme Heat</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is advisable for pregnant women to minimize their time spent outdoors during peak heat hours—typically between 10 am and 4 pm. Planning activities during cooler parts of the day, such as early morning or late evening, can reduce the risk of overheating. When outside, staying in shaded areas or using an umbrella can provide immediate relief from direct sunlight.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Indoor Cooling Measures</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Keeping cool indoors is just as important as managing outdoor heat exposure. During the hottest times of the day, it\'s beneficial to stay in air-conditioned environments. If air conditioning isn\'t available, spending time in public buildings that are air-conditioned can offer respite. Fans can also improve air circulation at home, making indoor environments more bearable.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cooling and Comfort Measures</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Taking cool showers or baths can help lower body temperature effectively. Pregnant women may find frequent, brief cooling showers refreshing and helpful in maintaining comfort. Additionally, a portable spray bottle filled with cool water can be used for quick cooling on the go, especially when outdoor activities are unavoidable.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Managing Swelling and Discomfort</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Swelling in the legs and feet can worsen in hot weather due to increased blood flow and body fluid. Elevating the legs when sitting and avoiding crossing them for long periods can help reduce swelling. Regular movement, such as walking or gentle stretching, is also beneficial in promoting blood circulation and reducing discomfort.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nutritional Considerations for Heat Management</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nutrition plays a pivotal role in managing health during pregnancy. Eating smaller, more frequent meals can help maintain energy levels without overloading the digestive system. Foods high in water content, such as fruits and vegetables like watermelon, cucumbers, and leafy greens, contribute to hydration while providing essential nutrients.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Light, easily digestible foods are preferable to heavy meals, which can exacerbate feelings of heat and discomfort.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Exercise and Activity Recommendations</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Maintaining an active lifestyle is important during pregnancy, but activities should be adapted to the weather conditions. Light exercises, such as walking or swimming, are ideal for keeping fit while managing body temperature. Indoor exercise options, like prenatal yoga in air-conditioned spaces, can also be a good alternative to outdoor activities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Monitoring for Heat-Related Illness</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Awareness of the signs of heat-related illness is crucial. Symptoms like dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea, and headache should be taken seriously, and medical advice should be sought if they occur. Pregnant women should also take frequent breaks and listen to their bodies to prevent overexertion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Emphasizing Rest and Emergency Preparedness</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Adequate rest is essential, and pregnant women should ensure they do not overextend themselves, especially in high temperatures. Preparing for emergencies, including having a list of essential contacts and understanding the signs of heat-related illnesses, can ensure prompt access to medical care if needed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Conclusion</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While summer can be a challenging time for pregnant women, with the right precautions and awareness, it is possible to manage the heat effectively and maintain both comfort and health. By prioritizing hydration, proper nutrition, and cooling strategies, expectant mothers can navigate the summer months safely and enjoyably.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Remember, consulting with healthcare providers before making significant changes to your routine or diet is always recommended to ensure the best outcomes for both mother and child. Source: UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', '<p><b><font color=\"#3984c6\">Health Tips </font></b><br></p>', 'Life Style Desk', '[\"24\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 14:34:06', '2024-05-04 14:48:29'),
(12215, 12215, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today underlined the need for a united and tougher stance by the OIC member states to permanently end Israeli aggression against the Palestinian population. </span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>He made the remark while holding a meeting with the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour on the sidelines of the preparatory meeting of the 15th OIC Summit in the Gambia on Friday, said a press release received here today. </div><div><br></div><div>During the meeting, Mansour briefed on the current situation in Palestine and requested Bangladesh\'s unwavering support for Palestine in international forums. </div><div><br></div><div>Hasan also informed about the deep support of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the people of Bangladesh for the Palestinian people.</div><div><br></div><div>The foreign minister is leading the Bangladesh delegation at the preparatory meeting of foreign ministers. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 14:47:00', '2024-05-04 14:47:25'),
(12216, 12216, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Students at Trinity College Dublin protesting Israel’s war in Gaza have built an encampment that forced the university to restrict campus access on Saturday and close the Book of Kells exhibition, one of Ireland’s top tourist attractions.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The camp was set up late on Friday after Trinity College’s students’ union said it had been fined €214,000 by the university for financial losses incurred due to protests in recent months not exclusively regarding the war in Gaza.</div><div><br></div><div>Students’ union president Laszlo Molnarfia posted a photograph of benches piled up in front of the entrance to the building where the Book of Kells is housed on the X social media platform on Friday. The illuminated manuscript book was created by Celtic monks in about 800 AD.</div><div><br></div><div>“The Book of Kells is now closed indefinitely,” he said in the post.</div><div><br></div><div>Trinity College said it had restricted access to the campus to students, staff, and residents to ensure safety and that the Book of Kells exhibition would be closed on Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>Similar to the student occupations sweeping US campuses, protesters at Trinity College are demanding that Ireland’s oldest university cut ties with Israeli universities and divest from companies with ties to Israel.</div><div><br></div><div>Protests at universities elsewhere have included Australia and Canada.</div><div><br></div><div>In a statement last week, the head of the university, Linda Doyle, said Trinity College’s was reviewing its investments in a portfolio of companies and that decisions on whether to work with Israeli institutions rested with individual academics.</div><div><br></div><div>More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s seven-month-old assault on the Gaza Strip, say health officials in the Hamas-ruled enclave. The war began when Hamas fighters attacked Israel on Oct 7, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253 others, of whom 133 are believed to remain in captivity in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.</div><div><br></div><div>Ireland has long been a champion of Palestinian rights, and the government has pledged to formally recognise Palestine as a state soon. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"34\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-04 14:53:09', '2024-05-04 14:53:09'),
(12217, 12217, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Firefighting efforts resumed this morning in the Sundarbans East Zone’s Amurbunia area, following a fire that erupted on Saturday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The operation, which began at 9 am on Sunday, saw the coordinated efforts of the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Forest Guard, and Fire Service.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The initial response was led by a ten-member team from the Mongla naval base. Following this, members of the Fire Service attempted to set up water extraction from the nearby Bhola River. However, the operation faced a setback due to low tide conditions, delaying the water supply.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kazi Muhammad Nurul Karim, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Sundarbans East Zone, stated that logistical challenges prevented the operation from starting sooner. \"The Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force joined the Fire Service this morning to accelerate efforts. Local volunteers are also lending significant support,\" he reported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mamun Ahmed, Deputy Director of Bagerhat Fire Service and Civil Defense, detailed the deployment of additional firefighting units. \"Five units from various locations were dispatched to the site this morning, with three from Mongla, Morrelganj, and Shoronkhola actively engaging in the firefighting efforts. The remaining two units are on standby,\" he said, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also noted the challenges posed by the tidal conditions, which have hindered the transportation of necessary equipment such as additional pipes. \"The fire is spreading slowly through dry leaves and poses no significant risk at this time,\" Ahmed added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Concerning the origin of the fire, DFO Karim acknowledged that the exact cause is still unknown. \"We are considering various reports from locals and have formed a three-member investigation committee led by Assistant Conservator of Forests Rana Dev to determine the cause,\" he concluded.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 08:19:59', '2024-05-05 08:19:59'),
(12218, 12218, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday opened the newly constructed Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) Bhaban and Sena Prangan (Army Central Auditorium) Bhaban in Dhaka Cantonment.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She unveiled the name plaques of the multi-storey AFIP Bhaban and Sena Prangan Bhaban in Dhaka Cantonment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier entered AFIP Bhaban by cutting ribbon and visited different facilities installed in the new Bhaban. AFIP Commandant Major General Dr Nishat Jubaida highlighted the main features and facilities of the new Bhaban to the PM.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2019, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the project titled ‘Extension and Modernization of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP)’ in order to fulfill the growing demand of pathology services. The project is being implemented before the stipulated time of December 2024.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 14-storey AFIP Bhaban is equipped with the modern laboratory where the latest technology like next generation sequencing, automated microbial identification system, transmission electron microscope and multi-headed microscope were installed to ensure international standard services.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Health and Family Welfare Minister Prof Dr Samanta Lal Sen, Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Nazmul Hassan, among others, were present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Then the prime minister went to inaugurate Sena Prangan and entered the new Bhaban by cutting a ribbon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The army central auditorium, Sena Prangan, has been constructed for organieing various national and international-level events like important meetings, seminars and social events, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed and high army officers were present.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 08:49:53', '2024-05-05 08:49:53'),
(12219, 12219, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Sunday approved the bank’s 2023 financial statements and a $1.42 billion net income allocation from its ordinary capital resources, the highest in ADB’s history.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 2023 net income will be allocated as follows:</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">$1.005 billion to ADB’s ordinary reserve to support the bank’s capital growth and provide an earnings base to generate income;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">$292.5 million to the Asian Development Fund, which provides grants to ADB’s poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">$110 million to the Technical Assistance Special Fund, which provides technical assistance grants to borrowing members to help prepare projects and undertake technical or policy studies;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">$15 million to the Asian Pacific Disaster Response Fund, which provides immediate post-disaster grants to developing member countries for restoring lifesaving services.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Allocable net income is defined as net income after appropriation of guarantee fees to the special reserve and certain adjustments reported in the cumulative revaluation adjustments account.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On May 3, donors and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to a replenishment of $5 billion for ADB’s Asian Development Fund (ADF) 14 and Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF) 8.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The commitment was made during ADB’s 57th Annual Meeting.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ADF is ADB’s largest source of grants for operations in its poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries and is replenished every 4 years.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">ADF 14, marking the 13th replenishment since the fund’s establishment, will support grant operations during 2025Â­Â­Â­-2028.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ADF 14 replenishment is about 22% higher than the $4.1 billion available in ADF 13, and will provide eligible ADB members with the largest-ever volume of ADF grants.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">TASF 8 will provide grants that help prepare projects, build capacity, and provide technical or policy advice.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members-49 from the region. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"33\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 09:06:09', '2024-05-05 09:06:09'),
(12220, 12220, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Rain or thunder showers are likely in some places of Dhaka and six other divisions in 24 hours commencing 9am on Sunday, said Bangladesh Metrological Department.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Rains or thunder showers accompanied by gusty or squally wind is likely at a few places over Mymensingh &amp; Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Barishal &amp; Chattogram divisions with hails at isolated places,” said a Met office bulletin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mild to moderate heat wave is sweeping Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna &amp; Barishal divisions and it may abate from some places, it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Day and night temperature may fall slightly over Rangpur, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Barishal, Chattogram &amp; Sylhet divisions and remain nearly unchanged elsewhere over the country. - UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 09:23:44', '2024-05-05 09:23:44');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(12221, 12221, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Raging floods and mudslides have killed at least 55 people in southern Brazil and forced nearly 70,000 to flee their homes, the country\'s civil defense agency said on Saturday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 74 people were injured and another 67 missing from the catastrophic flooding, civil defense said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The toll did not include two people who died in an explosion at a flooded gas station in Porto Alegre, witnessed by an AFP journalist, where rescue crews were attempting to refuel.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fast-rising water levels in the state of Rio Grande do Sul were straining&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">dams and particularly threatening economically important Porto Alegre, a city of 1.4 million.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Guaiba River, which flows through the city, is at a historic high of 5.04 meters (16.5 feet), well above the 4.76 meters that had stood as a record since devastating 1941 floods.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorities scrambled to evacuate swamped neighborhoods as rescue workers used four-wheel-drive vehicles -- and even jet skis -- to maneuver through waist-deep water in search of the stranded.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition to the 69,200 residents forced from their homes, civil defense also said more than a million people lacked access to potable water amid the flooding, describing damage as incalculable.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said his state -- normally one of Brazil\'s most prosperous -- would need a \"Marshall Plan\" of heavy investment to rebuild after the catastrophe.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In many places, long lines formed as people tried to board buses, although bus services to and from the city center were canceled.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Porto Alegre international airport suspended all flights on Friday for an undetermined period.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva posted a video of a helicopter depositing a soldier atop a house, where he used a brick to pound a hole in the roof and rescue a baby wrapped in a blanket.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Joao Guilherme, a 23-year-old salesman, found his way to safety in the state capital -- but without his cell phone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I have no communication with anybody, I\'m very shaken,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The speed of the rising waters unnerved Greta Bittencourt, 32, a professional poker player.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s terrifying because we saw the water rise in an absurd way, it rose at a very high speed,\" Bittencourt said.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Going to be much worse\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With waters starting to overtop a dike along another local river, the&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gravatai, Mayor Sebastiao Melo issued a stern warning on social media&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">platform X, saying, \"Communities must leave!\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He urged people to ration water, after four of the city\'s six treatment&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">plants had to be closed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a live transmission on Instagram, Governor Leite said the situation was&nbsp; \"absolutely unprecedented,\" the worst in the history of the state, home to&nbsp; agroindustrial production of soy, rice, wheat and corn.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Residential areas were underwater as far as the eye could see, with roads destroyed and bridges swept away by powerful currents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rescuers faced a colossal task, with entire towns inaccessible, reports AFP&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">At least 300 municipalities have suffered storm damage in Rio Grande do Sul&nbsp; since Monday, according to local officials.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 09:42:47', '2024-05-05 09:42:47'),
(12222, 12222, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Manipulated videos are taking center stage as campaigning heats up in India’s election, with fake clips involving two top aides of Prime Minister Narendra Modi triggering police investigations and the arrest of some workers of his rival Congress party.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In what has been dubbed as India’s first AI election, Modi said last week fake voices were being used to purportedly show leaders making “statements that we have never even thought of,” calling it a conspiracy “to create tension in society.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Indian police — already investigating the spread of fake videos showing Bollywood actors criticizing Modi — are now investigating a doctored online clip that showed federal home minister Amit Shah saying the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will stop certain social guarantees for minorities, a subject sensitive for millions of voters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shah retorted on X, posting his “original” and the edited “fake” speech and alleging — without providing any evidence — that the main opposition Congress was behind the video it created to mislead the public. The minister said “directions have been issued to the police to address this issue.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Indian police arrested at least nine people, including six members of Congress’ social media teams, in the states of Assam, Gujarat, Telangana and New Delhi last week for circulating the fake video, according to police statements.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Five of the Congress workers were released on bail, but the most high-profile arrest made by the cybercrime unit of New Delhi police came on Friday, when they detained a Congress national social media coordinator, Arun Reddy, for sharing the video. New Delhi is one region where Shah’s ministry directly controls police. Reddy has been sent into three-day custody.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The arrest has sparked protests from Congress workers with many posting on X using the #ReleaseArunReddy tag. Congress lawmaker Manickam Tagore said the arrest was an example of “authoritarian misuse of power by the regime.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Congress’ head of social media, Supriya Shrinate, did not respond to messages and an email seeking comment. Source: Reuters&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 10:04:22', '2024-05-05 10:04:22'),
(12223, 12223, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said the country’s army has earned public trust and confidence by standing beside the people.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Our army now stands beside the people and has gained public trust and confidence,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister made these remarks while addressing a darbar at Army Central Auditorium in Dhaka cantonment.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Earlier, the premier opened the newly constructed Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) Bhaban and Sena Prangan (Army Central Auditorium) Bhaban in Dhaka Cantonment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said the common people had lost their trust and confidence in the army after August, 1975. She mentioned this in reference to the role of a few disgruntled army men in the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most members of his family on August 15, 1975.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;She said since coming to power for the first time in 1996&nbsp; she has taken steps to restore public trust and confidence in the army.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I endeavored in creating trust and confidence among the people regarding our army, which is very essential for an army to protect the independence and sovereignty (of their own country),” she added.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If any adverse situation emerges, the army now stands by the people, said Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said her government formulated the Forces Goal-2030 in line with the Defence Policy 1974 framed by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Now the AL government has been implementing programmes designed to build the country’s armed forces as modern and equipped with the latest knowledge, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;“Our goal is that our armed forces would be equipped with modern technological knowledge. We’ve been working accordingly,” she stated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said the Bangladesh armed forces are widely acclaimed in the world for their outstanding contribution to the United Nations Peacekeeping missions. Now her government’s goal is to brighten the image of the armed forces further, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 10:25:48', '2024-05-05 10:25:48'),
(12224, 12224, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ninety seven percent of the Boro paddy in haor areas have been harvested, said the Agriculture Ministry on Sunday.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This year, a total of 4,53,400 hectares of land in seven haor districts -Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Netrakona and Brahmanbaria- were brought under Boro cultivation and so far body paddy on 4.38 lakh hectares land have been harvested while only 33 percent Boro paddy harvested across the country, according to a release of the ministry.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The government is working to make haor crops risk-free and that’s why the government has been providing combine harvesters, and reapers to the haor farmers at 70 percent subsidy, so that ripe paddy can be harvested in a short time, said the release.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This year, a total of 50.58 lakh hectares of land have been brought under boro cultivation across the country, which is over 20,000 hectares more land than the previous year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ministry also set a target to produce 2.22 crore tonnes of paddy this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During a visit to Srimangal of Moulvibazar district recently, Agriculture Minister Dr Md. Abdus Shahid said Boro paddy supplies more than half of our total rice production throughout the year and that’s why the government puts importance on Boro cultivation, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To raise the Boro cultivation, the government has provided seeds and fertilizers worth Tk 215 crore at free of cost, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 10:44:46', '2024-05-05 10:44:46'),
(12225, 12225, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Israel has long been accused of acting with impunity in the Palestinian territory it occupies, relying on support from the United States and the broader West to protect it from repercussions.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yet a recent flurry of media reports out of Israel indicates that Israeli officials may be worried about the winds changing with the International Criminal Court (ICC) reportedly planning to charge top Israeli military and political figures with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israeli media reports indicate that arrest warrants could be issued as soon as this week and that Israel has asked the US to pressure the court to not issue them. Al Jazeera has been unable to independently confirm the potential warrants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ICC has spoken to medical staff in Gaza about possible war crimes, according to the Reuters news agency on Tuesday, reviving discussion of possible warrants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In March 2021, an ICC investigation of Israeli conduct in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since 2014 was launched under former ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In November last year, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, Djibouti and South Africa referred Israel’s conduct to the court again, resulting in current Prosecutor Karim Khan announcing that the ongoing investigation had been expanded to include violence since Israel’s latest war in Gaza began in October.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A month later, on a visit to the West Bank and Israel, he said the court would investigate crimes by both Israel and Hamas on and since October 7.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Why an investigation that has been under way for three years has caused such sudden concern within Israel has raised some questions. Source: Al Jazeera&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 10:48:37', '2024-05-05 10:48:37'),
(12226, 12226, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">My student journalist colleagues and I had stayed late into the night on Columbia University’s campus the previous couple of days, reporting on a story that had grabbed the world’s attention: the pro-Palestine protests and encampment that had inspired similar campaigns in schools across the United States and globally.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As I slung my camera bag on my back and began to leave campus, walking by the camp, I got a tip from a passing protester: “I would stick around till about midnight,” they said. “Maybe go home first, though.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Got it. I went home to charge the backup camera batteries and grab spare memory cards before leaving for campus again.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Back at Columbia, it appeared that more than one of us had gotten the tip. Crowds of student journalists, all of us with matching paper badges and blue tape on our clothes, waited next to the encampment for whatever was to come. Our journalism faculty stood by our side, as they had been doing throughout.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Protesters grouped into “platoons”, and while we didn’t know what to expect, we kept eyes on different corners.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">We split up to make sure different spots were covered; a few of us stuck by Pulitzer Hall, the home of Columbia Journalism School, where a small number of protesters had convened, while some others stood ready with cameras and recorders by the encampment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That is when it all began. Campers began walking their tents off the lawn. One group began chanting. Another at the opposite end of the lawn sang protest hymns. I was with a small cohort of journalists who followed the tents to another small lawn, a clever decoy – whether intended or not – that meant many of us missed the moment, at the opposite end of campus, when protesters entered Hamilton Hall.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By the time we had run over, tens of student protesters had gathered to link arms outside the building, which their predecessors had taken over in 1968 to protest against the Vietnam War, and in 1985 to demand that Columbia divest from firms tied to apartheid South Africa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two of my colleagues were in the middle of the scrum, up against the doors watching two counter-protesters attempt to stop the occupation before being pushed out. Protesters rushed metal picnic tables, wooden chairs, trash cans, and planters to the doors where they were zip-tied together, effectively forming a barricade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two masked individuals appeared from a second-floor balcony to cheers and applause. They unfurled a hand-painted sign, “Hind’s Hall”, a reference to the six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed with her family in their car in January as they tried to escape Israel’s military assault in Gaza, reports Al Jazeera&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That night, I fell asleep on the floor of a sixth-storey classroom in Pulitzer Hall to the echoes of song, one lone voice amplified through a megaphone, coming from Hamilton Hall, “This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me, the world can’t take it away.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 11:55:52', '2024-05-05 11:55:52'),
(12227, 12227, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A driver died after crashing a vehicle into a gate at the White House Saturday night, authorities said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The driver was found dead in the vehicle following the crash shortly before 10:30 p.m. at an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex, the US Secret Service said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Security protocols were implemented but there was no threat to the White House, the agency said.</div><div><br></div><div>The driver was not immediately identified, reports AP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Secret Service will continue to investigate the matter, while turning over the fatal crash portion of the investigation to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, the agency said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 12:09:17', '2024-05-05 12:09:17'),
(12228, 12228, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, currently in Saudi Arabia, performed the holy Umrah on Saturday night.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">BNP’s Makkah unit president Abul Kalam Azad said the BNP secretary general and his wife Rahat Ara Begum arrived in Makkah from Medina on Saturday evening.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They performed the Umrah along with some local BNP leaders and activists after Esha prayers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following the completion of the Umrah rituals, Azad said the couple offered prayers at Masjid-al-Haram, reports unb</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, Fakhrul offered a munajat praying for the continued peace, prosperity, and progress of the people of Bangladesh, the country, and the entire Muslim Ummah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Azad said the BNP secretary general also prayed for divine blessings for BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, Acting Chairman Tariq Rahman, and millions of party leaders and workers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said Fakhrul and his wife would visit various historical places in Makkah such as Mount Arafat, Mina-Muzdalifah, Maqam-e-Ibrahim, Jabal-e-Rehmat, Jabal-e-Noor, Zamzam Well, Namirah Mosque, and Makkah Museum on Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Makkah BNP president informed that Fakhrul is scheduled to go to Jeddah from Makkah on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP leader and his wife are expected to return home on May 8 (Wednesday) via a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on May 2, Fakhrul and his wife traveled to Medinah from Dhaka and offered fateha at the grave of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Pbuh). They also attended Jumma prayers in the Prophet\'s Mosque on Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mirza Fakhrul was arrested on October 29, a day after the BNP\'s grand rally in Dhaka\'s Naya Paltan was foiled by the police. He was released on bail on February 15 after nearly three and a half months of imprisonment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP secretary general has long been suffering from various physical complications, and his condition worsened since he went to jail. His wife Rahat Ara Begum was also sick.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 12:49:50', '2024-05-05 12:49:50'),
(12229, 12229, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The purchasing power of marginal, middle class and lower middle class has decreased due to the direct impact of double-digit inflation, said Distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya on Sunday.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">So the main budget for the next fiscal year 2024-2025 will be how to restore the stability of the macro economy and reducing the high inflation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said this at a press briefing when unveiling a survey report titled \"New Government, National Budget and Citizen\'s Aspirations\", which was conducted in collaboration with the Citizen\'s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh. The event was held in a hotel in Gulshan on Sunday (May 5).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the press briefing also urged for the government to allocate more funds for social protection, education, and health in the next budget.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Unveiling the report, Dr. Debapriya said the number of child marriages, malnutrition, and population under the poverty line has increased along with widening the income discrimination in the society.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The inflation situation improved globally including the South Asian countries, while in Bangladesh the inflation situation is totally opposite, people are crying in manage their family expenditure as they have been experiencing a deteriorated inflation for two years,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The survey revealed that decent employment is the top aspiration for Bangladeshi people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In terms of decent employment, 44.9 percent of citizens surveyed also called to reduce unemployment, 36.44 percent wanted increased job opportunities, and 11.02 percent aspired for allowances for the unemployed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;The second major aspiration was education, with 49.72 percent of the respondents saying they wanted quality education. A total of 28.53 percent also asked that a stipend or scholarship be provided.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another agenda was social protection, with 33.25% aspiring for food security.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Parliament has a standing committee on budget, let them meet. Such a meeting was not seen in the previous Parliament,” Dr. Debapriya pointed out.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, the finance minister has to present the economic situation to the parliament every three months, but this has not been practiced, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">CPD executive director Dr. Fahmida Khatun said that tax management should be improved. Those who are paying taxes are being taxed more. They are often harassed, reports unb</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Many people are not paying taxes, they are evading taxes. Besides, money is going abroad through money laundering, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“In the tax structure, direct tax is a tax on direct income, which is 30 percent of the total tax. On the other hand, indirect taxes such as VAT and duties are 70 percent. Change must be made here, she pointed out.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 13:29:56', '2024-05-05 13:29:56'),
(12230, 12230, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi likened the upcoming upazila polls to the ‘sham’ election of January 7, urging the voters of the country to boycott the elections to be held in four phases.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The government is going to hold dummy elections to upazila parishads like January 7, as no democratic party is participating in these polls,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rizvi said this while distributing leaflets, containing the party’s call to boycott the upazila polls, in the capital’s Bailey Road area on Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He slammed the current government for depriving the people of their right to vote and choose their representatives through rigged elections.&nbsp; “This situation has been created by the head of the current government, which came to power through a dummy election.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“So, I urge the country\'s people not to participate in any election under this dummy government. Those present here belong to various upazilas. None of you should cast your votes,” the BNP leader said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rizvi also lambasted the government for what he said was destroying the electoral system in the country merely to perpetuate its power.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the government is ruining the country by indulging in widespread plundering and siphoning off money abroad since it has no accountability to the people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 152 upazilas across the country are scheduled to go to polls in the first phase on May 8, as announced by the Election Commission. The elections to 492 upazilas will be held in four phases, with the second phase slated for May 23, the third phase for May 29, and the fourth phase for June 5.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">BNP remains steadfast in its decision not to participate in the upazila elections, mirroring its stance on the last national election, asserting that fair elections are impossible under the Awami League government.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, The party also expelled 140 of its grassroots leaders for participating in the first and second phases of the upcoming upazila elections in violation of the party\'s decision.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 15:02:07', '2024-05-05 15:02:07'),
(12231, 12231, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh and Italy will work together to fight disinformation campaign through social media that lures the common people to choose the illegal path to migrate into Europe.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat and Italian Ambassador to Bangladesh Antonio Alessandro reached this agreement at a meeting at the state minister\'s office in Bangladesh Secretariat here this afternoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Human traffickers carry out disinformation campaign on social media to lure people over migration to European countries through illegal channels. As a result, they are exposed to danger and even fall into life risk,” Arafat told reporter, emerging from the meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Not only immigration seekers, but also people in different other sectors also fall the victims to that disinformation campaign, he said, adding, “Therefore, we talked how we can effectively address the problem together”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Noting that Italy will share their laws and regulations over tackling the disinformation campaign, the state minister said, “We will fully support each other to combat the disinformation campaign and make the people aware so that they don’t pay attention to the campaign as it leads to human trafficking”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pointing out that misinformation is not a matter of politics, Arafat said many women and children also become victims of misinformation in urban and rural areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Some fall into risk by choosing the illegal way of migration. Therefore, there is a necessity of coordination among the government, local stockholders and foreign missions in Bangladesh regarding the flow of correct information,” he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Replying to a question over this year’s World Press Freedom Index of the RSF\'s (Reporters Without Borders), the state minister said the report has many methodological weaknesses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I had sent a letter to the RSF showing their methodological weakness in their 2023 report and they acknowledged the mistakes and corrected the data,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But this year, they also followed the same process in making the report, Arafat said, questioning the credibility of their sources from which they take information, saying, “Are those sources giving objective information with honesty or do they have any agenda?”&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mentioning that the report will lose its credibility if there is any methodological weakness and information is incorporated without verification, he said, “I welcome the RSF’s ranking initiative. But I would urge them to remove the methodological weaknesses and verify information before making the report”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, talking to reporters, the Italian ambassador said that they discussed about how they can counter disinformation and fake news together, particularly concerning the illegal migration issues.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He emphasized on making correct information available and creating awareness among the people about legal migration to stop illegal migration, reports BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Antonio Alessandro said safer and legal path to migrate into Europe should be promoted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We also discussed about the people to people relation,” he said, adding that they also discussed about how Bangladesh can present its cultural heritage in Italy through cinema and participate in some important art exhibitions in Venice and Milan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-05 15:32:51', '2024-05-05 15:32:51'),
(12232, 12232, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Health Emergency Operation Center and Control Room (HEOC & CR) of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) confirmed the deaths.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The DGHS reported the fatalities from the information it received at its control room till Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, one person died and three people suffered injuries due to heatstroke across the country in the past 24 hours till Monday morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The DGHS started recording heatstroke related deaths from April 22.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A mild to very severe heat wave swept through the country for about a month staring from first week of April. Later the temperature started to fall across the country after rains in the first week of the current month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The heat wave also forced the government to shut the primary and secondary schools, colleges and madrashas till May 2. According to UNB reports </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 10:52:34', '2024-05-06 16:37:14'),
(12234, 12234, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A major fire that erupted in the Chandpai range of the Sundarbans East Zone on Saturday afternoon has been successfully contained after over 29 hours of continuous efforts by multiple emergency teams.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mongla Station Officer Md Kaymuzzaman from the Fire Service confirmed that the coordinated efforts of the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Forest Guard, and Fire Service brought the blaze under control by around 8 pm Sunday. “The fire is under control but will remain under observation,” he stated, highlighting the caution with which the situation is being handled.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The incident drew immediate attention from senior officials, including Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury, Deputy Commissioner of Bagerhat Mohammad Khalid Hossain, and Superintendent of Police Abul Hasnat Khan, who visited the site on Sunday afternoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Post-visit, CCF Chowdhury briefed the media, estimating that approximately 5 acres of forest land had been affected. Water has been sprayed over the affected area, and starting Monday morning, drones will be used to ensure no hidden fires remain, he explained.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Furthermore, Chowdhury announced the formation of a high-level committee to assess the fire’s impact on the Sundarbans’ biodiversity. The committee is expected to deliver a report with recommendations within the next ten working days, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The response underscores the ongoing commitment to preserving the unique ecosystem of the Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its rich biodiversity and as a habitat for the endangered Bengal tiger. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 11:05:29', '2024-05-06 11:05:46'),
(12235, 12235, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>As student protests advocating for Palestinian statehood gain momentum worldwide, universities in Bangladesh today saw the largest solidarity rallies.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Organized by the Bangladesh&nbsp; Students\' League (BSL), the event marked a significant moment of support against the brutalities by Israeli forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The rallies, simultaneously held on various campuses at 11:00 am, saw the national flags of Bangladesh and Palestine being raised in unity. The event attracted thousands of students, showcasing the overwhelming support for BSL\'s initiative.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At Dhaka University, the solidarity event centered around the Raju Sculpture, where BSL’s central unit president and general secretary delivered speeches. Students across the campus carried placards and banners with messages such as \"Free Palestine, stop the genocide,\" amplifying their call for action.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The events were not confined to the capital. Major educational institutions like Jahangirnagar University, Chittagong University, and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, along with Shah Azizul Haque College in Bogura and Mymensingh’s Agricultural University, also witnessed significant turnouts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The rallies were live-streamed by major media outlets, attracting nationwide attention and support. This media coverage helped spread the word and garner applause from various quarters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Echoing the words of Bangladesh’s founding father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, \"The world is divided into two camps, the oppressed and the oppressors. I am with the oppressed,” BSL reaffirmed its commitment to justice.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This sentiment was further emphasized in a media release that drew historical parallels between the current situation in Palestine and the genocide during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The statement also highlighted the continued support for Palestinian independence under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, reaffirming Bangladesh\'s long-standing policy towards global peace and solidarity against human rights violations. The initiative by BSL underscores a broader movement advocating for peace and justice for Palestinian civilians, aligning with global efforts to end ongoing atrocities and massacres. Source: UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"34\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 11:11:22', '2024-05-06 11:11:22'),
(12236, 12236, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A prolonged heatwave has significantly increased patient admissions in hospitals throughout Dhaka, with the city\'s medical facilities struggling to cope with the additional burden.&nbsp;</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most admissions involve heatstroke, fever, cold, diarrhoea, and pneumonia, ailments that disproportionately affect children.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Patients and their families face severe heat within hospital premises as well, worsening conditions for those already suffering. Many hospitals, including Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), have reported a surge in cases since Eid, with no space left even on the floors, forcing many to resort to makeshift solutions like hand fans or small table fans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Abul Malek, from Dhaka’s Nodda area, was admitted at DMCH. His son Nadim told UNB, \"The heat is unbearable, and the lack of available beds has left my father to receive treatment on the floor. The situation would have been somewhat manageable with lower temperatures.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In response to the dire situation, Brigadier General Md. Asaduzzaman, Director of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, emphasized their efforts to improve conditions. \"We\'re swapping out all malfunctioning fans and adding new ones wherever possible. Additionally, technicians have been instructed to ensure separate lines for fans and lights to prevent electrical issues.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Patient admissions have reportedly doubled at Kurmitola General Hospital, Mugda Medical College and Hospital and Dhaka Shishu Hospital as well since Eid. The majority of these patients are suffering from diarrhoea and pneumonia. The emergency and outpatient medicine departments are under the most pressure, facing the highest patient load.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Professor Dr. Farid Ahmed, Head of General Pediatrics at Dhaka Shishu Hospital, highlighted the impact of the heatwave on young patients: \"With the heat continuing, children are particularly vulnerable to heatstroke and other diseases, which have led to an alarming rate of hospital admissions. We are struggling to provide enough beds.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Public health expert and former director of Disease Control at Directorate General of Health Services, Professor Dr. Be-Nazir Ahmed, stressed the severity of the situation, noting, \"The current heatwave is unbearable. It not only raises the risk of cholera but also heightens the likelihood of other diseases. Extreme temperatures disrupt normal bodily functions, posing life-threatening risks and increasing susceptibility to various infections.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The authorities have urged the public to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary and avoid direct exposure to extreme temperatures. With schools reopening, there is an increased concern for children\'s safety, necessitating heightened awareness and preventive measures against foodborne diseases and dehydration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This crisis underscores the pressing need for improved infrastructure and preparedness to handle climate-induced health emergencies, particularly for the most vulnerable populations such as children. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 11:25:27', '2024-05-06 11:25:27');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(12237, 12237, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza\'s southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The announcement complicates last-ditch efforts by international mediators, including the director of the CIA, to broker a cease-fire. The militant Hamas group and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that invading Rafah - along the border with Egypt - could derail the talks, and the United States has repeatedly urged Israel against the invasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said the invasion is necessary to defeat the Islamic militant group.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said some 100,000 people were being ordered to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. He said Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and would not say whether this was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city. But after Oct. 7 and the unprecedented attack on southern Israel by Hamas, Israel did not formally announce the launch of a ground invasion that continues to this day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overnight, Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, told U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin that Israel had no choice but to act in Rafah. On Sunday, Hamas carried out a deadly rocket attack from the Rafah area that killed four Israeli soldiers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Shoshani said Israel published a map of the evacuation area, and that orders were being issued through air-dropped leaflets, text messages and radio broadcasts. He said Israel has expanded humanitarian aid into Muwasi, including field hospitals, tents, food and water.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israel\'s army said on the social platform X that it would act with “extreme force” against militants, and urged the population to evacuate immediately for their safety.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israel\'s plan to invade Rafah has raised global alarm because of the potential for harm to more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About 1.4 million Palestinians&nbsp; more than half of Gaza’s population —are jammed into the city and its surroundings. Most of them fled their homes elsewhere in the territory to escape Israel’s onslaught and now face another wrenching move or the danger of staying under a new assault. They live in densely packed tent camps, overflowing U.N. shelters or crowded apartments, and are dependent on international aid for food, with sanitation systems and medical facilities infrastructure crippled.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The U.N. agency that has helped millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for decades, known as UNRWA, warned Monday of devastating consequences of a Rafah offensive, including more civilian suffering and deaths. The agency said it would not leave but stay in Rafah as long as possible to continue providing lifesaving assistance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Egypt’s Rafah crossing, a main transfer point for aid going into Gaza, lies in the evacuation zone. The crossing remained open on Monday after the Israeli order.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But even as the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have pushed for a cease-fire agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated last week that the military would move on the city “with or without a deal” to achieve its goal of destroying the Hamas militant group.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Monday, Netanyahu accused Hamas of “torpedoing” the hostage deal and not budging from its “extreme demands” while vowing to stop the militants from retaking control of Gaza. In a fiery speech Sunday evening marking the country’s annual Holocaust memorial day, he rejected international pressure to halt the war, saying that \"if Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Hamas official told The Associated Press that Israel is trying to pressure the group into making concessions on the cease-fire, but that it won\'t change its demands. Hamas wants a full end to the war, withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the eventual reconstruction of the strip in exchange for the Israeli hostages held by the militants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shoshani would not say whether the upcoming Rafah operation is a response to Sunday\'s attack by Hamas that forced Israel\'s key border crossing for aid to close. He said it would not affect how much aid enters Gaza as other crossing points remain operational.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He wouldn\'t comment, however, on U.S. warnings not to invade and wasn\'t clear on whether Monday\'s evacuation order was coordinated with Egypt.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Egypt, a strategic partner of Israel, has said that an Israeli military seizure of the Gaza-Egypt border — which is supposed to be demilitarized — or any move to push Palestinians into Egypt would threaten its four-decade-old peace treaty with Israel.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Rafah, people received flyers Monday morning in Arabic detailing which neighborhood blocks needed to leave and where humanitarian zones had expanded to. The flyers said that aid services would spread from Deir al Balah in the north to the center of Khan Younis city in the middle of the Gaza Strip.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Anyone found near (militant) organizations endangers themselves and their family members. For your safety, the (army) urges you to evacuate immediately to the expanded humanitarian area”, it read.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Palestinians in Rafah said people gathered to discuss their options after receiving the flyers. Most said they did not want to move alone and preferred to travel in groups.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“So many people here are displaced and now they have to move again, but no one will stay here it’s not safe,” Nidal Alzaanin told The Associated Press by phone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A father of five, Alzaanin works for an international aid group and was displaced to Rafah from Beit Hanoun in the north at the start of the war. He said people are concerned since Israeli troops shot at Palestinians as they moved during previous evacuation orders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Alzaanin said he has packed his documents and bags but will wait 24 hours to see what others do before relocating. He said he has a friend in Khan Younis whom he hopes can pitch a tent for his family.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But some people say they\'re too tired and fed up of months of devastation to flee again, reports AP&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sahar Abu Nahel was displaced to Rafah with 20 of her family, her husband is being held by Israel, her son-in-law in missing, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Where am I going to go? I have no money or anything. I am seriously tired as are (my) children,\" she said wiping tears from her cheeks. “Maybe its more honorable for us to die. We are being humiliated,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 11:59:03', '2024-05-06 11:59:03'),
(12238, 12238, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Students of Pabna University of Science and Technology (PUST) protest against Israeli aggression in Palestine on banner of PUST Bangladesh Students League.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Students held an assembly program in front of the Independence Square of PUST campus on Monday. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the demonstration, the protesting students held placards with messages such as ‘Free Palestine’, ‘Palestine needs to be free’, ‘Solidarity with the Palestine’, Stay with Palestine and \'Stop Genocide in Gaza.\'</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, they chanted slogans like ‘free Palestine’, ‘Stay with Palestine’</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After rally,  BSL PUST Branch president Mr. Faridul Islam Babu said, ‘All of you know Israel has started the killing mission in Palestine illegally. We Protest it and condemn for the Israel genocides. We are giving a message of sympathy to the Palestine People.’    </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At that time Mr. Kamal Hossain the proctor of PUST, former proctor Mr. Awal Kabir Joy, Co-Proctor Mr. Masud Rana, Mr. Yeahiya Bapary Akash, Mr. Lokman Khan, officers, employees and students were present.  </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/T/fas</div>', NULL, 'PUST Correspondent', '[\"38\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 12:31:02', '2024-05-06 12:38:28'),
(12239, 12239, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka University will resume in-person classes and exams from May 8.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The decision came with a notification issued from the DU public relations office on Monday.</div><div><br></div><div>The intense heat wave is now at bearable level, and so Dhaka University will resume its in person classes from Wednesday (May 8) and the examinations will be held in person as usual, the notification reads.</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"38\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 12:35:21', '2024-05-06 12:35:21'),
(12240, 12240, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today asked the public representatives to work for fulfilling people\'s expectations as she administered oath to newly elected Lalmonirhat Zilla Parishad Chairman Abu Bakar Siddique Shyamol.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Keep in mind the needs of the people and work to fulfill their expectations accordingly,\" Prime Minister\'s Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhawat Moon quoted her as saying at the oath taking ceremony at her office.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a media briefing Moon said the prime minister also emphasized coordination in the local level to accomplish responsibility.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md. Tazul Islam and PM\'s Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah were present at the oath taking ceremony at the PMO.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local Government Division Secretary Muhammad Ibrahim conducted the function.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Abu Bakar Siddique Shyamol won the Lalmonirhat Zilla Parishad Chairman by-election held on April 3. Source: BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 13:15:52', '2024-05-06 13:15:52'),
(12241, 12241, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has taken 10 decisions to stop the illegal broadcasting of domestic and foreign TV channels and operation of unlicensed commercial activities on the broadcast media.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ministry took the decisions at a meeting with the Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Ministry at the Information and Broadcasting Ministry\'s conference room on April 2, said an official release today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat chaired the meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The decisions are: only service providers permitted under the Cable Television Network Management Act, 2006 can transmit domestic and foreign channels approved by the government to the subscribers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign channels or any unauthorized channel cannot be downlinked, broadcast, transmitted or distributed without clean feed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Set-top boxes cannot be imported and marketed illegally.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is completely illegal to carry out campaigns inspiring the use of apps for streaming TV channels or selling such apps by installing in set-top-boxes. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) should take legal action against this illegal act.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and ICT will take necessary steps in accordance with the existing laws and regulations against any illegal activity for Bangladesh\'s security and increasing government revenue collection, preventing money laundering and preserving the country\'s art, literature, culture and values.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Section 3(1) of the Cable Television Network Management Act, 2006, no distributor or service provider shall downlink, market, transmit or broadcast any channel in Bangladesh other than the channels approved by the government on the basis of designated application form. Furthermore, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued instructions regarding clean feed broadcasting of foreign TV channels programmes, so no person or organization could broadcast or transmit foreign TV channel programmes without clean feed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Section 3(2) of the Cable Television Network Management Act, 2006, no distributor or service provider can market, transmit or broadcast any channel in Bangladesh through their own programmes like video, VCD, DVD or any other means except the government approved channels. No person or institution shall broadcast or transmit the feed of a domestic or foreign TV channel or any channel of its own violating the law.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the Section 4(1) of the Cable Television Network Management Act, 2006, no person shall operate activities as a distributor or service provider without holding license. Therefore, no person or organization except license holding distributors or service providers can operate or broadcast TV channels or programmes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorized distributors should inform their foreign TV channel broadcasters about the decisions in written form.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Legal action will be taken against persons or organizations involved in unlawful, illegal or unauthorized broadcasting. According to BSS reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 14:01:42', '2024-05-06 14:01:42'),
(12242, 12242, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday said, \'The common people are not joining the upazila polls. The pro-democracy eople are not showing interest in contesting the polls.\'</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He said that the list of candidates for the Upazila Parishad polls has exposed how Awami League has turned into an empty vessel, as genuine politicians are being sidelined from the election race.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking at a human chain programme, the BNP leader also said the majority of ruling party ministers, MPs are primarily businessmen and opportunists. “They’re buying nominations while those who do politics are no longer there in the elections.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Pointing to the Awami League General Secretary, he said, \"Your party has become an empty tin box. So, think of your party first, then talk about BNP. An empty vessel makes much noise. Your voices are louder because your Awami League has become an empty vessel.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Rizvi said the ruling party leaders often talk about BNP’s weakness, failures and frustration just to cover up their own party’s crumbling and dismal condition.</div><div><br></div><div>\'Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel Mukti Parishad\' arranged the human chain programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club, demanding the unconditional release of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia (from house arrest), joint secretary general Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel and other jailed leaders of the party and its associate bodies.</div><div><br></div><div>Rizvi said the ruling party made frantic efforts but failed to garner public support for the sham elections to the upazila Parishads. “Those who belong to Awami League are saying, if the relatives, including children, wives and brothers-in-law, of the ministers and MPs can contest the upazila polls what will the party’s other leaders do?</div><div><br></div><div>He said although the high command asked the relatives of the ministers and MPs not to be candidates in the upazila polls, hardly anyone paid heed to it.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The wives, sons, daughters, and brothers-in-law who are contesting the elections are arguing that if 20 or 30 of the Prime Minister\'s relatives can participate in the Upazila elections, then why should they be excluded? This is the situation,\" Rizvi said.</div><div><br></div><div>Rizvi said those who betray the people\'s trust and those who snatch the people’s ownership of the country cannot get public support: “Awami League is currently encircled by a handful of opportunists, loan defaulters and members of the market syndicate. They’re the mass enemies”</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'Staff Correspondent', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 14:40:59', '2024-05-06 14:40:59'),
(12243, 12243, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Pro-Palestinian activists have presented a list of 18 demands to the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party and said they will not vote for the party at the next general election if he does not fulfill them.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Muslim Vote, a campaign to get Muslim voters to back pro-Palestine candidates, has called for Sir Keir Starmer to promise to cut military ties with Israel, implement a travel ban on Israeli politicians involved in the war in Gaza and impose sanctions on companies operating in occupied territories. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The group told Starmer he must commit to “real action” and deliver on its requests if he was “serious” about his pledge to rebuild trust with those angered by his stance on the conflict in Gaza, The Telegraph reported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Supporters would vote for the Green Party or Liberal Democrats if he could not commit to their demands, it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Labour’s campaign chief Pat McFadden acknowledged that Starmer’s approach to the conflict had cost the party votes at last week’s local elections. Support for Labour dropped dramatically in areas with a high Muslim populations, including Oldham in Greater Manchester, where the party lost overall control of the council in a shock defeat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the result, Starmer said he was determined to regain the trust of those who abandoned Labour as a result of his stance on the Gaza war but did not make any concrete pledges on the matter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Muslim Vote challenged Starmer with committing to the 18 demands and implementing them should he become the next prime minister.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They include removing the definition of extremism introduced by Secretary of State for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove and issuing guidance that allows Muslims to pray at school. - Arab News </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 14:53:41', '2024-05-06 14:54:05'),
(12244, 12244, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The UK considered sending asylum-seekers to Iraq for processing, new documents have shown.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iraq is considered very dangerous, with the UK government advising against all travel to the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But a plan similar to the Rwanda scheme to process migrants in a third-party country was floated at one stage by Whitehall officials, with negotiations said to have achieved “good recent progress.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UK has struck a returns agreement with Baghdad for Iraqi citizens, which was achieved without a formal announcement or acknowledgement and a plea for “discretion,” the documents, seen by Sky News, suggest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The cache of papers casts new light on the UK government’s approach to dealing with asylum-seekers and illegal migration, including a desire to improve relations with the Iranian Embassy in London in order to ease the repatriation of Iranian citizens, and moves to establish return agreements with Eritrea and Ethiopia. According to Arab News&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd/fas</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 15:04:32', '2024-05-06 15:04:32'),
(12245, 12245, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Despite Bangladesh\'s convincing victories in the first two T20I matches against Zimbabwe in Chattogram, BCB President and Sports Minister Nazmul Hasan has voiced his dissatisfaction with the national team\'s batting performance.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>While acknowledging the comfortable wins, Nazmul expressed his concerns.</div><div><br></div><div>“We have won two matches against Zimbabwe convincingly, it’s true, but I did not like the batting,” he said today in Mirpur.</div><div><br></div><div>He specifically highlighted the struggle of the batting unit to post competitive totals, even against a relatively weaker opponent. “There is a gap between our approach to T20 and the IPL,” he observed. “Even a total of 250-260 doesn\'t guarantee a win, and we still struggle to reach 140-145.”</div><div><br></div><div>Nazmul, however, commended the bowlers for their impressive performances, praising the return of Mohammad Saifuddin and the contributions of Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed. He also praised Mustafizur Rahman for his IPL performance.</div><div><br></div><div>Critics have questioned the effectiveness of playing against Zimbabwe as preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup, given the team\'s recent struggles. Nazmul acknowledged that the series was not specifically chosen for preparation but was part of the ICC Future Tours Program, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh will look to seal the series with a win in the third T20I before heading to the USA for another three-match T20I series as part of their build-up to the World Cup.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 16:16:02', '2024-05-06 16:16:02'),
(12246, 12246, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The influence of businessmen is increasingly evident in local government elections, leading to a predominance of politics for profit or personal interest over public welfare, according to Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The corruption watchdog made this observation during a press conference on Monday, that was arranged to present their analysis of the affidavits the contenders submitted with their nomination papers for the first phase of the Sixth Upazila Parishad Election.</div><div><br></div><div>The same analysis revealed astonishing increases in wealth among incumbent Upazila Parishad representatives, outdoing even MPs - although most of them would have started from a lower base compared to MPs.</div><div><br></div><div>TIB said there is a growing tendency to view elections as an \'investment opportunity\' ignoring public interest, and this has now evidently spread to the grassroots level as well.</div><div><br></div><div>According to TIB\'s analysis of candidate affidavits, the growing influence of businessmen in local government elections is now almost similar to the national election, where the influence of businesses has been noted from even earlier.</div><div><br></div><div>The proportion of candidates with business backgrounds has risen by 8 percentage points compared to the fourth election, reaching 56 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>Among these candidates, some 69.86 percent of chairman candidates, 66.59 percent of vice chairman candidates, and 24.37 percent of female vice chairman candidates are involved in businesses.</div><div><br></div><div>Additionally, 19.5 percent of candidates listing their occupation as housewife or housekeeper derive income from business ventures.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking at the press conference, TIB Executive Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, “In our country, politics and public representation are power-oriented. Personal gain often takes priority over public welfare. Additionally, principles such as respect for the law, party discipline, and adherence to party decisions, which are expected from democratic institutions like political parties, are now held hostage to power politics.”</div><div><br></div><div>He said the pursuit of political power is seen as a pathway to unlimited wealth expansion, resulting in unhealthy competition.</div><div><br></div><div>“Of concern is whether businessmen entering politics are following proper procedures and engaging in fair competition. Those who still aspire to promote a healthy, people-oriented political culture are now nearly extinct or marginalised in the face of power politics,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>In continuation of their regular analysis of candidates\' affidavits ahead of parliamentary elections in the country, TIB conducted dashboard analysis and reviewed affidavits of candidates participating in Upazila Parishad elections.</div><div><br></div><div>The TIB executive director termed the results of the analysis of the candidates\' wealth statements as \'shocking\'.</div><div><br></div><div>Over a 5-year period, the highest spike in movable assets among parliamentarians, according to TIB\'s own analysis, had been recorded at a staggering 3065%, prior to the 12th parliamentary election. </div><div><br></div><div>But among incumbent Upazila Parishad chairmen - starting from a comparatively lower base in most cases - who are running again in this year\'s election (phase 1), the highest spike in movable assets has been recorded at an astounding 4251%.</div><div><br></div><div>When it comes to income, the highest growth recorded among Upazila Parishad chairmen was an eye-watering 3319% over 5 years,  which went up to an incredible 18233% for a chairman incumbent for 10 years now.</div><div><br></div><div>The highest increase in assets belonging to wives and dependents among the UP chairmen running again is an almost obscene 12,400%.</div><div><br></div><div>“From the analysis, we see that the earnings of many candidates have increased astonishingly, and in some cases, the rate of increase of income and wealth is even higher than that of national election candidates. There are also doubts whether the information provided in the affidavits are legit or correct. Some candidates have presented very low income, which is unbelievable.”</div><div><br></div><div>The analysis of affidavits also portrayed how at least nine candidates own more land than the legal limit of 100 bigha or 33 acres.</div><div><br></div><div>Moreover, 23.41 percent of candidates have loans or liabilities. Among them, the highest amount of loan is BDT 1,528 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The analysis further shows that 16.64 percent candidates in the first phase of the Upazila elections have been accused in legal cases.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, only 7 percent of candidates of the first phase of Upazila Elections are multi-millionaires based on movable assets, while some 9 percent candidates have movable assets less than a crore BDT.</div><div><br></div><div>Among them, 94 chairman aspirants and 23 vice chairman aspirants, including six hopefuls for reserved seats are multi-millionaires. But there were 37 multi-millionaires in the 5th election.</div><div><br></div><div>TIB\'s analysis showed that the participation of women is less compared to the national election. There are only 25 women candidates for the chairman post in the Upazila Elections. Overall, analysis shows that 40 per cent of the candidates do not have taxable incomes as they stated their incomes less than BDT 3.5 lakhs annually.</div><div><br></div><div>TIB’s Director of Outreach and Communication, Mohammad Tauhidul Islam presented the analysis. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 16:19:06', '2024-05-06 16:36:32'),
(12247, 12247, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, will arrive in Bangladesh on a two-day visit on Tuesday morning in an effort to \"strengthen modern economic, security and migration partnership\" between Bangladesh and the UK.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UK-Bangladesh cooperation is set to increase on priority areas including migration, economic reform and security, said the British High Commission in Dhaka in an announcement on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On her second visit to Bangladesh in her role as Indo-Pacific Minister, she will reaffirm the UK’s commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During her visit to Dhaka, Minister Trevelyan will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Discussions are expected to focus on UK-Bangladesh migration cooperation, trade and economic ties, and the UK’s support to the Rohingya refugee response.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Minister will also meet business leaders, humanitarian actors, climate experts and, in meetings with civil society organisations and political leaders, she will recognise the importance of democracy and human rights as foundations for long-term growth and prosperity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Minister Trevelyan will also announce new UK support to equip and empower youth and vulnerable groups in Bangladesh to engage in climate action.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said, “I’m pleased to be back in Bangladesh with our new trade policy project marking an important step forward towards closer UK-Bangladesh collaboration, boosting our economic ties.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said they remain steadfast in their support for the Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh, and will provide £12 million of new humanitarian assistance, to increase access to clean water, healthcare, shelter, and protection services for Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Sarah Cooke, said, “Delighted to welcome UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, to Bangladesh. The UK’s long-standing friendship with Bangladesh is cemented by the deep cultural and people-to-people links between our two countries.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"The UK-Bangladesh partnership continues to go from strength to strength. From our joint work to tackle economic challenges, to our steadfast support for the Rohingya, and our partnership on climate change, we are determined to do more together.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reaffirming the UK’s sustained support for the Rohingya people, Minister Trevelyan will announce £12 million (over 163 Crore Taka) of new UK humanitarian assistance to support Rohingya refugees and neighbouring host communities in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new funding will provide clean water, healthcare, shelter and protection services. It will also support the development of the camp’s infrastructure to help protect it from natural disasters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Minister Trevelyan will also announce a new trade policy project with the Government of Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UK will provide technical assistance to Bangladesh to strengthen trade policy capability and implement reforms, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The project will support Bangladesh tackle economic challenges and graduate successfully from Least Developed Country status in 2026.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new package of funding to support Rohingya refugees totals £12 million.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This assistance will be implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UN Population Fund (UNFPA).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, Since 2017, the UK has provided £391 million ($487 million) to support the Rohingya, and neighbouring host communities in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-06 16:33:14', '2024-05-06 16:33:14'),
(12248, 12248, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday urged the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to search for new partners to increase the international fund for Rohingyas who have taken shelter in Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Since the the assistance for Rohingyas has declined, the IOM should look for new partners to raise more funds for them,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier made this call when IOM Director General Amy Pope paid a courtesy call on her at the latter’s official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM’s Speechwriter Md Nazrul Islam briefed reporters after the meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the meeting, they discussed the UN joint response plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis as the international fund for supporting Rohingya refugees has significantly declined.  </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> Hasina also asked IOM to help relocate more Rohingyas to Bhashanchar (island) from Cox’s Bazar camps as accommodation and livelihood facilities are there including self-employment, education for their children, healthcare services and infrastructures for some 100,000 people in Bhashanchar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some 30,000-35,000 Rohingyas have already relocated to Bhashanchar from Cox’s Bazar camps.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IOM Director General who visited Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camps on Monday raised the security issue in the camps, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this context, the premier said now conflict continues in Myanmar and Rohingya people are also divided in different groups and sub-groups in the overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar. So, they are engaged in internal conflicts, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, the Rohingya people have outnumbered the host community  in Cox’s Bazar. So, there are,conflicts for limited resources there, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She, however, said adequate number of law enforcement agencies have been deployed to maintain the law and order in the Rohingya camps areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 08:14:27', '2024-05-07 08:30:48'),
(12249, 12249, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The term \"World Literature\"&nbsp; is a translation of the German word Weltliteratur, which was coined by Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832).&nbsp; Goethe was a prolific writer and is credited with beginning the literary movement known at Romanticism through the publication of his epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774).&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>After surviving a particularly tumultuous time period in history, Goethe realized that the best way to help his country was to create a national identity for Germany through the medium of literature.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Once that national identity was established and accepted throughout Europe, then the literature would carry weight and become interesting to readers in other countries, leading to translations and the dissemination of works not only throughout Europe, but also to European colonies.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>His theories about Weltliteratur would inspire not only the unification of Germany under Otto von Bismark (1871), but they also lead to a movement that would take hold in the Twentieth Century for an expansion of inclusive literature and the creation of departments devoted to the study of World Literature. - Solano</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 08:19:42', '2024-05-07 08:19:42'),
(12250, 12250, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) forecast rain or thundershowers in seven divisions including Dhaka and Chattogram in 24 hours commencing 9 am on Tuesday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at many places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at a few places over Rangpur division with hails at isolated places,\" said a Met office bulletin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Day and night temperatures may remain nearly unchanged over the country, reports unb</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, a mild heat wave is sweeping Gopalgonj, Jashore and Chuadanga districts and it may abate, it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The country’s highest temperature was recorded in Jashore at 37.6 degree Celsius over the past 24 hours till 6 am on Monday while the lowest temperature in Bandarban at 18.8 degree Celsius on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, the highest 130mm rainfall was recorded in Feni till 6am today.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 08:30:26', '2024-05-07 08:30:26'),
(12251, 12251, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Sri Lanka government on Monday decided to maintain the existing 50 U.S. dollar fee for a 30-day single entry visa for foreigners visiting the country, the President\'s Media Division (PMD) said.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The PMD added that the free visa service currently offered to citizens of India, China, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia will also continue.</div><div><br></div><div>Sri Lanka recently revised its visa fees, and introduced several new categories that visitors eligible for on-arrival visas can apply for.</div><div><br></div><div>These revised fees were criticized by tourism stakeholders. Taking these concerns into account, President Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed to the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday to keep the visa fee for a 30-day single entry visa at 50 dollars, PMD said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Cabinet of Ministers approved the president\'s proposal, the PMD added. - XINHUA</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 08:36:51', '2024-05-07 08:36:51'),
(12252, 12252, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Rescue teams worked through the night searching for dozens of construction workers buried for more than 12 hours under the rubble of concrete after a multi-story apartment complex that was being built collapsed in a coastal city in South Africa.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorities said early Tuesday that the death toll had risen to five, while 49 workers remained unaccounted-for in the mangled wreckage of the building, which collapsed on Monday afternoon. Authorities said a further 21 workers had been rescued from the rubble and taken to various hospitals, with at least 11 of them suffering severe injuries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The collapse happened in the city of George, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of Cape Town on South Africa\'s south coast.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 100 emergency personnel and other responders were on the scene, using sniffer dogs to try to locate the workers, some of whom were feared buried under huge slabs of concrete that fell on them when the five-story building came down.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Large cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were brought to the site to help with the rescue effort and tall spotlights were erected to allow search and rescue personnel to work through the night.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There were 75 workers on the construction site when the building collapsed, the George municipality said. It said three teams of rescuers were working at separate sites around the collapsed building where they believed construction workers were likely to be, reports AP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Family and friends of the workers gathered at the nearby municipal offices.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our thoughts are with the families and all those affected who continue to wait on word of their loved ones,” George Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorities were investigating what caused the tragedy and a case was opened by police, but there was no immediate information on why the building suddenly collapsed. CCTV footage from a nearby home showed the concrete structure and metal scaffolding around it come crashing down at 2.09 p.m. on Monday afternoon, causing a plume of dust to rise over the neighborhood.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 09:10:37', '2024-05-07 09:10:37'),
(12253, 12253, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Twenty-one students of the Madinatul Ulum Madrasah in Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur were injured by a lightning strike on Monday, with 11 of them having to be hospitalised.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The hospitalised students\' names are Hossain, Samiul, Mujahid, Rezaul, Oliullah, Mustakim, Sajim, Maruf, Abdur Rahman, Riyad, Bayezid.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Maolana Keramot Ali, the mohtamim (trustee) of the madrasah, as evening fell amid rain on Monday, a thunderbolt struck the courtyard of the madrasah.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the time, some 21 students, all third-graders at the Nurani section of the school, who were enjoying the cool shower from the madrasa building\'s balcony, were injured.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fellow students and teachers rushed all 21 of them to the Nagarkanda Upazila Health Complex, where 10 could be released after primary treatment.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The rest remain under treatment. According to UNB reports</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"34\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 09:24:14', '2024-05-07 09:24:14');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(12254, 12254, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, moving forward with an offensive in the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The move comes after hours of whiplash in the Israel-Hamas war, with the militant group on Monday saying it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated cease-fire proposal. Israel, meanwhile, insisted the deal did not meet its core demands. The high-stakes diplomatic moves and military brinkmanship left a glimmer of hope alive — but only barely — for an accord that could bring at least a pause in the 7-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Israeli 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing early Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said, taking “operational control” of the crucial crossing. It’s the main route for aid entering the besieged enclave and exit for those able to flee into Egypt. Israel fully controls all access in and out of Gaza since the war began.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Footage released by the Israeli military showed a tank entering the crossing. Details of the video matched known features of the crossing and showed Israeli flags flying from tanks that seized the area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Israeli military claimed it seized the crossing after receiving intelligence it was “being used for terrorist purposes.” The military did not provide evidence to immediately support the assertion, though it alleged the area around the crossing had been used to launch a mortar attack that killed four Israeli troops and wounded others near the Kerem Shalom Crossing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military also said that ground troops and airstrikes targeted suspected Hamas positions in Rafah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, acknowledged Israeli forces had seized the crossing and had closed the facility for the time being. He said strikes had targeted the area around the crossing since Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson declined to immediately comment on the Israeli seizure. Egypt previously has warned any seizure of Rafah could see Palestinians fleeing over the border, a scenario that could threaten a 1979 peace deal with Israel that’s been a linchpin for regional security.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The offensive again raised the risks of an all-out Israeli assault on Rafah, a move the United States strongly opposes and that aid groups warn will be disastrous for some 1.4 million Palestinians taking refuge there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Egyptian officials said the proposal called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and partial Israeli troop pullbacks within Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal out of the territory, they said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hamas sought clearer guarantees for its key demand of an end to the war and complete Israeli withdrawal in return for the release of all hostages, but it wasn’t clear if any changes were made.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israeli leaders have repeatedly rejected that trade-off, vowing to keep up their campaign until Hamas is destroyed after its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war. According to AP reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 11:07:44', '2024-05-07 11:07:44'),
(12255, 12255, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>International migration remains a driver of human development and economic growth, highlighted by a more than 650 percent increase in international remittances from 2000 to 2022, rising from USD 128 billion to USD 831 billion, according to a new global report released today.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The growth continued despite predictions from many analysts that remittances would decrease substantially because of COVID-19.</div><div><br></div><div>The International Organization for Migration (IOM) launched the World Migration Report 2024, which reveals significant shifts in global migration patterns, including a record number of displaced people and a major increase in international remittances.</div><div><br></div><div>IOM Director General Amy Pope formally released the report in Bangladesh, which stands at the \"forefront of migration\" challenges, including emigration, immigration and displacement.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We hope the report inspires collaborative efforts to harness the potential of migration as a driver for human development and global prosperity,\" DG Pope said.</div><div><br></div><div>By choosing Dhaka as the report\'s launch site, IOM not only highlights the country\'s efforts in supporting vulnerable migrants and fostering pathways for regular migration but also recognizes Bangladesh\'s important role in shaping global migration discourse and policy, IOM said.</div><div><br></div><div>As a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration Champion country, Bangladesh has demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing migration issues and implementing policies that safeguard migrants\' rights, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>This proactive engagement aligns with IOM\'s strategic objectives, making Bangladesh an ideal location to launch the 2024 World Migration Report.</div><div><br></div><div>Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said as one of the GCM champion countries, Bangladesh will not only continue to act upon the pledges it has made for its domestic context but would also take up emerging issues and challenges pertaining to migration and development for informed deliberations at the international level.</div><div><br></div><div>“The World Migration Report 2024 helps demystify the complexity of human mobility through evidence-based data and analysis,” Pope said at the launch.</div><div><br></div><div>“In a world grappling with uncertainty, understanding migration dynamics is essential for informed decision-making and effective policy responses, and the World Migration Report advances this understanding by shedding light on longstanding trends and emerging challenges.”</div><div><br></div><div>Of that 831 billion in remittances, 647 billion were sent by migrants to low and middle-income countries. These remittances can constitute a significant portion of those countries\' GDPs, and globally, these remittances now surpass foreign direct investment in those countries.</div><div><br></div><div>Highlighting key findings, the report reveals that while international migration continues to drive human development, challenges persist.</div><div><br></div><div>With an estimated 281 million international migrants worldwide, the number of displaced individuals due to conflict, violence, disaster, and other reasons has surged to the highest levels in modern-day records, reaching 117 million, underscoring the urgency of addressing displacement crises.</div><div><br></div><div>Migration, an intrinsic part of human history, is often overshadowed by sensationalized narratives.</div><div><br></div><div>However, the reality is far more nuanced than what captures headlines.</div><div><br></div><div>Most migration is regular, safe, and regionally focused, directly linked to opportunities and livelihoods.</div><div><br></div><div>Yet, misinformation and politicization have clouded public discourse, necessitating a clear and accurate portrayal of migration dynamics.</div><div><br></div><div>IOM’s World Migration Report, with its innovative digital tools and comprehensive analysis, aims to help dispel myths, provide critical insights, and inspire meaningful action in addressing the challenges and opportunities of human mobility.</div><div><br></div><div>This launch is part of IOM Director General’s first three-day visit to Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Chief of IOM Mission in Bangladesh Abdusattor Esoev, former Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, senior government officials and diplomats stationed in Dhaka were present at the report launching ceremony. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 11:10:51', '2024-05-07 11:10:51'),
(12256, 12256, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A total of 418 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed to maintain law and order situation ahead of the first phase of Upazila Parishad Election tomorrow in 150 upazilas across the country.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to a BGB media release, signed by its Public Relations Officer Md Shariful Islam, the members of the paramilitary force will remain deployed till May 10.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under “In Aid to the Civil Power’’, the BGB personnel will perform duty as mobile and striking force to assist the local civil administration to hold a free, fair and peaceful election, it reads.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Election Commission’s announced schedule, upazila parishad elections to 150 upazilas will be held on May 8 in the first phase. In the second phase, 160 upazilas will go to polls on May 21, and in third phase, 112 upazilas will go to polls on May 29. In the 4th phase, elections will be held in 55 upazilas on June 5.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the EC’s plan, Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) will be used in 22 upazila parishad polls in the first phase, 24 in second phase, 21 in third phase, and two in the fourth phase. Source: UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"42\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 11:33:37', '2024-05-07 11:33:37'),
(12257, 12257, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A half-century from Towhid Hridoy propelled Bangladesh to a competitive total of 165 in the third T20I today against Zimbabwe at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Put in to bat first after losing the toss, Bangladesh\'s openers, Litton Das (12) and Tanzid Hasan Tamim (21), failed to provide a solid start.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Litton’s dismissal, bowled while attempting a scoop shot for the third consecutive delivery, raised eyebrows and questions about his batting approach. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto also departed cheaply for 6, failing to make an impact.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali resurrected the innings with a well-paced partnership.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Towhid played aggressively, smashing 57 runs off 38 balls before falling to Zimbabwe\'s best bowler, Blessing Muzarabani. Jaker Ali continued the momentum, scoring 44 off 34 deliveries before being dismissed by the same bowler.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh, having already won the first two matches of the series at the same venue, will be looking to secure a series victory with another win against Zimbabwe. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 12:06:43', '2024-05-07 12:06:43'),
(12258, 12258, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday asked the authorities concerned to first consider the benefits the people and economy would get before taking up any development project.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We should first think about what the return we would gain, how much it would develop the country’s people and how much it would be used in the welfare of the country’s people,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said this while witnessing a presentation on the programme outlines of the Roads and Highways Department in building the Smart Bangladesh by 2041 at her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also asked the authorities concerned to attach priority to avoiding unnecessary costs as well as expedite the implementation of the projects, said PM’s Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhawat Moon at a press briefing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In case of taking up any plan and scheme, all will have to keep in mind that how much the country\'s&nbsp; economic activities will be accelerated and how much the local people will be benefited and what would be result if a project is implemented or a bridge is constructed, said&nbsp; Hasina</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the countrymen are now enjoying the benefits as some infrastructural developments have taken place quickly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said her government announced the Vision 2021 and has successfully implemented it and thus Bangladesh has got the recognition of a developing nation, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Now, our target is to transform Bangladesh into a developed and prosperous and smart country by 2041. We’ve been working to implement the vision,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and PM\'s Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah, among others, were present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 12:17:10', '2024-05-07 12:17:10'),
(12259, 12259, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his chief opponent Rahul Gandhi called on voters to cast their ballots on Tuesday, as India’s massive general election reached its halfway mark with a turnout lower than expected.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 968 million people have been registered to vote and the polls are held in seven phases from April 19 until June 1. Some of India’s 28 states and eight federally governed territories complete the process on a single day, while others spread it out.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first two phases of the election were held on April 19 and April 26 in 190 constituencies, with a voter turnout of 66.1 percent and 66.7 percent respectively — about 4 percent lower than in 2019.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the third phase on Tuesday, citizens from 94 constituencies in 12 states went to the polls, including in Modi’s home state of Gujarat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Urging all those who are voting in today’s phase to vote in record numbers. Their active participation will certainly make the elections more vibrant,” the incumbent prime minister said on X after casting his ballot.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Modi is eyeing a rare third straight five-year term in power, targeting 400 seats for the National Democratic Alliance led by his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been in power since 2014.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He is challenged by an alliance of two dozen opposition parties — the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, led by the Congress Party, which has ruled the country for close to 45 years since its independence in 1947.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gandhi, Modi’s key contender and Congress leader, is the son of Rajiv Gandhi, a grandson of Indira Gandhi, and a great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru — all of whom had served as prime ministers of India.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Congress plunged to a historic low when it was swept out of power by the BJP in the 2014 election, and won its second-lowest number of 52 seats in 2019.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the turnout showed a declining trend in the first and second phases of the ongoing poll, Gandhi also took to social media to ask voters to show up.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I request all of you to come out in large numbers and vote to protect your rights,” he said. “Remember, this is not an ordinary election, it is an election to protect the democracy and constitution of the country.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 498 million people were eligible to vote in the first three phases, or 60 percent of all registered voters. The total number of parliamentary seats up for grabs is 283 out of 543.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The party or coalition that wins at least 272 seats will form the government.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although surveys suggest Modi will win a majority in parliament easily, analysts say a repeat of his landslide victories in 2014 and 2019 is unlikely.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I think the election has not gone very satisfactorily for the ruling party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The results may be well below their expectations,” said Anand K. Sahay, a columnist and commentator based in Delhi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“My own broad sense is that the government is in the doldrums.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Modi was repeating his previous strategy of mobilizing voters through majoritarian Hindu sentiment, omitting the voters’ main concerns, which pre-poll surveys have identified as unemployment and inflation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The prime minister of India is holding on to one single narrative, that is ranting against the Muslims of India. A man who regards himself as a very successful prime minister for 10 consecutive years is not talking about issues and the records of the governance. There is a deafening silence on that front,” Sahay told Arab News.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apoorvanand Jha, a public intellectual and professor at the University of Delhi, said voters were now “weary” of the rhetoric propagated by the BJP, but it was not clear whether that would result in a regime change, reports Arab News</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“What people have realized now is that it is only political rhetoric and, actually, there is no governance, so that has created a feeling of unease even in the supporters of this regime,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“One does not know whether that will lead to a major change or not. But this is a major shift. The myth of the invincibility of Narendra Modi is broken and the myth of the popularity of Narendra Modi is also something that people have started questioning.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 12:23:42', '2024-05-07 12:23:42'),
(12260, 12260, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was up the West to choose between confrontation and cooperation as he was sworn in for a new six-year term on Tuesday at a Kremlin ceremony that was boycotted by the United States and many of its allies.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than two years into the war in Ukraine, Putin said he wanted to “bow” before Russia’s soldiers there and declared in his inauguration speech that his landslide re-election in March was proof the country was united and on the right track.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“You, citizens of Russia, have confirmed the correctness of the country’s course. This is of great importance right now, when we are faced with serious challenges,” he told dignitaries in a gilded Kremlin hall where a trumpet fanfare sounded to greet his arrival.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I see in this a deep understanding of our common historical goals, a determination to adamantly defend our choice, our values, freedom and the national interests of Russia.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At 71, Putin dominates the domestic political landscape. Leading opposition figures are in prison or exile, and his best known critic, Alexei Navalny, died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony in February.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yulia Navalnaya, the late dissident’s wife, urged supporters in a video on Tuesday to keep up the struggle against Putin. “With each of his terms, everything only gets worse, and its’ frightening to imagine what else will happen while Putin remains in power,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the international stage, Putin is locked in a confrontation with Western countries he accuses of using Ukraine as a vehicle to try to defeat and dismember Russia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Putin told Russia’s political elite after being sworn in that he was not rejecting dialogue with the West, including on nuclear weapons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The choice is theirs: do they intend to continue trying to restrain the development of Russia, continue the policy of aggression, incessant pressure on our country for years, or look for a path to cooperation and peace?” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With Russia’s troops advancing gradually in eastern Ukraine, the top US intelligence official said last week that Putin appeared to see domestic and international developments trending in his favor and the conflict was unlikely to end anytime soon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It remains unclear how far Putin will seek to press the war and on what terms he might discuss ending it — decisions that will depend in part on whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump wins the US presidential election in November. Ukraine says peace can only come with a full withdrawal of Russia’s troops, who control nearly 20 percent of its territory. Source: Reuters&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 13:01:01', '2024-05-07 13:01:01'),
(12261, 12261, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Distinguished Fellow of Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and convener of Citizen Platform, Bangladesh for SDG implementation Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya on Tuesday&nbsp; said that data anarchy in the country has now turned into data breach.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the recent ban on entry of journalists to Bangladesh Bank (BB) is proof of that situation, as the powerful corrupt groups/syndicates are fearing to face the truth.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Debapriya said this while speaking on ‘Macroeconomic Challenges and Way Forward’ in Moazzem Hossain Commemorative Lecture at the auditorium of the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;FRF organised the lecture in honour of its founding president and late editor of the Financial Express Moazzem Hossain.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said that the central bank is the place of people\'s expectations and the big pillar of getting the right information.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said, “We depended on central bank data on financial indicators including export-import even before BBS data. Now why has the information fallen in a barrier banning journalists in the BB, Is it the result of a compromise with a group of influential, it will damage the reputation of the central bank.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr. Debapriya said, some are getting the information, and some are not getting it. Today businessmen are getting information while journalists are not. If information is given to the trader, the market is affected, and the price increases. Bangladesh Bank is a state institution. Journalists are not allowed to enter there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Why expressing the correct information will be face trouble, why it is being seen as a major sabotage? How economic journalists become saboteurs?,” he asked the central bank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Remembering journalist Moazzem Hossain, Dr Debopriya said, the late editor was a completely professional and pure journalist, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Moazzem always performed his duties with integrity, ethics, and complete impartiality. He was the pioneer of economics journalism in Bangladesh,” said Dr Debopriya.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Shamsul Haque Zahid, editor of the English daily Financial Express, ERF President Refayet Ullah Mirdha, and General Secretary Abul Kashem also spoke at the event.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 13:14:41', '2024-05-07 13:14:41'),
(12262, 12262, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope has laid emphasis on broader use of data and data analytics to understand which communities will be impacted the most by climate change so that they can identify those communities.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“So understanding what\'s happening in Bangladesh will require much more analysis and research,” she said in a group interview with five journalists representing local and international media outlets including UNB while responding to a question on climate migration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IOM DG said that is exactly the kind of investment that they are asking governments to make because governments will spend billions of dollars in their border enforcement but they do not spend the same kind of funds in understanding the drivers of migration and then helping to enable communities to adapt or stabilize movements of people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pope, who became Director General of the IOM on 1 October 2023, said their goal is also to teach people either new skills, or new ways of working or in some cases using migration as an adaptation strategy. “So that means not waiting until millions of people are displaced because they have no other option.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Responding to a question from UNB, she said it is not just in Bangladesh, last year, the number of new displacements more were caused by climate impact and conflict around the world. “And we know that hundreds of millions of people now live in communities that are extremely vulnerable to climate impact.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2022 alone, disasters triggered over 1.5 million displacements in Bangladesh, according to World Migration Report 2024.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The subregion has experienced devastating disasters in recent years, some of which have been linked to climate change. Southern Asia is extremely vulnerable to climate shocks and has experienced extreme weather events such as heatwaves and floods in recent years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Long monsoon seasons, hotter weather and increased droughts are all expected to become the “new normal” in the subregion as temperatures continue to rise.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Responding to another question, she said when there are large movements of displaced people globally, it often is to neighboring countries and neighboring countries that just do not have the capacity themselves to respond to those pressures.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“So our key message to donors and this is true, particularly with Bangladesh, is that we need to continue to invest in a response of the neighboring country, a neighboring country which is really shouldering a much greater burden as a result of the conflict,” Pope, the first woman to hold the post in IOM’s 73-year history, told UNB.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And as a gesture of solidarity, she said, governments make a wise investment in the capacity of that host government to be able to continue to host those populations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“So for example, yesterday, when I went to the [Rohingya] camps, we invited a number of donors to go with us. We invited the World Bank to go with us who\'s made some investments in the camps. And we invited some private sector partners, recognizing that we need a wide range of partners to help support,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IOM DG said they know that the government is challenged by the current population density in Bangladesh of Bangladeshi nationals and the availability of job opportunities or economic for charities for them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“So that\'s kind of a starting point for the government. But we do know as a best practice, for any displaced community, there are two things. Our evidence shows that when they have stable shelters, they\'re more likely to be able to move forward. And it helps to prevent a number of related consequences. So shelters and shelter stability is key,” Pope said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The second is the ability to integrate into the job market, she said, adding that, “So where we\'ve seen better outcomes, it\'s because people can have access to education, and they can have access to jobs. If not, then they\'re wholly dependent on humanitarian aid.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And the worry there is that humanitarian aid is decreasing, including to the Rohingya population, frankly, as a result of economies that have been impacted by COVID, and inflation, and other challenges, but also because a number of complex around the world have grown quite considerably over the last several years, so the pressures on the humanitarian system are higher, the DG said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said they are encouraging all governments, not just Bangladesh, but any government that is hosting a large number of displaced people to enable them to access the job market so that they are able to build out solutions for themselves and not be so reliant on humanitarian assistance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I had the opportunity to discuss the Rohingya crisis in quite a lot of detail with her (PM Sheikh Hasina) and about how we can build out better outcomes, especially for women and girls, who we know are particularly vulnerable right now in the camps,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IOM DG said the smugglers are very sophisticated when using social media and they see this around the world.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“There are simply not enough regular pathways for people to access, not enough investment in enabling communities to access those regular pathways, or information about what someone needs to do or what skills they might need,” she said, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“So if we want to have any hope of countering the digitalization of the smuggling economy, we need to do better at providing access both to regular migration opportunities, but to communities who might otherwise migrate irregularly and help them figure out how to migrate regularly,” she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the mapping around what drives people to migrate is uneven and this is where they are encouraging governments to invest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The ideal solution is for every person who\'s coming across and we need to understand what drove them to migrate, where they\'re coming from, and when they came. So in some cases, we have a pretty comprehensive displacement tracking matrix,” said the DG, adding that “But we are seeing increasingly people are being driven by climate change.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 14:27:33', '2024-05-07 14:27:33'),
(12263, 12263, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukraine announced on Tuesday that it had detained two Ukrainian security officials involved in a plot coordinated by Russia to assassinate senior Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kyiv says that the Ukrainian leader has been targeted by Russia on multiple occasions, including at the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Security Service of Ukraine said in a statement that it had exposed a network of agents run by Russia’s Federal Security Service whose aim was to assassinate Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian political and military officials.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The network, whose activities were supervised by the FSB from Moscow, included two colonels of the State Security Department who were leaking classified information to Russia,” the SBU said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said that Russia had worked to identify individuals close to Zelensky’s security detail who could take the Ukrainian leader hostage and kill him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Polish and Ukrainian prosecutors announced last month they had detained a man suspected of aiding a Russian assassination plot on Zelensky.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The SBU also said last August that a woman had been arrested over a plot to kill the Ukrainian leader by trying to uncover details of his movements outside Kyiv. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 14:44:15', '2024-05-07 14:44:15'),
(12264, 12264, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The first phase of the country’s sixth Upazila Parishad Election is set to be held amid the balloting in 139 upazilas of 59 districts in the country on Wednesday.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The votes will be cast from 8:00am to 4:00pm without any recess.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some 1630 candidates, including nearly 570 chairman contenders are in the electoral race in the 139 upazila parishads against a total of 417 posts –-chairman post, vice chairman and women vice chairman posts in each upazila.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 2.80 crore people would have voting rights in the upazilas, according to the data of the Election Commission.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A security team of 17-19 members would guard each polling station in the plain districts, while a security team of 19-21 members would protect a polling station in the Chittagong hill tracts and very remote areas. The balloting will be held in some 10,400 polling stations, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On March 21, the Election Commission announced the election schedule for 152 upazila parishads in the first phase.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But all the candidates in five upazilas – Hatia in Noakhali, Munshiganj Sadar, Bagerhat Sadar, Parshuram in Feni and Shibchar in Madaripur– have already been elected uncontested, finding no rival contestant for their respective posts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, the elections to eight other upazilas were postponed on different grounds. The eight upazilas are Narayanganj Sadar, Kumarkhali in Kushtia, Thanchi and Rowangchhari in Bandarban, Gopalpur in Tangail, Mohadevpur in Naogaon, Nangalkot in Cumilla and Sarishabari in Jamalpur.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 15:02:05', '2024-05-07 15:02:05'),
(12265, 12265, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">UNICEF on Tuesday said the city of children, Rafah, \"must not be invaded,\" urging the continuation of humanitarian aid flow into Gaza.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our worst fear - Gazans\' nightmare - appears to be a reality. A reality that those holding power have the ability to prevent,\" spokesperson James Elder told a UN press briefing in Geneva.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Elder noted that every warning and every \"mind-boggling piece of data\" on the number of children and mothers killed and of homes and hospitals destroyed\" are all ignored.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Underlining that Rafah is a city of children as more than half of the children in Gaza live in Rafah, he said: \"This past weekend’s events in Gaza - the continued killing of children, more attacks from the warring parties, and now evacuation orders – yet again expose how parties to this conflict continue to utterly disregard the lives and protection of children and civilians.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"That has to change. Indeed, this is the last chance for this to change,\" he urged, and added: \"Aid must flow. Hostages must be freed. Rafah must not be invaded. And children must no longer be killed.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He reiterated UNICEF\'s call for cessation of hostilities, saying: \"For the children of Rafah, we need a cease-fire, now.\"&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 15:18:49', '2024-05-07 15:18:49');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(12266, 12266, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that strong and decisive leadership will be essential in shaping a more resilient and prepared world against future pandemics.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“As we navigate the complexities of future pandemics, strong and decisive leadership will be essential in shaping a more resilient and prepared world,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier made the remarks joining a virtual meeting with Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, from Ganabhaban here in the city on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said political leadership’s engagement and commitment are essential in driving systemic changes that can enhance our ability to prevent, detect, and respond to future pandemics effectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“High-level political leadership ensures that pandemic preparedness and response remain a priority on the national and international agenda,” said Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It facilitates the mobilization of financial resources, promotes collaboration between countries, and fosters innovation in public health systems towards achieving the shared commitment to Universal Health Coverage by 2030, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“High-level political leadership is indispensable in driving reforms related to pandemic preparedness and response,” she said, adding that it sets the tone for global cooperation, instills confidence in public health interventions, and ultimately saves lives.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We must also mobilize collective political will and commitment to strengthen WHO’s knowledge, technical, and financial capacity for pandemic prevention and response by addressing the highly fragmented global health governance system,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said the lessons from Covid-19 emphasise the need for a coordinated approach to pandemic preparedness and response, grounded in scientific evidence, global cooperation, and fairness and equity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“A meaningful application of these lessons will be essential for mitigating the impact of future pandemics and safeguarding global health security,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this context, Sheikh Hasina stressed five recommendations.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Raising the recommendations, she first said international cooperation and collaboration are essential for sharing information, expertise, and resources to effectively respond to global health crises that respect no borders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She in her second recommendation said the race for vaccines revealed stark inequalities in access between developed and developing countries. Addressing these disparities requires concerted efforts to ensure equitable distribution and access to vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Placing her 3rd recommendation, she said Covid-19 highlighted the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. Adopting a One Health approach, which considers the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems as interconnected, can help prevent future pandemics, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About the 4th recommendation, Sheikh Hasina said the rapid development of Covid-19 vaccines demonstrated the importance of investing in research and development for pandemic preparedness. Continued investment in R&amp;D for vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics is essential for combating emerging and fatal infectious diseases, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM in her 5th and final recommendation said adequate and sustainable financing mechanisms are needed to support preparedness efforts, including early warning systems, stockpiling of medical supplies, and capacity building in at-risk regions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turning to Bangladesh, she said the Covid-19 pandemic hit Bangladesh like many other countries, in early 2020. “But due to the continuation of our long-standing activities in the health sector and the timely action of the government, we have been able to reduce the loss of human lives and keep the economy running,” she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina said her government had to strike a judicious balance between saving lives and protecting livelihoods. In parallel, her government rolled out a substantive stimulus package for industries and a comprehensive social protection portfolio for our low-income and marginalized people, she mentioned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Due to our efforts, Bangladesh ranked among the top five countries in the world in overall Covid-19 management and recovery,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About the vaccine, the prime minister said, “In Bangladesh, we are also in a position to contribute to vaccine research and production in a cost-effective manner. Among other policy support measures, I have already allocated a piece of land for setting up a state-of-the-art Vaccine Research Institute.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said Covid-19 has been a global wake-up call, underscoring the critical need for comprehensive reform in international pandemic preparedness and response.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This pandemic has shown us that we are all connected. None of us can be truly safe until we make sure everyone is safe. Now is the time to work together globally to achieve the public health goals outlined in Sustainable Development Goal-3 and Goal-17,” she went on.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Over the last 15 years, Bangladesh has continuously strengthened its preparedness and response capacity, incorporating the results of health security assessments and lessons from past emergencies, said Sheikh Hasina, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, as in other countries, was a test of resolve for preparedness, response, and resilience, she continued.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Covid-19 showed that prior investment in health security in Bangladesh was very useful as the country was able to quickly leverage existing preparedness and response plans, surveillance platforms, laboratories, and workforce for emergency response, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our health systems could rapidly expand the laboratory network for prompt diagnosis and provide accessible clinical care. Drawing on those lessons, we are now maximizing our efforts to prevent, detect, and better respond to future outbreaks and emergencies, including silent epidemics such as antimicrobial resistance,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister assured that Bangladesh will continue to play a constructive role in this regard, considering its past success in protecting public health and dealing with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 15:33:29', '2024-05-07 15:33:29'),
(12267, 12267, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Khulna Circle Forest Conservator Mihir Kumar Doe on Tuesday evening said the Sundarbans fire has been completely doused, almost four days since it started.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said that rain started falling on the affected location from 5:30pm on Monday. Besides, the members of the Forest Department and Fire Service arrived at the spot and started monitoring the fire site again through drones.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hourly drone monitoring has been done since morning, but no sign of fire was found anywhere in the forest, reports unb</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, several teams visited the spot on foot inside the forest but found no sign of fire anywhere.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Inspection revealed that the fire site was substantially soaked with water as a result of rainfall. Water has accumulated somewhere.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the review of the overall situation, it has been confirmed that the fire in the forest area under the Amarbunia camp of Sundarbans has been extinguished.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 15:56:47', '2024-05-07 15:56:47'),
(12268, 12268, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Rajib Moni Das has been appointed as the Organizing Secretary of the Television Playwrights\' Association. The new executive committee of the Bangladesh Television Playwrights\' Association for 2024-2026 was formed yesterday, Friday, May 3, 2024, at 4 PM during the biennial general meeting held in the seminar room of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Rajib Moni Das, a novelist, playwright, and producer, was elected as the Organizational Secretary in this newly formed committee, having previously served as the Office Secretary in the 2022-2024 committee.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rajib Moni Das expressed his gratitude to everyone involved for his election as the Organizational Secretary. He said, \"I was committed to my previous responsibilities, and I am overwhelmed to have received my current role. I pray to everyone that I can fulfill this responsibility appropriately.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To date, Rajib Moni Das has written nearly one hundred and fifty single plays and thirteen serial dramas. He has composed about 30 songs and written four novels. Additionally, he has created and produced concepts for over 25 advertisements.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When asked about the current state of drama, Rajib Moni Das commented, \"Due to budget constraints, the number of characters in our dramas is decreasing. However, I have never written to order. Family-centric stories are the essence of my dramas. Establishing a character often requires many other characters, which are the ornaments of the drama. It is impossible to produce a good drama without these ornaments.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In the new committee, the President elected was the playwright and producer Ejaz Munna, and the General Secretary elected was Zakir Hossain Uzzwal. The 19-member panel includes Vice-Presidents - Panth Shahriar, Shafiqur Rahman Shantanu, Mostafa Mamon; Joint General Secretaries - Azam Khan, Tuku Mojniul, Sazin Ahmed Babu; Organizing Secretary - Rajib Moni Das; Treasurer - Monsur Chanchal; Secretary of Publicity and Publication - Kamrul Ahsan; Secretary of IT and Events - Elina Shammi; Secretary of Law and Welfare - Manas Pal; Office Secretary - Afrin Jessica; Secretary of Research and Training - Jewel Kabir. The executive secretaries include Dr. Lipi Monowar, Ahmed Shahabuddin, Mejbah Uddin Sumon, Litu Sakhawat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-07 16:29:24', '2024-05-07 16:29:24'),
(12269, 12269, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Describing Islam as a religion of peace, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday asked the people not to do anything that goes against the religious sentiments.&nbsp;&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“No one should do anything - like taking to in alcohol, gambling, corruption, terrorism and militancy -- that hurts our religious sentiments,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said this while opening the hajj programme 2024 (1445 hijri) in the capital’s Ashkona area. The first hajj flight is scheduled to depart Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Saudi Arabia on Thursday, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said Islam is a sacred religion that has ensured the rights of the people of all classes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is very unfortunate that a handful of people would earn a bad name for Islam by carrying out militancy.&nbsp; \"I always protest it,\" she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said the people of all religions would continue to enjoy equal rights to follow their respective religion in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She asked the pilgrims to pray for Bangladesh and its people while performing the holy hajj.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This year, a total of 85,257 pilgrims from Bangladesh are going to perform the holy hajj. Of them, 4,562 pilgrims will perform hajj under the government management, while 80, 695 pilgrims under the private management.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 08:27:27', '2024-05-08 08:27:27'),
(12270, 12270, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Union Parishad (UP) member was jailed and another was arrested for obstructing voters from entering polling stations in Damurhuda and Jibannagar upazilas of Chuadanga as voting for the first phase of the 6th Upazila Parishad Election is underway across 139 upazilas on Wednesday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Abu Siddik is member of ward no. 2 under Kurargachhi union parishad in Damurhuda upazila while the arrestee Shakhawat Hossain is a supporter of Jibannagar upazila chairman candidate Hafizur Rahman.</div><div><br></div><div>Jakia Sultana, assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in Damurhuda-Jibannagar circle, said they arrested UP member Abu Siddik, who was working for chairman candidate Ali Mansur Babul, for barring voters from entering Chandipur Government Primary School centre in the morning.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, a mobile court led by Executive Magistrate and Assistant Commissioner Saiful Islam sentenced him to seven days in jail, said the police officer.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the law enforcers also arrested Shakhawat for restricting voters from casting votes at Katapole Government Primary School centre in Jibannagar upazila in the morning.</div><div><br></div><div>The arrestee was taken to the concerned police station and legal actions against him were underway, the ASP said.</div><div><br></div><div>District deputy commissioner Dr. Kissinger Chakma said they were constantly monitoring the situation and voting was underway peacefully.</div><div><br></div><div>In Damurhuda, three candidates are contesting for the post of chairman while 2,47,820 voters are expected to cast their votes.</div><div><br></div><div>In Jibannagar, two chairman candidates are contesting with votes from 1,53,215 voters. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 08:30:13', '2024-05-08 08:30:13'),
(12271, 12271, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir returned home on Wednesday after performing the holy Umrah in Saudi Arabia.&nbsp;</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP secretary general and his wife Rahat Ara Begum arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport via a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines around 12:35pm from Jhedda, his personal assistant M Yunus Ali told UNB.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Talking to reporters at the airport, Fakhrul said, “I went to perform Umrah and prayed for the people of the country…I have nothing more to say now.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on May 5, they performed Umrah along with some local BNP leaders and activists and offered prayers in Masjid al-Haram.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They also offered mujajat praying for continued peace, prosperity and progress of the people of Bangladesh and the country as well as the entire Muslim Ummah And the for divine blessings for BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, Acting Chairman Tariq Rahman and millions of party leaders and workers, according to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On May 2, Fakhrul and his wife went to Medinah from Dhaka and offered fateha at the grave of Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Pbuh). They also offered Jumma prayers in the Prophet\'s Mosque on Friday.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The couple went to Makkah on May 5 and visited various historical places after performing Umrah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 08:35:04', '2024-05-08 08:35:04'),
(12272, 12272, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and batsman Soumya Sarkar return to the T20I squad as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the team for the final two matches of the five-match series against Zimbabwe.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shakib, who missed the first three matches due to Dhaka League commitments, rejoins the squad alongside Mustafizur Rahman, who returned from the IPL on May 2. Soumya Sarkar also makes a comeback after recovering from a knee injury.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To accommodate their return, the selectors have left out Parvez Hossain Emon and Afif Hossain for the remaining matches, while Shoriful Islam has been rested.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh has already secured the series with victories in the first three matches, but Zimbabwe will be looking to salvage some pride in the final two games, scheduled for May 10th and 12th in Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This series marks Bangladesh\'s final home fixtures before the ICC Men\'s T20 World Cup, which will be held in the USA and West Indies next month, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Squad for Final Zimbabwe T20Is: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Sakib, Soumya Sarkar, Tanvir Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 08:40:33', '2024-05-08 08:40:33'),
(12273, 12273, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Alia Bhatt is attending her second Met Gala - in a row - but this is her first time wearing a sari on the carpet.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bollywood superstar wore Prabal Gurung last year, but donned a Sabyasachi design this year. She told the Vogue hosts the on-theme garment took 1,905 man hours and 163 workers to craft. - AP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 09:03:01', '2024-05-08 09:03:01'),
(12274, 12274, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>As summer temperatures soar, the heat can make indoor living conditions uncomfortable, particularly for those living on upper floors. The roof, directly exposed to the sun, plays a significant role in how heat affects the home. However, there are multiple strategies homeowners can implement to keep their roofs and homes cooler during intense heat waves.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tips to Keep Your Roof Cool During the Scorching Heat of Summer</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Selecting Appropriate Roofing Materials</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Choosing the right roofing materials is crucial in climates that experience intense summer heat, like Bangladesh. Materials that reflect solar energy rather than absorb it, such as metal, tiles, or specially designed reflective shingles, can significantly reduce heat absorption. These materials help maintain lower roof temperatures, which translates into cooler indoor environments.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Utilizing Cool Roof Coatings</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cool roof coatings are designed to reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat than standard roof surfaces. Applying these coatings can lower roof surface temperature dramatically, reducing heat transferred into the home and prolonging the lifespan of the roofing materials. These reflective coatings are an effective solution for homeowners looking to retrofit existing roofs without complete replacement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Enhancing Insulation</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Insulation plays a critical role in minimizing heat transfer from the roof to the home\'s interior. Effective attic or roof space insulation, using materials such as fiberglass, foam board, or cellulose, acts as a thermal barrier. This barrier helps stabilize indoor temperatures, making homes more comfortable during both day and night.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Improving Roof and Attic Ventilation</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Good ventilation helps prevent heat build-up in the attic, which can significantly lower overall home temperatures. Installing adequate vents and fans ensures continuous airflow, allowing hot air to escape and cooler air to circulate. This process is essential to maintain a comfortable indoor climate during peak summer months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Incorporating Greenery and Shade</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Strategically planting trees around your home can shield your roof from direct sunlight, providing natural cooling through shade. Additionally, installing green roofs or rooftop gardens adds a layer of insulation and vegetation, which helps absorb heat and improve overall air quality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Installing Solar Panels</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Solar panels not only generate renewable energy but also provide shade to the roof, further reducing heat absorption. This shading effect helps keep the roof and subsequently the indoor environment cooler, reducing the reliance on air conditioning and lowering energy costs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Implementing Shade Structures</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Adding shade structures such as pergolas, awnings, or shade sails over exposed roof areas can significantly reduce the amount of sunlight hitting the roof, thus decreasing heat absorption. It is beneficial to use light-colored materials for these structures to enhance their heat-reflective capabilities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Roof Watering Techniques</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On extremely hot days, lightly spraying your roof with water can cool it down temporarily. Water\'s high heat capacity allows it to absorb a significant amount of heat without a rapid increase in temperature, providing a cooling effect.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Conclusion</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Adopting a combination of these strategies can significantly mitigate the effects of summer heat on your house roof, enhancing indoor comfort and promoting energy efficiency. By integrating passive cooling techniques with active systems, homeowners can effectively manage indoor temperatures, contributing to sustainable living and reduced energy consumption. These measures collectively help create a more comfortable and environmentally friendly home environment. Source: UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', '<p><b><font color=\"#3984c6\"> Summer Heat</font></b><br></p>', 'News Desk', '[\"24\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 09:27:50', '2024-05-08 09:29:01'),
(12275, 12275, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat on Tuesday said BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) has been requested to close all unregistered online portals.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said this in Parliament while replying to the supplementary question of Feroz Ahmed Swapan, MP elected from Satkhira-1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Swapan said in his supplementary question that Bangladesh journalism.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We don\'t know the rules of our online portals. We are disturbed by unregistered online newspapers. Does it have any control measures?”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In response,&nbsp; Md Ali Arafat,&nbsp; a founder of Awami League-affiliated think tank in his previous life before entering politics.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said that his ministry is working very closely on these issues.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“He (Feroz Ahmed Swapan) rightly said that several online portals have sprung up like a frog umbrella. They practice yellow journalism, not journalism,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The State Minister said that misinformation creates various problems in the society.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Interestingly, those who do journalism with professionalism have demanded the closure of such portals and online magazines,” he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arafat mentioned that journalists are saying that those who practice this type of yellow journalism have actually become a cause of loss for professional in the field, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This demand is not only from members of Parliament or politicians or people from other levels of society, but from the journalist community itself.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said journalists claim that there are many unregistered online portals that are spreading misinformation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“To stop them, I gave an instruction a few days ago. I will send to BTRC the full list of well-established media, electronic media, print media, their registered portals and also all the portals that have applied.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The State Minister mentioned that outside , there are many online portals they did Not even send an application.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We will request them (BTRC) to close them all,” he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 10:08:39', '2024-05-08 10:08:39'),
(12276, 12276, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has said that border killing is very unfortunate and they are in regular consultations with India to ensure that border forces don’t apply any force that might cause fatalities.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are against border killings. We – the two countries - are working so that it does not happen. We are working in that direction. We are in regular consultations,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The foreign minister said this while talking to journalist&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem; font-weight: bolder;\">on Wednesday</span><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">.</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two young men from Bangladesh were reportedly shot and killed by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday, as they allegedly tried to cross into India near Tetulia upazila in Panchagarh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Minister Hasan said the issue of killings along the border will be discussed when Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra comes to Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said India is Bangladesh’s immediate neighbour and they have many issues with India. “Naturally, different issues will be discussed.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kwarta is likely to be in Dhaka tonight (Wednesday) as part of \"high-level exchanges\" between the two countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen will host a lunch in honour of his Indian counterpart during his brief visit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speculations are rife regarding the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India within the next couple of months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The preparatory issues may also come up for discussion during Indian FS\'s engagements in Dhaka, said a diplomatic source.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though there was no official announcement from Dhaka and New Delhi regarding the visit, the Indian FS was scheduled to be in Dhaka on a brief visit on April 20 but it was postponed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Look, elections are underway there (in India). It (visit) was postponed because of various internal (India\'s) reasons,” Foreign Minister Hasan told reporters when asked about the reasons behind the postponement of the visit at that time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Diplomatic sources indicate that PM Hasina\'s visit to India is planned for early July, after the conclusion of the neighbouring country’s election.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pre-election surveys suggest a strong showing for the coalition led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is widely anticipated to secure re-election, reprots UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Prime Minister\'s (Sheikh Hasina) India visit will definitely take place. However, it will take place after the election in India,\" FM Hasan said recently.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said it is not yet discussed at the official level when the visit will exactly take place.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'Staff Correspondent', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 10:30:05', '2024-05-08 10:30:05'),
(12277, 12277, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>British drugmaker AstraZeneca said Wednesday that it has withdrawn its Covid vaccine Vaxzevria, one of the first produced in the pandemic, citing “commercial reasons” and a surplus of updated jabs, reports AFP.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines. This has led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied,” an AstraZeneca spokeperson said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'Health Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 10:39:18', '2024-05-08 10:39:18'),
(12278, 12278, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) predicts rain of thundershower in eight divisions including Dhaka, starting from 9 am today.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind are likely to occur at many places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram divisions and at a few places over Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions with hailing at isolated places,” according to Met office bulletin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Day temperature may fall slightly and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"39\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 11:03:19', '2024-05-08 11:03:19'),
(12279, 12279, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Donald Trump will make history as the first former president to stand trial on criminal charges when his hush money case opens Monday with jury selection.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The case will force the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to juggle campaigning with sitting in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks to defend himself against charges involving a scheme to bury allegations of marital infidelity that arose during his first White House campaign in 2016.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It carries enormous political ramifications as potentially the only one of four criminal cases against Trump that could reach a verdict before voters decide in November whether to send him back to the White House, reports AP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 11:17:38', '2024-05-08 11:17:38'),
(12280, 12280, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh Bank has introduced Crawling Peg Exchange Rate System to make the exchange rate more flexible.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Exchange Policy Department (FEPD) of the central bank issued a circular in this regard signed by its director Md Sarwar Hossain on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the circular, it has been decided to introduce a Crawling Peg Exchange Rate System for spot purchases and sale of US dollar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under this system, a Crawling Peg Mid Rate (CPMR), has been set at Tk 117.00 per dollar with immediate effect.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scheduled banks may purchase and sell US dollars freely around the CPMR with the customers and in interbank deals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, on Sunday (May 5), Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder said within a very short time the central bank will go for a market-based interest rate and apply a crawling peg system to fix the foreign exchange rate, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the BB is working with prominent economists and bankers to prepare a contractionary monetary policy measure for curbing inflation and restoring macroeconomic stability.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The crawling peg is a system of exchange rate adjustments in which a currency with a fixed exchange rate is allowed to fluctuate within a band of rates. The method fully uses the key attributes of the fixed exchange regime, as well as the flexibility of the floating exchange rate regime.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Currently, the central bank is selling dollars to commercial banks at Tk111 per dollar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"33\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 11:53:16', '2024-05-08 11:53:16'),
(12281, 12281, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Chief of the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Mohammad Harun-Or-Rashid requested journalists to cooperate with them by providing information regarding manufacturers of adulterated food.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He made the request&nbsp; while talking to journalists at his office at the DB office on Dhaka’s Mintoo road on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Producing and selling adulterated products is a crime and the concerned organisations (consumer rights protection directorate, BSTI) will do their work while DB will do its work, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A citizen has the right to know whether those who manufacture baby food, saline have license or approval, the DB chief said, reports UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It will also be helpful for us if residents&nbsp; of those areas (where such products are produced) give us information. Then we can arrest them. That\'s why I would like to request all to prove information about those who are making fake drinks, juices and mixing salt and sugar to make fake saline, we will definitely take legal action against them,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, the DB arrested several gangs involved with manufacturing fake saline after conducting drives in parts of Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"42\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 11:59:49', '2024-05-08 11:59:49'),
(12282, 12282, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Chinese President Xi Jinping met Wednesday with the Serbian president, with both sides expressing optimism that the visit will further boost the “ironclad” friendly relations between China and the Balkan country.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Xi arrived in Serbia to a warm welcome on Tuesday evening from France, where he had a high-stakes state visit dominated by trade disputes and Russia’s war in Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thousands of people chanting “China-Serbia” and waving flags were bused in from across Serbia to attend a welcoming ceremony for Xi on Wednesday in front of the Serbia Palace, in the new part of Belgrade where the talks are being held.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Serbia\'s populist President Aleksandar Vucic addressed the crowd from a balcony, calling Xi an “ironclad” friend. He said hs visit to Serbia is “historic” because it opens the path for even closer ties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are writing history today although it doesn’t seem so to many (people,)” Vucic said. “We thank President Xi. He hasn’t come to Europe in five years and he has again chosen our little Serbia.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the start of the official meeting on Wednesday, Xi said “we are first-hand witnesses that the Serbian people view Chinese people as ironclad best friends.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This is truly two-sided and truthful friendship ... I truly hail this and it really made an extremely deep impression on me,” Xi said, according to the state RTS television.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Xi will proceed to Hungary later on Wednesday. Like Serbia, Hungary is seen as one of China\'s more friendly partners in Europe.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Signs of pro-China sentiments were clearly visible throughout the Serbian capital. A huge Chinese flag was placed on a skyscraper along a roadway leading into the city from the airport. Smaller Chinese and Serbian flags could be seen downtown and along a highway.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China has poured billions of dollars into Serbia in investment and loans, particularly in mining and infrastructure. The two countries signed an agreement on a strategic partnership in 2016 and a free trade agreement last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Serbia, a landlocked nation in the heart of the Balkans, has been a key country in China\'s Belt and Road initiative designed to increase Beijing\'s influence in Europe through economic investment. Critics say it could serve as a Chinese Trojan horse and gateway to Europe.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Xi also arrived in Serbia on a symbolic date — the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade by U.S. jets during NATO’s air war over Kosovo, when three Chinese citizens were killed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The incident has helped forge close political ties between China and Serbia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chinese companies run Serbia’s biggest copper mine and a steel mill, and are also building scores of roads and highways across the country, along with a railway toward northern neighbor Hungary.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our bilateral relationship has stood the test of changing international environment and become a fine example of state-to-state relations,” Xi said in a statement published by China\'s Foreign Ministry.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Standing at a new historical starting point, China will work with Serbia to jointly stay committed to the original aspiration and forge ahead together to open up a new vista in China-Serbia cooperation,\" added</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Xi. “I am confident that this visit will be a fruitful one and will open up a new chapter in China-Serbia relations.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2014, Hungary and Serbia concluded an agreement with Beijing to modernize the railway between their capitals of Budapest and Belgrade, part of a Belt and Road plan to link up with the Chinese-controlled port of Piraeus in Greece to the south, an entry point for Chinese goods to Central and Eastern Europe.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The more than $2 billion project is expected to be completed in 2026, after numerous delays.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Serbia took semi-secret delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system flown in on Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The arms delivery over the territory of at least two NATO member states, Turkey and Bulgaria, was seen by experts as a demonstration of China’s growing global reach. - AP&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2024-05-08 12:38:51', '2024-05-08 12:38:51');
