INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6406, 6406, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">South Korea\'s military fired warning shots to turn back a patrol boat from the North that had crossed the&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">countries\' de facto maritime border, Seoul said Sunday.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The boat breached the Northern Limit Line on Saturday morning near South Korea\'s Baekryeong Island, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our Navy\'s high-speed boat sent warning messages and conducted warning shots and immediately warded it off,\" it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our military is prepared against various provocations and keeping a decisive combat posture while closely monitoring the enemy\'s movements,\" the statement added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the operation, some South Korean crew members were being treated for injuries sustained when their vessel collided with a Chinese fishing boat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The de facto maritime border -- which was never officially recognised by the North -- has long been a flashpoint between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last year the nuclear-armed North fired a ballistic missile across the maritime border, prompting Seoul to fire three missiles of its own in response, while also suspending flight routes and warning island residents in the area to shelter in bunkers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years after Pyongyang declared itself an \"irreversible\" nuclear power last year,effectively ending the possibility of denuclearisation talks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has doubled down on weapons testing, with Pyongyang firing several of its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Washington and Seoul have ramped up defence cooperation in response, stagingm joint military exercises with advanced stealth jets and high-profile US strategic assets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">North Korea views such exercises as rehearsals for invasion and described them on Tuesday as \"frantic\" drills \"simulating an all-out war against\" Pyongyang. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 11:30:00', '2023-04-16 11:30:00'),
(6407, 6407, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The massive fire at New Supermarket, next to Dhaka New Market, was finally doused this morning -- around 27 hours after it started and burnt down several shops and establishments during this busy Eid shopping season.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lima Khanom, duty officer (control room) of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters said the flame was finally doused around 9 am today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier yesterday, the fire broke out at around 5:40 am.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 28 firefighting units and teams of Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force took part in the effort to douse the fire. The fire was brought under control around 9:10 am yesterday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some 32 people, including firefighters, fell sick from the heavy smoke while firefighters were trying to douse the blaze.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On April 4 morning, a massive fire broke out at Bangabazar Shopping Complex in Dhaka, burning several thousand shops to ashes. A total of six adjacent markets were also burnt.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fire was doused on April 7, over 75 hours after it broke out. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 11:56:29', '2023-04-16 11:56:29'),
(6408, 6408, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Sudan\'s military and a powerful paramilitary force battled fiercely in the capital and other areas, dealing a new blow to hopes for a transition to democracy and raising fears of a wider conflict. A doctors\' syndicate said Sunday the death toll rose to 56, with at least 595 people wounded.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The clashes capped months of heightened tensions between the military and its partner-turned-rival, the Rapid Support Forces group. Those tensions had delayed a deal with political parties to get the country back to its short-lived transition to democracy, which was derailed by an October 2021 military coup.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chaotic scenes unfolded in the capital of Khartoum, where fighters firing from truck-mounted machine guns battled in densely populated neighborhoods. \"Fire and explosions are everywhere,\" said Amal Mohamed, a doctor in a public hospital in Omdurman. \"We haven\'t seen such battles in Khartoum before,\" said resident Abdel-Hamid Mustafa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By the end of the day, the military issued a statement ruling out out negotiations with the RSF, instead calling for the dismantling of what it called a \"rebellious militia.\" The head of the paramilitary group, in turn, branded the armed forces chief a \"criminal.\" The tough language signaled that the conflict between the former allies, who jointly orchestrated the 2021 coup, was likely to continue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure appeared to be mounting. Top diplomats, including the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.N. secretary-general, the EU foreign policy chief, the head of the Arab League and the head of the African Union Commission urged the sides to stop fighting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arab states with stakes in Sudan — Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — also called for a cease-fire and for both parties to return to negotiations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he consulted with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. \"We agreed it was essential for the parties to immediately end hostilities without pre-condition,\" he said in a statement early Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fighting comes after months of escalating tensions between the commander of Sudan\'s miltitary, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the head of the RSF, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. It also followed years of political unrest since the 2021 coup.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The recent tensions stem from disagreement over how the RSF, headed by Dagalo, should be integrated into the armed forces and what authority should oversee the process. The merger is a key condition of Sudan\'s unsigned transition agreement with political groups.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fighting erupted early Saturday. The two sides traded blame over who started and also made rival claims over who controlled strategic installations around the capital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By early Sunday, at least 56 people had been killed across Sudan and at least 595 wounded.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Sudan Doctor\'s Syndicate said at least six of the deaths were reported in the capital Khartoum and its sister city Omdurman and another eight near Nyala, the capital city of the South Darfur province in the southwest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The syndicate said the casualty toll was likely higher, with many believed to be still uncounted in western Darfur region and the northern town of Merowe.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military said in a statement late Saturday that its troops had seized all RSF bases in Omdurman, while residents reported heavy airstrikes on paramilitary positions in and around the capital that continued into the night. After nightfall, sounds of gunfire and explosions were still heard in several parts of Khartoum, they said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the flashpoints was Khartoum International Airport. There was no formal announcement that the airport was closed, but major airlines suspended their flights.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Saudi Arabia\'s national airline said one of its aircraft was involved in what it called \"an accident.\" Video showed the plane on fire on the tarmac. Another plane also appeared to have caught fire. Flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 identified it as a Boeing 737 for SkyUp, a Kyiv, Ukraine-based airline. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The doctors\' group said two civilians were killed at the airport.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Burhan, the armed forces chief, told the Qatar-based satellite news network Al Jazeera, that the day began with RSF troops \"harassing\" the military south of Khartoum, triggering the clashes. He said RSF fighters entered Khartoum airport and set fire to some planes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said all strategic facilities including the military\'s headquarters and the Republican palace, the seat of Sudan\'s presidency, are under his forces\' control. He threatened to deploy more troops to Khartoum.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dagalo accused Burhan of starting the battle by surrounding RSF troops. \"This criminal, he forced this battle upon us,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dagalo told Al Jazeera that he believed the fighting would be over in \"the next few days.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The RSF alleged that its forces controlled strategic locations in Khartoum and the northern city of Merowe some 350 kilometers (215 miles) northwest of the capital. The military dismissed the claims as \"lies.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The clashes also took place in other areas across the country including the Northern province, the conflict-ravaged Darfur region, and the strategic coastal city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pro-democracy activists have blamed Burhan and Dagalo for abuses against protesters across the county over the past four years, including the deadly break-up of a protest camp outside the military\'s headquarters in Khartoum in June 2019 that killed over 120 protesters. Many groups have repeatedly called for holding them accountable. The RSF has long been accused of atrocities linked to the Darfur conflict.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was ousted in the 2021 coup, warned of a possible regional conflict if the fighting escalates. \"Shooting must stop immediately,\" he said in a video appeal to both sides posted on his Twitter account.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cameron Hudson, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank and a former U.S. diplomat, said the fighting could become wider and prolonged, calling on the United States to form a coalition of regional countries to pressure the leaders of the military and RSF to de-escalate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Volker Perthes, the U.N. envoy for Sudan, and the Saudi ambassador in Sudan, Ali Bin Hassan Jaffar, were in contact with Dagalo and Burhan to try to end the violence, said a U.N. official who asked for anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chad announced that it is closing its land borders with Sudan.&nbsp; UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 12:57:32', '2023-04-16 12:57:32'),
(6409, 6409, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Japan\'s army found wreckage and five bodies Sunday during a deep-sea search for crew on board a helicopter that disappeared from radar earlier this month, an army spokesman said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The aircraft with 10 people on board had been on a reconnaissance mission when it went missing on April 6, in what the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) described as an \"aerial accident\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two pilots, two mechanics and six crew members were on board the UH-60JA, including a GSDF general from the 8th division.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The newly found wreckage appeared to be from the missing helicopter, but there were no details yet on the identities of the bodies retrieved, the army spokesman said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There are still five left undiscovered, so search and rescue operations are underway simultaneously,\" the spokesman told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Coastguard rescuers had already discovered several pieces of debris that appeared to be from the helicopter, including a door, a snapped blade and a yellow life raft that was still packed inside a bag.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There has been no indication of what caused the apparent accident.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Japan\'s military, which is limited to ostensibly defensive activity by the country\'s post-war constitution, has seen occasional accidents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In January 2022, a Japanese fighter jet crashed in waters off central Ishikawa region, killing two pilots on board.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And in 2019, an F-35A stealth jet crashed into the sea, after taking off from northeastern Japan on a training mission. The accident sparked a scramble to recover the pilot and secrets on board.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Japan\'s defence ministry subsequently said the pilot, who died in the crash, appeared to have suffered spatial disorientation. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 13:57:47', '2023-04-16 13:57:47'),
(6410, 6410, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said that political leadership and decision- and not military rule - is the most important matter for a country to prosper.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Whenever our country was outside this political decision, which means under direct or indirect military rule, it did not register its development and prosperity. The people of the country have to realise this,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said this while delivering her introductory speech at the 8th meeting of the National Training Council held at her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that development in every sector was ensured while the political leadership came to power.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“At least I can claim that from 2009 to 2023 the unprecedented development of the country was done by the political decision,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said that her government has adopted the ideology and ideals of Independence and followed it in running the administration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are getting the results. Because of this policy we have attained the status of developing country,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She urged all to sustain this momentum of development and democracy for the benefits of the generations to come.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have to keep our eyes particularly on this matter,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM put utmost importance on training as she said it is urgently needed to develop one nation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The world is changing and now an era of technology is underway. We have to advance further in compliance with the era of technology,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She mentioned that it should be ensured that the country’s manpower get proper training for appropriate advancement in the coming days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the ever evolving world we need to keep the pace with the rest of the world. We need that capable manpower also,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this regard, she said that from 2009 to April 2023 the foreign training section of the Public Administration Ministry sent some 6185 public servants for short-term training abroad while 606 got long term training.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She mentioned that Coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war caused setback for the whole world.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have been able to continue our development pace despite the problems. I know that there will be obstacles and adverse situation time and again,” she stated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She regretted that there is one section of people in the country who did not participate in the Liberation War and don’t believe in independence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“They always hold a negative attitude about the country, and we have to move further overcoming these hurdles. Obstacles will come, but we have to find our way to move forward.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stressing the need for training of manpower she asked the NTC to prepare a curriculum which will supplement government’s initiative to make Smart Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We want to advance step by step keeping no one behind,” she asserted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that her government’s aim is to reduce further the number of ultra-poor which now account for five per cent of the country’s population. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 14:00:57', '2023-04-16 14:00:57'),
(6411, 6411, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Drivers of a bus and a pickup van were dead and 12 people were injured in a head-on collision involving the vehicles on Dinajpur-Gaibandha’s Govindapur regional road, under Birampur upazila of Dinajpur district, this morning.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The deceased are bus driver Golam Rabbani, 36, a resident of Dinajpur, and pickup van driver Md Azad of Brahmanbaria. More details about the casualties and those injured could not be known immediately.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Suman Kumar Mohanto, officer-in-charge (OC) of Birampur Police Station, said the accident occurred around 6:30 am when the Dinajpur-bound bus of Nabil Paribahan from Dhaka collided with the pickup van heading in the opposite direction in Bouttali area on the road, leaving the drivers killed on the spot and 12 passengers of the bus injured.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On information, members of Fire Service and Civil Defence and police rushed to the spot and recovered the bodies while the injured were sent to several hospitals including Birampur Upazila Health Complex, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The bodies were brought to the Police Station, the OC said, adding that traffic movement on the road is now normal. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 14:45:31', '2023-04-16 14:45:31'),
(6412, 6412, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Samantha Ruth Prabhu has reacted after Keerthy Suresh called her \'one of the most strong-hearted individuals\'. Taking to Instagram on Saturday night, Keerthy held an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. She wrote on her Instagram Stories, \"I am here to answer your questions.\" A fan asked, \"Tell about #Sam.\"</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Keerthy Suresh replied, \"Sam is one personality that I look up to. She is one of the most strong-hearted individuals I have come across. Simply put, she is unstoppable! (White heart emoji) @samantharuthprabhuoffl.\" Samantha shared the post on her Instagram Stories and wrote, \"Thank you darling @keerthysureshofficial (red heart emoji).\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This isn\'t the first time that Samantha has reacted to Keerthy\'s post. Recently, Keerthy shared a post on Instagram celebrating her film Dasara\'s success. She captioned the post, “Vennela’s celebration!” She also added the hashtags--Dasara and dhoom dhaam blockbuster. Samantha reacted to the post, \"The best thing I’ve seen all day.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Samantha and Keerthy has featured together in Mahanati (2018), a Telugu-language biographical drama film. Directed by Nag Ashwin, the film also stars Dulquer Salmaan, Vijay Deverakonda, Prakash Raj, and Bhanupriya among others. They were seen in Seemaraja (2018) a Tamil-language action film. In the film, Keerthy had a cameo appearance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fans saw Samantha recently in Shaakuntalam, based on a popular Indian classic play Abhigyan Shakuntalam by Kalidasa, ancient India\'s greatest poet and playwright. Shakuntala was the wife of King Dushyant and the mother of Emperor Bharata. The film hit the theatres on April 14 in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dev Mohan has been paired opposite Samantha. Asked about the movie, Samantha told news agency ANI, \"It\'s a love story. And love is like a universe in itself. Our cultural heritage is rich. And the story of this film is inspired from one of our oldest classics. Apart from the story, the movie has high-level graphics and special effects.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Samantha will be next seen in an upcoming romantic film Khusi opposite Vijay Deverakonda. She also has the action thriller web series Citadel alongside Varun Dhawan in the pipeline.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Keerthy was last seen in Dasara along with Nani. Released on March 30 in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi, the period action drama received mixed to positive reviews. Directed by first-time filmmaker Srikanth Odela, Dasara is set in a village situated in Singareni Coal Mines in Peddapalli district of Telangana. Dasara also features Dheekshith Shetty, Shine Tom Chacko, Samuthirakani, Sai Kumar and Poorna. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 14:59:05', '2023-04-16 14:59:05'),
(6413, 6413, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The average loan amount of each family in Bangladesh was Tk 70,506 in 2022, up from Tk 37,743 in 2016, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data shared recently.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>One-third of households in Bangladesh are now in debt. This information has emerged in the latest household income-expenditure survey of BBS.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the survey, 37 percent of the country’s households have taken loans or borrowed money last year.</div><div><br></div><div>During the survey – from January to December last year, an average of 37.03 percent of households reported taking loans or borrowing money. In the 2016 survey, 29.70 percent of the households were borrowing.</div><div><br></div><div>As such, in 6 years, the borrowing of families in the country has increased by more than 7 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>Last Wednesday, BBS published the preliminary results of Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>MORE RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN DEBT THAN IN CITIES</div><div><br></div><div>According to the BBS survey, more households in the villages are in debt than in cities.</div><div><br></div><div>In rural areas, an average of 39.35 percent of families are in debt. In urban areas, this percentage is 32.11.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2016, the average household debt in urban areas was 22.10 percent. And in rural areas that percentage was 32.70.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2022, the number of households in debt increased by an average of 10 percent in urban areas, and by 6.5 percentage in rural areas, the BBS survey stated. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 17:40:24', '2023-04-16 17:40:24'),
(6414, 6414, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Fifty more model mosques and Islamic cultural centres under fourth phase will be inaugurated tomorrow, said an official release here today.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to join the model mosque\'s inauguration ceremony virtually from her official Ganobhaban residence at 10 am on Monday.</div><div><br></div><div>The programme will be chaired by State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan, the release added.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2017, the government has taken a project worth of Taka 9,435 crore for constructing Islamic Cultural Center and Model Mosque in every district and upazila of the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Mentionable, the tenure of the second revised project to set up 564 model mosques and Islamic cultural centres in every district and upazila has valid till June 2024.</div><div><br></div><div>So far, a total of 150 model mosques and Islamic cultural centres -- 50 completed by December 7, 2021 in the first phase, 50 by January 16, 2023 in the second phase and 50 by March 16, 2023 in the third phase-- have already been inaugurated in the country. According to BSS reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 19:52:43', '2023-04-16 19:52:43'),
(6415, 6415, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Railway Minister Md. Nurul Islam Sujan has said access to rail stations have been controlled&nbsp; so no one can enter the stations without a ticket.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The minister made the remarks while talking to reporters following a visit to the Kamalapur railway station on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>He said, “Our two main religious festivals are Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha. During this time hundreds of thousands of people leave Dhaka city to visit their relatives and spend Eid in village. One of the means of transportation is railway. During Eid there is a huge pressure of passengers.\"</div><div><br></div><div>“To cope with this pressure we prepare and take various measures. We announced our plan a month ago through the media,” said Nurul.</div><div><br></div><div>He also mentioned that Bangladesh Railway has taken internal preparations as necessary to deal with the pressure.</div><div><br></div><div>For the first time ever, Bangladesh Railway has sold 100% of its tickets for inter-city trains online to reduce the hassle of people, the minister said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Eid special service is set to begin from tomorrow and expected to be run until the last week of the month, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister said he visited Kamalapur Railway Station to observe overall preparations.</div><div><br></div><div>“I have discussed with the concerned people here asked them to take all the necessary steps to ensure a safer journey for the passengers,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister also said that Dhaka-bound, Ekta, Drutojaan, Panchagarh Nilsagar, Kurigram, Lalmoni and Rangpur Express trains will not stop at Dhaka Airport Railway because passengers from that station tend to occupy seats in these trains.</div><div><br></div><div>To reduce the chaos during Eid commute, The railway minister said special measures have been taken including installation of temporary bamboo fences at Kamalapur, Airport, Joydevpur stations so that passengers can not enter stations without showing tickets.</div><div><br></div><div>Regarding the schedule disruption, Minister Sujan said, “ If one of our single line trains is delayed by 10 minutes, it will impact other trains as well. And due to the ongoing heatwave, trains’ speed has to be kept low.”</div><div><br></div><div>He urged the passengers to be patient keeping all this situation in mind.</div><div><br></div><div>During the station visit, Railway Secretary Dr Md Humayun Kabir, Bangladesh Railways Director General Kamrul Ahsan, Additional Director General Operations Sardar Shahadat Ali and other officials concerned were present. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 20:11:08', '2023-04-16 20:11:08'),
(6416, 6416, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Fifty-eight markets and shopping malls in the capital are in a vulnerable state, according to the survey of Fire Service and Civil Defense.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The organization has released a list of markets and shopping malls, declaring them \"extremely risky\" and \"risky\" in terms of fire accidents.</div><div><br></div><div>Of them, nine have been declared \"extremely risky,\" 14 have been declared \"moderately risky,\" and 35 have been declared \"risky.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Fire Service and Civil Defence director (operations and maintenance) Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury revealed the information at a press briefing on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>The extremely risky markets are -- Gausia Market, Barishal Plaza Market, Rajdhani and New Rajdhani Super Market, Alauddin Market, Shakil Anwar Tower, Shahidullah Market, Sharif Market, Maya Katara and Roslyn Vista.</div><div><br></div><div>Colonel Tajul Islam said that the New Supermarket was marked risky and they were repeatedly informed of the matter.</div><div><br></div><div>He also urged the business owners and management committees of the markets to hire people to guard the market throughout the night at various points, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>“They will not only help prevent any sabotage but also, given the current high temperature in the country, if any flammable substance catches fire, they can immediately take action to put it out,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Tajul Islam said that on behalf of the Fire Service, they have visited several markets along with DGFI-NSI members.\"</div><div><br></div><div>But we are sorry to say that what we have seen in the inspection is not satisfactory,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We have talked to four market owner associations today and gave them ideas about how to deal with fire,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 21:38:24', '2023-04-16 21:38:24'),
(6417, 6417, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Seven carriages and a locomotive of Dhaka-bound passenger train Sonar Bangla Express were derailed when it hit a freight train at Hasanpur station of Nangalkot in Cumilla.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"Dhaka-bound Sonar Bangla Express from Chattogram hit a freight train from behind at Hasanpur station at 6.45pm caused its locomotive and seven carriages-four Sobhon class chair coaches and three AC coaches to derail,\" Railway Ministry\'s information office Shariful Alam told BSS.</div><div><br></div><div>Twenty five people were injured including five critically in the incident.</div><div>He said the accident took place when the Sonar Bangla Express entered a loop line where the freight train was stationary. According to BSS reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 22:03:29', '2023-04-16 22:03:29'),
(6418, 6418, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said BNP may be involved in the recent fire incidents broke out in different city markets.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Setting fire and carrying out arson attacks is the old habit of them (BNP). BNP may take ill tactics of setting fire aiming to mobilise its movement,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is a big question now whether the BNP has chosen the tactic of setting fire to mobalise its movement. This mystery must be revealed,” Quader told an Eid gift distribution ceremony here.</div><div><br></div><div>On behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Eid gifts were distributed among poor people in Mirpur’s Kafrul area this afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>Quader, also the road transport and bridges, asked AL leaders and workers to remain alert against arson terrorism across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>“If anyone plays with fire, he or she will be given a befitting reply. So remain prepared,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Terming BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir a pathological liar, the AL general secretary said how Fakhrul tells lies before taking iftar.</div><div><br></div><div>BNP has started holding meeting with foreigners and it claimed that the United States (US) expressed concern over the next parliament elections of Bangladesh, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Quader said the US also invited the ruling AL and “We accepted the invitation of US Ambassador (in Dhaka) Peter Haas. During the meeting (with the US envoy), Peter Haas did not raise any concern. They don\'t have any concern over the caretaker government but the BNP and its like-minded parties have headache to this end”.</div><div><br></div><div>The Awami League distributes iftar items among the commoners while BNP leaders hold iftar parties with capable people and this is the difference between the BNP and the ruling AL, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>He said Fakhrul talks against Bakshal every day but BNP founder Ziaur Rahman joined Bakshal. “You should answer why Zia joined Bakshal?” he questioned.</div><div><br></div><div>Quader said BNP leaders have realised that bad days are coming for them as they know that BNP will be defeated once the election is held.</div><div><br></div><div>“People love Prime minister Sheikh Hasina. People think that Sheikh Hasina is an honest and hardworking person. BNP wanted to make Bangladesh a failed state. Today, Sheikh Hasina has made Bangladesh a successful country,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The AL general secretary said BNP does not love the country’s people but it wants power.</div><div><br></div><div>“Sheikh Hasina wants to change the people\'s fortunes. On contrast, BNP leaders want their personal gains. They want to earn money through corruption and launder the money abroad,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Chaired by Awami Swechasebak League acting president Gazi Mesbaul Hossain Shachchu, the ceremony was addressed, among others, by State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumdar, Dhaka North City AL general secretary SM Mannan Kochi and Swechasebak League general secretary AKM Afzalur Rahman. According to BSS reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 22:38:15', '2023-04-16 22:38:15'),
(6419, 6419, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday alleged the mass media of the country is suffering under \'the current fascist government\' and the Digital Security Act (DSA).</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“When we look at the newspapers and watch television channels, it seems that the same media industry is also affected by the terrible attacks of fascism,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking at an iftar party, Fakhrul said the entire country and the nation have been passing through a critical juncture and awful situation.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the government has created a division in society and it is turning the country into a failed state.</div><div><br></div><div>“It’s very painful for those who we fought for the Liberation War as all the democratic institutions have been destroyed one after another,” the BNP leader said.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the current fascist regime has spread a climate of fear everywhere, including in the media. “Fascism succeeds when a fear of terror is created in the entire society and when a reign of terror is established.”</div><div><br></div><div>Pro-BNP faction of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) arranged the iftar party at the Jatiya Press Club.</div><div><br></div><div>BNP leader alleged that there is no press freedom now in Bangladesh and no government in the past has hampered press freedom in the way the current government is doing now. “That’s why the media people themselves exercise self-censorship. All of you (journalists) now think whether it can be written or not and whether you may face the Digital Security Act.”</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul said many journalists have still been facing cases under the DSA. “I have seen in jail many of our youths have been staying there in cases filed under the Digital Security Act.)</div><div><br></div><div>He said the government has created such a situation in the country by creating division among the journalists that the media workers now can’t work unitedly for press freedom.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul said the government also shut down many media outlets, including the Daily Din Kal while 44 journalists were killed under the rule of the current regime.</div><div><br></div><div>“The basic thing is that press freedom is necessary for a democratic state and society, but the government has suppressed this matter,” the BNP leader observed.</div><div><br></div><div>He also said it cannot even imagine in a civilised country the way Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina criticised the media in parliament. “The Prime Minister of a civilised country can’t speak in such a language.”</div><div><br></div><div>Under the current circumstances of the country, the BNP leader called upon the journalists and professionals for the restoration of democracy, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>He also said, “The only demand of the people of the country is the resignation of the current regime. We must come forward with this demand by creating a strong unity.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-16 23:06:22', '2023-04-16 23:06:22');
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(6420, 6420, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Top diplomats from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies are tackling two major worries in Northeast Asia, vowing a tough stance on China’s increasing threats to Taiwan and North Korea\'s unchecked tests of long-range missiles.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another major crisis, Russia’s war in Ukraine, will also consume the agenda Monday as the diplomats gather in this Japanese hot spring resort town for Day Two of talks meant to pave the way for action by G-7 leaders when they meet next month in Hiroshima.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For the American delegation, the meeting comes at a crucial moment in the world’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and efforts to deal with China, two issues that G-7 ministers from Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and the European Union regard as potent challenges to the post-World War II rules-based international order.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A senior U.S. official traveling with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that the Biden administration’s goal for the talks is to shore up support for Ukraine, including a major initiative on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure launched at last year’s G-7 gatherings in Germany, as well as to ensure the continued provision of military assistance to Kyiv. Ramping up punishment against Russia for the conflict, particularly through economic and financial sanctions that were first threatened by the G-7 in December 2021, before the invasion, will also be a priority, the official said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine faces an important moment in coming weeks with Russia’s current offensive largely stalled and Ukraine preparing a counter-offensive. The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Blinken’s priorities at the closed-door meetings, said there would be discussion about ways to deepen support for Ukraine’s long-term defense and deterrence capabilities. That might also improve Kyiv’s position for potential negotiations that could end the conflict on its terms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The role of Japan — the only Asian member of the G-7 — as chairman of this year\'s talks provides an opportunity to discuss coordinated action on China. Leaders and foreign ministers of G-7 countries, most recently France and Germany, have recently concluded visits to China, and the diplomats in Karuizawa are expected to discuss their impressions of where the Chinese stand on numerous issues, including the war in Ukraine, North Korea, and Taiwan, which is a particular sore point in U.S.-Chinese relations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At a private working dinner on Sunday night that marked the diplomats’ first formal meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi urged continued dialogue with China on the many global challenges where participation from Beijing is seen as crucial. Among the Chinese interests that are intertwined with those of wealthy democracies are global trade, finance and climate efforts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the diplomats are also looking to address China’s more aggressive recent stance in Northeast Asia, where it has threatened Taiwan, the self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its own.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hayashi told ministers that outside nations must continue “building a constructive and stable relationship, while also directly expressing our concerns and calling for China to act as a responsible member of the international community,” according to a summary of the closed-door dinner.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China recently sent planes and ships to simulate an encirclement of Taiwan. Beijing has also been rapidly adding nuclear warheads, taking a tougher line on its claim to the South China Sea and painting a scenario of impending confrontation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The worry in Japan can be seen it its efforts in recent years to make a major break from its self-defense-only post-WWII principles, working to acquire preemptive strike capabilities and cruise missiles to counter growing threats.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Blinken, the top U.S. diplomat, had been due to visit Beijing in February, but the trip was postponed because of a Chinese spy balloon incident over U.S. airspace and has yet to be rescheduled.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Blinken met briefly with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Forum, but high-level contacts between Washington and Beijing have become rare. Thus, Blinken will be seeking insight from his French and German counterparts on their interactions with the Chinese, the senior U.S. official said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite indications, notably comments from French President Emmanuel Macron, that the G-7 is split over China, the official said there is shared worry among G-7 nations over China’s actions. The official added that the foreign ministers would be discussing how to continue a coordinated approach to China.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">North Korea is also a key area of worry for Japan and other neighbors in the region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since last year, Pyongyang has test-fired around 100 missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that showed the potential of reaching the U.S. mainland and a variety of other shorter-range weapons that threaten South Korea and Japan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hayashi “expressed grave concern over North Korea’s launch of ballistic missiles with an unprecedented frequency and in unprecedented manners, including the launch in the previous week, and the G-7 Foreign Ministers strongly condemned North Korea’s repeated launches of ballistic missiles,” according to the summary. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh </div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 09:19:57', '2023-04-17 20:31:24'),
(6421, 6421, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Emmanuel Macron is on Monday to address France for the first time since signing into law his controversial pension reform, facing warnings the political and social crisis sparked by the changes is not over.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Macron signed the legislation early Saturday, just hours after the banner change to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 had been validated by the constitutional court, prompting accusations he was smuggling the law through in the dead of night.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After three months of protests and strikes, the left and unions have vowed not to give in and have warned of mass protests on the May 1 Labour Day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Polls have consistently showed a majority of French remain opposed to the reform, which the government rammed through parliament using a controversial mechanism allowing it to be passed without a vote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Macron\'s own personal popularity ratings have eroded, with some analysts suggesting he has given a head-start to far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the long path to 2027 elections.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The press has widely dubbed it a \"Pyrrhic victory\" after the Greek king who defeated the Romans but saw most of his army destroyed in the process.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>- \'President of chaos\' -</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Macron is expected to address the nation around 1800 GMT, presidential sources said, in a speech that government spokesman Olivier Veran said Saturday would be in the spirit of \"pacification\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the leader of the powerful CGT union Sophie Binet said in an interview with regional newspapers Sunday that Macron was \"on his way to becoming the president of chaos\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He is opening the way to the National Rally\" party of Le Pen, who was shown in one poll as the victor if the 2022 presidential election was re-run at the present time, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Emmanuel Macron is far from finished from having to deal with the social and political crisis, which he continues to dangerously stir up,\" said Le Monde daily in an editorial.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It noted that Le Pen was the only French politician whose popularity has been notably boosted by the crisis, while trust in the country\'s democratic institutions has fallen.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The cost of the pensions reform appears to be exorbitant,\" it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The crisis also comes at a time of increasing challenges on the international stage for Macron, who faced accusations of cosying up to China on a visit to Beijing last week.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Determined to accelerate\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Macron, 45, came to power in 2017 promising reform in France and a fresh new politics. But opponents accuse him of increasingly reclusive and anti-democratic behaviour.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Emmanuel Macron no longer has authority ... so suddenly he is becoming brutal and authoritarian,\" hard-left deputy Clementine Autain told French TV on Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Le Pen said Macron had three choices to end a crisis \"which he created himself\" -- a referendum on the changes, legislative elections or resignation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne vowed Saturday the government would press ahead with more reforms now the pensions overhaul was passed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are determined to accelerate\" the pace of reforms, she told the national council of Macron\'s Renaissance party.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Binet and other union bosses have called for a \"popular and historic tidal wave\" of people on the streets to oppose the reforms on May 1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a prelude to the May 1 protests, railway unions are calling for a day of \"railway anger\" on April 20. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 09:23:44', '2023-04-17 09:23:44'),
(6422, 6422, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least four people were killed and more than 20 others injured, mostly teens, in a Saturday night shooting at a birthday party in Alabama, officials said, in the latest spasm of American gun mass violence.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local news reports said the shooting occurred at a Sweet 16 party at a dance studio in Dadeville, a small town northeast of the state capital Montgomery.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There were four lives tragically lost in this incident, and there\'s been a multitude of injuries,\" Sergeant Jeremy Burkett, a spokesman for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), told reporters Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He specified later that 28 people had been wounded, some of them critically, and urged residents to come forward with any information they might have related to the attack. But Burkett provided no further details on how the shooting unfolded or why.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Annette Allen told the Montgomery Advertiser that her grandson Phil Dowdell was among those who died: he had been celebrating his sister Alexis\'s 16th birthday when gunfire ripped through the party.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face,\" Allen said of her grandson, a high school senior and football player due to graduate within weeks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Everybody\'s grieving,\" Allen said of the small community of some 3,000 residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Joe Biden, who was briefed on the shooting, said the nation was again grieving over young Americans killed in gun violence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear?\" Biden, who has long sought tighter gun safety measures, asked in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising -- not declining,\" he added. \"This is outrageous and unacceptable.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The nearby Lake Martin Community Hospital received 15 individual gun-shot wound patients, mostly victims in their teens, Heidi Smith, marketing director for the rural health facility\'s operator IvyCreek Healthcare, told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Six of the patients were discharged and nine have been transferred to facilities with higher levels of care. Of those, five were in critical condition, Smith said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s been terrible,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 12 hours after the tragedy, neither Burkett nor other law enforcement officials provided any details on who may have perpetrated the shooting and why, or whether a suspect has been detained.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We can\'t share anything further at this time,\" the sergeant said, adding only that \"it was tied to a birthday party.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dadeville Chief of Police Jonathan Floyd called the town \"a tight-knit community full of wonderful people.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said its State Bureau of Investigations has launched a probe together with Dadeville police and federal agencies including the FBI.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Television station WRBL of nearby Columbus, Georgia reported heavy police activity overnight and crime scene tape around a building in Dadeville, where it said white sheets could be seen covering parts of the floor.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Heartbreaking\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">State leaders took to Twitter Sunday offering prayers and decrying violence but they did not provide details on what happened.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,\" Governor Kay Ivey posted. \"Violent crime has NO place in our state.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United States, a country of around 330 million people, is awash with some 400 million guns, and deadly mass shootings are a regular occurrence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latest deaths came on the 16th anniversary of the deadliest US school shooting on record, in which 32 people were killed at Virginia Tech in 2007.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Separately, police confirmed two people were killed and four others wounded in a shooting late Saturday at a crowded park in Louisville, Kentucky, the same city where a bank employee slaughtered five people at his workplace last Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There have been 163 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The non-profit group defines a mass shooting as having a minimum of four victims shot, either injured or killed, excluding any shooter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Efforts to tighten gun controls have for years run up against opposition from Republicans, staunch defenders of the constitutional right to bear arms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The political paralysis endures despite widespread outrage over recurring shootings. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 09:28:07', '2023-04-17 09:28:07'),
(6423, 6423, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today paid homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing a wreath at his portrait at Dhanmondi 32 here marking the historic Mujibnagar Day.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>She placed the wreath at the portrait of the Father of the Nation in front of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum this morning. BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 09:49:04', '2023-04-17 09:49:04'),
(6424, 6424, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Although there are 41 recognised river routes between Dhaka and the south coast,  at present there are commercial launches operating from Sadarghat terminal of Dhaka river port on just 25 routes.   </b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) sources said that launches are not plying the remaining river channels due to the shortage of passengers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, launch owners say that 15 waterways have apparently been abandoned due to poor navigability. They said, this crisis has been created due to lack of sufficient dredging.   </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They claim that even on the 25 waterways that are operational, launches ply on just 19 of those. Launch movement on the remaining 6 routes is irregular. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rights activists complain that there is no transparency and accountability in excavation and dredging works. Due to this, there are irregularities and corruption in this important work. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Launch owners also have the same complaint that waterways are not being dredged properly due to lack of transparency and accountability.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Badiuzzaman Badal, Senior Vice President of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport (Passenger carrier) Association, an organisation of launch owners, said, “We are a major stakeholder in the shipping sector. But we are not involved in river dredging. Our opinion is not taken on which route has more or less navigability crisis.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Referring to the lack of minimum transparency and accountability in dredging, Badiuzzaman Badal said, “BIWTA is doing the job as per their wish leading to widespread irregularities and corruption. As a result, general people, including water transport owners, are not getting the benefits. As the launch cannot proceed in many waterways due to the navigability crisis, in order to reach many destinations, one has to travel much more than the prescribed distance, wasting extra time. On the one hand, the fuel cost of the owners increases, on the other hand, the passengers do not want to board the launch because of the extra time wasted.” </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Badiuzzaman Badal said these in a press conference at the organisation\'s office at Sadarghat Terminal on April 8. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Aminur Rasul Babul, member secretary of Safe Waterway Implementation Movement, said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself is sincere in the development of inland shipping communication. The government is also giving adequate allocation in this sector. But due to the irregularities and corruption of BIWTA\'s dredging department, the desired success in rescuing the defunct waterways has not come even after 14 years. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mihir Biswas, joint secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), said that BIWTA\'s responsibility is to maintain the navigability of waterways through regular dredging under its revenue fund.  </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The river dredging, including rescue of lost waterways and the expensive works of silt removal, are under its development fund. The organisation has been doing these two tasks for more than a century. For this, thousands of crores of public funds have been spent, but the expected success is not visible,” Mihir Biswas commented, also blaming irregularities, corruption and lack of accountability and transparency as responsible for this. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/k</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 11:29:43', '2023-04-17 20:32:27'),
(6425, 6425, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday inaugurated 50 more model mosques and Islamic cultural centres across the country in the fourth phase joining virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the new ones, she has so far inaugurated 200 mosques out of 564 being built at a cost of Taka 9,435 crore all over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The construction of the remaining mosques and Islamic cultural centres is scheduled to be completed by June, 2024</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, she opened 50 mosques each in the first phase on June 10, 2021, in the second phase on January 16 this year and the third phase on March 16. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The model mosques and Islamic cultural centres include separate places for ablution and namaj along with air-condition system.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, there will be registration and training arrangements for hajj pilgrims, Imam training centre, research centre and Islamic library, autism corner, ritual system before burial, car parking facility, hifzakhana, pre-primary education and Quran learning arrangement, conference room for Islamic cultural activities and Islamic dawat, Islamic books sale centre, boarding facility for local and foreign guests along with the mosques.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Being imbued with the spirit of Islam and following the footsteps of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the prime minister has come up with the idea of constructing 564 model mosques across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The purpose of the project is to publicise Islamic brotherhood and its values as well as disseminate the essence of Islam against extremism and militancy as the religion never supports those.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It would also put concentration on creating awareness against terrorism and violence against women along with disseminating development activities of the government.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under category A, some 69 four-storey mosques having the elevator facility and a floor space of 2,360.09 square metres each are being constructed in 64 districts and city corporation areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under category B, 475 mosques are being built with a floor space of 1680.14 square metres each, while 16 mosques under C category in coastal areas will have a floor space of 2,052.12 square metres each.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tungipara Upazila in Gopalganj district and Bishwanath  Upazila of Sylhet district were also connected to the programme where the local lawmakers, public representatives, political parties\' leaders, government officers, alem-ulama and common people were present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A video-documentary on the model mosques and Islamic cultural centres was screened at the function.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan in the chair, secretary of the ministry Kazi Enamul Hassan delivered welcome address at the function.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah moderated the programme. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 11:35:15', '2023-04-17 13:51:24'),
(6426, 6426, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>As the heatwave severely impacts public life, with an air quality index (AQI) score of 158 at 9:40 am today (April 17, 2023), Dhaka ranked 5th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India’s Delhi, Nepal’s Kathmandu and Thailand’s Chiang Mai occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 228, 198 and 165, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 101 and 150 is considered \'unhealthy\', AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be \'very unhealthy\', while a reading of 301+ is considered \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 11:54:25', '2023-04-17 11:54:25'),
(6427, 6427, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A fire broke out in BGB Market at House Building area of the city\'s Uttara area on Monday morning.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Five units of fire fighters were trying to douse the fire that broke out around 10:30am in the Sector-7 market, Duty Officer of the fire service control room Anisur Rahman said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The reason behind the fire or the damage caused was not yet known.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 12:01:55', '2023-04-17 12:01:55'),
(6428, 6428, '<p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Qatar expects more than five million people to visit the Gulf state in 2023 despite a post-World Cup lull, its tourism chief said on Sunday.</b></span><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Akbar Al-Baker, head of Qatar Airways and Qatar Tourism, admitted that hotels had fallen quiet after the World Cup final on December 19.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">But he insisted that every World Cup host has the same lull after the tournament and that hotels were still 65-70 percent full.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Baker told a press conference there were 1.16 million visitors in the first quarter of 2023 and told AFP on the sidelines that he expected \"at least\" five million over the year.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, there were about 2.1 million tourists. By comparison, rival Dubai had more than 14 million tourists in 2022.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">As part of a bid to end reliance on its natural gas riches, Qatar has spent billions of dollars on infrastructure for tourism and hosting major sports events.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The government has set a target of six million foreign tourists a year by 2030. \"I think we will not be too far away from the target\" in 2023, Baker told AFP.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Because of FIFA we built so much infrastructure in the hospitality industry and of course now it is our job to make sure that in the coming months we are making sure that occupancy rates go up.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Qatar, which says there were 1.4 million visitors during the World Cup, is predicting foreign travellers will make up about one third of the three million people expected to attend an international horticultural expo that runs from October 2 until March 28, 2024. AFP</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</p>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 12:07:16', '2023-04-17 12:07:16'),
(6429, 6429, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Maharashtra Bhushan Award ceremony on Sunday in Navi Mumbai turned fatal for at least 11 people who died of heatstroke after standing in the sun for hours.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About 125 people who attended the ceremony complained of exhaustion, chest pain etc.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reached the Kamothe Hospital where the patients were taken for treatment and reviewed the situation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shinde announced ₹5 lakh relief to the family of the deceased. Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is also likely to visit the hospital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">he function was held in a large open ground at Navi Mumbai\'s Kharghar between 11.30am to 1.30pm to felicitate social worker Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari, also known as Appasaheb Dharmadhikari. Lakhs of his followers attended the event. After standing under the sun during the peak daytime, many complained of illness and were sent to the hospital for treatment where at least eight of the followers died.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shinde termed the deaths \'very unfortunate\' and said the expenses of the treatment will be borne by the state government. The Chief Minister also directed officials to shift patients to specialised hospitals if they needed additional treatment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The nearest weather station to the spot of the event recorded a maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Lakhs of people had come for the event and it went well. It is painful to see some of them suffer. It is a very unfortunate situation which is very painful for me,\" Shinde said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is very unfortunate and painful that some members participating in the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony this morning died due to heatstroke. I offer my heartfelt tributes to these seekers. We share in the grief of their families,\" deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 12:14:14', '2023-04-17 12:14:14'),
(6430, 6430, '<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder; font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh\'s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (April 17, 2023) urged all religious-minded people, including Aleem and Ulema, to remain vigilant so that no one could tarnish the image of Islam.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Let’s ensure that our sacred religion is not tarnished through various means. Aleem, Ulema and religious-minded people must keep an eye on this issue,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said this while inaugurating 50 more model mosques and Islamic cultural centres across the country – in the fourth phase – joining virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that Islam is the religion of peace, and those engaged in terrorism and militancy are tarnishing the image of this religion of peace.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“They are on the wrong path. All of us have to pay special attention to this matter,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said that the last judgement will be made by the Almighty Allah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Who believes in Islam and who does not, we cannot decide that. It is very regrettable that sometimes we see some people unnecessarily trying to undermine other religions or different mazhab (sects) of Islam,” Sheikh Hasina said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that this is against the lessons of Islam and ideology of the Prophet (PBUH). “This kind of attitude is not acceptable. Allah will judge everyone and everything… Allah will decide who will go to heaven and who will go to hell.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Everyone will perform rituals of their own religion, and it is stated in the constitution of Bangladesh, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“One cannot go to heaven by killing people. Killing innocent people will lead one to land in the fire of hell… People must be aware of this,” the PM said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that all, irrespective of religion and background, gave their blood to attain the independence of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Everyone will perform their religious rituals, maintaining communal harmony. We run our country keeping faith in Allah. Everyone has equal rights and we believe that,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Terming militancy and terrorism as menaces of society, she said that these take away lives and misguide people. “Steps must be taken to keep people away from these menaces.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She urged Aleems, Ulemas and Khatibs to be vigilant as sometimes quarters with vested interest misguide impressionable children to the wrong path.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We cannot let children get involved in terrorism. Islam’s messages of peace and values must be ingrained in them,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also asked all to remain alert regarding rumours, corruption, and repression of the weak. In this connection, she requested the imams to deliver special Khutba during Jummah prayers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Read More: Model mosques to inspire all to understand essence of Islam: Hasina</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A documentary on the model mosques and Islamic cultural centres was screened at the function.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan in the chair, secretary of the ministry Kazi Enamul Hassan delivered welcome address at the function.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah moderated the programme. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 13:48:55', '2023-04-17 13:48:55'),
(6431, 6431, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Jatiya Party has nominated former secretary MM Niazuddin as their mayoral candidate for Gazipur city corporation election.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A meeting of party’s nomination board took the decision, Jatiya Party Chairman’s press secretary Khandaker Deloar Jalil told UNB on Monday.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On April 3, the Election Commission announced the schedules of elections to five city corporations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The elections will be held in Gazipur on May 25, Khulna and Barishal on June 12, and Rajshahi and Sylhet on June 2. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 13:56:12', '2023-04-17 13:56:12'),
(6432, 6432, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The death toll from fierce fighting between Sudan\'s regular army and paramilitaries has risen to at least 97, with scores of other people wounded, the doctors\' union said early Monday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The death toll among civilians in clashes since it began on Saturday ... has reached 97,\" it said in a statement, noting that the figure does not include all casaulties as many could not reach hospitals due to difficulties in movement. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 14:13:09', '2023-04-17 14:13:09'),
(6433, 6433, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Intermittent fasting (IF) has become a popular diet trend among wellness enthusiasts as the eating pattern has been found to be beneficial for managing blood sugar levels, blood pressure, cholesterol among a host of other advantages. Many celebrities like Alia Bhatt, Bharti Singh, Varun Dhawan and Malaika Arora have lost oodles of weight by doing intermittent fasting.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to John Hopkins Medicine, intermittent fasting works by prolonging the period when your body has burned through the calories consumed during your last meal and begins burning fat. There are different types of intermittent fasting from 5:2 approach that involves eating regularly five days a week and restricting calorie intake for the remaining days. 16/8 fasting involves eating for eight hours and fasting for 16.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Intermittent fasting is a popular eating pattern that has gained significant attention in recent years due to its potential health benefits. This eating pattern involves alternating periods of fasting and eating, with many people using it as a tool for weight loss, improved metabolism, and better overall health. While intermittent fasting has several potential benefits, it is essential to consider how this eating pattern can affect your liver health,\" says Dr. Amit Miglani - Director &amp; HOD - Gastroenterology, Asian Hospital Faridabad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">How intermittent fasting affects liver health</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The liver is an essential organ that performs several critical functions, including detoxification, metabolism, and energy production. When you fast, your liver is responsible for breaking down stored glycogen to produce glucose to fuel your body. The liver also plays a crucial role in ketone production during fasting, which is a primary source of energy for the brain and other organs. However, prolonged fasting can have negative effects on liver health, leading to potential complications,\" says Dr Miglani.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">IF reduces risk of fatty liver disease</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Intermittent fasting can help reduce risk of fatty liver disease by promoting weight loss.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Fatty liver disease occurs when there is excess fat accumulation in the liver, leading to inflammation and damage. While fatty liver disease is often associated with excessive alcohol consumption, it can also occur due to high-calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles. Studies have found that intermittent fasting may help reduce the risk of developing the fatty liver disease by promoting weight loss and reducing inflammation,\" says the expert.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">IF may relieve elevated liver enzymes</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Elevated levels of liver enzymes are often a sign of liver damage or disease. Several studies have found that intermittent fasting can reduce liver enzymes, indicating improved liver health. This may be because intermittent fasting reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, which can lead to liver damage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cons of intermittent fasting for liver health</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, it is important to note that intermittent fasting may not be suitable for everyone, particularly those with pre-existing liver conditions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If you have liver disease, speaking with your doctor before trying intermittent fasting or any other dietary changes is essential. Additionally, it is crucial to maintain a healthy diet during the eating periods of intermittent fasting to ensure that your liver is getting the nutrients it needs to function correctly,\" says Dr Miglani.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Intermittent fasting can have both positive and negative effects on liver health. While it may help reduce the risk of fatty liver disease and improve liver enzymes, it is important to approach this eating pattern with caution, particularly if you have pre-existing liver conditions. As with any dietary change, it\'s essential to speak with your doctor before trying intermittent fasting to ensure it\'s safe and suitable for your needs,\" concludes the expert. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 14:34:01', '2023-04-17 14:34:01');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6434, 6434, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Arjun Tendulkar made his Indian Premier League debut on Sunday bowling for Mumbai Indians, the team once captained by his illustrious batsman father Sachin Tendulkar.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Standing at over six feet (1.83 metres) tall, the 23-year-old left-hander was given the new ball in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Mumbai\'s Wankhede Stadium.</div><div><br></div><div>Arjun went wicketless in his two overs, giving away 17 runs, in a match that Mumbai won and his proud father wrote an emotional note on social media.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Arjun today you have taken another important step in your journey as a cricketer,\" Tendulkar tweeted.</div><div><br></div><div>\"As your father, someone who loves you and is passionate about the game, I know you will continue to give the game the respect it deserves and the game will love you back.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Tendulkar added: \"You have worked very hard to reach here, and I am sure you will continue to do so. This is the start of a beautiful journey. All the best!\"</div><div><br></div><div>The youngster joined five-time IPL winners Mumbai in 2021 -- making his T20 debut for the state team the same year -- but this was the first time he had been picked for the franchise.</div><div><br></div><div>The paceman has played seven first-class matches for Goa, after shifting bases to the western state last year.</div><div><br></div><div>His father, who has almost god-like status in cricket-mad India, began his career with Mumbai state\'s junior team before being picked for the senior side at the age of 15.</div><div><br></div><div>He won his first cap for India in 1989 before going on to become the highest Test scorer of all time as well as the first player to score 100 international centuries. He retired in 2013. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 16:01:34', '2023-04-17 16:01:34'),
(6435, 6435, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The High Court (HC)&nbsp; refused to allow bail to suspended deputy inspector general (DIG) of police Mizanur Rahman in a graft case as it deleted the matter from its cause list.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A High Court division bench of Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman and Justice Md Ali Reza deleted the matter as it came up on number 39 on today\'s cause list.</div><div><br></div><div>Advocate Shah Manjurul Haque appeared for the suspended DIG, while senior Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan stood for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) today.</div><div><br></div><div>The ACC on June 24, 2019, filed the case against Mizanur Rahman, his wife Sohelia Anar Rotna and nephew Mahmudul Hasan for amassing illegal wealth of Taka three crore. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 17:04:40', '2023-04-17 17:04:40'),
(6436, 6436, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Bangladesh today signed agreements for $230 million loan to help the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in north-eastern Bangladesh affected by devastating floods in May-June 2022.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Sharifa Khan, Secretary, Economic Relations Division, and Edimon Ginting, ADB Country Director for Bangladesh, signed the agreements on behalf of Bangladesh and ADB respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>The assistance under the Flood Reconstruction Emergency Assistance Project will help in the reconstruction, improvement of resilience, and economic recovery of northeastern districts of Brahmanbaria, Habiganj, Kishoreganj, Moulvibazar, Mymensingh, Netrakona, Sherpur, Sunamganj and Sylhet, said a press release.</div><div><br></div><div>Record rainfall in northeastern Bangladesh in May-June 2022 caused massive flooding, especially in the low-lying Haor region, affecting some 7.2 million people.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The project will address the climate change impacts by developing innovative climate-resilient infrastructure under the build-back-better principles in line with the government\'s national adaptation plan,\" said Country Director Edimon Ginting.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The project will also help improve living conditions, livelihoods, and climate resilience in the flood-affected northeast region of Bangladesh by reducing flood risks in 79,233 hectares of land; improving climate-resilient irrigation infrastructure and water delivery services in at least 10,000 hectares of land; reconstructing and rehabilitating 757 kilometers (KM) of rural roads, 34 km of rail track, 80 km of river embankment and 11,900 tube wells; and planting 100,000 trees,\" Ginting added.</div><div><br></div><div>In partnership with reputable national and international research institutes, the project will support climate-smart agriculture technologies and livelihood support to the flood-affected people in the socioeconomically underdeveloped Haor region.</div><div><br></div><div>The improvement in agriculture value chains (crops and fisheries) will enhance food security, nutrition, employment, poverty reduction, and rural livelihoods. The project will incorporate safety features in infrastructure designs, particularly for the elderly, women, children, and people with disability. In line with the build-back-better approach, the infrastructure design will consider historical and projected climate scenarios including maximum flood depth and velocity, and temperature and rainfall.</div><div><br></div><div>The project will also support water management through alternative wetting and drying technology, direct seeded rice, and the use of solar irrigation for climate adaptation and mitigation.</div><div><br></div><div>An additional $1 million technical assistance grant from ADB\'s Technical Assistance Special Fund will support implementing agencies in building their capacities in climate adaptation and disaster risk management, improving project implementation and monitoring, and strengthening flood risk management and early warning system.</div><div><br></div><div>ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members-49 from the region. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 18:49:21', '2023-04-17 18:49:21'),
(6437, 6437, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Amid sweltering heat in most parts of the country, Bangladesh Metrological Department (BMD) has predicted rains and thundershowers at one or two places in Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions in 24 hours from 9 am on Monday (April 17, 2023).</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country, having chances of rain or thunder showers at one or two places over Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions,” said a Met office bulletin.</div><div><br></div><div>Severe heat wave is sweeping over Khulna division and Dhaka, Faridpur, Gopalgang, Manikganj, Narayanganj, Rajshahi and Pabna districts.</div><div><br></div><div>Mild to moderate heat wave is sweeping elsewhere over the country &amp; it may continue.</div><div><br></div><div>Day and night temperatures may remain nearly unchanged over the country.</div><div><br></div><div>A trough of low lies over West Bengal and adjoining area. Seasonal low lies over South Bay. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 18:52:12', '2023-04-17 18:52:12'),
(6438, 6438, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun today said no unfit vehicles would be allowed ply on the roads and highways during the Eid.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“No vehicles without fitness will be allowed to ply on the roads and highways on or before the Eid-ul-Fitr in order to ensure peoples journey more safe and sound,” he said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Addressing a view exchange meeting with the transport owners and leaders at the Hall of Pride of the Police Headquarters, the IGP said the movement of vehicles of such as Nasiman, Bhatavati, etc, will be stopped on the highways.</div><div><br></div><div>Additional Inspector General of Police (Adi.IGP-Admin) Md Kamrul Ahsan, Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Khandaker Golam Faruq, Addi.IGP and Chief of the Special Branch (SB) Md Monirul Islam, Addi.IGP Md Atiqul Islam, Addi.IGP of the River Police Md Shafiqul Islam and other senior police officials were present at the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>The IGP urged the transport owners and leaders not to carry extra passengers in vehicles, on the roof of buses and in goods carrier.</div><div><br></div><div>The transport owners and leaders assured that they will provide necessary assistance to the police in the upcoming Eid like the past.</div><div><br></div><div>The IGP expressed his hope and said, “If we all work together, people\'s Eid journey will be comfortable.”</div><div><br></div><div>Later, the IGP joined a virtual meeting with all the Metropolitan Police Commissioners, Range DIGs and District Superintendents of Police.</div><div><br></div><div>He asked them to ensure smooth traffic movement and control the law and order professionally keeping in view the upcoming Eid.</div><div><br></div><div>Referring to the recent fires at various markets, Chowdhury Mamun directed the concerned police officers to work in coordination with the market committees in this regard.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Soon after any incidents, the situation would have to bring under control and quick action should be taken,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The IGP said that tight security measures of all shopping malls and markets should be continued, reports BSS</div><div><br></div><div>He directed the concerned police officials to strengthen security at the homes of the people leaving the city during the Eid, adding, “Ensure security of the Eid congregation also.”&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 19:41:55', '2023-04-17 19:41:55'),
(6439, 6439, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>An earthquake of magnitude 3.7 hit Assam on Monday. The tremors of the quake were felt in Guwahati along with neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Bhutan.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The epicentre of the quake was in Kamrup district and it lay at a depth of 10 km.</div><div><br></div><div>No reports of loss of life or damage to property have been received yet. As per the National Center for Seismology website, the jolt was felt at 4.52 PM.</div><div><br></div><div>The tremor was felt in different parts of the state, including in the largest city Guwahati.</div><div><br></div><div>The North Eastern region falls in the high seismic zone, making earthquakes frequently hit the region. Source: indiatvnews.com</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 19:58:34', '2023-04-17 19:58:34'),
(6440, 6440, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday urged the Iranian President Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi to take efforts to ensure that Iranian women could live with dignity and honour with equal opportunity for education and work with their male counterparts.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>She made this call when the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran phoned her on Monday afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>After exchanging pleasantries, both leaders shared views on the issues of bilateral, regional and international interests, said a press release issued by the PMO.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina cited that Bangladesh abstained from voting for UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women.</div><div><br></div><div>During the 22-minute tele-conference, she recalled that Bangladesh and Iran, being the members of OIC and D-8, have often been supportive to each other on many occasions.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM reiterated Bangladesh’s readiness to extend support to Iran in multilateral platforms, especially in the UN. </div><div><br></div><div>In this context, she cited Bangladesh\'s vote against the resolution placed by Canada at the Human Rights Council</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina thanked President Raisi for the telephone call and appreciated that the new administration of Iran has been reaching out to Bangladesh to expand and consolidate bilateral ties.</div><div><br></div><div>She said that the bilateral trade volume between the two countries was far below the true potential and both sides should take further engagements to enhance trade and business between the two countries.</div><div><br></div><div>Emphasising the need for forming a Joint Business Commission (JBC) between the chamber bodies of the two countries, the Bangladesh premier underlined the need for regular Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meetings.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier informed that Bangladesh was working towards convening the 6th meeting in Tehran sometime this year. In this regard, she hoped that the platform of the Joint Economic Commission would facilitate both sides to explore ways of overcoming the trade barriers, existing international sanctions, and restrictions in bank transactions.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina highlighted that with its growing manufacturing strength, Bangladesh could be a source of quality imports at a competitive  price.</div><div><br></div><div>She added that Bangladesh has been exporting world-class garment and textile products, porcelain, pharmaceuticals, frozen fish and seafood, leather goods, jute  yarn, IT, light engineering, small and medium size ships, agro products, and more to Western markets, including Europe, the USA, and other destinations.</div><div><br></div><div>She also expressed Bangladesh’s willingness and ability to export those products to Iran as well.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina congratulated Iran for the restoration of diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia.</div><div><br></div><div>She appreciated that this was a classic example of a successful diplomatic maneuver that would lead to greater regional stability in the Gulf and beyond.</div><div><br></div><div>The Bangladesh PM condemned Israel’s recent acts of aggression, desecration of the al-Aqsa Mosque, and the raid on Palestinian worshippers.</div><div><br></div><div>She informed that her government has consistently condemned such illegal acts by Israeli forces.</div><div><br></div><div>She briefed President Raisi about the humanitarian treatment extended to the Rohingya refugees for more than five years despite the declining financial support from the international community.</div><div><br></div><div>She urged Iran to support Bangladesh’s cause in international platforms, including OIC, as Rohingya repatriation should be a priority for the Muslim community.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina wished the President and the brotherly people of Iran a blessed and peaceful Ramadan and a belated Happy Nawroz.</div><div><br></div><div>She also thanked him for his warm greetings on Bangladesh’s Independence Day.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM recalled her visits to Iran in 1997 to attend the 8th OIC Summit and August 2012 to attend the 16th NAM Summit in Tehran. She also stated that bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Iran were premised on strong commonalities which emanated from shared history, faith, and culture.</div><div><br></div><div>The Bangladesh Prime Minister invited the Iranian President to visit Bangladesh at his convenience. She wished him and the brotherly people of Iran a happy Eid-ul-Fitr in advance. According to UNB reports </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 20:20:05', '2023-04-17 20:37:43'),
(6441, 6441, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>As directed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) provided food and grocery packs to 6000 less fortunate families by opting out their regular Ifter Party at the month of Ramadan.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"We have already made 6000 packs, which included food and groceries. We also have already started distributing those packs to the needy people,\" BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon said here today at the Academy Ground of BCB, where he also distributed food and grocery packs to the less fortunate people.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Our honourable Prime Minister directed our party Awami League and its other wings to distribute food to the less fortunate, rather than arranging ifter party. It\'s really important to help the underprivileged instead of spending huge money for lavish ifter party. From BCB, we also used to arrange ifter party every year but this year after the direction of Premier, we decided to opt out Ifter party.</div><div><br></div><div>The BCB president distributed food and grocery packs to BCB groundsmen, security people, cleaners at the Academy ground today, reports BSS</div><div><br></div><div>\"Today we just inaugurated the programme here. The packets will be distributed in and outside of some venues of Dhaka,\" Papon said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 20:41:31', '2023-04-17 20:41:31'),
(6442, 6442, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Generation and supply gap is widening in power production, leading to load shedding of over 1500 MW across the country today.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The official data of state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) shows that the country had an actual shortage of about 1,401 MW electricity against a demand of 16,000 MW on Sunday as the total power generation reached 14,599 MW during peak evening hours.</div><div><br></div><div>Similarly, BPDB data shows that the country is expected to generate 15,160 MW against a demand of 16,000 MW and a load shedding forecast was given to be 840 MW during peak evening hours — mainly from 7 pm to 11 pm — when the country uses the highest electricity.</div><div><br></div><div>Most top officials of BPDB, however, believe it would not be possible to generate the electricity from the operating plants as per the forecast made for today due to different reasons.</div><div><br></div><div>They said due to high temperatures, power plants are vulnerable to interruption.</div><div><br></div><div>Machines of some plants cannot cope with the high temperature and trip, said a top official of BPDB.</div><div><br></div><div>BPDB statistics show that the country will experience a total of 1,291 MW of load shedding, of which Khulna region will face the highest load shedding of 350 MW, followed by Mymensingh 249 MW, Cumilla 240 MW, Rajshahi 210 MW, Rangpur 132 MW, Sylhet 100 MW and Dhaka 10 MW while Chattogram and Barishal will have no load shedding.</div><div><br></div><div>It also shows that the coal-fired Rampal Maitree Super Thermal Plant of BIFPCL could not resume operation after shutting down two days back. As a result, the national grid is not getting 617 MW from the plant.</div><div><br></div><div>The sudden shutdown of Rampal power plant has a big impact on the grid which ultimately increased the shortage, said another BPDB official.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 20:57:12', '2023-04-17 20:57:12'),
(6443, 6443, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A long-term initiative will be taken, in unity with all concerned, to make markets and shopping malls \'risk-free\', Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh has said.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He said this while handing over a check of Tk 2 crore to traders affected by the Bangabazar fire at DSCC head office on Monday afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We have to go for long-term action,\" he pledged.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking about the fact that the Fire Service had marked both the markets that faced fire disaster recently - Bangabazar and New Super Market - at risk of fire, he urged such situations to be dealt with more seriously in future. \"Not only to identify it as risky, but also to ensure that it is not used further until it is de-risked,\" Taposh said.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the DSCC has formed a standing committee to look into these issues thoroughly, added the mayor.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We will take all necessary steps to de-risk each market in a phased manner,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The mayor also said, \"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already given instructions to BIDA -- so that they also take action in this regard. So we will collectively take long-term measures from now on.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Helal Uddin, president of Bangladesh Shop Owners Association, thanked the mayor for everything done by the DSCC for the rehabilitation of the affected traders of the Bangabazar fire. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 22:21:12', '2023-04-17 22:21:12'),
(6444, 6444, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>This is the moment SpaceX broke the news that the launch was halted for the day - minutes ahead of the scheduled launch time.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The rocket can\'t just sit on a launch pad for days on end, full of fuel, waiting to lift off.</div><div><br></div><div>The propellants are super-chilled and they constantly need to be replenished during a countdown as some of the liquid warms up and vents to the atmosphere.</div><div><br></div><div>SpaceX must de-tank while they work through their valve issue and decide on a new flight day.</div><div><br></div><div>The rocket doesn\'t have the equipment on board to main the liquid methane and liquid oxygen in the correct storage state for extended periods.</div><div><br></div><div>This equipment is all off to the side of the launch pad in an area called \"the tank farm\". - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-17 22:38:12', '2023-04-17 22:38:12'),
(6445, 6445, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>As explosions and gunfire thundered outside, Sudanese in the capital Khartoum and other cities huddled in their homes for a third day Monday, while the army and a powerful rival force battled in the streets for control of the country.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">At least 200 people have been killed and over 1,800 wounded since the fighting erupted, U.N. envoy Volker Perthes told reporters. The two sides are using tanks, artillery and other heavy weapons in densely populated areas. Fighter jets swooped overhead and anti-aircraft fire lit up the skies as darkness fell.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The toll could be much higher because there are many bodies in the streets around central Khartoum that no one can reach because of the clashes. There has been no official word on how many civilians or combatants have been killed. The doctors’ syndicate earlier put the number of civilian deaths at 97.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The sudden outbreak of violence over the weekend between the nation’s two top generals, each backed by tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters, trapped millions of people in their homes or wherever they could find shelter, with supplies running low and several hospitals forced to shut down.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Top diplomats on four continents scrambled to broker a truce, and the U.N. Security Council was set to discuss the crisis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Gunfire and shelling are everywhere,” Awadeya Mahmoud Koko, head of a union for thousands of tea vendors and other food workers, said from her home in a southern district of Khartoum.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said a shell stuck a neighbor’s house Sunday, killing at least three people. “We couldn’t take them to a hospital or bury them.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In central Khartoum, sustained gunfire erupted and white smoke rose near the main military headquarters, a major battle front. Nearby, at least 88 students and staffers have been trapped in the engineering college library at Khartoum University since the start of fighting, one of the students said in a video posted online Monday. One student was killed during clashes outside and another wounded, he said. They do not have food or water, he said, showing a room full of people sleeping on the floor.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even in a country with a long history of military coups, the scenes of fighting in the capital and its adjoining city Omdurman across the Nile River were unprecedented. The turmoil comes just days before Sudanese were to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The power struggle pits Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. The former allies jointly orchestrated an October 2021 military coup. The violence has raised the specter of civil war just as Sudanese were trying to revive the drive for a democratic, civilian government after decades of military rule.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo had recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups, but the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The U.S., the U.N. and others have called for a truce. Egypt, which backs Sudan’s military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — which forged close ties to the RSF in recent years as it sent thousands of fighters to support their war in Yemen — have also called for both sides to stand down.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said late Monday that Cairo was in “constant contact” with both the army and the RSF, urging them to halt the fighting and return to negotiations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But both generals have thus far dug in, demanding the other’s surrender.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell tweeted that the EU ambassador to Sudan “was assaulted in his own residency,” without providing further details. EU officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dagalo, whose forces grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias in Sudan’s Darfur region, has portrayed himself as a defender of democracy and branded Burhan as the aggressor and a “radical Islamist.” Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Heavy gunbattles raged in multiple parts of the capital and Omdurman, where the two sides have brought in tens of thousands of troops, positioning them in nearly every neighborhood.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Twelve hospitals in the capital area have been “forcefully evacuated” and are “out of service” because of attacks or power outages, the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate said, out of a total of around 20 hospitals. Four other hospitals outside the capital have also shut down, it added in a statement late Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hadia Saeed said she and her three children were sheltering in one room on the ground floor of their home for fear of the shelling as gunfire rattled across their Bahri district in north Khartoum. They have food for a few more days, but “after that we don’t know what to do,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Residents said fierce fighting with artillery and other heavy weapons raged Monday afternoon in the Gabra neighborhood southwest of Khartoum. People were trapped and screaming inside their homes, said Asmaa al-Toum, a physician living in the area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fighting has been particularly fierce around each side’s main bases and at strategic government buildings — all of which are in residential areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military on Monday claimed to have secured the main television building in Omdurman, fending off the RSF after days of fighting. State-run Sudan TV resumed broadcasting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Sunday, the RSF said it abandoned its main barracks and base, in Omdurman, which the armed forces had pounded with airstrikes. Online videos Monday purported to show the bodies of dozens of men said to be RSF fighters at the base, strewn over beds, the floor of a clinic and outside in a yard. The authenticity of the videos could not be confirmed independently.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military and RSF were also fighting in most major centers around the country, including in the western Darfur region and parts of the north and the east, by the borders with Egypt and Ethiopia. Battles raged Monday around a strategic airbase in Merowe, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) northwest of the capital, with both sides claiming control of the facility.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Only four years ago, Sudan inspired hope after a popular uprising helped depose long-time autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the turmoil since, especially the 2021 coup, has frustrated the democracy drive and wrecked the economy. A third of the population — around 16 million people — now depends on humanitarian assistance in the resource-rich nation, Africa’s third largest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Save the Children, an international charity, said it has temporarily suspended most of its operations across Sudan. It said looters raided its offices in Darfur, stealing medical supplies, laptops, vehicles and a refrigerator. The World Food Program suspended operations over the weekend after three employees were killed in Darfur, and the International Rescue Committee has also halted most operations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the U.S., European Union, African and Arab nations all calling for an end to fighting, the U.N. Security Council was to discuss the developments in Sudan. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was consulting with the Arab League, African Union and leaders in the region, urging anyone with influence to press for peace.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At a meeting of the Group of Seven wealthy nations in Japan on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Sudanese “want the military back in the barracks. They want democracy. They want the civilian-led government, Sudan needs to return to that path.” AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 09:12:53', '2023-04-18 09:12:53'),
(6446, 6446, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina\'s ‘Ashrayan Project’ under which homes are built for homeless and displaced people in Bangladesh, has played a key role in achieving the goals of poverty eradication, hunger eradication, gender equality and women\'s empowerment, among others, India’s leading English-language magazine India Today writes.&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Her innovative Shelter Scheme, to transform Bangladesh into a developed and prosperous country by 2041, has been able to bring about positive changes in inclusive development by aiming to provide houses for landless, homeless, and marginalized people in 64 districts of the country, writes the magazine in its April 15 issue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Whereas examples of low-interest loans for land purchase are found in several countries around the world, Bangladesh becomes the first country to offer free land ownership with houses to its marginalized citizens in order to bring its backward communities into the mainstream, India Today notes.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Beneficiaries under this scheme are not only provided with accommodation, but they are also provided with various training, daily allowances during training, and loans after training to make them economically self-reliant,” the report states.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The scheme includes empowering women by giving them half ownership of land and houses, providing free electricity connection, providing clean water by installing one shallow tube well for every 10 families, and providing food assistance under three months of VGF to the resettled families initially,” it reads.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The India Today report also lauded PM Hasina’s development, known as the \"Sheikh Hasina model\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The \'Ashrayan Project\' is a unique example of how a house can be a major tool for overall family welfare and social development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In its report, India Today highlighted the experience of two beneficiaries of the project.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For 30 long years, Moksedul, a brick kiln labourer, waited for a house that he could call his own.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His long-held desire has been granted, as he has been assigned a semi-furnished house in his own name.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moksedul told India Today that he can live very well with his family now.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, sixty-five-year-old Piara Begum is a resident of Patharghata in Barguna who lost her family home to the river thirty years ago.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She used to live with her husband on the banks of the river until he died of cancer 16 years ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Finally, Piara Begum\'s misery has come to an end after she is allotted a house built by the Bangladesh government on the occasion of ‘Mujib centenary’ under the ‘Ashrayan\' scheme.” India Today writes.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I have been suffering all my life. I never dreamed of a house. Now, I have got a semi-furnished house with land. The prime minister has given me a house. I am very happy. As long as I live, I will pray for the prime minister,” she told India Today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The “Ashrayan” project was undertaken in 1997 under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. And since its inception, approximately 5,07,244 landless and homeless families have been rehabilitated at various stages under this shelter initiative.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Through this initiative, the society\'s backward community has been given access to semi-finished housing and two decimals of land. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 10:24:03', '2023-04-18 10:24:03'),
(6447, 6447, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>SpaceX has rescheduled for Thursday the first test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, designed to send astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond, after a technical glitch forced a halt to the countdown.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A planned liftoff Monday of the gigantic rocket was called off less than 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled launch because of a pressurization issue in the first-stage booster, SpaceX said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The private space company continued with the countdown in what it called a \"wet dress rehearsal,\" stopping the clock with 10 seconds to go, just before the massive engines on the booster were to have been ignited.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">SpaceX founder Elon Musk said a frozen pressure valve forced a scrub of the launch, which had been planned for 8:20 am Central Time (1320 GMT) from Starbase, the SpaceX spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Learned a lot today, now offloading propellant, retrying in a few day,\" Musk tweeted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Before announcing Thursday as the new target for liftoff, SpaceX had said the inaugural flight would be delayed for at least 48 hours to recycle the liquid methane and liquid oxygen that fuels the rocket.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new launch window opens Thursday at 8:28 am Central Time (1328 GMT) and lasts 62 minutes, SpaceX said on Twitter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US space agency NASA has picked the Starship spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the Moon in late 2025 -- a mission known as Artemis III -- for the first time since the Apollo program ended in 1972.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Starship consists of a 164-foot (50-meter) tall spacecraft designed to carry crew and cargo that sits atop a 230-foot tall first-stage Super Heavy booster rocket.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">SpaceX conducted a successful test-firing of the 33 Raptor engines on the first-stage booster in February but the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy rocket have never flown together.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The integrated test flight is intended to assess their performance in combination.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk had warned ahead of the launch that a delay was likely.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s a very risky flight,\" he said earlier. \"It\'s the first launch of a very complicated, gigantic rocket.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There\'s a million ways this rocket could fail,\" Musk said. \"We\'re going to be very careful and if we see anything that gives us concern, we\'ll postpone.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Multi-planet species\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">NASA will take astronauts to lunar orbit itself in November 2024 using its own heavy rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS), which has been in development for more than a decade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Starship is both bigger and more powerful than SLS and capable of lifting a payload of more than 100 metric tonnes into orbit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It generates 17 million pounds of thrust, more than twice that of the Saturn V rockets used to send Apollo astronauts to the Moon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The plan for the integrated test flight is for the Super Heavy booster to separate from Starship about three minutes after launch and splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Starship, which has six engines of its own, will continue to an altitude of nearly 150 miles, completing a near-circle of the Earth before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean about 90 minutes after launch.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If it gets to orbit, that\'s a massive success,\" Musk said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If we get far enough away from the launchpad before something goes wrong then I think I would consider that to be a success,\" he said. \"Just don\'t blow up the launchpad.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">SpaceX foresees eventually putting a Starship into orbit, and then refueling it with another Starship so it can continue on a journey to Mars or beyond.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk said the goal is to make Starship reusable and bring down the price to a few million dollars per flight.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"In the long run -- long run meaning, I don\'t know, two or three years -- we should achieve full and rapid reusability,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The eventual objective is to establish bases on the Moon and Mars and put humans on the \"path to being a multi-planet civilization,\" Musk said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are at this brief moment in civilization where it is possible to become a multi-planet species,\" he said. \"That\'s our goal. I think we\'ve got a chance.\" AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 10:38:16', '2023-04-18 10:38:16');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6448, 6448, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday put emphasis on a collective response to confront the multifaceted challenges that the world is facing now.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We need to take a risk-informed approach that considers multidimensional vulnerability, promotes gender equality, strengthens social protection, and expands concessional lending through Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs),” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said this in her pre-recorded Keynote address at the panel discussion titled ‘Development Cooperation: Long-term Resilience and the Role of Multilateral Development Banks’ in the United Nations Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that by working together and leveraging the resources and expertise of MDBs, significant progress can be made towards creating a more resilient and prosperous world for generations to come.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Let’s work together to build a prosperous and, poverty- and-hunger-free world by supporting the poor people through MDBs,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said that the world economy is now passing through multiple challenges - firstly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later on by the staggering impacts of Russia-Ukraine war.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“At this complex global context, development cooperation has become very crucial in building resilience of the vulnerable segment of the global community and addressing the multi-dimensional crises,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She mentioned that it is strongly believed that multilateral development banks (MDBs) can play an important role in bringing a positive change to the critical global scenario.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that financing from MDBs will foster multi-party dialogues to address pressing global issues and advance policies that will ensure financial support in achieving the SDGs as per in accordance with its mandate specified in the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“MDBs have to play a critical role in promoting global public goods, such as healthcare, education, and technology. These have a significant impact on sustainable development,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said that the MDBs are uniquely positioned to provide technical assistance and knowledge to developing countries, including LDCs, and help them build capacity and promote sustainable development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“While working towards building resilience in developing countries, we must also admit their ability to explore their full potentials. These include financial inequalities, digital divides and development divides. The focus should be on building long-term resilience through sustainable and equitable development.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that it is observed that the interest rates and service charges of MDBs are increasing. Such measure are pushing the developing countries into further tight spot.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She urged the MDBs to fix a debt management plan which are financially viable and also contribute to economic development of vulnerable countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said that Bangladesh became a lower-middle-income country in 2015. It is also qualified for graduation from the LDCs to a developing country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our goal is to attain the status of an upper middle-income country by 2031 with the ultimate vision to make a prosperous, developed and knowledge-based SMART Bangladesh by 2041.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But, she said, our development journey has been impeded by the current geopolitical crisis, economic uncertainty and climate change impacts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The world community should come forward to help countries like us overcome the crises,” she added. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 11:41:14', '2023-04-18 11:41:14'),
(6449, 6449, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 162 at 9:15 am today, Dhaka ranked 3rd in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nepal’s Kathmandu and Thailand’s Chiang Mai occupied the first two spots on the list, with AQI scores of 183 and 178, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered \'unhealthy\', AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be \'very unhealthy\', while a reading of 301+ is considered \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 11:47:07', '2023-04-18 11:47:07'),
(6450, 6450, '<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk is again sounding warning bells on the dangers of artificial intelligence to humanity — and claiming that a popular chatbot has a liberal bias that he plans to counter with his own AI creation.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a segment aired Monday night that he plans to create an alternative to the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT that he is calling “TruthGPT,” which will be a \"maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The idea, Musk said, is that an AI that wants to understand humanity is less likely to destroy it.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk also said he\'s worried that ChatGPT “is being trained to be politically correct.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the first of a two-part interview with Carlson, Musk also advocated for the regulation of artificial intelligence, saying he\'s a “big fan.” He called AI “more dangerous” than cars or rockets and said it has the potential to destroy humanity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Separately, Musk has incorporated a new business called X.AI Corp,, according to a Nevada business filing. The website of the Nevada secretary of state’s office says the business was formed on March 9 and lists Musk as its director and his longtime adviser, Jared Birchall, as secretary.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk has for many years expressed strong opinions about artificial intelligence and has dismissed other tech leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, for having what he has described as a “limited” understanding of the field.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk was an early investor in OpenAI — the startup behind ChatGPT — and co-chaired its board upon its 2015 founding as a nonprofit AI research lab. But Musk only lasted there for a few years, resigning from the board in early 2018 in a move that the San Francisco startup tied to Tesla’s work on building automated driving systems. “As Tesla continues to become more focused on AI, this will eliminate a potential future conflict for Elon,” OpenAI said in a February 2018 blog post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I came up with the name and the concept,” Musk told Carlson, lamenting that OpenAI is now closely allied with Microsoft and is no longer a nonprofit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk elaborated on his departure in 2019, saying it was also related to his need to focus on engineering problems at Tesla and some differences of opinion with OpenAI’s leaders. It was “just better to part ways on good terms,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Tesla was competing for some of same people as OpenAI &amp; I didn’t agree with some of what OpenAI team wanted to do,” Musk tweeted, without specifying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But there have been questions surrounding the quality of Tesla\'s AI systems. U.S. safety regulators last month announced an investigation into a fatal crash involving a Tesla suspected of using an automated driving system when it ran into a parked firetruck in California.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The firetruck probe is part of a larger investigation by the agency into multiple instances of Teslas using the automaker’s Autopilot system crashing into parked emergency vehicles that are tending to other crashes. NHTSA has become more aggressive in pursuing safety problems with Teslas in the past year, announcing multiple recalls and investigations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the year after Musk resigned from the board, OpenAI was still far away from working on ChatGPT but publicly unveiled the first generation of its GPT system, on which ChatGPT is founded, and began a major shift to incorporate itself as a for-profit business.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By 2020, Musk was tweeting that “OpenAI should be more open” while noting that he had “no control &amp; only very limited insight” into it.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At times, he has been complementary. In the days after the Nov. 30 release of ChatGPT, Musk tweeted to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that it is “scary good” and complained that news media wasn’t widely covering it because “ChatGPT is not a far left cause.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since then, however, Musk has repeatedly highlighted examples that he says show left-wing bias or censorship. Like other chatbots, ChatGPT has filters that try to prevent it from spewing out toxic or offensive answers. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"18\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 11:52:19', '2023-04-18 11:52:19'),
(6451, 6451, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited Ukraine\'s Kherson region, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The supreme commander of Russian Federation armed forces has visited the headquarters of the Dniepr military grouping\" in the Kherson region, the Kremlin said in a statement, without giving details on when the visit took place. It marked the first time Putin has visited Kherson, a region partly occupied by Russian forces, since Moscow annexed it along with three other Ukrainian regions last year. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 11:57:53', '2023-04-18 11:57:53'),
(6452, 6452, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Police on Monday arrested two men on charge of raping a housewife at Dhaneshwargati village under Shalikha upazila of Magura district and produced them before a court today.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The arrestees were identified as Mithun Bishwas, 37 and Goutam Bishwas, 38.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mosharraf Hossain, officer-in-charge of Shalikha Police Station, said on Friday night, the two men waited outside the victim\'s house.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When she came out to use the toilet, they swooped on her and raped her.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the incident, the woman filed a case with Shalikha Police Station on Sunday accusing the two men, the OC said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The woman was sent to Magura 250-bed District Hospital for medical test, he added. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 12:18:51', '2023-04-18 12:18:51'),
(6453, 6453, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>China\'s economy grew a forecast-busting 4.5 percent in the first quarter as the country reopened after the end of zero-Covid measures late last year, official data showed Tuesday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The figures were the first snapshot since 2019 of the world\'s second-largest economy unencumbered by the strict health measures that helped keep the coronavirus in check but battered businesses and supply chains.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A key driver of the standout reading was a bounce in retail sales, the main indicator of household consumption, which surged 10.6 percent on-year in March, the biggest increase since June 2021.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, industrial production climbed 3.9 percent last month, an improvement from January-February but below analysts\' expectations of 4.4 percent, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tuesday\'s NBS report said in the first three months of the year China had faced a \"grave and complex international environment as well as arduous tasks to advance reform, development and ensure stability at home\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Beijing\'s virus-containment policy -- an unstinting regime of strict quarantines, mass testing and travel curbs -- strongly constrained normal economic activity before it was abruptly ditched in December.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Chinese economy is also beset by a series of other crises, from a debt-laden property sector to flagging consumer confidence, global inflation, the threat of recession elsewhere, and geopolitical tensions with the United States.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since the rapid dismantling of the suffocating zero-Covid policy, Chinese people have in recent months returned to restaurants and started to travel again, giving much-needed stimulus to services.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Modest growth target -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Consumption saw a recovery during the first quarter partly because of pent-up demand but is not yet back on pre-pandemic levels,\" Teeuwe Mevissen, an analyst at RaboBank, said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Loss in household wealth due to the real estate crisis and loss of household income during the pandemic are factors why consumers have not spent more.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And Iris Pang, the chief economist for Greater China at ING, said the primary reason for the faster-than-expected growth was the much stronger growth in retail sales, which were \"mainly boosted by catering\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The official January-to-March growth figure was significantly higher than the 3.8 percent predicted by analysts in an AFP poll.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China\'s economy grew just three percent in the whole of last year, one of its weakest performances in decades.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It posted a 4.8 percent expansion in the first quarter of 2022, though that slowed to just 2.9 percent in the final three months of the year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The government has set a comparatively modest growth target of around five percent this year, a goal the country\'s Premier Li Qiang has warned could be hard to achieve.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AFP poll of analysts predicted that the Chinese economy would grow by an average of 5.3 percent this year, roughly in line with the International Monetary Fund\'s 5.2 percent forecast.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Still, experts have warned that wider global trends could yet weigh on China\'s recovery.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ken Cheung at Mizuho Bank said domestic consumption \"proved to be the pillar\" behind the economic improvement, but \"industrial production was disappointing given the strong rebound in exports growth\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added it will \"take time for business confidence recovery, which requires translating the credit expansion into money flow to support real economic activities\". AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 12:44:02', '2023-04-18 12:44:02'),
(6454, 6454, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh Metrological Department (BMD) forecast rain or thunder showers at one or two places over Sylhet division in 24 hours from 9am on Tuesday when some parts of the country are reeling under intense heat wave.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Met office bulletin said a severe heat wave is sweeping Rajshshi, Pabna, Chuadanga and Kushtia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, mild to moderate heat wave is lashing Dhaka, Rangpur and Sylhet divisions and some parts of Rajshahi, Khulna and Barishal divisions and Mymensingh, Chandpur, Cox’s Bazar, Khagrachari and Patuakhali district and it may continue, it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The season\'s highest temperature of the country was recorded in Ishwardi at 43 degree Celsius on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, the weather observatory centre recoded 42 degrees Celsius in Pabna on April 15, 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Day and night temperatures may remain nearly unchanged over the country. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 13:14:24', '2023-04-18 13:14:24'),
(6455, 6455, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Toxic hooch has killed at least 27 people in the eastern Indian state of Bihar where alcohol is banned, officials said Tuesday, with unconfirmed reports putting the death toll at 40.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Selling and consuming liquor is prohibited in several parts of India, driving a thriving black market for potent and sometimes lethal backstreet moonshine that kills hundreds every year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Initial investigations into the latest tragedy showed that poisonous methyl alcohol was mixed with spirit that proved deadly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Police official Jitender Kumar told AFP that 27 deaths had been reported since Saturday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kumar said most of the victims were from poor families and used to consume locally made cheap tipple known as \"Desi Daru\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some local media put the toll at 40.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Police have arrested 174 people in connection with illegal manufacturing, sale and supply of liquor over the last three days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They have also seized and destroyed over 900 litres (240 gallons) of toxic liquor during raids.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local authorities have been using drones, helicopters and motorboats to crack down on the black market, but the most recent incident is just the latest in a string of similar deadly cases.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last year in December, 37 people were killed after consuming illicit liquor in the same state. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 13:56:45', '2023-04-18 13:56:45'),
(6456, 6456, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Priyanka Chopra is currently promoting her upcoming show Citadel besides cheering for Nick Jonas at his concerts. She recently stepped out with Nick and their daughter Malti Marie Chopra Jonas, and fans couldn\'t keep calm over how Malti looked like a cute little fashionista. She was in a Gucci overcoat and woolen boots. Priyanka also looked stylish in a black overcoat and matching pants with a beige turtleneck top. Nick was in a white hoodie, white cap and denims.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As photos of the Jonas family were shared by a fanpage on Instagram, many reacted to them with love. A fan commented, “Omggg (Oh my God) this fam is adorable!! And MM (Malti Marie) in her Gucci coat! What a fashionista already!” Another said, “Beautiful family MM looks super cute and her little shoes fit for a Princess.” One more fan commented, “Just love you guys and Mm she is so beautiful. I am so happy you guys took her to India and she is being brought up with two cultures...” Noticing Malti\'s resemblance with Nick, a fan wrote, “Malti is Nick\'s twin! She’s sooo pretty!!” A comment also read, “Oh! Can\'t get enough of this beautiful Lil family.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Priyanka recently flew to India with Nick and Malti. She and Nick attended the star-studded launch of Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai post which Nick flew back to the US. Priyanka stayed back for the Citadel premiere and also visited the Siddhivinayak temple with Malti for the first time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Malti was born six months premature via a surrogate in January last year. Priyanka said she had a medical condition due to which she and Nick opted for surrogacy. In an interview to Vogue, Priyanka revealed “This was a necessary step, and I’m so grateful I was in a position where I could do this. Our surrogate was so generous, kind, lovely and funny, and she took care of this precious gift for us for six months. I was in the OR (operating room) when she came out. She was so small, smaller than my hand,” she recalled. “We spent every single day with her on my chest, on my husband’s chest.\" HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 14:01:30', '2023-04-18 14:01:30'),
(6457, 6457, '<div><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Five Eid jamaats (congregation) will be held at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque here on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr, a Islamic Foundation press release said today.</b><br></div><div><br></div><div>The first Eid jamaat will be held at 7am while the next four Jamaats will be held at 8am, 9am, 10am and 10.45am respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>Baitul Mukarram National Mosque Senior Pesh Imam Hafez Maulana Mizanur Rahman will conduct the first Eid jamaat.</div><div><br></div><div>Hafez Mufti Muhibullah Baki Nadvi will conduct the second jamaat while other three jamaats will be led by Dr Maolana Abu Saleh Patowari, Hafez Maolana Ehsanul Haque and Maolana Muhiuddin Kashem respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Islamic Foundation will organise a discussion and doa mahfil after the Magrib prayer today on the holy Shab-e-Qadr.</div><div><br></div><div>Director General of the foundation Dr Muhammad Bashirul Alam will present as the chief guest while Islamic Foundation Secretary M Maniruzzaman will chair it. BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"7\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 14:07:28', '2023-04-18 14:07:28'),
(6458, 6458, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Satkhira court on Tuesday sentenced four people, including former MP and BNP leader Habibul Islam Habib, to life term imprisonment and 44 others to 7 years’ jail&nbsp; in two separate cases filed over the attack on then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina\'s motorcade in Satkhira in 2002</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among the convicts, Habibul Islam Habib, Abdul Quader Bachchu and Ronju were sentenced to life term imprisonment in an arms case and Habiul Islam Habib, Abdul Quader Bachchu, Ronju and Ripon were sentenced to life term jail in an explosives case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The court sentenced the remaining 44 accused to seven years jail in the two cases.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Satkhira Special Tribunal-3 Judge Bishwanath Mandal pronounced the judgement around 10:30am.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total 35 accused, including former BNP lawmaker Habibul Islam Habib, were present at the court. Of the total 50 accused, two have already died and 13 are absconding.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">2002 attack on Hasina\'s motorcade: 4 get life imprisonment, 44 others 7 years’ jail&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Satkhira Judge Court\'s PP Adv. Abdul Latif, GP Adv. Shambhunath Singh, Additional PP Adv. Fahimul Haque Kislu, High Court lawyer Adv. Mohammad Hossain represented the state while Barrister Aminul Islam, Adv. Shahanara Akter Bakul and Adv Abdul Majid stood for the convicts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On August 30, 2002, incumbent Prime Minister and then opposition leader&nbsp; Sheikh Hasina\'s convoy came under attack as she was returning to Magura after visiting a freedom fighter\'s wife in Satkhira\'s Kalaroa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although Hasina survived the attack relatively unscathed, at least 12 people, including Awami League leaders and journalists, were injured, according to the case statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On February 4, 2021, Satkhira Chief Judicial Magistrate Court sentenced the BNP leader and other accused to 4 to10 years jail in another case over the attack. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 14:35:53', '2023-04-18 14:35:53'),
(6459, 6459, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>G7 foreign ministers on Tuesday demanded the “immediate reversal” of a Taliban government ban on Afghan women working for non-governmental organizations and the United Nations in Afghanistan.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Under their austere interpretation of Islam, Taliban authorities have imposed a slew of restrictions on Afghan women since seizing power in 2021, including banning them from higher education and many government jobs.</div><div><br></div><div>In December, they banned women from working for domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations. On April 4, the curb was extended to UN offices across the country, triggering international outrage.</div><div><br></div><div>“We call for the immediate reversal of unacceptable decisions restricting human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the latest bans prohibiting Afghan women from working for NGOs and the UN,” the top G7 diplomats said in a statement after two days of talks in Japan.</div><div><br></div><div>The group also slammed the Taliban authorities’ “systematic abuses of human rights of women and girls and discrimination against the members of religious and ethnic minorities.”</div><div><br></div><div>In a statement to AFP, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid dismissed the G7 call.</div><div><br></div><div>“Foreign countries should not interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>“The values and laws that are being enforced or implemented in Afghanistan are matters concerning Afghans only and have nothing to do with other countries.”</div><div><br></div><div>Mujahid said foreign countries “should study and accurately monitor the situation in Afghanistan” by engaging with Kabul — hinting at diplomatic engagement that most nations cut off when the Taliban ousted a US-backed government.</div><div><br></div><div>“They should be in touch with us and then take a stand,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, in a statement ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Fitr, also called for the international community to butt out of Afghanistan’s affairs.</div><div><br></div><div>“Afghanistan wants positive relations with its neighbors, Islamic countries, and the world based on mutual benefits and within the framework of Islamic principles,” Akhundzada said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Afghanistan does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, it also insists that other countries should not interfere in our internal issues.”</div><div><br></div><div>The UN has said the ban on Afghan women working for its mission forces it to make an “appalling choice” on whether to continue operations in Afghanistan.</div><div><br></div><div>It says it cannot comply with the ban as it is “unlawful under international law, including the UN Charter.”</div><div><br></div><div>Over the past two weeks, the UN has ordered all its Afghan staff, men and women, not to report to offices until further notice.</div><div><br></div><div>Local employees make up the bulk of the 600 women working for the UN in the country. In total, there are about 3,300 Afghans in the country’s 3,900-strong UN workforce.</div><div><br></div><div>The restriction will also hamper donation-raising efforts by the UN at a time when Afghanistan is enduring one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, UN officials say.</div><div><br></div><div>The UN airlifted $1.8 billion into Afghanistan between December 2021 and January 2023, funding an aid lifeline for the nation’s 38 million citizens and shoring up the domestic economy.</div><div><br></div><div>In other restrictions placed on Afghan women since 2021, authorities have barred teenage girls from secondary school, while women have been pushed out of many government jobs, prevented from traveling without a male relative and ordered to cover up outside the home, ideally with a burqa.</div><div><br></div><div>Women have also been banned from universities and are not allowed to enter parks, gyms or public baths. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 15:16:10', '2023-04-18 15:16:10'),
(6460, 6460, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said that motorcycles will be allowed to ply on the Padma Bridge from 6 am on April 20.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“This opportunity has been given at the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on experimental basis,” he said at Ganabhaban.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister said that motorcycles can cross the Padma Bridge using the service lane.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Quader said that motorcycles should cross the Padma Bridge following the speed limit, and the maximum speed limit for motorcycles will be 60 kilometres per hour.</div><div><br></div><div>He warned that if discipline is not maintained, the opportunity of riding motorcycles on the Padma Bridge will be cancelled.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Bridges Division banned motorbike movement on the bridge from 27 June, 2022. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 16:11:30', '2023-04-18 16:11:30'),
(6461, 6461, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday warned that any “slightest action” by Israel against his country will see “the destruction of Haifa and Tel Aviv.”</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Addressing the National Army Day parade in the capital Tehran, he said Israel has received this message from Iran’s armed forces as tensions continue to heighten between the arch-foes in the wake of recent airstrikes in Syria that killed Iranian military advisors.</div><div><br></div><div>Flanked by top military commanders, Raisi said the message of Iran’s National Army Day, observed on April 18 every year, is a “message of peace and friendship for countries in the region.”</div><div><br></div><div>He, however, hastened to add that “extra-regional forces,” referring specifically to American forces, “should leave the region as soon as possible,” saying their presence “endangers the region’s security.”</div><div><br></div><div>During the parade, the Iranian army’s ground force, naval force, and air force put on display their indigenous equipment including fighter jets, helicopters, air defense systems, and drones.</div><div><br></div><div>This year’s military parade comes amid Iran’s growing tensions with both the US and Israel amid a stalemate in the 2015 nuclear deal talks as well as recent strikes in Syria.</div><div><br></div><div>Two members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were killed in Israeli airstrikes near Damascus late last night, after which Iran vowed a “firm and decisive response.”</div><div><br></div><div>Tensions between Tehran and Washington have also grown amid the standoff over Iran nuclear deal.</div><div><br></div><div>At a weekly press conference in Tehran on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the US is “no longer the superpower” and that “the unipolar world has ended.” - Anadolu Agency&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 16:23:24', '2023-04-18 16:23:24'),
(6462, 6462, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The most pious month Ramadan is all set to bid adieu soon! The Last Friday of Ramadan known as \'Jumma-Tul-Wida\', the word Alvida means \'good-bye\'. A special day that brings abundant blessings, endless mercy and salvation to the seekers.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Juma-tul-Wida is the Last Friday of Ramadan. The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) said” any one who worships Allah in Friday will receive protection from Allah for the entire week”.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The importance of Friday is more then other days of the week. The Prophet Mohammad said: “Allah Almighty forgives the sins committed between two Fridays of the one who performs his Friday Namaaz regularly”. Juma tul Wida is the day of acceptance of prays (Dua).</div><div><br></div><div>Friday is like day of Eid for Muslims because there are much similarity between Eid and Friday. On both days Muslims offer prayer 2 Rakat namaz and they listen Khutbah of Immam. Both Namaz can not be Qaza.</div><div><br></div><div>The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) said” the first person who enter the mosque for Friday prayer will get the reward of the charity of a camel, the second person will be rewarded with the charity of a cow, the third person will receive the reward the charity of a sheep, the fourth person the charity of a chicken, the fifth person charity of an egg”.</div><div><br></div><div>Jumu\'atul-Widaa\' is the last Friday in the month of Ramadan Kareem before Eid-ul-Fitr.</div><div><br></div><div>Jumma tul widaa/ Jumu\'atul-Widaa/Last jumma of Ramadan is come in 3rd arsha of Ramadan kareem</div><div><br></div><div>If a man takes bath on Friday; purifies himself as much as he can with ablution, applies oil from his oils, or uses any available perfume in his house, then goes out and, without squeezing between two men, prays what is prescribed for him, then remains silent when the Imam speaks (delivers sermon) his (minor) sins between that time and the next Friday will be forgiven.” [Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 1, Page 121, Book on the Friday Prayer] Accoridng to reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'Islamic Desk', '[\"21\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 17:19:11', '2023-04-18 17:19:11'),
(6463, 6463, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The holy Lailatul Qadr or Shab-e-Qadr, the holiest and most blessed night for Muslims, will be observed across the country on Tuesday night with due solemnity and religious fervour.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Muslim devotees will spend the night seeking divine blessings for peace and progress of the country as well as the Muslim Ummah.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the holy Quran, this is superior to a thousand nights as the Quran was revealed to the greatest Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) on this glorified night to show mankind the path of worldly and eternal emancipation.</div><div><br></div><div>Devout Muslims usually pass the night offering special prayers, recitation from the holy Quran, holding milad mahfils, zikr and other religious rituals at mosques and in their houses.</div><div><br></div><div>They also visit graveyards to seek divine blessings for the departed souls of their near and dear ones.</div><div><br></div><div>President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina greeted the country’s people and the Muslim Ummah across the world on the occasion.</div><div><br></div><div>Newspapers will publish special articles while state-run Bangladesh Betar, Bangladesh Television and private television channels will air special programmes highlighting the significance of Lailatul Qadr. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"21\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 18:57:52', '2023-04-18 18:57:52'),
(6464, 6464, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh has recently approved payment of USD $318 million for payment to Russia in the Chinese currency of yuan for construction of the Rooppur nuclear power plant.&nbsp;</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>A meeting held recently between the Economic Relations Division and Russian officials decided that the payment will be made in yuan at a Chinese bank account, Uttam Kumar Karmkar, head of the European affairs of Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance confirmed&nbsp; to UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>He said that the decision was taken to use the Chinese currency yuan for debt repayment at a meeting of the ERD last Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>He said that although the decision has been taken to use Chinese currency to repay the loan, the transaction has not yet been completed. Payment details need to be clarified and resolved.</div><div><br></div><div>Citing the diplomatic sensitivity of the matter, he declined to comment further.</div><div><br></div><div>Dhaka\'s decision seems to have resolved the problem of making any payment to sanctions-hit Russia in the US dollar.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Last year, Western countries excluded Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, one of the world\'s payment systems, due to its military invasion in Ukraine.</div><div><br></div><div>The Rooppur nuclear power plant is being built in Bangladesh with a loan from Russia. But due to sanctions on Russia, it is not possible to pay in US dollars. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 19:39:53', '2023-04-18 19:39:53'),
(6465, 6465, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The death toll in the ongoing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has climbed to 144, the Central Committee of the Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) said in a statement Tuesday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“The number of casualties is rapidly increasing with the continuation of the aggressive fighting and the deterioration of the hospitals’ capacity to receive the injury cases. The limit of movements due to the intensive fire and the shut-down of some hospitals due to the attack and cut of the power also make it more complicated,” CCSD said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, the fighting continued for the fourth consecutive day with intensive airstrike and artillery shelling, particularly in and around the army headquarters.</div><div><br></div><div>The two sides have blamed each other of being responsible of Monday\'s attacks on diplomats in the country, including EU Ambassador to Sudan Aidan O\'Hara in his own residence and on a US embassy convoy.</div><div><br></div><div>The army head Gen. Abdul Fattah Alburhan has granted pardon to the RSF soldiers who will surrender to SAF.</div><div><br></div><div>Efforts of regional and international mediations are underway to slow down the situation after the two sides conducted a four-hour truce by the UN to evacuate hundreds of civilians held in the clash areas. - Anadolu Agency&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 19:44:50', '2023-04-18 19:44:50'),
(6466, 6466, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved a revision to raise the cost of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge construction at a cost of Taka 2412.13 crore and also extending the timeframe till June 2024.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The approval came from a meeting of the ECNEC chaired by its chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the NEC conference room in the city\'s Sher-e Banglanagar area.</div><div><br></div><div>\"A total of 15 projects were placed before today\'s meeting. Of them, 12 projects were passed and two projects were deferred. And the rest one got time extension,\" said Planning Minister MA Mannan while briefing reporters after the meeting. State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam, Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned were present at the briefing.</div><div><br></div><div>Of the 12 approved projects, eight are new ones and the rest four are revised projects.</div><div><br></div><div>The overall estimated cost of the 12 projects is Taka 19,598.84 crore. Only additional costs of four revised projects were estimated.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Out of the total estimated cost, Taka 13,203.66 crore will come from the foreign sources as project assistance, Taka 6,260.72 crore from the government of Bangladesh while the rest Taka 134.46 crore from the fund of an organisation concerned,\" said Planning Secretary Satyajit Karmaker.</div><div><br></div><div>Explaining the reasons behind the 3rd revision and rise in cost of Padma Multipurpose Bridge Construction Project, member of Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian said the VAT rate has risen to 15 percent now from 10 percent as well as the prices of construction materials for river training and the price of dollar went high.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the project documents, the main work of Padma Bridge project has already been completed. But, now the revision of the project is required to complete the remaining ancillary works and the payment of contractors\' dues. So, the project can be approved under this consideration.</div><div><br></div><div>In terms of cost, the largest three new projects approved in the ECNEC meeting are \"Programme on Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship and Resilience in Bangladesh Project,\" with an estimated cost of Taka 6,910.94 crore; \"Bangladesh Road Safety Project\" with Taka 4,988.14 crore; and \"Procurement of 2 Crude Oil Mother Tankers and 2 Mother Bulk Carrier Ships on the basis of G2G Project\" with Taka 2,620.77 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>During the meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the authorities concerned to ensure necessary facilities in the country\'s jails to run the virtual court.</div><div><br></div><div>She gave this directive during the discussion about the first revision of Reconstruction of Mymensingh Central Jail Project which was approved with an additional cost of Taka 112.54 crore. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-18 19:55:05', '2023-04-18 19:55:05');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6467, 6467, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">China\'s foreign minister told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks between the two sides, in its latest effort at mediation in the region.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In separate phone calls to the two officials on Monday, Qin Gang expressed China\'s concern over intensifying tensions between Israel and Palestinians and its support for a resumption of peace talks, the Foreign Ministry said in statements issued late Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last month, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal in China to restore diplomatic ties that were cut off in 2016. It was a dramatic moment of diplomacy for China that Beijing touted as evidence of its ability to be a diplomatic player in the Middle East.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Qin stressed in his talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that Saudi Arabia and Iran have set a good example of overcoming differences through dialogue, a statement about that phone call said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He told Cohen that Beijing encourages Israel and the Palestinians to show political courage and take steps to resume peace talks. “China is willing to provide convenience for this,” he was quoted as saying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israel and the Palestinians have not held substantive peace talks on ending the century-long conflict in over a decade. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\'s government is committed to expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank — which most of the international community considers illegal and an obstacle to peace — and several of his key allies are staunchly opposed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cohen expressed his country\'s commitment to reducing tensions, but said the problem appeared to be difficult to resolve in the short term, the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israel\'s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Qin and Cohen discussed “the importance of maintaining quiet at the Temple Mount, particularly in the final days of Ramadan,” the Muslim holy month, but made no mention of peace talks with the Palestinians.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said that Cohen conveyed “the threat that we see in Iran’s nuclear program” and called on China to help prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Qin also told Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki that China is willing to play an active role in the resumption of talks, a second statement said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin confirmed Qin\'s outreach to the two officials. “It is never too late to do the right thing,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This month, violence in Israel and the West Bank has increased, touched off by an Israeli police raid on Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, the compound home to the Al-Aqsa mosque. The Israeli military struck sites linked to the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip after militants in the two territories fired rocket salvos at Israel. The mosque sits on a contested hilltop revered as the third-holiest site in Islam and the holiest site in Judaism. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">&nbsp;bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 12:59:40', '2023-04-19 12:59:40'),
(6468, 6468, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Four women, including a mother and daughter, were crushed under the wheels of a train on Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge highway at Mirhamjani in Kalihati upazila of Tangail district this morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The deceased were identified as Basanti Rani, Aroti Rani Das, Shanti Rani and her daughter Shilpi Rani.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Maniruzzaman Manir, station master of Bangabandhu Bridge East Rail Station, said the accident occurred around 5:30 am when the Dhaka-bound ‘Ekota Express’ train hit the four while they were walking on the rail tracks, leaving them dead.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They met the tragic end while heading towards Salla to receive Zakat clothes early this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On information, police recovered the bodies. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 13:07:03', '2023-04-19 13:07:03'),
(6469, 6469, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The country’s power generation increased further, setting a new record on Tuesday with the production reaching 15,626 MW at 9 pm on night.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to a statement of the Power Division, the country set the new record surpassing the previous production of 15,604 MW at 9 pm on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials at the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), said the resting of operation of the diesel-fired and gas fired more power plants attributed to this new record.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They also said import of power from the Adani Power-built thermal power plant for Bangladesh also played a role in this regard.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The country has started importing about 759 MW from Indian Adani Group’s Godda power plant in Jharkhand.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They said the cost of the imported power from Adani Group’s power plant at Godda in the Indian state of Jharkhand has not been settled yet, but officials said the tariff of electricity from Adani Group might be above Tk 14 per unit while average production cost is below Tk 7.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Now Bangladesh’s installed grid power generation capacity is over 25,000 MW.</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 13:14:15', '2023-04-19 13:14:15'),
(6470, 6470, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The holy Shab-e-Qadr, also known as Lailatul Qadr, (the Night of Decree) when the first verses of the holy Quran were revealed to Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), was observed across the country last night.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Muslim devotees passed the night offering special prayers, reciting the holy Quran, holding zikr and other religious rituals, seeking blessings of the almighty Allah for long life, peace and progress for themselves, their families, relatives, friends as well as the nation and the Muslim Ummah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Marking the Lailatul Qadr, today is a public holiday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Newspapers published special articles while state-run Bangladesh Betar,</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Television and private television channels aired special</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">programmes highlighting significance of the Lailatul Qadr.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the holy Quran, the night is better than 1,000 nights as the</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">angels and the spirit descend therein, by the permission of almighty Allah with all decrees.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is one of the holiest and most blessed nights which is likely to occur on one of the odd number nights in the last 10 days of Ramadan and most likely to be the 27th of the holy month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Devotees, on the nights, usually visit graveyards to seek eternal blessings for the departed souls of their near and dear ones.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To the Muslims, the entire month of Ramadan is a period of spiritual</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">training. Besides fasting, they devote themselves to praying, reciting the holy Quran and offering charity. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"7\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 13:19:33', '2023-04-19 13:19:33'),
(6471, 6471, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The number of Afghans in poverty nearly doubled to 34 million as the nation was racked by the collapse of the US-backed government and the Taliban takeover, the United Nations said Tuesday.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vast foreign subsidies were halted and aid programmes dramatically cut back after the US-backed republic fell in 2021 as many countries refused to deal with the Taliban authorities in Kabul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Those NGOs still providing vital help were dealt a further blow in December last year by a Taliban government order barring Afghan women from working for them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The curb was extended this month to the UN\'s Afghan women employees and the organisation said it faces an \"appalling choice\" over whether to continue its aid schemes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released on Tuesday a stark new assessment of 2022 data estimating 34 million Afghans were living below the poverty line.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The figure is a staggering increase of 15 million on 2020, the last full year of rule by the Western-backed government that crumbled in a matter of weeks the following summer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is no contemporary census data for Afghanistan but the UN uses a population estimate of 40 million, meaning 85 percent of the nation is projected to be in poverty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Some have been compelled to sell their homes, land, or assets that generate income,\" the UNDP report said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Others have resorted to the distressing practice of commodifying their own family members, turning children into labourers and young daughters into brides.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UN airlifts vast sums of US dollars into Afghanistan to pay staff and operating costs -- cash injections that have also been vital in shoring up the nation\'s faltering economy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Into the abyss\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About $1.8 billion was imported this way between December 2021 and January 2023, according to the UN\'s mission in Afghanistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It warned at the start of the year \"if the volume of assistance that the UN is able to provide diminishes the amount of cash shipped will be reduced\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That means if the UN winnows down its work owing to the Taliban government curbs, it will have the double effect of reducing aid and cutting a crucial economic lifeline for desperate Afghans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UN has also warned that restrictions may turn off the aid tap at the source, with donors wary of committing cash to projects that cannot be implemented.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UN\'s 2023 Afghanistan appeal has thus far raised only five percent of its $4.6 billion goal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If foreign aid is reduced this year, Afghanistan may fall from the cliff edge into the abyss,\" the UNDP resident representative in Afghanistan, Abdallah Al Dardari, said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Many organisations suspended their operations in protest against the December ban on NGOs employing Afghan women.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An exemption was granted to those working in the health sector following days of wrangling, but the UNDP said 150 NGOs and aid agencies \"have suspended all or part of their work\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Aid officials say they need women workers to help identify and support Afghan women beneficiaries across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The ban has very negative consequences,\" Dardari told reporters during the release of the UNDP report in Kabul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If we don\'t have those female colleagues, who will knock on the door and provide support and talk to Afghan women in their homes?\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Negative impact -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UN has told all Afghan citizens, both men and women, to stay away from its offices since Taliban authorities banned Afghan female UN staff from work two weeks ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"For now they are working from home and they will continue to be UN staff and they will continue to be paid,\" Dardari said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The order is the latest in a slew of creeping restrictions on the freedoms of women since 2021 that have seen teenage girls barred from schools and women pushed out of many government jobs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a wide-ranging public statement ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada said \"the development of Afghanistan is the responsibility of Afghans\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We should not rely on others,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Qatar, traditionally a major donor which has pressed the Taliban authorities to end the ban on women workers, said it sent on Tuesday its first humanitarian flight to Afghanistan in 10 months carrying food, medical supplies and books. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 13:30:01', '2023-04-19 13:30:01'),
(6472, 6472, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The UK government said Tuesday it had frozen the assets of a Lebanese businessman suspected of financing Hezbollah, while US authorities announced action against a network allegedly helping the man avoid sanctions.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UK Treasury action against Nazem Said Ahmad on national security grounds follows similar US restrictions imposed in 2019.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Washington meanwhile issued fresh sanctions on Tuesday against an international network of 52 individuals and entities operating out of Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Britain who allegedly supported Ahmad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US State Department in 1997 designated Hezbollah -- an Iran-backed Shiite movement that is a key political player in Lebanon -- as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and in 2019 said the group had used Ahmad and his companies to launder \"substantial amounts of money.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the latest actions are \"against a global sanctions evasion network that facilitates the payment, shipment, and delivery of cash, art, and luxury goods\" for the benefit of Ahmad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahmad\'s extensive art collection is known to include works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to a UK Treasury statement, \"all assets and economic resources belonging to Ahmad in the UK have been frozen and no UK person may do business with him or any of the companies he owns or controls.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">London proscribed Hezbollah\'s External Security Organization as a terrorist organization in 2001. The ban was extended to all of its military apparatus seven years later.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Blood diamond\' trade -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Brian Nelson, the US State Department\'s top sanctions official, said that \"the individuals involved in this network used shell companies and fraudulent schemes to disguise Nazem Said Ahmad\'s role in financial transactions.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among key facilitators identified were Ahmad\'s son Firas and daughter Hind, alongside other relatives and business associates.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the UK Treasury, Ahmad has an extensive art collection in the Britain and conducts business with UK-based artists, galleries and auction houses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The sanctions mean he will no longer be able to trade in the UK art market and no other dealers will be able to do business with him or his companies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In December 2019, the US Treasury described Ahmad as one of Hezbollah\'s \"top donors, generating funds through his longstanding ties to the \'blood diamond\' trade.\" AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 13:41:06', '2023-04-19 13:41:06'),
(6473, 6473, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 160 at 9:30 am today, Dhaka ranked 6th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nepal’s Kathmandu, China’s Beijing, and Thailand’s Chiang Mai occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 177 and 172, and 170 respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered \'unhealthy\', AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be \'very unhealthy\', while a reading of 301+ is considered \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 14:25:52', '2023-04-19 14:25:52'),
(6474, 6474, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Rain or thunder showers is likely at one or two places over Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions with hails at isolated places in 24 hours from 9 am on Wednesday, said the Bangladesh Metrological Department .</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the prevailing heat wave condition in different parts of the country is likely to continue, it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the bulletin, “Severe heat wave is sweeping over Dinajpur, Rajshshi, Pabna and Chuadanga districts and mild to moderate heat wave is lashing Dhaka and Barishal divisions and the rest part of Rajshahi and Khulna divisions and the districts of Panchagarh, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Moulvibazar, Rangamati and Bandarban and it may continue.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also read: Rains likely in parts of the country over next 24 hours</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;\">The country’s maximum temperature was recorded at 42 degrees Celsius in Rajshahi on Tuesday while country’s minimum temperature was recorded at 22.4 degrees Celsius in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar district on Wednedsay.</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;\">A trough of westerly low lies over West Bengal and adjoining area. Seasonal low lies over South Bay. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 16:12:58', '2023-04-19 16:12:58'),
(6475, 6475, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russia\'s FSB domestic security agency said Wednesday it had detained a Russian-Ukrainian citizen suspected of planning to \"sabotage\" an energy infrastructure site in annexed Crimea.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russian lawmakers this week toughened penalties for \"terrorism\" and sabotage as Moscow pursues its military offensive against Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The FSB in the city of Kerch \"prevented the preparation of sabotage at a facility of the energy system of the peninsula,\" annexed from Ukraine in 2014, it said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"A citizen of Russia and Ukraine, born in 1971, who was involved in the preparation of this crime, was detained,\" the statement said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the FSB, the suspect was being held for planning to commit \"sabotage\" and \"possession of explosives or explosive devices\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The charges carry a possible life sentence, the FSB said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It also said the suspect was in contact \"with a representative of Ukraine\'s security services, who coordinated his criminal activities\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov this month accused Ukraine and Western powers of inciting Russians to armed rebellion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Vladimir Putin also accused Western security services of being involved in \"terrorist\" attacks in Russia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In early April, Russia detained a young woman after an explosion killed a top military blogger in Saint Petersburg, blaming Ukraine and the opposition. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 16:15:43', '2023-04-19 16:15:43'),
(6476, 6476, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">India is set to overtake China to become the most populous country in the world by the middle of this year, data released by the United Nations shows.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India\'s population is pegged to reach 1,428.6 million against China\'s 1,425.7 million, reports BBC.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This shows India will have 2.9 million more people than its Asian neighbour.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Asian giants have more than 1.4 billion people each, and have accounted for more than a third of the global population for over 70 years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India\'s population number, however, is an estimate since there has been no Census in the country after 2011.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also, the UN says their estimate does not include the population of China\'s two Special Administrative Regions - Hong Kong and Macau - and the island of Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a breakaway province to be unified with the mainland one day. But Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and democratically-elected leaders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In November, the global population crossed 8bn. But experts say growth is not as rapid as it used to be and is now at its slowest rate since 1950.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both India and China have seen declines in their fertility rates. In China, the population started declining last year, despite the country abandoning its one-child policy in 2016 and introducing incentives for couples to have two or more children.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In India too, fertility rates have fallen substantially in recent decades from 5.7 births per woman in 1950 to 2.2 births per woman today. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 16:25:14', '2023-04-19 16:25:14'),
(6477, 6477, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The number of vehicles has increased on Dhaka-Tangail Highway and on the Bangabandhu Bridge link road as working people started leaving capital Dhaka to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with their near and dear ones.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 30,251 vehicles crossed Bangabandhu Bride in the last 24 hours. Bridge authority said 17,256 vehicles crossed Bangabandhu Bridge from Tangail end while 12,995 vehicles crossed the Bridge from Sirajganj end till 6 am today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Executive Engineer of Bangabandhu Bridges Authority Ahsanul Kabir Pavel said a total of Taka over 2.44 crore has been collected as toll from 6 am on Tuesday to 6 am today. For smooth movement of vehicles, 11 toll booths have been installed in Tangail end of the Bridge while nine booths in Sirajganj end. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 16:33:34', '2023-04-19 16:33:34'),
(6478, 6478, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The United States eavesdropped on conversations of the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other UN officials, according to a report by The Washington Post citing leaked classified intelligence documents the newspaper obtained.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Guterres expressed to UN officials and world leaders his \"outrage\" over being denied an opportunity to visit Ethiopia\'s war-torn Tigray region, The Post said in a Monday report, citing four documents, two of them previously unreported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Guterres, according to one dated Feb. 17 and seen by The Post, wanted to confront Ethiopian UN Representative Taye Atske Selassie Amde as the country\'s foreign minister, Demeke Mekonnen, sent Guterres a letter rejecting his planned visit to Tigray amid peace negotiations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another document obtained by The Post revealed that Guterres was \"not happy\" about having to travel to Kiev to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in early March. While the document didn\'t provide a reason for the secretary general\'s unwillingness, The Post cited a UN diplomat as saying weeks of tiring international travels on commercial flights was the cause.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The trove of leaked classified documents, numbering hundreds of pages and resulting in the arrest of a U.S. air national guardsman on charges of disclosing classified national defense information without authorization, has seen the United States scramble to assess the damage and restrict access to classified information for certain employees at the Department of Defense.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Other documents recently reported by U.S. media showed the United States has also been spying on allies such as South Korea, Israel and Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Asked by Xinhua at a Brookings Institution event on Monday to comment on allegations of U.S. spying efforts and on how Washington should soothe the concerns expressed by its allies, Democratic House Representative Abigail Spanberger refused to comment on \"anything specifically that was leaked.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The congresswoman, who prior to becoming a lawmaker worked as an operations officer at the Central Intelligence Agency, praised the U.S. administration\'s \"commitment to safeguarding the information that we collect and our commitment to safeguarding the information (U.S. allies) collect and provide to us.\"&nbsp; UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 17:31:13', '2023-04-19 17:31:13'),
(6479, 6479, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader today alleged that BNP is once again planning to carry out arson terrorism ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections.&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Evil forces are out to destabilise the country’s stability and started ill-efforts centering the polls again. The incidents of fire in several places in a row are similar to arson terrorism. This is most important thing that whether fire incidents in the markets were planned or not,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister said these while addressing a joint meeting at AL President Sheikh Hasina’s Dhanmondi political office here this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stating that the AL leaders and workers will guard the country\'s markets, he said Prime minister Sheikh Hasina is uncompromising over the issues of the country’s democracy, constitution and stability.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AL general secretary said there is a fear of the black shadow of arson terrorism centering elections, while footsteps can be heard like that in 2013, 2014 and 2015.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">BNP failed to get public support in its nationwide movement, road marches and human chains as the country’s people did not respond to its calls, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Quader said the AL does not have any problem about anyone’s friendship with the USA.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Democracy will not run in Bangladesh as per the order of anyone. The overall situation of Bangladesh has been informed to everyone, including the EU and US Ambassadors (in Dhaka). The elections will be held in line with the constitution and will be conducted by the Election Commission (EC). The government will not interfere into it,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Claiming that the non-communal forces are united across the country, the AL general secretary said BNP wants an unelected government to come to power in the country.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“They (BNP men) started playing with fire again. After having failed in movement, they are desperate now to topple the Sheikh Hasina’s government,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Deputy Leader of the House and AL presidium member Begum Matia Chowdhury, AL presidium members Kazi Zafarullah, Shajahan Khan, Col. (retd) Faruk Khan, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Bir Bikram, Advocate Qumrul Islam, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Dr Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin, joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, organising secretaries BM Mozammel, Kamal Hossain, Afzal Hossain and Sujit Roy Nandi, publicity secretary Dr Abdus Sobhan Golap, science and technology affairs secretary Abdus Sabur and health affairs secretary Dr Rokeya Sultana were, among others, present at the meeting. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-19 17:53:36', '2023-04-19 17:53:36'),
(6480, 6480, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The situation on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur is better than the last few years.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>However, since this morning, there are crowds of home-goers at various important points including Chandana intersection on the highway and the pressure of vehicles is also very high.</div><div><br></div><div>To keep the movement of vehicles smooth on the highway, the road is being monitored round the clock with the deployment of additional traffic police at important points including Chandana, Bhogra Bypass intersection, Board Bazar, and Station Road.</div><div><br></div><div>There are certain routes with fewer vehicles and more commuters. Many said they have to wait for a long time for buses, and taking advantage of this, transport workers are charging extra fare.</div><div><br></div><div>Buses on the Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Sherpur, Netrakona and other routes are charging about one and a half times more than usual fare, they complained.</div><div><br></div><div>Gazipur Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (traffic) Mohammad Alamgir Hossain said, about 1,000 traffic police personnel, APBN members and rover scouts have been deployed in three shifts to maintain normal traffic conditions on the highway during this year\'s Eid journey.</div><div><br></div><div>Special monitoring is going on to prevent unfit vehicles from plying the road. Some tow-trucks have also been kept ready at different points of the highway. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-20 12:57:36', '2023-04-20 12:57:36'),
(6481, 6481, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Some 67 million children partially or fully missed routine vaccines globally between 2019 and 2021 because of lockdowns and health care disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the United Nations said Wednesday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"More than a decade of hard-earned gains in routine childhood immunization have been eroded,\" read a new report from the UN\'s children\'s agency, UNICEF, adding that getting back on track \"will be challenging.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Of the 67 million children whose vaccinations were \"severely disrupted,\" 48 million missed out on routine vaccines entirely, UNICEF said, flagging concerns about potential polio and measles outbreaks.</div><div><br></div><div>Vaccine coverage among children declined in 112 countries and the percent of children vaccinated worldwide slipped 5 points to 81 percent -- a low not seen since 2008. Africa and South Asia were particularly hard hit.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Worryingly, the backsliding during the pandemic came at the end of a decade when, in broad terms, growth in childhood immunization had stagnated,\" the report said.</div><div><br></div><div>Vaccines save 4.4 million lives each year, a number the United Nations figures could jump to 5.8 million by 2030 if its ambitious targets to leave \"no one behind\" are met.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Vaccines have played a really important role in allowing more children to live healthy, long lives,\" Brian Keeley, the report\'s editor in chief, told AFP. \"Any decline at all in vaccination rates is worrying.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Before the introduction of a vaccine in 1963, measles killed approximately 2.6 million people each year, mostly children. By 2021, that number had fallen to 128,000.</div><div><br></div><div>But between 2019 and 2021, the percentage of children vaccinated against measles fell from 86 percent to 81 percent, and the number of cases in 2022 doubled compared to 2021.</div><div>- Declining vaccine confidence -</div><div><br></div><div>The slide in vaccination rates could be compounded by other crises, Keeley warned, from climate change to food insecurity.</div><div><br></div><div>\"You\'ve got increasing number of conflicts, economic stagnation in a lot of countries, climate emergencies, and so on,\" he said. \"This all sort of makes it harder and harder for health systems and countries to meet vaccination needs.\"</div><div><br></div><div>UNICEF called on governments \"to double-down on their commitment to increase financing for immunization\" with special attention on accelerating \"catch-up\" vaccination efforts for those who missed their shots.</div><div><br></div><div>The report also raised concerns about a drop in people\'s confidence in vaccines, seen in 52 out of 55 countries surveyed.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We cannot allow confidence in routine immunizations to become another victim of the pandemic,\" Catherine Russell, UNICEF\'s executive director, said in a statement. \"Otherwise, the next wave of deaths could be of more children with measles, diphtheria or other preventable diseases.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Vaccine confidence can be \"volatile and time specific,\" the report said, noting that \"further analysis will be required to determine if the findings are indicative of a longer-term trend\" beyond the pandemic.</div><div><br></div><div>Overall, it said that support for vaccines \"remains relatively strong.\"</div><div><br></div><div>In about half of the 55 countries surveyed, more than 80 percent of respondents \"perceived vaccines as important for children.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"There is reason to be somewhat hopeful that services are recovering in quite a few countries,\" said Keeley, who added that preliminary vaccination data from 2022 showed encouraging signs.</div><div><br></div><div>But even getting numbers back up to pre-pandemic levels will take years, he said, not including reaching \"the children who were missing before the pandemic.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"And they are not an insubstantial number.\" - AFP</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-20 14:35:39', '2023-04-20 14:35:39');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6482, 6482, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Thousands of residents fled from Sudan\'s capital where witnesses reported bodies in the streets and embassies said more than 270 civilians had been killed in battles between the army and paramilitaries by Thursday, with no end in sight.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Life in Khartoum is impossible if this war does not stop,\" said Alawya al-Tayeb, 33, on her way out of the city.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I tried to make children not see the slain bodies on the streets,\" she said, adding that her youngsters are already suffering from trauma and will need treatment.</div><div><br></div><div>The Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries said they would \"fully commit to a complete ceasefire\" from 1600 GMT for 24 hours, as did the army.</div><div><br></div><div>But gunfire continued in Khartoum from the appointed time and into Wednesday night, according to witnesses.</div><div><br></div><div>It was the second day in a row a proposed humanitarian ceasefire failed to take hold.</div><div><br></div><div>The Sudanese army said that 177 Egyptian soldiers who had been captured by the RSF in the northern city of Merowe were evacuated Wednesday back to Egypt -- a close ally of the military establishment -- on four Egyptian military transport planes.</div><div><br></div><div>Other evacuation plans have been difficult to orchestrate, as foreign diplomats have been attacked and UN received reports of sexual violence against aid workers.</div><div><br></div><div>UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced he would meet Thursday with the heads of the African Union, the Arab League and regional bloc the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, his spokesman told reporters.</div><div><br></div><div>The violence erupted on Saturday between forces of the two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo who commands the RSF.</div><div><br></div><div>It followed a bitter dispute between them over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army -- a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan\'s democratic transition.</div><div><br></div><div>Heavy gunfire resounded and deafening explosions rattled buildings in Khartoum -- a city of five million people -- as thick black smoke rose from buildings around the army headquarters.</div><div><br></div><div>RSF fighters atop armoured vehicles and pickup trucks laden with weapons swarmed the streets. Fighter jets roared overhead and fired on RSF targets, the witnesses said.</div><div><br></div><div>Battles have damaged residential and commercial buildings, and civilians sheltering in their homes are becoming increasingly desperate, with dwindling food supplies, power outages, and a lack of running water.</div><div><br></div><div>- \'Even worse\' -</div><div><br></div><div>\"Neither side seems to be winning at the moment, and given the intensity of the violence, things could get even worse before the two generals come to the negotiating table,\" according to Clement Deshayes, a Sudan specialist at Paris\'s Sorbonne University.</div><div><br></div><div>Thousands aren\'t waiting and, according to witnesses, began leaving Khartoum by car or on foot.</div><div><br></div><div>They said the air was filled with the stench of dead bodies littering the streets.</div><div><br></div><div>Mohamed Saleh, 43, a government employee, said he was leaving behind \"the terror of explosions\" to stay with relatives in Madani, southeast of the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We were very worried fighters would start storming homes,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Both forces must \"refrain from unlawfully evicting people from their homes\", during fighting that is \"recklessly endangering the Sudanese people, diplomats and humanitarian aid workers\", the US embassy wrote in a statement signed by 14 other diplomatic missions in Sudan.</div><div><br></div><div>The army said the central bank of the impoverished country had been looted and \"huge sums of money\" stolen by the RSF, which blamed army soldiers for \"attacking homes of families\".</div><div><br></div><div>- Hospitals shelled -</div><div><br></div><div>\"The toll has been high, with initial estimated civilian deaths of more than 270,\" according to the embassies.</div><div><br></div><div>The real figure is thought to be much more, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals which are themselves being shelled, according to the official doctors\' union.</div><div><br></div><div>About two-thirds of Khartoum\'s 59 main hospitals are \"out of service\", said the union which reported \"severe shortages\" in remaining facilities.</div><div><br></div><div>Japan said its defence ministry had begun the \"necessary preparations\" to evacuate around 60 of its nationals, including embassy staff.</div><div><br></div><div>Berlin aborted on Wednesday an evacuation attempt involving three military transport planes, which would have carried 150 citizens, according to German weekly Der Spiegel.</div><div><br></div><div>The US embassy in Khartoum said it started gathering citizens\' personal details but tweeted: \"Due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, there are no plans for (a) US government-coordinated evacuation.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The defence minister in Chad, which borders Sudan\'s Darfur region, said around 320 Sudanese soldiers had fled over the border in fear of the RSF, which was created in 2013 by longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.</div><div><br></div><div>- Crackdown –</div><div><br></div><div>Military commanders toppled Bashir together in April 2019 following mass protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.</div><div><br></div><div>In October 2021 Burhan and Daglo worked together in the coup against the civilian government installed following Bashir\'s ouster, derailing an internationally backed transition.</div><div><br></div><div>Burhan, whose career advanced under Bashir, has maintained his coup was \"necessary\" to bring more factions into politics.</div><div><br></div><div>But Daglo, who rose to prominence during the Bashir government\'s scorched-earth policy against Darfuri rebels, has since called the coup a \"mistake\" that failed to bring about change and invigorated Bashir\'s remnants. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-20 14:40:21', '2023-04-20 14:40:21'),
(6483, 6483, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh will welcome observers from the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) in the upcoming general election.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"We will welcome observers from the European Union and the United Kingdom in the next general election,\" Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>She said this when the outgoing UK High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson paid a farewell call at her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div><br></div><div>PM\'s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>Mentioning that some local election observers have a different agenda, the Prime Minister said they have established voting rights of people in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the extreme poverty rate has declined to 5.6 percent while poverty rate was down to 18.7 percent due to continued democracy in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>During the meeting, they held talks on the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the UK.</div><div><br></div><div>The UK envoy said his country wants to strengthen economic partnership and cooperation in the aviation sector with Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the UK wants to enhance cooperation with Bangladesh in order to tackle climate change, in line with the accord signed between the countries last March.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>On the Rohingya issue, Sheikh Hasina sought international cooperation to repatriate Rohingyas in a sustainable way.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the number of Rohingyas has increased largely as 40,000 babies were born in the camps, adding to the huge burden on Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Rohingyas are nationals of Myanmar and they must return to their homeland,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Robert Chatterton Dickson said his country supports Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina stressed the need for stopping the Russia-Ukraine war immediately as the entire world has been suffering due to the war.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We\'re always against any war,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister said Russia and Ukraine can solve their problems through bilateral talks, mentioning that Bangladesh has solved all its bilateral issues this way. PMO Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin was present during the meeting. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-20 14:44:18', '2023-04-20 14:44:18'),
(6484, 6484, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have greeted the countrymen as well as the Muslims across the world on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslim Ummah.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>They issued separate messages praying for continued peace, progress and prosperity of the country, the Muslim Ummah, interfaith harmony and global peace.</div><div><br></div><div>In his message, the president said that after the month-long fasting and moderation, the holy Eid-ul-Fitr has come to the people with the message of immense happiness and joy.</div><div><br></div><div>\"On this occasion, I extend my sincere greetings to the countrymen and the entire Muslim Ummah,\" the head of the state added.</div><div><br></div><div>Noting that the Eid-ul-Fitr is one of the most important religious festivals of the Muslims, he said: \"The Eid is our universal festival. The joy of Eid spreads among everyone in villages and all over Bengal as well as all over the world\".</div><div><br></div><div>Forgetting all differences on this day, people of all classes and professions join in one row and share the joy of Eid, he said, adding that Eid builds bonds of amity, harmony and unity among all.</div><div><br></div><div>Hamid hoped that the lesson of Eid-ul-Fitr will spread among all and develop a prosperous Bangladesh in the days to come.</div><div><br></div><div>Islam is a religion of peace and welfare, he said, adding that Islam embraces universal welfare, including human values, mutual coexistence, tolerance and equality.</div><div><br></div><div>\"This noble message and ideology of Islam should be spread among all,\" he added.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>He called upon the affluent section of the society to stand by the poor people so that everyone can enjoy the joy of Eid equally, irrespective of rich and poor.</div><div>\"May the meaning and underlying significance of Islam spread among all as a guide to the emancipation of humanity and may the world be filled with peace and harmony. This is my hope on the holy Eid-ul-Fitr,\" the president continued.</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her message conveyed her sincere greetings and Eid Mubarak to all the Muslims of the country and the world.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Eid teaches a unique lesson of peace, sympathy and brotherhood,\" the premier said.</div><div><br></div><div>Forgetting hatred and violence, people are bound by the bonds of equality, friendship and harmony (on this day), she said, adding that Eid brings a message of joy in the life of everyone irrespective of rich and poor.</div><div><br></div><div>She hoped that the self-purification, moderation, harmony and harmony of the Muslims will pervade in lives of individual, family, society and state.</div><div><br></div><div>\"May the life of every person be filled with happiness and endless joy of the holy Eid,\" she wished.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier urged all to avoid all kinds of injustice, lawlessness, violence and superstition to establish the spirit of Islam at all levels of individual, social and national life in the country. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-20 21:31:16', '2023-04-20 21:31:16'),
(6485, 6485, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Court of Appeals of the Philippines turned down an appeal of former branch manager of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Maia Santos Deguito challenging her conviction in a case involving US$ 81 million cyber heist from Bangladesh Bank reserve.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Appeal court confirmed her sentence of seven years in prison given by the trial court, reports CNN Philippine. The Court of Appeals dismissed Maia Deguito’s appeal seeking cancellation of her sentence in a 58-page verdict published on Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>In her appeal, Maia Santos Deguito said the sentence given by the trial court was based on a misunderstanding regarding the allegations of money laundering raised against her. She also termed the conviction against her that she allowed the transaction despite knowing it’s illegal as ‘assumptive’ in the appeal.</div><div><br></div><div>However, the Court of Appeals of the Philippines dismissed Maia Heguito’s plea on the ground that she was not just another employee of the RCBC. The transaction was possible because of the account she opened.</div><div><br></div><div>The trial court verdict said Maia Deguito was involved in smooth implementation and coordination of this illegal bank transaction. Deguito was found guilty of money laundering in all the eight allegations brought against her.</div><div><br></div><div>She was sentenced to four to seven years in prison on each count of violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act. She was also fined with $ 109 million.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, a total of US$ 101 million was stolen from the reserve of Bangladesh Bank on the night of 4 February 2016. The reserve was kept in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the US. Of this, some $ 81 million was transferred to the Rizal Bank of Philippine. The money was then promptly transferred to multiple accounts under four fictitious names at the RCBC branch on Jupiter Street in Makati City following the illegal transaction.</div><div><br></div><div>Maia Santos Deguito, as the manager of the Makati branch of RCBC, was directly involved in the money-laundering.</div><div><br></div><div>Although the major portion of the money stolen from BB reserve was transferred to the Philippines, some $20 million was sent to Sri Lanka.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh, later, recovered that $20 million from Sri Lanka. However, most of the money that was transferred to the Philippines has not been recovered yet. According to media reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-20 21:33:40', '2023-04-20 21:33:40'),
(6486, 6486, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Zafia Rahman and Zahia Rahman, two daughters of late Arafat Rahman Koko, have&nbsp; come to Dhaka from Britain to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with their grandmother Khaleda Zia.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>They arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 1:30 pm and reached Khaleda’s Gulshan residence, Firoza, said BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan.</div><div><br></div><div>He said Koko’s wife Sharmila Rahman Shinthi, who came home from London in November last year, received her two daughters at the airport.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 25, 2020, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order suspending her sentence with conditions that she would stay at her Gulshan house and would not leave the country. Since then, she has been staying at her house.</div><div><br></div><div>She also received treatment several times at Evercare Hospital for her various ailments.</div><div><br></div><div>Koko, the younger son of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and its chairperson Khaleda Zia, died of cardiac arrest in Malaysia on January 24, 2015.</div><div><br></div><div>Following his death, his wife and two daughters went to London and they have been staying there since then. Khaleda’s eldest son Tarique Rahman has also been residing in London with his family since he left Bangladesh in September 2008. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-20 21:38:20', '2023-04-20 21:38:20'),
(6487, 6487, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Huge traffic congestion was created at various important points on Dhaka-Aricha Highway in Savar, Baipail Abdullahpur highway in Ashulia and at Nabinagar and Chandra areas due to increased pressure of Eid holidaymakers.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Massive traffic congestion coupled with the mild heatwave that has been sweeping the country have exacerbated the plight of passengers who were travelling home to celebrate Eid with their families.</div><div><br></div><div>There are more than 1,500 readymade garment factories in Savar and Dhaka\'s Dhamrai. As a result, people from different parts of the country live in these two upazilas.</div><div><br></div><div>All garment factories have been declared closed as of this morning. As a result, workers employed in those factories have been rushing to the village since early in the morning to celebrate Eid with their loved ones.</div><div><br></div><div>Many complained that the bus companies are charging extra fare.</div><div><br></div><div>Mobile court drives were conducted on the highways after receiving information about charging extra fare from the commuters.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Traffic police personnel are working to keep the movement of vehicles smooth on the highway.</div><div><br></div><div>Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, who inspected the overall situation of the highway in Baipail area of Ashulia, said that the situation on the highway is currently in good condition and the police personnel on duty are working on the highways to ease traffic congestion, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>He added that strict action will be taken if any bus owner charges extra fare from the passengers.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-20 21:42:01', '2023-04-20 21:42:01'),
(6488, 6488, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The first day of Eid al-Fitr will begin on Friday, April 21, following the sighting of the crescent moon in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s Supreme Court announced on Thursday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Eid al-Fitr celebrations follow the end of Ramadan which lasts 29 or 30 days based on when the crescent moon is sighted.</div><div><br></div><div>Muslims follow a lunar calendar consisting of 12 months in a year of 354 or 355 days.</div><div><br></div><div>Employees in the Kingdom\'s private and non-profit sector will enjoy a four-day paid holiday that will begin at the end of work on Thursday, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development had announced. - Alarabiya news</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-20 21:52:00', '2023-04-20 21:52:00'),
(6489, 6489, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Residents of 40 villages in Chandpur district will celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on Friday amid much enthusiasm and religious fervour .</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The villagers of Hajiganj, Faridganj, Matlab North, Kachua and Sharasti upazilas will celebrate Eid on Friday following Saudi Arabia and its neighbours.</div><div><br></div><div>The main congregation of Eid-ul-Fitr will be held at 9am at Peer Mawlana Isahak Saheber Darbar Sharif Jame Mosque in Shadra village of Hajiganj upazila, said Maulana Zakariya Chowdhury of the darbar sharif.</div><div><br></div><div>The Eid congregation will be led by him, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Late Maulana Ishaque introduced the practice of Eid celebration in Chandpur in line with the celebration in Saudi Arabia in 1931.</div><div><br></div><div>Devotees of these villages began fasting on the same date with the people of Saudi Arabia.</div><div><br></div><div>Saudi Arabia announced that the Kingdom will celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on Friday as the Shawwal moon was sighted on Thursday, reports the Saudi Gazette newspaper.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, the National Moon Sighting Committee in Bangladesh is scheduled to meet on Friday evening to decide the date of Eid. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-21 10:52:22', '2023-04-21 10:52:22'),
(6490, 6490, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Micro-blogging site Twitter on Thursday removed the legacy verified blue ticks from all accounts.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The only individual Twitter users who have verified blue checkmarks are those paying for Twitter Blue, which costs USD 8/month via the web and USD 11/month through in-app payment on iOS and Android.</div><div><br></div><div>Due to the recent development, several B-town celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt and politicians like CM Yogi Adityanath, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma among others have lost their verified blue ticks from their Twitter accounts.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier it was announced that the microblogging site will remove the verified check-mark status of accounts that Twitter had been verified as notable before Elon Musk\'s takeover unless they have subscribed to Twitter Blue or the business-focused Twitter Verified Organizations plan, Variety reported.</div><div><br></div><div>Initially, the blue tick served as a way of protecting well-known individuals from impersonation and tackling false information.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier in March, Twitter posted from their official handle, \"On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue.</div><div><br></div><div>Twitter first introduced the blue check mark system in 2009 to help users identify that celebrities, politicians, companies and brands, news organizations and other accounts \"of public interest\" were genuine and not impostors or parody accounts. The company didn\'t previously charge for verification.</div><div><br></div><div>Musk launched Twitter Blue with the check-mark badge as one of the premium perks within two weeks of the company\'s takeover last year. Source: NDTV</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-21 11:07:22', '2023-04-21 11:07:22'),
(6491, 6491, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>President Joe Biden could announce his long-expected bid for a second term as early as next week, US media reports said Thursday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>According to reports in outlets including The Washington Post and CNN, citing unnamed sources, Biden is set to launch his re-election campaign with a video release.</div><div><br></div><div>The Post reported that this could be on Tuesday, the anniversary of the day in 2019 when Biden joined the race to take on then incumbent Donald Trump in 2020. However, the report underlined that the plans were not finalized and could be postponed.</div><div><br></div><div>Already the oldest US president in history at 80, Biden would be 86 by the time he completed a second term. The current frontrunner for the Republicans is Trump, raising the growing possibility of a rematch of one of the most divisive elections in US history.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2019, Biden opened his bid with a video address. Although many initially saw him as a has-been, out of politics since finishing his term as vice president under Barack Obama, he went on to win the Democratic nomination, then defeat Trump in a tempestuous contest that the Republican attempted to overturn.</div><div><br></div><div>Biden has dropped repeated hints that he will run, including last week during a trip to Ireland when he said: \"I told you my plan is to run again.\"</div><div><br></div><div>However, Biden backers have pointed out that he is not necessarily in a hurry. Republicans are lurching toward a likely ugly nomination battle, while Biden has the advantages of having no serious challenger in his party.</div><div><br></div><div>Washington is also entering a prolonged and high-stakes political struggle over extending the US borrowing limit, a dispute that risks ending in a US debt default and serious economic upheaval some time over the coming weeks. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-21 11:15:45', '2023-04-21 11:15:45'),
(6492, 6492, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg defiantly declared Thursday that Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in the military alliance and pledged more support for the country on his first visit to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion just over a year ago.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Stoltenberg, who has been instrumental in marshaling support from NATO members, to push for even more from them, including warplanes, artillery and armored equipment.</div><div><br></div><div>The Kremlin has given various justifications for going to war, but repeated Thursday that preventing Ukraine from joining NATO is still a key goal of its invasion, arguing that Kyiv’s membership in the alliance would pose an existential threat to Russia.</div><div><br></div><div>NATO leaders said in 2008 that Ukraine would join the alliance one day, and Stoltenberg has repeated that promise throughout the war, though the organization has established no pathway or timetable for membership.</div><div><br></div><div>“Let me be clear, Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family,” Stoltenberg told a news conference. “Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO.”</div><div><br></div><div>Zelensky said he was grateful for an invitation to a NATO summit in July in Vilnius, Lithuania, but said his country needs a roadmap for becoming a member.</div><div><br></div><div>“The time has come for the (alliance’s) leaders to define the prospects of Ukraine’s acquisition of NATO membership, to define the algorithm of Ukraine’s movement toward this goal, and to define security guarantees for our state for the period of such movement — that is, for the period before NATO membership,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Stoltenberg said he and Zelensky discussed a NATO support program for Ukraine.</div><div><br></div><div>“This will help you transition from Soviet-era equipment and doctrines to NATO standards and ensure full interoperability with the alliance,” Stoltenberg said. “NATO stands with you today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”</div><div><br></div><div>He noted an announcement Thursday by Denmark and the Netherlands that they plan to provide Ukraine with at least another 14 refurbished Leopard 2 battle tanks by early 2024.</div><div><br></div><div>He added that he expected countries to “make new announcements of concrete military support to Ukraine” at a meeting Friday in Germany.</div><div><br></div><div>In other developments, a large explosion hit the Russian city of Belgorod late Thursday, and the Defense Ministry said one of its Su-34 warplanes accidentally discharged ammunition over the city about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Ukrainian border. The government gave no further details.</div><div><br></div><div>Belgorod regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said the blast injured at least two people, damaged homes and left a crater about 20 meters (65 feet) across.</div><div><br></div><div>The fighting in recent months has become a war of attrition, with neither side able to gain momentum. But Ukraine has recently received sophisticated weapons from its Western allies and is expected to launch a counteroffensive in coming weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow could use “all means available” — a phrase some see as a threat to use nuclear weapons — in response to an attack on its territory if Ukraine attempts to recapture Moscow-occupied areas.</div><div><br></div><div>NATO has no official presence in Ukraine and provides only nonlethal support to Kyiv, but Stoltenberg has been the strong voice of the alliance throughout the war.</div><div><br></div><div>A procession of international leaders has made the journey to Kyiv over the last year, and the former Norwegian prime minister is one of the last major Western figures to do so.</div><div><br></div><div>NATO, formed to counter the Soviet Union, has long feared being dragged into a wide war with nuclear-armed Russia. But as the West has moved from hesitantly providing helmets and uniforms to tanks, warplanes and advanced missile systems, high-level visits have become routine.</div><div><br></div><div>Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that preventing Ukraine from joining NATO remains one of the goals of what Moscow calls its “special military operation.” Speaking in a conference call with reporters, Peskov said that Ukraine’s accession would pose a “serious, significant threat to our country, to our country’s security.”</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier this month, Finland joined the alliance, setting aside decades of neutrality in a historic realignment of Europe’s post-Cold War security landscape. While NATO says it poses no threat to Russia, the Nordic country’s accession dealt a major political blow to Putin.</div><div><br></div><div>Finland’s membership doubles Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance. Neighboring Sweden is expected to join too, possibly by the time US President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts meet in Vilnius in July.</div><div><br></div><div>The alliance has focused on bolstering defenses on its own territory to dissuade Putin from attacking any member country. Under NATO’s collective security guarantee, an attack on one member country is considered an attack on all of them.</div><div><br></div><div>On Friday, Stoltenberg will attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The group is the main international forum for drumming up military support for Ukraine.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, the Ukraine Space Agency said Thursday that a bright flash of light in the night sky over the country the previous day was probably a meteor entering the atmosphere. Residents of the capital and several cities in Belarus saw the flash of light, which lingered for a couple of seconds, and an explosion was heard in the Kyiv region. It triggered an air raid alarm in Kyiv. - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div>&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-21 11:27:39', '2023-04-21 11:27:39'),
(6493, 6493, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Europe sweltered under its hottest summer on record in 2022, said a yearly report by the EU\'s Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"Globally, the last eight years have been the warmest on record, while in recent decades Europe has warmed faster overall than any other continent,\" the bloc\'s Earth observation program pointed out in a report.</div><div><br></div><div>The average temperature on the continent was around 2.2C above pre-industrial levels over the last five years, with 2022 being the second-warmest year on record, at 0.9C above the 1991-2020 average.</div><div><br></div><div>Apart from the high temperatures, Europe also experienced several extreme weather events last summer, including intense heatwaves, drought, and wildfires, it added.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The report highlights alarming changes to our climate, including the hottest summer ever recorded in Europe, marked by unprecedented marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean Sea and record-breaking temperatures in Greenland.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Understanding the climate dynamics in Europe is crucial for our efforts to adapt and mitigate the negative impacts climate change has on the continent,\" the service\'s director Carlo Buontempo said on the findings.</div><div><br></div><div>The report also stressed that the below-average precipitation and exceptional heatwaves caused widespread and protracted drought that affected several sectors, including agriculture, river transport, and energy generation.</div><div><br></div><div>It added that the hot and dry conditions fed wildfires across Europe. - Anadolu Agency&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-21 11:41:46', '2023-04-21 11:41:46'),
(6494, 6494, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The United States has said as Bangladesh moves to graduate from a least developed country to a middle-income country in 2026, more will be expected of it on labour rights, as well human rights, and good governance.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Strong labour laws and their implementation are needed to provide U.S. companies and investors with assurances that Bangladesh is a stable and predictable environment and can create greater economic opportunities for both of our countries,\" US Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee told UNB in an exclusive interview done remotely.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Asked whether US sees other countries the same way like Bangladesh when it checks labour standards and workers’ rights, Lee said the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. government seek and support respect for fundamental workers’ rights in all countries with which they have trade and diplomatic relations, and for all countries that are part of the global economy.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Lee, who was named Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs on May 10, 2021,&nbsp; said their government has consistently supported the people and workers of Myanmar in their efforts to advance democracy and protect human and workers’ rights in their country.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"We continue to work with likeminded nations and the international institutions in supporting these desires of the people of Myanmar, calling for the restoration of the democratically-elected government,\" Lee said, adding that they have strongly condemned – and supported international efforts to counter – the denial of democratic and human rights by the military regime.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>She said the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. government recognize the important progress that the Bangladesh garment industry has made related to building safety and remediating safety hazards identified through engineers’ inspections of export garment factories over the 10 years since the Rana Plaza collapse.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>April 24th marks the ten-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse in which 1,134 workers were killed.</div><div><br></div><div>There has also been \"significant progress\" in establishing and training worker-management safety committees at many of the garment factories, said the deputy undersecretary who has been advocating for workers’ rights, both domestically and internationally, for over thirty years.</div><div><br></div><div>The US welcomed the establishment of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety In Bangladesh at the time of its establishment, and recognizes today the important contributions it has made to the progress realized in the RMG sector since the collapse.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"There is also significant work that remains to be done. This includes completing all remediation of safety hazards at all inspected factories,\" Lee said, adding that many factories lack functioning fire detection systems and fire suppression systems.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Many have yet to complete critical building structural strengthening. Building safety compliance must be continuously monitored and maintained. This requires dedicated attention in an ongoing manner, she mentioned.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"To “reach the top” in terms of labor standards takes commitment, resources, and will. Bangladesh has long been the 2nd largest exporter of garments in the world. The industry is known for its world-class products. However, such a designation in the global garment industry comes with expectations and obligations,\" Lee said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>These include not just producing good quality products but also good jobs, with safe working conditions where workers’ rights and dignity are respected, Lee thinks.</div><div><br></div><div>She said they have been a longstanding and reliable partner of Bangladesh and have consistently supported programmes to advance internationally recognized worker rights in Bangladesh’s desire to “reach the top”.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"We have been a leading member of the Sustainability Compact and associated “3+5+1” group. We continue to engage regularly on labor with the government of Bangladesh, including through the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (“TICFA”) and the High-Level Economic Consultation.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Lee mentioned that they also have the newly launched Labor Working Group led by their labor attaché at the US Embassy in Dhaka.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"The labor attaché is working closely and regularly with your government, industry, unions and with likeminded partners to advance high labor standards and their enforcement in practice,\" she said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"Her presence in Bangladesh is a direct reflection of the importance our government places on our ongoing partnership, and our investment in seeing Bangladesh make real progress in the labor space,\" Lee said.</div><div><br></div><div>Rewards for Progress&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Asked what are the rewards that the US government is considering for the progress made so far, Lee said the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) comes with clear statutory requirements and eligibility criteria which apply to all beneficiary countries.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>With respect to worker rights, the Trade Act of 1974 requires that GSP beneficiary countries must be taking steps to afford internationally recognized worker rights.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>These include: freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of forced or compulsory labour; the establishment of a minimum age for the employment of children; implementing commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labour; and ensuring acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Following the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, the U.S. suspended GSP benefits due to labour rights violations concerning unsafe working conditions and lack of inspections in the RMG sector, restrictions to labour organizing, and violence against workers and trade unionists.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>For more than a decade, the U.S. has regularly engaged with Bangladesh on these concerns through the GSP Action Plan, Sustainability Compact, TICFA and other dialogues.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"Following the withdrawal of GSP benefits, the United States recognizes Bangladesh has made progress to improve fire and building safety in the exporting RMG sector through the legally binding Accord,\" Lee said.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite measurable progress over the past decade on building safety, she said, Bangladesh still falls short on fundamental rights of freedom of association and enforcing labour laws through inspections.</div><div><br></div><div>As a key bilateral trading partner with Bangladesh, Lee said, the United States wants to see Bangladesh succeed in realizing concrete, measurable progress on worker rights, not only in the garment sector, but throughout the economy.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>This means ensuring workers have the right to organize and collectively bargain for better wages and safer working conditions, including in the export processing zones and special economic zones, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It is worth noting that, while our government is invested in seeing Bangladesh make progress on these important labor rights, we are not alone. The international community is also watching closely, including through the monitoring and reporting on the timebound Bangladesh road map at the International Labor Organization,\" Lee said.</div><div><br></div><div>The U.S. government \"continues to support\" the government of Bangladesh and the social partners - independent trade unions and private sector representatives in Bangladesh - to achieve the progress necessary to consider removing the suspension of GSP benefits.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"Our commitment to continue such support and honest cooperation with the government of Bangladesh and the social partners remains firm,\" Lee said.</div><div><br></div><div>Is there any scope to bring Bangladesh under GSP facility anew?&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Lee said the GSP programme expired on December 31, 2020 and is subject to Congressional re-authorization.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Both the House and Senate have introduced different bills that include provisions to reauthorize GSP and add new criteria on human rights, environment, rule of law, anti-corruption, and economic measures to alleviate poverty.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Both bills also propose expanding the labour criteria to include employment non-discrimination.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"Bangladesh’s access to GSP is led by a robust interagency process. Bangladesh will first have to reapply for GSP benefits following the program’s reauthorization,\" Lee said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The GSP subcommittee will then evaluate whether Bangladesh is meeting all the GSP statutory criteria set by Congress, including any new criteria on labor.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Based upon an interagency recommendation, the President would make a determination about whether Bangladesh is meeting the requisite standard on worker rights, as well as on market access, intellectual property and other criteria established by Congress.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The United States supports and is working closely with Bangladesh in its efforts to make progress on internationally recognized worker rights, specifically its commitments under the timebound ILO road map,\" Lee said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The US particularly wants to see progress on amending the Bangladesh Labour Act to bring it in line with international labour standards.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"We also hope to see progress on simplifying the registration process and seeing the successful registration of applications pending beyond the 55-day legal limit. We must also see progress on increasing the number and capacity of labor inspectors and ensuring penalties are sufficiently dissuasive,\" Lee said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"And we need to see progress on unfair labor practices and acts of anti-union discrimination by holding perpetrators accountable. These are some of the steps that would help Bangladesh get back on track,\" she added.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh in the post-LDC era</div><div><br></div><div>The U.S. government will remain \"engaged\" through their work described above as it relates to support for the ILO Road map, the Sustainability Compact and “3+5+1” group, and the efforts to meet GSP requirements.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"Our labor attaché at the US Embassy in Dhaka is a source of daily support and a resource to the government of Bangladesh and social partners in meeting labor standards thresholds,\" Lee said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The labor attaché led the first technical, working-level Labor Working Group on March 9 to identify barriers to union registrations, and importantly, has helped to identify clear solutions.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The labor attaché continues to engage with the Ministry of Labour to follow up on areas where further progress is needed.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"The deployment of a labor attaché is a clear indication that the United States government is committed to seeing progress on labor, and relatedly, on trade,\" Lee said.</div><div><br></div><div>The U.S. Department of Labor has had long history of providing technical assistance to Bangladesh, including projects to combat child labour and forced labour and to improve working conditions in the RMG sector.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"Our current technical assistance to Bangladesh includes funding to improve working conditions in the RMG, tea, shrimp and construction sectors and to the ILO Better Work Bangladesh to support women’s empowerment projects,\" Lee said. adding that ILAB is actively exploring other technical assistance opportunities to strengthen worker rights.</div><div><br></div><div>Better Price&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The U.S. Department of Labor understands and agrees that achieving compliant industries and workplaces requires that buyers and brands pay a price to Bangladesh supplier factories that allows owners to meet associated costs with providing safe workplaces, maintaining decent work, and abiding by applicable laws and regulations, Lee said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"We regularly raise this point in our communications and our engagement with business, including U.S. garment and apparel companies,\" she said. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-21 11:55:03', '2023-04-21 11:55:03'),
(6495, 6495, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A hailstorm shower ended the fourth Twenty20 international in Rawalpindi after New Zealand\'s Mark Chapman and Chad Bowes hit aggressive half centuries against Pakistan on Thursday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Chapman was 71 not out off 42 balls as New Zealand -- sent in to bat by Pakistan -- were 164-5 in 18.5 overs when rain stopped play at Rawalpindi stadium.</div><div><br></div><div>It turned into a hailstorm as match officials assessed the conditions before calling off the match as abandoned.</div><div><br></div><div>Pakistan leads the five-match series 2-1 after winning the first two matches by 88 and 38 runs while New Zealand took the third by four runs -- all in Lahore.</div><div><br></div><div>The final match is in Rawalpindi on April 24 after Eid holidays.</div><div><br></div><div>Left-hander Chapman held the innings with stands of 54 for the fourth wicket with Bowes who made 38-ball 54, lifting New Zealand from a precarious 3-54.</div><div><br></div><div>Pakistan\'s left-arm spinner Imad Wasim had derailed New Zealand by dismissing Tom Latham (13), Will Young (six) and Daryl Mitchell (three) to finish with figures of 3-19 in his four overs.</div><div><br></div><div>Chapman, who hit ten boundaries and a six, completed his 1,000 Twenty20 international runs on 49 and also added 56 for the fifth wicket with Rachin Ravindra who scored eight.</div><div><br></div><div>Bowes hit seven boundaries and a six before falling to Shaheen Shah Afridi. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-21 12:06:15', '2023-04-21 12:06:15'),
(6496, 6496, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday claimed that this year\'s Eid journey has been free of traffic jams and public sufferings.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He said this to reporters while visiting the overpass constructed at the capital\'s airport this morning.</div><div><br></div><div>Quader said that instructions have been given to the officials concerned to make the return Eid trip smooth and comfortable.</div><div><br></div><div>Roads and Highways Department Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Noori, Bridges Department Secretary Manjur Hossain and senior officers were present at the time.</div><div><br></div><div>Quader said that this year there is no suffering of travellors on bus, train, launch during the Eid journey.</div><div><br></div><div>The government has opened the Padma Bridge to notor bikes for the benefit of young people. source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-21 15:50:51', '2023-04-21 15:50:51');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6497, 6497, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted&nbsp; Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the people of Bangladesh on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“On behalf of the people of India, I convey my Eid greetings to you and the people of Bangladesh,” he wrote in a letter sent to Hasina, said Prime Minister\'s Office on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>Modi mentioned that during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims from all over the world including India performed fasting and prayers.</div><div><br></div><div>On this auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, he said, the people of the world along with the Muslim Ummah have realised the values ​​of unity and brotherhood.</div><div><br></div><div>Modi said that as a result of Hasina’s personal initiative, the multilateral partnership between the two countries has become a role model for neighbourly relations in the world.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Indian PM said he wants to take the relationship of the two countries to a new height through working with Sheikh Hasina continuously.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Modi wished peace, harmony, good health and happiness for the people of the two countries along with the people of the world. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-21 15:58:37', '2023-04-21 15:58:37'),
(6498, 6498, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina On Friday called upon all to share the joy of the Eid-ul-Fitr to be observed on Saturday with their loved ones and the poor and distressed people of the society.</span><br></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br></span></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">\"Eid means joy. Let us stand by families, relatives, neighbours and all the poor, distressed and helpless people of the society and share the joy of EId with all,\" she said.</span></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br></span></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">In a video message on the eve of the Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest festival of the Muslims, the Prime Minister greeted the nation, saying, \"Wish you all, be well and safe, Eid Mubarak,\" report UNB.</span></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br></span></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">\"May Eid-ul-Fitr bring unending joy, happiness and peace,\" she added.</span></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br></span></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">bnbd24/fas</span></div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-22 08:15:10', '2023-04-22 08:15:10'),
(6499, 6499, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday called upon all to share the joy of Eid-ul-Fitr to be observed with near and dear ones and the poor and distressed people of the society.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"Eid means joy. Let\'s stand by family, relatives, neighbours and all the poor, distressed and helpless people of the society and share the joy of Eid with all,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>In a video message, on the eve of the Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest festival of the Muslims, the prime minister greeted the nation, saying:\"Wish all you be well and safe, Eid Mubarak,\" reports BSS</div><div><br></div><div>She said that the Eid-ul-Fitr has returned after practicing one month fasting, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Eid-ul-Fitr may bring among us unending joy, happiness and peace,\" she added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-22 09:19:19', '2023-04-22 09:19:19'),
(6500, 6500, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President M Abdul Hamid offered the prayers of Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the greatest religious festivals of the Muslims, along with hundreds of people from all walks of life at the National Eidgah Maidan in the capital this morning.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Country\'s noted personalities, including chief justice, cabinet members, Supreme Court judges, lawmakers, senior political leaders and high civil and military officials also offered prayers at the main Eid jamaat (congregation) held on the premises of the High Court at 8.30 am.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;After the prayers, President Hamid exchanged Eid greetings with the Musullies (devotees) at the Eidgah.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;The President usually attends the traditional Eid prayers in capital\'s National Eidgah Maidan but in the last three years, the programme was scrapped due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;Khatib of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque Mufti Ruhul Amin Faridpuri conducted the Eid prayers.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;A special munajat was offered seeking divine blessings for peace and progress of Bangladesh and welfare of the people as well as the Muslim Ummah.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;In the munajat, a sound and long life of the President and Prime Minister Sheikh Haisna was also sought.</div><div><br></div><div>Special doa was also offered seeking eternal peace of the martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the county and its people in different democratic movements, particularly during the Liberation War in 1971.</div><div><br></div><div>Doa was too offered seeking eternal peace of the departed souls of Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and other members, faced martyrdom on the fateful night of August 15 in 1975.</div><div><br></div><div>The Eid jamaat was held under the auspices of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). Special arrangement has been made for women to offer Eid prayers at the national Eidgah.</div><div><br></div><div>An intensified security measures were taken in and around the prayers ground.</div><div><br></div><div>It is the last Eid of M Abdul Hamid as the President of Bangladesh to offer his prayers at National Eidgah as he is scheduled to handover the charge of his office to President-elect Md Sahabuddin at 11 am tomorrow, according to Bangabhaban.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, on his arrival at the Eidgah Maidan, the Head of the State was received by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque, DSCC Mayor Barrister Fazle Noor Taposh, State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan, MP, and other concerned. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-22 10:00:55', '2023-04-22 10:00:55'),
(6501, 6501, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The US Supreme Court on Friday temporarily preserved access to a widely used abortion pill, freezing rulings by lower courts that would have banned or severely restricted availability of the drug.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Two conservative justices disagreed with the decision in the most significant abortion case to reach the nine-member court since it overturned the constitutional right to the procedure 10 months ago.</div><div><br></div><div>In delivering a one-paragraph decision, the court did not comment on the merits of the case brought by anti-abortion groups seeking a ban on the abortion drug, mifepristone.</div><div><br></div><div>But their order means that mifepristone, which accounts for more than half of the abortions in the United States, will remain available while the case plays out in an appeals court.</div><div><br></div><div>The Justice Department of President Joe Biden had filed an emergency appeal asking the Supreme Court to block the lower court rulings that would have banned or restricted access to mifepristone.</div><div><br></div><div>The case stems from a ruling by a US District Court judge in Texas, in a lawsuit brought by a coalition of anti-abortion groups, that would have banned mifepristone, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000.</div><div><br></div><div>An appeals court blocked a ban on the abortion pill, but imposed tough restrictions on access, after which the baton was handed to the Supreme Court, where conservatives wield a 6-3 majority.</div><div><br></div><div>The Supreme Court decision effectively freezes the lower court rulings pending an appellate court hearing of an appeal from the Justice Department and mifepristone manufacturer Danco Laboratories.</div><div><br></div><div>Arguments in the Louisiana-based US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals have been scheduled for May 17 and any ruling by the appellate court is likely to eventually reach the Supreme Court.</div><div>Reacting to the Supreme Court move, Biden said the lower court decisions \"would have undermined FDA\'s medical judgment and put women\'s health at risk.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"Mifepristone remains available and approved for safe and effective use while we continue this fight in the courts,\" Biden said in a statement. \"I will continue to fight politically-driven attacks on women\'s health.\" - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-22 10:06:27', '2023-04-22 10:06:27'),
(6502, 6502, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Inflation in the United States has become \"broad-based,\" a top Federal Reserve official said Friday, suggesting the US central bank\'s fight against price rises through interest rate hikes has some road left to run.</b></span><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The Fed has raised its benchmark lending rate nine times in a row since March last year to tackle inflation, which remains well above its long-term target of two percent.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Several senior Fed officials have suggested in recent weeks that interest rates may need to increase further, and remain high, to control inflation.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Overall inflation, and other underlying measures of consumer price increases, remained high, Fed governor Lisa Cook said in prepared remarks in Washington on Friday.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"All of these measures have come off their peaks but remain elevated, suggesting that inflation has become broad-based in the economy,\" said Cook, who is a member of the Fed\'s 12-person rate-setting committee.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;Cook said the path back to stable inflation \"could be long and is likely to be uneven and bumpy.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The \"appropriate path\" of interest rate hikes would be determined by the impact of the recent financial sector turmoil on bank lending, she added.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"But if data show continued strength in the economy and slower disinflation, we may have more work to do,\" she said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;The Fed will announce its next interest rate decision on May 3.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Most futures traders now expect the US central bank will raise its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, according to data from CME Group. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-22 10:49:35', '2023-04-22 10:49:35'),
(6503, 6503, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The death toll from an explosion in a coal mine in Colombia rose to seven Friday with the discovery of four more bodies, official said.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The new toll was given by Alvaro Farfan, the head of the firefighting department in the central Cundinamarca region.</div><div><br></div><div>The blast ripped through the mine overnight Wednesday into Thursday in Cucunuba municipality around 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the capital Bogota.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities said they suspect pockets of gas trapped in the mine detonated.</div><div><br></div><div>Rescue teams initially found three bodies and four workers were missing. These bodies were finally spotted on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>Videos shared on social media showed smoke billowing from a sinkhole in the dead of night while people dressed in civilian clothes carrying torches approached carefully.</div><div><br></div><div>Colombia is Latin America\'s largest coal producer.</div><div><br></div><div>Mining accidents are frequent in Colombia, particularly in illegal mines in Cundinamarca and other parts of the country\'s center and northeast.</div><div><br></div><div>The mines and energy ministry registered 1,262 such accidents between 2011 and May 2022 that left an average of more than 100 people dead per year.</div><div><br></div><div>An explosion in mid-March in Sutatausa municipality, also in Cundinamarca, left 21 people dead and was one of the worst such tragedies in Colombia in recent years. According to AFP reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-22 10:52:24', '2023-04-22 10:52:24'),
(6504, 6504, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain took another step towards securing the Ligue 1 title despite an unconvincing performance in beating bottom club Angers 2-1 on Friday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Mbappe scored the opener in the ninth minute and added another before the half-hour mark to move clear as the French top flight\'s leading marksman on 22 goals for the campaign.</div><div><br></div><div>It looked like PSG might go on to record a big victory but they eased off in the second half and relegation-bound Angers pulled a goal back late on through Sada Thioub.</div><div><br></div><div>PSG are now 11 points clear at the top of the table with six games left, although nearest challengers Marseille can cut the gap when they visit Lyon on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>A record 11th French crown, and ninth since the Qatari takeover of 2011, is now inevitable with the capital club claiming a third straight win to ease the pressure on embattled coach Christophe Galtier.</div><div><br></div><div>However, Galtier was critical of his side\'s performance after they failed to build on a strong start, just like in last week\'s 3-1 win over Lens when all their goals came before half-time.</div><div><br></div><div>\"As much as we were serious and clinical in the first half, like Lens last week we took our foot off the pedal completely in the second half,\" Galtier told broadcaster Amazon Prime.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We played without any rhythm and didn\'t really try to add to our lead. There is frustration for me as a coach. Of course we won and are top of the league but when you are at Paris Saint-Germain you can\'t settle for only playing for half of the game.\" Source: AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-22 11:06:17', '2023-04-22 11:06:17'),
(6505, 6505, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged the countrymen to give her party another chance in the next general election to help establish Bangladesh as a developing country, alerting them if the anti-liberation and corrupt&nbsp; elements come to power again they will destroy all the advancements.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“I am grateful to the people as they voted us to power time and again and give us scope to serve them. The next general election is knocking at the door. I wish that the people will give us another chance to establish Bangladesh as a developing nation as the country will start its journey as a complete developing nation. We have taken preparation to this end,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She was exchanging greetings with a cross section of people on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr at her official Ganabhaban residence in the capital this morning.</div><div>“I’m really feel very happy to meet you on the holy day of Eid-ul-Fitr as you people are my near and dear ones and relatives of my soul,” she said, adding that she has got the love and affection of her parents and brothers after losing them on the dreadful night of August 15 in 1975.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;The Prime Minister said Bangladesh has got recognition as a developing nation due to continuation of democratic process in the country and stability since 2009.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh, she said, has witnessed such a huge socio-economic advancement as the people voted the Awami League to power in 2008, 2014 and 2018 elections consecutively.</div><div><br></div><div>“I am expressing my gratitude to Allah and the people of Bangladesh for voting Awami League to power time and again and giving us to serve them,’’ she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina said she loves the country and its people like a mother, adding that she has been working relentlessly to bring smiles on the faces of the distressed people by changing their fates, giving them a beautiful and improved life by ensuring all the basic needs as envisioned by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister however urged the countrymen to remain alert against the war criminals, corrupts and grenade attackers as they are out to destroy the advancement of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>“The country and all of its advancement will be ruined if the anti-liberation elements, war criminals, killers, grenade attackers and corrupts are voted to power again. So, the countrymen should have to remain alert,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister hinted about involvement of the BNP-Jamaat clique in the recent fire incidents in different markets that include the Bangabazar and asked the authorities concerned to conduct a thorough investigation into the matters.</div><div><br></div><div>She also urged all the people including the business community to pay special attention to protect their houses and business establishments.</div><div><br></div><div>“Those who can burn people to death can do everything,” she cautioned.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>She reminded all that the Awami League is a servant of the people as it (AL government) always serves the people.</div><div><br></div><div>“I feel proud being a daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Premiership is nothing to me,” she said, adding that she consider power as a means of serving the people.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister said this year\'s&nbsp; Eid journey was easy and peaceful due to massive infrastructure development that included roads, highways, bridges, especially the Padma Bridge.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;She welcomed the people who went to their native villages to share the joy of Eid with their near and dear ones, saying that people are now enjoying their Eid in villages in a pleasant way as&nbsp; her government has reached electricity every household.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister urged the people to maintain good relations with neighbours and stand by the poor and needy people.</div><div><br></div><div>She also asked her party men to stay beside the people in their needs.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister reiterated her call to the countrymen to bring every inch of arable land across the country under cultivation so that the Russia-Ukraine war cannot create any crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>“We have to grow food for ourselves and export the surplus food to other countries. We have already started exporting vegetables to other countries,” she said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister first exchanged&nbsp; Eid greetings with the people of all strata of life that include her party leaders and workers and people of all classes and professions that include poets, litterateurs, writers, journalists, teachers and intellectuals.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, she exchanged Eid greetings with cabinet colleagues, judges, cabinet secretary, chiefs of the three services, foreign diplomats, senior secretaries, secretaries and other civil and military officials with rank equivalent to secretaries.</div><div><br></div><div>The programme could not be held in 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to BSS reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-22 14:27:36', '2023-04-22 14:27:36'),
(6506, 6506, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Over six lakh Muslims offered Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at Gor-e-Shaheed Maidan in Dinajpur at 9 am today.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Maulana Shamsul Islam Qasimi led the Eid jamaat.</div><div><br></div><div>Supreme Court Appellate Division Justice Enayetur Rahim and Jatiya Sangsad Whip Iqbalur Rahim, among others, attended the Eid jamaat.</div><div><br></div><div>People from far and wide joined the Eid jamaat ignoring the heat, to be part of the large congregation.</div><div><br></div><div>A three-tier security measure was taken on the occasion, including traffic arrangements, and installation of CCTV cameras. A large number of police, Ansar members as well as Rab personnel were deployed to ensure the safety of the devotees. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-22 14:51:48', '2023-04-22 14:51:48'),
(6507, 6507, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>President-elect Md Sahabuddin will take oath as the 22nd President of Bangladesh tomorrow.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The oath-taking ceremony will be held in Historic Durbar Hall of the Bangabhaban at about 11am.</div><div><br></div><div>Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will administer the oath of the office of the President, according to Bangabhaban.</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, cabinet members and hundreds of distinguished guests will attend the event. Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain will conduct the programme.</div><div><br></div><div>After the swearing-in ceremony, Md Sahabuddin will sign the oath documents of the office of the President.</div><div><br></div><div>New President Md Sahabuddin and outgoing president M Abdul Hamid will officially alter the seat after taking oath, President\'s press secretary Md Joynal Abedin told BSS.</div><div><br></div><div>Family members of the new President, including his wife Dr Rebecca Sultana and son Arshad Adnan Rony will attend the function.</div><div><br></div><div>Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, Members of Parliament, Chief Election Commissioner, Supreme Court judges, political leaders, chiefs of the three services, diplomats, senior journalists, including editors, and high-ranking civil and military officials will witness the event.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, the 73-year-old politician was elected as the 22nd President of Bangladesh on February 13, 2023.</div><div><br></div><div>Md Sahabuddin was born on December 10 in 1949 in Shibrampur\'s Jubilee Tank area of Pabna Town. His nickname is Chuppu. His father\'s name is Sharfuddin Ansari and mother Khairunnessa.</div><div><br></div><div>Obtained his MSc degree from Rajshahi University in 1974, he later passed LLB and BCS (Law) examinations.</div><div>The President-elect was the general secretary of Pabna Edward College unit of Chhatra League, president of Pabna District Chhatra League and Jubo League later also. He was the joint secretary of Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BaKSAL) of the district unit and publicity secretary of Awami League district unit.</div><div><br></div><div>Sahabuddin actively participated in 6-Point Movement in 1966, Bhutta (Maize) Movement in 1967, mass-uprising in1979, election of 1970 and Liberation War in 1971.</div><div><br></div><div>He was in the frontline movement organizer of Pabna district and raised protest soon after the brutal incidents on August 15, 1975. Subsequently he was imprisoned for three years and subjected to inhuman torture by the then military dictators.</div><div><br></div><div>Md Sahabuddin was also involved in journalism (Dainik Banglar Bani) and a good numbers of articles were also published at different vernaculars.</div><div><br></div><div>During his career, he served as District and Sessions Judge, Anti Corruption Commissioner (ACC) Commissioner.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>He also served as the Director of the Prime Minister\'s Office and the Coordinator assigned to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in the Bangabandhu Murder Case.</div><div><br></div><div>Sahabuddin was elected Secretary General of BCS (Judiciary) Association twice in a row. After retirement from service, he was engaged in legal profession in the High Court.</div><div><br></div><div>He later served as the Chairman of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry in the investigation into the 2001 post-election violence.</div><div><br></div><div>As the ACC Commissioner, Md Sahabuddin proved his deep firmness in dealing with the \'so-called corruption\' plot against the Padma Bridge project.</div><div><br></div><div>This former student leader, Md Sahabuddin, also served as a member of Bangladesh Awami League\'s Advisory Council and the Chairman of the party\'s Central Publicity and Publication Sub-Committee.</div><div><br></div><div>Heroic Freedom Fighter and politician Md Sahabuddin will replace the 21st President M Abdul Hamid.</div><div><br></div><div>Abdul Hamid will go on retirement after spending 10 years and 41 days as President for two consecutive terms.</div><div><br></div><div>He took the responsibility of the President in-charge on March 14, 2013 while the then President Md Zillur Rahman was under treatment in Singapore. After the death of Zillur Rahman, he became the Acting President on March 20, 2013. According to BSS report</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-23 13:51:25', '2023-04-23 13:51:25'),
(6508, 6508, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Nine teenagers were shot in an east Texas residence early Sunday at a prom after-party attended by hundreds, local officials said in a statement.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Just after midnight, deputies responded to shots fired at a private home in Jasper County where the party was held and found nine victims with gunshot wounds, according to a statement by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office. The injuries are expected to be non-life threatening, according to Jasper County officials.</div><div><br></div><div>About 250 people are estimated to have been present at the time of the shooting, according to a statement from the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office.</div><div><br></div><div>Eight people were taken in personal vehicles to Jasper Memorial Hospital in Jasper, Texas, and “at least one” of those were transferred to Christus Southeast Texas-St. Elizabeth Hospital in nearby Beaumont, Texas for further treatment, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Karli Cherry said. One person did not go to the hospital, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>A second shooting within the city limits of Jasper, Texas occurred shortly after the first, the statement said.</div><div><br></div><div>There were no injuries in the second shooting, but a connection between the two incidents is being investigated due to a “common vehicle at both locations,” the statement said.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the statement, “people of interest are being questioned” and the investigation is ongoing. According to AP report</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-24 09:48:11', '2023-04-24 09:48:11'),
(6509, 6509, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">About 60 civilians were killed in a village in northern Burkina Faso by men wearing military uniforms, the local prosecutor said late Sunday, announcing an investigation into the latest bloodshed in the insurgency-hit country.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Landlocked and in the heart of West Africa\'s Sahel, the country is one of the world\'s most volatile and impoverished.</div><div><br></div><div>Attacks blamed on suspected jihadists are on the rise in Burkina Faso, which is battling an insurgency that spilled over from neighbouring Mali.</div><div><br></div><div>\"About 60 people were killed by people wearing the uniforms of our national armed forces\" on Thursday in the village of Karma, in northern Yatenga province, Ouahigouya High Court prosecutor Lamine Kabore told AFP in a statement, citing the gendarmerie.</div><div><br></div><div>The wounded have been evacuated and are currently being taken care of within our health facilities,\" he said, adding that the perpetrators had \"taken various goods\".</div><div><br></div><div>The village of Karma is near the Malian border and attracts many illegal gold miners.</div><div>According to residents contacted by AFP, survivors said more than 100 people on motorbikes and pick-up trucks raided the village.</div><div><br></div><div>Dozens of men and young people were killed by the men, dressed in military uniforms, they said.</div><div><br></div><div>Survivors gave a toll of \"around 80 dead\". - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-24 09:57:28', '2023-04-24 09:57:28'),
(6510, 6510, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangabhaban bade a grand farewell to outgoing President M Abdul Hamid in a state ceremony through an impressive function, in the first such ceremony for an outgoing president in Bangladesh.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>A smartly turned-out contingent of the horse-mounted President Guard Regiment (PGR) of the army extended him a guard of honor as part of the ceremony while a band group comprising military, navy, and air force played the farewell tune.</div><div><br></div><div>\"In the last 52-year of Bangladesh\'s history, this was the first such farewell extended to an outgoing President of the republic,\" a Bangabhaban spokesman said.</div><div><br></div><div>The outgoing President Hamid, moved into his own residence at capital\'s Nikunja along with his family members in a ceremonial motorcade under the supervision of the Special Security Force (SSF).</div><div><br></div><div>The Bangabhaban officials and staffs queued up in two lines on both sides of the vehicle to bid him the farewell and showered flower petals on his open jeep from Bangabhaban to its main gate, where he got onboard the presidential car to leave the presidential palace.</div><div><br></div><div>The outgoing President reached his Nikunja residence at about 2pm, where he was welcomed by his family members and relatives with bouquets.</div><div><br></div><div>Reaching his private residence at Nikunja Hamid expressed his gratitude to the people and particularly to the media for their heartfelt support \"in my political life\".&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"I\'m (also) very much grateful to the Prime Minister and her government for their necessary support in discharging my tasks in perfect manner,\" Hamid added.</div><div><br></div><div>The farewell came shortly after President Mohammad Shahabuddin was sworn in as the 22nd President of the country, an event followed by the swapping of the chairs by the new and the outgoing presidents.</div><div><br></div><div>The ceremonial change of the chairs was part of the presidential palace ritual to mark the handing over of the charge of the republic to the new president.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>President Hamid is the lone President in Bangladesh who held the post for two consecutive terms of ranging over 10 years.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;A veteran politician with a colourful career, Hamid for the first time took the responsibility of the President in-charge on March 14, 2013, when the then President Mohammad Zillur Rahman was under treatment in Singapore and after his death he became the Acting President on March 20, 2013.</div><div><br></div><div>President Hamid was sworn in as the 20th President in April 2013 and subsequently 21st President for the second term on April 24, 2018.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier today, new President Shahabuddin was administered the oath office by parliamentary Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury at the Durbar Hall of Bangabhaban at 11 am at an event joined by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, ministers, lawmakers, foreign diplomats, senior officials and distinguished citizens.</div><div><br></div><div>After the Bangabhaban ceremony, Shahabuddin went to his Gulshan residence in a presidential motorcade. Bangabhaban officials said he is set to return to the presidential palace at 8:20 pm in the evening.</div><div><br></div><div>The new President will be given a guard of honour tomorrow morning as part of the extended installation ceremony.</div><div><br></div><div>Hamid was born on January 1, 1944 at Kamalpur in Mithamain upazila under Kishoreganj district and made his debut as a political activist in 1959 by joining the then Awami League student front Chhatra League. He joined the Awami League at the end of 1969.</div><div><br></div><div>He was elected as Speaker in the Ninth Parliament and served the office from 2009-2013 while was he elected to parliament seven times since 1970. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-24 18:37:34', '2023-04-24 18:37:34'),
(6511, 6511, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A cheetah has died in India\'s Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh state, the second in less than a month.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Forest officials said the cause of the six-year-old male animal\'s death was not immediately known.</div><div><br></div><div>It was one of 12 big cats that were brought to India from South Africa in February.</div><div><br></div><div>India reintroduced cheetahs last year, more than 70 years after the animal was declared officially extinct in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>On 27 March, a female cheetah who was part of the first batch of animals brought from Namibia had died of a suspected kidney ailment.</div><div><br></div><div>The reintroduction of cheetahs in India has generated excitement and any news related to them has been making headlines.</div><div><br></div><div>Eight Namibian cheetahs - five males and three females - were translocated to India last year amid fanfare.</div><div><br></div><div>Twelve more cheetahs were brought to India from South Africa in February. They were all first kept in a controlled quarantine zone at the park in Kuno before being released into the wild. A team of forest officials and doctors have been tracking and monitoring their movements.</div><div><br></div><div>The country also welcomed the birth of four cheetah cubs on 29 March. They were born to one of the females that came from Namibia last September.</div><div>India\'s environment minister, Bhupendra Yadav, had announced the news, calling it a \"momentous event\".</div><div><br></div><div>Cheetahs have great symbolic value in India as they are part of many folktales. But it is also the only large mammal to become extinct since independence in 1947.</div><div><br></div><div>Hunting, diminishing habitats and non-availability of enough prey - black buck, gazelle and hare - were the main reasons for the extinction of the cat in India. During British rule, cheetahs were also eliminated through bounty hunting because they were entering villages and killing livestock.</div><div><br></div><div>Wildlife experts have welcomed the reintroduction of the animal in India but some have also warned of potential risks to them from other predators and not having enough prey. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-24 18:49:20', '2023-04-24 18:49:20'),
(6512, 6512, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Three people including a baby were killed in two separate road mishaps in Chapainawabganj district today.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The deceased were identified as Afia, 4, daughter of Rafiqul Islam of Hayatpur village under Chapainawabganj sadar upazila, Jahid, 19, son of Saiful Islam of Dariapur Chowhodditola under Chapainawabganj municipality and Umar Faruk, 17, son of Kazipara village under Chapainawabganj sadar upazila.</div><div><br></div><div>Officer in Charge (OC) of Chapainawabganj Sadar Model thana Sajjad Hossain said, Afia was going by an auto-rickshaw along with her family members and as they reached Ramchandrapur area under sadar upazila, another auto-rickshaw hit their auto-rickshaw from behind at around 10-30 am. At a result of this, Afia fell on the road and died on the spot.</div><div><br></div><div>In another accident, Jahid and Umar Faruk were going by a motorcycle towards Shahjahanpur under sadar upazila and it was hit a roadside tree losing control over their bike at Narendrapur Pashchimpara in sadar upazila at around 12-15 pm. At a result, both the bikers died on the spot, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Police recovered the bodies and sent them to the Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. According to BSS reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-24 18:51:33', '2023-04-24 18:51:33'),
(6513, 6513, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will leave here tomorrow on a 15-day official tour to Japan, the USA and the UK, while Dhaka is expected to sign around eight deals with Tokyo during the visit.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"In the presence of the two prime ministers (Bangladesh and Japan), nearly eight Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) are likely to be signed between the two countries,\" foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said in a curtain raiser briefing at the foreign ministry.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the deals on agriculture, metro rail, industrial upgrade, ship recycling, customs matters, intellectual properties; defence cooperation, ICT and cyber security cooperation will be signed during the visit in Japan.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will leave Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on a special flight from Biman Bangladesh Airline at 7:45 am tomorrow and on the same day she is scheduled to arrive in Tokyo at 5:00 pm (local time).</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Momen said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will pay a curtsey call on Emperor of Japan Naruhito on April 26.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>On the same day, she will hold a bilateral meeting with her Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida after the signing of the deals.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The meeting will conclude with a dinner at the residence of the Prime Minister of Japan, said the foreign minister.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>During the visit to Japan, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is also scheduled to attend an investment summit and a community reception.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She will also hand over the \"Friends of Liberation War Honour\" to four Japanese nationals for their contribution to Bangladesh\'s Liberation War in 1971, Momen said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister will arrive in the United States from Tokyo to attend the ceremony, marking a 50-year partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank in Washington DC on May 1.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>On May 4, Momen said, Bangladesh\'s premier would leave Washington for London to attend the coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms.&nbsp;</div><div>The Prime Minister will leave London for Dhaka on May 8.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>State Minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam also spoke at the briefing. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-24 18:58:55', '2023-04-24 18:58:55'),
(6514, 6514, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is due in Dhaka tomorrow to discuss the progress in the use of the first tranche of its USD 4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh and release of the second instalment.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Ministry of Finance and Bangladesh Bank sources confirmed to UNB today that during its April 25 to May 2 visit, the IMF team will hold meetings with officials of the ministry’s Finance Division, Financial Institutions Division, Economic Relations Division (ERD), Bangladesh Bank, and National Board of Revenue (NBR).</div><div><br></div><div>IMF Asia and Pacific Division Head Rahul Anand will be leading the team comprising three to four members, finance ministry sources said.</div><div><br></div><div>Md Mesbaul Haque, executive director and Bangladesh Bank spokesperson, said that on behalf of the government the central bank will have several meetings with the IMF team during the visit.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh has received the first tranche of USD 476.2 million of the USD 4.7 billion loan approved by the IMF on January 30.</div><div><br></div><div>The entire amount of the loan will be paid in seven instalments over three and a half years, until 2026. As such, there are six more instalments left.</div><div><br></div><div>A senior official of the ministry said the IMF usually reviews various aspects of compliance before disbursing each tranche. Accordingly, an IMF team will come next September to review the fulfilment of loan conditions before disbursing the second tranche.</div><div><br></div><div>Usually before each budget announcement, an IMF mission comes to Dhaka to discuss budget assistance. Now that the loan programme is on, besides budget assistance, issues of fulfilling the loan conditions will also come up for discussion, said the sources.</div><div><br></div><div>The foreign exchange crisis in Bangladesh eased after the global lender released the first instalment of the USD 4.7 billion loan.</div><div><br></div><div>IMF approved about USD 3.3 billion under the Extended Credit Facility ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), and about USD 1.4 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility for Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh Bank received the first instalment of USD 476 million from the IMF on February 2. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-24 19:06:49', '2023-04-24 19:06:49'),
(6515, 6515, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday morning left Dhaka for Tokyo on&nbsp; the first leg of her two-week official visit to Japan, the USA and the UK.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Hasina is visiting Japan from April 25 to 28, at the invitation of Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio.</div><div><br></div><div>A VVIP chartered flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the prime minister and her entourages departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 7:56am.</div><div><br></div><div>The fight is scheduled to land in Haneda International Airport, Tokyo at 5pm (Japan time).</div><div><br></div><div>Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Takei Shunsuke will welcome her at the airport.</div><div><br></div><div>She will be given static guard of honour in the airport.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the foreign ministry officials, during her visit Bangladesh and Japan are likely to sign eight memorandums of cooperation (MoCs) or agreements including one on defence cooperation without purchase.</div><div><br></div><div>The MoCs or agreements would be signed during a meeting between the two Prime Ministers (Sheikh Hasina and Kishida Fumio) of the friendly countries on April 26.</div><div><br></div><div>Eight MoCs or deals are likely to be signed between the two countries in the sectors of agriculture, metro-rail, industrial up-gradation, ship recycling, customs matters, intellectual property, defense cooperation, ICT and cyber security cooperation etc in presence of the two leaders after the formal bilateral meeting between the heads of government of the two countries at the Prime Minister\'s Office of Japan.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina will have a courtesy call on Emperor of Japan Naruhito on April 26 and a guard of honour will be given to the Bangladesh Prime Minister there.</div><div><br></div><div>The formalities of the meeting will conclude with a dinner hosted at the residence of the Prime Minister of Japan in honor of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</div><div><br></div><div>This will be the sixth visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan. Earlier, the PM visited Japan in 1997, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2019.</div><div><br></div><div>During the visit, the PM is scheduled to attend an investment summit and a community reception along with a few bilateral meetings.</div><div><br></div><div>She will also hand over the “Friends of Liberation War Honour” to a few Japanese nationals, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-25 12:31:48', '2023-04-25 12:31:48');
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(6516, 6516, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>South Korea seeks a “free, peaceful and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region, and wants to expand its “substantial cooperation” with Bangladesh – considering it as one of the most important countries in the South Asia region.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Bangladesh is one of the most important countries in the South Asia region. The South Asian nations are key partners in pushing forward our Indo-Pacific Strategy. Bangladesh and our country share common values including democracy, freedom and human rights,” Deputy Foreign Minister of South Korea, Choi Youngsam, told UNB today on the sidelines of World Journalists Conference 2023 at Hotel President in Seoul.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the partnership and cooperation with Bangladesh have been growing in many areas, including in economy, and that they believe that the two countries can “further strengthen” the bilateral relations.</div><div><br></div><div>Responding to a question, the South Korean deputy foreign minister said mutual high-level visits may take place in the coming days as the two countries seek to expand the relationship.</div><div><br></div><div>South Korea is Bangladesh’s 5th largest FDI provider with USD 1.3 billion invested here. Almost 200 South Korean companies have already invested in various sectors in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Recently, South Korea’s investments have been diversified in infrastructure, energy, and consumer goods such as electronics – thereby contributing to further expansion of collaboration.</div><div><br></div><div>The South Korea International Trade Association (SKITA) estimates that the two nations’ bilateral trade volume reached USD 3.035 billion in 2022 – a 38.71 percent increase from USD 2.188 billion the year before.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, speaking at the inaugural session of the World Journalists Conference at the same venue, he said they will enhance strategic partnership with India and expand cooperation with other South Asian countries as part of exploring regional opportunities.</div><div><br></div><div>The South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister described its relations with Japan as “future-oriented” while it seeks to have a healthy and mature relationship with China.</div><div><br></div><div>He mentioned that South Korea will host a third “Summit for Democracy”. The United States and the Republic of Korea share deep bonds, rooted in their common democratic values and respect for human rights, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The two countries are committed to further strengthening robust political, economic, security, and people-to-people ties.</div><div><br></div><div>Based on South Korea’s unwavering support for ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, the country will also reinforce substantive and strategic cooperation with the regional body. “We will work closely with ASEAN,” said the deputy foreign minister.</div><div><br></div><div>Polycrisis and Working Together</div><div><br></div><div>The South Korean deputy foreign minister said they are living in a “polycrisis” and mentioned the impacts of Covid-19, climate change, supply chain disruption and Russia-Ukraine war – noting that these are affecting everyday life in an unprecedented manner.</div><div><br></div><div>“We have to resolve these challenges together because we are interconnected,” Youngsam said while addressing journalists from around the world.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In line with its Global Pivotal State Initiative, South Korea seeks to take on a more active role in promoting freedom, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.</div><div><br></div><div>The deputy minister said his country unveiled the details of its Indo-Pacific strategy in December last year, with a focus on promoting freedom, peace and prosperity through the establishment of a rules-based order and cooperation on human rights.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is a concrete policy roadmap,” he said, adding that it is not only seeking South Korea’s national interest but also peace and prosperity in the whole Indo-Pacific region.</div><div><br></div><div>He said it will be implemented on the principles of cooperation – inclusiveness, trust and reciprocity.</div><div><br></div><div>He also highlighted regional scopes in the North Pacific, Oceania, African coast, Europe and Latin America.</div><div><br></div><div>The core lines of the efforts are: building regional order based on norms and rules; cooperate to promote rule of law and human rights, strengthen non-proliferation and counter-terrorism efforts across the region; expand comprehensive security cooperation; build economic security networks, regional cooperation on climate change and energy security; engage in “contributive diplomacy” through tailored development cooperation partnerships; and to promote mutual understanding and exchanges.</div><div><br></div><div>Youngsam said South Korea will promote international peace and security, eying a non-permanent seat in the Security Council (2024-25).</div><div><br></div><div>President of Journalists Association of Korea Kim Dong Hoon and Professor Emeritus at Chungnam National University Sung Kyum Cho, among others, spoke at the event. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-25 13:01:50', '2023-04-25 13:01:50'),
(6518, 6518, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Axar Patel starred with bat and bowl and impact sub Mukesh Kumar held his nerve as Delhi Capitals edged Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven runs in a low-scoring Indian Premier League battle on Monday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The left-handed Axar (34) lifted Delhi from a precarious 62-5 to 144-9 in a gritty partnership of 69 with Manish Pandey (34) on Hyderabad\'s home turf.</div><div><br></div><div>Axar then returned figures of 2-21 with his left-arm spin.</div><div>Fast bowler Mukesh, who came in under the new impact player rule, defended 12 off the final over to keep Hyderabad down to 137-6.</div><div><br></div><div>It was Delhi\'s second successive victory after starting the season with five losses. The David Warner-led team stayed bottom of the 10-team heap.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I love it here. It\'s an amazing crowd. I haven\'t been here for a long time,\" Warner, after playing at his former franchise, which he led to victory in 2016, said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Australian opener said, \"To win tonight, hopefully we can make it three in a row. We\'ve got another against Sunrisers next.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Hyderabad, led by Aiden Markram, are one place above Delhi on ninth with four points and five losses.</div><div><br></div><div>Delhi\'s South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje dented the Hyderabad chase as he bowled Harry Brook bowled for seven. Axar soon joined in to cut short Mayank Agarwal\'s knock on 49.</div><div>Pace spearhead Ishant Sharma and left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav picked up a wicket each to rattle the opposition middle-order before Heinrich Klaasen and Washington Sundar attempted to revive the chase.</div><div><br></div><div>Klaasen fell to Nortje after a 19-ball 31 and Sundar, a left-hand batsman, made an unbeaten 24 but Mukesh and Delhi had the last laugh.</div><div><br></div><div>Delhi elected to bat first but lost half their side, including Warner who hit 21, in eight overs before Axar and Pandey turned the innings around.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I ordered for coffee and I left the glass like that, when three wickets fell in one over,\" man of the match Axar said with a smile. \"Pandey and I discussed we need to take it as deep as possible.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Sundar returned figures of 3-28 with his mystery spin as he struck three times in one over including the wicket of Warner.</div><div><br></div><div>Seam bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar took two wickets and the innings witnessed three run outs. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-25 13:21:28', '2023-04-25 13:21:28'),
(6519, 6519, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>With the return of calm seas, migrant smugglers launched dozens of boats from Tunisia during the weekend and some 1,200 people ended up on a tiny Italian island while several were reported missing at sea, the Italian Coast Guard said Monday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Coast guard officials said in a statement that they responded to 35 boats that had left Tunisia, three of which came to grief.</div><div><br></div><div>In one shipwreck some 20 nautical miles off Lampedusa island coast guard and border police vessels said three migrants were missing. In a second, in Malta’s search-and-rescue area, survivors said some 20 people were missing, while in the third, also in Malta’s rescue area, Italian rescuers recovered a man’s body, the Coast Guard said.</div><div><br></div><div>Some 20 more boats crowded with migrants were in the sea Monday night, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>The coast guard said air and naval assets of the Coast Guard, the Border Police, the European border protection agency Frontex as well as a humanitarian organization were involved in the assistance.</div><div><br></div><div>Dozens of the migrants sat Monday morning near Lampedusa’s port, awaiting transfer to the island’s overcrowded shelter or eventually to Sicily or the Italian mainland.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier Monday, a Tunisian fishing boat off Lampedusa aided a distressed migrant boat carrying 34 people and a body, and the survivors were later transferred to an Italian coast guard vessel, Italian news reports said.</div><div><br></div><div>On Sunday, with seas calm after four days of rough conditions, a total of 640 migrants reached Lampedusa, and hundreds more on Monday.</div><div><br></div><div>Last week, Italian authorities used commercial ferries and military vessels to transfer migrants from Lampedusa to Sicily or the mainland — bringing Lampedusa’s migrant center below its approximately 400-person capacity. But with the slew of boats arriving from Sunday, the number of migrants there quickly swelled, and authorities were scrambling anew to make arrangement for more transfers off the island.</div><div><br></div><div>Separately, the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders said its rescue vessel Geo Barents came to the aid of 75 migrants — including 40 minors — in a wooden boat foundering in international waters off Libya on Monday.</div><div><br></div><div>The rescue vessel must now wait for Italian authorities to assign it a port to disembark the migrants. The right-wing government has been sending charity vessels to ports in northern Italy, far from the rescue area, to try to limit their time at sea. Government officials contend that the vessels encourage illegal migration by providing safety to the smugglers’ passengers.</div><div><br></div><div>Although far-right Premier Giorgia Meloni has led a crackdown both on smugglers and on the charity vessels, migrants keep risking dangerous voyages in the Central Mediterranean — departing from Tunisia, Libya and Turkey — in hopes of finding work or relatives in Europe.</div><div><br></div><div>According to Italian Interior Ministry figures, by Monday morning more than 36,600 migrants had arrived in Italy since the start of the year. That’s more than four times the number for the same period in each of the two previous years.</div><div><br></div><div>Italy rejects most of their asylum bids because they are fleeing poverty, not war or persecution. But, since barely a handful of countries have repatriation accords with Italy, the migrants who lose asylum bids often stay on for years in a legal limbo, or try to make their way to northern European countries.</div><div><br></div><div>Italy’s pleas to fellow European Union nations to take on some of the migrants have largely gone unheeded for years now. - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-25 13:36:51', '2023-04-25 13:36:51'),
(6520, 6520, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Chargé d\'affaires at Bangladesh Mission in Sudan, Tareq Ahmed, has said the safety and security situation in the area where the Bangladesh Embassy and Bangladesh House are located, is still volatile.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Our staff were unable to get access to the embassy premises as of today,\" he told UNB early today.</div><div><br></div><div>The chief of Bangladesh mission said they are organising evacuation of expatriate Bangladeshis in Sudan.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Nothing is final though, we are expecting it to be carried out by this month or early next month. We are compiling information of our expatriates interested to be evacuated now,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Responding to a question, the envoy said all the western countries have relocated their embassy officials, but embassies of India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and a few others, including Bangladesh, are still operational.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We, all the officials and their families, are outside capital at a safe place,\" he said, adding that the situation remains unpredictable in Khartoum, although they are receiving some information of some improvement in a few areas.&nbsp; According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 11:51:55', '2023-04-26 11:51:55'),
(6521, 6521, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Two former leaders of Awami League’s (AL’s) associate bodies--Juba League (JL) and Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) have been shot to death in an attack allegedly by their rivals over establishing supremacy in Sadar upazila of Laxmipur on Tuesday night.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The deceased were identified as Abdullah Al Noman, 35, and Rakib Imam, 28, were former general secretary and organising secretary of the district units JL and BCL respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>Police said there had long been a dispute between AL leader Abul Kashem Jehadhi, former chairman of Bashikpur union parishad (UP) and AL leader Mahfuzur Rahman, also incumbent chairman of the UP and elder brother of murdered JL leader Noman in the area.</div><div><br></div><div>A group of miscreants opened fire on the duo in the Poddar Bazar area under the UP around 10pm, leaving them critically injured, they said.</div><div><br></div><div>They were rushed to the Laxmipur Sadar Hospital where physicians declared Noman dead on arrival, said Dr Anowar Hossain, residential medical officer of the hospital.</div><div><br></div><div>Rakib was referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) after giving first aid.</div><div><br></div><div>The former BCL leader succumbed to his injuries on the way to DMCH, he said, adding that the duo sustained bullet injuries in their heads and mouths.</div><div><br></div><div>Noman’s brother Mahfuzur alleged that their opponent Jehadhi committed the killing to establish their supremacy in the area while UNB could not verify the allegations immediately.</div><div><br></div><div>Mahfuzzaman Ashraf, superintendent of police of the district, said two people sustained bullet injuries in an incident and one of them succumbed to his injuries on the spot.</div><div>Legal actions will be taken in this connection after investigation, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Additional numbers of law enforcers were deployed in and around the area to ward off any unexpected incident further, the SP added. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 12:03:46', '2023-04-26 12:03:46'),
(6522, 6522, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Taliban government has killed the alleged mastermind of a devastating suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport during the chaotic withdrawal of US forces in 2021, the White House said Tuesday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The bomber detonated among packed crowds at the airport\'s perimeter as they tried to flee Afghanistan on August 26, 2021. The blast killed some 170 Afghans and 13 US troops who were securing the airport for the traumatic exit.</div><div><br></div><div>It was one of the deadliest bombings in Afghanistan in recent years, and prompted a wave of criticism of President Joe Biden for his decision to pull American forces out of the country nearly 20 years after the US invasion.</div><div><br></div><div>The leader of the Islamic State cell that planned the attack was killed by Taliban authorities, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>\"He was a key ISIS-K official directly involved in plotting operations like Abbey Gate, and now is no longer able to plot or conduct attacks,\" Kirby said, referring to the spot outside the airport where the attacks took place.</div><div><br></div><div>ISIS-K refers to Islamic State Khorasan, the branch of the group operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan.</div><div><br></div><div>\"He was killed in a Taliban operation,\" Kirby added without giving any details of it.</div><div><br></div><div>The pullout, ending on August 30, 2021, saw Taliban fighters sweep aside Western-trained Afghan forces in just weeks, forcing the last US troops to mount the desperate evacuation from Kabul\'s airport.</div><div><br></div><div>An unprecedented military airlift operation managed to get more than 120,000 people out of the country in a matter of days.</div><div><br></div><div>Biden has long defended his decision to leave Afghanistan, which critics have said helped cause the catastrophic collapse of Afghan forces and paved the way for the Taliban to return to power two decades after their first government was toppled.</div><div><br></div><div>Nothing \"would have changed the trajectory\" of the exit and \"ultimately, President Biden refused to send another generation of Americans to fight a war that should have ended for the United States long ago,\" the White House National Security Council said in a report to Congress earlier this month.</div><div><br></div><div>A recent Washington Post report citing leaked Pentagon documents said the United States believes that since the withdrawal, Afghanistan is becoming a \"staging ground\" for the Islamic State group.</div><div><br></div><div>In his statement, Kirby said Tuesday, \"We have made clear to the Taliban that it is their responsibility to ensure that they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether Al-Qaeda or ISIS-K.\"</div><div><br></div><div>He added: \"We have made good on the President\'s pledge to establish an over-the-horizon capacity to monitor potential terrorist threats, not only from Afghanistan but elsewhere around the world where that threat has metastasized, as we have done in Somalia and Syria.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The Taliban and IS have long engaged in a turf war in Afghanistan, and experts have pointed to the jihadist group as the biggest security challenge for the new Afghan government going forward. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 12:14:14', '2023-04-26 12:14:14'),
(6523, 6523, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Taliban government has killed the alleged mastermind of a devastating suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport during the chaotic withdrawal of US forces in 2021, the White House said Tuesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The bomber detonated among packed crowds at the airport\'s perimeter as they tried to flee Afghanistan on August 26, 2021. The blast killed some 170 Afghans and 13 US troops who were securing the airport for the traumatic exit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was one of the deadliest bombings in Afghanistan in recent years, and prompted a wave of criticism of President Joe Biden for his decision to pull American forces out of the country nearly 20 years after the US invasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The leader of the Islamic State cell that planned the attack was killed by Taliban authorities, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He was a key ISIS-K official directly involved in plotting operations like Abbey Gate, and now is no longer able to plot or conduct attacks,\" Kirby said, referring to the spot outside the airport where the attacks took place.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">ISIS-K refers to Islamic State Khorasan, the branch of the group operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He was killed in a Taliban operation,\" Kirby added without giving any details of it.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The pullout, ending on August 30, 2021, saw Taliban fighters sweep aside Western-trained Afghan forces in just weeks, forcing the last US troops to mount the desperate evacuation from Kabul\'s airport.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An unprecedented military airlift operation managed to get more than 120,000 people out of the country in a matter of days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Biden has long defended his decision to leave Afghanistan, which critics have said helped cause the catastrophic collapse of Afghan forces and paved the way for the Taliban to return to power two decades after their first government was toppled.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nothing \"would have changed the trajectory\" of the exit and \"ultimately, President Biden refused to send another generation of Americans to fight a war that should have ended for the United States long ago,\" the White House National Security Council said in a report to Congress earlier this month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A recent Washington Post report citing leaked Pentagon documents said the United States believes that since the withdrawal, Afghanistan is becoming a \"staging ground\" for the Islamic State group.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In his statement, Kirby said Tuesday, \"We have made clear to the Taliban that it is their responsibility to ensure that they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether Al-Qaeda or ISIS-K.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added: \"We have made good on the President\'s pledge to establish an over-the-horizon capacity to monitor potential terrorist threats, not only from Afghanistan but elsewhere around the world where that threat has metastasized, as we have done in Somalia and Syria.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Taliban and IS have long engaged in a turf war in Afghanistan, and experts have pointed to the jihadist group as the biggest security challenge for the new Afghan government going forward. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 14:17:24', '2023-04-26 14:17:24'),
(6524, 6524, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Litchi farmers of Magura are worried about low yield, as they have been facing a drought-like situation due to the scorching heat and lack of rain.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Litchis grown in 20 villages, including Hazrapur, Mithapur, Hazipur, Raghabdair, Shibrampur, and Mirzapur, are famed for their sweetness.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Traders from different parts of the country purchase litchi from Magura district, supplying it nationwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Litchi trees start blooming by the end of March and the time between flowering and fruit formation is very important as yields are dependent on the care given in this duration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But this year, the litchi pods are dropping off due to the drought-like situation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Raza Hossain, a litchi farmer in Mirzapur village under Sadar upazila, said, “I have 400 litchi trees in my orchard and I kept nurturing them when the trees started blooming. The usual care is being given to ensure the pods are ok.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">High temperature, lack of rain threaten lucrative litchi production in Magura&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also claimed that 40 percent of litchi pods have fallen from the trees and now he is trying to protect the rest by spraying water, as per advice from the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Every year, I sell litchis worth Tk 8 lakh, but this year, I might be able to sell litchis worth Tk 4-5 lakh if weather improves,” said Raza.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Quddus Biswas of Alaipur village in Sadar upazila, said, “I have ten litchi orchards and due to the drought-like conditions, most of the litchi pods are falling from trees. I failed to spray water regularly in my orchards due to lack of water in the adjacent canal.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also feared losing all litchi pods if there was not enough water.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This year, temperatures are going over 41 degree Celsius, which is damaging litchi production.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sufi Md Rafiquzzaman, deputy director of Magura’s Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), said the litchi of Magura is quite popular, and is supplied to other districts after meeting local demand.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This year, a total of 640 hectares of land have been brought under litchi cultivation and different varieties including China, Mozaffar, Bombay and Hazrapuri litchi are being grown in the district.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Litchi growers have earned Tk 10 crore every year, he said. But this year, the farmers are afraid of poor yield due to lack of rain and extreme heat, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have already asked the litchi farmers to spray water on the trees and if the root of the trees remain wet then there is a possibility of high yield,” said Rafiquzzaman. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 14:36:40', '2023-04-26 14:36:40'),
(6525, 6525, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Mohammed Sahabuddin today paid rich tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing a wreath at the mazar (mausoleum) of the late leader at Tungipara in Gopalganj.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After placing the wreath, the President stood in solemn silence for some time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A smartly turned out contingent drawn from the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force presented the state salute while the bugles played the last post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sahabuddin took oath as the 22nd President of Bangladesh on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Starting from Bangabhaban at 10:13 am, the President\'s motorcade reached Tungipara via Padma Bridge at 12:45 pm.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President\'s wife Dr. Rebecca Sultana and son Mohammed Arshad Adnan Roni, other family members and close relatives, secretaries concerned to the President and senior civil and military officials accompanied the President during the visit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Valiant Freedom Fighter and veteran politician President Sahabuddin offered fateha and munajat seeking eternal peace of the departed souls of Bangabandhu as well as other martyrs of the August 15 carnage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The President signed the visitors\' book kept on the mazar premises.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Subsequently, another wreath was placed at the mazar on behalf of President\'s family members, led by Dr Rebecca Sultana.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On his arrival here, the President was welcomed by political leaders, including Colonel (Retd) Faruk Khan, MP, Sheikh Salahuddin Jewel, MP, Sheikh Helal Uddin, MP, and Sheikh Sarhan Naser Tanmoy, MP, and senior officials of the local administration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, on his way to Tungipara in the morning, the President made a stopover for a few minutes at the middle of the Padma Bridge, where he joined a photo session with his family members. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 14:43:01', '2023-04-26 14:43:01'),
(6526, 6526, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Mild heat wave is sweeping over many places of the country and it may continue and spread, said a weather forecast issued by the Bangladesh Metrology Department (BMD) here today.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Mild heat wave is sweeping over the districts of Chattogram, Rangamati, Feni, Cox\'s Bazar, Bandarban and Patuakhali and it may continue and spread,\" said the bulletin valid for the next 24 hours commencing 9am today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country, it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Day and night temperature may rise by (1-2)oC over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Country\'s maximum temperature on Tuesday was recorded 37.7 degrees Celsius at Bandarban while today\'s minimum temperature 19.2 degrees Celsius was recorded at Tetulia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, no rainfall recorded across the country during the last 24 hours.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The sun sets at 6.25pm today and rises at 5.27 am tomorrow in the capital.&nbsp; BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 14:51:19', '2023-04-26 14:51:19'),
(6527, 6527, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met Emperor of Japan Naruhito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier attended an audience with the emperor at the Imperial Palace at 3:00pm local time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;Hasina, now on a four-day official visit to Japan, will also hold a summit meeting with her Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio at the latter’s office in Tokyo on Wednesday evening.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the summit meeting, both the prime ministers will sign a joint statement. They will also witness the exchange of agreements and memorandums of cooperation (MoCs) for bilateral cooperation in different sectors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bangladesh premier also held meetings separately with Foreign Minister of Japan Yoshimasa Hayashi and President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Dr Tanaka Akihiko, Chairman of Japan-Bangladesh Committee for Commercial &amp; Economic Cooperation (JBCCEC) Fumiya Kokubu, Chairman and CEO of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Ishiguro Norihiko and President of Japan-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship League (JBPFL) Taro Aso on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM Hasina arrived here in Tokyo on Tuesday on a four-day official visit to Japan at the invitation of her Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 16:34:20', '2023-04-26 16:34:20'),
(6528, 6528, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Dhaka court on Wednesday granted bail to film producer Rahmat Ullah in a case filed by Dhallywood star Shakib Khan over murder attempt and extortion.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The court granted the bail when Rahmat Ullah surrendered before the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Arafatul Rakib and sought bail.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, the court ordered the transfer of the case as it was ready for trial.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shakib Khan did not appear before the court citing illness.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, on March 23, Shakib Khan filed a case against film producer Rahmat Ullah over murder attempt and extortion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On March 20, Shakib went to the Detective Branch (DB) office of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and filed a written complaint against Rahmat Ullah who brought a rape allegation against him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On March 15, Rahmat Ullah filed a written complaint against the actor in the Bangladesh Film Artists Association, accusing him of sexual misconduct and raping an Australian woman, a co-producer of the film \"Operation Agneepath\". UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd24/kh</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 17:32:04', '2023-04-26 17:32:04'),
(6529, 6529, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Chief of Bangladesh Army General SM Shafiudin Ahmed left Dhaka on Wednesday on a three-day official visit to India, according to an Inter Services Public Relation Directorate (ISPR) press release.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the visit Gen. Shafiuddin will take the parade salute after attending the passing out parade of commissioned officers at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He will also meet the chiefs of army, navy, air force, chief of defense staff, defense secretary, foreign secretary and other high officials concerned, said the press release.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gen Shafiuddin will also discuss the development of the bilateral relations and mutual cooperation between the two countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He will also visit the important establishments of the Indian army.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Army chief is expected to return home on April 30. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 20:38:16', '2023-04-26 20:38:16'),
(6530, 6530, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ace allrounder Shakib Al Hasan made him unavailable for the three-day practice camp in Sylhet for the upcoming Ireland series as he flew to USA to spend time with his family by the permission of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He however will join Bangladesh team in London directly from the USA, an official of the BCB said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shakib opted out IPL, citing family reasons but played for Mohammedan Sporting Club in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL). Then he spent the Eid-uf-Fitr at his village home in Magura.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was seen spending time with his family and friends during the Eid-ul-Fitr with jovial mood. However he left the country for USA silently.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apart from Shakib, all of the team members will join the practice camp, according to the team sources.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The members of the Bangladesh team will leave Dhaka on evening flight today (Wednesday) for Sylhet. They will come back Dhaka on April 29 immediate after completing their three-day practice session. They however will board the UK flight on May 1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The three ODIs, part of the ICC ODI Super League, are slated to be held on May 9, 12 and 14.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The series is particularly important for the Irish. If they can whitewash Bangladesh in the three-match series, which is the part of ICC ODI Super League, they will qualify to the ODI World Cup in India later this year directly at the expense of South Africa. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 20:41:34', '2023-04-26 20:41:34'),
(6531, 6531, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh and Japan are currently enjoying a very friendly relationship and the friendship is getting deeper day by day, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She made the remarks to Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi who called on her at the bilateral meeting room of Akasaka Palace Guest House in Tokyo.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM’s deputy press secretary KM Shakhwat Moon briefed reporters after the meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Hasina and the Japanese foreign minister praised the friendly relationship existing between Bangladesh and Japan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They observed that the friendship is gradually increasing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh-Japan relations emanate from the unwavering support of Japanese people for the cause of the independence of Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She mentioned that Japan recognised Bangladesh soon after its independence on February 10, 1972.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Last year (2022), we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationship between our two countries,” she was quoted as saying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bangladesh premier thanked the government and the people of Japan for their part in the elaborate celebrations, which further strengthened bilateral ties and people-to-people bonds.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Expressing happiness to undertake her sixth visit to Japan as the prime minister of Bangladesh, she recalled her visit to Japan in 1997, when the two countries observed the 25th anniversary of the diplomatic relations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She recalled the official visit of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Japan on 18-24 October 1973, which laid the rock-solid foundation for today\'s exemplary Bangladesh-Japan relations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Bangabandhu was an ardent admirer of Japan\'s development model and was inspired to build his own war-ravaged country with Japan\'s experience,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said Japan is the largest bilateral development partner of Bangladesh. “Japan\'s contribution is evident in major development initiatives being undertaken in Bangladesh,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She thanked Japan for sustained and generous support over the years to Bangladesh\'s socio-economic advancement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;She said Bangladesh counts on Japan\'s continued support and cooperation to turn Bangladesh into a \"Smart Bangladesh\" by 2041 as per the Vision-2041.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bangladesh PM sought Japan’s support in its bid to become a vice-president of the Asian Development Bank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also sought Japan\'s support, as a Council member country of the IMO, for Bangladesh\'s candidature for IMO Secretary General Post as its election would be held on 17-18 July 2023 in London.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Japanese FM Yoshimasa highly appreciated the ongoing development of Bangladesh in every sector including agriculture, education, ICT and health under the leadership of PM Hasina. “You are advancing your country,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said that Japan was always beside Bangladesh for its development and will remain in the future.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque, Prime Minister\'s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, and State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak were present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Dr Tanaka Akihiko, Chairman of Japan-Bangladesh Committee for Commercial &amp; Economic Cooperation (JBCCEC) Fumiya Kokubu, Chairman and CEO of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Ishiguro Norihiko and President of Japan-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship League (JBPFL) Taro Aso separately met Sheikh Hasina at her palace of residence --Akasaka Palace—here on Wednesday. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 20:46:26', '2023-04-26 20:46:26'),
(6532, 6532, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) on Wednesday strongly protested and condemned the case filed against UNB Special Correspondent Mohd Jahangir Alam.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement on Wednesday, DRU president Mursalin Nomani and acting general secretary Mainul Ahsan also demanded immediate withdrawal of the case against the UNB journalist.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The journalist community has been saying since the beginning that the Digital Security Act is a threat to free and independent media. Journalists are being subjected to abuse of this law,” the statement reads.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The DRU leaders demand immediate repeal of the DSA.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On April 12 last, Hatirjheel Police Station Sub-Inspector Md Al-Amin filed the case under the Digital Security Act against 21 people, including Jahangir.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UNB journalist was made accused in the case as he was a member of the social media group where anti-government activities were allegedly discussed.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jahangir, however, said he is not aware of such a group and also does not know who made him its member.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jahangir is the Chief Crime Correspondent of news agency UNB and former vice president of Crime Reporters\' Association of Bangladesh (CRAB).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He is also the General Secretary of the Shipping and Communications Reporters Forum (SCRF) and permanent member of Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, the High Court granted anticipatory bail to Jahangir in the DSA case filed with Hatirjheel Police Station.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Mohammad Ali passed the order on Wednesday after hearing the bail petition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal along with advocate Farhad Hossain appeared for Jahangir in the court. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 20:51:28', '2023-04-26 20:51:28');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6533, 6533, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">It was an impressive performance as Bangladesh U-17 women\'s football team thrashed Turkmenistan by 6-0 goals in their opening group D match of AFC U-17 Women\'s Asian Cup qualifiers held today (Wednesday) at Jahan Besar Stadium, Kallang in Singapore.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the proceeding, forward Thunuye Marma scored a brace while midfielder Puja Das, skipper Ruma Akter, forward Sourovi Akter Prity and substitute forward Srimoti Trishna scored one each to secure commanding victory for Bangladesh after leading the first half by 3-0 goals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bangladesh U-17 eves, who went to participate in the tournament in the foreign soil for the first time, launched attack early and got reap when Puja scored the first goal in the 3rd minute. Thunuye Marma doubled the lead scoring the second goal for Bangladesh in the 5th minute while Ruma Akter further widened the team\'s margin scoring the third goal in the 39th minute of the match.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Back with a healthy 3-0 lead after the first half, Bangladesh continued onslaught and also maintained their domination in the second half.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thunuye Marma scored her second and fourth goal for Bangladesh in the 65rd minute.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sourovi Akter Prity joined the party scoring the fifth goal for Bangladesh in the 60th minute while Srimoti Trishna completed the tally scoring the sixth goal for Bangladesh in the 82nd minute, both from the spot kick.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh completely dominated the entire proceeding and notched their deserving victory on the day while Turkmenistan were totally off-colored.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh, which pitted in Group D of AFC U-17 Qualifiers along with Turkmenistan and Singapore, will play their ultimate group match against host Singapore on Sunday (Apr 30).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Only one among the three teams of this group will move to the next round. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 22:18:37', '2023-04-26 22:18:37'),
(6534, 6534, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The salt production in the country has reached the highest level in the last 62 years.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) confirmed the information in a press release on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the BSCIC, salt production stood at 18.39 lakh tonnes in the current fiscal year, which is the highest in the last 62 years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the current salt season, the total amount of salt was cultivated in 66424 acres of land, last year it was 63291 acres. Compared to last year, this year salt farming land has increased by 3133 acres.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the current salt season, the number of salt farmers is 39467, which was 37231 last year. Compared to last year, the number of salt farmers has increased by 2236. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-26 22:21:34', '2023-04-26 22:21:34'),
(6535, 6535, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Mohammed Shahabuddin today paid glowing tributes to Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib by placing wreaths at her grave at the Banani Graveyard in the capital.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Head of State stood in solemn silence for some time. Subsequently, President\'s wife Dr Rebecca Sultana joined the President.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They also spread flower petals on the graves of Bangamata and other August 15 martyrs who were the victims of the brutal assassination on the fateful night.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, they offered Fateha and prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls of the martyrs of August 15.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Begum Fazilatunnesa, wife of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and mother of incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, embraced martyrdom along with Bangabandhu and other family members in a brutal predawn attack by some disgruntled army personnel on August 15 in 1975.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the Banani graveyard, Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, her three sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal, and Sheikh Russel and other martyrs of August 15, 1975 were laid to eternal rest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mohammed Shahabuddin took oath as the 22nd President of Bangladesh on Monday last. It is the first time, he paid the rich tributes to the martyrs at Banani graveyard this noon. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 15:06:45', '2023-04-27 15:06:45'),
(6536, 6536, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today visited Miraikan, The Japanese National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, at Amoi, Koto-ku, in Tokyo.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The Prime Minister has taken around various sections of the Miraikan, The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation,\" PM\'s Speechwriter M Nazrul Islam told BSS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At her arrival in the museum, Sheikh Hasina was warmly received by the authorities concerned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister was apprised of how humankind can survive in a sustainable way in environment friendly atmosphere, Nazul Islam said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She was also briefed on how the carbon dioxide emissions, plastic and other human actions risking the lives of mankind and other animals in planet and the way to survive it, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister was also witnessed an exhibition of the spaceship.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman\'s youngest daughter Sheikh Rehana accompanied her elder sister Sheikh Hasina during the visit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">State Minister for Foreign Md Shahriar Alam and State Minister of Information and Communication Technology Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan Shahabuddin Ahmed and Director General of Bangladesh National Museum Md Kamruzzaman and PMO Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin were present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Visitors can experience the technological progress of today, from simple day-to-day questions, to the latest technologies, the global environment, space exploration and life science.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition to exhibitions that provide people with a chance to enjoy hands-on contact with science and technology, Miraikan\'s colorful line-up of offerings includes experienced based classes and talks. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 15:16:57', '2023-04-27 15:16:57'),
(6537, 6537, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today paid deep homage to the Japanese who raised voice during the great War of Liberation of Bangladesh and hoped the new generation would carry forward the \'lasting friendship\' and \'enviable partnership\' between the two country in the years to come .</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I am confident that the people of Japan will always be on our side besides the government as they did in our need in the past. Our lasting friendship and enviable partnership over the past fifty years will be carried forward by our new generation in the years to come,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She was addressing a ceremony to confer \"Friends of Liberation War Honour\" to four Japanese nationals at Akasaka Palace Guest House, Tokyo. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I thank all of you for joining us on this humble occasion where we not only honour our friends but also celebrate the bonds of amity with Japan,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister welcomed all in that august occasion to honour the great souls who had raised voice and put efforts for the cause of humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Among them were Japanese citizens who are with us today. This is an auspicious occasion for Bangladesh and its people,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said the Japanese people stood beside the suffering humanity of Bangladesh, adding that Bangladesh had a modest list of eight honourees whom the country has honoured with \'Friends of Liberation War Honour\' on 27 March 2012 and 1 October 2013. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This evening we are in Tokyo to honour four more great friends of Bangladesh who stood by us, organized the moral and material support and ensured assistance. They rose to protest atrocities and sent humanitarian reliefs, medical facilities to our helpless people,\" she said. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mentioning that it was a period of sorrow which cannot be expressed in mere words, she said Bangladesh was ravaged by the occupying forces. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"At that critical moment, our Japanese friends understood our plight and went forward for the cause of humanity,\" she added. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"They (Japanese) faced great challenges, but did not fall back. Their act of selflessness rekindled our spirit in the face of threats. Most unforgettable was the charitable gesture of Japanese school children who saved and donated their Tiffin money to help our people,\" she recalled.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Bangladesh recalls with deep gratitude the support of the people of Japan which reconfirmed that our cause was right and could not be trampled,\" she said, adding, \"You heard our yearning for justice, honour, dignity and human rights.\" </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Your voice added strength to our voice and was magnified to the global community. You rallied with our cause and together raised a human citadel against a ruthless force. In the land of the rising sun, we see the image of a nation with dignity and humanity,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina said for her it was an honor to carry on her father\'s legacy and visit Japan in 1997, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2019 to further strengthen the relations. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I am happy today that during my tenure, our time-tested friendship has evolved in depth and dimension from a \"Comprehensive Partnership\" to a \"Strategic Partnership,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said that Bangladesh and Japan share the same noble ideas and principles of equality, democracy and democratic practice, inclusive development, social justice and rule of law. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are following the vision of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who declared the core of our foreign policy \"Friendship to all, malice towards none\" which is also practiced in Japan,\" she added. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said they acknowledge the sustained economic cooperation and support of Japan in their socio-economic pursuit. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have achieved the status to graduate from LDC to a developing country,\" she added. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Japan are based on mutual trust, respect, friendship and cooperation. The historic visit of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to Japan in October 1973, laid the foundation of a steadfast and lasting friendship. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said they are paying deep homage to the greatest Bangalee of all times, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who led Bangladesh\'s War of Liberation and three million martyrs of the Liberation War, 200 thousand women who endured inhuman torture, the martyrs of 15 August, four national leaders, all the valiant freedom fighters and all the foreign friends of Bangladesh who contributed to the cause of our liberation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have dedicated ourselves to Bangabandhu\'s dream of a true Sonar Bangla (Golden Bengal) and to turn Bangladesh into a land of opportunity. We are confident that Japan will be on our side as it had been in the past,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Prime Minister\'s younger sister Sheikh Rehana was present on dais while Lt Col (Retd) Quazi Sazzad Ali moderated the function.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Kalam recited the citation in honour of the four Japanese. They are President Emeritus of Japan Red Cross Society Tadateru Konoe, Prof Gallop Pema, political leader Hideo Takano (posthumous) and photo journalist Taizo Ichinose (posthumous).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prof Gyalpo expressed his feelings in the function on behalf of the honour recipients.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister said she feels very happy as she, along with her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, has been able to honour the Japanese friends for their contribution during the Liberation War. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They helped Bangladesh in its need during the Liberation War in 1971, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is the great thing that we never forget our friends,\" she added. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 16:17:32', '2023-04-27 22:54:12'),
(6538, 6538, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A weather bulletin issued by the Bangladesh Meteorology Department (BMD) predicted rain or thundershowers at six divisions with hails at isolated places of the country in the next 24 hours commencing 9am today.</b><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 to occur at one or two places over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions with hails at isolated places,\" said the bulletin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mild heat wave is sweeping over Dhaka, Khulna, Chattogram divisions and the districts of Rajshahi, Pabna, Patuakhali and Bhola and it may continue. However, weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country, it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged and night temperature may rise slightly over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Country\'s maximum temperature on Wednesday was recorded 38.1degrees Celsius at Cox\'s Bazar while today\'s minimum temperature 18.8 degrees Celsius was recorded at Tetulia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The highest rainfall was recorded 17 mm at Ishurdi for last 24 hours till 6am today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The sun sets at 6.25pm today and rises at 5.27 am tomorrow in the capital. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 16:47:00', '2023-04-27 16:47:00'),
(6539, 6539, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader said on Thursday&nbsp; fight against communal forces will continue aiming to build Smart Bangladesh.&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our fight against communal evil forces is going on. This fight will continue to build Smart Bangladesh,” he told the reporters after paying homage, on behalf of the AL, to the then Chief Minister of undivided Bengal Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq on the occasion of his 61st death anniversary.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, said communal evil forces are still putting their clutches on the Bangladesh’s politics and “today we are non-communal and humanist spirit united against the communal forces”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our goal is to build Smart Bangladesh by fighting those (communal forces) under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About the remarks of BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir over the role of new President in resolving ongoing political crisis, the AL general secretary said President Mohammed Shahabuddin is a Bangalee by heart and he believes in the spirit of democracy and patriotism.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“He (President) is a follower of Bangabandhu\'s ideology. I want to say it about him that he would prove the rest by his works,” he said.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About Sher-e-Bangla, Quader said Fazlul Huq was a true Bangalee and the chief minister of the undivided Bengal.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sher-e-Bangla presented the historic Lahore Resolution in 1940, while he had given relief to the debt-ridden peasant society of Bengal by forming the Debt Arbitration Board, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“When we recall Sher-e-Bangla, we remember his contribution…we remember Sher-e-Bangla, as a non-communal nationalist and humanitarian leader, with respect.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;He worked in a humanistic non-communal spirit,” the AL general secretary said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">AL presidium member Dr Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin, joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, organising secretaries Ahmed Hossain and Advocate Afzal Hossain, science and technology affairs secretary Engineer Abdus Sabur, women affairs secretary Jahanara Begum, culture affairs secretary Ashim Kumar Ukil, deputy office secretary Sayem Khan and executive member Shahabuddin Faraji were, among others, present on the occasion. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 18:06:53', '2023-04-27 18:06:53'),
(6540, 6540, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Former education and planning minister Dr A Majeed Khan died of old age complications while undergoing treatment at a city hospital on Wednesday.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was 94, said a press release here today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Khan was serving as the president of the Executive Board of Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP) until his demise.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He dedicated his life to the cause of social development, particularly to expand education among the mass people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Born on July 01, 1929 in Faridpur, Dr Khan was educated in Kolkata, London and Minnesota in the USA.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Throughout his life, he held several important positions at home and abroad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Former education minister and planning minister Dr Khan earlier served as Ambassador of Bangladesh to France, Spain and Morocco. He was a Senior Director to UNDP and a member of the Executive Board and Permanent Representative to the UNESCO.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Khan founded the Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) and was honored as the president emeritus and founder president of IUB. He also established the first-ever IT-based university called University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Khan established the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development in Cumilla. He was the founder Chairperson of the Committee of Action for Research, Extension and Services (CARES).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His Namaz-e-Janaza will be held at the Baridhara Jame Mosque and Islamic Center after the Jumma Prayers tomorrow. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 18:14:09', '2023-04-27 18:14:09'),
(6541, 6541, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Embassy of the Republic of Korea has reminded all visa applicants in Bangladesh that the visa application process (except visa fees) does not require any financial transactions.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are committed to providing a safe and secure visa application process for all applicants,\" said the Embassy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Embassy of South Korea or any Korean person will never ask for money to be wired or transferred for any visa-related purposes, said the Embassy in a message on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Please be cautious of any individuals or entities that claim to be affiliated with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and request financial transactions in exchange for visa services or assistance,\" the message reads.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">These are likely to be fraudulent schemes designed to take advantage of unsuspecting applicants, according to the message shared by the Embassy on its verified Facebook page.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If you encounter any suspicious activity or individuals, please report it to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea immediately,\" it said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 18:57:42', '2023-04-27 18:57:42'),
(6542, 6542, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Dhaka court has dismissed a case filed under the ‘Digital Security Act’ against former DUCSU vice president (VP) Nurul Haque Nur.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Thursday (April 27), Dhaka Cyber Tribunal judge AM Zulfiqar Hayat was scheduled to take cognizance of the chargesheet in a case filed against VP Nur for making derogatory comments about Awami League activists and supporters on Facebook Live.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the court rejected the chargesheet against Nur after acquitting him of all charges and ordered the case to be dismissed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The chargesheet was submitted on February 28 to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate\'s Court in Dhaka by Inspector Mohammad Saiful Islam of the Cyber and Special Crime Division of DB police, the investigating officer of the case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the chargesheet, Nur was declared a fugitive and the investigating officer sought an arrest warrant against him. Later, the case was transferred to Dhaka Cyber Tribunal for trial.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On April 19, 2021, musician Eliyas Hossain filed the case under the ‘Digital Security Act’ with Paltan Police Station as a plaintiff. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 19:10:43', '2023-04-27 19:10:43'),
(6543, 6543, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Tadao Ando Architect and Associates established by world renowned architect Tadao Ando will build a children\'s library in Dhaka.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This was disclosed when a delegation led by Tadao called on visiting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her place of residence, Akasaka Palace here.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM\'s Speechwriter M Nazrul Islam briefed the reporters after the meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prior to the call on, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Bangladesh National Museum (BNM) and the Tadao Ando Architect and Associates were exchanged by BNM Director General Md Kamruzzaman and Tadao Ando in presence of the prime minister.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The MoU was signed earlier to build a children\'s library in Bangladesh on Japanese donation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the call on, the PM said they have taken various measures that include building museums across the country to preserve the true history of the Liberation of Bangladesh and the glory of the war heroes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said her government has transformed the house of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman into a museum to preserve his contribution to liberate the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Ando highly praised the socio-economic advancement of Bangladesh under the dynamic leadership of PM Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and PMO Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin were present. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 19:13:36', '2023-04-27 19:13:36'),
(6544, 6544, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The country’s both stock markets’ trading ended with the highest transaction on Thursday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The index points of Dhaka stock exchange rose&nbsp; by 7 points and Chittagong stock by 14 points—the highest in five and a half&nbsp; months.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;As a result, the stock market index rose on the four working days after Eid. Even before Eid, the five-day index traded in an upward trend. All in all, the capital market has risen for the last nine consecutive working days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Thursday, shares of Rahima Food, ITC, Kohinoor Chemical, Heidelberg Cement and Bashundhara Paper Mills have played a major role in the rise, along with the food, insurance and IT sectors. These five companies contributed about 35 percent to the increase in the share index.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to DSE data, over 15.90 crore shares and units were traded in DSE today (Thursday). Over Tk 967.69 crore has been transacted in it while Tk765.33 crore was traded on Wednesday. The transaction has increased by more than Tk 200 crore compared to the previous day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was the highest transaction in the last 5 and a half months. Earlier on November 9, 2022, Tk1018.85 crore was transacted in the DSE.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">On this day, the main index DSE increased by 7.70 points from the previous day to 6274 points. Among the other two indexes, DSE Shariah Index rose by 3.10 points to 1,362 points. However, the DSE-30 index fell by 4.64 points to 2088 points.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 351 shares and units of companies were traded on DSE. Among them, the prices of 79 companies increased, 62 companies decreased and 210 companies\' share and unit prices remained unchanged.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shares of Genex Infosys were at the top of the transaction on DSE on Thursday. After that, shares of Unique Hotel were traded the most. The share of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation was in the third place. Then in the top 10 were shares of Eastern Housing, Bashundhara Paper Mills, Olympic Industries, Gemini Sea Food, Rupali Life Insurance, Apex Footwear and IT Consultants Limited respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The overall index of the other stock market CSE CASPI increased by 14.93 points to 18466 points. Shares and units of 160 companies were traded on CSE. Among them, the prices increased for 44 companies, decreased for 45 companies and remained unchanged for 68 companies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;At the end of the day, over 7.95 crore shares and units were traded in CSE. The previous day the transaction was 9.67 crore. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 20:29:53', '2023-04-27 20:29:53'),
(6545, 6545, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday at the Westin Tokyo of Japan to strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin and JCCI Chairman Ken Kobayashi signed the MoU on behalf of their organisations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The MoU was signed at the inauguration of the summit on Trade &amp; Investment Opportunities between Bangladesh and Japan held at The Westin Tokyo of Japan. Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was present at the program as the chief guest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under the MoU, the parties agreed to cooperate with each other to develop more productive contacts between the businesses of the two countries, exchange knowledge and information related to bilateral trade and economic development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Private industry and investment adviser to the Prime Minister Salman F Rahman, Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, State Minister of ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak, FBCCI Former President Md. Shafiul Islam (Mohiuddin) MP, Vice Presidents M A Momen, Aminul Haque Shamim, Md. Amin Helaly, Salahuddin Alamgir, Md. Habib Ullah Dawn, Directors, Executive Chairman of BIDA Mr. Lokman Hossain Miah, Executive Chairman of BEZA Mr. Shaikh Yusuf Harun, Ambassadors of the two countries, high officials of the governments, business leaders were present at the summit. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 20:33:39', '2023-04-27 20:33:39'),
(6546, 6546, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Five more world leaders, including US President Joseph R. Biden Jr, today congratulated President Mohammed Shahabuddin on his assumption of the exalted office as the President of the Republic of Bangladesh.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Greetings of the global leaders are still coming after Mohammed Shahabuddin took oath as the 22nd President of the country on April 24.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US President Joseph R. Biden Jr, President of Finland Sauli Niinisto, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko and President of Switzerland Alain Berset, in separate messages, congratulated him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The separate messages containing greetings from the five world leaders, including the heads of the state and heads of the government, arrived here today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wishing peace and prosperity for the people of Bangladesh, the leaders stressed further strengthening of the ties with Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr (Joe Biden) congratulated Shahabuddin saying that the longstanding partnership between Bangladesh and the US has helped forge a more peaceful and prosperous future for all of our people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;\"Together, we have expanded economic growth and development between our two countries . . . . And together, we continue to tackle corruption and address global challenges such as climate change and the Rohingya refugee crisis-creating a better world for future generations,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the United States stands ready to continue to deepen the partnership between the two countries and work together to strengthen the democracies, stand up for our shared values, including advancing human rights and defending democratic principles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I look forward to working with Bangladesh to continue building a more free, prosperous, and secure future for all Bangladeshis and Americans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In his congratulatory message, President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinisto, said, \"I look forward to continuing the good and long-standing cooperation between our two countries, both bilaterally and in the multilateral fora.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has extended his heartfelt congratulations on Shahabuddin\'s assuming the highest office of Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He expressed hope that Shahabuddin\'s far-sighted leadership and great experience will lead Bangladesh to high peaks and further prosperity and two countries\' partnership with traditional friendship will be strengthened for the mutual benefit of people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko congratulated Mohammed Shahabuddin and sought Bangladesh\'s support for expanding Belarus-Bangladesh cooperation successfully in all potential areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Belarus is interested in strengthening interaction in the areas of industrial cooperation, mechanical engineering, electric transport, agriculture, pharmacy, science and education, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a congratulatory message, President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset said Switzerland has been and will remain a steadfast partner in Bangladesh\'s efforts to build a better future.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I am confident that the ties between our two countries will continue to deepen and will help us to tackle global challenges together,\" the Swiss President hoped. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 20:48:47', '2023-04-27 20:48:47'),
(6547, 6547, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said that&nbsp; denocracy in Bangladesh is practiced&nbsp; only by her pary Awami League which has a history of holding free elections.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Awami League practices the democratic system and fair democratic practices prevail during Awami League regime,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister, now on a four-day official visit to Japan, said this while speaking at a civic reception at Westin Hotel here.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said all elections under the Awami League regime were held fairly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this connection, Hasina said the President of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid made history by completing his two terms peacefully.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This has been the first time in the history of the country where the outgoing president and the new president could complete all related procedure peacefully. This is a democratic process,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Awami League chief said that former military dictator Ziaur Rahman destroyed the election process during his military regime. The process continued by another military ruler HM Ershad and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She mentioned that there was no political stability in 29 years out of 50 years of Bangladesh after the assassinations of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“There was no democratic process and there was no democratic rule of law in those days” she stated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She slammed those who fail to see democracy and development in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said that opposition BNP\'s history is so tarnished that it has no face to take part in elections.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that in 2008 election BNP-Jamaat alliance got only 30 seats while AL-led grand alliance bagged all other seats.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“For that reason they (BNP-Jamaat) did not take part in 2014 election,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Referring the arson terrorism by BNP-Jamaat nexus in 2013-15, she said that they killed at least 500 people and destroyed many government and private establishments.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Now how could they participate in the election and seek votes from the people?,” she questioned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She urged all to remain alert so the country remain s free from militancy, terrorism and drugs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said there are some people who do not see democracy in the country and they have been favouring those who violated human rights and concealed bodies after killing people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said they could not even file a case after the assassination of her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with her mother and brothers as the killers were indemnified from charges and trial.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The killers had got a gift instead of punishment,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said two killers of Bangabandhu are now staying in the USA and Canada, adding that they have repeatedly requested the governments of the two countries to send back the killers to Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“But, they do not pay heed to the request,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pointing at the USA, she said, “Giving killers (of Bangabandhu) shelters in their own country, they are talking of humanity in Bangladesh.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said her government has done everything possible to stop the culture of impunity in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She called upon the expatriate Bangladeshis to invest in Bangladesh saying that they have taken measures for attracting foreign investments to the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Referring to establishing 100 economic zones across the country, she said those who have interest can invest in the economic zones.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also suggested Bangladeshis also invest in Bangladesh as It will be better to invest with a Japanese partner.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Referring to the suffering of the people across the globe due to global economic recession because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the prime minister said her government has taken every possible measure so that the citizens won\'t have to suffer at least for food.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She asked all to bring every inch of land under cultivation as Bangladesh needs not depend on any country for food.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said her government has been working to bring every person under the housing scheme following the footprints of Bangabandhu to make sure that none will remain homeless and landless across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“No one in the country will remain homeless and landless in the country,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Spelling out her government’s measures for the overall development of Bangladesh, the premier said Bangladesh has completely changed in the last 14 years in terms of socio-economic uplift.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM vowed to transform Bangladesh into a developed, prosperous and Smart Bangladesh by 2041.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen was present on the dais while Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan Shahabuddin Ahmed gave welcome address at the function. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-27 22:53:24', '2023-04-27 22:53:24');
