INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(692, 692, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Sri Lanka\'s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to return to the country from Singapore, a Sri Lankan lawmaker says.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Cabinet spokesperson Bandula Gunawardena told reporters on Tuesday that Mr Rajapaksa was not in hiding but the date of his return was not known.</div><div><br></div><div>The former leader fled Sri Lanka after mass unrest over an economic crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>Many protesters say he mishandled the nation\'s finances, leading to soaring prices of essential goods.</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Rajapaksa left Sri Lanka on 13 July for the Maldives, before making his way to Singapore on 14 July.</div><div><br></div><div>He submitted his resignation shortly after his arrival, which was formally accepted by the Sri Lankan cabinet on 15 July.</div><div><br></div><div>The former president travelled with his wife and two bodyguards. He no longer has legal immunity as a head of state.</div><div><br></div><div>Singapore says the ousted president did not ask for political asylum when he arrived.</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Rajapaksa had been initially granted a 14-day visa for his stay in Singapore. But that has now been extended another 14 days, Singapore local media reported on Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>Speculation has since swirled about his possible plans, with some suggesting he might move to the United Arab Emirates.</div><div><br></div><div>However Bloomberg quoted an unnamed Sri Lankan official as saying Mr Rajapaksa was keen to return to Colombo.</div><div><br></div><div>\"To my knowledge he is expected to come back,\" Mr Gunawardena told reporters on Tuesday.</div><div><br></div><div>Sri Lankans blame Mr Rajapaksa\'s administration for their worst economic crisis in decades.</div><div><br></div><div>They have been struggling with months of daily power cuts and shortages of basics like fuel, food and medicines.</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Rajapaksa has been replaced as president by his close ally Ranil Wickremesinghe - he was voted in by lawmakers last week but is deeply unpopular among Sri Lankans. -BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 14:36:51', '2022-07-27 14:36:51'),
(693, 693, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Australian inflation sped to a 21-year high last quarter and is likely to accelerate even further as food and energy costs explode, stoking speculation interest rates will need to more than double to bring the outbreak under control.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Wednesday\'s gloomy report comes just a day before Treasurer Jim Chalmers is due to update the previous government\'s budget forecasts, and he is already warning that inflation would get worse before it got better.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It will be confronting,\" Chalmers told reporters on the update. \"Inflation revised up substantially, growth revised down, and all of the implications that brings.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the consumer price index (CPI) jumped 1.8% in the June quarter, just short of market forecasts of 1.9%.</div><div><br></div><div>The annual rate picked up to 6.1% from 5.1%, the highest since 2001 and more than twice the pace of wage growth.</div><div><br></div><div>A closely watched measure of core inflation, the trimmed mean, rose 1.5% in the quarter, lifting the annual pace to the highest since the series began in 2003 at 4.9%.</div><div><br></div><div>That took core inflation further away from the Reserve Bank of Australia\'s (RBA) 2-3% target band and cemented expectations it would hike the 1.35% cash rate by 50 basis points at a policy meeting on Aug. 2.</div><div><br></div><div>Markets are leaning against an RBA move of 75 basis points, though the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to hike by a similar amount later on Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>The RBA, like many central banks, was wrongfooted by the rapid pick up in inflation and has already had to raise rates three times, the most aggressive tightening in decades.</div><div><br></div><div>A narrow path</div><div><br></div><div>That is one reason Australia\'s recently elected Labor government has launched an independent review of the RBA to see if its policies and governance needed updating. read more</div><div><br></div><div>RBA Governor Philip Lowe has indicated rates will likely keep rising toward a \"neutral\" level of at least 2.5%, while markets have priced in as much as 3.75%.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The challenge now is calibrating the amount of tightening that will be needed,\" said Paul Bloxham, head of Australian economics at HSBC, noting \"neutral\" was a moving target and tough to hit in practice.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Going too hard from here may deliver a recession - too little, a persistent inflation problem,\" he warned. \"A narrow pathway indeed.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The challenge is all the greater as much of the inflation pulse is global and beyond the RBA\'s control. The CPI measure of petrol prices hit a record peak for the fourth straight quarter, while supply chain problems and rising shipping costs saw goods inflation reach the highest since 1987.</div><div><br></div><div>While petrol has eased in recent weeks, market disruptions are boosting the cost of electricity and gas, while widespread flooding has lifted prices for fresh food.</div><div><br></div><div>As a result, analysts fear CPI inflation could well top 7%, or even 8%, by the end of the year and risk becoming embedded in wage and price expectations.</div><div><br></div><div>Alarmingly, an ANZ survey out this week showed consumers now expected inflation to run at 6% over the next two years.</div><div><br></div><div>Market measures of future inflation are more contained, with bond yields clearly signaling an economic slowdown ahead but, as yet, no recession. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 14:41:37', '2022-07-27 14:41:37'),
(694, 694, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Despite damaging Western sanctions imposed on Moscow in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s economy appears to be weathering the storm better than expected as it benefits from high energy prices, the IMF said Tuesday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The sanctions were meant to sever Russia from the global financial system and choke off funds available to Moscow to finance the war.</div><div><br></div><div>But the International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook upgraded Russia’s GDP estimate for this year by a remarkable 2.5% points, although its economy is still expected to contract by 6%.</div><div><br></div><div>“That’s still a fairly sizable recession in Russia in 2022,” IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told AFP in an interview.</div><div><br></div><div>A key reason that the downturn was not as bad as expected was that “the Russian central bank and the Russian policymakers have been able to stave off a banking panic or financial meltdown when the sanctions were first imposed,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, rising energy prices are “providing an enormous amount of revenues to the Russian economy.”</div><div><br></div><div>After starting the year below $80 a barrel, oil prices spiked to nearly $129 in March before easing back to under $105 on Tuesday for Brent, the key European benchmark, while natural gas prices are rising again and approaching their recent peak.</div><div><br></div><div>While major economies including the United States and China are slowing, the report said, “Russia’s economy is estimated to have contracted during the second quarter by less than previously projected, with crude oil and non-energy exports holding up better than expected.”</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, despite the sanctions, Russia’s “domestic demand is also showing some resilience” due to government support.</div><div><br></div><div>But Gourinchas said “there is no rebound” ahead for Russia. In fact, the IMF is “revising down the Russian growth in 2023,” 1.2 points lower than the April forecast for a contraction of 3.5%.</div><div><br></div><div>The penalties already in place, as well as new ones announced by Europe, mean “the cumulative effect of the sanctions, is also growing over time,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The report indicates Europe is facing the brunt of the fallout from sanctions given its reliance on Russia for energy. The situation could worsen dramatically if Moscow cuts off gas exports, and once the European Union imposes a ban on Russian oil delivered by sea starting next year. -AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Economics Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 15:26:16', '2022-07-27 15:26:16'),
(695, 695, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A severe shortage of dollars has forced some banks in Bangladesh to delay payments to foreign suppliers against import LCs (letters of credit), damaging the reputation of the local banking industry in the global arena and putting the country at risk of losing its credit rating.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The cash US dollar rate climbed to an all-time high of Tk112 on Tuesday while the import LC rate surged to Tk105, adding to price pressures and high inflation rate.</div><div><br></div><div>The inflation rate in the country hit an eight-year high of 7.42% in May this year. Industry experts have said the unusual rise in dollar price will fuel inflation further.</div><div><br></div><div>The inter-bank exchange set by the Bangladesh Bank verbally remained ineffective due to the large difference from the market rate. The inter-bank exchange rate was Tk94.70 on the day.</div><div><br></div><div>Some large private commercial lenders have stopped opening import LCs without the permission of managing directors while some banks are refusing the import of sight LCs–a document that verifies the payment of goods or services, payable once it is presented along with the necessary documents-- amid the dollar crisis.   </div><div><br></div><div>The Bangladesh Bank is not responding to private banks\' requests for supplying dollars. The central bank is providing a limited amount of dollars only to state banks for fertiliser and fuel imports.</div><div><br></div><div>On Tuesday, the central bank released $50 million dollars for fuel imports, according to sources within the Bangladesh Bank.   </div><div><br></div><div> Overdue LC payments</div><div><br></div><div>As of 19 July, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has overdue LC payments to the tune of $150 million with the state-owned Janata, Sonali, and Agrani banks against petroleum products.</div><div><br></div><div>The banks could not make payments to the suppliers even 10-15 days after the settlement dates, according to the BPC.</div><div><br></div><div>Some fertiliser importers are also going through the same experience of payment delay, causing troubles to suppliers.</div><div><br></div><div>A fertiliser importer told The Business Standard that he had six overdue LCs as banks could not make the payments on time, which has made the suppliers reluctant to continue business.</div><div><br></div><div>Banks are obliged to make payments to foreign banks against LCs within a certain period and their failure to comply with the deadlines causes a reputation loss for the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Payment history is one of the major factors that are taken into consideration in determining the credit risk rating for a country by global rating agencies.</div><div><br></div><div>Downgrading the country\'s rating will increase import costs for banks as they will have to take LC confirmations through third parties by paying commission.</div><div><br></div><div>Contacted, CEO and MD of Agrani Bank Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam told to media that they were making payments to foreign suppliers part by part due to dollar shortages.</div><div><br></div><div>He also said even though payment delay is an unusual case, payment failure is now a global phenomenon in light of the dollar crisis.  </div><div><br></div><div>In view of the current context, suppliers are agreeing to take partial payments and that is why payment delays will not cause a loss of credit rating, he mentioned.</div><div><br></div><div>He also claimed that the Bangladesh Bank strengthened the dollar supply after the new governor took office, which would enable them to make LC payments on time.</div><div><br></div><div>Even though importers are facing troubles because of banks delaying import payments, the Bangladesh Bank has not yet received any official complaints in this regard.</div><div><br></div><div>While speaking to media, a senior executive of the central bank who works with the import-related department, said he heard about a few cases of payment delay but did not get any official complaint.</div><div><br></div><div>Moni Lal Das, general manager (Finance) at the BPC, told to media that they are facing troubles with suppliers due to payment delays.</div><div><br></div><div>Citing an example, he said they have one lot of LC worth $41 million with Sonali Bank. The payment date expired on 14 July, but the bank could not make the payment even five days after the deadline.</div><div><br></div><div>Another senior executive of the BPC on condition of anonymity told to media that the dollar supply of the Bangladesh Bank was not enough because the LC value has doubled due to fuel price hikes in the global market.</div><div><br></div><div>He said that the value per LC now stands at $40 million to $45 million, which was $20 million prior to the present dollar crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>In a recent meeting with government high-ups on the energy crisis, the representative of the Bangladesh Bank explained that they could not provide sufficient dollars to the energy sector as they have an obligation to pay for other sectors such as fertiliser, medicine, and industrial raw materials.</div><div><br></div><div>Moreover, they have to maintain a certain level of foreign currency reserves, he told to media referring to the meeting discussion.</div><div><br></div><div> High volatility in dollar market</div><div><br></div><div>A shortage of dollars has created panic in the kerb market, taking the prices of the greenback to a record high on Tuesday.</div><div><br></div><div>Industry insiders said sellers are holding dollars assuming that the price will go up further.</div><div><br></div><div>Commercial banks are not selling cash dollars to their customers either.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, many people could not buy dollars for various purposes, including treatment, in the open market on Tuesday.</div><div><br></div><div>A relative of a cancer patient told to media they need $5,000 dollars to go to Singapore for the treatment, but could not manage the amount even after contacting various banks.</div><div><br></div><div>He then contacted several money changers in Motijheel. One of them said he had $1,000 and demanded Tk112 per dollar. He returned home empty handed.</div><div><br></div><div>The LC rate also went up to Tk105 per dollar on Tuesday because of the pressure of LC opened at the beginning of the year.</div><div><br></div><div>Explaining import pressure, a senior executive of a private bank said many banks opened a huge amount of LCs at the beginning of the year as there was not much of a crisis of dollars at that time.</div><div><br></div><div>One large private bank opened LCs worth $1.5 billion in January, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Banks are now under pressure of payments against those LCs, which is intensifying the dollar crisis, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Nevertheless, LC openings declined sharply this month as many banks are refusing to open sight LCs.</div><div><br></div><div>One large bank on Tuesday decided that they will not open any LC without permission of the managing director, which means they will approve LCs on a case by case basis, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>He said many banks are running negative in the net opening position of foreign currency when the standard is to be zero.</div><div><br></div><div>Net opening position of foreign currency is the balance of inflow and outflow of dollars.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the dollar market will cool down by next month as imports have started to slow down and remittance inflow is increasing.</div><div><br></div><div>Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, told to media that importers buying dollars at higher prices will affect inflation in three ways – firstly, on direct commodity products, which is imported inflation; secondly, prices of the products that are produced locally with imported raw materials will also increase; and thirdly, prices of local products made using locally sourced raw materials will also be affected partially because of various reasons including a hike in transportation costs.</div><div><br></div><div>He also said soaring inflation in the international market will increase pressure on the domestic market.</div><div><br></div><div>But if inflation comes down in the international market, then the dollar market will stabilise and inflation will also decrease, he mentioned, adding, \"So far, we have not seen prices go down in the international market, except for edible oil. Recently, exports from Ukraine have been reopened, while a few of the sanctions imposed on Russia have been lifted. If the situation returns to a more normal position, inflation will come down.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Imports slowed down in June after the Bangladesh Bank tightened the rules for opening LCs for luxury items as part of its efforts to shore up foreign exchange reserves.</div><div><br></div><div>Last month, LC settlements declined by over 6% month-on-month and the trend continued in July, according to data from the central bank.</div><div><br></div><div>The LC settlement value was $6.79 billion in June – the lowest in the past nine months.</div><div><br></div><div>Remittance inflow, however, shows some hope as Bangladesh has received $1,642.75 million ($1.64 billion) inward remittance till 21 July, thanks to Eid-ul-Azha when Bangladeshi migrants sent more money home for their families to celebrate the festivals, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.</div><div><br></div><div>When the dollar rally will stop</div><div><br></div><div>The dollar gained more than 10% in this year alone and its value is at a 20-year high against a basket of its peers, making trade costlier worldwide. </div><div><br></div><div>Import bills are getting bigger and many banks are failing to settle LC payments for want of sufficient dollars in Bangladesh as in neighbouring countries. </div><div><br></div><div>The Indian rupee, the third-worst performer in Asia in the past month, declined to a lifetime low of more than 80 per dollar, adding to worries of imported inflation as well as an external deficit blowout, reports Bloomberg. </div><div><br></div><div>The Pakistani rupee continued to lose its value, reaching near an all-time low of 233 against the dollar in the interbank market. Bankers allege many exporters are not bringing export proceeds home, making the situation worse further. </div><div><br></div><div>Apart from hurting economies that rely more on imports of energy and foods and weakening their currencies further, the dollar rally is also threatening US companies\' profit from global businesses too.</div><div><br></div><div>A strong dollar can be a headwind for U.S. companies as it makes exporters\' products less competitive abroad and hurts multinationals that need to convert their foreign profits back into the U.S. currency, says a Reuters report.</div><div><br></div><div>Each percentage point of year-on-year increase in the U.S. Dollar Index translates to a 0.5 percentage point hit to S&P 500 earnings growth, analysts at MorganStanley estimated.</div><div><br></div><div>The unabated dollar rise is feared to shave off 5% earnings growth or roughly $100 billion of S&P 500 companies this year, according to FactSet. </div><div><br></div><div>Though it remains unclear how long the dollar rally will continue, Goldman Sachs\'s market research group co-head Kamakshya Trivedi believes the dollar will trade high a bit more, but \"the largest part of the dollar move may well be behind us.\" </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 15:38:00', '2022-07-27 15:40:50'),
(696, 696, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Luis Suarez has revealed he is returning to boyhood club Nacional, 16 years after leaving the Uruguayan outfit for Europe.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The 35-year-old came through Nacional’s academy but left the club in 2006, joining Dutch side Groningen for one season before moving to Ajax.</div><div><br></div><div>An impressive stint at Liverpool followed, and after six decorated seasons at Barcelona he moved to Atletico Madrid in 2020.</div><div><br></div><div>The forward helped Atletico win La Liga in 2020-21, scoring 21 goals, but did not have the same impact last season, and was looking for a new club after leaving when his contract ran down.</div><div><br></div><div>Aston Villa had been linked with the player, with a Steven Gerrard reunion mooted, while as recently as Tuesday, Marca claimed LAFC and Seattle Sounders were potential options for Suarez.</div><div><br></div><div>However, he took to Twitter to announce his Nacional return, saying: “I’ve now reached a pre-agreement to join Nacional, it was impossible for me to say no to this opportunity.</div><div><br></div><div>“I hope the final details will be resolved soon in order to complete the deal officially.” -eurosport</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 15:48:07', '2022-07-27 15:48:07'),
(697, 697, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">In what turned out to be a very entertaining game, Barcelona and Juventus played at Cotton Bowl Stadium as part of their preseason tours in the United States.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Barcelona didn\'t win for the first time after three games played in this preseason, but Xavi\'s team displayed good football on the pitch, besides one of their most criticized player of last season seems to be on sensational form heading into this year.</div><div><br></div><div>The game was a tale of two tapes, with three goals scored in the first half in what at some point was Ousmane Dembélé against Moise Kean, with both attackers proving to be living a great moment and ready to have a great season.</div><div><br></div><div>Ousmane Dembélé looks sharp this preseason</div><div><br></div><div>The French attacker has been severly criticized for the poor level he\'s displayed since arriving at Camp Nou, spending most of his time on the injured players list.</div><div><br></div><div>But during tonight\'s match he seemed at his best, like his time at Borussia Dortmund when he marveled the Barcelona executives and got them to pay a then record $140 million euros for his transfer.</div><div><br></div><div>This where the four goals scored in Barcelona vs Juventus</div><div>The first goal came after a great individual play by Ousmane Dembélé on the 34th minute.</div><div><br></div><div>Moise Kean leveled the game a few minutes later.</div><div><br></div><div>But just a few seconds later, Dembélé once again got the ball on the right side of the field and charged the defense, giving them trouble and managing to score for the second time.</div><div><br></div><div>The two teams headed to the locker rooms and came back with several substitutions for the second half.</div><div><br></div><div>Both teams wanted to take control of the ball and manage the game\'s rythm, but shortly after the whistle, Moise Kean scored for the second time in this game and placed the 2-2 on the scoreboard. -Marca</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"10\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 16:16:48', '2022-07-27 16:16:48'),
(698, 698, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Whether on email or face to face, subtle digs are all over the workplace. This insidious behaviour spares no-one – and it can grind down workers.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Subtle digs veiled as compliments. Deliberately withholding information. Refusing to cooperate with the rest of the team. The list of small passive-aggressive behaviours Catherine says she faced from a senior colleague in her role as an office administrator for a large US publishing house built up slowly over several years.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“I felt like I was being subtly manipulated and controlled,” says Catherine, who now works an author and life coach. “It was very frustrating, and made me feel powerless.”</div><div><br></div><div>She says her colleague’s remarks would also impact the rest of the office, creating an atmosphere of hostility and resentment. It was only when she began noting down the behaviours in a personal journal that Catherine, a mother of three, could see just how toxic it was. It “helped me to see that my colleague\'s behaviour was actually not normal – and it helped me to reflect on what was happening – and to start to take back control of the situation.”</div><div><br></div><div>Troublingly, many workers report passive-aggressive behaviour like this is endemic in the workplace. A small May 2022 survey by Boston-based language-tutoring service Preply showed 20% of the 1,200 American respondents said their colleagues are the people in their lives most likely to exhibit passive-aggressive behaviour – more than either friends or family. Seventy-three percent said they had to handle passive-aggressive comments of one form or another at work – 52% on a weekly basis.</div><div><br></div><div>Though it can be subtler and harder to detect than overt aggression or abuse, passive-aggressive behaviour in the workplace can be just as harmful, both to those on the receiving end and broader company culture. No workplace is safe from these insidious behaviours – but workers can take steps to fend off their impacts.</div><div><br></div><div>‘Playing dumb, stalling or misrepresentation’</div><div><br></div><div>There’s a wide spectrum of passive-aggressive behaviours, explains Wladislaw Rivkin, an associate professor in organisational behaviour at Trinity Business School, Dublin. They could include a colleague playing dumb, stalling an important task deliberately or misrepresenting the true version of events to make their co-worker appear at fault. They might also seek to undermine others’ expertise or confidence with sly digs. That’s why phrases like, ‘you’re too sensitive’, and ‘no offence, but…’ were among those ranked the most passive-aggressive by US workers in the same Preply poll.</div><div><br></div><div>Examples of passive aggression include playing dumb, stalling a critical task deliberately or misrepresenting events to make a co-worker appear at fault (Credit: Getty Images)</div><div>Examples of passive aggression include playing dumb, stalling a critical task deliberately or misrepresenting events to make a co-worker appear at fault (Credit: Getty Images)</div><div><br></div><div>What unites all these different examples, though, is that these behaviours allow a colleague to demonstrate hostility toward another without having to resort to the type of open aggression that would immediately land them in hot water, explains Rivkin.</div><div><br></div><div>It\'s for that reason it’s so common in the workplace, he explains, where people are expected to behave professionally and courteously, or risk losing their jobs. “Such behaviours reflect a way to display opposition, discontent and aggression without defying social norms. Such behaviours leave the aggressor in relative safety as compared to acts of active aggression, as they can more easily deny that the aggression happened.”</div><div><br></div><div>There isn’t one definitive type of person or role more likely to act passive aggressively. But there are certain personality traits that make a person more likely to resort to this sort of behaviour, he adds. One example is Machiavellianism, in which someone regularly uses cunning and manipulation to get ahead. There are also those who simply struggle to communicate their emotions in a healthier way, and default to passive aggression for lack of a better alternative.</div><div><br></div><div>The way in which a workplace environment is run can also affect how likely workers are to resort to passive-aggressive behaviours, adds Sankalp Chaturvedi, professor of organisational behaviour and leadership at Imperial College Business School, London. For example, if employees feel their needs are being regularly ignored by management teams, it can breed the sort of frustration that drives them to find ways to subtly act out. The same goes for workplaces that pile on a lot of pressure, or those who leave workers feeling confused about their role or the overall power dynamics.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Happy hours, team meetings, lunch table… you name it, I have lost count on how many times he\'d provoke people at meetings or even emails and group chats – Maria</div><div>Whatever the reason, though, the impact of this behaviour on both individuals at the receiving end and workplace culture as a whole can be significant.</div><div><br></div><div>Maria, who previously worked in customer services, says constant abuse from her passive-aggressive boss caused her to quit the Portuguese company to take care of her mental health. “I left utterly demoralised, feeling insecure about myself on many levels,” she says. She felt nothing was off limits for his spiteful comments disguised as jokes, with both Maria and her team members subject to taunts about their appearance, sexuality and personal lives. “Happy hours, team meetings, lunch table… you name it, I have lost count on how many times he\'d provoke people at meetings or even emails and group chats,” she says.</div><div><br></div><div>Research shows employees who have to handle passive-aggressive behaviour regularly suffer from burnout, stress and poorer levels of wellbeing, motivation and job satisfaction, says Chaturvedi. “These behaviours often involve negative emotions, which may spill over from one employee to another, and create a negative environment for all. At a company level, these passive-aggressive behaviours have negative effects on the company productivity, co-workers\' behaviour and in cumulatively workplace culture.”</div><div><br></div><div>Evidence-first</div><div><br></div><div>Damaging as it can be for both staff and companies, passive-aggressive behaviour can also be incredibly tricky to manage. Sly comments can be easy to deny or simply passed off as a misunderstood joke, for example.</div><div><br></div><div>“Passive-aggressive behaviour can be difficult for organisations to address, because it’s often very subtle and indirect in nature,” says Amanda Augustine, a New York-based careers expert at resume-writing service TopCV. “It’s fairly easy for someone exhibiting passive-aggressive behaviour to deny any bad intentions behind their actions or try to manipulate the situation by claiming to be the ‘victim’ rather than the aggressor.”</div><div><br></div><div>Passive aggression will always be in the workplace – but experts say there are ways to temper the effects of these toxic colleagues.</div><div><br></div><div>Often, passive-aggressive colleagues are seeking to quietly antagonise their colleagues to get a reaction, says Augustine. To respond, the “best course of action is to control your emotions and force yourself to remain calm, regardless of what your colleague says or does. While this is easier said than done, denying your colleague the reaction they crave will help you put an end to their passive aggression”.</div><div><br></div><div>If that doesn’t work, it might be necessary to alert someone in the company to their behaviour. Workers always have the option to directly discuss the behaviour with the person themselves but, given that passive-aggressive colleagues are often masterminds at subtle manipulation in the workplace, that might not feel like the right route. Instead, it can be helpful to arrange a shared meeting with a manager to address the issue – something some workers may feel safer doing. “In such situations, it is important to have clear evidence of the behaviour that occurred,” suggests Rivkin, to avoid outright denials. He adds it can be helpful to outline in writing specific examples of passive-aggressive behaviour in advance, and detail their impact on both yourself and your team members.</div><div><br></div><div>It\'s also incumbent on companies to get out ahead of the passive aggression that poisons workplaces, before colleagues find themselves in uncomfortable – even toxic – situations. Chaturvedi says employers need to equip team leaders with the skills they need to detect and deal with passive-aggressive behaviour. “These leaders need to be trained to notice subtle emotional cues and observe patterns in these behaviours.” He adds that in many cases, companies fail to provide this sort of in-depth management training, which creates the risk they won’t be able to spot or handle reported cases.</div><div><br></div><div>Too often, that leaves the task of handling a passive-aggressive colleague to the employee, forcing them to choose between braving a potentially awkward confrontation or a toxic office environment.</div><div><br></div><div>For Catherine, transforming her own behaviour – changing her communication to be more assertive and direct – helped mitigate her colleague’s damage. For Maria, however, the solution wasn’t quite as tidy; not only did she end up leaving her company, but she also reports lingering effects from the toxic environment. Now having taken some time away from work to work on her mental health after the experience, Maria says she’s tentatively looking for another job. “It has been hard to step into the market again, but I have to stay positive.” -BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'Lifestyle Desk', '[\"24\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 16:23:18', '2022-07-27 16:23:18'),
(699, 699, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Chittagong court has sentenced suspended OC of Teknaf police Pradeep Kumar Das to 20 years in prison and his wife Chumki Karan to 21 years in jail over a graft case.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>They have also been fined over Tk4 crore and all their assets are to be seized, Anti Corruption Commission lawyer Mahmudul Haque told Dhaka Tribune.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Judge Munshi Abdul Majed of the Chittagong Divisional Special Judge’s Court delivered the verdict around 11:15am on Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>The verdict was delivered after the court concluded hearing the testimonials of 24 witnesses.</div><div><br></div><div>Pradeep already has a death penalty hanging over his head for the brutal murder of former army officer Maj (retd) Sinha Mohammed Rashed Khan in Cox’s Bazar.</div><div><br></div><div>On August 23 in 2020, the ACC filed the case against Pradeep and his wife over amassing wealth worth Tk4 crore illegally.</div><div><br></div><div>ACC sources said their investigation against Pradeep started in 2018.</div><div><br></div><div>On April 20 last year, Pradeep and his wife were asked to submit their wealth statements and they submitted their statements in June. After a long investigation, the ACC found evidence that the couple acquired assets worth over Tk4 crore illegally.</div><div><br></div><div>ACC Chittagong Assistant Director Md Riaz Uddin submitted the chargesheet on July 26.</div><div><br></div><div>On September 1, the court accepted the chargesheet and a Chittagong court indicted Pradeep and wife in the case on December 15 last year.</div><div><br></div><div>On January 30 this year, Pradeep submitted a petition to the High Court seeking cancellation of the indictment order and judicial proceedings in the case.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 17:03:35', '2022-07-27 17:03:35'),
(701, 701, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh has sent a formal request for a $4.5 billion loan to the Washington-based multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) to combat the ongoing financial crisis.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Another reason for the loan request is foreign exchange (Forex) reserves declining against excessive exports.</div><div><br></div><div>The loan request was made in a letter to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>According to sources, the government sought the amount as a balance of payment and budget support as well as to mitigate the effects of climate change on Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Of the $4.5 billion sought, $1.5 billion would most likely be interest-free and the remaining amount would come at an interest less than 2%, said finance ministry officials.</div><div><br></div><div>To begin the talks, an IMF mission is expected to visit Bangladesh in September. The terms and conditions for the loan will be ironed out during their visit.</div><div><br></div><div>By December, the deal is expected to be locked in for placing at the IMF\'s board meeting in January, the officials added.</div><div><br></div><div>However, renowned economist Debapriya Bhattacharya thinks that Bangladesh will have to go through several conditions to get a loan from the Washington-based multilateral lender.</div><div><br></div><div>“Right now, we have a large trade deficit. At the same time, remittances are also on the decline. There is great pressure on the exchange rate.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Due to a lack of foreign exchange, the necessary imports cannot be made. At a time like this, going to the IMF is logical and the right move. Sri Lanka\'s delay in doing so caused them a huge loss.”</div><div><br></div><div>“This money will mainly be used to meet the large deficit in foreign transactions at the moment, and to stabilize the exchange rate of Taka against the dollar by selling dollars,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>“However, before receiving this money, the government has to take several steps to show they are responsible in the eyes of the IMF. This is what we call pre-action. Also, they have to take some steps before releasing each installment,” he further said.</div><div><br></div><div>Asked about the possible reform and IMF conditions, Debapriya said: \"The exchange rate of Taka should be floating and based on the market. The incentives given by the government to the foreign currency now may need to be adjusted. Monetary policy should be harmonized with fiscal policy.”</div><div><br></div><div>“In that case, a level has to be specified in the subsidy in order to control the expenditure. Besides, the role of the central bank should also be strengthened. And in that case, there may be conditions for the recovery of defaulted loans,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>“In fact, the IMF is saying what independent economists have been telling the government for a long time. But unfortunately, the government has not taken them into account so far. Even now, if these reform measures are taken, it will be good for our economy.”</div><div><br></div><div>“Needless to say, it will not be very pleasant politically when the government has to resort to such controls on the eve of elections,” he warned.</div><div><br></div><div>IMF delegates visit Dhaka</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier last week, a visiting IMF delegation sat with Bangladesh Bank officials. During the meeting, they expressed concern over the weakness of Bangladesh\'s banking system and the high rate of non-performing loans (NPLs).&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Requesting anonymity, a senior official of the Ministry of Finance earlier said: “IMF has recommended removing the interest rate caps on lending and borrowing. Apart from a market-based floating exchange rate of Taka or foreign currency exchange rate system, the organization has also suggested resetting the methodology on foreign currency reserves.”</div><div><br></div><div>Other countries seeking IMF loan</div><div><br></div><div>In South Asia, Sri Lanka, facing its worst economic crisis in seven decades, is currently in negotiations for an IMF bailout.</div><div><br></div><div>The island nation ran out of foreign currency to import, even its most vital essentials, triggering long queues at petrol stations, food shortages and lengthy power cuts.</div><div><br></div><div>Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are depleting rapidly.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In accordance with an Al-Jazeera report, Pakistan reached an agreement with the IMF earlier this month that would pave the way for the release of an additional $1.2 billion in loans and unlock more funding.</div><div><br></div><div>Other countries also sought help this month, from the IMF. The agency agreed to provide Tanzania with $1.05 billion, while Ghana, one of West Africa\'s largest economies, has sought $1.5 billion in loans.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 17:09:55', '2022-07-27 17:09:55'),
(702, 702, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Netflix has grand plans to turn “The Gray Man” into a sprawling spy franchise.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Days after the $200 million-budgeted CIA thriller landed on the streaming service, Netflix announced plans to expand the series with a sequel and a spinoff, both of which are currently in development.</div><div><br></div><div>Ryan Gosling and directors Joe and Anthony Russo are set to return for the sequel. “The Gray Man” co-writer Stephen McFeely, whose credits also include “Avengers: Endgame” and “Captain America: Civil War,” is writing the screenplay. The Russos and AGBO’s Mike Larocca will produce along with Joe Roth and Jeffrey Kirschenbaum for Roth Kirschenbaum Films.</div><div><br></div><div>“The audience reaction to ‘The Gray Man’ has been nothing short of phenomenal. We are so appreciative of the enthusiasm that fans across the world have had for this film,” Joe and Anthony Russo said in a statement. “With so many amazing characters in the movie, we had always intended for ‘The Gray Man’ to be part of an expanded universe, and we are thrilled that Netflix is announcing a sequel with Ryan, as well as a second script that we’re excited to talk about soon.”</div><div><br></div><div>‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ Lands ‘Shang-Chi’ Director Destin Daniel Cretton</div><div>A spin-off film, from “Deadpool” screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, is set to explore a different element of “The Gray Man” universe. The logline is being kept under wraps.</div><div><br></div><div>Based on Mark Greaney’s best-selling book series, “The Gray Man” follows a CIA agent on the run from a sadistic mercenary after discovering corrupt secrets about his superior. Though the cast, which includes Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick and Regé-Jean Page, received praise, the movie received very mixed reviews from critics.</div><div><br></div><div>Variety’s Peter Debruge enthusiastically praised “The Gray Man” as a “Bond-level summer blockbuster.”</div><div><br></div><div>“‘The Gray Man’ exciting — and let’s not beat around the bush,’ he wrote in his review. “This is the most exciting original action property Netflix has delivered since ‘Bright.\'”</div><div><br></div><div>Jocelyn Noveck of the Associated Press called the film “perplexingly bland,” writing in her review that “it’s hard not to think of the title when contemplating the overall effect of a film that spares no expense to entertain, yet ends up feeling a little aimless, perplexingly bland, and — what’s the word we’re looking for? Oh yes. Gray.”</div><div><br></div><div>ABGO, the production company led by “Avengers: Endgame” directors Anthony and Joe Russo, previously teamed with Netflix on 2020’s “Extraction” starring Chris Hemsworth. A sequel to that film is set be released on Netflix in 2023.</div><div><br></div><div>“With ‘The Gray Man,’ the Russos delivered an edge-of-your-seat spectacle that audiences around the world are loving,” Netflix’s head of global film Scott Stuber said. “We’re excited to continue to partner with them and the team at AGBO as they build out ‘The Gray Man’ universe.” -variety</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 17:54:12', '2022-07-27 17:54:12'),
(703, 703, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is under federal investigation for potential violation of U.S. sanctions by allowing users in Iran and elsewhere to buy and sell digital tokens, the New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The U.S. Treasury Department\'s Office of Foreign Assets Control has been investigating Kraken since 2019 and is expected to impose a fine, according to the report.</div><div><br></div><div>Kraken said it does not comment on specific discussions with regulators, while a Treasury spokesperson declined to comment.</div><div><br></div><div>Privately held Kraken is the latest cryptocurrency company to come under the regulatory scanner, as the rapidly growing industry gets caught in the crosshairs of the federal government. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 18:34:41', '2022-07-27 18:34:41'),
(704, 704, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">In a duel that raised many expectations, Real Madrid and América faced each other at Oracle Park in San Francisco with an interesting match and with some touches of talent from the Merengues, for whom Karim Benzema saw his first minutes of the preseason and was even able to score a magnificent goal. However, for the first time in five attempts, the Merengues were unable to beat the Mexican team, the final score was 2-2.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>América took the lead in the fifth minute due to a defensive error by Antonio Rudiger. Henry Martín entered the area and made space for himself to shoot with his right foot to beat goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.</div><div><br></div><div>After the Liga MX team\'s goal, the team from the Spanish capital woke up and started to play the game they know under Carlo Ancelotti\'s tutelage. After a few arrivals, Benzema showed why he has become one of the best players in the world.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Karim Benzema scored a great goal on his debut</b></div><div><br></div><div>After receiving a ball on the edge of the box, the French center forward got three men off his line to put in a seemingly impossible shot, and the ball took a sensational curve past Guillermo Ochoa.</div><div><br></div><div>By halftime, the draw was surprising but fair, and for the second half, Ancelotti sent eight changes to the field.</div><div><br></div><div>Real Madrid takes the lead from the 11th penalty spot</div><div>With the aforementioned reinforcements, including David Alaba, Eden Hazard and Aurélien Tchouaméni, the Merengues showed their superiority and from the first minute they were close to the lead goal.</div><div><br></div><div>In the 53rd minute, Lucas Vázquez was clearly fouled in the box by America\'s young defender Mauricio Reyes and a minute later, Hazard scored to give Real Madrid the first lead of the match.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Doubtful penalty gave América the equalizer</b></div><div><br></div><div>Some América players, such as Miguel Layún, Alejandro Zendejas and Jonathan Dos Santos, gave some glimpses of quality and led their team\'s reaction, but the final touch lacked precision.</div><div><br></div><div>América was not afraid to look for an equalizer against Real Madrid in the final minutes, and a dubious foul by Vinicius Augusto on Alvaro Fidalgo inside the area caused the referee to award a penalty.</div><div><br></div><div>Alvaro Fidalgo, formerly of Real Madrid Castilla, was responsible for the penalty, which he missed in the first instance, however, the referee repeated the kick because Lunin stepped forward from the line, and on the second opportunity, the Spaniard put the ball inside the right post.</div><div><br></div><div>In the final moments, Oscar Jiménez, Ochoa\'s substitute, saved the Mexico City goalkeeper from defeat with a great left-handed save from David Alaba in the last play of the match. -Marca</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"16\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 18:48:36', '2022-07-27 18:48:36');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(705, 705, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday proposed establishment of a D-8 Economic Zone in Bangladesh for investment by the member countries aimed at accelerating their collective economic growth. </span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The offer came in five-point proposals she made in her speech at the of the 20th D-8 Council of Ministers meeting at Dhaka’s Hotel InterContinental, joining it through video conferencing from her official residence Ganobhaban.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said Bangladesh is ready to provide space at its Special Economic Zones for investment of the member states.</div><div><br></div><div>“If it begins the process now, within the next decade, it will have a robust D-8 Economic Zone,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>D-8, also known as Developing-8, is an organization for development cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkiye.</div><div><br></div><div>Established in 1997, the objectives of the forum are to improve member states’ position in the global economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at international level and improve standards of living.</div><div><br></div><div>PM Hasina said time has come for the 25-year-old forum to expand its focus also on implementation of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), increased trade, ICT, diversification of agriculture for attaining food security and finding sources of alternative energy.</div><div><br></div><div>She said implementation of the PTA is an important element for a successful D-8, which has large domestic markets.</div><div><br></div><div>Intra-D-8 trade will help accelerate its business prospects, she said, adding that the forum should aim at doubling the intra-D-8 trade from US$129 billion in the next decade.</div><div><br></div><div>On the immense prospects in ICT Hasina told the conference that the youths of the D-8 countries can be turned into a formidable workforce.</div><div><br></div><div>She said about 70% of Bangladesh’s population is under 40 years and it has 650,000 registered IT freelancers. This huge manpower can be used to create IT-based industry and involve the youth in various economic activities.</div><div><br></div><div>In her fourth proposal she said the D-8 should concentrate on diversified agriculture production to ensure food security and steady food supply.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh, she said, is ready to share her best practices and experience with other D-8 member states. The D-8 should focus on agriculture production to become self-sufficient in food production within the next decade.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM also suggested that the D-8 member states be careful about energy usage and the necessity of alternate energy sources.</div><div><br></div><div>She proposed that the D-8 focuses on developing capacity by involving other countries who have expertise in alternate energy. </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 19:40:55', '2022-07-27 19:42:08'),
(706, 706, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">An eccentric genius by the name of Hashim Mahmud has been in the limelight for the last few days, for all the right reasons.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Hawa\" – the film which has already blended a mysterious, alluring narrative with one of the most tasteful, engaging promotional campaigns in recent memory, has struck gold with \"Shada Shada Kala Kala\", a masterclass in rustic songmaking.</div><div><br></div><div>Hashim allegedly fell in love with a girl, who was reportedly studying on Lalon Shah in Kushtia, and sang the words from his heart in her honour. While the singer neither confirms nor denies this origin, many choose to believe it anyway, to give the song even more depth in their suspension of disbelief.</div><div><br></div><div>\"After searching for four months, I came to know that Hashim bhai was ill, and did not frequent Charukala anymore. I got the permission to use his song in \'Hawa\', but he could not sing the version for the movie despite our best efforts,\" said Sumon.</div><div><br></div><div>Arfan Mredha Shiblu, who was often around Hashim during his jamming sessions, was the one to give his voice to the film track. \"Five generations of Charukala students have grown up listening to Hashim bhai, and it was an honour for me to voice his song\", said Shiblu.</div><div><br></div><div>Sumon, who was a student of Charukala himself, perhaps wanted to reward this urban legend—which culminated in this banger of a song.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Shiblu, who had worked as a location manager with Sumon, regularly went on set to internalise the feel of the song. An experienced theatre actor, he put forth all his passion and character work into bringing a sense of addiction into his lines.</div><div><br></div><div>The concept of only using percussive instruments was Sumon\'s vision, which was brought to life by Shiblu, music director Emon Chowdhury, and percussionist Mithun Chakra.</div><div><br></div><div>\"When Sumon bhai narrated the concept to me, I knew I had to make something special,\" said Emon Chowdhury. \"He wanted the subjects on-screen to portray the idea that they were playing whatever was at hand, but at the same time, wanted an \'epic\' vibe to it.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Custom boat-parts, including the helm and sides, and water containers, among other paraphernalia, were included in the song.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The mixing and mastering of all these instruments were gargantuan tasks,\" said Emon. Originally, he wanted to use 500 instruments, but that would have made the tasks even more difficult.</div><div><br></div><div>What is more astounding, was the fact that the song was completed only 20 days before its release.</div><div><br></div><div>Mithun Chakra, whom many now know as the percussionist behind the magic of Coke Studio Bangla, arguably did the best work of his life here.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I was perplexed when Emon bhai contacted and told me that I had to rehearse for the song\", he said. \"I had worked in film music before, but no one really had me rehearsing for anything.\"</div><div><br></div><div>In the end, the mastery that Mithun boasts over percussive instruments came through. \"Since we barely used any recognised instruments, we had to ensure that the tunings were on point. I remember entering a \'kolshi\' (vase) shop with Emon bhai, and checking each one\'s tuning before the shopkeeper got annoyed, and almost threw us out!\"</div><div><br></div><div>Percussion-heavy songs like \"Shada Shada Kala Kala\" are rare in the South-Asian film industry, perhaps last seen in some of Satyajit Ray\'s works. What the musical team of \"Hawa\" has done here is touched the nerve of exactly what was required for not only the film, but a music industry in dire need of something as refreshing.</div><div><br></div><div>In my humble opinion, \"Hawa\" will be viewed for the plot, lauded for the performances, but remembered for its music.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 19:49:55', '2022-07-27 19:49:55'),
(707, 707, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The government today, July 27, announced the country\'s total population following the publication of data collection under the \"Population and Housing Census 2022\" project.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>For the first time, the population census has found that there are more women than men in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>It found that the country has a population of 165,158,616. Of which, number of males is 81,712,824, number of females is 83,347,206, and number of hijras is 12,629.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 20:01:12', '2022-07-27 20:01:12'),
(708, 708, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged her party men to highlight the government\'s development activities before the people, saying many conspiracies are being hatched to disrupt the country\'s progress, but none can halt its indomitable journey towards development.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;\"I believe that, no matter, so many conspiracies (are there), none can impede the progress of Bangladesh. None can halt the country’s impetuous speed. Insha Allah we will move forward,\" she said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;The premier said this while addressing the 28th founding anniversary of Bangladesh Awami Swechasebak League (BASL) at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in city as the chief guest, joining virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;Mentioning that Bangladesh has to deal with many things due to the international situation, she said, \"I have belief that we can move forward overcoming all the global crises as like we had been able to do facing natural disasters (in past).\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;Sheikh Hasina, also the President of ruling Awami League, called upon the leaders and activists of BASL to further invigorate the organization and devote them to serve the people and humanity.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;She reiterated her call to the party people to present the government\'s ongoing development works to the countrymen.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;\"The people will have to be informed about the development spree carried out by the government repeatedly visiting every area,\" she said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;About the critics, the prime minister asked the party men not to pay heed to their criticism, saying, \"no matter what they say, no matter how much they bark, no need to listen to them, no need to respond to their words.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;\"Our answer will only be what we are doing. It will be the real response, if we highlight before the people, what we are doing,\" she opined.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;Awami League Joint General Secretary and founding President of BASL AFM Bahauddin Nasim spoke at the occasion as the special guest.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;With Bangladesh Awami Swechasebak League Acting President Gazi Mesbaul Hossain Shachchu in the chair, its General Secretary KM Afzalur Rahman Babu moderated the event.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister also unveiled the cover of a publication titled \"Swechasebar Ek Basar\" (One year of Volunteering) on the occasion.</div><div><br></div><div>At the outset of the function, a video documentary on the activities of BASL in last year was screened.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;Besides, another documentary on the life and works of BASL President Nirmal Ranjan Guha, who died on June 29 while undergoing treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, was also played.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;The founding anniversary of BASL coincides the birthday of the architect of Digital Bangladesh Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son and ICT Affairs Advisor of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, as well as the grandson of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;Sheikh Hasina also sought doa and blessing for Sajeeb Wazed Joy to the countrymen.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;On this auspicious occasion, leaders and activists of the Swechasebak League cut a cake.&nbsp; - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 21:18:28', '2022-07-27 21:18:28'),
(709, 709, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Miners in Angola have unearthed a rare pure pink diamond that is believed to be the largest found in 300 years, the Australian site operator announced Wednesday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A 170 carat pink diamond -- dubbed The Lulo Rose -- was discovered at Lulo mine in the country\'s diamond-rich northeast and is among the largest pink diamonds ever found, the Lucapa Diamond Company said in a statement to investors.</div><div><br></div><div>The \"historic\" find of the Type IIa diamond, one of the rarest and purest forms of natural stones, was welcomed by the Angolan government, which is also a partner in the mine.</div><div><br></div><div>\"This record and spectacular pink diamond recovered from Lulo continues to showcase Angola as an important player on the world stage,\" Angola\'s Mineral Resources Minister Diamantino Azevedo said.</div><div><br></div><div>The diamond will be sold at international tender, likely at a dazzling price.</div><div><br></div><div>Although The Lulo Rose would have to be cut and polished to realise its true value, in a process that can see a stone lose 50 percent of its weight, similar pink diamonds have sold for record-breaking prices.</div><div><br></div><div>The 59.6 carat Pink Star was sold at a Hong Kong auction in 2017 for 71.2 million US dollars. It remains the most expensive diamond ever sold. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 21:32:25', '2022-07-27 21:32:25'),
(710, 710, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Arpita Mukherjee, arrested along with Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee in a school jobs scam, has reportedly claimed that he used to stash money at her home and treat it like a \"mini-bank\".&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Arpita Mukherjee\'s lawyers are likely to deny the claims of the ED in court at the next hearing and have hit out at the agency for leaking details of their investigation to the media and pointed out the lack of convictions in cases by central agencies.</div><div><br></div><div>Investigators had found ₹ 21 crore in cash from the home of Arpita Mukherjee, a former actor-model and a close aide of the minister. Visuals of a large pile of cash at her home emerged a day before she and Partha Chatterjee were arrested on Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>Arpita Mukherjee, say sources, has told the Enforcement Directorate that \"all the money used to be stashed in one room that only Partha Chatterjee and his people entered\".</div><div><br></div><div>Sources say she claimed that the minister used to visit her home every week or every 10 days. \"Partha used my house and that of another woman as a mini-bank. That other woman is also his close friend,\" Arpita Mukherjee reportedly told investigators.</div><div><br></div><div>She claimed, according to sources, that the minister never revealed how much money there was in the room.</div><div><br></div><div>Arpita Mukherjee told them that she was introduced to Partha Chatterjee by a Bengali actor and that the two had been close since 2016.</div><div><br></div><div>Sources claim she admitted that the money came from kickbacks received for transfers and for helping colleges get recognition. And that the money was always brought by others, never the minister.</div><div><br></div><div>The Enforcement Directorate has reportedly found incriminating documents. The agency alleges that the minister was in contact with Ms Mukherjee and that the cash found in her home was \"proceeds of crime\".</div><div><br></div><div>Partha Mukherjee has been sent to the probe agency\'s custody till August 3.</div><div><br></div><div>Sources say the ED also recovered an incriminating diary with around 40 pages of notes that could provide crucial leads in the investigation. The ED has also recovered several deeds of properties that could implicate Partha Chatterjee.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister, a top Trinamool Congress leader who used to be a close aide of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is accused of irregularities in the recruitment of teachers and staff in state-sponsored and aided schools. Source: NDTV</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 22:01:02', '2022-07-27 22:01:02'),
(711, 711, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Three United Nations peacekeepers and at least 12 civilians were killed during a second day of anti-U.N. protests in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, authorities said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The protests were spurred by complaints that the U.N. mission, known as MONUSCO, has failed to protect civilians against militia violence which has raged for years.</div><div><br></div><div>U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the violence, deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement, adding, “He underscores that any attack directed against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime and calls upon the Congolese authorities to investigate these incidents and swiftly bring those responsible to justice.”</div><div><br></div><div>Demonstrations began on Monday in the city of Goma and spread on Tuesday to Butembo, where a U.N. soldier and two U.N. police with the mission were shot dead, Haq told reporters in New York.</div><div><br></div><div>In both cities U.N. peacekeeping troops were accused of retaliating with force as hundreds of protesters threw rocks and petrol bombs, vandalized and set fire to U.N. buildings.</div><div><br></div><div>A Reuters reporter saw U.N. peacekeepers shoot dead two protesters in Goma, where government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said at least five people were killed and 50 wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>In Butembo at least seven civilians were killed and an unknown number wounded, said the city’s police chief Paul Ngoma.</div><div><br></div><div>U.N. peacekeeping missions have been beset by accusations of abuse for years.</div><div><br></div><div>“Obviously if there’s any responsibility by U.N. forces for any of the injuries, or any of the deaths, we will follow up on that,” Haq said. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div><b>bnbd24/fas</b></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 22:09:46', '2022-07-27 22:09:46'),
(712, 712, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Sumona Chakravarti has come forward in support of actor Ranveer Singh. On Wednesday, in her Instagram Stories, she reacted to the FIRs against Ranveer.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Two FIRs have been lodged against actor Ranveer Singh for the nude photoshoot he recently did for a magazine. The complaint filed against him states that Ranveer has \'hurt sentiments of women\'. Now, television actor Sumona Chakravarti has come forward in Ranveer\'s support.</div><div><br></div><div>Sumona first shared a news article about Ranveer on her Instagram Stories, which reads, “\'He hurt sentiments of women and insulted their modesty\'. 2 cases filed against Ranveer Singh over nude photoshoot.\" Sharing it she wrote, “I am a woman. Neither is my modesty insulted not my sentiments hurt.”&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Sumona also shared a screenshot of her mother\'s reply to her previous Instagram Stories about Ranveer. Her mother wrote, “Pics were great. God knows which sentiments got hurt. Maybe they wanted to see more.” Sharing it, Sumona wrote, “This is what my mother, also a woman had to say.”</div><div><br></div><div>Sumona Chakravarty comes forward in support of Ranveer Singh..</div><div><br></div><div>The written application was submitted at the Chembur police station by a Mumbai-based lawyer Vedika Chaubey, who alleged in her complaint that the actor has hurt the sentiments of women in general and insulted their modesty through his photographs.</div><div><br></div><div>A Mumbai-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) had approached the Chembur police with a complaint against the actor on Monday. Based on it, the police registered the FIR against Ranveer under various Indian Penal Code Sections like 292 (sale of obscene books, etc), 293 (sale of obscene objects to young people), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and provisions of the Information Technology Act. An office-bearer of the NGO had alleged that the actor has hurt the sentiments of women in general and insulted their modesty through his photographs.</div><div><br></div><div>Photos from Ranveer Singh\'s nude photoshoot for Paper magazine.</div><div>Ranveer Singh recently did a photoshoot for Paper magazine. In the photos, the actor posed on a Turkish rug, wearing nothing. In one picture, Ranveer sat with his legs crossed, in another one he lay on the rug and in other pictures the actor strikes a pose with his hands up in the air. - Hindustan Times&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 22:24:43', '2022-07-27 22:24:43'),
(713, 713, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Chairman of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) ABM Azad on Wednesday has said that there is no chance of a fuel crisis in Bangladesh as the country has enough diesel and jet fuel in reserve.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He said this during a press briefing on Wednesday. \"Till date, the country has 32 days of diesel stock, 9 days of octane stock, 15 days of petrol stock, 44 days of jet fuel stock and 32 days of furnace oil stock,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Urging not to pay heed to the rumours, he said 50,000 tonnes of refined fuel oil will arrive at Patenga port in the next three days.</div><div><br></div><div>Mentioning that they have secured sources of fuel import for next six months, the BPC chairman said that the government has not taken any decision to provide less fuel to vehicles from petrol pumps.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 22:44:33', '2022-07-27 22:44:33'),
(714, 714, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A BELL-206 helicopter of Army Aviation made an accidental emergency landing at a reservoir in Nawabganj Upazila of Dhaka on Wednesday, </span>according<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">&nbsp;to reports.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The helicopter made an accidental emergency landing at about 01:05pm due to a mechanical failure while practicing the Emergency Landing Procedure as part of a regular training flight, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).</div><div><br></div><div>Both the pilots - Lt Col Ismail and Major Shams - were safely evacuated from the helicopter after the emergency landing. They are out of danger and shifted to Dhaka CMH by helicopter.</div><div><br></div><div>Local police are providing assistance for the security of the area and the helicopter. Also, security and rescue teams have been dispatched from Postogola and Mawa cantonments.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 23:38:22', '2022-07-27 23:38:22'),
(715, 715, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Germany’s gas regulator said today a gas shortage was still avoidable, even as Russian supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline into Germany are set to halve, but warned industries and consumers would have to work harder to save gas.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>State-controlled Russian giant Gazprom has said flows will fall to 33 million cubic metres per day, a fifth of the normal capacity, from today because it needed to halt the operation of a gas turbine at a compressor station on instructions from an industry watchdog.</div><div><br></div><div>Requests for Russian natural gas flows through Nord Stream 1 into Germany nearly halved from 8am today, data from the pipeline operator showed.</div><div><br></div><div>Nominations were at 14,423,764 kilowatt hours an hour (kWh/h) for 8am-9am onwards, down from levels above 27,000,000 kWh/h previously.</div><div><br></div><div>Klaus Mueller, head of Germany’s Bundesnetzagentur regulator, said the country, which is heavily reliant on Russian supply, could still avoid a gas shortage that would require it to trigger the next phase of an emergency plan that would prompt rationing.</div><div><br></div><div>But he said it would require efforts by both industries and consumers to reduce gas usage.</div><div><br></div><div>“The crucial thing is to save gas,” Mueller said. “I would like to hear less complaints but reports (from industries saying) we as a sector are contributing to this,” he told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.</div><div><br></div><div>The European Union has repeatedly accused Russia of resorting to energy blackmail but the Kremlin says shortfalls in supply have been caused by maintenance issues and the impact of Western sanctions. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 23:48:36', '2022-07-27 23:48:36'),
(716, 716, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska have posed for the cover story of Vogue magazine, in which the couple discussed their nearly two decade of marriage, shared history and spending time without their children who have to be separated due to Russia\'s ongoing invasion of the country. Both the President and the First Lady spoke to Vogue team in Kyiv, in an in-person interview. The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than 150 days and claimed lives of thousands of people.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Vogue has also posted the image of Ms Zelenska as its latest digital cover star, calling it \"portrait of bravery\", in which the Ukrainian First Lady is sitting inside the presidential office and dressed casually in black pants and white top. She has also posed for photographs along soldiers and wreckage in other images released by Vogue on its Instagram handle.</div><div><br></div><div>\"As the war in Ukraine enters a critical new phase, the country\'s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, has become a key player - a frontline diplomat and the face of her nation\'s emotional toll,\" Vogue said on its Instagram handle.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking to the magazine, Ms Zelenska said she met her future husband in high school in their hometown of Kryvyi Rih in southeast Ukraine. They began dating while at university and formed a satirical troupe.</div><div><br></div><div>Vogue said that her full profile will be available in October issue.</div><div><br></div><div>The images created a buzz on social media, with many users calling the digital cover \"beautiful\" and a \"powerful image\". Others, however, criticised the couple for posing for a magazine at a time when their country is ravaged by war.</div><div><br></div><div>\"During a way, you either shoot your opponent or get shot...by Vogue,\" a Twitter user commented. \"Priorities. I\'m sure the dudes in the trenches appreciate the effort the Zelensky\'s are putting into stopping the war. A Vogue cover will help, for sure. Slava Ukraini,\" tweeted another.</div><div><br></div><div>The Russian forces are currently concentrating their efforts to capture territory in southern part of Ukraine. - NDTV</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-27 23:58:57', '2022-07-27 23:58:57'),
(717, 717, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhananjaya de Silva completed a century before Sri Lanka declared their second innings on 360-8 to hand Pakistan a mammoth victory target of 508 in the second Test on Wednesday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Vice-captain De Silva hit 109 and put on 82 runs for the eighth wicket with Ramesh Mendis, who was unbeaten on 45, after the hosts resumed day four on 176-5 in Galle.</div><div><br></div><div>De Silva was run out at the non-striker\'s end and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne called his batsmen back in the second session of play.</div><div>The West Indies hold the record for the highest-ever successful Test chase of 418 against Australia in 2003 at Antigua.</div><div><br></div><div>De Silva put on a key stand of 126 with overnight partner Karunaratne, a left-handed batsman who battled back pain during his knock of 61.</div><div><br></div><div>De Silva, who began the day on 27, reached his ninth Test hundred with a cracking boundary off Mohammad Nawaz and raised his bat to the applauding dressing room.</div><div><br></div><div>Karunaratne fell in the first session after he escaped two close calls, which were unsuccessfully reviewed by Pakistan, off Nauman Ali\'s left-arm spin.</div><div><br></div><div>Nauman finally got Karunaratne, caught at short leg, where Abdullah Shafique took a sharp reflex catch.</div><div><br></div><div>Karunaratne, who had back spasms and did not field in the Pakistan innings, got help from the physio during his two hours and 45 minutes at the crease as he went past 6,000 Test runs.</div><div><br></div><div>Sri Lanka fought back from 117-5 in their effort to bounce back from their opening loss in the two-match series.</div><div><br></div><div>Pakistan fell behind Sri Lanka by 147 runs after being bowled out for 231 in response to the hosts\' first-innings 378.</div><div><br></div><div>Pakistan\'s highest chase came in 2015, when they made a target of 377 in Pallekele. The tourists chased down a Galle record of 342 in the opener of this series. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 00:08:42', '2022-07-28 00:08:42'),
(718, 718, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh reported five Covid-19 deaths while it recorded 626 coronavirus positive cases during the period.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Among the Covid-19 deaths, four deaths occurred in Dhaka division and one death occurred in Mymensingh division,” a daily statement of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh reported 6.83 percent Covid-19 positive cases as 9,162 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, the release added.</div><div><br></div><div>During the past 24 hours, the combined figure of coronavirus infection in Dhaka district and the capital city is 291 while three Covid-19 deaths were reported during the period.</div><div><br></div><div>The official tally showed that the virus killed 29,280 people and infected 20,03,570 so far, the statement added.</div><div><br></div><div>The recovery count rose to 19,39,211 after another 839 patients were discharged from the dedicated hospitals during the past one day.</div><div><br></div><div>From the beginning of the pandemic, 96.79 percent Covid-19 patients recovered among the infected people while 1.46 percent died, the DGHS statistics showed.</div><div><br></div><div>Among the 29,280 fatalities, 12,886 occurred in Dhaka division, 5,882 in Chattogram, 2,148 in Rajshahi, 3,730 in Khulna, 987 in Barishal, 1,333 in Sylhet, 1,421 in Rangpur and 893 in Mymensingh divisions. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 00:20:54', '2022-07-28 00:20:54'),
(719, 719, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday has said that Bangladesh would be able to meet six to nine months of food import expenditures with the existing foreign currency reserves.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“We have money in our hands to import food grains and others (essentials items) for at least three months during any crisis. We’ll be able to import the food for six to nine months, not only for three months, with the reserve that we have now,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier was addressing the 28th founding anniversary programme of Bangladesh Awami Swechasebak League at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh auditorium in the city’s Farmgate area, joining it through a virtual platform from her official residence Ganobhaban.</div><div><br></div><div>She said despite having enough reserve, the government will have to take steps to grow more crops in order to save the foreign currencies and keep the forex reserve for any emergency.</div><div><br></div><div>Awami Swechasebak League, an associate body and the volunteer wing of Bangladesh Awami League, was founded on July 27 in 1994.</div><div><br></div><div>Noting that the reserve was some US$ 3.8 billion in 2006 during the BNP regime, the prime minister said her government was able to raise it to US$ 48 billion from US$ 7 billion in 2009.</div><div><br></div><div>She said Bangladesh had to spend huge amounts of foreign currencies from the reserve to import the materials for development works, capital machines for the industries as well as Covid-19 vaccines, testing kits and other Covid materials.</div><div><br></div><div>The people of the country would be benefited when the imported capital machineries go in operation, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Taking a swipe at the critics of the government over forex reserve and energy, Hasina questioned why they don’t see the development activities of the government.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the government continues providing a huge subsidy, placed such a budget, raised the per capita income and has been able to keep the GDP growth.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM said her government pledged to reach electricity to every house and also kept this promise. But now many developed countries are taking austerity measures over the use of energy amid the global economic recession.</div><div><br></div><div>“We’ve also to take precautionary measures so that we will not fall in a great danger….we’ve taken steps for limited use of electricity. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t have any energy or it is running out,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Noting that it is true that Bangladesh needs to procure diesel, she said it doesn’t import petrol and octane as the country gets these as byproducts of gas extraction. “We’ve much more petrol and octane than what we have demands. We can also sell these sometimes,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>“We’ve some so-called wise men who talk about many things sometimes. But I don’t know whether they keep any knowledge over many matters,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Citing that they forget small things due to their huge knowledge, Hasina alleged that they want to mislead the people talking back and forth.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier said many intellectuals write many things here and an economist wrote about the construction of Padma Bridge saying that the bridge was constructed unnecessarily as it would not be profitable one.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the economist, in his article, questioned who would use the bridge and raised objection over the installation of rail tracks in the Padma Bridge as the people of the southern region travel through launches.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It is thought of some economists and they write articles. I doubt how much they know Bangladesh and I don’t know whether they have ever visited the southern region,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Not mentioning name, Hasina said an organisation is there that finds everything bad. The 2007-caretaker government put something in their brain that they don’t like a healthy democratic trend to continue in the country and they don’t see that the country is progressing.</div><div><br></div><div>“If an unusual government is there in the country, their values get increased. They think they are wise and they can do everything,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Citing that many conspiracies continue to interrupt the progress of Bangladesh, the PM said she believes that this progress can’t be halted no matter how many conspiracies are hatched. “Bangladesh is progressing at an irresistible pace and Inshallah, we’ll continue advancing,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina, also the AL president, asked the leaders and activists of Swechasebak League to raise the development activities and successes of the government before the people, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, She thanked Swechasebak League men for their volunteer works for the help of the people during the recent flood and Covid vaccination campaign.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 01:38:47', '2022-07-28 01:38:47'),
(720, 720, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Police on Wednesday recovered the knife used in the murder of Bulbul Ahmed, a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) and his mobile phone set at Tilagaon near the university campus in Sylhet.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The knife and the mobile phone set were recovered from the house of Kamrul Hossain, 30, a mason of the area who was detained in connection with the murder.</div><div><br></div><div>Kamrul also confessed to his involvement in the murder, Azbahar Ali Sheikh, deputy commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police.</div><div>Based on his information, police recovered the knife and the mobile phone after conducting drive at Kamrul’s house around 11am, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>So far, five people have been detained, said Azbahar.</div><div><br></div><div>“Investigation is still going on. After&nbsp; investigation, those who are involved will be shown arrested in this case. So, the total number of arrests cannot be said now.”</div><div><br></div><div>Police detained three people in connection with the murder on Monday and Tuesday.</div><div><br></div><div>The detainees were Abul Hossain, Kamrul Hossain and Md Hassan, all are resident of Tillagaon area.</div><div><br></div><div>“After interrogating them separately, we received important information,” said the deputy commissioner.</div><div><br></div><div>He, however, did not say anything about the identities of other detainees.</div><div><br></div><div>The deceased, Bulbul Ahmed, was a third-year student of the Public Administration department of the university.</div><div><br></div><div>On Monday night, a case was filed at Jalalabad police station over the murder.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the case statement, Bulbul, along with his friends, went to the New Zealand area, adjacent to Shaheed Minar, on the campus that afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>At one stage, his friends rescued him as he was allegedly stabbed by muggers.</div><div><br></div><div>Bulbul was first rushed to the university medical centre and later shifted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital where on-duty doctor Kaniz Fatema declared him dead around 7.45pm.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the authorities concerned of SUST formed a five-member probe body to look into the death . - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 01:51:19', '2022-07-28 01:51:19'),
(721, 721, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The government approved separate proposals for procuring some 1.30 lakh metric tons of fertilizer and some 50,000 metric tons of wheat to meet the growing demand of the country.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The approvals came from the 22nd meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) this year held today virtually with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair. Briefing reporters after the meeting virtually, Cabinet Division Additional  Secretary Md Abdul Barik informed that the meeting approved a total of six proposals.</div><div><br></div><div>He said following a proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) will procure some 1 lakh metric tons of MOP fertilizer from Living Stone Resources of Belgrade with around Taka 1,039.50 crore. The price per metric ton of MOP fertilizer would be $1,100.</div><div> </div><div>Bari said the meeting approved another proposal from the Ministry of Industries under which the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) would procure some 30,000 metric tons of bagged granular urea fertilizer from KAFCO, Bangladesh under the first lot for the current fiscal year with around Taka 159.18 crore. The price per metric ton of urea fertilizer would be $567.50.</div><div> </div><div>The Ministry of Food will also procure some 50,000 metric tons of wheat from M/S Intra Business Pte Ltd, Singapore for the current fiscal year with around Taka 223.78 crore where the per metric ton of wheat would cost $476.31.</div><div> </div><div>Following a proposal from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, the work for constructing a nine-storey office building and a 10-storey residential building under the project for constructing a multi-storey building for the Department of Public Libraries has been awarded to the joint venture of PAEL, NDE and Mir Akhter with around Taka 327.15 crore.</div><div> </div><div>The work for installing a wellhead compressor at locations E and G of Titas Gas Fields has been awarded to the consortium of Zicom Equipments Pte Ltd Singapore and AG Equipment Company, the USA with around Taka 409.81 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the good exploration operations, materials, 3rd party engineering services and public works have been awarded to Sinopec International Petroleum Services Corporation, China with around Taka 149.10 crore under the project for Sylhet number 10 well (exploration well) digging project. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 02:07:38', '2022-07-28 02:09:06'),
(722, 722, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday it would talk with Bangladesh its loan request after the country became the third in South Asia to ask such support after Pakistan and Sri Lanka.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh\'s $416 billion economy has been one of the fastest-growing in the world for years, but rising energy and food prices because of the Russia-Ukraine war have inflated its import bill and the current account deficit.</div><div><br></div><div>The IMF said Bangladesh was interested in its new Resilience and Sustainability Facility aimed at helping countries face climate-change challenges and had also requested negotiations for an \"accompanying IMF programme\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"The IMF stands ready to support Bangladesh, and the staff will engage with the authorities on program design as per the established policies and procedures of the Fund,\" an IMF spokesperson said. \"The amount of support will be part of the program design discussions.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier in the day, the country\'s finance minister told reporters the government would take an IMF loan only if conditions are favourable and said the country\'s macroeconomic conditions were fine.</div><div><br></div><div>\"If the IMF conditions are in favour of the country and compatible with our development policy, we\'ll go for it, otherwise not,\" AHM Mustafa Kamal said. \"Seeking a loan from the IMF does not mean Bangladesh\'s economy is in bad shape.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The IMF\'s resilience and sustainability trust caps funds at 150% of a country\'s quota or, in Bangladesh\'s case, a maximum of $1 billion.</div><div><br></div><div>The Daily Star reported on Tuesday that overall, the country wanted $4.5 billion from the IMF, including for budgetary and balance-of-payment support.</div><div><br></div><div>The country\'s economic mainstay is its export-oriented garments industry, which is bracing for a slowdown as key customers like Walmart are saddled with backlog as inflation forces people to prioritise essentials.</div><div><br></div><div>After garments, remittances are the second highest source of foreign currency for Bangladesh, a country of nearly 170 million people.</div><div><br></div><div>Its foreign exchange reserves fell to $39.67 billion as of July 20 - sufficient for just over five months worth of imports - from $45.5 billion a year earlier.</div><div><br></div><div>It\'s July to May current account deficit was $17.2 billion, compared with a deficit of $2.78 billion in the year-earlier period, as its trade deficit widened and remittances fell. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 07:48:20', '2022-07-28 07:48:20');
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(724, 724, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Universities regularly fail to report incidents of sexual harassment in a timely manner, leaving the University Grants Commission (UGC) dependent on media reports to stay informed on the matter.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Most public and private universities in the country are apathetic to the prevention, monitoring and resolution of sexual harassment complaints from students and staff, UGS officials have said.</div><div><br></div><div>Currently, students are protesting at Chittagong University (CU) over the sexual harassment of a fellow student.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Students are protesting at Chittagong University Dhaka Tribune</div><div>However, when asked about the incident and whether the commission is doing anything about it, UGC acting chairman Prof Dil Afroza Begum on Thursday said this correspondent was the first to raise the issue with her.</div><div><br></div><div>“I did not find this incident in the newspaper cuttings which were provided by the public relations cell of the commission,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Universities to blame?</b></div><div><br></div><div>In 2009, the Supreme Court issued an 11-point directive aimed at preventing sexual harassment at educational institutions and workplaces.</div><div><br></div><div>The court asked these organisations to form sexual harassment committees to take effective measures to prevent sexual harassment. It had also asked all the universities to undertake awareness-raising programs on sexual harassment, including holding seminars and discussions on the subject.</div><div><br></div><div>The University Grants Commission (UGC) was given the responsibility of overseeing the formation of committees at the universities.</div><div><br></div><div>However, UGC officials claim that public and private universities do not pay heed to their directives and guidelines on a monitoring of the situation.</div><div><br></div><div>A few months ago, the UGC formed a two-member convening committee to closely monitor and bring all universities under the scanner for any incidents relating to sexual harassment.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>However, the reluctance of the universities to provide information is making the committee’s data collection work difficult, a UGC official said.</div><div><br></div><div>University authorities do not file or record most incidents, let alone report them to the UGC, the official added.</div><div><br></div><div>On May 18, a former female student at Islamic University in Kushtia brought a sexual harassment allegation against two Dhaka University students through a written complaint to the DU Proctor’s Office.</div><div><br></div><div>The complainant said the DU students - Rakibul Hasan and Rafayet - sexually harassed her at Suhrawardy Udyan on the evening of May 16 while she was talking to her friends near the Shikha Chironton of the campus.</div><div><br></div><div>In April, the North South University (NSU) authorities launched an investigation into sexual harassment charges against a part-time faculty member of the university after relieving him of all academic activities. Some students had verbally complained about the teacher to the authorities.</div><div><br></div><div>However, neither incident was completely resolved.</div><div><br></div><div>How effective are the complaint cells?</div><div><br></div><div>Data compiled by the University Grants Commission (UGC) shows that only 42 public and 78 private universities have established sexual harassment prevention committees. Among them, only 41 universities have submitted reports to the UGC with a total of 26 complaints.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Most of the complaints were lodged five to seven years ago.</div><div><br></div><div>Of the reports filed, 19 related some minor incidents while most of the other reports were without substance.</div><div><br></div><div>In May, Jahangirnagar University submitted its report for the preceding six months to the UGC, but the report mentioned a case from 2017.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>When contacted, Prof Jebunnessa, president of the university’s sexual harassment complaints committee, said the university files timely reports to the UGC but has no idea about whether the issues were solved or not.</div><div><br></div><div>According to a UGC report, Dhaka University, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), Rajshahi University, Chittagong University and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) did not file a report on harassment to the commission in the last four years.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div><b>Why do cases remain pending?</b></div><div><br></div><div>Most of the sexual harassment allegations have remained unsolved or were dropped during investigation.</div><div><br></div><div>Mauli Azad, a deputy director of UGC and&nbsp; member of the UGC monitoring cell, said: \"The complaints as framed by the university were not correct as they remain sceptical of the facts themselves.\"</div><div><br></div><div>“Sometimes, the victim files a case directly with the police station or court instead of reporting to the university sexual harassment cell. Sometimes the victims hide the issue due to social pressure,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She also acknowledged that many students remained unaware of what constitutes harassment and how to report incidents in the form of complaints.</div><div><br></div><div>She urged the media to circulate the High Court’s directives and create awareness to prevent sexual harassment.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Despite the UGC not getting proper cooperation from the universities, it monitors incidents whenever any such allegation comes from any source,” said UGC Secretary Dr Ferdous Zaman.</div><div><br></div><div>“We immediately contact the universities and give them strict directives to solve the issue instantly and bring the predators within the bounds of existing laws,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 08:05:30', '2022-07-28 08:05:30'),
(725, 725, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country is ready to mobilise its nuclear war deterrent and counter any U.S. military clash, and criticised South Korea\'s new president for the first time, warning Seoul was pushing towards the brink of war.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Kim made the remarks during a speech at an event to mark the 69th anniversary of the July 27 Korean War armistice, which left the two Koreas technically still at war, according to the official KCNA news agency on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>The confrontation with the United States posed nuclear threats since the 1950-53 war required the North to achieve an \"urgent historical task\" of beefing up its self defence, Kim said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Our armed forces are thoroughly prepared to respond to any crisis, and our nation\'s nuclear war deterrence is also fully ready to mobilise its absolute strength faithfully, accurately and promptly to its mission,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The speech came after Seoul and Washington officials said Pyongyang has completed preparations to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017.</div><div><br></div><div>South Korea\'s unification minister handling inter-Korean affairs said on Tuesday there was a \"possibility\" of the test around the anniversary of the armistice, though a military official said there were no immediate signs for it.</div><div><br></div><div>North Korea is likely to face stronger sanctions including measures targeting its cyberattack capabilities if it goes ahead with the test, South Korea\'s foreign minister said on Wednesday. read more</div><div><br></div><div>In the speech, Kim said Washington continues \"dangerous, illegal hostile acts\" with South Korea against the North, and seeks to justify its behaviour by \"demonising\" the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The North has long accused the United States of double standards over military activities and pursuing a hostile policy towards Pyongyang, saying it hampers a restart of talks aimed at dismantling the country\'s nuclear and missile programmes in return for sanctions relief.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The duplex act of the United States, which is misleading all the routine actions of our armed forces as \'provocation\' and \'threat\' while holding large-scale joint military exercises that seriously threaten our security, is literally a robbery,\" Kim said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"That is driving bilateral relations to the point where it is difficult to turn back, into a state of conflict.\"</div><div><br></div><div><b>\'Absolute weapon\'</b></div><div><br></div><div>Kim also denounced South Korea\'s new conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol by name for the first time, accusing him of threatening the North\'s security and right to self defence.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Warmongers\" and \"disgusting thugs\" in Yoon\'s administration are bent on confrontational military activities, Kim said, singling out Seoul\'s weapons developments and drive to bring back U.S. nuclear strategic assets as well as allied military drills.</div><div><br></div><div>Their \"heinous confrontational policy\" toward the North and \"toadyish, treacherous acts\" are pushing the situation to the brink of war, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>North Korea in recent months has tested hypersonic missiles and missiles that it says could carry tactical nuclear weapons, narrowing the time that Seoul would have to respond to a pending attack.</div><div><br></div><div>Yoon has vowed to complete the so-called \"Kill Chain\" system that calls for preemptive strikes against the North\'s missiles and possibly its leadership if an imminent attack is detected.</div><div><br></div><div>But that system would never be able to cover the North\'s \"absolute weapon,\" Kim said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"If you think you can counter us militarily and preemptively neutralise or destroy part of our military power,\" he said. \"Such a dangerous attempt will immediately be punished by a powerful force, and Yoon Suk-yeol\'s government and his army will be annihilated.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Seoul\'s defence ministry spokesman said it would continue reinforcing its own capabilities and the U.S. extended deterrence including its nuclear umbrella to better respond to Pyongyang\'s threats.</div><div><br></div><div>Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said Kim\'s remarks seem to be intended to highlight the legitimacy for weapons developments and his \"eye for eye\" approach toward Washington and Seoul. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 14:31:47', '2022-07-28 14:31:47'),
(726, 726, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukraine\'s campaign to reoccupy the engaged Kherson region is \"gathering pace,\" Western military sources say.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A key bridge into the city of Kherson was forced to shut after being damaged by long-range Ukrainian rockets originally supplied by the US.</div><div><br></div><div>It means thousands of Russian troops are now in danger of being cut off from the rest of the occupied territory.</div><div><br></div><div>Strategically located west of the Dnipro River, the city was the first in the war to fall to Moscow\'s forces.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukrainian forces fired at Kherson\'s Antonivskiy Bridge using a Himars artillery rocket system on Tuesday, which according to Western military sources left the crossing \"completely unusable.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Only a pockmarked wreck remains of the half-mile long bridge, one of two key routes spanning the Dnipro River which have both now been hit.</div><div><br></div><div>Moscow depended on the crossings to resupply their troops stationed west of the river, and are now at risk of becoming isolated from the rest of Russia\'s occupying forces.</div><div><br></div><div>Military sources described Kherson as \"politically the nearest Russia has to a jewel in the crown of its occupation\" - and its loss, they say, \"would severely undermine Russia\'s attempts to paint the occupation as a success\".</div><div><br></div><div>Moscow is now \"moving the maximum number of troops in the Kherson direction,\" said Oleksiy Danilov, who is secretary of Ukraine\'s National Security Council, on Wednesday evening.</div><div><br></div><div>Elsewhere in eastern Donetsk, Russian forces said they had captured the country\'s second largest power station - the Vuhlehirsk coal-fired plant.</div><div><br></div><div>In Kherson, Russian-installed officials confirmed that a Ukrainian artillery strike had seriously damaged the Antonivskiy Bridge, forcing its closure to traffic.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking to Ria news agency, deputy city leader Kirill Stremousov said ferries and pontoon bridges would now be used instead to maintain links across the Dnipro River with the rest of Russian-occupied territory.</div><div><br></div><div>For days the Ukrainian military has targeted the bridges using highly effective rocket systems supplied by the US.</div><div><br></div><div>According to Western military sources, the attack is part of a Ukrainian counter effort to isolate Russian troops, with the ultimate goal of recapturing the entire region.</div><div><br></div><div>If it proves successful the ambitious campaign would provide a much-needed boost for Kyiv by retaking from Russia the most significant population centre it has so far captured since the invasion began - the city of Kherson.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite still standing, Russian-backed local officials confirmed that the Antonivskiy Bridge is now impassable due to damage from Ukrainian rocket attacks</div><div>The southern city, which had a population of 290,000 before the war, is currently administered by Moscow-backed officials after falling early on in the war.</div><div><br></div><div>According to Tass news agency, city officials there have moved forward in recent days with plans to hold a referendum on formally joining Russia - with authorities forming an election committee in preparation.</div><div><br></div><div>The US has accused Russia of preparing to annex parts of occupied Ukraine illegally.</div><div><br></div><div>In his nightly Wednesday address President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that Ukraine would eventually rebuild the Antonivskiy Bridge as well as other crossings in the Kherson region.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We are doing everything to ensure that the occupying forces do not have any logistical opportunities in the country,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Russia captured Kherson with relatively little resistance in the war\'s early days - and the failure of Ukraine\'s security service to destroy crossing points over the Dnipro River at the time is believed to have last week led to Mr Zelensky\'s dismissal of the agency\'s director Ivan Bakanov. -bbc</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 14:47:30', '2022-07-28 14:47:30'),
(727, 727, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">India underlined their strength in depth with a crushing 119-run victory over the West Indies on the Duckworth Lewis Stern method in the rain-effected third and final One-Day International at Queen\'s Park Oval in Trinidad.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Opening batsman Shubman Gill was left stranded two runs short of a maiden senior international century as rain ended the visitors\' innings at 225 for three off 36 batting first.</div><div><br></div><div>Set a revised target of 257 off 35 overs, the home side crumbled to 137 all out off 26 overs with leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal leading the rout with figures of four for 17.</div><div><br></div><div>Missing seven first-choice players for this Caribbean journey, India completed a 3-0 sweep and also extended their winning run in ODI campaigns to 12 series.</div><div><br></div><div>For the West Indies, who came very close to upsetting India in the first two matches at the same venue, this was their ninth consecutive ODI loss.</div><div><br></div><div>It also leaves them with much work to do ahead of a three-match series against New Zealand next month when World Cup qualifying points will be at stake.</div><div><br></div><div>Gill, who was named both man of the match and man of the series, played fluently from the outset for a run-a-ball 98, putting on 113 with opening partner and captain Shikhar Dhawan (58) and then 86 with the energetic Shreyas Iyer (44).</div><div><br></div><div>But he slowed within sight of the elusive three figures and was left frustrated when showers returned to end the innings.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It wasn\'t meant to be but I am generally pleased with my performances today and in the three matches,\" said Gill after the match.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Still, I was just hoping to get one more over to get a chance at completing the hundred.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Hayden Walsh was the most successful of the West Indies bowlers with two wickets while fellow spinner Akeal Hosein claimed the other.</div><div><br></div><div>Facing a daunting challenge, the hosts were rocked onto the back foot immediately as Mohammed Siraj removed Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks before a run was scored.</div><div><br></div><div>Brandon King and captain Nicholas Pooran contributed 42 apiece but it was never going to be enough against a supremely confident Indian side as leg-spinner Chahal enjoyed a late feast to seal a comprehensive triumph.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We knew that target would be a challenge and really didn\'t put it together as we should have in the top order to have a chance,\" said Pooran his side\'s batting effort.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Taking on a team of the quality of India it has helped our young players develop though in understanding what is required to succeed eventually in the ODI format.\" -AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"9\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 15:08:30', '2022-07-28 15:08:30'),
(728, 728, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Popular actress Jaya Ahsan is set to host \"Hawa Adda\", a special programme to promote Mejbaur Rahman Sumon\'s upcoming film \"Hawa\". The show will be aired on Maasranga Television on Thursday at 10:30 pm.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>This show will mark Jaya\'s return to anchoring after quite a long time. The film\'s cast and crew, including Mejbaur Rahman Sumon, Chanchal Chowdhury, Nazifa Tushi, cinematographer Kamrul Hasan Khosru, music director Emon Chowdhury, background music director Rashid Sharif Shoaib, and singer Arfan Mridha Shiblu, will be present as the guests of the show.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I personally know most of the people associated with this film. Thus, I am eagerly looking forward to having a good time with them,\" said Jaya.</div><div><br></div><div> \"Hawa\" will hit the theatres on July 29.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 15:29:25', '2022-08-02 16:31:53'),
(729, 729, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The dengue situation may degrade this year due to intermittent rain over the last few days, which helps the dengue vector grow.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“If the breeding grounds of the vector are not destroyed immediately, the situation may take a serious turn anytime,” Dr Md. Nazmul Islam, Director (Disease Control) of DGHS told the Daily Sun.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the dengue situation has worsened over the past two weeks with the number of patients increasing every day.</div><div>The daily count of dengue cases crossed 50 over the last two weeks and continues to rise.</div><div><br></div><div>DGHS data show that 61 new dengue patients were hospitalised across the country in the last 24 hours while no death was reported. Of the total patients, 58 were admitted to 47 hospitals in Dhaka city.</div><div><br></div><div>Some 311 dengue patients are undergoing treatment in hospitals. Of them, 238 are in the capital. A total of 2,366 dengue patients were hospitalized and eight patients died this year.</div><div><br></div><div>The health authorities further said 1,277 dengue patients and seven deaths have been reported in July, which is the highest number of fatalities from dengue this year. Some 737 patients were reported in June without any death.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>A total of 1,405 dengue patients were hospitalised and seven died in 2020, while over 100,000 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals and around 179 people died of the mosquito-borne disease in 2019.</div><div><br></div><div>The World Health Organisation (WHO) said dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. The primary vectors that transmit the disease are Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and, to a lesser extent, Aedes albopictus.</div><div>The virus responsible for causing dengue is called dengue virus (DENV). There are four DENV (1, 2, 3 &amp; 4) serotypes and it is possible to be infected four times.</div><div><br></div><div>The WHO said there is no specific treatment for dengue or severe dengue. Early detection of disease progression associated with severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below one per cent.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The dengue situation will depend on vector control. If the Aedes mosquito is destroyed, the dengue will remain under control, otherwise, it may take a serious turn at any time, especially in this rainy season,\" Prof Dr Tahmina Shirin, director of IEDCR, told the Daily Sun.</div><div><br></div><div>\"People have to keep their homes and surroundings clean. At the same time, if anyone suffers from any symptom of dengue-like fever, they should consult a doctor immediately,\" Tahmina Shirin said.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking to the media, former Principal Scientific Officer of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Dr ASM Alamgir said, \"The dengue may take a serious turn anytime this year as research by the IEDCR found dengue infection with new serotype Den 4 this year in the country.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Dr ASM Alamgir cautioned that the dengue-related complications may also increase this year. “All have to keep their home surroundings clean. Especially, the Aedes aegypti is a household mosquito. So people have to ensure no breeding of this mosquito inside the home.”</div><div><br></div><div>The health ministry and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) have taken various initiatives, including carrying out anti-mosquito drives to control the vectors, sources said.</div><div><br></div><div>“An inter-ministerial meeting will be held tomorrow (Thursday) at the LGRD ministry to discuss the ways to keep the situation under control by destroying Aedes mosquitoes,” Md Haider Ali, PRO of the LGRD Ministry told the Daily Sun.</div><div><br></div><div>Dhaka south and Dhaka north city corporations are also conducting different anti-mosquito drives at different places in the cities.</div><div><br></div><div>Experts have emphasized nonstop anti-mosquito drives by all local government units, along with the LGRD to control the dengue vectors around the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Ekramul Haque, Program Manager (malaria &amp; Aedes transmitted disease) of the DGHS, said in a pre-monsoon survey, Aedes larvae were found in several places in Dhaka\'s north and south.</div><div><br></div><div>“It has also been observed that the mosquito behaviour has been changed, the humidity in weather increased. In this situation, we fear that dengue cases may increase this year,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Ekram said usually August to October is the peak season for dengue disease, but this disease may spread at any time of the year.</div><div><br></div><div>The DGHS official said they will start a monsoon survey of Aedes mosquitoes from 1 August to detect the hotspot of the dengue disease, which will help to take measures against the dengue vector.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 15:56:36', '2022-07-28 15:56:36'),
(730, 730, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russian space officials have informed U.S. counterparts that Moscow would like to keep flying its cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) until their own orbital outpost is built and operational, a senior NASA official told Reuters on Wednesday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Taken together with remarks from a senior Russian space official published on Wednesday, the latest indications are that Russia is still at least six years away from ending an orbital collaboration with the United States that dates back more than two decades.</div><div><br></div><div>A schism in the ISS program seemed to be closer at hand on Tuesday, when Yuri Borisov, the newly appointed director-general of Russia\'s space agency Roscosmos, surprised NASA by announcing that Moscow intended to withdraw from the space station partnership \"after 2024.\"&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Kathy Lueders, NASA\'s space operations chief, said in an interview that Russian officials later on Tuesday told the U.S. space agency that Roscosmos wished to remain in the partnership as Russia works to get its planned orbital outpost, named ROSS, up and running.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We\'re not getting any indication at any working level that anything\'s changed,\" Lueders told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that NASA\'s relations with Roscosmos remain \"business as usual.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The space station, a science laboratory spanning the size of a football field and orbiting some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth, has been continuously occupied for more than two decades under a U.S.-Russian-led partnership that also includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries.</div><div><br></div><div>It offers one of the last vestiges of cooperation between the United States and Russia, though its fate has been called into question since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, straining bilateral relations on a variety of fronts as the Biden administration imposed economic sanctions on Moscow.</div><div><br></div><div>The Ukraine conflict also sparked tensions between Roscosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA).</div><div><br></div><div>A formal agreement to extend Russia\'s ISS participation beyond 2024 has not yet been reached. NASA, Roscosmos, ESA and the station\'s other partners plan to discuss the prospect of extending each other\'s presence on the laboratory to 2030 during a periodic meeting on Friday of the board that oversees the station\'s management, Lueders said.</div><div><br></div><div>Roscosmos published on its website on Wednesday an interview with Vladimir Solovyov, the flight director for the space station\'s Russian segment, who was quoted as saying Russia must remain on the station until ROSS is operating.</div><div><br></div><div>Solovyov said he expected ROSS would be fully assembled in orbit sometime in 2028.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We, of course, need to continue operating the ISS until we create a more or less tangible backlog for ROSS,\" Solovyov said. \"We must take into account that if we stop manned flights for several years, then it will be very difficult to restore what has been achieved.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The American and Russian segments of the space station were deliberately built to be intertwined and technically interdependent, so that any abrupt withdrawal of Russian cooperation aboard the ISS could seriously disrupt a centerpiece of NASA\'s human spaceflight program. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 17:07:40', '2022-07-28 17:07:40'),
(731, 731, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Argentina\'s president will fire Economy Minister Silvina Batakis after just a few weeks on the job, Clarin newspaper reported on Wednesday citing official sources, as the country struggles with a growing economic crisis.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The newspaper said the head of the lower house of Congress, Sergio Massa, would replace Batakis.</div><div><br></div><div>The economy ministry and the office of President Alberto Fernandez did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</div><div><br></div><div>In a post on Twitter, Massa said he has not been offered any new post, pointing to \"lots of rumors\" but stopping short of saying he would not be offered the job as minister.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I haven\'t had any offers and I recently talked with the president,\" he wrote, noting that the conversation took place between Friday and Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>He added that any announcement would come via official channels.</div><div><br></div><div>The Clarin report comes as Batakis returns to Buenos Aires from Washington after a series of high-level finance meetings with investors, lenders and U.S. officials. Her dismissal would mark yet another sudden shake up for a governing coalition already divided over how to address soaring inflation, massive debt and a falling peso currency.</div><div><br></div><div>Batakis took over from Martin Guzman, Fernandez\'s first pick as economy minister, who suddenly resigned at the start of this month, adding to doubts over the near-term prospects of Latin America\'s third-biggest economy. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 17:49:10', '2022-07-28 17:49:10'),
(732, 732, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Terming the Ukraine-Russia war \"meaningless\", Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today, July 28, said that only arms makers are profiting from the conflict.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"...this war is meaningless. We\'re witnessing that only the arms producers are making profits. Lives of general people are endangered,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said this while inaugurating Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Centennial Technical Training Center in Tungipara and 23 other such centres in various upazilas across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The programme was held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium while the PM joined virtually from her official residence Gono Bhaban .</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina said that the Ukraine-Russia war comes with sanctions and counter-sanctions, threatening the entire global economy.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Developed countries are facing severe problems. They have now started to save electricity and fuel, they are concerned about food security and taking various steps,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier said that countries like Bangladesh, which have started a journey towards a specific goal to become developed, are facing severe hurdles due to this war.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM also mentioned that the war struck when the world was facing the coronavirus pandemic and an economic fallout.</div><div><br></div><div>\"To save fuel, all countries have taken various types of initiatives and we are also following that,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina put emphasis on developing skilled manpower as Bangladesh has a large number of young population.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We want to groom skilled manpower by providing them training aiming to continue the pace of development.\"</div><div><br></div><div>A documentary on the technical training centres was also screened at the event.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 18:47:17', '2022-07-28 18:47:17'),
(733, 733, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) today, July 28, awarded death sentence to six criminals on charges of committing crimes against humanity in Khulna during 1971 Liberation War.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A three-member judicial panel headed by tribunal chairman Justice Md Shahinur Islam handed down the verdict.</div><div><br></div><div>The death row convicts are Amjad Hossain Hawladar, Sahar Ali Sardar, Atiar Rahman, Motachim Billah, Kamal Uddin Goldar and Nazrul Islam, all hailing from Batiaghata upazila of Khulna district.</div><div><br></div><div>The verdict was pronounced in presence of five war criminals at dock as another Nazrul Islam is at large.</div><div><br></div><div>This is the 48th judgment of the ICT in the case of crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation.</div><div><br></div><div>According to case sources, four or five Razakars including Amjad swooped on the house of Shanti Lata Mandal in Machalia village of Batiaghata and tortured and shot Vinod Mandal to death after abducting him on August 10 in 1971.</div><div><br></div><div>In another charge, they said the death awardees tortured and shot dead unarmed Haridas Majumdar after attacking his house located in Chaprashi area at Purbahalia village of Batiaghata upazila On October 15, 1971.</div><div><br></div><div>In third charge, it is said that, they attacked Sukhdara village of Batiaghata, killed four innocent unarmed Hindu people, looted goods of four to six houses and conducted arson terrorism to eliminate the Hindu community on October 21 in 1971.</div><div><br></div><div>On November 29 in 1971, they also attacked Baroaria village of Batiaghata and shot freedom fighters Jyotish Mandal and Abdul Aziz dead. -bss</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 19:25:59', '2022-07-28 19:25:59'),
(734, 734, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The rumors of Cristiano Ronaldo\'s arrival at Atletico Madrid continue, even though Enrique Cerezo said that it was impossible the arrival of the Portuguese to the red and white team was impossible. Now there are rumors of a possible departure of Frenchman Antoine Grizmann and with it the arrival of CR7.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The future, therefore, seems united between Antoine and Ronaldo. Griezmann, who wants no other destination than Atletico. Weeks after the club activated the second season on loan, news advanced by MARCA, now there are doubts about the continuity. Doubts that, written was not shared by the player or Simeone, the Argentine coach is the one who most supports the Frenchman.</div><div><br></div><div>Before thinking about the option of Griezmann\'s departure and the arrival of Cristiano, it is worth remembering the contractual situation of the world champion.</div><div><br></div><div>He is on loan from Barça and is not owned by Atletico, who would have to find a formula (there are many clauses and small print in the contract signed on August 31, 2021) to get rid of the high salary of the current number eight. Something that, on the other hand, does not seem to be simple or to the liking of Simeone himself.</div><div><br></div><div>Hence the difficulty of seeing Griezmann away from Atletico and Cristiano close. The Portuguese, or rather his entourage, are still close to the Metropolitan Stadium in an operation that Atletico\'s board does not want to know anything about, but that has undoubtedly been raised by Jorge Mendes, an agent very close to the club\'s owners.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Morata and his future</b></div><div><br></div><div>For Ronaldo\'s arrival at Atletico to be possible, what would be the signing of the year, would have to resort to the departure of Griezmann and at least one other player in the squad.</div><div><br></div><div>The name chosen, according to several sources, is Morata. Something that Atletico denies by considering the Spanish international untouchable, also convinced that he wants to stay in the squad after his two seasons on loan in Turin.</div><div><br></div><div>Precisely Juve has not forgotten about Morata, whom Allegri, coach of the Italians, has as an absolute priority. The 35 million purchase option was not paid, but they insist on taking the player.</div><div><br></div><div>In fact, they have already made several attempts to bring the striker back.</div><div><br></div><div>With the possible departures of Morata and Grizmann, the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo could be considered, but would the Portuguese be worth the departure of two of Atletico Madrid\'s biggest stars? -Marca</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"16\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 20:10:53', '2022-07-28 20:10:53'),
(735, 735, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt starrer Shamshera released in theatres just a week ago and the film bombed at the box office on the first weekend itself. The film could not rake in the numbers that the makers expected, and even the critics bashed the much-hyped big banner entertainer. Made at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore, the film is expected to earn around Rs 40 crore in its first week. Now, Sanjay Dutt, who played the antagonist in the film has penned a note in the film’s defence.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Sharing a note on his social media, Dutt captioned it ‘#ShamsheraIsOurs’. The Munnabhai actor wrote that a large section of people who hated the film did not even watch it and he found it ‘horrible’ that they did not respect the hard work that was put into the making of the film. A part of his note read, “Movies are made for audiences to relish. And every movie finds its viewers, sooner or later. Shamshera found a lot of people hating on it; some of the hate came from people who didn’t even watch it. I find it horrible that people don’t respect the hard work we all put in. I admire Karan as a filmmaker, and mostly as a person.”</div><div><br></div><div>Also Raed |Shamshera box office Day 5: Ranbir Kapoor’s film continues downward spiral, struggles to hit Rs 40 crore in one week</div><div>Sanjay mentioned that the film’s director Karan Malhotra “has the knack of giving characters that strike a chord.” Karan and Sanjay had previously worked together on Agneepath, where Dutt played Kancha Cheena. “Karan is like family and success or failure aside, it will always be an honour to work with him. I stand by him always,” he wrote.</div><div><br></div><div>Sanjay was hopeful in his note that Shamshera will find its audience someday. “Shamshera will find its tribe someday but until it does, I stand resolute with the film, the memories we created, teh bond we shared, the laughs we had, the hardships we went through,” he wrote.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking about Ranbir’s performance in Shamshera, the KGF 2 actor wrote, “His craft and ability to depict emotionality on screen is par excellence.” He added, “It pains to see how people are so eager to spew hatred on the work of one of the most hardworking and talented actors of our times. Art and our commitment to it transcends the hate coming our way. The love we feel for the film and its people goes beyond everything that’s being said.” Sanjay concluded the note with, “Baaki kuch toh log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna!”</div><div><br></div><div>Previously, the film’s director Karan Malhotra also wrote a note on social media after the film’s failure saying that he ‘could not handle the hate and rage’ that came his way in the last few days. He also stood by the film and wrote, “Will face everything together, the good, the bad and the ugly. And a huge shout out to the Shamshera family, the cast and crew of Shamshera.”</div><div><br></div><div>Shamshera was marketed as a quintessential mainstream Hindi film, and Ranbir’s first attempt at the genre. He appeared in a dual role in the film, playing both a father and his son. Ranbir had also described the film as a ‘larger than life’ experience. In an earlier interview with indianexpress.com, RK shared that part of the reason he chose Shamshera was because it “was catering to a larger audience.” -indianexpress</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 21:04:42', '2022-07-28 21:04:42'),
(736, 736, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Marvel Studios had a slew of announcements and trailers to share at the recent San Diego Comic Con, among which was the emotional trailer of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The footage for the sequel showed Wakanda attempting to cope with the loss of T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman who passed away in 2020. It also provided the first glimpse of Tenoch Huerta as Namor, the film’s protagonist.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>There’s been much discussion on who will take up the mantle of Black Panther and the new Lego sets might have just given us a small hint. It seems to be Shuri, as her mini figure appears to be wearing the redesigned Black Panther suit seen in the teaser trailer.</div><div><br></div><div>For the longest time, Letitia Wright’s Shuri has been considered a strong candidate to take on the mantle of Black Panther, as the character is the sister of the superhero. However, the actor’s controversial anti-vaccination sentiments have given rise to much doubt. The other contenders to take on the Black Panther mantle are Danai Gurira’s Okoye and Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia.</div><div><br></div><div>Chadwick Boseman’s turn as T’Challa in the 2018 film Black Panther is considered one of the most groundbreaking in the MCU, and his untimely death in 2020 put Marvel in fix —whether Boseman should be recast. The studio decided not to recast him, and used the supporting characters to anchor the sequel. His death looms over the sequel, and the cast and crew believe that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever would be a tribute to his legacy.</div><div><br></div><div>Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will release on November 11. Apart from Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke and Martin Freeman will reprise their roles. - Indian Express</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 21:12:36', '2022-07-28 21:12:36'),
(737, 737, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A female madrasa student died after a speeding bus hit a motorcycle in Dhaka\'s Jatrabari area this afternoon.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Deceased Habiba Islam Mithila (17) was a ninth grader at Tamirul Millat Kamil Madrasah in Jatrabari campus, according to sources.</div><div><br></div><div>Mithila was the pillion rider on the bike of her friend Shariful Islam when the bus of Shitol Paribahan hit the two-wheeler near Saddam Market around 1:15pm.</div><div><br></div><div>The bus then ran over her after she fell on the road, leaving her critically injured.</div><div><br></div><div>She was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared her dead around 2:00pm, Shariful told reporters at the hospital.</div><div><br></div><div>Shariful said he lives in Mirpur area. He was giving Mithia a lift to her Jatrabari residence on his way back from Signboard area when the accident happened.</div><div><br></div><div>Police seized the bus but its driver fled away, said sub-inspector Arifur Rahman of Jatrabari Police Station.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The body was sent to hospital morgue for autopsy.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 21:21:58', '2022-07-28 21:21:58'),
(738, 738, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) will take action against anyone hoarding dollars.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\'\'Information about dollar hoarders is being collected and verified,\'\' Harun-ur-Rashid, additional commissioner of the Detective Branch said during a media call on Thursday.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>He said: “If we get information that someone has stockpiled dollars or is trying to print fake dollars, an operation will be conducted immediately.”</div><div><br></div><div>Denouncing the malpractice he said that anyone who tries to take advantage of the situation will be brought to book.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 22:51:07', '2022-07-28 22:51:07'),
(739, 739, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) spent Tk1.98 crore against its income of Tk84.12 lakh in the calendar year for 2021 – leading to a deficit of Tk1.14 crore, according to its annual financial report.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Joint General Secretary of the party Ruhul Kabir Rizvi submitted the report to the Election Commission Secretary Md Humayun Kabir Khondkar on Thursday noon.</div><div><br></div><div>The party said it met the 2021-shortfall from the previous year\'s fund.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2021, BNP\'s income dropped by Tk38.41 lakh, while the expenditure rose by Tk23.95 lakh compared to the previous year, showed the report.</div><div><br></div><div>The major income heads of the party were monthly contributions of its national executive committee members, new member subscription fees, individual and institutional donations and fixed deposit receipts (FDR) in banks, according to the report.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, the party spent on the salary and bonus of staff, printing and publishing of posters, and leaflets, and helping leaders and activists financially.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the law, each registered political party is obliged to submit its financial statement of the previous calendar year to the Election Commission by 31 July.</div><div><br></div><div>The commission can cancel the registration of a party if it fails to submit the report for three consecutive years. </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-28 23:23:42', '2022-07-28 23:24:16');
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(740, 740, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">China’s President Xi JInping warned against meddling in China’s dealings with Taiwan during a phone call with his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, that gave no indication of progress on trade, technology or other irritants, including Beijing’s opposition to a top American lawmaker’s possible visit to the island democracy, which the mainland claims as its own territory.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Xi also warned against splitting the world’s two biggest economies, according to a Chinese government summary of Thursday’s unusually lengthy, three-hour call. Businesspeople and economists warn such a change, brought on by Chinese industrial policy and U.S. curbs on technology exports, might hurt the global economy by slowing innovation and increasing costs.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Xi and Biden are looking at the possibility of meeting in person, according to a U.S. official who declined to be identified further. Xi has been invited to Indonesia in November for a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies, making it a potential location for a face-to-face meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>The Chinese government gave no indication Xi and Biden discussed possible plans by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan, which the ruling Communist Party says has no right to conduct foreign relations. But Xi rejected “interference by external forces” that might encourage Taiwan to try to make its decades-old de facto independence permanent.</div><div><br></div><div>“Resolutely safeguarding China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity is the firm will of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people,” said the statement. “Those who play with fire will perish by it.”</div><div><br></div><div>The tough language from Xi, who usually tries to appear to be above political disputes and makes blandly positive public comments, suggested Chinese leaders might believe Washington didn’t understand the seriousness of previous warnings about Taiwan.</div><div><br></div><div>Taiwan and China split in 1949 following a civil war that ended with a Communist victory on the mainland. They have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars of trade and investment. Both sides say they are one country but disagree over which government is entitled to national leadership.</div><div><br></div><div>A Ministry of Defense spokesman said ahead of Thursday’s call that Washington “must not arrange for Pelosi to visit Taiwan.” He said the ruling party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, would take “strong measures to thwart any external interference.”</div><div><br></div><div>Xi called on the United States to “honor the one-China principle,” the statement said, referring to Beijing’s position that the mainland and Taiwan are one country. The United States, by contrast, has a “one-China policy” that says Washington takes no position on the question but wants to see it resolved peacefully.</div><div><br></div><div>“Both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China,” the statement said.</div><div><br></div><div>The statement cited Biden as saying the United States doesn’t support independence for Taiwan.</div><div><br></div><div>Coverage of the conversation in China’s entirely state-controlled media on Friday was limited to repeating government statements.</div><div><br></div><div>Pelosi has yet to confirm whether she will go to Taiwan, but if she does, the Democrat from California would be the highest-ranking elected American official to visit since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.</div><div><br></div><div>Beijing criticized Gingrich for saying the United States would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack but did little else in response to his three-hour visit to the island.</div><div><br></div><div>Since then, China’s position on Taiwan has hardened as the mainland economy grew to become second-largest after the United States. The ruling party poured hundreds of billions of dollars into developing fighter jets and other high-tech weapons including “carrier killer” missiles that are thought to be intended to block the U.S. Navy from helping to defend the island.</div><div><br></div><div>The conflict over a possible Pelosi visit is more sensitive to Beijing in a year when Xi, who took power in 2012, is expected to try to break with tradition and award himself a third five-year term as party leader.</div><div><br></div><div>Xi, who wants to be seen as restoring China’s rightful historic role as a global leader, has promoted a more assertive policy abroad. The PLA has sent growing numbers of fighter planes and bombers to fly near Taiwan in an attempt to intimidate its democratically elected government.</div><div><br></div><div>The United States has no official relations with Taiwan but has extensive commercial ties and informal political connections. Washington is obliged by federal law to see that Taiwan has the means to defend itself.</div><div><br></div><div>Xi called for cooperation on reducing the risk of economic recession, coordinating macroeconomic policies, fighting COVID-19 and “de-escalation of regional hot spots,” according to the government statement.</div><div><br></div><div>He also warned against decoupling, or separating, the U.S. and Chinese economies for strategic reasons.</div><div><br></div><div>Businesspeople and industry analysts have warned global industries might be split into separate markets with incompatible products due to China’s pressure on its own companies to develop their own technology standards and U.S. restrictions on Chinese access to technology that Washington see as a security risk. That might slow innovation and increase costs.</div><div><br></div><div>“Attempts at decoupling or severing supply chains in defiance of underlying laws would not help boost the U.S. economy,” the statement said. “They would only make the world economy more vulnerable.” -AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 17:11:37', '2022-07-29 17:11:37'),
(741, 741, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">South Korea\'s property market has abruptly gone from sizzling hot to floundering, piling pressure on some of the world\'s most debt-saddled consumers as the sector experiences the fastest interest rate hikes on record.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Prices of Seoul apartments last week reported their sharpest decline in 26 months, while transaction volumes in the capital dropped 73% in June from a year earlier.</div><div><br></div><div>The 2.6 quadrillion won ($1.97 trillion) debt tied to the property market faces a major test as borrowing costs rise, with a slump and higher mortgage repayments likely to result in weaker consumption.</div><div><br></div><div>With nearly three quarters of household wealth tied to real estate, policymakers worry higher mortgage rates could increase defaults and take the economy closer to a financial crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>Ordinary Koreans are already feeling the squeeze - for Jane Jeon, a 36-year-old mother of a six-month old in central Seoul, growing mortgage stress means she has had to make some hard choices.</div><div><br></div><div>\"My husband\'s pay now isn\'t enough to cover our monthly repayment so I need to cut my maternity leave short and return to work,\" said Jeon, who had initially planned to take 15 months off.</div><div><br></div><div>Her family now pays 720,000 won more each month than last year for their 500 million won mortgage, which her broker said will probably rise further by year-end, bringing their total monthly repayment to almost 4 million won, or 70% of her husband\'s pay.</div><div><br></div><div>Financial regulators expect the number of people that could default on their loans to rise by half a million to 1.9 million once the average mortgage rate reaches 7% from current 5-6%.</div><div><br></div><div>With services and commodities consumption from construction investment accounting for about 15% of economic activity, a property slump, combined with dwindling exports, would pose a big drag on growth. read more</div><div><br></div><div>\"South Korea\'s financial system is one of the most vulnerable in the world to interest rate hikes, as the debt increase over the pandemic has been one of the highest,\" said Seo Young-soo, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Those that had recently taken out both a mortgage and credit loans on top of that (for investment) face the most trouble.\"</div><div><br></div><div><b>Plenty of downside</b></div><div><br></div><div>The Bank of Korea has raised interest rates by 1.75 percentage points since August last year, including an unprecedented 50 basis point hike this month. read more</div><div><br></div><div>The policy rate KROCRT=ECI is widely seen peaking by year-end at 2.75% from 2.25% currently, which will squeeze indebted families further as local mortgage rates rise from current nine-year highs.</div><div><br></div><div>Over the past five years, Seoul home prices more than doubled in what began as a stimulus-fueled search for homes and turned into a national pastime, even as heavier loan restrictions threw many millennials into financial distress.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>South Korea had one of the world\'s highest household debt-to-GDP ratios at 104.3% in the first quarter, data of 36 major economies from the Institute of International Finance shows.</div><div><br></div><div>Regulators have sought to mitigate the impact of any household debt on the wider financial system by offering borrowers a chance to refinance loans at a fixed rate. That relief came just two weeks after the BOK\'s supersized rate hike this month.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We will improve the structure of household debt in a swift manner,\" finance minister Choo Kyung-ho said earlier this week. \"When the planned refinance package takes off, the proportion of household debt on variable interest rates should fall by up to 5 percentage points, to under 73% from 78%.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The debt to disposable income ratio reached 206% at the end of last year, meaning household debt is now double what they have for living expenses.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Our apartment is everything we have so we\'re going to make it work,\" said Jeon. \"I\'d hate to move out of Seoul.\" -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 17:21:13', '2022-07-29 17:21:13'),
(742, 742, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Cristiano Ronaldo has an offer to depart Manchester United, reports The Mirror. In turn, the 37-year-old striker’s agent Jorge Mendes has asked the club to name their price for the player, something that United have refused to do. After big clubs failed to make a move for the player, it appears that Sporting Lisbon and Napoli are the sides who could take him on.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Paper Round’s view: It is tough to see how Sporting Lisbon could afford Ronaldo, and given their relatively low status their run in the Champions League would almost certainly be short. Napoli however could potentially stump up a decent sum for one year if they can sell players in the market, and it could help them with a title at the title after many years as also-rans. -eurosport</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"16\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 17:26:51', '2022-07-29 17:26:51'),
(743, 743, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Disney’s former chief creative officer Alan Horn is joining Warner Bros. Discovery.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Horn, who retired from Disney in 2021 after a decade at the studio, has been hired in a consultant role to help the company’s newly appointed CEO David Zaslav in navigating the film business. He will start on Aug. 1. The formal announcement comes after reports that Horn had been in discussions with Warner Bros. Discovery executives and had been seen on the lot having meetings with top decision makers.</div><div><br></div><div>“I am thrilled to share with you that Alan Horn, one of the most respected studio executives in the industry, has agreed to assist me in a consultant role during this transition period, starting August 1. No one knows this business better than Alan does. He has had an extraordinary career spanning nearly half a century,” Zaslav said in a staff memo. “Most recently, he served as chairman and later co-chairman and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Studios, where for a period of nearly 10 years, he oversaw the production of all motion pictures and the integration of Lucasfilm and the Fox film studios, as well as the expansion into producing content for Disney’s streaming services.”</div><div><br></div><div>Horn is very well-respected and seen as one of the most honest and upstanding executives in the business. The appointment is a homecoming, of sorts, for Horn, who was forced out as president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros. in 2013. At Warner Bros., Horn oversaw the “Harry Potter” franchise and Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy.</div><div><br></div><div>He was lured out of retirement and enjoyed a great second act at Disney, where he cultivated relationships at Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar to great success. During his nine years at Disney, the studio dominated the box office with ease and set numerous records in the process. In that time, 20 films — including all-time behemoths like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Avengers: Endgame” and “Black Panther” — crossed the billion-dollar mark. Three movies (“The Force Awakens,” “Endgame” and “Avengers: Infinity War”) even surpassed $2 billion globally.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite Horn’s track record, however, some Warner Bros. Discovery insiders have voiced concern that Zaslav is spending money on high-priced consultants at a time in which the company is undergoing cost-cutting efforts and extensive layoffs. Former MGM film leaders Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were recently named co-chairperson and CEO of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, taking over duties from Toby Emmerich.</div><div><br></div><div>In Zaslav’s memo, he says he’s already “learned a ton” about the film industry from spending time with Horn.</div><div><br></div><div>“Over the past six months, I have been fortunate to spend time with Alan. He has been generous and hugely helpful to me, and I’ve learned a ton about the business from our conversations,” he said. “I could not be more excited to be able to continue to tap into his thinking, expertise and stellar instincts as we transition our film business and hone our motion picture strategy for the future. And I know Mike and Pam are equally excited to have Alan’s ear and to be able to benefit from his wealth of experience gained from such an illustrious track record.”</div><div><br></div><div>The memo concludes, “In many ways this is a homecoming. Alan began his career with the legendary Norman Lear and partners Jerry Perenchio and Bud Yorkin, and later co-founded and led Castle Rock Entertainment before serving as president and COO of Warner Bros. for 12 years. He knows the ins and outs of this studio and helped build it into the powerhouse it is today. He also has wide-spread talent relations and great respect and appreciation for our unparalleled collection of IP, and will be able to provide a unique and valued perspective to the overall creative process. We’re so glad to have him join us.”</div><div><br></div><div>The Wrap first reported Zaslav’s memo to staff. -variety</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 17:31:28', '2022-07-29 17:31:28'),
(744, 744, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">More rains are likely to lash Bangladesh in the next 24 hours, the weather department has predicted.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at many places over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions and at a few places over Dhaka, Khulna and Barisal divisions with moderately heavy to heavy falls at isolated places over the country,\" it said.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the weather bulletin from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, the maximum temperature on Thursday was recorded in Faridpur at 35.3 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature was 24.5 degrees in Nikli and Tetulia.</div><div><br></div><div>The day and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, as per the weather bulletin.</div><div><br></div><div>The axis of the monsoon trough runs through Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal to Assam across the central part of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>One of its associated troughs extends up to the Northwest Bay. Monsoon is less active over Bangladesh and weak elsewhere over the North Bay.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 17:36:06', '2022-07-29 17:36:06'),
(745, 745, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The next tiger census in the Sundarbans may be up against a delay as the assigned fund is yet to be disbursed to the Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>To assess Bengal tigers and their prey in the Sundarbans and also monitor the current situation of the habitat, the government plans to undertake a major survey under the new project of the forest department.</div><div><br></div><div>The project aims at conducting a tiger census in the world\'s largest mangrove forest and taking measures to ensure a safe environment for the big cats in the Sundarbans.</div><div><br></div><div>The Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change approved the project involving Tk35.94 crore on March 23 this year.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain, project director and Divisional Forest Officer of the Sundarbans West Division, informed to media that no money has yet been allocated in the current fiscal year.</div><div><br></div><div>“Due to this, we are yet to start any work. To conduct a tiger survey and to appoint consultants for further analysis we have asked for funding. Considering the recent austerity measures in allocation by the government we don’t know whether we’ll get the fund or not,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Of the project, Tk3.27 crore will be expended on tiger census activities. In the camera trapping method, there is a plan to install over 200 cameras in different blocks of the forest to provide data on the tigers’ movements in the Sundarbans.</div><div><br></div><div>The project director said the purchase of the cameras has seen no progress due to the halt in disbursement.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The remaining Tk32.67 crore will be spent on establishing 12 shelter centres (Matir Killa) for tiger protection during natural disasters, setting up nylon fencing across 60 kilometers, fire distinguishing machines, pipe and drone purchase, infrastructure development for 500 trainees, study tours, research and other activities.</div><div><br></div><div>“We’ll get the budget every year, which will be spent according to the project prospect. If we don’t get the confirmation of this year’s allocation by August, we won\'t be able to conduct the survey this year,” he added, “as the survey can only be conducted during the winter season.”</div><div><br></div><div><b>Bangladesh’s plan for global summit</b></div><div><br></div><div>The current number of tigers is 2.17 per 100 kilometers, said the project director.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2010, at a summit in Russia, Tiger Range Countries committed to double the global tiger population by 2022. Bangladesh is among the 13 countries where tigers still roam in the wild. However, each country was given the flexibility to design a recovery plan at the summit.</div><div><br></div><div>In light of the second phase of the Bangladesh Tiger Action Plan continuing till 2027, Bangladesh has its own National Recovery Programme that ended last year.</div><div><br></div><div>“Our prime objective in the recovery plan was to stabilize the number of tigers since during that time the tiger population was in an alarming situation,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the Tiger Census 2015 and 2018, the tiger population declined to only 106 and 114 tigers respectively in the Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Considering the last two surveys we fulfilled our primary target; now it\'s time to focus on increasing the number, \'\' he said while mentioning Bangladesh\'s upcoming National Tiger Recovery Programme.</div><div><br></div><div>Keeping in mind the Second Global Tiger Summit in Russia\'s Vladivostock, to be held on September 5, an expert team has been constituted to draw up a draft plan for the National Tiger Recovery Programme 2022-2034.</div><div><br></div><div>International Tiger Day is observed on July 29 every year to raise awareness about the conservation of tigers and to promote the protection of their natural habitats.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 17:39:47', '2022-07-29 17:39:47'),
(746, 746, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 11 people died and three others have been critically injured as a train hit a microbus at a rail crossing in Mirsharai of Chattogram today, July 29.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Hasan Chowdhury, superintendent of Railway Police in Chattogram, confirmed the death toll to our Chattogram staff correspondent.</div><div><br></div><div>The microbus tried to cross the rail crossing forcefully, ignoring the gateman\'s request, when the train hit the vehicle, leaving 11 people dead on the spot, Jahangir Hossain, general manager (East) of Bangladesh Railway, told to the media.</div><div><br></div><div>Mirsharai Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Minhazur Rahman, however, said there was no gateman at the crossing when the accident happened.</div><div><br></div><div>Other than this, the UNO could not specify whether the rail crossing was illegal or not.</div><div><br></div><div>The incident occurred around 1:45pm in Borotakiya area of Mirsharai. On information, Mirsharai fire service personnel went to the spot and recovered 11 bodies and rescued three other passengers of the microbus and sent them to Chattogram Medical College Hospital, said Imam Hossain, station officer of the fire service station.</div><div><br></div><div>The victims were all residents of Yunus Nagar area under Chikondondi union of Hathazari upazila.</div><div><br></div><div>They were on their way back after visiting Khaiyachhara waterfall when the Chattogram-bound Probhati Express train hit their microbus and dragged it for at least one kilometer, according to Shahidul Islam, a witness.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 22:11:10', '2022-07-29 22:11:10'),
(747, 747, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russian-backed separatists said Friday that a Ukrainian attack with U.S.-supplied missiles on a separatist eastern region hit a prison and killed 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were captured in Mariupol. There was no immediate confirmation of the attack from Ukraine.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The attack with HIMARS multiple rocket launchers on the prison in Olenivka, in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, also injured 75 Ukrainian POWs, said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov. Speaking before the latest update from the separatists, he put the death toll at 40.</div><div><br></div><div>Konashenkov described the strike as a “bloody provocation” aimed at discouraging Ukrainian soldiers from surrendering. He said that eight prison guards were also wounded by the shelling.</div><div><br></div><div>The attack could not be independently verified and officials in Ukraine have not yet commented on the reports. Ukrainian authorities in the Donetsk region said Russia has pressed on with the shelling of civilian targets in Ukrainian-held areas.</div><div><br></div><div>“The fighting in the region has been intensifying by the day, and civilians must evacuate while it’s still possible,” said Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko. “The Russian army doesn’t worry about civilian casualties. They are pummeling cities and villages in the region.”</div><div><br></div><div>The Ukrainian troops in Mariupol were taken prisoner after the fierce fighting for Ukraine’s Azov Sea port, where they had been holed up at the giant Azovstal steel mill. Their resistance has become a symbol of Ukrainian struggle against the Russian invasion that started on Feb. 24.</div><div><br></div><div>The Azov Regiment and other Ukrainian units defended the steel mill for nearly three months, clinging to its underground maze of tunnels. More than 2,400 surrendered in May under relentless Russian attacks from the ground, sea and air.</div><div><br></div><div>Scores of Ukrainian soldiers were taken to prisons in Russian-controlled areas such as the Donetsk region, a breakaway area in eastern Ukraine which is run by Russian-backed separatist authorities. Some have returned to Ukraine as part of prisoner exchanges with Russia, but families of others have no idea whether their loved ones are alive, or if they will ever come home.</div><div><br></div><div>In other developments:</div><div><br></div><div>— Ukrainian officials said Russian forces shelled the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.</div><div><br></div><div>City mayor Ihor Terekhov said a central part of the northeastern city was hit, including a two-story building and a higher education institution. Terekhov said the strike occurred just after 4 a.m. on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>“The State Emergency Service is already working — they are sorting out the rubble, looking for people under them,” Terekhov said in a Telegram update.</div><div><br></div><div>— The Ukrainian presidential office said that at least 13 civilians were killed and another 36 were wounded in Russian shelling over the past 24 hours.</div><div><br></div><div>In the southern city of Mykolaiv, at least four people were killed and seven others were wounded when Russian shelling hit a bus stop.</div><div><br></div><div>“The Russians have changed their tactics because of the Ukrainian forces’ successes in the south. ... They fire near a bus stop,” Mykolaiv Gov. Vitaliy Kim said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Russian barrage also hit a facility for distribution of humanitarian assistance, where three people were wounded, officials said.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukrainian officials also said at least four civilians were killed and another five were wounded in the eastern town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, which is the focus of the Russian offensive in the Donbas. More than 30 residential buildings and a kindergarten were damaged. -AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 22:17:29', '2022-07-29 22:17:29'),
(748, 748, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Another 65 dengue patients were hospitalized across the country in 24 hours to Friday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Among them, 48 patients were hospitalized in Dhaka and 17 in other places, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>As many as 336 dengue patients, including 254 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>On Tuesday, this year’s death toll from the mosquito-borne viral disease rose to eight with another death reported in Cox’s Bazar. Among the deaths, five were reported in Cox’s Bazar while three in Dhaka.</div><div><br></div><div>On June 21, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the viral disease.</div><div><br></div><div>This year, the DGHS has recorded 2,495 dengue cases and 2,151 recoveries so far. -UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 22:25:29', '2022-07-29 22:25:29'),
(749, 749, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Pranay Kumar Verma, presently ambassador of India to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, has been appointed as the next high commissioner of India to Bangladesh.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Ministry of External Affairs made the announcement on Friday. Verma is expected to take up the assignment shortly.</div><div><br></div><div>Verma joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1994 and has held diplomatic assignments in Hong Kong, San Francisco, Beijing, Kathmandu and Washington DC.</div><div><br></div><div>Before arriving in Hanoi, Verma served as the joint secretary of the East Asia division at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi since June 2017.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, he also served as the joint secretary for external relations at the Department of Atomic Energy looking after India’s nuclear diplomacy.</div><div><br></div><div>Verma has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.</div><div><br></div><div>Before joining the Indian Foreign Service, he started his professional career at India’s steel manufacturing company, Tata Steel.</div><div><br></div><div>He also holds a Master’s degree in the Chinese language from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, California, US.</div><div><br></div><div>He assumed the office of Ambassador of India to Vietnam on July 25, 2019.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 22:30:01', '2022-07-29 22:30:01'),
(750, 750, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Spanish prosecutors said Friday they would seek a prison sentence of more than eight years against global music superstar Shakira, after she rejected a plea deal on accusations of tax evasion.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Prosecutors in Barcelona will also demand a fine of nearly 24 million euros ($24.5 million) from the 45-year-old \"Hips don\'t Lie\" songstress, whom they accuse of defrauding the Spanish tax office out of 14.5 million euros on income earned between 2012 and 2014.</div><div><br></div><div>Shakira, who has sold over 60 million albums, rejected a plea deal on Wednesday, saying in a statement through her lawyers that she was \"absolutely certain of her innocence\" and had decided to let the case go to court, \"confident\" that her innocence would be proven.</div><div><br></div><div>A formal referral to court has not yet been announced, neither has a trial date been set.</div><div><br></div><div>Lawyers for Shakira, one of the biggest names in the global music industry, say an agreement remains possible until the start of any trial.</div><div><br></div><div>Prosecutors say Shakira moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique became public but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015. The couple, who share two children, announced their separation in June.</div><div><br></div><div>On Wednesday, the star slammed the \"complete violation of her rights\" and \"abusive methods\" carried out by the prosecutor\'s office.</div><div><br></div><div>She claimed prosecutors were \"insisting on claiming money earned during my international tours and the show \'The Voice\'\" on which she was a judge in the United States, when she was \"not yet resident in Spain\".</div><div><br></div><div>Shakira was on the singing competition show between 2013 and 2014.</div><div><br></div><div>Her lawyers say that until 2014 she earned most of her money from international tours, moved to Spain full time only in 2015 and has met all tax obligations.</div><div><br></div><div>She says she has paid 17.2 million euros to Spanish tax authorities and that she has \"no debt to the Treasury for many years\".</div><div><br></div><div>A Barcelona court in May dismissed an appeal from the singer to drop the charges.</div><div><br></div><div>Shakira was named in one of the largest ever leaks of financial documents in October 2021, known as the \"Pandora Papers\", among public figures linked to offshore assets.</div><div><br></div><div>With her mix of Latin and Arabic rhythms and rock influence, three-time Grammy winner Shakira scored major global hits with songs such as \"Hips don\'t Lie\", \"Whenever, Wherever\" and \"Waka Waka\", the official song of the 2010 World Cup. -ndtv</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-29 23:34:40', '2022-07-29 23:34:40'),
(751, 751, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Friday claimed to have arrested two men from Cox\'s Bazar\'s Teknaf on charges of smuggling yaba pills and crystal meth worth around Tk5.91 crore from Myanmar to here.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>BGB Battalion-2 conducted a drive on the banks of the River Naf River near Hnila BOP of the upazila and detained Riaz Uddin, 20, and Saddam Hossain, 19.</div><div><br></div><div>Around 1.063 kg of crystal meth and 20,000 yaba pills, a boat, and illegal fishing nets were recovered from the possession of the duo, Lieutenant Colonel Sheikh Khalid Mohammad Iftekhar, commanding officer of BGB Battalion-2, told reporters.</div><div><br></div><div>The detainees were later handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 00:41:22', '2022-07-30 00:41:22'),
(752, 752, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the importance of stabilizing global energy markets and food supplies during the crown prince’s visit to France, a statement published by state news agency (SPA) reported on Friday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Both leaders also agreed to boost cooperation on renewable energy, including solar energy and clean hydrogen, they said in the statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Macron and Prince Mohammed discussed the importance of ensuring uninterrupted supplies of wheat and grains to countries across the world to help stabilize prices.</div><div><br></div><div>They also underlined the need for continued evaluation of the threats facing both countries and the security and stability of the Middle East, read the SPA statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Boosting cooperation in defense and joining efforts to combat terrorism were also key part of the discussion between both leaders, who agreed to increase economic cooperation and strengthen investments.</div><div><br></div><div>Prince Mohammed thanked Macron for France’s backing of Saudi Arabia’s bid to host Expo 2030.</div><div>Macron praised the Kingdom’s efforts to maintain the truce in Yemen, while Prince Mohammed commended France’s backing of the United Nations’ effort to reach a political solution in Yemen.</div><div><br></div><div>The leaders addressed international efforts made to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and to urge the Islamic state to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.</div><div><br></div><div>They agreed that diplomacy and peaceful means are the best way to resolve international disputes, emphasizing on respecting the unity and sovereignty of states and non-interference in any country\'s internal affairs.</div><div><br></div><div>Lebanon’s economic crisis was among the key issues discussed, with both leaders reiterating their support for Lebanon’s sovereignty, security and stability, and the importance of implementing comprehensive political and economic reforms.</div><div><br></div><div>They reviewed the work of the Saudi-French Fund in backing humanitarian and relief initiatives in Lebanon.</div><div><br></div><div>Prince Mohammed and Macron agreed to intensify efforts to reach a two-state solution in Palestine in a manner that guarantees the Palestinian people their right to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.</div><div><br></div><div>The talks also discussed reaching a political solution in Syria that ensures the safety of its people.</div><div><br></div><div>The crown prince concluded his visit to France early Friday, having spent the previous two days in Greece.</div><div><br></div><div>On Thursday evening, he was welcomed by Macron at the Elysee Palace - the official residence of the French president - where they held a wide-ranging meeting. The French leader also hosted a private dinner for Prince Mohammed and his entourage later in the day. -arabnews&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 01:17:38', '2022-07-30 01:17:38'),
(753, 753, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The record temperatures in the UK last week would have been \"almost impossible\" without human-induced climate change, leading scientists have concluded.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The UK recorded temperatures above 40C for the first time on 19 July.</div><div><br></div><div>Without human-caused climate change these would have been 2C to 4C cooler, the experts say.</div><div><br></div><div>It is a taste of what is to come, they say, with more heatwaves, fires and droughts predicted in coming years.</div><div><br></div><div>The extreme heat caused significant disruption to the UK, with experts warning that excess deaths related to temperatures will be high. Wildfires also destroyed homes and nature in some places.</div><div><br></div><div>The world has warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial revolution about 200 years ago. Greenhouse gases have been pumped into the atmosphere by activities like burning fuels, which have heated up the Earth\'s atmosphere.</div><div><br></div><div>The findings are released by the World Weather Attribution group - a collection of leading climate scientists who meet after an extreme weather event to determine whether climate change made it more likely.</div><div><br></div><div>They looked at three individual weather stations that recorded very high temperatures - Cranwell, Lincolnshire, St James Park in London, and Durham.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Friederike Otto of Imperial College London, who leads the World Weather Attribution group, told BBC News that even in today\'s climate, having such temperatures was still rare and that we would expect them between once every 500 years and once every 1,500 years.</div><div><br></div><div>But she said that as global temperatures rose, the likelihood of this heat happening more regularly would increase.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We would not have had last week\'s temperatures without climate change, that\'s for sure,\" she said. These temperatures are at least 2C higher but the real number is probably closer to 4C higher than a world without human-caused climate change, she explained.</div><div><br></div><div>The scientists use a combination of looking at temperature records dating back through time, and complex mathematical models that assess how human-caused climate change affects the weather.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Because we know very well how many greenhouse gases have been put into the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial revolution, we can take these things out of the model and simulate a world that might have been without climate change,\" Dr Otto says.</div><div><br></div><div>That allows the scientists to compare the two different scenarios - a world with 1.1C of warming and a world without that temperature increase.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Otto says if we want to keep this type of a heat a rare event, the UK must reach net zero \"very soon\". That is the point at which we stop adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The government\'s target is to reach net zero by 2050.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Every little bit of warming really makes these types of events more likely and even hotter. Heatwaves are much more deadly than other extreme weather like floods and climate change is a game-changer for heatwaves,\" she explained.</div><div><br></div><div>How we know climate change is caused by humans</div><div>The scientists also say it demonstrates that the UK is not adapted to warming temperatures, with our homes, hospitals, schools and travel networks unable to withstand the high temperatures.</div><div><br></div><div>Climate change is affecting all parts of the globe, with extreme heat this year affecting countries including India, the US, Australia, Spain and Germany.</div><div><br></div><div>Politicians globally are committed to keeping global temperature rises below 1.5C but environmentalists say progress is much too slow.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The climate has already changed - we are and will continue to suffer the consequences of government inaction,\" Greenpeace UK\'s head of climate, Rosie Rogers, told BBC News. \"How bad things get depends on how much or little governments now decide to do to get off fossil fuels.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"As one of the world\'s biggest historical emitters, the UK has an obligation to step up and rapidly slash emissions to zero,\" she said. \"The new prime minister needs to act on these warnings from the climate, and set an example for others to follow.\"</div><div><br></div><div>To tackle climate change, scientists say we must make steep cuts to our emissions, changing how we produce and use energy, as well as protect nature that helps to soak up greenhouse gases. -BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Science Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 01:38:30', '2022-07-30 01:38:30'),
(754, 754, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The first grain ship from Ukraine since Russia\'s invasion is ready and waiting for the signal to leave port, says President Volodymyr Zelensky.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He was speaking on a visit to the port of Chornomorsk, after the UN aid chief said the ship could leave as soon as Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>A UN-led deal was signed a week ago to resume exports after a blockade that led to food price rises.</div><div><br></div><div>But Martin Griffiths said \"crucial details\" still had to be ironed out.</div><div><br></div><div>A source told Russian media it could happen, barring unforeseen circumstances.</div><div><br></div><div>With hopes of an imminent departure, President Zelensky joined ambassadors from the G7 industrialised nations on the Black Sea coast, standing in front of the Turkish-registered ship Polarnet.</div><div><br></div><div>While the ship was being loaded with grain, officials said another 17 ships were already laden with 600,000 tonnes of cargo.</div><div><br></div><div>The UN aid chief made clear exports could only resume safely when the route through the Black Sea was finalised.</div><div><br></div><div>Under the agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine, the sea corridor, convoy and inspection of the cargo are all being organised by a joint co-ordination centre (JCC) in Turkey and final preparations were reportedly still not in place.</div><div><br></div><div>By James Waterhouse, Ukraine correspondent in Chornomorsk</div><div><br></div><div>While significant, the first grain ship to leave Ukraine\'s shores will be more of a testing of the waters than an unblocking of a major supply route.</div><div><br></div><div>From our vantage point next to the port of Chornomorsk, south of Odesa, the Black Sea is looking pretty choppy.</div><div><br></div><div>It\'s here that there has been the first shipping activity in weeks, with tugboats manoeuvring and a single vessel changing position.</div><div><br></div><div>The gathering of G7 and United Nations ambassadors 25 miles to the north reflects the political will to finally export Ukraine\'s grain again.</div><div><br></div><div>But by the admission of global shipping insurers and even the UN itself, there are still \"crucial\" details to be ironed out.</div><div><br></div><div>Don\'t expect convoys of grain to immediately follow the first ship, if or when it leaves.</div><div><br></div><div>Russian naval forces control most of the Black Sea, leaving some 20 million tonnes of grain stored in Ukraine, waiting for export. An added risk to the operation is that the biggest port of Odesa has been mined by Ukraine\'s military.</div><div><br></div><div>The suspension of grain exports, now into a sixth month, has led to food shortages across Africa.</div><div><br></div><div>The destination of the first ship was not yet clear, but the UN aid chief said Somalia was a priority. Eight areas of the country are at risk of famine.</div><div><br></div><div>President Zelensky said it was important for Ukraine to guarantee global food security: \"While someone, blocking the Black Sea, takes the lives of other countries, we are giving them opportunity to survive.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Although Russia fired missiles at Odesa port at the weekend, there is optimism that the deal, set for an initial 120 days, may work.</div><div><br></div><div>Before Russia\'s invasion, the two countries accounted for a third of the world\'s exports of wheat and barley. Russia is also keen to resume its own exports of grain and fertiliser.</div><div><br></div><div>The regional head in Odesa, Serhiy Bratchuk, posted a map showing how the grain corridor to and from Odesa might work, with an area for inspection near the port and a route following the Ukrainian coast to the mouth of the River Danube.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukrainian officials said the Black Sea ports of Chornomorsk and Odesa were ready for ships to leave, while a third, Pivdennyi, would be prepared by the end of the week.</div><div><br></div><div>Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said all the details of the first shipment had to be calculated and everything \"checked once more, twice, three times\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"There are, as you know, ships with grain in those Odesa ports ready to leave, and we have been hoping to see that happen even today or tomorrow,\" Martin Griffiths told reporters late on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>\"But we can only see that happen safely when those procedures are clear and the parties in the JCC have agreed to those movements and where exactly is the corridor.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Griffiths said he thought any problems would be settled very quickly, with the aim of returning to pre-war export levels of some five million metric tonnes a month. -bbc</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 01:44:31', '2022-07-30 01:44:31');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(755, 755, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">When grown-ups see kids playing, they see games of hide and seek, freeze tag, or games of make-believe. What they don’t see is that kids are building confidence and self-esteem, nurturing curiosity, and developing coordination and stamina.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Research shows that when children play, they are enhancing numerous cognitive, social, and physical skills.1 And now, a new study adds even more to that list.</div><div><br></div><div>Researchers from the University of Cambridge found that when kids play with peers, they are setting themselves up for better mental health in the future.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is well-known that peer relationships and basic skills are fundamental to building relationships, which are fundamental to good mental health,” states Mary Alvord, PhD, psychologist and coauthor of Resilience Builder Program for Children and Adolescents.</div><div><br></div><div>The results of this recent study show that children who play well with their peers at age 3 have better mental health at age 7.2 We discuss the study findings, how playing impacts kids’ mental health, and how parents can help children enjoy playing with their peers.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Study Details</b></div><div><br></div><div>Researchers gathered information from the Growing Up in Australia: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), which looks at kids’ psychosocial and cognitive development in two-year intervals.</div><div><br></div><div>They examined data from almost 1,700 children. The information focused on the 3-year-olds’ peer play, temperaments, and family play. Researchers then looked at the mental health outcomes for these children at age 7.</div><div><br></div><div>Once they gathered the data, they were able to see that kids who played well with other children at age 3 dealt with less mental health concerns at age 7.2 Experts say this age group provides good insight into a child’s current and future development.</div><div>“By age 3, there are the basic foundational skills—cognitive skills, motor skills, and social and emotional skills,” states Alvord.</div><div><br></div><div>“By then, the child is able to interact back and forth fluidly. I thought the study was very strong in choosing this age range,” she adds.</div><div><br></div><div>The significance of this study is that it supports what child development experts have shared about the importance of play for children. Brain development, self-advocacy skills, and academic growth can all come from times of play.</div><div><br></div><div>“The big message is peer relationships and friendships are crucial to positive development,” notes Alvord.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Peer Play and Mental Health</b></div><div><br></div><div>Play helps to build up a child\'s sense of accomplishment and confidence.4 Play can also help them process emotions and reduce their stress levels. Unstructured play even improves concentration and helps kids strengthen their self-regulation.</div><div><br></div><div>But just having times of play isn’t enough; the type of play, with interaction among peers, is what makes a difference.</div><div><br></div><div>The big message is peer relationships and friendships are crucial to positive development.</div><div>— MARY ALVORD, PHD</div><div><br></div><div>“The benefits of peer play—not having your child isolated, and not exclusive to just the family—help kids learn how to further develop communication language skills, cognitive skills, and problem solving,” notes Mayra Mendez, PhD, LMFT, psychotherapist and program coordinator for intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health services at Providence Saint John\'s Child and Family Development Center.</div><div><br></div><div>The fact that children have to exercise specific skills to have positive interactions with other kids their age is what helps them derive the mental health benefits.</div><div><br></div><div>Building coping skills and resilience, as well as developing positive relationships, all involve engaging with others.</div><div><br></div><div>“By age 3, there are beginnings of reciprocity, give and take, as well as sharing and taking turns. Those are fundamental skills and the building blocks of relationships which are crucial for mental wellness,” Alvord states.</div><div><br></div><div>Findings like these make the case for recess and times of unstructured play even stronger. Recess allows for unfettered play that gives social, emotional, cognitive, and physical benefits.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Parents Can Encourage Better Peer Play</b></div><div><br></div><div>While parents don’t want to become over-involved in their child’s play time, they can help guide children to have positive play experiences. Setting up play dates with children of similar ages or suggesting games and activities can be a good start.</div><div><br></div><div>Children who are shy and tentative to engage other children may start to get their feet wet by playing with siblings. However, some learning activities are best developed with children outside of the family.</div><div><br></div><div>“It can start with the parents and the siblings, but the mastery is not shown until you see it with peers,” says Mendez.</div><div><br></div><div>Family interactions can, however, help prepare children to engage kids their own ages.</div><div><br></div><div>It can start with the parents and the siblings, but the mastery is not shown until you see it with peers.</div><div>— MAYRA MENDEZ, PHD, LMFT</div><div><br></div><div>“The wonderful thing is that you can teach these concrete skills. Some kids have a really hard time picking up social cues. Especially the more nuanced and the more nonverbal. So, you can teach it to them directly,” adds Alvord.</div><div><br></div><div>How do you know if your child is having a hard time? Taking time to observe them while playing is key. If they seem to be struggling with interactions and developmentally appropriate social skills, you can step in to help.</div><div><br></div><div>Keep in mind that kids develop in different ways and in different stages. The goal is not to stress out over the play activities of your child. Instead, you want to learn how you can best help them grow, develop, and learn in a healthy way that will promote good mental health. -verywellmind</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Lifestyle Desk', '[\"24\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 01:51:41', '2022-07-30 01:51:41'),
(756, 756, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The much-anticipated film, \"Hawa\" hit theatres today, being shown in 24 cinema halls across the country. The tickets for the first show have already been sold out, with advance tickets for the next seven days also being sold out according to the reports.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Reports have also mentioned that many people returned empty handed from Narayanganj\'s Cinemascope, after being unable to procure tickets for first day. At the same time, many could not even get tickets for the first week of \"Hawa\". As a result, the hall authorities have started selling advance tickets for the next week of shows, in an attempt to satisfy the audience\'s demand. The hall authorities also mentioned that there is no way for them to offer more shows of \"Hawa\".</div><div><br></div><div>Similarly, Bogura\'s Modhuban Cineplex, even with its 345 seats, has already sold out tickets for the first and second day of shows. Their counters were filled with people trying to buy tickets, and the hall authorities have not been able to provide the number of shows needed to meet the level of craze for Mejbaur Rahman Sumon\'s debut directorial project.</div><div><br></div><div>Since Modhuban Cinema Hall\'s opening, \"Hawa\" has set the record for the most number of advanced tickets sold.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 02:01:04', '2022-07-30 02:01:04'),
(757, 757, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">&nbsp;Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today stressed the need for developing direct connectivity with Uzbekistan for mutual benefits.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>She said Bangladesh is keen to set up fertiliser factory in Uzbekistan under a joint venture while Uzbekistan hoped to establish its embassy in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>The discussion was held when Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Abdurakhimovich Khodjaev paid a courtesy call on the premier at her official Ganabhaban residence here.</div><div><br></div><div>PM\'s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed newsmen after the call on.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina said both Bangladesh and Uzbekistan should work together to explore many areas for the mutual benefits of the two countries.</div><div><br></div><div>She said Bangladesh is setting up 100 economic zones across the country to capitalise its young and vibrant manpower. The premier said Bangladesh attaches priority the relationship with Uzbekistan.</div><div><br></div><div>Recalling the visit of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur to Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 1973, she said the tour had helped laid foundation of the bilateral relations between the two countries and it had been strengthened over the years.</div><div><br></div><div>She said Bangladesh is emphasizing on the development of ago-processing industries to meet the growing demand of local market and export those to international markets.</div><div><br></div><div>About the Russia-Ukraine war, the PM said the war is creating problems for all the countries and the people are suffering for it.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh, she said, has started taking precautionary measures amid the global crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>The Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister put emphasis on strengthening further long-term friendship and cooperation.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Bangladesh is a potential partner of Uzbekistan and we want to transform it to a strategic partnership,\" he was quoted as saying.</div><div><br></div><div>He said his country is keen to enhance economic cooperation with Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Jamshid Abdurakhimovich Khodjaev said Uzbekistan is a good hub of CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries as there are huge potentialities for developing business here.</div><div><br></div><div>He sought Bangladesh\'s cooperation on the pharmaceuticals and ICT sectors.</div><div><br></div><div>The visiting Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated Bangladesh\'s economic advancement, growing per capita income and development of agriculture sector. He said they were hoping to set up Uzbekistan embassy in Dhaka.</div><div><br></div><div>The Bangladesh premier assured of providing necessary supports and cooperation to this end.</div><div><br></div><div>Jamshid Abdurakhimovich Khodjaev conveyed the greetings of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Sheikh Hasina.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina also conveyed her regards to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and invited him to visit Bangladesh at his convenience.</div><div><br></div><div>During the meeting, both the sides have agreed to work for avoidance of double taxation.</div><div><br></div><div>Uzbek Deputy Minister for Investment and Foreign Affairs Laziz Kudratov and Uzbek Deputy Minister for Civil Aviation Jasurbek Choriev, Bangladesh PM\'s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim and Bangladesh Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jahangir Alam were present. -BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 02:05:40', '2022-07-30 02:05:40'),
(758, 758, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Moscow and Kyiv on Friday accused each other of bombing a jail holding Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian-held territory, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying more than 50 were killed and calling the attack a war crime.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Russia\'s defence ministry alleged that the strikes were carried out by Ukraine with US-supplied long-range missiles, in an \"egregious provocation\" designed to stop soldiers from surrendering.</div><div><br></div><div>It said that among the dead were Ukrainian forces that had laid down their arms after weeks of fighting off Russia\'s brutal bombardment of the sprawling Azovstal steel works in Mariupol.</div><div><br></div><div>But Zelensky laid the blame squarely on Russia.</div><div><br></div><div>\"This was a deliberate Russian war crime, a deliberate mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war,\" Zelensky said in his daily address to the nation late Friday. \"Over 50 are dead.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Zelensky said an agreement for the Azovstal fighters to lay down their arms, brokered by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, included guarantees for their health and safety and called on those two organizations to intervene, as guarantors.</div><div><br></div><div>Zelensky also urged the international community, especially the United States, to have Russia officially declared as a state sponsor of terrorism.</div><div><br></div><div>\"A decision is needed, needed right now,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>- Annexation \'will not be accepted\' -</div><div>In a sign of Washington\'s continued support of Kyiv, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov for the first time since the beginning of the war Friday, urging Moscow against annexing any more Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It was very important that the Russians hear directly from us that that will not be accepted -- and not only will it not be accepted, it will result in additional significant costs being imposed upon Russia if it follows through,\" Blinken told reporters in Washington.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier in the day, Zelensky visited a port in southern Ukraine to oversee a ship being loaded with grain for export under a UN-backed plan aimed at getting millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain stranded by Russia\'s naval blockade to world markets.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine\'s presidency released footage of Zelensky standing in front of Turkish ship Polarnet in the port of Chornomorsk on a visit to inspect grain being loaded. Ukraine\'s presidency said exports could start in the \"coming days.\"</div><div><br></div><div>In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to work together to limit the impact of the war during talks, the French presidency said.</div><div><br></div><div>Macron took the meeting with the prince despite fierce criticism from rights groups in a bid to get major crude producer Saudi Arabia to up its production.</div><div><br></div><div>- Tangled beds -</div><div><br></div><div>Following the strike on the prison, Russian state-television showed what appeared to be destroyed barracks and tangled metal beds, but no casualties could be seen.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine\'s military also denied carrying out the attack saying its forces \"did not launch missile and artillery strikes in the area of Olenivka settlement\" in the eastern region of Donetsk.</div><div><br></div><div>It instead blamed Russia\'s invading forces for \"a targeted artillery shelling\" on the detention facility, saying it was being used to \"accuse Ukraine of committing \'war crimes\', as well as to hide the torture of prisoners and executions\".</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine\'s forces in May ended a weeks-long defence of Azovstal, with around 2,500 combatants surrendering after calling a halt to their resistance.</div><div><br></div><div>Moscow\'s state media has reported that some officers -- including those from the controversial Azov regiment -- have been taken to Russia.</div><div><br></div><div>Kyiv meanwhile says it has captured thousands of Russian troops during the invasion and has begun putting some on trial for alleged war crimes.</div><div><br></div><div>A Ukrainian court on Friday reduced the life sentence handed to a Russian soldier in May for pre-meditated murder in the country\'s first war crimes trial, instead jailing the serviceman for 15 years.</div><div><br></div><div>- Mykolaiv strikes -</div><div><br></div><div>Russian strikes elsewhere in Ukraine killed five people and wounded seven more on Friday in the heavily bombed city of Mykolaiv near the country\'s southern frontline, the regional governor said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"They shot at another area near a public transport stop,\" governor Vitaliy Kim said in a statement on social media.</div><div><br></div><div>Mykolaiv, near the Black Sea, has seen roughly half of its estimated pre-war population of nearly 500,000 people leave and the city has been shelled daily for weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>It is the largest Ukrainian-controlled urban hub near the frontlines in the Kherson region, where Kyiv\'s army has launched a counter-offensive to regain control of the economically and strategically important coastal territory.</div><div><br></div><div>In a separate development, S&amp;P Global Ratings on Friday cut Ukraine\'s long-term debt grade by three notches, saying a recently announced plan to defer payments means a default is \"a virtual certainty.\"</div><div><br></div><div>A group of Western countries last week gave their green light to Kyiv\'s request to postpone interest payments on its debt and called on other creditors to do so as well. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 20:37:17', '2022-07-30 20:37:17'),
(759, 759, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Natural gas has emerged as a weapon of war between Russia and Europe since Moscow\'s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Here is how the stand-off developed:</div><div><br></div><div>- Nord Stream 2 halted -</div><div>On February 22, 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he is suspending the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project with Russia in response to Moscow\'s recognition of two breakaway regions in Ukraine.</div><div><br></div><div>The project has long been a source of tension with Berlin\'s allies in the United States and Europe, who worry it would increase Germany\'s energy dependence on Russia.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine also fears it will lose revenues from gas transit if Nord Stream 2, which would deliver Russian gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, goes ahead.</div><div><br></div><div>- Gas prices soar -</div><div><br></div><div>On February 24, Russia invades Ukraine. Gas and oil prices soar on fears of possible cuts in supplies.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 2, the European Union cuts seven Russian banks off from the SWIFT banking transfer system.</div><div><br></div><div>But it spares two major lenders with strong ties to the energy sector, reflecting the dependence of several EU states on Russian gas.</div><div><br></div><div>- US embargo -</div><div><br></div><div>On March 8, President Joe Biden bans US imports of Russian gas and oil. The EU says it will cut its imports of Russian gas by two-thirds this year and Britain says it will phase out its Russian energy imports by the end of 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>- Russia\'s riposte -</div><div><br></div><div>On March 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin bans European gas customers from paying their bills in dollars and euros, in response to the freezing of some $300 billion in currency reserves held by Russia overseas.</div><div><br></div><div>He announces that Moscow will now only accept payment in rubles from \"unfriendly\" countries, including EU nations.</div><div><br></div><div>The European Commission warns EU members that by paying in rubles they would be violating international sanctions against Moscow.</div><div><br></div><div>Washington agrees to provide Europe with an extra 15 billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas this year.</div><div><br></div><div>- Taps turned off -</div><div><br></div><div>On April 27, Russian giant Gazprom cuts off gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, in a move European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen describes as \"blackmail\".</div><div><br></div><div>She says the two EU and NATO members are now receiving gas from their EU neighbours.</div><div><br></div><div>On May 21, Russia cuts gas to neighbouring Finland, which has refused to pay in rubles and angered Moscow by asking to join NATO.</div><div><br></div><div>The Netherlands and Denmark are also cut off after refusing to pay in rubles.</div><div><br></div><div>- No embargo -</div><div><br></div><div>On May 30, EU leaders agree to stop most Russian oil imports by the end of the year but put off a ban on Russian gas.</div><div><br></div><div>- Pressure on Europe -</div><div><br></div><div>In mid-June, Gazprom drastically cuts daily gas supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline, causing prices to soar.</div><div><br></div><div>Claiming a technical problem, Gazprom reduces deliveries by several notches, as EU leaders prepare to give Ukraine candidate status.</div><div><br></div><div>On June 23, Germany moves closer to rationing gas, raising its supplies alert level to the second of three stages.</div><div><br></div><div>- EU plan -</div><div><br></div><div>On July 11, Gazprom begins 10 days of routine maintenance on its Nord Stream 1 pipeline, resulting in gas cuts in Europe.</div><div><br></div><div>A week later, the EU and Azerbaijan sign an agreement to double gas imports from the energy-rich Caspian nation to Europe.</div><div><br></div><div>The 27-nation bloc has also turned to oil-rich countries such as Qatar, Norway and Algeria to make up for its energy shortfall.</div><div><br></div><div>On July 20, the European Commission urges EU states to reduce demand for natural gas by 15 percent over the coming months to secure winter stocks.</div><div><br></div><div>- Supplies slashed again -</div><div><br></div><div>On July 25, Gazprom says it will further cut the supply to about 20 percent of the pipeline\'s capacity due to the \"technical condition\" of one of the turbines.</div><div><br></div><div>The German government says there is \"no technical reason\" for the move.</div><div><br></div><div>On July 30, Gazprom suspends gas supplies to EU and NATO member Latvia, citing violations of the conditions of purchase. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 20:42:18', '2022-07-30 20:42:18'),
(760, 760, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">More rains are likely to lash Bangladesh in the next 24 hours, the weather department has said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty winds is likely to occur at many places over Rangpur, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions, and at a few places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram divisions with moderately heavy to heavy falls at places over the country,” it said.</div><div><br></div><div>A mild heat wave is sweeping through the districts of Jashore, Kushtia and Satkhira, and it may continue, the department said in its weather bulletin.</div><div><br></div><div>Day and night temperatures may remain nearly unchanged over the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The axis of monsoon trough runs through Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal to Assam across central parts of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>One of its associated troughs extends up to the Northwest Bay. Monsoon is fairly active over Bangladesh and weak elsewhere over the North Bay. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 20:59:19', '2022-07-30 20:59:19'),
(761, 761, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Police said Saturday they arrested a Sri Lankan trade union leader who allegedly took two official flags from the deposed president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s palace and used them as a bedsheet and a sarong.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Tens of thousands of people, incensed by the island nation’s economic crisis, stormed Rajapaksa’s residence and seafront office earlier this month, forcing the leader to flee the country and later resign.</div><div><br></div><div>The man’s arrest on Friday night comes after a social media post showed him using one of the official presidential flags as a bedsheet and the other as a sarong, a police officer told AFP, on condition of anonymity.</div><div><br></div><div>“We identified him from the videos filmed and posted by his son,” the officer said.</div><div><br></div><div>“He told investigators that he burnt one flag and we have recovered the one he used as a sarong.”</div><div><br></div><div>The man was remanded in custody for two weeks pending further investigations, the officer added.</div><div><br></div><div>Sri Lanka’s 22 million people have endured months of lengthy blackouts, record inflation and shortages of food, fuel and petrol.</div><div><br></div><div>Rajapaksa had been blamed by protesters for mismanaging the nation’s finances and public anger had simmered for months before the mass demonstrations that forced his ouster.</div><div><br></div><div>Soon after protesters overran the Presidential Palace, there were social media posts of them frolicking in the presidential pool and bouncing on four-poster beds inside the sprawling compound.</div><div><br></div><div>The nearby Temple Trees compound, the official prime minister’s residence, was also overrun on the same day and protesters had removed televisions and other valuables.</div><div><br></div><div>Police said an inventory was being taken at the colonial-era buildings which are repositories of valuable art and antiquities.</div><div><br></div><div>But protesters also turned over to authorities around 17.5 million rupees ($46,000) in crisp banknotes that had been found in one of the presidential palace’s rooms.</div><div><br></div><div>Rajapaksa’s successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has vowed a tough line on “trouble-makers” and police have arrested several protest leaders in recent days.</div><div><br></div><div>Parliament extended a state of emergency this week, giving the military sweeping powers to maintain order and detain suspects for long periods.</div><div><br></div><div>The military last week demolished a protest camp outside the president’s office that had campaigned for Rajapaksa’s ouster — a move that drew international condemnation accusing troops of using excessive force on unarmed demonstrators. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 21:13:14', '2022-07-30 21:13:14'),
(762, 762, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh lost the toss and was asked to bowl first in the first T20I of the three-match series against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club Saturday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Tigers lost their last T20I series against the West Indies 2-0. But they are a better side considering the strength of Zimbabwe. So, the visitors have a great chance to bounce back.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh fielded three pacers – Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam in this match. Anamul Haque, who recently returned to the national team but failed to impress, got another chance to bring his domestic prowess to the international level.</div><div><br></div><div>Munim Shahriar and Najmul Hossain Shanto were included in Bangladesh playing XI for the first match.</div><div><br></div><div>Nurul Hasan Sohan is leading the Tigers in this series. He replaced Mahmudullah Riyad as Bangladesh\'s T20I captain.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh playing XI</div><div><br></div><div>Litton Das, Anamul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Munim Shahriar, Mosaddek Hossain, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan (w/c), Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, and Shoriful Islam</div><div><br></div><div>Zimbabwe playing XI</div><div><br></div><div>Regis Chakabva (w), Craig Ervine (c), Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Tanaka Chivanga.&nbsp;</div><div>- UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 22:51:34', '2022-07-30 22:51:34'),
(763, 763, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dengue claimed another life and 85 new patients were hohospitalizedn 24 hours till Saturday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>With this, the authorities recorded nine deaths from the viral infection this year.</div><div><br></div><div>The latest death was reported from Cox’s Bazar district.</div><div>Among the deaths, six were reported from Cox’s Bazar while three from Dhaka.</div><div><br></div><div>Among the new patients, 72 were hospitalised in Dhaka while the 13 in other places, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>As many as 332 dengue patients including 265 in the capital are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>On June 21, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the viral disease.</div><div><br></div><div>This year, the DGHS has recorded 2,580 dengue cases and 2,239 recoveries so far. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 23:40:41', '2022-07-30 23:40:41'),
(764, 764, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque has said BNP has no soil under its feet and it does not have the ability to oust the Awami League (AL)-led government.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"BNP will not be able to push down the government of Awami League. Since 2013, BNP has been pushing (the AL led government) sometimes along with Jamaat and sometimes with Hefazat but BNP was not able to budge the government. Rather, BNP itself has fallen on its face while pushing the government,\" he said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Razzaque, also AL Presidium Member, made the remarks while addressing the triennial conference of Kamrangirchar\'s Ward Numbers 55, 56 and 57 units of AL and Kamrangirchar Police Station on the Kamrangirchar Government Hospital premises as the chief guest on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>He said that Tarique Rahman, son of Ziaur Rahman who played a role in the conspiracy to kill Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is hatching conspiracy from abroad.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>But, Awami League leaders and activists will deal with this conspiracy strictly, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>AL presidium member Advocate Md Kamrul Islam, organizing secretary Ahmed Hossain, Dhaka South City unit AL president Abu Ahmed Mannafi and its general secretary Humayun Kabir also spoke on the occasion, among others. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 23:53:10', '2022-07-30 23:53:10'),
(765, 765, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Hero Alam episode has been a bad advertisement for the state as a culture controller. Not that they are feeling embarrassed about it. As the police told the media, they have received many complaints against Hero Alam’s singing. So they brought him in. And the police told him not to do the singing which irritates many, at least going by the complaints.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>What is odd is that the police thought this to be worth noticing. As they act when under pressure, it seems a large section of the elite are seriously unhappy and feel “threatened” by Hero Alam.</div><div><br></div><div>The police of course had another axe to grind. As they told the media, he had been using a police uniform in some of his videos acting as police bosses wearing constables’ dress. This had insulted the force in general.</div><div><br></div><div>What was unexpected is the response from social media which was overwhelmingly against such action. Hero was turned into a victim and a public hero. Many said the police had no business deciding what is culturally appropriate. That Alam was from the bottom and the police were shutting down a voice from there. Hero Alam had suddenly become a voice of a cultural class war.</div><div><br></div><div>So where is the conflict ?</div><div><br></div><div>Ex-Minister Murad who was sacked after rape threat tapes were leaked is reportedly one of the complainants. In a You Tube interview, he said, “ I was at an event where he was singing. He probably didn’t recognize me. After he finished singing I told him “have you no shame. ? The impudence you showed in singing is astounding. You need voice, talent, knowledge of music and you have none. Given the voice and the face God has given you, you should sing for the lower class which is your audience and should not come to Gulshan to sing.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Admitting that Hero Alam had an audience who listened to him on You tube, his ire was that he should be singing in front of He had no doubt that he sang for the lower class and it’s Gulshan that was offended.</div><div><br></div><div>The matter has been here for long but the issue is not about his singing but the control of social media. No one controls social media and that is anxiety creating.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Hero Alam insults the establishment culture by his singing and it can’t be stopped on social media. Anyone studying popular culture will know that Facebook has built a virtual alternate world of culture which neither the establishment nor the shushils can recognize. With millions of views with which no mainstream product can compete, the sense of lack of control is high. And its growing.</div><div><br></div><div>The conflict is not about who sings Tagore but who controls social media. The outcome is obvious. The state has turned Alam into a Hero. And the battle has no chance of ending right now, no matter how many times police class. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-30 23:59:36', '2022-07-30 23:59:36'),
(766, 766, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni today said we need to be frugal to face the upcoming global financial crisis.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, the price of fuel has gone up all over the world which causing load shedding.</div><div><br></div><div>There will be more pressure on the global economy ahead. This step has been taken to deal with the situation. We all need to be frugal.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister made these remarks while speaking as chief guest at the prize given ceremony of 8th National Math Olympiad-2022 organized by Jahangirnagar University Science Club (JUSC).</div><div><br></div><div>Addressing the program, the minister said, we have been able to continue the education program even during the Corona epidemic because of being Digital Bangladesh. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has done many impossible things for the country.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;She has been able to do all these things because of she has courage, wisdom and foresight.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;All this has become possible because we got the visionary statesman like Sheikh Hasina.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanking the organizers of Math Olympiad, Dipu Mani said that Jahangirnagar University is an example among all universities in Bangladesh. Along with education, culture and science are practiced in this university. Many reputed teachers and world famous scientists are also here.</div><div><br></div><div>We want the learning process to be enjoyable. The joy of learning is lost among the students. We want to bring it back.&nbsp; Students will learn by knowing.</div><div><br></div><div>The new education curriculum is focused on that, said the minister.</div><div><br></div><div>The main responsibility of the teachers is to make students interested for knowledge.</div><div><br></div><div>Now the medium of learning is not just books or teachers. There are many mediums of education. Along with learning we also need to acquire skills.&nbsp; We want to take the students to that place, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>JU Vice Chancellor Prof Nurul Alam said, Bangladesh has moved on from where the world stopped at the time of the pandemic under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</div><div><br></div><div>Her dynamic leadership and bravery led to the construction of the Padma Bridge of dreams.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;She is making our dreams true. The Prime Minister also approved a project of Tk 1445 crore for the development of Jahangirnagar University which is undergoing.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;So I thank the Prime Minister on behalf of the university.</div><div><br></div><div>Member of Parliament (MP0 from Dhaka-20, Freedom Fighter Benzir Ahmed, JU Pro-VC (Administration) Prof Sheikh Md Monzurul Huq, JU Treasurer Prof Dr Rasheda Akhtar, Chief Adviser of JUSC Prof Dr Alamgir Kabir, Dean of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Faculty Prof Ajit Kumar Majumdar and noted scientist Prof Dr A A Mamun were present at the program as special guests among others. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 00:03:29', '2022-07-31 00:03:29'),
(767, 767, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A full 90 percent of the Earth\'s topsoil is likely to be at risk by 2050, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>To protect soil globally and help farmers, the UN agency Wednesday said the equivalent of one soccer pitch of earth erodes every five seconds.</div><div><br></div><div>It also takes around a thousand years to create just a few centimetres of topsoil and to help restore lands. So, the UN agency is calling for more action by countries and partners who signed up to the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) over the last decade.</div><div><br></div><div>The five key actions that the FAO called for tasked civilians, governments and international institutions with taking greater action to monitor and care for the soil.</div><div><br></div><div>One achievement of the GSP has been the partnership with farmers and local governments to enhance soil health.</div><div><br></div><div>Programmes were initiated to improve the amount of organic matter in the soil by adopting practices such as using cover crops, crop rotation and agroforestry, the FAO said.</div><div><br></div><div>Costa Rica and Mexico signed up to these pilot schemes and trained farmers in the use of best practices which included using cover crops that prevent erosion, crop rotation and tree planting.</div><div><br></div><div>Also, the GSP expanded data collection in the form of digital soil mapping.</div><div><br></div><div>This technology informs policymakers of relevant soil conditions and empowers them to make informed decisions on managing soil degradation.</div><div><br></div><div>Campaigns, such as International Year of Soils and World Soil Day were designed to raise youth awareness of soils and increase participation in preventing further degradation.</div><div><br></div><div>While the work of the GSP represents the efforts of non-state partners to promote sustainable soil practices, state policymakers are necessary actors in implementing a sustainable soil policy, the FAO said. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 00:36:41', '2022-07-31 00:36:41'),
(768, 768, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Election Commission (EC) is all set to begin dialogue with the ruling Awami League (AL) and Jatiya Party (JP) on Sunday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Tomorrow is the last day of the ongoing dialogue of the EC with the political parties on the occasion of the forthcoming 12th National Assembly elections.</div><div><br></div><div>The Awami League delegation will participate in the dialogue at the Election Commission Office under the leadership of party\'s General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Sunday at 3 pm.</div><div><br></div><div>Prior to the dialogue, Awami League will submit the audited account report of 2021 calendar year at the EC office at 10 am.</div><div><br></div><div>On the day, Jatiya Party led by its Chairman GM Quader will also hold a dialogue with the EC from 11 am to 1 pm. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 00:48:24', '2022-07-31 00:48:24'),
(769, 769, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The World Health Organization’s European office said Saturday that more monkeypox-related deaths can be expected, following reports of the first fatalities outside Africa, while stressing that severe complications were still rare.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“With the continued spread of monkeypox in Europe, we will expect to see more deaths,” Catherine Smallwood, Senior Emergency Officer at WHO Europe, said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Smallwood emphasised that the goal needs to be “interrupting transmission quickly in Europe and stopping this outbreak.”</div><div><br></div><div>However, Smallwood stressed that in most cases the disease heals itself without the need for treatment.</div><div><br></div><div>“The notification of deaths due to monkeypox does not change our assessment of the outbreak in Europe. We know that although self-limiting in most cases, monkeypox can cause severe complications,” Smallwood noted.</div><div><br></div><div>The Spanish health ministry recorded a second monkeypox-related death on Saturday, a day after Spain and Brazil reported their first fatalities.</div><div><br></div><div>The announcements marked what are thought to be the first deaths linked to the current outbreak outside Africa.</div><div><br></div><div>Spanish authorities would not give the specific cause of death for the fatalities pending the outcome of an autopsy, while Brazilian authorities underlined that the man who died had “other serious conditions.”</div><div><br></div><div>“The usual reasons patients might require hospital care include help in managing pain, secondary infections, and in a small number of cases the need to manage life-threatening complications such as encephalitis,” Smallwood explained.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the WHO, more than 18,000 cases have been detected throughout the world outside of Africa since the beginning of May, with the majority of them in Europe.</div><div><br></div><div>The WHO last week declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency.</div><div><br></div><div>As cases surge globally, the WHO on Wednesday called on the group currently most affected by the virus — men who have sex with men — to limit their sexual partners.</div><div><br></div><div>Early signs of the disease include a high fever, swollen lymph glands and a chickenpox-like rash.</div><div><br></div><div>The disease usually heals by itself after two to three weeks, sometimes taking a month.</div><div><br></div><div>A smallpox vaccine from Danish drug maker Bavarian Nordic, marketed under the name Jynneos in the United States and Imvanex in Europe, has also been found to protect against monkeypox. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 01:12:26', '2022-07-31 01:12:26'),
(770, 770, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Wesley Madhevere and Sikandar Raza Zimbabwe helped Zimbabwe put up a score of 205-3 in the first of the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh Saturday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh previously won a single T20I while chasing 200 or more runs.</div><div><br></div><div>Raza remained unbeaten on 65 off 26 balls with seven fours and four sixes while Madhevere posted 67 off 46.</div><div><br></div><div>Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat first. Bangladesh bowlers were all over the place, and the fielding also did not help.</div><div><br></div><div>The hosts lost their first wicket with only 15 runs on the board and second when they were batting at 43.</div><div><br></div><div>In the third wicket stand, Madhevere and Sean Williams added 56 runs off just 37 balls. After Williams fell for 33 off 19 balls, Raza joined Madhevere and added 91 runs off 43 balls.</div><div><br></div><div>Left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman bagged two wickets but conceded 50 runs. Taskin Ahmed failed to grab any wicket but conceded 42 runs. Also, Shoriful Islam gave away 45 runs but could not get any wicket.</div><div><br></div><div>Wicketkeeper-batter Nurul Hasan Sohan is leading Bangladesh in this series. He replaced Mahmudullah Riyad after the Tigers lost their last T20I series against the West Indies 2-0.</div><div><br></div><div>This is only the second time that Bangladesh are playing a T20I match without Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Riyad and Tamim Iqbal.</div><div>Tamim recently retired from T20s. Shakib is not in the team due to personal reasons; Mushfiqur and Riyad were rested for this series. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 01:28:54', '2022-07-31 01:28:54'),
(771, 771, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 59 people have been killed in recent flash floods in different parts of Iran, an official from Iran\'s Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said on Saturday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Yaqub Soleimani, secretary general of the IRCS, told the official IRNA news agency that 30 other people are still missing in the floods that started last week.</div><div><br></div><div>Some 60 cities and 516 villages, as well as 85 connecting roads, have been affected by the recent floods, Soleimani was quoted as saying. - Xinhua&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 01:50:27', '2022-07-31 01:50:27'),
(772, 772, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Will Smith has again apologized to Chris Rock for slapping him during the Oscar telecast in a new video, saying that his behavior was “unacceptable”.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He said he had reached out to the comedian to discuss the incident but was told Rock wasn’t ready.</div><div><br></div><div>“There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment,” Smith said in the under-six minute video posted online Friday. “I am deeply remorseful and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself.” To Rock, he said: “I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”</div><div><br></div><div>Smith, seated in a polo shirt and white ball cap, spoke directly to a camera, answering pre-selected questions about his behavior at the March 27 Academy Awards, when he slapped presenter Rock after the comedian made a reference about the hairstyle of Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith’s wife.</div><div><br></div><div>Smith also apologized to Rock’s family and especially his mother, Rosalie, who was horrified to see her son hurt and told US Weekly that, “When he slapped Chris, he slapped all of us. He really slapped me.” Smith also apologized to Tony Rock, Chris’ younger brother.</div><div>“I didn’t realize how many people got hurt in that moment,” Smith said.</div><div><br></div><div>Smith also apologized to his family “for the heat that I brought on all of us” and his fellow Oscar nominees to have “stolen and tarnished your moment.” He mentioned Questlove by name; it was the musician-director’s documentary win for “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” that was interrupted by the slap. Rock was on stage to present the documentary award.</div><div><br></div><div>Smith also said his wife did nothing to encourage his slap. “Jada had nothing to do with it,” he said. “I made a choice on my own.” Pinkett Smith has said that she has alopecia areata, a hair-loss disorder.</div><div><br></div><div>Following the altercation, the motion picture academy banned Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years. Smith apologized to Rock in a statement after the Oscars, saying he was “out of line and I was wrong.”</div><div><br></div><div>“I’m sorry really isn’t sufficient,” Smith said in the video, adding that he is hurting because he hasn’t lived up to fans’ impressions. “Disappointing people is my central trauma.”</div><div><br></div><div>Many had speculated that Smith would appear on camera to discuss the slap first on Pinkett Smith’s online series “Red Table Talk,” but he chose to do it in a social media video post without any follow-up questions or surprise queries. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 02:03:19', '2022-07-31 02:03:19');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(773, 773, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The price of wheat has gone down by Tk4-5 per kilogram as supply issues eased on the back of India resuming exports through the Hili land port in Dinajpur.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The traders said they bought wheat at Tk36-37 per kg on Saturday, which was Tk 40 -41 per kg last week.</div><div><br></div><div>Mustafijur Rahman, general secretary of the Hili land port export-import group, told UNB that the price of wheat decreased due to increased supply recently.</div><div><br></div><div>India imposed an embargo on wheat export to maintain supply of the food grains in their domestic market on May 13. </div><div><br></div><div>The wheat import allowed by India under the previous LCs since May 29 this year. The importers who opened LCs to import wheat through railway containers now have to import it by road due to some problems with the railway line, Mustafijur said.</div><div><br></div><div>The traders said the price of wheat increased to Tk1600 per maund, from Tk950 only before the Ukraine-Russia war.    One maund equals more or less 40kg.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh’s second staple is wheat and the annual consumption of these grains is nearly 8.5 million tonnes, which is increasing by 5 to 6 percent per year, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, Until January of fiscal year 2021-22, India supplied 66 percent of the wheat Bangladesh imported. Of the rest, 15 percent was from Ukraine, 7 percent from Russia, 6 per cent from Canada, and 5 percent from Australia. </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 02:44:29', '2022-07-31 16:12:58'),
(774, 774, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday his government was ordering the mandatory evacuation of people in the eastern Donetsk region, scene of fierce fighting with Russia.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>In a late-night television address, Zelenskiy also said the hundreds of thousands of people still in combat zones in the larger Donbas region, which contains Donetsk as well as the neighboring Luhansk region, needed to leave.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The more people leave (the) Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,\" he said, adding that residents who left would be given compensation.</div><div><br></div><div>Separately, domestic Ukrainian media outlets quoted Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk as saying the evacuation needed to take place before winter begins since the region\'s natural gas supplies had been destroyed.</div><div><br></div><div>Zelenskiy said hundreds of thousands of people were still living in areas of Donbas where fighting was fierce.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Many refuse to leave but it still needs to be done,\" the president said. \"If you have the opportunity, please talk to those who still remain in the combat zones in Donbas. Please convince them that it is necessary to leave.\"</div><div><br></div><div>It is not the first time Ukrainian authorities have called for civilians to evacuate areas they control in Donetsk, and John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told Reuters it could be due to expectations of heavier fighting rather than fuel shortages.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I don’t know why Zelenskiy issued the call,\" he said. \"What I do know is that there has been fierce fighting in Donetsk. The Russians took (neighbouring) Luhansk (oblast) several weeks ago. I expect further fierce fighting in Donetsk.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Herbst said he did not expect Russia to capture the rest of Donetsk given the longer logistics lines they would need and the Ukrainian forces’ use of advanced long-range artillery and rocket systems provided by the United States and others.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine\'s military said more than 100 Russian soldiers had been killed and seven tanks destroyed in fighting in the south on Friday, including the Kherson region that is the focus of Kyiv\'s counteroffensive in that part of the country and a key link in Moscow\'s supply lines.</div><div><br></div><div>Rail traffic to Kherson over the Dnipro River had been cut, the military\'s southern command said, potentially further isolating Russian forces west of the river from supplies in occupied Crimea and the east.</div><div><br></div><div>South of the town of Bakhmut, which Russia has cited as a prime target in Donetsk, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces had been \"partially successful\" in establishing control over the settlement of Semyhirya by storming it from three directions.</div><div><br></div><div>\"He established himself on the outskirts of the settlement,\" the military\'s evening report said, referring to Russian forces.</div><div><br></div><div>Defence and intelligence officials from Britain, which has been one of Ukraine\'s staunchest allies since Moscow invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24, portrayed Russian forces as struggling to maintain momentum.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine has used Western-supplied long-range missile systems to badly damage three bridges across the Dnipro in recent weeks, cutting off Kherson city and - in the assessment of British defence officials - leaving Russia\'s 49th Army highly vulnerable on the river\'s west bank.</div><div><br></div><div>The Kherson region\'s pro-Ukrainian governor, Dmytro Butriy, said fighting was continuing in many parts of the region, and that Berislav district, just northwest of the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant, was particularly hard hit.</div><div><br></div><div>\"In some villages, not a single home has been left intact, all infrastructure has been destroyed, people are living in cellars,\" he wrote on Telegram.</div><div><br></div><div>Just to the north of Lysychansk, which Moscow\'s forces captured in early July after weeks of fighting, Ukrainian partisans destroyed a railway junction box near the Russian-controlled town of Svatove on Friday night, making it harder for Moscow to transport ammunition to the front lines by train, Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said in an online post.</div><div><br></div><div>Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.</div><div><br></div><div>Officials from the Russian-appointed administration running the Kherson region earlier this week rejected Western and Ukrainian assessments of the situation.</div><div><br></div><div>On Friday the British ministry described the Russian government as \"growing desperate\", having lost tens of thousands of soldiers in the war. British MI6 foreign intelligence agency chief Richard Moore added on Twitter that Russia is \"running out of steam.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Prison deaths&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations over a missile strike or explosion early on Friday that appeared to have killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the front-line town of Olenivka, held by Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Donetsk.</div><div><br></div><div>Russia\'s defense ministry on Saturday published a list of 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war killed and 73 wounded in what it said was a Ukrainian military strike with a U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).</div><div><br></div><div>Ministry spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov said \"all political, criminal and moral responsibility\" rested with Zelenskiy, \"his criminal regime and Washington who supports them\".</div><div><br></div><div>The ministry said Russia had invited experts from the United Nations and the Red Cross to probe the deaths \"in the interests of conducting an objective investigation\".</div><div><br></div><div>The separatists put the death toll at 53.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine\'s armed forces denied responsibility, saying Russian artillery had targeted the prison to hide mistreatment there. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday Russia had committed a war crime and called for international condemnation.</div><div><br></div><div>Reuters could not immediately verify the differing versions of events, but some of the deaths were confirmed by Reuters journalists who visited the prison.</div><div><br></div><div>The United Nations said earlier it was prepared to send experts to investigate if it obtains consent from both parties. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was seeking access and had offered to help evacuate the wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his condolences in a Friday phone call with Kuleba and said Washington was committed to \"hold Russia accountable for atrocities,\" the U.S. State Department said.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine has accused Russia of atrocities against civilians and identified more than 10,000 possible war crimes. Russia denies targeting civilians and war crimes.-Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 15:15:02', '2022-07-31 15:15:02'),
(775, 775, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Chinese rocket fell back to Earth on Saturday over the Indian Ocean but NASA said Beijing had not shared the \"specific trajectory information\" needed to know where possible debris might fall.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>U.S. Space Command saidthe Long March 5B rocket re-entered over the Indian Ocean at approximately 12:45 p.m. EDT Saturday (1645 GMT), but referred questions about \"reentry’s technical aspects such as potential debris dispersal impact location\" to China.</div><div><br></div><div>\"All spacefaring nations should follow established best practices and do their part to share this type of information in advance to allow reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk,\" NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. \"Doing so is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensure the safety of people here on Earth.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Social media users in Malaysia posted video of what appeared to be rocket debris.</div><div><br></div><div>Aerospace Corp, a government funded nonprofit research center near Los Angeles, said it was reckless to allow the rocket\'s entire main-core stage - which weighs 22.5 tons (about 48,500 lb) - to return to Earth in an uncontrolled reentry.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier this week, analysts said the rocket body would disintegrate as it plunged through the atmosphere but is large enough that numerous chunks will likely survive a fiery re-entry to rain debris over an area some 2,000 km (1,240 miles) long by about 70 km (44 miles) wide.</div><div><br></div><div>The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment. China said earlier this week it would closely track the debris but said it posed little risk to anyone on the ground.</div><div><br></div><div>The Long March 5B blasted off July 24 to deliver a laboratory module to the new Chinese space station under construction in orbit, marking the third flight of China\'s most powerful rocket since its maiden launch in 2020.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Fragments of another Chinese Long March 5B landed on the Ivory Coast in 2020, damaging several buildings in that West African nation, though no injuries were reported.</div><div><br></div><div>By contrast, he said, the United States and most other space-faring nations generally go to the added expense of designing their rockets to avoid large, uncontrolled re-entries - an imperative largely observed since large chunks of the NASA space station Skylab fell from orbit in 1979 and landed in Australia.</div><div><br></div><div>Last year, NASA and others accused China of being opaque after the Beijing government kept silent about the estimated debris trajectory or the reentry window of its last Long March rocket flight in May 2021. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Science Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 15:21:46', '2022-07-31 15:21:46'),
(776, 776, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Details for giving Australia\'s indigenous people a voice in parliament will follow a national referendum on the question, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday, adding that timing for the vote has not been decided.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Albanese\'s centre-left Labor Party government is seeking a referendum, required to alter the constitution, on recognising indigenous people in the constitution and requiring consultation with them on decisions that affect their lives.</div><div><br></div><div>Australia\'s indigenous people have toiled for generations to win recognition for injustices suffered since European colonisation in the 1700s. The constitution, which came into effect in January 1901, does not refer to the country\'s indigenous people.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister revealed the plan on Saturday in a speech at an indigenous festival in remote Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, where he proposed the draft referendum question: “Do you support an alteration to the Constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?” read more</div><div><br></div><div>He suggested three sentences be added to the constitution if the referendum succeeds, enabling the voice to be set-up.</div><div><br></div><div>In an interview with ABC television, broadcast on Sunday, Albanese said further details on the voice would follow the referendum, if the proposal won support.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The legislation of the structure of the voice won\'t happen before the referendum,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Albanese said his government had not decided when to hold the referendum, which he has previously said he wants in parliament\'s current term.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister reiterated that the indigenous voice would not act as a third chamber in parliament. \"This doesn\'t change in any way the primacy of our democratically elected parliament,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The proposal to enshrine an indigenous voice in parliament was a pledge Labor took in May\'s general election, where it ended almost a decade of conservative Liberal-National coalition government.</div><div><br></div><div>The ousted coalition had wanted to establish indigenous representation in parliament through legislation. Now in opposition, they have called the plan a \"positive step\" but say more needs to be known about how the function would work.</div><div><br></div><div>Altering the constitution requires the support of a majority of votes in a majority of states, something that has occurred eight times in 44 attempts.</div><div><br></div><div>A successful referendum would bring Australia in line with Canada, New Zealand and the United States in formally recognising indigenous populations. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 15:27:41', '2022-07-31 15:27:41'),
(777, 777, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Liverpool won the Community Shield after a 3-1 win against Manchester City on Saturday evening thanks to late goals from Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The win came at Leicester’s King Power Stadium ahead of Sunday’s Euro 2022 final between England and Germany.</div><div><br></div><div>Trent Alexander-Arnold was on hand to finish off a smart move midway through the first half for Liverpool, who left new signing Nunez on the bench.</div><div><br></div><div>For City, Erling Haaland started up top but he was frustrated early on, with his City colleagues off the pace, missing a couple of decent chances.</div><div><br></div><div>In the second half, Nunez was introduced and almost scored from a one-on-one only for Ederson to make a brave save with his face.</div><div><br></div><div>Another debutant, Julian Alvarez also came on in the second half and grabbed a 73rd minute equaliser as he followed up a rebound that was allowed on VAR review.</div><div><br></div><div>A little over 10 minutes later, Salah converted from the spot after Ruben Dias handled in the box from Nunez’s header.</div><div><br></div><div>In injury-time, Nunez sealed the win for Liverpool with a diving header from point-blank range to the delight of the Liverpool supporters.</div><div><br></div><div>Haaland squandered a glorious chance to pull a goal back in the final seconds, crashing a rebound from two yards out off the crossbar.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Talking point - City are behind Liverpool</b></div><div><br></div><div>It’s just one match, and not even a truly competitive one, but ever since Jose Mourinho’s first tenure with Chelsea it has always been a risk to start slowly in the Premier League. </div><div><br></div><div>With Darwin Nunez looking hugely physical and positive, and Fabio Carvalho there to add excitement, Jurgen Klopp’s team looked reinvigorated while City looked out of sorts.</div><div><br></div><div>It is early yet, and both Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland looked dangerous, but the rest of the City side put out by Pep Guardiola looked alarmingly slow-witted.</div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>Man of the match - Mo Salah (Liverpool)</b></div><div><br></div><div>Sadio Mane left earlier this season and it appears that Roberto Firmino is interesting Juventus. Given Darwin Nunez’s impressive display, it might be that Liverpool have a new front three with Diogo Jota and Salah alongside him. Going by the performance against City though, Salah remains capable of stretching play, assisting and scoring at decisive moments.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Player ratings </b></div><div><br></div><div>Liverpool: Adrian 7, Alexander-Arnold 7, Matip 6, Van Dijk 6, Robertson 7, Fabinho 6, Henderson 6, Thiago 6, Diaz 7, Salah 8, Firmino 6. Subs: Milner 6, Keita 6, Jones 6, Elliott 6, Nunez 8, Carvalho 6.</div><div><br></div><div>Man City: Ederson 6, Walker 6, Dias 6, Ake 6, Cancelo 5, Rodrigo 6, Bernardo 6, De Bruyne 7, Mahrez 6, Haaland 6, Grealish 5. Subs: Gundogan 6, Alvarez 7, Foden 7. -eurosport</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"16\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 15:37:30', '2022-08-01 14:14:14'),
(779, 779, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Saturday that an agreement with the International Monetary Fund has been pushed back to September due to the unrest over the past weeks, the Associated Press reported.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Wickremesinghe, in his first speech since he was elected by parliament, said even though he when the prime minister had aimed to reach an agreement by early August, it has now been pushed back by a month, the report said.</div><div><br></div><div>Wickremesinghe was appointed after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, under whom the discussions with IMF began in April, was ousted on July 13.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The finance ministry on Friday said Sri Lanka had resumed bailout discussions with IMF after the new government took office and talks were highly successful.</div><div><br></div><div>The country has $12 billion overseas debt with private creditors. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 16:05:02', '2022-07-31 16:05:02'),
(780, 780, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Export orders for Bangladeshi apparel products have discarded by 10 to 20 percent due to the negative impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, industry insiders said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Energy and food prices have shot up across the globe after the start of the war, resulting in low global demand for apparel items among the limited-income people due to more spending on fuel and food, they explained. </div><div><br></div><div>The RMG exporters say the export-oriented apparel sector now facing a very hard time, which may make it difficult for the government to achieve the export target in FY23.</div><div><br></div><div>“We’ve been affected more by the Russia-Ukraine war compared to the impacts of Corona pandemic. The demand for clothing has fallen globally while price of primary raw materials has gone up,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) said.</div><div><br></div><div>“As a result, price of finished goods is shooting up but the buyers want to buy apparels from Bangladesh at the previous prices as many of our neighbouring countries don’t need to import primary materials,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>In these circumstances, the local RMG factories are resorting to production automation to lower their production cost, the former BGMEA president Murshedy also informed. </div><div><br></div><div>Apparel shipment orders from international retailers and brands declined by 20 percent during the September-November quarter compared to that of the March-June period, according to BGMEA.</div><div><br></div><div>BGMEA president Faruqe Hassan informed that gas price surged nearly three folds in the USA and the EU.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the countries like Bangladesh have been affected severely because of the energy and food price hike, adding that utilisation declaration (UD) for the upcoming spring and summer seasons has also slipped 20 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>Although RMG exports won’t fall drastically, it will witness a modest decline. It will make achieving the export target in the current fiscal year more challenging, Murshedy predicted. </div><div><br></div><div>According to him, the export-oriented RMG industry is going to face the toughest time in its history.</div><div><br></div><div>BGMEA director Mohiuddin Rubel informed that they are getting a forecast of more fall in export orders. “The RMG export trend is now slowing down from a sign of recovery from corona pandemic.”</div><div><br></div><div>Some BGMEA leaders are optimistic that the crisis is temporary and orders will start rising from next September when demand for the next seasons will pour in.</div><div><br></div><div>Calling not to be panicked, Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association president Kazi Iftekhar predicted that the order may fall 10-13 percent, which is not alarming compared to the current 6-8 percent inflation rate.</div><div><br></div><div>Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Data showed that readymade garment export in FY22 grew by 35.47 percent to $42.61 billion from $31.45 billion in FY21.</div><div><br></div><div>Export earnings from woven garments in the just concluded financial year 2021-22 increased by 33.82 percent to $19.39 billion from $14.49 billion in FY21. Earnings from knitwear export in FY22 grew by 36.88 percent to $23.21 billion from $ 16.96 billion in FY21.</div><div><br></div><div>Riding on this export performance, the government has set $67 billion export target for the current fiscal year, which finally stood at $60 billion in FY22, including $52bn in goods exports. </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 16:10:45', '2022-07-31 16:10:59'),
(781, 781, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Renowned Bengali singer Nirmala Mishra passed away at her residence in southern Kolkata\'s Chetla area in the early hours of Sunday after suffering a massive heart attack, a senior doctor treating her said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A recipient of the Balakrushna Das Award, Mishra, 81, had long been battling age-related ailments, reports PTI.</div><div><br></div><div>Mishra suffered a massive heart attack around 12.05 am and was taken to the nearest nursing home, where she was declared dead, the doctor treating her told PTI when contacted.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Her body will be kept at the hospital tonight,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Mishra was one of the most respected and admired playback singers. She sang many songs for Odia and Bengali films.</div><div><br></div><div>\'Eamon Ekta Jhinuk\', \'Bolo to arshi\', \'Kagojer phul bole\', \'Eai banglar mati tea\' and \'Ami to Tomar\' are some of the popular Bengali songs she lent her voice to.</div><div><br></div><div>\'Tumi Akash eakhun jodi\' and \'Ami hariye felechi ganer sathire\', among others, are some of the film songs she sang. </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 16:17:52', '2022-08-02 16:28:47'),
(782, 782, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least five people were killed after being run over by a bus in Gazipur’s Kaliakair upazila.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The incident was reported at around 11pm on Saturday, from the upazila’s TNT Bottola area, said Sub-Inspector (SI) Rahat of Kaliakor police station.</div><div><br></div><div>Four of the deceased have been identified as Atiqul Islam, 35, Mehedi, 30, Siddiqur Rahman and Nazrul Islam, 34.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The other victim could not be identified immediately.</div><div><br></div><div>“The victims were headed toward home on an autorickshaw when a ‘KP Paribahan’ bus rammed into the vehicle. In the aftermath of the crash, all of the passengers of the autorickshaw, including the driver, fell on the road,” SI Rahat said.</div><div><br></div><div>“At that time, another speeding bus ‘Itihash Paribahan’ ran over them,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Police managed to seize the \"Itihash Paribahan\" bus.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 16:24:18', '2022-07-31 16:24:18'),
(783, 783, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Election Commission (EC) is scheduled to hold a dialogue with the ruling Awami League (AL) and Jatiya Party (JaPa) today.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The ongoing dialogue of the EC with the political parties on the occasion of the forthcoming 12th national elections will end today after holding a dialogue with the ruling and opposition parties.</div><div><br></div><div>On the same day, the Jatiya Party led by its Chairman, GM Quader, will hold a dialogue with the EC from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.</div><div>Later, the Awami League delegation will participate in the dialogue at the Election Commission Office under the leadership of the party\'s General Secretary, Obaidul Quader, at 3:00 pm.</div><div><br></div><div>Prior to the dialogue, the Awami League will submit the audit report for the 2021 fiscal year at the EC office at 10:00 a.m.</div><div><br></div><div>The EC has announced a schedule to hold a series of dialogues with 39 registered political parties at its office in the capital to seek recommendations on how to conduct the next national polls in a free and fair manner.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the schedule, the EC started talks on July 17th. As of Thursday, the EC has met delegates from 26 parties.</div><div><br></div><div>But, the BNP and eight other political parties that abstained from joining the talks are the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD Rab), Bangladesh Kalyan Party, Bangladesh Muslim League (BML), Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP).</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the two political parties sought more time to participate in the dialogue.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 16:28:30', '2022-07-31 16:28:30'),
(784, 784, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has arrested four more suspects in connection with the murder of Awami League leader Jahidul Islam Tipu and college student Samia Afrin Prity in Dhaka\'s Shahjahanpur area on 24 March.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The arrestees are – Zuber Alam Khan Robin, Arifur Rahman Sohail alias \"Killer Sohail\", Khairul and Mahbubur Rahman Titu, confirmed DB Motijheel Division Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rifat Rahman Shamim to The Business Standard.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The four were arrested following the information provided by Sumon Sikder Musa, the suspected mastermind behind the murder of the Motijheel Awami League leader Jahidul Islam Tipu, on Saturday.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>DB Motijheel Division DC Rifat Rahman Shamim said, \"We arrested the four yesterday (31 July). They will soon be taken to the court.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"We will seek five days of remand for each of them for interrogation.\"&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Musa was named as the main mastermind and coordinator behind the killing, by the actual shooter Masum Mohammad alias Akash. Musa after hiring the killer and arranging arms and a gateway bike for him, left Dhaka for Dubai on 12 March.</div><div><br></div><div>He later went to Oman and got arrested there on 12 May. A team of Bangladesh Police went there and bring him back to the country on 9 June.</div><div><br></div><div>Tipu, former general secretary of Motijheel Awami League, was on his microbus destined for his Khilgaon home on the night of 24 March.</div><div><br></div><div>He was shot dead by a masked assailant in the capital\'s Shahjahanpur area as his vehicle got stuck in traffic.</div><div><br></div><div>Rickshaw passenger Samia Afrin Prity was also got shot by stray bullets and died on the spot. Tipu\'s driver Munna got shot on his hand in the incident.</div><div><br></div><div>Tipu\'s wife Farhana Islam Dolly filed the case with Shahjahanpur Police station.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 17:15:24', '2022-07-31 17:15:24'),
(785, 785, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Karim Benzema converted an early penalty and Marco Asensio added a second-half insurance goal as Real Madrid beat Juventus 2-0 in a pre-season friendly at California\'s Rose Bowl on Saturday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>With his eye on Real Madrid\'s European Super Cup clash with Eintracht Frankfurt in 10 days, coach Carlo Ancelotti started the same lineup that beat Liverpool in the Champions League final in May.</div><div><br></div><div>They produced the first victory of Real Madrid\'s United States tour, after a 1-0 loss to La Liga rivals Barcelona in Las Vegas and a 2-2 draw against Mexico\'s Club America in San Francisco.</div><div><br></div><div>Spectators were still trickling into the stands when French star Benzema had a goal disallowed just eight seconds into the contest, Uruguay\'s Federico Valverde\'s through ball catching him offside.</div><div><br></div><div>Juventus had their best chance of the match in the 13th minute, but Leonardo Bonucci\'s direct free kick hit the crossbar.</div><div><br></div><div>Benzema opened the scoring with a penalty in the 19th, crisply firing into the bottom left corner after Juventus\' Danilo brought down fellow Brazilian Vinicius Junior with a sloppy move in the penalty area.</div><div><br></div><div>Pressing hard to put the match to bed after the interval, Real Madrid were thwarted by Juventus goalkeeper Mattia Perin, who denied a sharply angled shot by Daniel Carvajal before soaring to stop a long-range left-footed blast from Benzema in the 62nd minute.</div><div><br></div><div>Two minutes later, Benzema was among the departing players as Ancelotti made nine substitutions.</div><div><br></div><div>He received an ecstatic cheer from the largely pro-Real crowd of 93,702 at the Rose Bowl, the picturesque stadium tucked into the foothills northeast of Los Angeles that was the venue for the 1994 World Cup final.</div><div><br></div><div>Asensio was among the substitutes, and quickly made an impression, sweeping a cross from the left by Jesus Vallejo into the net with his left foot.</div><div><br></div><div>It was enough to seal the win in a match in which Juventus barely tested Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. -AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR<br></div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"10\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 17:20:48', '2022-07-31 17:20:48'),
(787, 787, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The ruling Awami League acquired more than Tk21 crore in 2021 while the political party\'s expenditure for the year was Tk6.3 crore.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The political party\'s income and expenditure statement of last year was submitted to Election Commission Secretary Humayun Kabir Khandaker by Awami League\'s Treasurer HM Ashiqur Rahman on Sunday (31 July).&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The party\'s major source of income has been the sale of nomination papers and primary membership forms.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the party, its income in 2021 was 10 crore 90 lakh 2 thousand 573 taka more than it was in 2020.&nbsp; It also added that expenditure was 3 crore 64 lakh 30 thousand 79 taka less compared to the previous year.</div><div><br></div><div>The party treasurer said that in 2020, the expenses increased due to the financial support given to activists during the pandemic. But the next year the amount of cash assistance was less.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition, this expenditure has been incurred in various sectors including salaries of officers and employees, organisational expenses.</div><div><br></div><div>Awami League had 70 crore 43 lakh 70 thousand 166 taka in its fund until December 2021. In the previous year, it was 50 crore 76 lakh 37 thousand 194 taka.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) every year by July 31, the parties have to submit the income and expenditure account of the previous calendar year to the Election Commission.</div><div><br></div><div>There is a provision to cancel the registration of a political party if its income and expenditure account is not submitted for three consecutive years.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) spent Tk1.98 crore against its income of Tk84.12 lakh in the calendar year for 2021 - leading to a deficit of Tk1.14 crore, according to its annual financial report submitted to the EC on 28 July.</div><div><br></div><div>BNP Joint General Secretary of the party Ruhul Kabir Rizvi submitted the report to the Election Commission Secretary Md Humayun Kabir Khondkar mentioning that it met the shortfall from the previous year\'s fund.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 17:35:00', '2022-07-31 17:35:00'),
(788, 788, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), jumped by 1.56% or 93 points to reach 6,073 amid first trading hour on Sunday as a result of floor price adjustment, set by the securities regulator to curb further fall.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>On Thursday, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) reintroduced the price floors for individual securities to stop the market from going further down as the key index hit a 14-month low at 5,980.</div><div><br></div><div>The average closing price of Thursday and its four preceding sessions would be the floor price for individual scrips, the commission said in the afternoon. That means, no scrip can be traded below the floor price.</div><div><br></div><div>According to market insiders, some 346 scripts reported an increase today following the floor price adjustment, which has helped to push the index up.</div><div><br></div><div>However, daily turnover at the DSE still remained low due to the absence of buyers.</div><div><br></div><div>Meantimee, Chittagong Stock Exchange\'s all share price index CASPI also surged by 225 points during the first hour of trading.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 18:23:06', '2022-07-31 18:23:06'),
(789, 789, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">R Madhavan, who is basking on the success of his recently released movie Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, met megastar Rajinikanth. The veteran actor felicitated R Madhavan and Nambi Narayanan (on whom the movie\'s based) at his house. Sharing a few glimpses of their meet on his Instagram handle, Madhavan wrote, \"When you get the blessings from a one-man industry &amp; the very Legend himself, in the presence of another Legend .. it\'s a moment etched for eternity. Thank you for your kindest words and affection #rajnikanth sir. This motivation has completely rejuvenated us. We love you as does the whole world,\" followed by heart and rocket emoticons. In one of the videos, the Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein actor can be seen seeking Rajinikanth\'s blessings by touching his feet.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Soon after R Madhavan shared the post, his fans flooded the comment section. A fan wrote, \"U deserve more maddy lm was awesome Smile always god bless,\" while another wrote, \"2 legends in one image\".&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Here have a look at the post shared by R Madhavan:</div><div><br></div><div>R Madhavan made his directorial debut with Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. The movie is based on a former ISRO ( Indian Space Research Organisation) scientist Nambi Narayanan, who was accused in the ISRO espionage case in 1994 but was later exonerated. The movie also stars Simran and Rajit Kapur in pivotal roles. The movie also marks Shah Rukh Khan and Suriya\'s special appearances. The Hindi version of the film is currently streaming on OTT platform Voot.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, on the work front, R Madhavan will be next seen in Dhokha Round D Corner and Amriki Pandit. -ndtv</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 19:11:36', '2022-07-31 19:11:36'),
(790, 790, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A national hosepipe ban should be implemented as a national priority along with compulsory water metering across the UK by the end of the decade.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>That is the key message that infrastructure advisers have given the government as the nation braces itself for a drought that is threatening major disruption to the nation. Failure to act now would leave Britain facing a future of queueing for emergency bottled water “from the back of lorries”.</div><div><br></div><div>The government was warned four years ago by the National Infrastructure Committee (NIC) that considerable new investment would have to be made in the nation’s water supply equipment by the 2030s. Although some improvements have been made by water firms, nearly 3billion litres of water is still lost every day.</div><div><br></div><div>Plugging these leaks will require an investment of around £20bn, Sir John Armitt, chair of the committee, told the Observer this weekend. Failure to invest now will mean, he added, that more than twice as much will have to be spent on distributing bottled water to UK residents by lorry as increasingly frequent droughts grip the nation.</div><div><br></div><div>“You have to pay for it, one way or another,” he said. “That could be investing in new reservoirs or moving water around the country, as well as stopping leaks.” Water metering is considered by the industry as the best tool for cutting water use – the UK has the highest usage in Europe. It is estimated that water meters have been installed in only about half of households in England and Wales, but these customers use 33 litres a day less than the national average, of 141 litres a day.</div><div><br></div><div>The call by the NIC was backed by the Rivers Trust, which who were was one of the key agencies at the emergency National Drought Group meeting the government convened last week as dry conditions spread across England.</div><div><br></div><div>Mark Lloyd of the Rivers Trust said measures should be taken much earlier than the end of the decade. “There needs to be a nationally coordinated publicity campaign to reduce water use, and universal water metering,” he said. “Low flows in rivers are disastrous for wildlife and, ultimately, we need to take much more care of this incredibly precious resource.”</div><div><br></div><div>Mark Owen of the Angling Trust said hosepipe bans needed to be extended across the country, after Southern Water became the first firm to bring in a ban on Friday, for the Isle of Wight and Hampshire.</div><div><br></div><div>“We need to see these bans brought in proactively in many more places,” said Owen.</div><div><br></div><div>He criticised the lack of government planning for extreme weather. “There is no strategic, coherent, joined-up approach. The reaction is always kneejerk. What happens when we get to this stage – when it is very dry and hot –is that all of a sudden usage shoots up as people fill paddling pools and water their gardens.”</div><div><br></div><div>Tom Bradshaw, deputy president of the National Farmers’ Union, said more investment in water irrigation, on farm reservoirs and a better plan to manage water resources was needed. “The lack of rain means crops such as sugar beet and maize are showing signs of stress, while there are challenges for farmers needing to irrigate field veg and potatoes. The dry weather has also severely hampered grass growth, which could hit feed supplies for the winter.”</div><div><br></div><div>Critics say the government has had plenty of warnings, but seems to have taken no action.</div><div><br></div><div>“What we are seeing now is that climate impacts in terms of more extreme weather events are happening more frequently and at a greater magnitude than was anticipated,” said Martin Baxter of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. “We have really got to become more resilient to what we know is on the way.”</div><div><br></div><div>A conglomerate of government bodies said that major plans were being prepared to improve water storage and transfer across England and Wales. A £500million scheme called Rapid – Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development – was set up jointly in 2019 by Ofwat, the Environment Agency (EA) and the Drinking Water Inspectorate.</div><div><br></div><div>“We are now investigating different schemes with the aim of implementing the most promising in a couple of years,” said Paul Hickey, managing director of Rapid.</div><div><br></div><div>Among the projects being considered are a series of new reservoirs that could be built in different parts of the country and schemes that would allow engineers to transfer water from the north of England, where supplies are not stressed, to the south. These would involve using the River Severn and the Grand Union canal as conduits for fresh water that would alleviate situation in the south of England, which has been worst affected by the drought.</div><div><br></div><div>These schemes will cost billions of pounds, however, and are unlikely to be implemented in the next decade.</div><div><br></div><div>July was the driest month on record since 1911, with only 24% of the amount of rain that would be expected in an average July, according to Met Office data. All areas of the country are affected, but in the south and east in particular the conditions are critical – with rainfall this July just 14% of an average July over the decade to 2020.</div><div><br></div><div>The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, rejected the call for compulsory water metering. -theguardian</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 19:52:48', '2022-07-31 19:52:48'),
(791, 791, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russia on Sunday invited United Nations and Red Cross experts to probe the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners held by Moscow-backed separatists, while Ukraine\'s president ordered the evacuation of residents in the eastern region of Donetsk.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said hundreds of thousands of people were still exposed to fierce fighting in the Donbas region, which contains Donetsk and Luhansk provinces.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Many refuse to leave but it still needs to be done,\" Zelenskiy said in a televised address late on Saturday. \"The more people leave the Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations over a missile strike or explosion early on Friday that appeared to have killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the front-line town of Olenivka in eastern Donetsk.</div><div><br></div><div>Russia invited experts from the U.N. and Red Cross to probe the deaths \"in the interests of conducting an objective investigation\", the defence ministry said on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>The ministry had published a list of 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war killed and 73 wounded in what it said was a Ukrainian military strike with a U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine\'s armed forces denied responsibility, saying Russian artillery had targeted the prison to hide mistreatment there. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday Russia had committed a war crime and called for international condemnation.</div><div><br></div><div>Reuters journalists confirmed some of the deaths at the prison, but could not immediately verify the differing versions of events.</div><div><br></div><div>The U.N. had said it was prepared to send experts to investigate if it obtained consent from both parties. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was seeking access and had offered to help evacuate the wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine has accused Russia of atrocities against civilians and identified more than 10,000 possible war crimes. Russia denies targeting civilians and war crimes in the invasion it calls a \"special operation\".</div><div><br></div><div>Ukrainian counteroffensive&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Ukrainian forces attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the Russian-held Crimean port city of Sevastopol early on Sunday, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev was quoted by Russian media as saying.</div><div><br></div><div>Five members of staff were wounded in the attack when what was presumed to be a drone flew into the courtyard at the headquarters, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukrainian authorities said the southern cities of Mykolaiv and Nikopol had been hit by heavy Russian strikes overnight.</div><div><br></div><div>Two people were killed and three wounded when 12 missiles hit homes and educational facilities, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych told Ukrainian national television, describing the strikes as \"probably the most powerful\" on the city of the entire war.</div><div><br></div><div>Up to 50 Grad rockets hit residential areas in the city of Nikopol on Sunday morning, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. One person was wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine\'s military said on Saturday more than 100 Russian soldiers had been killed and seven tanks destroyed in the south on Friday, including the Kherson region that is the focus of Kyiv\'s counteroffensive in that part of the country and a key link in Moscow\'s supply lines.</div><div><br></div><div>Rail traffic to Kherson over the Dnipro River had been cut, the military\'s southern command said, potentially further isolating Russian forces west of the river from supplies in occupied Crimea and the east.</div><div><br></div><div>South of the town of Bakhmut, which Russia has cited as a prime target in Donetsk, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces had been \"partially successful\" in establishing control over the settlement of Semyhirya by storming it from three directions.</div><div><br></div><div>Defence and intelligence officials from Britain, which has been one of Ukraine\'s staunchest allies since Moscow invaded its neighbour on Feb. 24, portrayed Russian forces as struggling to maintain momentum.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine has used Western-supplied long-range missile systems to badly damage three bridges across the Dnipro in recent weeks, cutting off Kherson city and - in the assessment of British defence officials - leaving Russia\'s 49th Army highly vulnerable on the river\'s west bank.</div><div><br></div><div>Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.</div><div><br></div><div>Officials from the Russian-appointed administration running the Kherson region earlier this week rejected Western and Ukrainian assessments of the situation.</div><div><br></div><div>On Friday the British ministry described the Russian government as \"growing desperate\", having lost tens of thousands of soldiers in the war. British MI6 foreign intelligence agency chief Richard Moore added on Twitter that Russia is \"running out of steam.\" -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 20:08:00', '2022-07-31 20:08:00');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(792, 792, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Gas supply will remain suspended in Sadar and Sarail upazilas of Brahmanbaria for three days till 6am on Wednesday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited authorities have decided to suspend gas supply due to transfer work of a gas pipe line under the Four Lane Highway Upgradation Project from Ashuganj Land Port to Akhaura Land Port, said MD Akhtaruzzaman, Deputy General Manager of the head office of the Gas Distribution Company.</div><div><br></div><div>Gas pipe line transfer work will be conducted on the four-lane road from 6 am on Sunday to 6 am on Wednesday, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The residents were informed about the gas supply suspension through announcement in different areas udner the two upazilas. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 20:21:47', '2022-07-31 20:21:47'),
(793, 793, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The month of morning begins tomorrow commemorating the brutal assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members on August 15, 1975.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The August 15 carnage is the ugliest chapter of the nation\'s history as the self-confessed killers not only assassinate the nation\'s founding father alone, but also killed 16 other members of his family, friends and relatives.</div><div><br></div><div>The nation observes with heavy heart the month of August as the month of morning to recall the barbaric killing on 1975\'s 15 August.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The August 15 carnage martyrs included Bangabandhu\'s wife Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, his sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russell, daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal, Bangabandhu\'s brother Sheikh Naser, brother-in-law Abdur Rab Serniabat, nephew and eminent journalist Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni, Moni\'s pregnant wife Arzoo Moni and Bangabandhu\'s military secretary Colonel Jamil.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangabandhu\'s two daughters - incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana - escaped the planned assassination as they were visiting Germany at that time.</div><div><br></div><div>With the killing of Bangabandhu, the greatest Bangalee of all times, a pall of gloom descended and a sense of deep sadness spread among the people in the country and across the globe.</div><div><br></div><div>The world protested and condemned the killing, saying it is an irreparable loss to millions of people of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>The month of August is also black marked with another conspiracy of assassination. The nation cannot ever forget the heinous attempt of killing Sheikh Hasina through grenade attacks in 2004.</div><div><br></div><div>The vested quarter, who assassinated Bangabandhu in 1975, also tried to destroy Awami League (AL) by killing its president Sheikh Hasina with grenades on an anti-terrorism rally at Bangabandhu Avenue here on August 21 in 2004.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped the attack suffering splinter injuries when 24 of her party men, including Awami League\'s women affairs secretary Ivy Rahman, were killed and 500 others injured.</div><div><br></div><div>Like in the previous years, different political and socio-cultural organisations, including ruling Awami League (AL) and its associate bodies have chalked out month-long programmes to observe the month of mourning. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 20:37:20', '2022-07-31 20:37:20'),
(794, 794, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said her government is working to build the young generation as skilled work force so they can cope with the technological advancement ahead of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"We first want the young generation of our country to be skilled work force,\" she said while addressing the first meeting of the National Skilled Development Authority (NSDA) at the Prime Minister\'s Office (PMO) here.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the youth folk have to prepare themselves bearing in mind that the world is ever changing with the technological advancement alongside their academic study so they can maintain their position in the society generation after generation with due dignity.</div><div><br></div><div>PM\'s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed the newsmen after the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier said the Awami League government has attached priority on developing skill and efficiency of the youths through imparting proper training so that they can avail the jobs at home and abroad with professional excellence.</div><div><br></div><div>In this connection, she said many countries of the world are now becoming states of the old aged people while Bangladesh has a vast young people.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We want the young generation to build themselves in such a way as they can capitalise the prosperity of the labour markets,\" she added.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said the world is now becoming a global village and many Bangladeshis are now working abroad, adding that her government has been working to make them efficient enough to meet the global demand.</div><div><br></div><div>She noted that many youths are seen running after jobs completing BA, MA somehow, urging them to become entrepreneurs instead of looking for jobs.</div><div><br></div><div>Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, Prime Minister\'s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam, Prime Minister\'s Principal Secretary Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus, PM\'s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim and FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin, among others, were present. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 21:49:26', '2022-07-31 21:49:26'),
(795, 795, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Spanish prosecutor has asked for more than eight years in prison for Colombian superstar Shakira and a fine of more than 23 million euros ($23.51 million) over a 14.5 million euro tax fraud case, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Friday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The prosecutor\'s office and Shakira\'s representatives were not immediately available for comment.</div><div><br></div><div>On Wednesday, the Latin American superstar rejected a settlement offered by the prosecutor in her 14.5 million euro Spanish tax fraud case and is now a step closer to going to trial, her media team said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Colombian singer - who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide with hits such as \"Hips Don\'t Lie\" - has always met all of her tax obligations, a statement said. She considers the case \"a total violation of her rights,\" it said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The singer is fully confident of her innocence and therefore does not accept a settlement,\" the statement said.</div><div><br></div><div>The terms of the proposed settlement were not disclosed.</div><div><br></div><div>The prosecutor\'s office in Barcelona did not reply to a request for comment.</div><div><br></div><div>Shakira is accused of failing to pay up 14.5 million euros ($14.7 million) in tax income between 2012 and 2014, a period in which Shakira\'s representatives say she did not live in Spain.</div><div><br></div><div>The 45-year-old singer - dubbed \"the Queen of Latin Music\" -says she moved to Barcelona in 2015, where she lived with FC Barcelona soccer club defender Gerard Pique. They have two chidren and recently separated.</div><div><br></div><div>Shakira says even though her legal team disagreed about the alleged debt, she paid the 17.2 million that the Spanish tax office claimed she owed so she has had no outstanding debt with the tax authorities for many years.</div><div><br></div><div>The court still has to formally send her to stand trial and set a date. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 21:54:43', '2022-07-31 21:54:43'),
(796, 796, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Bangladesh team lost the toss again and sent to field first in the 2nd T20I at Harare Sports Club ground on Sunday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The host Zimbabwe team won the toss and decided to bat first in the second consecutive match.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh has already lost the first match of the series on Saturday. Sohan\'s team has no choice but to win today\'s match to keep the hope of winning the series alive.</div><div><br></div><div>Zimbabwe won the first match by a margin of 17 runs after scoring a huge total of 205 runs. Zimbabwean captain Craig Irvine has said that they have targeted to amass a big total in today\'s match as well. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 22:19:37', '2022-07-31 22:19:37'),
(797, 797, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Popular singer Ferdous Wahid has returned home after successful bypass surgery at&nbsp; United Hospital.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Ferdous suffered a heart attack and was admitted to Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital from where he was shifted to United Hospital.</div><div><br></div><div>He underwent bypass surgery under Dr Jahangir Kabir at United Hospital on July 18 and was discharged from hospital on July 25.</div><div><br></div><div>Habib Wahid, another popular musician and son of Ferdous Wahid, has posted a photo of his father on Facebook where he said, “Due to your prayers and the will of Almighty Allah , Ferdous Wahid has had a successful bypass surgery and is returning to his usual self gradually.”</div><div><br></div><div>“The surgery was complex but Dr Jahangir did it efficiently. We express our gratitude to him,” read the post.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, rings were placed in Ferdous Wahid’s heart as doctors found several blocks there. Besides, he had other health complications including diabetes. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 22:44:35', '2022-07-31 22:44:35'),
(798, 798, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A hundred French parliamentarians, mainly from the political left, on Saturday denounced Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\'s \"policy of war\" against Kurds in northern Syria.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>While the rest of the world is focussed on Ukraine, as Russia\'s war crimes multiply there, Erdogan is \"planning to launch an umpteenth bloody offensive against the Kurds in northern Syria,\" the parliamentarians said in a statement published by the JDD title.</div><div><br></div><div>The Turkish president \"is taking advantage\" of Turkey\'s pivotal status, as a NATO member on good terms with both Moscow and Kyiv, \"to obtain a blank cheque from the Atlantic Alliance in order to intensify his attacks in northern Syria\", according to the statement initiated by Communist senator Laurence Cohen.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Western countries must no longer look the other way\", said the elected representatives, parliamentary deputies and upper house senators mostly from leftist and ecologist parties.</div><div><br></div><div>They were joined by some from the rightwing Republicans (LR) and President Emmanuel Macron\'s ruling party.</div><div><br></div><div>They called on the West \"to guarantee the protection of Kurdish activists and associations present on European soil\".</div><div><br></div><div>The signatories urged France to refer the matter to the UN Security Council \"to declare a no-fly zone in northern Syria and place the Syrian Kurds under international protection\".</div><div><br></div><div>They also called for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to \"be granted international recognition\".</div><div><br></div><div>Erdogan is threatening to launch a new military offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria, where he wants to establish a buffer zone 30 kilometres (20 miles) deep.</div><div><br></div><div>Turkey has launched a string of offensives in Syria in the past six years, most recently in 2019 when it conducted a broad air and ground assault against Kurdish militias after former US president Donald Trump withdrew American troops.</div><div><br></div><div>Erdogan has urged Russia and Iran to back his efforts, saying at a three-way summit last week that \"we will continue our fight against terrorist organisations\". - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-07-31 23:02:17', '2022-07-31 23:02:17'),
(799, 799, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Madagascar authorities on Sunday were on the hunt for a gang of cattle rustlers that killed at least 32 people by setting homes on fire in a village north of Antananarivo.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Army helicopters have been deployed to locate the suspects and help ground troops searching the Ankazobe area about 75 kilometres north of the capital, the defence ministry said in a Facebook statement.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The perpetrators must be found and punished according to the law,\" President Andry Rajoelina said in a social media statement, describing the killings as a \"massacre.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"The Malagasy army is in charge of rescuing the local population and hunting down the outlaws.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Police said 32 people were killed and three injured as a gang of about 12 bandits attacked the village of Ambolotarakely, in Ankazobe, on Friday.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The attackers -- cattle rustlers, known locally as the dahalo -- rounded up the victims inside three houses and set the buildings on fire, police said. The three wounded were in intensive care at a local hospital.</div><div><br></div><div>Located on a small hill, the village of Ambolotarakely is made up of about a dozen homes with thatched roofs.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Television footage from the scene showed the three houses completely burnt down, with only parts of the walls still standing.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Police said the culprits likely lived in surrounding areas.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"The army will do everything possible to arrest the perpetrators of this massacre as soon as possible,\" Defence Minister Richard Rakotonirina told local media as he visited Ambolotarakely on Saturday. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 00:30:35', '2022-08-01 00:30:35'),
(800, 800, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">US President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 again on Saturday in what the White House doctor described as a \"rebound\" case seen in a small percentage of patients who take the antiviral drug Paxlovid.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Biden, 79, who emerged from Covid-19 isolation on Wednesday after testing positive on July 21, said he was feeling fine.</div><div><br></div><div>He will now return to strict isolation and will cancel planned trips to his home in Wilmington and work trip in Michigan, the White House said. Biden held public events on Wednesday and Thursday, but none on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>The forced isolation comes as the White House was hoping to celebrate some recent legislative victories to help boost Biden\'s slumping poll ratings.</div><div><br></div><div>Biden had planned the Michigan trip to tout Thursday\'s passage of legislation to boost the US semiconductor chips industry.</div><div><br></div><div>Biden\'s positive test is believed to be a \"rebound\" experienced by some Covid-19 patients who take the anti-viral drug Paxlovid, according to White House physician Dr Kevin O\'Connor.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Paxlovid is an antiviral medication from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) that is used to treat high-risk patients, such as older patients.</div><div><br></div><div>A small but significant percentage of people who take Paxlovid will suffer a relapse or a rebound that occurs days after the five-day treatment course has ended, studies have shown.</div><div><br></div><div>White House officials had previously suggested a rebound case of Covid-19 was unlikely, based on reports of cases around the country. However, Biden continued to be tested and monitored.</div><div><br></div><div>Biden tweeted about his positive case, saying it can happen to a \"small minority of folks.\" He later posted a video on Twitter where he said he was \"feeling fine\" and \"everything\'s good.\"</div><div><br></div><div>A White House official said contact tracing efforts were underway Saturday after Biden\'s positive Covid-19 test.</div><div><br></div><div>National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr Anthony Fauci also experienced rebound Covid-19. His symptoms got worse when they returned after treatment, and his doctors prescribed another course of Paxlovid.</div><div><br></div><div>O\'Connor said Biden tested negative for the last four days, and there is no plan to reinitiate treatment given his lack of symptoms.</div><div><br></div><div>Biden previously described his experience with Covid-19 as mild, saying he was able to continue working while in isolation and attributed his relative ease with the disease to vaccines and other treatments.</div><div><br></div><div>O\'Connor had previously said Biden would be tested regularly to watch for a potential \"rebound\" Covid-19 case, which can be experienced by some patients who have been treated with Paxlovid, the drug the president received. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 01:37:00', '2022-08-01 01:37:00'),
(801, 801, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Debris from a rocket that boosted part of China’s new space station into orbit fell into the sea in the Philippines on Sunday, the Chinese government announced.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Most of the final stage of the Long March-5B rocket burned up after entering the atmosphere at 12:55 a.m., the China Manned Space Agency reported. The agency said earlier the booster would be allowed to fall unguided.</div><div><br></div><div>The announcement gave no details of whether remaining debris fell on land or sea but said the “landing area” was at 119 degrees east longitude and 9.1 degrees north latitude. That is in waters southeast of the Philippine city of Puerto Princesa on the island of Palawan.</div><div>There was no immediate word from Philippine authorities about whether anyone on the ground was affected.</div><div><br></div><div>China has faced criticism for allowing rocket stages to fall to Earth uncontrolled twice before. NASA accused Beijing last year of “failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris” after parts of a Chinese rocket landed in the Indian Ocean.</div><div><br></div><div>The country’s first space station, Tiangong-1, crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 2016 after Beijing confirmed it lost control. An 18-ton rocket fell uncontrolled in May 2020.</div><div><br></div><div>China also faced criticism after using a missile to destroy one of its defunct weather satellites in 2007, creating a field of debris that other governments said might jeopardize other satellites.</div><div><br></div><div>The July 24 launch of the Long March-5B, China’s most-powerful rocket, carried the Wentian laboratory into orbit. It was attached on Monday to the Tianhe main module, where three astronauts live.</div><div><br></div><div>The remains of a separate cargo spacecraft that serviced the station fell into a predetermined area of the South Pacific after most of it burned up on reentry, the government announced earlier. - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 01:59:21', '2022-08-01 01:59:21'),
(802, 802, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Clashes between Taliban forces and Iran border guards today have left at least one dead on the Afghanistan side, an Afghan police official said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“We have one killed and one wounded; the cause of the clash is not clear yet,” the police spokesman of the southern Afghan province of Nimroze, Bahram Haqmal, said.</div><div><br></div><div>Maysam Barazandeh, the governor of the Iranian border area of Hirmand, was quoted by the semi-official news agency Fars as saying the clashes had stopped and there were no casualties.</div><div><br></div><div>Iran’s Tasnim news agency said clashes broke out after Taliban forces tried to raise their flag “in an area which is not Afghan territory”.</div><div><br></div><div>Local sources told Reuters that people living near the border on the Afghan side fled their homes to take cover when the clashes intensified.</div><div><br></div><div>Since taking over Afghanistan a year ago, Taliban forces have frequently clashed with security forces of Iran, which neighbours the country to the west, as well as Pakistan, which neighbours it to the east. - Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 02:41:50', '2022-08-01 02:41:50'),
(803, 803, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russian missiles pounded the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv on Sunday, killing the owner of a major grain exporter, while a drone strike on Russia\'s Black Sea naval base in Sevastopol was launched from within the city in a \"terrorist attack,\" a Russian lawmaker said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Oleksiy Vadatursky, founder and owner of agriculture company Nibulon, and his wife were killed in their home, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram.</div><div><br></div><div>Headquartered in Mykolaiv, a strategically important city that borders the mostly Russian-occupied Kherson region, Nibulon specializes in the production and export of wheat, barley and corn, and has its own fleet and shipyard.</div><div><br></div><div>Mykolaiv\'s Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych described the more than 12 missile strikes as \"probably the most powerful on the city in five months of war, hitting homes and schools, with at least three others wounded. On Sunday evening he reported that strikes had resumed, but no information on casualties or damage was available.</div><div><br></div><div>In Russian-occupied Sevastopol, five Russian navy staff members were injured by an explosion after a presumed drone flew into the courtyard of Russia\'s Black Sea fleet , the Crimean port city\'s governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev told Russian media.</div><div><br></div><div>He blamed the attack on Ukraine, saying it had decided to \"spoil Navy Day for us.\"</div><div><br></div><div>But Olga Kovitidi, a member of Russia\'s upper house of parliament, told the Russian RIA news agency that the attack was \"undoubtedly carried out not from outside, but from the territory of Sevastopol.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"Urgent search operations are being conducted in the city to track down the organisers of this terrorist act. They will be found by the evening,\" Kovitidi was quoted as saying.</div><div><br></div><div>The Sevastopol attack coincided with Russia\'s Navy Day, which President Vladimir Putin marked by announcing that the navy would receive what he called \"formidable\" hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles in coming months. The missiles can travel at nine times the speed of sound, outrunning air defenses.</div><div><br></div><div>Putin did not mention the conflict in Ukraine during a speech after signing a new naval doctrine which cast the United States as Russia\'s main rival and set out Russia\'s global maritime ambitions for crucial areas such as the Arctic and in the Black Sea.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Grain tycoon \'great loss\'</b></div><div><br></div><div>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the death of grain tycoon Vadatursky, as \"a great loss for all of Ukraine\". Zelenskiy added that the businessman -- one of Ukraine\'s richest with Forbes estimating his 2021 net worth at $430 million -- had been building a modern grain market with a network of transhipment terminals and elevators.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It is these people, these companies, precisely the south of Ukraine, which has guaranteed the world\'s food security,\" Zelenskiy said in his nightly address. \"This was always so. And it will be so once again.\"</div><div><br></div><div>He added that Ukraine\'s social and industrial potential, \"our people, our capabilities, are surely more powerful than any Russian missiles or shells.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian forces shelled the Sumy northern border seven times, with more than 90 individual strikes, the Sumy Governor Dmytro Zhyvjtsky said on his Telegram channel. A farm was damaged and 25 hectares (61.8 acres) of wheatfields were destroyed, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Up to 50 Grad rockets hit residential areas in the southern city of Nikopol on Sunday morning, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. One person was wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>Putin sent tens of thousands of troops over the border on Feb. 24, setting off a conflict that has killed thousands, uprooted millions and deeply strained relations between Russia and the West.</div><div><br></div><div>The biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two has also stoked an energy and food crisis that is shaking the global economy. Both Ukraine and Russia are leading suppliers of grain.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Harvest could be halved&nbsp;</b></div><div><br></div><div>Zelenskiy also said on Sunday the country may harvest only half its usual amount this year due to the invasion.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Ukrainian harvest this year is under the threat to be twice less,\" suggesting half as much as usual, Zelenskiy wrote in English on Twitter. \"Our main goal — to prevent global food crisis caused by Russian invasion. Still grains find a way to be delivered alternatively,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine has struggled to get its product to buyers via its Black Sea ports because of the war.</div><div><br></div><div>But an agreement signed under the stewardship of the United Nations and Turkey on July 22 provides for safe passage for ships carrying grain out of three southern Ukrainian ports.</div><div><br></div><div>There is a high possibility that the first grain-exporting ship will leave Ukraine\'s ports on Monday, a spokesperson for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. read more</div><div><br></div><div><b>Eastern danger</b></div><div><br></div><div>Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russia has been transferring some forces from the eastern Donbas region to the southern Kherson and Zaporizhizhya regions.</div><div><br></div><div>\"But that won\'t help them there. None of the Russian strikes will go unanswered by our military and intelligence officers,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>But Zelenskiy said on Saturday that hundreds of thousands of people were still exposed to fierce fighting in the Donbas region, which contains Donetsk and Luhansk provinces and which Russia seeks to control completely. Swathes of the Donbas were held before the invasion by Russian-backed separatists.</div><div><br></div><div>Russia said on Sunday it had invited U.N. and Red Cross experts to probe the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners held by Moscow-backed separatists.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations over a missile strike or explosion early on Friday that appeared to have killed the Ukrainian prisoners of war in the front-line town of Olenivka in eastern Donetsk.</div><div><br></div><div>The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday condemned the attack and said it had not yet received permission to visit the site, while adding it was not its mandate to publicly investigate alleged war crimes. -reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 13:55:17', '2022-08-01 13:55:17'),
(804, 804, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The month of mourning begins today commemorating the brutal assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members on August 15, 1975.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The August 15 carnage is the ugliest chapter of the nation\'s history as the self-confessed killers not only assassinate the nation\'s founding father alone, but also killed 16 other members of his family, friends and relatives.</div><div><br></div><div>The nation observes with heavy heart the month of August as the month of mourning to recall the barbaric killing on 1975\'s 15 August.  </div><div><br></div><div>The August 15 carnage martyrs included Bangabandhu\'s wife Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, his sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russell, daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal, Bangabandhu\'s brother Sheikh Naser, brother-in-law Abdur Rab Serniabat, nephew and eminent journalist Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni, Moni\'s pregnant wife Arzoo Moni and Bangabandhu\'s military secretary Colonel Jamil.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangabandhu\'s two daughters - incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana - escaped the planned assassination as they were visiting Germany at that time.</div><div><br></div><div>With the killing of Bangabandhu, the greatest Bangalee of all times, a pall of gloom descended and a sense of deep sadness spread among the people in the country and across the globe.</div><div><br></div><div>The world protested and condemned the killing, saying it is an irreparable loss to millions of people of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>The month of August is also black marked with another conspiracy of assassination. The nation cannot ever forget the heinous attempt of killing Sheikh Hasina through grenade attacks in 2004.</div><div><br></div><div>The vested quarter, who assassinated Bangabandhu in 1975, also tried to destroy Awami League (AL) by killing its president Sheikh Hasina with grenades on an anti-terrorism rally at Bangabandhu Avenue here on August 21 in 2004.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped the attack suffering splinter injuries when 24 of her party men, including Awami League\'s women affairs secretary Ivy Rahman, were killed and 500 others injured.</div><div><br></div><div>Like in the previous years, different political and socio-cultural organisations, including ruling Awami League (AL) and its associate bodies have chalked out month-long programmes to observe the month of mourning. -bss</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 14:01:24', '2022-08-01 14:01:55'),
(805, 805, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Chloe Kelly wrote her name into folklore by scoring the winner as England beat Germany in the Euro 2022 final, bringing to an end 56 years of hurt by finally winning a major tournament.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A record-breaking 87,192 supporters were in attendance at Wembley as the second-half substitute poked home from close range in extra-time. Remarkably, it was her first-ever international goal - and what a time to get it.</div><div><br></div><div>Lina Magull had cancelled out Ella Toone’s delightful 62nd-minute opener with just 11 minutes remaining to set up extra-time.</div><div><br></div><div>England started the brightest and had the better chances to open the scoring, with the biggest opportunity falling to Ellen White. The Manchester City forward peeled off her marker to meet Fran Kirby’s cross, but her header was straightforward for goalkeeper Merle Frohms.</div><div><br></div><div>Germany, who were dealt a huge blow before kick-off with the loss of top goalscorer Alexandra Popp due to injury, struggled to provide their usual attacking threat but almost bundled the ball over the line from Magull’s corner delivery after Mary Earps made an important instinctive save to keep out Marina Hegering’s header.</div><div><br></div><div>A textbook counter-attack from England almost broke the deadlock when Beth Mead pulled a cross back into the path of White, who, on the stretch, saw her shot rise agonisingly over the bar.</div><div><br></div><div>Clearly not happy with her side’s performance, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg swapped Jule Brand for Tabea Wassmuth and her boldness almost paid off immediately as Germany created a huge chance at the start of the second half, but Magull inexplicably failed to hit the target.</div><div><br></div><div>Chloe Kelly of England celebrates with teammates after scoring their side\'s second goal in extra time during the UEFA Women\'s Euro 2022 final match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium on July 31, 2022 in London, England.Chloe Kelly of England celebrates with teammates after scoring their side\'s second goal in extra time during the UEFA Women\'s Euro 2022 final match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium on July 31, 2022 in London, England.</div><div><br></div><div>Chloe Kelly of England celebrates with teammates after scoring their side\'s second goal in extra time during the UEFA Women\'s Euro 2022 final match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium on July 31, 2022 in London, England.</div><div><br></div><div>Keira Walsh was the catalyst as England regrouped, offering a sense of calmness in midfield - but it was her vision that finally unlocked the stubborn Germany defence as she released Toone, who nonchalantly lifted the ball over Frohms to send the Wembley crowd into raptures in the 62nd-minute.</div><div><br></div><div>Germany were down, but they were most certainly not out, and minutes later, Magull fired a warning when she struck the post. Die Nationalelf remained in the ascendancy, and it was the Bayern Munich midfielder who grabbed the equaliser with an instinctive near-post finish from Wassmuth’s cross with just 11 minutes of normal time remaining.</div><div><br></div><div>Extra-time couldn’t be prevented, and tired legs meant there was little of note in the following 15 minutes. If anything, Germany looked fresher but England dug deeper and when Kelly won a corner, Germany failed to deal with it. Hemp\'s delivery caused chaos and it was Kelly - another substitute - who reacted quickest, turning and stabbing her finish beyond Frohms in the 111th-minute.</div><div><br></div><div>The Lionesses kept their composure and never looked like relinquishing their lead. There was an outpour of emotion as the referee blew time on an incredible game, as England finally got their hands on a trophy and Sarina Wiegman won back-to-back European Championships.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Talking point - Sarina Wiegman finally brings football home</b></div><div><br></div><div>Lionesses, take a bow. England as a nation has suffered heartbreak after heartbreak on the international stage, most recently as last year at this very venue when the Three Lions were agonisingly beaten by Italy on a penalty shootout. But Sarina Wiegman\'s side has helped to banish those memories with this most wholesome of victories over their biggest football rivals in Germany.</div><div><br></div><div>There are many heroes amongst this team - Walsh, Mead and Russo stood out all summer long - but Kelly will take the headlines for her first international goal. It couldn\'t have come on a bigger stage - at a sold-out Wembley on a night that has the potential to be a game-changer for women\'s football.</div><div><br></div><div>Wiegman deserves a fair share of the credit. The Dutchwoman has transformed this team since her appointment in September 2021, winning every single game she has been involved in, scoring a boatload of goals in the process and conceding very few. What is most impressive is the belief and character she has instilled into the players, who had fallen at the final hurdle on too many occasions before. She will go into the country\'s history books for this unprecedented achievement.</div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>Player of the match -Keira Walsh (England )</b></div><div><br></div><div>The Manchester City midfielder dominated and dictated proceedings in midfield. Arguably Player of the Tournament as well as the best player on the night.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Player ratings </b></div><div><br></div><div>England: Earps 8, Bronze 7, Bright 7, Williamson 7, Daly 7, Walsh 9*, Stanway 7, Hemp 8, Mead 8, Kirby 7, White 6.. subs: Kelly 8, Toone 8, Greenwood 5, Russo 6, Scott 5, Parris N/A</div><div><br></div><div>Germany: Frohms 7, Hendrich 6, Hegering 8, Oberdorf 7, Huth 6, Schuller 6, Dabritz 7, Gwinn 6, Rauch 7, Magull 8, Brand 6.. subs: Lattwein N/A, Dallmann 5, Lohmann 5, Doorsoun 5, Anyomi 5, Wassmuth 7. -eurosport</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"10\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 14:12:48', '2022-08-02 18:10:00'),
(806, 806, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Google is launching a new effort called “Simplicity Sprint” in an effort to improve efficiency and improve employee focus during an uncertain economic environment.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Alphabet company had its regular all-hands last Wednesday, and the tone was somewhat urgent as employees expressed concern over layoffs and CEO Sundar Pichai asked employees for input, according to attendees and related internal documentation viewed by CNBC. Google’s productivity as a company isn’t where it needs to be even with the headcount it has, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai told employees in the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>“I wanted to give some additional context following our earnings results, and ask for your help as well,” Pichai opened, referring to the company’s Q2 earnings report on Tuesday. “It’s clear we are facing a challenging macro environment with more uncertainty ahead.”</div><div><br></div><div>He added, “There are real concerns that our productivity as a whole is not where it needs to be for the headcount we have.” He asked employees to help “create a culture that is more mission-focused, more focused on our products, more customer focused. We should think about how we can minimize distractions and really raise the bar on both product excellence and productivity.”</div><div><br></div><div>It comes after the company reported its second consecutive quarter of weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue on Tuesday. Revenue growth slowed to 13% in the quarter from 62% a year earlier, when the company was benefiting from the post-pandemic reopening and consumer spending was on the rise. CFO Ruth Porat said she expected some of the challenges to continue in the near-term but the company doesn’t give formal guidance.</div><div><br></div><div>It also comes after Pichai recently announced that it would slow the pace of hiring and investments through 2023, asking employees to work “with greater urgency” and “more hunger” than shown “on sunnier days.”</div><div><br></div><div><b>‘Simplicity Sprint’</b></div><div><br></div><div>“I would love to get all your help,” Pichai said in Wednesday’s all-hands meeting, speaking to its more than 170,000 full-time employees.</div><div><br></div><div>To that end, Pichai introduced a “Simplicity Sprint” initiative to crowdsource ideas for quicker product development. “Sprint” is a term often used in software development and by tech startups to denote short, focused pushes toward a common goal.</div><div><br></div><div>Pichai said the company is opening the floor for employees to share their ideas through August 15th through an internal survey that asks if management can reach out if they have follow-up questions.</div><div><br></div><div>It’s an attempt for the company to “get better results faster,” Pichai said during the meeting. The survey, which was viewed by CNBC, shows it may also be used to cut back in certain areas.</div><div><br></div><div>Questions in the survey include “What would help you work with greater clarity and efficiency to serve our users and customers? Where should we remove speed bumps to get to better results faster? How do we eliminate waste and stay entrepreneurial and focused as we grow?”</div><div><br></div><div>The request also comes as the company tries to ease tensions between employees and executives after an annual “Googlegeist” survey showed staffers gave the company particularly poor marks on pay, promotions and execution.</div><div><br></div><div>Highlighting a 7% dip in views about Google’s execution, executive Prabhakar Raghavan at the time wrote “that means we need to bring more attention to busting bureaucracy.” Raghavan is among the most important and influential execs at the company, overseeing search, ads, mapping, and other areas.</div><div><br></div><div>In May, the company announced it would overhaul its performance evaluation process that will result in increased salaries while hoping to reduce the bureaucracy around compensation and raises.</div><div><br></div><div><b>‘Some anxiety’</b></div><div><br></div><div>In Wednesday’s all-hands meeting, executives addressed employees concern about potential layoffs. One of the top-rated questions was “In light of Sundar’s statement that sharpening Google’s focus ‘means consolidating where investments overlap and streamlining processes,’ should we expect layoffs?”</div><div><br></div><div>Pichai handed the question off to Google’s chief people officer, Fiona Cicconi.</div><div><br></div><div>While Cicconi said the company is still hiring and doesn’t have plans for layoffs right now, she didn’t rule it out.</div><div><br></div><div>“We’re asking teams to be more focused and efficient and we’re working out what that means as a company as well. Even though we can’t be sure of the economy in the future, we’re not currently looking to reduce Google’s overall workforce.”</div><div><br></div><div>She also said, “I really get that there is some anxiety around this based on what we’re hearing from other companies and what they’re doing and as Sundar mentioned, we’re still hiring for critical roles,” Cicconi said. She asked employees to remember that it’s still the biggest hiring year in the company’s history.</div><div><br></div><div>In the second quarter, Alphabet said its headcount rose 21% to 174,014 full-time employees from 144,056 the year prior. However, the company said last month it will slow the pace of hiring and investments through 2023, and CEO Sundar Pichai told employees in a memo, “we’re not immune to economic headwinds.”</div><div><br></div><div>Pichai noted the broader economic headwinds multiple times. “If you’re looking to what’s happening externally — I’m sure you’re all reading the news— the people in businesses who uses Google products are facing their own challenges right now.” -cnbc</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Science Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 14:46:31', '2022-08-01 14:46:31'),
(807, 807, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Chelsea is closing in on a $10million (£8.2m) swoop for 18-year-old Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gaga Slonina, with the American heading back to his Major League Soccer team on loan to finish the 2022 season and aid its playoff bid.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The fee is expected to rise with add-ons based on Slonina\'s future achievements. The teenager is highly rated in the States and Real Madrid have previously been linked with a move.</div><div><br></div><div>Chicago coach Ezra Hendrickson said in his press conference after the Fire\'s 0-0 draw with Atlanta that Slonina is nearing a transfer.</div><div><br></div><div>\'There\'s something close, but nothing has been signed yet so I can\'t really speak of that,\' he said. \'But there\'s something very close to happening with that.</div><div><br></div><div>\'I think the kid deserves it. There\'s no signature yet or anything so I really can\'t speak on details as far as that goes.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\'But I\'m happy for the kid and it shows that we have some good talent, some good young talent here in this organization.\'</div><div><br></div><div>He made his debut on August 4, 2021 for the Fire against New York City, becoming the youngest keeper to start a MLS game at 17 years and 81 days. He kept a clean sheet as the match ended 0-0.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Slonina is of Polish descent but has pledged his future to the United States. He has been called up by the USMNT before but is yet to make a senior international appearance.</div><div><br></div><div>He is expected to be in the World Cup team later this year, where the United States meet England, Iran and Wales in their group.</div><div><br></div><div>Saturday\'s 0-0 draw was Slonina\'s 10th clean sheet in 23 appearances for the Fire this season.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Chicago is eight place in the Eastern Conferences standings, two points outside a playoff spot.</div><div><br></div><div>Chelsea, meanwhile, is expected to send No 2 keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on loan to Italian Serie A side Napoli. The London club was recently bought by Todd Boehly, the Los Angeles Dodgers owner. -dailymail</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"10\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 14:54:20', '2022-08-01 14:54:20');
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(808, 808, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The railway authorities have resumed negotiations with the Chinese company selected for the expansion of the Akhaura-Sylhet rail line, after the process was halted for a year over contract price.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The railways ministry on June 12 formed a technical committee to assist the negotiation committee led by its Secretary Humayun Kabir.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, the Chinese company has submitted a fresh proposal regarding the project cost two weeks ago, Bangladesh Railway sources said.</div><div><br></div><div>All the members of the seven-member technical committee have already been selected after getting a nomination each from Buet and the Roads and Highways Department.</div><div><br></div><div>The five other members, including the chief of the committee, are from the ministry and the BR.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking to this correspondent yesterday, a member of the committee, preferring anonymity, said, \"We will hold a meeting to scrutinise the new proposal given by the Chinese company and will give our recommendations to the ministry.</div><div><br></div><div>\"However, we may have to hold more than one meeting to finalise our opinion.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The development came three months after Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming wrote to the finance minister to revive negotiations with the company.</div><div><br></div><div>He also suggested signing a commercial deal for quick commencement of the Tk 16,104.45-crore project, to be implemented with a loan from China.</div><div><br></div><div>The ambassador had sent the letter in April this year after the railways ministry in October last year wrote to the Economic Relations Division (ERD), asking it to search for alternative funding for the project, following the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</div><div><br></div><div>The step was taken as the contractor declined to work after the project cost was revised.</div><div><br></div><div>Two weeks after Li Jiming\'s letter, the ERD on April 26 also wrote to the rail ministry, warning it that a \"unilateral\" decision to cancel China\'s funding for the project may deteriorate bilateral relations between the two countries.</div><div><br></div><div>The move to find an alternative financier for the project, for converting the existing Akhaura-Sylhet metre-gauge (MG) railroad into a dual-gauge (DG) one, may also create problems when trying to undertake future projects with Chinese funds, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>The ERD is a division under finance ministry that deals with foreign-funding related issues on behalf of the government.</div><div><br></div><div>In this situation, the negotiation committee at a meeting on May 25 decided to form the technical committee to provide recommendations, sources said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Akhaura-Sylhet project was among those for which Dhaka and Beijing signed a memorandum of understanding -- during Chinese President Xi Jinping\'s Dhaka visit in October 2016 -- to implement with Chinese assistance.</div><div><br></div><div>The Ecnec approved the project in April 2019 in a bid to improve the rail link between the capital and Sylhet.</div><div><br></div><div>China was supposed to finance 66.16 percent of the total project cost as loan, and the China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group Co Ltd was appointed as the contractor to implement the project.</div><div><br></div><div>However, the Prime Minister\'s Office in October 2020 had formed the negotiation committee to review the contract prices of three projects involving China.</div><div><br></div><div>The two other projects are Joydebpur-Ishwardi Double Line and Joydebpur-Mymensingh-Jamalpur DG Conversion.</div><div><br></div><div>The Ecnec approved the Tk 14,250.61-crore Joydebpur-Ishwardi Double Line project in November 2018 to make the section a DG double line. The third project has not been approved.</div><div><br></div><div>In November 2020, the PMO directed BR to slash the cost of Akhaura-Sylhet project by Tk 3,354.31 crore -- 20.8 percent of the total outlay.</div><div><br></div><div>It also gave directions to lower costs of the two other projects. But the contractors of all three projects refused to work with the reduced budget, BR documents show.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, the Chinese government early last year informed Bangladesh that it would not fund the Joydebpur-Ishwardi project for a \"lack of in-depth preliminary work and insufficient feasibility study\".</div><div><br></div><div>China declined to review the decision following Bangladesh\'s request.</div><div><br></div><div>In this situation, the railways ministry in October last year wrote to the ERD, asking it to search for alternative funding for Akhaura-Sylhet and Joydebpur-Ishwardi projects.</div><div><br></div><div>Media could not reach Railways Secretary Humayun Kabir and BR\'s Director General Dhirendra Nath Mazumder over phone for comments.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 15:16:36', '2022-08-01 15:16:36'),
(809, 809, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed communications officer Uhura on the original “Star Trek” series, died Saturday night in Silver City, N.M. She was 89 years old.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Nichols’ death was confirmed by Gilbert Bell, her talent manager and business partner of 15 years.</div><div><br></div><div>Nichols shared one of the first interracial kisses in television history on “Star Trek.” That moment, with her co-star William Shatner, was a courageous move on the part of her, “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and NBC considering the climate at the time, but the episode “Plato’s Stepchildren,” which aired in 1968, was written to give all involved an out: Uhura and Captain Kirk did not choose to kiss but were instead made to do so involuntarily by aliens with the ability to control the movements of humans. Nevertheless, it was a landmark moment.</div><div><br></div><div>Paul Haggis Sexual Assault Case Dismissed by Italian Court</div><div>There had been a couple of interracial kisses on American television before. A year earlier on “Movin’ With Nancy,” Sammy Davis Jr. kissed Nancy Sinatra on the cheek in what appeared to be a spontaneous gesture but was in fact carefully planned. The Uhura-Kirk kiss was likely the first televised white/African American lip-to-lip kiss.</div><div><br></div><div>STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, Nichelle Nichols, wearing her communications ear piece, 1982. (c)Paramount. Courtesy: Everett Collection.</div><div>But Uhura, whose name comes from a Swahili word meaning “freedom,” was essential beyond the interracial kiss: A capable officer who could man other stations on the bridge when the need arose, she was one of the first African American women to be featured in a non-menial role on television.</div><div><br></div><div>Nichols played Lt. Uhura on the original series, voiced her on “Star Trek: The Animated Series” and played Uhura in the first six “Star Trek” films. Uhura was promoted to lieutenant commander in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and to full commander in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”</div><div><br></div><div>Nichols mulled leaving “Star Trek” after the first season to pursue a career on Broadway, but the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was a fan of the series and understood the importance of her character in opening doors for other African Americans on television, personally persuaded her to stay on the show, she told astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson in an interview for the Archive of American Television.</div><div><br></div><div>Whoopi Goldberg, who later played Guinan on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” has described Uhura as a role model, recalling that she was astounded and excited to see a black woman character on television who was not a maid.</div><div><br></div><div>Nichols and Shatner remembered the shooting of the famous kiss very differently. In “Star Trek Memories,” Shatner said NBC insisted that the actors’ lips never actually touch (though they appear to). But in Nichols’ 1994 autobiography “Beyond Uhura,” the actress insisted that the kiss was in fact real. Nervous about audience reaction, the network insisted that alternate takes be shot with and without a kiss, but Nichols and Shatner deliberately flubbed every one of the latter so NBC would be forced to air what appeared to be a kiss (whether their lips actually touched or not).</div><div><br></div><div>Both the “Star Trek” and “Movin’ With Nancy” moments drew some negative reactions, though Nichols recalled that the fan mail was overwhelmingly positive and supportive.</div><div><br></div><div>NASA later employed Nichols in an effort to encourage women and African Americans to become astronauts. NASA Astronaut Group 8, selected in 1978, included the first women and ethnic minorities to be recruited, including three who were Black. Dr. Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to fly aboard the Space Shuttle, cited “Star Trek” as an influence in her decision to join the space agency.</div><div><br></div><div>Nichols remained a supporter of the space program for decades.</div><div><br></div><div>In 1991, Nichols became the first African American woman to have her handprints immortalized at the TCL Chinese Theatre. The ceremony also included other members of the original “Star Trek” cast.</div><div><br></div><div>Born Grace Nichols in Robbins, Ill. on Dec. 28, 1932, Nichols began her show business career at age 16 singing with Duke Ellington in a ballet she created for one of his compositions. Later, she sang with his band.</div><div><br></div><div>She studied in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Her break came with an appearance in Oscar Brown’s high-profile but ill-fated 1961 musical “Kicks and Co.,” in which she played campus queen Hazel Sharpe, who’s tempted by the devil and Orgy Magazine to become “Orgy Maiden of the Month.” The play closed after its brief Chicago tryout, but Nichols attracted the attention of Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner, who booked her at his Chicago Playboy Club.</div><div><br></div><div>Nichols also appeared in the role of Carmen for a Chicago stock company production of “Carmen Jones” and performed in a New York production of “Porgy and Bess,” making her feature debut in an uncredited role as a dancer in an adaptation of that work in 1959. (Later she would display her singing talents on occasion on “Star Trek.”)</div><div><br></div><div>While working in Chicago, Nichols was twice nominated for that city’s theatrical Sarah Siddons Award for best actress. The first came for “Kicks and Co.,” while the second was for her performance in Jean Genet’s “The Blacks.”</div><div><br></div><div>She had small roles in the films “Made in Paris,” “Mr. Buddwing” and the Sandra Dee vehicle “Doctor, You’ve Got to Be Kidding!” before she was cast on “Star Trek.”</div><div><br></div><div>During the early ’60s, before “Star Trek,” Nichols had an affair with Gene Roddenberry that lasted several years, according to her autobiography. The affair ended when Roddenberry realized he was in love with Majel Hudec, whom he married. When Roddenberry’s health was failing decades later, Nichols co-wrote a song for him, entitled “Gene,” that she sang at his funeral.</div><div><br></div><div>In January 1967, Nichols was featured on the cover of Ebony magazine, which published two feature articles on her within five years.</div><div><br></div><div>In the early ’70s, the actress made a few guest appearances on TV and appeared in the 1974 Blaxploitation film “Truck Turner” starring Isaac Hayes. She appeared in a supporting role in a 1983 TV adaptation of “Antony and Cleopatra” that also featured her “Star Trek” co-star Walter Koenig. She starred with Maxwell Caulfield and Talia Balsam in the 1986 horror sci-fi feature “The Supernaturals.”</div><div><br></div><div>Later, Nichols began to do voice work, lending her talent to the animated series “Gargoyles” and “Spider-Man.” She also voiced herself on “Futurama.”</div><div><br></div><div>The actress played the mother of Cuba Gooding Jr.’s lead character in 2002’s “Snow Dogs” and Miss Mable in the 2005 Ice Cube comedy “Are We There Yet?”</div><div><br></div><div>In 2007, Nichols recurred on the second season of the NBC drama “Heroes” as Nana Dawson, matriarch of a New Orleans family devastated by Hurricane Katrina who cares for her orphaned grandchildren and great-nephew, Micah Sanders (series regular Noah Gray-Cabey). The following year she appeared in the films “Tru Loved” and “The Torturer.”</div><div><br></div><div>Nichols suffered a stroke in 2015 and was diagnosed with dementia in 2018, touching off a conservatorship dispute between her manager Bell and her son as well as a friend.</div><div><br></div><div>Nichols was married and divorced twice. She is survived by her son, Kyle Johnson. -variety</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 15:56:37', '2022-08-01 15:56:37'),
(810, 810, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">India reported its first monkeypox death in the southern state of Kerala on Sunday, the Indian Express quoted the state\'s Health Minister Veena George as saying.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The 22-year-old man who died on Saturday afternoon had returned from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week. The state government has launched a probe into his death.</div><div><br></div><div>The deceased, a native of Kerala\'s Thrissur district, showed no symptoms of monkeypox on his return from abroad and his relatives had handed over the positive test result conducted abroad only on Saturday, said the report.</div><div><br></div><div>Subsequently, the health department sent his samples to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), the result of which is awaited.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The youth had no symptoms of monkeypox. He had been admitted to a hospital with symptoms of encephalitis and fatigue ... A high-level probe would be held into the death as monkeypox has a very low fatality rate.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Following his death all his primary contacts have been placed under observation.</div><div><br></div><div>India has so far confirmed four cases of monkeypox, three in Kerala and one in Delhi. On Saturday, the country\'s first monkeypox case, which was detected on July 14, was successfully treated and tested negative. The rest are also reportedly responding well to the medical treatment, said health authorities. -UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 16:22:05', '2022-08-01 16:22:05'),
(811, 811, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Israel said Sunday it would accelerate the process of setting up a shared industrial zone with Jordan.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The decision to accelerate the construction and operation of the Jordan Gateway park was taken to enhance cooperation with Jordan, the government added.</div><div><br></div><div>The project was first proposed during talks on the Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty that was signed in 1994. The final details of the initiative were addressed last week during Lapid’s visit to Amman where he met with King Abdullah II.</div><div><br></div><div>“Twenty-eight years since the peace agreement with Jordan, we are taking the good neighborly relations between our two countries another step forward,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said.</div><div><br></div><div>“This is a breakthrough that will contribute greatly to developing and strengthening the region. The final details regarding this initiative were addressed last week during my visit with King Abdullah II in Amman.”</div><div><br></div><div>Lapid said the initiative would increase employment in both countries, advance economic and diplomatic relations, and enhance the peace and friendship between Jordan and Israel.</div><div><br></div><div>“This is a joint industrial zone on the border. It will allow Israeli and Jordanian entrepreneurs and businesspeople to communicate directly. It will produce joint initiatives in trade, technology, and local industry.”</div><div><br></div><div>The decision includes advancing the operation of the Jordan Gateway Park Terminal for pedestrians, which will also be a crossing for entrepreneurs interested in the initiative and the industrial zone on the Jordanian side.</div><div><br></div><div>The Israel Airports Authority will build and operate the Jordan Gateway Park Terminal, subject to budgetary agreements and the approval of the Knesset Economics Committee.</div><div><br></div><div>It will include a facility for hosting executives and guests arriving from Jordan for business purposes.</div><div><br></div><div>The immediate construction of an entrance facility and the necessary structures for operating the park would be evaluated while allocating resources for completion, the government added. -arabnews</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 16:34:12', '2022-08-01 16:34:12'),
(812, 812, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh\'s captain for the Twenty20 international series against Zimbabwe Nurul Hasan will miss the rest of tour due to a finger injury, the country\'s cricket board said on Monday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The wicketkeeper-batsman hurt his left index finger while keeping against fast bowler Hasan Mahmud during Sunday\'s second T20 international at the Harare Sports Club, which Bangladesh won by 7 wickets.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We did an X-ray which revealed a fracture to the index finger,\" a Bangladesh Cricket Board statement quoted national team physio Muzadded Alpha as saying.</div><div>\"Such injuries take about three weeks to recover from. He is therefore out of Tuesday\'s last T20I match and the upcoming ODI series,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The three-match T20 series is currently locked at 1-1, with Zimbabwe having won the opening match by 17 runs.</div><div><br></div><div>A BCB spokesman told AFP the captain for Tuesday\'s series decider would be announced in due course.</div><div><br></div><div>Nurul replaced batsman Mahmudullah Riyad as captain for the Zimbabwe T20s, and is widely expected to lead Bangladesh in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh will play three ODIs against Zimbabwe on August 5, 7 and 10, all of them at the Harare Sports Club.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"9\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 17:02:08', '2022-08-01 17:02:08'),
(813, 813, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Police on Sunday seized a suspected war criminal from Satkhira for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Abdul Hamid Khan, 79, was arrested after a raid was conducted at his house in the district’s Kaliganj upazila, said Kaliganj police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Halimur Rahman.</div><div><br></div><div>Khan had an arrest warrant issued against him, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 17:15:56', '2022-08-01 17:15:56'),
(814, 814, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Asia\'s factories struggled for momentum in July as China\'s strict Covid restrictions and flagging global demand slowed production, although early signs red-hot inflation may be peaking provided some optimism for firms squeezed by prices.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A series of purchasing managers\' indexes (PMI) for July released on Monday showed new orders falling in the region\'s manufacturing powerhouses, particularly tech giants in northeast Asia.</div><div><br></div><div>South Korea\'s factory activity fell for the first time in almost two years while Japan saw its slowest growth in activity in 10 months amid persistent supply chain disruptions.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Activity growth in China also slowed, the private sector Caixin PMI showed on Monday, despite some easing of the strict domestic Covid-19 curbs that slammed the world\'s second-largest economy in the second quarter.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Caixin PMI followed an even bleaker reading from the government\'s official PMI released on Sunday, that showed activity unexpectedly falling in July amid fresh Covid-19 outbreaks.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The PMIs for Asia\'s largest manufacturing economies highlighted the struggle for factories in those countries in dealing with the twin pressures of higher upstream prices and weakening demand, particularly from China.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Higher prices for inputs including fuel, metals and semiconductors meant that the disruption was broad-based across the (South Korean) manufacturing sector,\" Usamah Bhatti, economist at S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence, said of South Korea\'s PMI. \"That said, the rate of input price inflation eased to a four-month low in a tentative sign that price pressures had peaked, although cost inflation remained well above the long-term average.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Adding to that gloom, the PMI for Taiwan, a semi-conductor manufacturing powerhouse, showed factory activity falling at its sharpest pace since May 2020.</div><div><br></div><div>SILVER LINING?</div><div><br></div><div>There was some positive news for the region, however, with PMIs indicating input price growth slowing in China, Taiwan and South Korea.</div><div><br></div><div>A surge in global commodity prices amid supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic and the Ukraine war has become a nightmare scenario for businesses and policymakers worldwide, with central banks rushing to tighten monetary policy and firms cutting costs.</div><div><br></div><div>South Korea\'s exports grew at a faster annual pace in July as robust demand from the United States offset weak sales to China, separate trade data showed on Monday.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Conditions in parts of Southeast Asia were also upbeat, with PMIs pointing to a pickup in activity growth in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand where new orders growth bucked declines seen elsewhere in the region.</div><div><br></div><div>Asia\'s readings come ahead of factory surveys due out of the UK, euro zone and United States later in the day, which are expected to show similarly mixed conditions in the world\'s major industrialised economies. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 17:56:45', '2022-08-01 17:56:45'),
(815, 815, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Unstable dollar rates at the Bangladesh Bank and private banks, alongside crippling power cuts, have put the country\'s manufacturing sector in a fix as they still have no idea how to make up for the losses caused by these.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Companies are finding it difficult to even open a new letter of credit (LC) to import raw materials in the face of depleting inventories.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, unstable power supply is also increasing operating expenses as many units are being run by generators, which is adding 30% extra costs to the gas and electricity bills.</div><div><br></div><div>These two challenges add to an already volatile situation rife with skyrocketing freight charges, disrupted supply chains, and soaring input costs driven by the Russia-Ukraine war.</div><div><br></div><div>Jamuna Group, one of the largest industrial conglomerates in the country, is now having to bear additional 20% business costs due to unstable dollar rates and ongoing power shortage.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking to The Business Standard, Mohammed Alamgir Alam, the group\'s director for marketing, sales and operations, said, \"We have suspended some long-term expansion plans at the Habiganj industrial park and others due to the current uncertainty as we now see 20-30% higher costs in raw material imports.\"</div><div><br></div><div>He said there was no scope to increase product prices so as to maintain competitiveness, adding that the focus was now on minimising costs through increased efficiency.</div><div><br></div><div>On a more positive note, he said there were no plans for any job cuts but they would instead look to slash expenditures on cars, transport, electricity and other areas.</div><div><br></div><div>Mohammed Amirul Haque, managing director and chief executive officer of Premier Cement Mills Limited, highlighted the problems with opening LCs.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We opened an LC at a rate of Tk94 per dollar. After two weeks, when we submitted documents at the bank, the government had fixed the rate at Tk96, but we paid Tk106.\"</div><div><br></div><div>He wondered how the manufacturing sector would bear the additional amount, saying, \"We do not have the capacity to absorb this extra charge and it is not possible by adjusting products prices either.\"</div><div><br></div><div>If the government does not provide support to meet this additional cost, industries will not survive, he added.</div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>Dollar dilemma hits where it hurts</b></div><div><br></div><div>Banks are also now shying away from opening LCs.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Some large private commercial lenders have stopped opening import LCs without the permission of their managing directors.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Furthermore, the inter-bank exchange set by the Bangladesh Bank verbally remained ineffective due to the large difference from the market rate.</div><div><br></div><div>Many banks are not opening LCs for raw material imports, considering the prevailing situation, Premier Cement\'s Mohammed Amirul Haque said, adding that his factories have raw materials to run for 40 days only.</div><div><br></div><div>KSRM Group\'s Deputy Managing Director Shahriar Jahan Rahat said the steel industry was facing 25% additional costs due to LC settlement at a higher rate of the dollar.</div><div><br></div><div>He said they opened the LCs for importing scraps for the steel industry at Tk86 per dollar, but now they had to pay Tk105-107.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, he said, raw material imports had almost stopped while the group had to maintain a three-month inventory.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Raw material shortage may create another crisis,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>He further said transferring the increased cost on to product prices was not possible at the moment, adding that freight rate hikes – which already rose by 12% during the pandemic – were also hurting.</div><div><br></div><div>\"In the past three years, our total cost increased above 35%, which would take a decade to adjust,\" said Shahriar.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the selling price of steel is about Tk84,000 as per booking, while the production cost is above Tk1 lakh.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Every penny matters</b></div><div><br></div><div>Meghna Group, which has more than half a hundred factories, including interests spanning steel, cement, ceramics, FMCJ, energy and others, is also not insulated from the dollar crisis despite its impressive resume.</div><div><br></div><div>Taslim Shahriar, general manager of Meghna Group of Industries, said expenditure, unless necessary, was being cut but there were no plans to trim jobs.</div><div><br></div><div>He said after opening the LC for the import of raw materials, one has to pay more money at the rate of 15-20%. Adding freight charges and increase in transport cost, prices of almost every product is lower than in the global market. As a result, the product has to be sold in the country\'s market at a loss, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Eleash Mridha, PRAN Group managing director, said they were trying to cut production cost by minimising product size and also increasing prices in some cases.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the group is also facing power shortages at its Habiganj industrial park, which has hampered its production, he added.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Zaved Akhtar, marketing director of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, said they hadn\'t noticed a marked drop in sales, but due to inflationary pressures, consumers were switching to more low-end products.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The supermarket chains were also making less than before.</div><div><br></div><div>Many consumer brands are offering less margin to retailers nowadays, instead of transferring all the soaring costs to consumers for the sake of sharing the cost pressures across the value chain, said Shaheen Khan, the CEO of supermarket chain Meena Bazar.</div><div><br></div><div>BSRM Head of Finance Shekhar Ranjan Kar said the turnover for the industries might be still higher due to price hikes, but the selling quantity might not be as high.</div><div><br></div><div>Profitability is shrinking as companies find no way to reduce costs of production. Many raw material prices began slowing down in the international market, but depreciating taka ate the benefits away, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Saving a single penny matters now; we are tirelessly bargaining with banks and suppliers,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>On the energy front, the current crisis has renewed the desire to shift to renewables.</div><div><br></div><div>Humayun Rashid, a director of engineering, power-energy, apparel conglomerate Energypac Group said the energy crisis taught the eco-conscious group a lesson and it is going to use at least 30% renewable energy at all its factories by the end of 2030.</div><div><br></div><div>Except for the alternative energy investments, his company, like others, is not planning for any capital expenditure right now, while optimising all the ongoing projects.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Apparel waits another litmus test</b></div><div><br></div><div>Sparrow Group MD Shovon Islam said apparel exporters are waiting to face a big hurdle in the coming months as their product demand has been reducing, creating a shortage of orders.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>He also mentioned that a shortage of gas and electricity supply is also increasing their production costs, with some exporters offering forced discounts and facing up to three months of deferred shipments.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"If this situation continues till next January it may impact jobs in factories which do not have full capacity orders, mainly those which expanded capacity during the overflow of apparel orders.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Minimising additional costs, strengthening marketing capacity and diversifying markets are the only ways for survival of the garment industry\", he added.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Even if orders were to increase, the energy crisis would also need to be mitigated soon.</div><div><br></div><div>Arshad Jamal Dipu, chairman of Tusuka Group, said they are facing shortage of gas supply to run a 20-tonne capacity boiler.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Due to shortage of gas supply, we are running this boiler using diesel fuel to meet shipment deadline, which has cost us about Tk5 crore in the last two months,\" he added.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>He also mentioned that this additional cost was not calculated when they confirmed the orders.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Pharma in the radar, too</b></div><div><br></div><div>The country\'s pharma sector is highly dependent on imported raw materials, so unstable dollar rates means more costs than before.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Team Pharmaceuticals Ltd MD Abdullah-Hil-Rakib said due to rising dollar rates, they were paying about 30% higher to import API.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>SM Saifur Rahman, MD of Active Fine Chemicals Ltd, a local API manufacturer and exporter company, said they are also facing up to 30% price hike to import their raw materials.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>He said pharma manufacturers have long-term contracts with API manufacturers, it is not possible to shift suppliers on a short notice.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Ceramics production drops to hal</b>f&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Due to the gas crisis, the ceramics industries\' production has come down to half its average despite having orders for full capacity.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;Mamunur Rashid, CEO at Artisan Ceramics Ltd, said if the losses, which have mounted for months, continue then there would be no option but to close the factories.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Md Shamsul Huda, vice-president at Bangladesh Ceramics Manufacturing and Exporters Association and managing director of Great Wall Ceramic, said there was an at least 50% reduction in production.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"We kept our factory closed for 15 days in June owing to low gas pressure. We are somehow running the factory on a single shift only,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Not easy to take wings either</b></div><div><br></div><div>Due to jet fuel price hikes and unstable dollar rates, airlines are facing challenges to take flight.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>At the same time, the state-owned airline has pivoted to offering discounts instead of price adjustments.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Novoair MD Mofizur Rahman said since March this year the number of domestic passengers has been decreasing, adding fuel prices have increased about 171% from January 2021.</div><div><br></div><div>Fuel price is about 50% of airlines total operating cost, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Now we are facing uneven competition in domestic markets as state-owned airline Biman has not adjusted the additional fuel cost with ticket prices.\"</div><div><br></div><div>In some cases, they are offering discounts which will ruin private operators, the Novoair MD feared.</div><div><br></div><div>The government increased jet fuel price to Tk106 per litre in May this year, the highest yet, up from Tk48 a litre seen in December 2020.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 18:52:46', '2022-08-01 18:52:46'),
(816, 816, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The long-awaited Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which promises to bring the time to travel between Dhaka and Gazipur down to around 40 minutes, is set to finally begin operations in July next year.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>According to officials of the Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit (Dhaka BRT) Company, more than 78% of the construction work has already been completed and all basic structures are expected to be ready by the end of this year or early next year.</div><div><br></div><div>The BRT project, which will run from the Dhaka airport to Shibbari in Gazipur, started in November 2012 and was expected to be completed by December 2016 at a cost of Tk2,037.9 crore. However, the project was delayed several times due to difficulties with site acquisition and relocation of utility services, inadequate drainage, a shortage of contractor funding, and the Covid-19 pandemic.</div><div><br></div><div>The latest extended deadline passed in June and the project cost has so far risen to Tk4,268.3 crore, but the light at the end of the tunnel is now visible, according to Shafiqul Islam, managing director of Dhaka BRT Company.</div><div><br></div><div>“We will start operation of Dhaka BRT in July next year as the basic structure will be completed by this year or March 2023,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The project’s administrators previously requested an extension to December 2023, along with an additional Tk268.13 crore and a year of fault responsibility. The project would cost Tk4,536.46 crore if it were to be authorized.</div><div><br></div><div>Around 130 air-conditioned electric buses are expected to carry 4,000 passengers between Dhaka and Gazipur each day after the BRT is launched.</div><div><br></div><div>During a recent visit to the project area, it was found the construction of the six flyovers at different intersections was almost complete. Pitch casting work was ongoing.</div><div><br></div><div>Roads and Highways Department, Bangladesh Bridge Authority, and Local Government Engineering Department are implementing different parts of the project under the supervision of the Dhaka BRT Company.</div><div><br></div><div><b>How will the BRT work</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Project officials said people would be able to travel from the adjacent city of Gazipur, where the cost of living is significantly lower, to Dhaka in 35 to 40 minutes thanks to the 20.5-kilometer bus route. The trip currently takes from one and a half to 3 hours, depending on traffic.</div><div><br></div><div>Some regular commuters between Dhaka and Gazipur were sceptical of the BRT, as the Dhaka airport is not somewhere many of them travel to.</div><div><br></div><div>Gulistan or Motijheel would be better access points, the commuters said.</div><div><br></div><div>Project officials said access to the BRT would not be an issue for passengers as it would be connected to Motijheel and Kamalapur through the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) project.</div><div><br></div><div>“Passengers of the BRT can get a dedicated bus for getting metro rail from the Uttara station at Diyabari,” said Dhaka BRT Company MD Shafiqul Islam.</div><div><br></div><div>Due to the use of dedicated lanes, BRT buses will be able to carry passengers between 25 stations at 2–5-minute intervals. The stations will be equipped with an e-ticketing system, automatic ticket counters, and an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) for the convenience of passengers.</div><div><br></div><div>There are no plans to extend the service to Mohakhali at the moment, the Dhaka BRT Company MD added.</div><div><br></div><div>Although the BRT promises to bring significant benefits in the future, the project has significantly increased traffic congestion at several points of the capital due to roads being narrowed by construction work.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 19:30:18', '2022-08-01 19:30:18'),
(817, 817, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around five million adults were living with dementia in the U.S. in 2014. Most of these adults would have been living with Alzheimer’s disease—it’s the most common form, and it’s the one that probably comes to mind for many of us when we think about dementia.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>However, there are many different types—some of which we’re far less familiar with. One such type of dementia is primary progressive aphasia, or PPA.</div><div><br></div><div>Aphasia has been in the news in recent months, largely because Bruce Willis’ family announced that the actor has the condition. Affecting language and speech, it can be caused by brain damage or a stroke, while migraines can cause temporary aphasia.</div><div><br></div><div>However, while recovery from some forms of aphasia can be possible, PPA will only get worse over time.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div><b>What is primary progressive aphasia?</b></div><div><br></div><div>Primary progressive aphasia is a form of dementia characterized by the loss of language function.</div><div><br></div><div>Whereas we often associate dementia with memory loss, memory in people with PPA is generally not overly affected until the later stages.</div><div><br></div><div>The loss of speech skills often begins subtly, before progressing to an almost complete inability to speak. As the condition progresses, it can begin to resemble other dementias more readily, with changes in memory, personality, judgment, and attention, and eventually movement and swallowing may be affected.</div><div><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>We need to improve awareness that dementia can affect language as well as memory to ensure that people with PPA are diagnosed promptly and accurately.</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>— CHARLES MARSHALL, PHD, MRCP</b></div><div><br></div><div>People tend to be affected with PPA in late-middle-age, meaning that it can be an early-onset dementia.</div><div><br></div><div>The age of onset can differ from patient to patient, however, as can the progression of the condition; someone may live for over a decade after diagnosis, and keep a high level of independence for a number of years.</div><div><br></div><div>Why there can be so much difference between individuals with PPA is something that scientists are researching.</div><div><br></div><div>PPA can, in around 10% of cases, be genetic. This means that “a specific faulty gene might be causing these problems, but this is only the case for a small minority of people with PPA,” says Chris Hardy, PhD, a senior research fellow at the Dementia Research Centre at the University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology.</div><div><br></div><div><b>How is PPA caused?</b></div><div><br></div><div>Because PPA differs from other forms of dementia like Alzheimer’s, people with the condition can often take care of themselves independently, live their normal life, and even work, while they have the condition.</div><div><br></div><div>While there is some research on PPA, it’s not as widely understood as some other dementias—however, it has been studied by a number of researchers, and there is an understanding of how it occurs.</div><div><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>We hope that research to improve this understanding will allow us to develop treatments for these devastating conditions.</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>— CHARLES MARSHALL, PHD, MRCP</b></div><div><br></div><div>“Primary progressive aphasias are unusual types of dementia where certain proteins build up in the brain and damage nerve cells in the brain’s language areas,” says Charles Marshall, PhD, MRCP, a clinical senior lecturer and honorary consultant neurologist at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health.</div><div><br></div><div>“We need to improve awareness that dementia can affect language as well as memory to ensure that people with PPA are diagnosed promptly and accurately,” Marshall explains.</div><div><br></div><div>“We don’t completely understand why the abnormal proteins accumulate in the brain, or how it is that they selectively damage nerve cells that are important for language. We hope that research to improve this understanding will allow us to develop treatments for these devastating conditions.”</div><div><br></div><div>There’s currently more research being carried out into PPA, including at the Dementia Research Centre, something that Hardy hopes “will lead to breakthroughs in the future in terms of diagnosis, care, support, and clinical trials.”</div><div><br></div><div><b>The subtypes of PPA</b></div><div><br></div><div>There are three main types of PPA: the nonfluent/agrammatic variant, the semantic variant, and the logopenic variant.</div><div><br></div><div>Nonfluent/agrammatic variant PPA (nfvPPA): Individuals with this variant tend to have slower, more hesitant, and distorted speech, with mispronunciations, grammar and syntax errors, and missing words.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Semantic variant PPA (svPPA): Individuals with the semantic variant present with well-structured speech, but difficulty in naming words—particularly nouns—and understanding the meaning of some words. \"People with svPPA can usually speak quite fluently until fairly late into the disease,\" says Hardy, \"although they will often start to use more general words because they’ll also have difficulties remembering the correct words to use.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Logopenic variant PPA (lvPPA): Individuals with the logopenic variant may find it difficult to find the right words, or to understand others.</div><div><br></div><div>“In nfvPPA and svPPA, the types of proteins that we see going awry are usually the same as those seen in a larger group of dementias called frontotemporal dementia (FTD), whilst lvPPA is most often caused by problems with the same proteins that we see in typical (memory-led) Alzheimer’s disease,” says Hardy.</div><div><br></div><div><b>What are the symptoms?</b></div><div><br></div><div>With different types of PPA, the symptoms can differ. However, across the condition as a whole, the following are among the initial symptoms to watch out for:</div><div><br></div><ul><li>Slowed speech and hesitations</li><li>Abnormal word order</li><li>Substitution of words</li><li>Forgetting the names of familiar objects or people</li><li>Spelling errors</li><li>Difficulty following a conversation or understanding what words mean</li><li>Mispronouncing words</li></ul><div><br></div><div>It’s worth remembering that not everyone will have symptoms fitting into one of the three main types, and Hardy explains that these individuals might be described as having a diagnosis of “mixed PPA” or “PPA not otherwise specified.”</div><div><br></div><div><b>Getting support</b></div><div><br></div><div>There’s no cure for primary progressive aphasia, but there are ways to help manage the condition.</div><div><br></div><div>Some people with PPA find it useful to have speech therapy, while some carry identification cards that explain the condition to other people for ease of communication—particularly when they’re independent enough to be able to go out on their own but perhaps not capable of explaining their condition through speech.</div><div><br></div><div>Supporting a loved one with PPA can be difficult, but there are things that you can do to help them.</div><div><br></div><div>Do your best to be patient and understanding, checking that you understand what they mean, and speak clearly too. Your loved one might find talking one-on-one easier than talking in larger group settings, or find it easier to write things down than speak.</div><div><br></div><div>Hardy suggests joining groups or organizations, like the U.K.-based Rare Dementia Support, while there’s also the U.S.-based Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.</div><div><br></div><div>There are various barriers preventing people from getting the right care, which can include speech and language therapies and even just healthcare providers who are familiar with the condition.</div><div><br></div><div>As PPA is still something many people aren’t familiar with, getting the right support can be tricky, but it makes raising awareness all the more important. -verwellmind</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Lifestyle Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 19:39:58', '2022-08-01 19:39:58');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(818, 818, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday criticized BNP leaders for the hurricane lamp movement against the government\'s initiative to save power to protect Bangladesh from any future danger of the global skyrocketing prices of energy due to the Russia-Ukraine war.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"BNP leaders are carrying out a movement with hurricane (lamp). Give hurricane lamps in their hands, and let us work for the people of Bangladesh\" she said in a slanted expression in Bangla aimed to ridicule someone using the traditional kerosene-lit lamp once common.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister was addressing a blood donation program as the chief guest marking the first day of the month of mourning, joining virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh Krishak League organized the function on the premises of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 in the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said her government has reached power to every house across the country and is now taking precautionary measures to save power and energy.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We\'re taking measures for saving power and energy to protect Bangladesh from any danger in future as even the developed countries like the US, UK and neighbouring India are facing difficulties,\" she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Referring to the BNP government\'s wholesale looting from the power sector, she said her government is taking measures to save energy for the future not for stealing like the BNP government.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said the power generation would have been reduced if her government was involved in looting, while adding: \"But the Awami League has maximized the power generation capacity to 24,000MW.”</div><div><br></div><div>The power generation reduced to 3,000MW from 43,000MW during the tenure of the BNP government as they were engaged in massive corruption, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Her government would work to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the countrymen, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Awami League Presidium Member Begum Matia Chowdhury, Agriculture Minister Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Agriculture and Cooperatives Affairs Secretary Faridun Nahar Laili, Organizing Secretary Advocate Afzal Hossain, and Office Secretary Biplab Barua, spoke on the occasion.</div><div><br></div><div>BKL President Samir Chandra presided over the function while its General Secretary Umme Kulsum Smrity moderated it.</div><div><br></div><div>At the outset of the program, a one-minute silence was observed to show due respect to the martyrs of the August 15, 1975 carnage including Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his wife, three sons, and two daughters-in-law.</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 20:00:03', '2022-08-01 20:00:03'),
(819, 819, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A faction of Bangladesh Chhatro League’s (BCL) Chittagong University unit on Monday enforced a blockade on the campus following announcement of the full committee of the unit.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>BCL activists, who didn\'t get any posts in the new committee, enforced the blockade programme, halting classes and exams of the university.</div><div><br></div><div>Following the announcement of CU unit BCL committee on Sunday night, the leaders and activists got agitated and demanded reformation of the committee.</div><div><br></div><div>The agitated students also demanded the removal of Mohammad Ilyas from the post of joint general secretary of the committee alleging him to be drug dealer.</div><div><br></div><div>Shayan Das Gupta, who got the post of vice-president in the new committee, said those who were involved in BCL politics from the beginning have been deprived. Many outsiders got positions in this committee in exchange of money. “We do not accept this committee.”</div><div><br></div><div>BCL leader Dolowar Hossain, who didn’t get post, said the committee has been announced depriving the qualified and dedicated BCL activists.</div><div><br></div><div>The shuttle train service also came to a halt due to alleged abduction of three people including the loco master.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, the railway authorities refused to operate shuttle trains due to security concerns.</div><div><br></div><div>Sholoshohor station master Tanmoy Chowdhury said no train left for the university due to the blockade. “Also three people including a loco master and a guard were abducted from Jhautola railway station.”</div><div><br></div><div>The full committee of CU unit of BCL was announced after three years on Sunday. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 20:53:08', '2022-08-01 20:53:08'),
(820, 820, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Five Houthi ballistic missile engineers, including foreigners, were killed in a large explosion that rocked Houthi-held Sanaa, Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani said on Sunday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He slammed the Houthis for endangering the lives of thousands of people who live in the capital by storing and manufacturing weapons inside residential areas.</div><div><br></div><div>The Yemeni minister said the five engineers were assembling a ballistic missile at a military location on Saturday near Sanaa airport, which was being used as a missile factory and rigging drones with explosives.</div><div><br></div><div>“This incident confirms the continued flow of Iranian weapons to the Houthi militia, its indifference to international community, disavowal of its obligations, &amp; exploitation of UN-sponsored truce to accumulate more Iranian smuggled weapons in residential areas, &amp; using civilians as human shields,” Al-Eryani said on Twitter.</div><div><br></div><div>Less than a day after the Houthi engineers were killed, a group of Omani diplomats arrived in militia-occupied Sanaa to discuss extending the UN-brokered truce.</div><div><br></div><div>The Houthi movement’s chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdul Salam, said he and an Omani delegation touched down in Sanaa on Sunday on an Omani plane to discuss with the Houthi leaders issues related to the truce and the UN Yemen proposal on addressing humanitarian and economic problems.</div><div><br></div><div>The Omanis arrived in Sanaa to push the Houthis into accepting the UN Yemen envoy’s proposal in ending their siege on Taiz and extending the truce, which is due to expire on Aug. 2.</div><div><br></div><div>UN, Western and regional envoys are pushing the Yemeni factions into extending the truce to six months and turning it into a sustainable peace deal to end the war.</div><div><br></div><div>The visit came as the UN Yemen envoy, Hans Grundberg, failed to convince the Houthis to accept his proposal on opening roads in Taiz and alleviating their siege on the city.</div><div><br></div><div>The Houthi objection blocked progress in the implementation of the truce and threatened to ruin it as the internationally recognized government of Yemen refused to move to discuss other issues before the Houthis opened roads in Taiz.</div><div><br></div><div>The Yemeni government said the Houthis did not implement all of the truce’s terms, refused to pay the salaries of the public servants in areas under their control despite generating more than 100 billion riyals ($86,956,522) from oil ships during the truce and continued attacking government-controlled areas in Taiz and Hodeidah, Marib and other areas.</div><div><br></div><div>On Saturday, the UN Yemen envoy returned empty-handed from Aden after the president of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, snubbed a meeting with him in protest against the Houthi violations of the truce, their objection to opening roads in Taiz and the UN’s soft stand with the movement. - Arab News</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 21:12:18', '2022-08-01 21:12:18'),
(821, 821, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The first shipment of Ukrainian grain left the port of Odessa on Monday under a deal aimed at relieving a global food crisis following Russia\'s invasion of its neighbour, the Turkish defence ministry said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"The ship Razoni has left the port of Odessa bound for Tripoli in Lebanon. It is expected in Istanbul on August 2. It will then continue its journey after it has been inspected in Istanbul,\" the ministry said.</div><div><br></div><div>The vessel was carrying 26,000 tonnes of corn, according to Ukraine\'s infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov.</div><div><br></div><div>It was expected to reach the mouth of the Bosphorus on Tuesday at around midday, according to Yoruk Isik, an expert on ship movements on the Bosphorus Strait and in the region.</div><div><br></div><div>Other convoys would follow, respecting the maritime corridor and the agreed formalities in line with the agreement reached with Russia on July 22, Turkey said.</div><div><br></div><div>Built in 1996 and measuring 186 metres (610 feet) in length and 25 metres in width, the Razoni, which is flying under the Sierra Leone flag, has capacity of 30,000 tonnes.</div><div><br></div><div>On July 22, Ukraine and Russia signed a landmark deal with Turkey and the United Nations aimed at easing a global food crisis caused by blocked Black Sea grain deliveries.</div><div><br></div><div>Turkey formally opened a special joint coordination centre in Istanbul last Wednesday to oversee the exports. The centre is being staffed by civilian and military officials from the two warring parties and delegates from Turkey and the UN.</div><div><br></div><div>Their primary assignment involves monitoring the safe passage of Ukrainian grain ships along established routes and overseeing their inspection for banned weapons on the way into and out of the Black Sea.</div><div><br></div><div>The blockage of deliveries from two of the world\'s biggest grain exporters has contributed to a spike in prices that has made food imports prohibitively expensive for some of the world\'s poorest countries.</div><div><br></div><div>UN estimates say nearly 50 million people began to face \"acute hunger\" around the world as a direct consequence of the war.</div><div><br></div><div>Wheat prices fell sharply hours after the grain deal was signed. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 22:09:00', '2022-08-01 22:09:00'),
(822, 822, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The European Union and NATO on Monday welcomed the departure of a grain shipment from Ukraine as a \"first step\" towards easing the food crisis caused by the Russian invasion.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>But EU spokesman Peter Stano said Brussels still expects the \"implementation of the whole deal and resumption of Ukrainian exports to the customers around the world.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Separately, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said western allies \"strongly support the full implementation of the deal to ease the global food crisis caused by Russia\'s war in Ukraine\".</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier the Razoni, a Sierra Leone-registered cargo ship, had left the Ukrainian port of Odessa bound for Lebanon with a vital shipment of 26,000 tonnes of grain.</div><div><br></div><div>It was the first vessel to leave a Ukrainian port since Moscow and Kyiv signed an agreement brokered by Turkey and the UN to free up food shipments despite their conflict.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking to the EU foreign service, Stano accused Russia of blocking the shipments \"for months\" and noted that Russia had fired missiles at the port of Odessa on the day after the deal was signed.</div><div><br></div><div>He blamed the food shortages gripping parts of the Middle East and Africa on \"the unprovoked Russian aggression on February 24 and the blocking of Ukrainian ports and grain exports\".</div><div><br></div><div>Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February and have seized or bombarded several of the country\'s ports, some of which Ukrainian defenders have since mined to protect them.</div><div><br></div><div>Under the July 22 deal signed in Istanbul, Ukraine is to remove the mines and Russia to lift its blockade, but shipments have been slow to restart and fighting on land continues.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition, according to Stano, Russia is \"destroying the fields in Ukraine, destroying the silos in Ukraine, burning the grain or looting and trying to sell it on behalf of Russia\". - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 23:00:14', '2022-08-01 23:00:14'),
(823, 823, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh Bank (BB) has increased and fixed the interest rate of non-resident foreign currency deposit (NFCD) accounts to encourage inward foreign currency.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>For one year and up to three years of deposit, NFCD account holders, with the regular interest rate, will get 2.25 per cent interest and for three years and up to five years of deposit, with the regular interest, they will enjoy 3.25 per cent interest, as per a BB circular issued today.</div><div><br></div><div>Other instructions in this regard will remain unchanged till further notice.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier on July 17, the central bank allowed the banks across the country to raise fresh deposits under NFDC accounts without any reference to the euro currency interest rate. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 23:16:24', '2022-08-01 23:16:24'),
(824, 824, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two people were killed and seven others injured by lightning strikes at Bagatiprara, and Boraigram upazilas in Natore on Monday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The deceased were Ashik,20, of Bagatipara upazila and Salim Uddin,42, a farmer of&nbsp; Notabaria area in Boraigram upazila, said Sirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Natore model police station.</div><div><br></div><div>A steak of lightning struck a tea stall at Karamdosi Bazar in Bagatipara&nbsp; killing Ashik on the spot and injuring seven people including his father Sihab Uddin and&nbsp; shop owner Rupali Begum.</div><div><br></div><div>Five of them including Rupali were admitted to Puthia Hospital in Rajshahi, said the OC.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Salim Uddin was struck by lightning at&nbsp; noon while working in the field beside his home , he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Both the bodies were handed over to respective families, said OC Sirajul Islam. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-01 23:50:33', '2022-08-01 23:50:33'),
(825, 825, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The head of Myanmar’s junta on Monday blamed instability for stalling efforts to implement a peace plan agreed with other Southeast Asian countries as he extended emergency rule for another six months.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The junta first declared a state of emergency after seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup in February last year.</div><div><br></div><div>Myanmar has been in chaos since then, with conflict spreading after the army crushed mostly peaceful protests in towns and cities.</div><div><br></div><div>The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed a five-point “consensus” to end hostilities last year, but there has been little sign of the junta implementing the five-point plan, which includes an end to violence and dialogue.</div><div><br></div><div>Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech aired on state media that Myanmar had been striving to overcome the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic while facing internal violence.</div><div><br></div><div>“So it was difficult to implement the ASEAN consensus due to the lack of stability,” said Min Aung Hlaing, adding that only when the situation was “normal” could progress be made.</div><div><br></div><div>Western governments denounced the coup and the detention on various charges of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi and numerous members of her party and supporters.</div><div><br></div><div>Some members of ASEAN, of which Myanmar is a member and which has a tradition of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, also criticized the generals.</div><div><br></div><div>While the junta has failed to implement the ASEAN plan, it has never rejected it.</div><div><br></div><div>“Our country is an ASEAN state so we value the conventions of ASEAN,” Min Aung Hlaing said.</div><div><br></div><div>While Min Aung Hlaing did not mention the extension of the emergency in his speech, state media reported that a military government defense and security council had unanimously approved his request for six more months.</div><div><br></div><div>The junta said it had to take power last year because of voting fraud in a November 2020 general election that Suu Kyi’s party easily won. Election monitoring groups found no evidence of mass fraud.</div><div><br></div><div>The military has pledged to hold new elections in August 2023 though the timetable has already slipped and opponents do not believe it would be free and fair.</div><div><br></div><div>Security forces have killed more than 2,100 people since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for political prisoners, an activist group. The junta has said such tolls are exaggerated.</div><div><br></div><div>The true picture of the violence has become more difficult to assess since lightly armed People’s Defense Forces have sprung up to take on the army, often in more remote areas where ethnic minority insurgents are also fighting the military.</div><div><br></div><div>In his speech, Min Aung Hlaing blamed “terrorists” for inflicting casualties. The military has branded as “terrorists” its armed opponents and a rival shadow National Unity Government set up by pro-democracy politicians.</div><div><br></div><div>The junta has faced sanctions from many Western countries and last week saw further condemnation after the execution of four democracy activists it accused of “terror acts.”</div><div><br></div><div>Min Aung Hlaing also brought up the economy, which has slumped since the pandemic and as the coup ended a decade of reform.</div><div>“I think progress can be seen within six months,” he said, citing the prospect of more jobs and a focus on farming.</div><div><br></div><div>The World Bank projects Myanmar’s economy will grow 3 percent this fiscal year following an 18 percent contraction last year and warned that a return to pre-pandemic levels was unlikely in the near term. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 02:01:48', '2022-08-02 02:01:48'),
(826, 826, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least eight people were killed after a massive fire broke out in a private hospital in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh on Monday.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Reports said that the fire broke out at the intensive care unit (ICU) of&nbsp; New Life hospital located in Damoh Naka Shivnagar. Confirming the incident, Jabalpur SP Siddharth Bahuguna said, “8 people died on the spot due to severe burns. Several other patients have received serious burn injuries and their condition is said to be critical. Deceased are yet to be identified”. - India.com</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 02:20:21', '2022-08-02 02:20:21'),
(827, 827, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Remittance inflow rose to a fourteen-month high in July which was around 14 percent higher than the previous month of this year.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh received $2.09 billion from the migrants overseas in July which was $1.83 billion in June.</div><div><br></div><div>Remittance flow to Bangladesh also rose to 11.76 percent year-on-year.</div><div><br></div><div>Migrant workers sent home $1.87 billion in July last year.</div><div><br></div><div>The flow of remittance is a development that would bring some relief for the country that is struggling to keep its foreign currency reserves in a healthy shape, said an official concerned.</div><div><br></div><div>This upward movement, albeit largely buoyed by the Eid festival, would come as a relief for Bangladesh after remittances slipped back into negative in 2021-22 for the first time in the last six fiscal years as many remitters opted for the informal channels to send their money as economies reopened in keeping with the easing of travel restrictions.</div><div><br></div><div>Remittance earnings are expected to go up in the coming months since 8.77 lakh people went abroad for work in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year in contrast to 2.31 lakh in the entire FY21.</div><div><br></div><div>In July, $330 million in remittance was channeled to Bangladesh through state-run commercial banks, $32.42 million through state-run specialised banks, $1.78 billion through private banks, and $6.64 million through foreign banks, data from the BB showed - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 02:23:03', '2022-08-02 02:23:03'),
(828, 828, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh has got an \"International Peace Award \" as one of the founding member of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The award was given in memory of the Prime Minister Prof. Dr. Necmettin Erbakan of the Republic of Turkey.</div><div><br></div><div>President of the Board of Trustees of Prof. Dr. Necmettin Erbakan Foundation, Dr. Fatih Erbakan sent a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina informing her of the matter, said a press release of PM’s press wing.</div><div><br></div><div>The foundation today handed over award that included a crest and the letter from Dr. Fatih Erbakan to Bangladeshi Prime Minister to Ambassador of Bangladesh to Turkey accredited to Georgia, Turkmenistan and the D-8, Mosud Mannan. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 02:30:10', '2022-08-02 02:30:10'),
(829, 829, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The International Cricket Council (ICC) has praised the excellent surge of Bangladesh in the ODI format in their last meeting, said the BCB CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The world cricket apex body also highlighted Bangladesh\'s ODI progress in their annual report. The Tigers ODI strength was further proved in the ICC ODI Super League standings in which they are currently in second spot with 120 points from 18 matches. World Champions England are in the top spot with</div><div>125 points from the same number of matches.</div><div><br></div><div>\"This is a great factor for us. It\'s obviously a great thing for Bangladesh cricket,\" Chowdhury said here today after returning to Bangladesh from ICC meeting in Birmingham, England.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Hopefully you see that how delightfully our ODI progress was highlighted in the ICC annual report. They are highly praise of our ODI team\'s performance and we are really proud of this.\"</div><div><br></div><div>But even though Bangladesh showed its strength time and again in the ODI format, the continuously find them in vulnerable state in Test and T20 format.</div><div><br></div><div>Chowdhury said despite that shortcomings, Bangladesh are happy to get the matches in next FTP cycle as per their requirements.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We came close to increase the number of the matches or reduce the number of matches as per our requirements. There was shuffling in one or two matches but hopefully we will overcome it.\" - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 02:41:48', '2022-08-02 02:41:48'),
(830, 830, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Four youths were held Monday for vandalising an idol of a Hindu goddess at a temple in Pirojpur Sadar upazila, police said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Shubho Sheikh, 40, Abu Bakkar Siddiki, 17, Hasan Sheikh, 17, and Ramzan Mollah, 12, all from Sadar upazila, smashed the idol at Sri Sri Shitala Mandir in Durgapur union, Md Masuduzzaman, officer-in-charge of Pirojpur Sadar police station, said.</div><div><br></div><div>Kala Chand Mandal, the priest of the temple, said: \"Around 11am Sunday, I left the temple after performing worship services and the next morning found the idol\'s legs, hands, and head smashed.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The locals saw three or four youths wandering around the temple, he added. \"They held Subho, Abu Bakkar, and Hasan, and the trio admitted that they had smashed and destroyed the idol along with Ramzan.\"</div><div><br></div><div>OC Masuduzzaman said: \"We detained four people after being informed by the locals. Police forces have been deployed to secure the temple and a case will be filed in connection with the incident.\" - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 03:05:14', '2022-08-02 03:05:14'),
(831, 831, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The United States killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a strike in Afghanistan over the weekend, President Joe Biden said on Monday, the biggest blow to the militant group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who had a $25 million bounty on his head, helped coordinate the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.</div><div><br></div><div>U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Zawahiri died after a U.S. drone strike in the Afghan capital Kabul at 6:18 a.m. (0148 GMT) on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Now justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more,\" Biden, who is recovering from COVID-19, said in remarks from the White House. \"No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out.\"</div><div><br></div><div>U.S. intelligence determined with \"high confidence\" through multiple intelligence streams that the man killed was Zawahiri, one senior administration official told reporters. He was killed on the balcony of a \"safe house\" in Kabul that he shared with other members of his family. There were no other casualties.</div><div><br></div><div>Biden said Zawahiri had been the mastermind behind or played a key role in attacks on the USS Cole and U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Zawahiri continued to pose an active threat to U.S. persons, interests and national security,\" the official said on a conference call. \"His death deals a significant blow to al Qaeda and will degrade the group\'s ability to operate.\"</div><div><br></div><div>There were rumors of Zawahiri\'s death several times in recent years, and he was long reported to have been in poor health.</div><div><br></div><div>Taliban condemnation&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The drone attack is the first known U.S. strike inside Afghanistan since U.S. troops and diplomats left the country in August 2021. The move may bolster the credibility of Washington\'s assurances that the United States can still address threats from Afghanistan without a military presence in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>His death also raises questions about whether Zawahiri received sanctuary from the Taliban following their takeover of Kabul in August 2021. The official said senior Taliban officials were aware of his presence in the city and said the United States expected the Taliban to abide by an agreement not to allow al Qaeda fighters to re-establish themselves in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The Taliban will have to answer for al-Zawahiri\'s presence in Kabul, after assuring the world they would not give safe haven to al-Qaeda terrorists,\" Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that a strike took place and strongly condemned it, calling it a violation of \"international principles.\"&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Zawahiri succeeded bin Laden as al Qaeda leader after years as its main organizer and strategist, but his lack of charisma and competition from rival militants Islamic State hobbled his ability to inspire devastating attacks on the&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Republican and Democratic lawmakers lauded the operation.</div><div><br></div><div>“The world is safer without him in it and this strike demonstrates our ongoing commitment to hunt down all terrorists responsible for 9/11 and those who continue to pose a threat to U.S. interests,\" said Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio.</div><div><br></div><div>Until the U.S. announcement, Zawahiri had been rumored variously to be in Pakistan\'s tribal area or inside Afghanistan.</div><div><br></div><div>A video released in April in which he praised an Indian Muslim woman for defying a ban on wearing an Islamic head scarf dispelled rumors that he had died.</div><div><br></div><div>The senior U.S. official said finding Zawahiri was the result of persistent counterterrorism work. The United States identified this year that Zawahiri\'s wife, daughter and her children had relocated to a safe house in Kabul, then identified that Zawahiri was there as well, the official said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Once Zawahiri arrived at the location, we are not aware of him ever leaving the safe house,\" the official said. He was identified multiple times on the balcony, where he was ultimately struck. He continued to produce videos from the house and some may be released after his death, the official said.</div><div><br></div><div>In the last few weeks, Biden convened officials to scrutinize the intelligence. He was updated throughout May and June and was briefed on July 1 on a proposed operation by intelligence leaders. On July 25 he received an updated report and authorized the strike once an opportunity was available, the administration official said.</div><div><br></div><div>A loud explosion echoed through Kabul early Sunday morning.</div><div><br></div><div>\"A house was hit by a rocket in Sherpoor. There were no casualties as the house was empty,\" Abdul Nafi Takor, spokesman of the interior ministry, said earlier.</div><div><br></div><div>One Taliban source, requesting anonymity, said there had been reports of at least one drone flying over Kabul that morning.</div><div><br></div><div>With other senior al Qaeda members, Zawahiri is believed to have plotted the October 12, 2000, attack on the USS Cole naval vessel in Yemen which killed 17 U.S. sailors and injured more than 30 others, the Rewards for Justice website said.</div><div><br></div><div>He was indicted in the United States for his role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and wounded more than 5,000 others.</div><div><br></div><div>Both bin Laden and Zawahiri eluded capture when U.S.-led forces toppled Afghanistan’s Taliban government in late 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 14:43:22', '2022-08-02 14:43:22'),
(832, 832, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh has once again started to export jute-based carpets and earnings from shipment of floor coverings have been rising gradually.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Exporters fetched $36.8 million, the highest on record, from selling carpets abroad in fiscal year 2021-22, up 10 per cent year-on-year, data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) showed.</div><div><br></div><div>Rising awareness about the environment and changing tastes of Western customers are driving the popularity of carpets made in Bangladesh, said exporters.</div><div><br></div><div>This was the fifth consecutive year carpet export has grown consistently since fiscal year 2017-18, when total sales proceeds from carpets stood at $19.49 million, according to EPB data.</div><div><br></div><div>Exporters said Bangladesh, the world\'s second biggest jute producer after India, used to export carpets in the 1980s to various countries of the world, including the US, Australia and New Zealand.</div><div><br></div><div>Exports gradually declined in the 1990s. And in 1995, all seven carpet mills existing in Bangladesh closed down, said exporters.</div><div><br></div><div>Shafiqul Alam Selim, managing director of Karupannya Rangpur, attributed global warming as one of the key reasons for the increase in demand for jute carpets and other textile floor coverings in the global market.</div><div><br></div><div>\"People are increasingly becoming more and more environmentally conscious,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the entrepreneur, developed countries have promised not to pollute the environment on various international platforms and were insisting on the use of jute products instead of plastic products.</div><div><br></div><div>\"If you want to save the world through the use of natural materials, the use of jute items including carpets will have to be increased. Then, our international market will expand,\" said Selim.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh exports carpets and other textile floor coverings to countries such as the US, the UK, China, Germany, Australia, Denmark, France, South Korea, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, India, Uruguay, Portugal, Spain, Canada, and Ireland.</div><div><br></div><div>Exporters say the government was extending a lot of cooperation for the development of the sector. But the drawback is that some entrepreneurs are not capable enough to capture the international market and they need to make more improvements, they said.</div><div><br></div><div>Doing business sustainably in the sector is not easy since compliance to international regulations is a big factor, said Selim.</div><div><br></div><div>\"But if someone runs businesses being compliant, they can grow. The future of business lies in the sector,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Unpredictability of raw material prices and a lack of skilled workforce are two major obstacles facing exporters.</div><div><br></div><div>Shahedul Helal, vice-chairman of Bengal Braided Rugs, said there were a number of fully compliant factories in Bangladesh. Now many international chain stores, which earlier used to make purchases from other countries, are now sourcing products from Bangladesh, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Exporters say that those who are providing backward linkage support in this industry are not compliant to regulations. This puts them in difficultly with foreign buyers and they are working to resolve the issues, they said.</div><div><br></div><div>In 1980, Helal, worked as a Bangladeshi agent for carpet buyers in the US, Australia and New Zealand.</div><div><br></div><div>He said Bangladesh has great potential to do better in the carpet sector of the world market because there were several private factories in the country which were doing business while complying with regulations.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'Economics Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 14:50:51', '2022-08-02 14:50:51'),
(833, 833, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Despite a $25 million US bounty on his head, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri apparently felt comfortable enough with the Taliban\'s takeover of Afghanistan to move into a home in Kabul where he would regularly appear out in the open, on his balcony.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>But the US government had not given up its pursuit of one of the planners of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the heir to Osama bin Laden.</div><div><br></div><div>After years of tracking him down, US armed forces fired two Hellfire missiles from a drone flying above the Afghan capital, striking Zawahiri\'s safe house and killing him, President Joe Biden announced on Monday.</div><div><br></div><div>US officials described an operation as meticulously planned as that which killed Osama bin Laden in his Pakistan hideout in 2011.</div><div><br></div><div>That the leader of the violent jihadist group was in Afghanistan was not surprising since the hard-line Islamist Taliban regained control in August, Al-Qaeda has felt more at home, analysts say.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>But finding him was still hard.</div><div><br></div><div>\"For several years the US government has been aware of a network that we assessed supported Zawahiri,\" a senior administration official told reporters.</div><div><br></div><div>But it was only this year that US intelligence learned that his family, his wife, his daughter and her children, had moved to the Afghan capital.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>They were careful, the official said, exercising \"longstanding terrorist tradecraft\" to prevent anyone tracking them to the Qaeda leader.</div><div><br></div><div>Still, eventually Zawahiri showed up, and never left.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We identified Zawahiri on multiple occasions for sustained periods of time on the balcony,\" the official said.</div><div><br></div><div>An attack plan developed over May and June. The United States constantly monitored the multi-story residence – just how the official would not say – to understand the family\'s pattern of life.</div><div><br></div><div>Detailed safe-house model</div><div><br></div><div>They studied the construction of the home, aiming to hit Zawahiri without threatening the building\'s structural integrity, to minimize the risk to civilians.</div><div><br></div><div>Defense and intelligence officials finalized the plan in June and presented it to Biden in the White House on July 1, using a detailed model of the residence, as was done before the bin Laden raid.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Biden asked detailed questions on the structure, weather issues, and the risk to civilians, the official said.</div><div><br></div><div>Finally, on July 25, Biden – still ill with a bout of Covid-19 – made the decision.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>It took place with key cabinet officials joining the final briefing, echoing the April 28, 2011 White House meeting where President Barack Obama decided to deploy US special operations troops to enter Pakistan and get bin Laden.</div><div><br></div><div>At that time Biden was vice president, and he expressed doubts. The risks of things going wrong were high, bin Laden had not been clearly identified and relations with Pakistan could suffer, he later recalled.</div><div><br></div><div>With Zawahiri, however, no US troops would enter the country, Zawahiri was clearly identified and relations with the Taliban were next to nil.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>At the end of the discussion on the 25th, Biden – as Obama had done 11 years earlier – asked each participant for their view.</div><div><br></div><div>\"All strongly recommended approval of this target,\" and Biden gave the go-ahead, the official said.</div><div><br></div><div>The strike involved a US drone, armed with two precision-guided Hellfire missiles, which were launched at 6:18am on Sunday, Kabul time.</div><div><br></div><div>Zawahiri was \"killed on the balcony”, the official said.</div><div><br></div><div>The missiles appear not to have been ordinary Hellfires, whose high explosives could have destroyed the home.</div><div><br></div><div>\'Significant blow to Al-Qaeda\'</div><div><br></div><div>Apparent photographs of the building show only a few windows on one floor blown out, and the rest intact.</div><div><br></div><div>That points to the likely use of a non-explosive version of the Hellfire, the R9X, which deploys a series of knife-like blades from its fuselage and shreds its target but leaves nearby people and objects intact.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The so-called \"flying ginsu\" missile has been used a half-dozen or more times by US forces to kill other jihadist group leaders without hurting bystanders.</div><div><br></div><div>The official did not provide details, but expressed strong confidence that Zawahiri had been killed and no others were hurt.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"Zawahiri’s family members were present in other parts of the safe house at the time of the strike and were purposely not targeted and were not harmed,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The official said the strike \"deals a significant blow to Al-Qaeda and will degrade the group\'s ability to operate”.</div><div><br></div><div>\"As President Biden has consistently said, we will not allow Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists who might bring harm to Americans,\" the official said. -AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 14:55:51', '2022-08-02 14:55:51'),
(834, 834, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh’s trade shortage has widened to record $33.24 billion in 2021-22 fiscal year as exports failed to match the huge import bills despite a rise.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Current account deficit also hit a record $18.69 billion, rising from $4.57 billion a year ago and putting pressure on the foreign currency reserves.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the latest accounts released by the central bank on Monday, Bangladesh spent $82.49 billion on imports in the last fiscal year – a nearly 36 percent year-on-year increase.</div><div><br></div><div>Petroleum products top the list of imported goods, followed by raw materials and capital machinery for industries.</div><div><br></div><div>Exports grew by 33.45 percent year on year, but still fell short against the imports at $49.24 billion.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh trade deficit hits widest at $33.24 billion in FY22</div><div><br></div><div>The difference between imports and exports meant the trade deficit grew by 39.84 percent from $23.77 billion in 2020-21.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh saw inward remittances slump by 15.12 percent to $21.03 billion year on year in 2021-22 after growing by more than 36 percent to record $24.78 billion in 2020-21.</div><div><br></div><div>The fall in remittances pushed the current account deficit to widen.</div><div><br></div><div>These factors have led to a balance of payments deficit of $5.38 billion, after starting the fiscal year with $9.27 billion surplus.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh received more than $10 billion from foreign lenders and donors in the last fiscal year, but that could not help ease the pressure on the foreign currency reserves as the central bank resorted to releasing US dollars from the reserves to meet heightened demand driven by imports.</div><div><br></div><div>The government and the central bank have taken a series of steps to rein in rising import costs, such as limiting the imports of non-essential goods. It also cut fuel purchase which is causing rolling power outages.</div><div><br></div><div>These efforts paid off to some extent. Bangladeshi importers opened letters of credit, or LCs, in July to import goods worth $5.5 billion, down by 31 percent from June.</div><div><br></div><div>The central bank also started to review applications for LCs to import goods worth more than $3 million to stop over-invoicing, through which fraudulent businesses smuggle money out of the country.</div><div><br></div><div>It has cancelled five LCs for the import of goods worth $200 million in total. -bdnews24</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 15:00:39', '2022-08-02 15:00:39'),
(835, 835, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Saudi Arabia welcomed US President Joe Biden\'s announcement of the killing of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, the State news agency reported late on Monday quoting a foreign ministry statement.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Zawahiri is considered one of the leaders of terrorism that led the planning and execution of heinous terrorist operations in the United States and Saudi Arabia,\" it said. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 15:06:44', '2022-08-02 15:06:44'),
(836, 836, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Production at the coal-based Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in Dinajpur will totally stop anytime soon due to a fuel shortage.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Only one of the three units of the plant is operational now, producing 275 megawatts of electricity, the plant’s Chief Engineer Wazed Ali Sarker said on Monday.</div><div><br></div><div>The plant has been running on its stocks of fuel after the Barapukuria Coal Mine suspended operations on May 1.</div><div><br></div><div>The authorities resumed experimental mining through a new well on Jul 27, but halted the operations again after three more days as dozens of workers caught COVID-19.</div><div><br></div><div>Now the power plant is running out of its stocks, said Wazed.</div><div><br></div><div>“The only unit in operation now will cease producing power due to a coal shortage anytime if we cannot extract coal from the mine.”</div><div><br></div><div>The entire electricity produced by the 525 MW plant goes to the national grid, which means a closure of the plant will hamper supply while the authorities are already grappling to manage rolling power outages to save costly fuel. -bdnews24</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 15:37:48', '2022-08-02 15:37:48'),
(837, 837, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Barcelona could move for Bernardo Silva later in this transfer window after securing another €100m in extra revenue, the Daily Mail reports.</span></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><br></span></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"> Barca must register the players they have already signed – including Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde – but so long as they are able to do that, then the club could move for Manchester City’s Silva later this month. Frenkie de Jong would have to leave first to make any approach possible, although City are also unwilling to sell.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Paper Round’s view: De Jong doesn’t want to leave. City don’t want to lose Silva. This feels like a tricky move to push through, and so Barca should focus on getting their new players registered and taking it from there. As it stands, it’s still a bit of a mess.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Chelsea lead Cucurella race</b></div><div><br></div><div>Chelsea are close to beating Manchester City to the signing of Marc Cucurella, the Daily Mail reports. The left-back handed in a transfer request at Brighton last week, seemingly with a move to City in the pipeline, but now Chelsea are willing to meet the club’s £50m valuation, while young centre-back Levi Colwill is likely to move in the other direction should a deal be agreed. The move would free up Marcos Alonso to join Barcelona, while Thomas Tuchel sees Cucurella as a wing-back or left-sided centre-back.</div><div><br></div><div>Paper Round’s view: One thing is for sure, even if Chelsea appear to be ahead of City in the race to sign Cucurella, they will not believe it is a done deal until he signs on the dotted line. Inevitably, the jokes about Barcelona showing interest in Cucurella surfaced after this latest report, but it appears Chelsea are for once not in competition with the Catalan club. -Eurosprt</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"10\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-08-02 15:53:22', '2022-08-02 15:53:22');
