INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6624, 6624, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">More than 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in fighting in Ukraine since December, the US estimates.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A further 80,000 have been wounded, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, citing newly declassified intelligence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Half of the dead are from the Wagner mercenary company, who have been attacking the eastern Bakhmut city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia has been trying to take the small city since last year in a grinding war of attrition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow currently holds most of Bakhmut, but Ukrainian troops are still control a small portion of the city in the west. The fierce battle has taken on huge symbolic importance for both sides.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukrainian officials have also said they are using the battle to kill as many of Russia\'s troops as possible and wear down its reserves.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Russia\'s attempt at an offensive in the Donbas [region] largely through Bakhmut has failed,\" Mr Kirby told reporters. \"Russia has been unable to seize any real strategic and significant territory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We estimate that Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including over 20,000 killed in action,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The toll in Bakhmut accounts for losses since the start of December, according to the US figures.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The bottom line is that Russia\'s attempted offensive has backfired after months of fighting and extraordinary losses,\" Mr Kirby said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added he was not giving estimates of Ukrainian casualties because \"they are the victims here. Russia is the aggressor\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BBC is unable to independently verify the figures given and Moscow has not commented.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The capture of the city would bring Russia slightly closer to its goal of controlling the whole of Donetsk region, one of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine annexed by Russia last September following referendums widely condemned outside Russia as a sham.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Analysts say Bakhmut has little strategic value, but has become a focal point for Russian commanders, who have struggled to deliver any positive news to the Kremlin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Wagner mercenary group - which widely uses convicts and has become notorious for its often inhumane methods - has taken centre stage in the Russian assault on Bakhmut.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has staked his reputation, and that of his private army, on seizing the city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But he recently threatened to pull his troops out of Bakhmut.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a rare in-depth interview to a prominent Russian war blogger, he vowed to withdraw Wagner fighters if they were not provided with much-needed ammunition by the Russian defence ministry.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wagner fighters could be redeployed to Mali, he warned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He has often clashed with Russia\'s defence ministry during the war, accusing officials of not providing his fighters with enough support.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Prigozhin also called upon the Russian media and military leadership to \"stop lying to the Russian population\" ahead of an expected Ukrainian spring counteroffensive.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We need to stop lying to the Russian population, telling them everything is all right,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He praised the Ukrainian military\'s \"good, correct military operations\" and command.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A top Ukrainian general said on Monday that counterattacks had ousted Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut, but the situation remained \"difficult\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New Russian units, including paratroopers and fighters from Wagner, are being \"constantly thrown into battle\" despite taking heavy losses, Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine\'s ground forces, said on Telegram.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"But the enemy is unable to take control of the city,\" he said. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 08:13:54', '2023-05-02 08:13:54'),
(6625, 6625, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 108 police officers have been injured in clashes across France with protesters angry at pension reforms, the interior minister has said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gérald Darmanin said such a large number of police wounded was extremely rare, adding that 291 people had been arrested during the unrest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hundreds of thousands have been taking part in May Day demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron\'s reforms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most were peaceful but radical groups threw petrol bombs and fireworks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Police responded with tear gas and water cannon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is not clear how many protesters have been injured.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne tweeted that the violence was \"unacceptable\", while also praising the \"responsible mobilisation and commitment\" of demonstrators in numerous cities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is the latest day of mass action against changes that raise the state pension age from 62 to 64. Trade unions want them withdrawn.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Interior Ministry put the overall number of demonstrators at 782,000, including 112,000 in the capital Paris, but the CGT union say the figure is three times that number.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Union leaders were adamant that months-long opposition to the reforms was not waning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The page is not going to be turned as long as there is no withdrawal of this pension reform. The determination to win is intact,\" said CGT leader Sophie Binet, quoted by AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Paris, one police officer suffered serious burns to his hands and face when struck by a petrol bomb, Mr Darmanin said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Violence also broke out in Lyons, Toulouse and Nantes, where vehicles were set on fire and businesses attacked.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There were also reports that protesters briefly occupied a luxury hotel in the southern city of Marseille. Monday was the first time since 2009 that France\'s top eight trade unions had backed calls for a protest, AFP news agency said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Darmanin accused far-left groups known as black blocs and numbering a few thousand of being behind the violence and urged that \"those who attacked the police and public property be severely punished\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There has been a violent element to the protests ever since March, when the government decided to force the legislation through the lower house of parliament - where it lacks an absolute majority - without a vote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Macron says the reform is a necessity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He signed the reform into law on 15 April, hours after France\'s Constitutional Council broadly backed the changes, but opinion polls show a large majority of the population opposes the higher pension age.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The reforms are expected to come into force by September.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The government has promised further talks but the unions are determined to get the changes repealed, and it is not clear where a compromise could be found. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 08:20:20', '2023-05-02 08:20:20'),
(6626, 6626, '<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday discussed long-term defense cooperation, the two leaders said.</b></p><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"For as long as it takes. That\'s how long we\'re going to provide Ukraine with support,\" Trudeau tweeted, following a phone call with Zelensky.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"You have my word,\" he told the Ukraine leader. \"Canada will continue to be there with military, humanitarian, and financial aid.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelensky, also in a tweet, said they had discussed \"the program of long-term defense cooperation\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last month Canada sent eight Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to help the war-torn country fend off Russia\'s invasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ottawa had announced in February it would double the number of tanks pledged to Kyiv the month before. The German-made 55,000-kilogram beasts are the backbone of and among the most advanced in the Canadian military\'s arsenal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Canada has also extended its mission to train Ukrainian combat engineers to October and is also deploying medical trainers, Trudeau said in March.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ottawa has committed more than Can$1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine over the past year, including armoured vehicles, surface-to-air missiles, howitzers and munitions as well as the Leopard 2 tanks. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 08:43:08', '2023-05-02 08:43:08'),
(6627, 6627, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Joe Biden scrapped expedited asylum screenings during his first month in office as part of a gutting of Trump administration border polices that included building a wall with Mexico. Now he is preparing his own version.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Donald Trump’s fast-track reviews drew sharp criticism from internal government watchdog agencies as the percentage of people who passed those “credible fear interviews” plummeted. But the Biden administration has insisted its speedy screening for asylum-seekers is different: Interviews will be done exclusively by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, not by Border Patrol agents, and everyone will have access to legal counsel.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The decision to use fast-track screenings comes as COVID-19 asylum restrictions are set to expire on May 11 and the U.S. government prepares for an expected increase in illegal crossings from Mexico. The Texas border cities of El Paso, Laredo and Brownsville have declared local states of emergency in recent days to prepare for the anticipated influx.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Normally, about three in four migrants pass credible fear interviews, though far fewer eventually win asylum. But during the five months of the Trump-era program, only 23% passed the initial screening, while 69% failed and 9% withdrew, according to the Government Accountability Office.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Those who get past initial screenings are generally freed in the United States to pursue their cases in immigration court, which typically takes four years. Critics say the court backlog encourages more people to seek asylum.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To pass screenings, migrants must convince an asylum officer they have a “significant possibility” of prevailing before a judge on arguments that they face persecution in their home countries on grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under the Biden administration’s fast-track program, those who don’t qualify will be deported “in a matter of days or just a few weeks,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The expedited screenings will be applied only to single adults, Mayorkas said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite the administration’s assurances that people will have access to legal services, some immigrant advocates who were briefed by the administration are doubtful. Katherine Hawkins, senior legal analyst at the Project on Government Oversight, noted that advocates were told attorneys would not be allowed inside holding facilities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Trump administration used fast-track reviews from October 2019 until March 2020, when it began using a 1944 public health law known as Title 42 to expel immigrants on the grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The speedy screenings were among Trump-era immigration polices that Biden rolled back in a February 2021 executive order.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Unlike the Trump administration, the Biden administration won’t limit migrants to just one phone call. But it’s unclear how many calls U.S. authorities can facilitate, especially if there is no answer and attorneys call back, Hawkins said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Screenings initially will be limited to Spanish-speaking countries to which the U.S. has regular deportation flights, according to Hawkins and others briefed. The administration began limited screening this month in Donna, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, and later expanded to large tents in other border cities, including San Diego; Yuma, Arizona; and El Paso, Texas. Migrants will get a video presentation to explain the interview process.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mayorkas, a former federal prosecutor, didn’t speak in detail about access to legal counsel in remarks Thursday about a broad strategy that, in addition to the screenings, includes processing centers in Guatemala, Colombia and potentially elsewhere for people to come legally to the U.S. through an airport.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have expanded our holding capacity and set up equipment and procedures so that individuals have the ability to access counsel,” Mayorkas said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Homeland Security Department’s inspector general took issue with lack of legal representation under Trump’s expedited screening. There were four cordless phones for migrants to share when screenings began in El Paso. Guards took them to a shack to consult attorneys.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Phone booths were later installed but didn’t have handsets for safety reasons, forcing migrants to speak loudly and within earshot of people outside, the inspector general said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Facilities built under Biden are more spacious with plenty of phone booths, according to people who have visited.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“There are rows of cubicles, enclosed,” said Paulina Reyes, an attorney at advocacy group ImmDef who visited a San Diego holding facility in March.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The administration has not said how many attorneys have volunteered to represent asylum-seekers. Hawkins said officials told advocates they are reaching out to firms that offer low- or no-cost services to people in immigration detention centers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Erika Pinheiro, executive director of advocacy group Al Otro Lado, which is active in Southern California and Tijuana, Mexico, said she has not been approached but would decline to represent asylum-seekers in expedited screenings. They arrive exhausted and unfamiliar with asylum law, hindering their abilities to effectively tell their stories.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We know what the conditions are like. We know people are not going to be mentally prepared,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Biden administration aims to complete screenings within 72 hours, the maximum time Border Patrol is supposed to hold migrants under an agency policy that’s routinely ignored.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It’s a tall order. It currently takes about four weeks to complete a screening. Under Trump’s expedited screenings, about 20% of immigrants were in custody for a week or less, according to the GAO. About 86% were held 20 days or less.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has identified 480 former asylum officers or those with training to assist about 800 on the expedited screenings, said Michael Knowles, a spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees Council 119, which represents asylum officers. Despite the staffing surge, Knowles said officers worry about the pace of the work, “like an assembly line, ‘hurry up, hurry up,’ when you have lives at stake.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“All hands will be on this deck for the foreseeable future,” Knowles said. “We don’t know how long.” AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 08:58:23', '2023-05-02 08:58:23'),
(6628, 6628, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">&nbsp;The World Bank (WB) has agreed to provide a loan of 2.25 billion US dollars to Bangladesh for its five development schemes on regional trade and connectivity, disaster preparedness and environmental management.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A loan agreement was signed between Bangladesh and the global lender at the WB headquarters here on Monday (local time).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and WB President David Malpass witnessed the exchange of the agreement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The five projects are: Resilient Infrastructure Building Project (RIVER), Bangladesh Environmental Sustainability and Transformation (BEST), Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity in Eastern South Asia (ACCESS) –Bangladesh Phase-1, First Bangladesh Green and Climate Resilient Development (GCRD) and Sustainable Microenterprise and Resilient Transformation (SMART).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Of the projects, the resilient infrastructure scheme with USD 500 million for adaptation and vulnerability reduction will be the first major investment programme to support Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100 as it will help improve disaster preparedness against inland flooding.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The second project on Bangladesh environmental sustainable and transformation worth about USD 250 million will help Bangladesh strengthen environmental management and promote private sector participation in green investment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The third one on accelerating transport and trade connectivity in Eastern South Asia-Bangladesh phase-1 with USD 753.45 million will help Dhaka improve regional trade and connectivity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The forth project on first green and climate resilient with USD 500 million will help the country’s transition to green and climate resilient development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fifth and the last scheme on sustainable micro enterprise and resilient transformation involving USD 250 million will help transform the micro enterprise sector to be more dynamic, less polluting, resource efficient and climate resilient growth sector. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 09:31:49', '2023-05-02 09:31:49'),
(6629, 6629, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">World Bank will provide USD 2.25 billion as loan to Bangladesh to develop various sectors, including regional trade and connectivity, disaster preparedness and environmental management.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A loan agreement was signed on Monday (May 01, 2023) between Bangladesh and the World Bank for implementing five projects.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and World Bank President David Malpass witnessed the exchanges of the financing agreement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This loan agreement comprises five projects:</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Accelerating transport and trade connectivity in Eastern South Asia (ACCESS) – Bangladesh Phase-1 Project worth USD 753.45 million.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">USD 500 million Resilient Infrastructure Building Project (RIVER) for resilience, adaptation and vulnerability reduction that will be the first major investment to support Bangladesh’s Delta Plan 2100. It will help improve disaster preparedness against inland flooding.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">USD 500 million First Bangladesh Green and Climate Resilient Development (GCRD) project is the first such credit that will help the country’s transition to resilient development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">USD 250 million Sustainable Microenterprise and Resilient Transformation (SMART) project aims to help transform the microenterprise sector into a more dynamic, less polluting, resource efficient and climate resilient growth sector.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">USD 250 million Bangladesh Environmental Sustainability and Transformation (BEST) project to help strengthen environmental management and promote private sector participation in green investment. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 10:09:21', '2023-05-02 10:09:21'),
(6630, 6630, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>After May Day holiday yesterday, Dhaka’s air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 175 at 9:20 am today, making it the most polluted in the world on the list.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Indonesia’s Jakarta and Myanmar’s Yangon occupied the second and third spots on the list, with AQI scores of 173 and 140, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 101 and 150 is considered ‘unhealthy’, particularly for sensitive groups.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘poor’, while a reading of 301+ is considered ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants — Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 10:55:09', '2023-05-02 10:55:09'),
(6631, 6631, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Thousands of Hollywood television and movie writers will go on strike Tuesday, their union said, after talks with studios and streamers over pay and other conditions ended without a deal.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The strike means late-night shows could immediately grind to a halt, and television series and movies scheduled for release later this year and beyond may face major delays.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Writers Guild of America (WGA) board members \"acting upon the authority granted to them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike,\" the organization tweeted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Studios\' responses to its demands had been \"wholly insufficient given the existential crisis writers are facing,\" the writers\' union said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It came after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), representing studios including Disney and Netflix, said in a statement that negotiations \"concluded without an agreement.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The last time Hollywood writers laid down their pens and keyboards, in 2007, the strike lasted for 100 days, costing the Los Angeles entertainment industry around $2 billion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This time, the two sides are clashing as writers demand higher pay and a greater share of profits from the boom in streaming, while studios say they must cut costs due to economic pressures.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The WGA accused studios of seeking to create a \"gig economy,\" in which writing would be \"an entirely freelance profession.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AMPTP said it had offered a \"comprehensive package proposal\" including higher pay for writers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But it was unwilling to improve that offer further \"because of the magnitude of other proposals still on the table that the Guild continues to insist upon.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Streaming \'residuals\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Writers say it is becoming impossible to earn a living, as salaries have flatlined or declined after inflation, even as employers reap profits and fatten executives\' paychecks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More writers than ever are working at the union-mandated minimum wage, while shows hire fewer people to script ever-shorter series.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AMPTP statement said WGA demands for \"mandatory staffing\" that would require studios to hire a set number of writers \"for a specified period of time, whether needed or not\" was a major sticking point.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another key issue on the table is reworking the formula that calculates how writers are paid for streaming shows, which often remain on platforms like Netflix years after they were written.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For decades, writers have been paid \"residuals\" from each reuse of their material, such as television reruns or DVD sales.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With streaming, writers simply get a fixed annual payout -- even if their work generates a smash hit like \"Bridgerton\" or \"Stranger Things,\" streamed by hundreds of millions of viewers around the world.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"These amounts remain far too low for the global reuse of WGA-covered programming on these massive services,\" says the guild.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The negotiations will \"determine how we are financially compensated by streamers,\" not just now but well into the future, one Los Angeles-based TV writer told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The WGA also wants to address the future impact of artificial intelligence on writing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Challenged\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AMPTP says that overall residuals paid to writers hit an all-time high of $494 million in 2021.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That was up by almost half, from $333 million, a decade earlier, largely thanks to the boom in writing jobs driven by the explosion of streaming content.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They also dispute suggestions that studios are falsely claiming economic hardship to bolster their negotiation position.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the spendthrift past few years, when rival streamers chased subscriber growth at any cost, bosses are now under intense pressure from investors to curb spending and deliver profits.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Do you think that Disney would be laying 7,000 people off for fun?\" said a source familiar with the AMPTP\'s position.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There\'s only one [streaming] platform that\'s profitable right now, and that\'s Netflix. The movie industry... that\'s a pretty challenged segment as well.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Nerve wracking\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a possible olive branch, the studios\' statement said they remained \"willing to engage in discussions with the WGA in an effort to break this logjam.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the industry fears a ripple effect.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Several other Hollywood unions have voiced solidarity with writers, including the actors\' SAG-AFTRA, and the directors\' DGA. Both will hold their own talks with studios this summer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stars at New York\'s Met Gala on Monday night expressed support for writers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Everything changed with streaming, and everybody needs to be compensated for their work,\" actress Amanda Seyfried told Variety.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s... easy! I don\'t get it. Whatever. Fingers crossed.\" AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 11:22:15', '2023-05-02 11:22:15'),
(6632, 6632, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>When it comes to releasing the antioxidant lutein from spinach in smoothies, different market goods have extremely variable results. Only four of the 14 common dairy and plant-based products studied by researchers at Linkoping University in Sweden increased lutein liberation. Some drinks had a negative effect on the lutein content of spinach smoothies when compared to water.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most individuals are aware that spinach is beneficial to one\'s health. Lutein, for example, is a chemical present in spinach and kale. Several experimental studies have shown that lutein can suppress inflammation-related processes, and there is now abundant evidence that chronic low-grade inflammation is an important risk factor in cardiovascular disease.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Lutein is a bioactive substance. We investigated lutein in the same way that we would investigate a pharmaceutical medication. \"We looked at lutein liberation from fresh spinach in this study,\" explains Rosanna Chung, assistant professor at Linkoping University\'s Department of Health, Medicine, and Caring Sciences, who led the study published in Nutrients.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As our bodies cannot produce lutein, the researchers behind the study were interested to find out how to optimise lutein intake from foods. The research group previously showed that preparation methods where the spinach is heated break down some of the lutein, whereas mixing it into a smoothie makes more lutein available for absorption.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The type of liquid used in the smoothie can also affect lutein content. As lutein dissolves in fat but not in water, it needs gastric juice and/or other food components to be liberated from the plant material and absorbed by our intestines. The researchers suspected that some components in our food, such as fat, carbohydrates, proteins and fibres, can affect the amount of lutein available for absorption. The effect of products such as yoghurt may also differ due to fermentation. However, products widely available on the market are rarely examined in scientific studies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The researchers have examined the effects of various products available from food shops on the amount of lutein liberated in smoothies. Both dairy and plant-based liquids were tested.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The researchers blended spinach with various products. They then used a method simulating human digestion in the gastrointestinal tract, by adding digestive enzymes. Finally, the amount of lutein available for the body to absorb in smoothies made with various products was compared to that in smoothies made with just water.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We could see that only 4 of the 14 examined products increased the liberation of lutein from spinach compared to water. Cow\'s milk with a high-fat content as well as coconut milk improved lutein liberation. Yoghurt, however, which is regarded as comparable to cow\'s milk and is often used in cafes and similar, did not show particularly good results,\" says Rosanna Chung.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fact that yoghurt is not that good at liberating lutein may have to do with the fermentation process. It also turned out that plant-based drinks, often made from nuts, legumes or oats, showed significantly different results. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 11:33:50', '2023-05-02 11:33:50'),
(6633, 6633, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The US does not want to comment on Bangladesh’s forthcoming national election, noting that it is an “internal, domestic election.”</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I don’t have anything else to get into that beyond as it’s an internal, domestic election,” Deputy Principal Spokesperson at US Department of State Vedant Patel has said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He came up with the remarks when a journalist wanted to know how the US would navigate a situation where, in Bangladesh, another party refuses to participate in a national election and may later claim it to be an “unfair and unjust election.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Patel, however, said, as it relates to elections, US want them to be free and fair and to be reflective of the will of the Bangladeshi people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I will say broadly, though, is that the US and Bangladesh last year celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations, and we look forward to continuing to deepen those relationships,” he said at a regular media briefing at the US Department of State on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Patel said that Dhaka and Washington have a number of areas where they have the possibility for immense cooperation and engagement – whether that be climate change, whether that be the economy, addressing the humanitarian crisis, and other things as well. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 12:05:13', '2023-05-02 12:05:13'),
(6634, 6634, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Indian cricket star Virat Kohli was fined on Tuesday for the second time in this IPL after a post-match altercation with former national team-mate Gautam Gambhir.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both were docked their entire match fee, the Indian Premier League said, while Naveen-ul-Haq was fined 50 percent of his for breaching the league\'s code of conduct.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kohli and Afghan bowler Naveen were seen having sharp words on the field during a tense match between Kohli\'s Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kohli, who has often run into trouble with his aggressive approach, had to be restrained by opposition batsman Amit Mishra during the match. Bangalore eventually won by 18 runs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Afterwards, Lucknow\'s Kyle Mayers had to be led away from an exchange with Kohli before other players tried unsuccessfully to stop a visibly furious Gambhir, Lucknow\'s team mentor, from confronting him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gambhir and Kohli, who played together when India won the 2011 World Cup, had a shouting match before Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis intervened.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The former national team-mates were also involved in an ugly on-field exchange in a 2013 IPL match.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 41-year-old Gambhir has become an MP for India\'s Hindu-nationalist ruling BJP party since retiring from cricket in 2018.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This was Kohli\'s second offence this season after he was fined 10 percent of his match fee for his conduct during Bangalore\'s loss to Chennai Super Kings last month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite being one of the best batsmen of the modern game, \"King Kohli\" and Bangalore have never won the Indian Premier League.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He quit the RCB captaincy at the end of the 2021 season.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He went through an extended batting slump in 2021 and 2022, during which time he lost the Indian captaincy, one of the most high-pressure jobs in world sport.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kohli, 34, has spoken about his mental health struggles during his dry phase, including how he had been \"snappy\" to his Bollywood actress wife Anushka Sharma.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He has had numerous run-ins with opposing players and was once reprimanded after hitting a plastic chair with a bat following his dismissal during an IPL match. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 13:15:15', '2023-05-02 13:15:15');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6635, 6635, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">As a long-standing partner, World Bank Group President David Malpass has said that they will support Bangladesh as it navigates a challenging global environment on its way to reaching upper-middle-income status by 2031.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I am confident that with the right set of policies and timely action, Bangladesh can achieve its growth aspirations,” he said while speaking at the celebration of 50 years of partnership with Bangladesh on May 1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The World Bank president said Bangladesh’s remarkable journey was made possible by the indomitable energy and resilience of its people and a national will to build a prosperous nation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following the celebration, Malpass also tweeted: “Many countries can learn from Bangladesh’s innovative approaches to reducing poverty, empowering women, and adapting to climate change.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are proud of our partnership and look forward to opening the next chapter together with you,” he said at the celebration, addressing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Three lessons stand out from Bangladesh’s development experience and can inspire other countries: empowering women and girls, investing in people and connectivity, and moving decisively on climate adaptation and resilience, said the World Bank President.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and World Bank Group President David Malpass celebrated 50 years of partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank at the institution’s headquarters in Washington DC.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The partnership has helped lift millions of Bangladeshis out of poverty and supported the country’s economic growth and development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The World Bank is providing Bangladesh with $2.25 billion of financing to improve regional connectivity, boost disaster preparedness to address inland flooding, transition to green and climate-resilient development, strengthen environmental management and green investment, and help the micro-enterprise sector become less polluting and more climate-resilient.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh has transformed from one of the poorest countries to achieving lower-middle income status in 2015. The country is now among the world’s fastest-growing economies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“In 1971, when Bangladesh was born, many development experts were sceptical about the country’s future. The aspirations germinated by our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and, our people have shown the world that with determination, it is possible to overcome even the hardest challenges. Bangladesh has transformed its economy and made it more resilient as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The journey was not always easy, but we have never lost courage. In the past 50 years, the World Bank remained a steadfast development partner and supported our aspirations. We hope to work together with the World Bank as Bangladesh progresses to achieve higher-income country status by 2041,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Malpass reaffirmed the World Bank’s strong support for Bangladesh and its people as the country navigates unprecedented global challenges.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“As Bangladesh’s largest development partner, we welcome its progress in income growth and poverty reduction. We are committed to continuing our support to enable the private sector, create new job opportunities, broaden the tax base, strengthen the financial sector, and build the country’s resilience to economic and climate shocks,” said Malpass.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Many countries can learn from Bangladesh’s development successes. The country stands out for its innovative approaches to reducing poverty in record time, empowering women, achieving wide-spread electricity access, and adapting to climate change,” he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister and the World Bank President inaugurated a multimedia photo exhibition depicting Bangladesh’s development story over the past five decades and joined a seminar to reflect on 50 years of partnership.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The World bank President also thanked the Prime Minister and the Bangladeshi people for hosting the displaced Rohingya people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh’s provision of shelter to more than 1.1 million Rohingya who fled from violence in Myanmar since 2017 saved thousands of lives.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We will continue to work with you in providing support to the Rohingya,” he said, adding that the World Bank has mobilized US$590 million in grant financing, with support from Canada and in close collaboration with the UN family and others, to help provide local communities in Cox’s Bazar, and the displaced Rohingya population, with healthcare, education, basic services, and infrastructure.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Several steps can improve the sustainability and impact of the programs: enhanced livelihood and education opportunities, resilient shelters, stronger inclusion of the Rohingyas into the national systems for service delivery, and leveraging government investments on the island of Bhasan Char,” the World bank President said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 13:50:16', '2023-05-02 13:50:16'),
(6636, 6636, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The White House on Monday announced a May 11 end to Covid-19 vaccine requirements for travelers to the United States and for government employees across the world\'s biggest economy.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Today, we are announcing that the administration will end the Covid-19&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">vaccine requirements for federal employees, federal contractors, and&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11, the same day&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">that the Covid-19 public health emergency ends,\" a statement said.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">More than a million people died from Covid-19 in the United States. However, the White House noted that the pandemic had been all but stopped, leading to the government lifting restrictions dating back from when the disease was ravaging entire communities and forcing crippling economic shutdowns.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Since January 2021, Covid-19 deaths have declined by 95 percent and&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">hospitalizations are down nearly 91 percent. Globally, Covid-19 deaths are at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic,\" the statement said.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the White House, \"vaccine requirements bolstered vaccination across the nation, and our broader vaccination campaign has saved millions of lives.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">While demanding proof of a Covid vaccination for foreigners boarding US-bound flights mirrored the practice of many countries, the domestic government vaccination mandates sparked sometimes fierce political backlash at home.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In addition to ending the vaccine rules, President Joe Biden announced in&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">April he was officially calling an end to the national health emergency that&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">for more than three years had underpinned a series of extraordinary&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">government measures.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">These included lavish funding for free Covid testing and vaccinations across the country. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 14:18:49', '2023-05-02 14:18:49'),
(6637, 6637, '<p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>People squeezed by inflation and demanding economic justice took to streets across Asia, Europe and the Americas on Monday to mark May Day, in an outpouring of worker discontent not seen since before the worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns.</b></span><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">French police charged at radical protesters and troublemakers smashing bank and shop windows and setting fires as unions pushed the president to scrap a higher retirement age. South Koreans pleaded for higher wages as did others around Latin America. Spanish lawyers demanded the right to take days off. Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon marched in a country plunged into economic crisis.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">While May Day is marked worldwide as a celebration of labor rights, this year\'s rallies tapped into broader frustrations. Climate activists spray-painted a museum in Paris, and protesters in Germany demonstrated against violence targeting women and LGBTQ+ people.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Celebrations were forced indoors in Pakistan, tinged with political tensions as in Turkey, as both countries face high-stakes elections. Russia\'s war in Ukraine overshadowed scaled-back events in Moscow, where Communist-led May Day celebrations were once massive affairs.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Across the globe, this year’s May Day events unleashed pent-up frustration after three years of COVID-19 restrictions.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Across France, some 800,000 people marched, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. They mobilized against President Emmanuel Macron’s recent move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Organizers see pension reform as a threat to hard-fought worker rights, while Macron argues it\'s economically necessary as the population ages.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">While marchers were largely peaceful, violence by radicals, an ever-present reality at French marches, marred the message, notably in Paris. A Paris police officer was seriously injured by a Molotov cocktail, among 108 officers injured around France, Darmanin said. It wasn\'t known how many protesters were potentially injured. Clashes also marked protests in Lyon and Nantes.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Violence is increasingly strong in a society that is radicalizing,” the interior minister said on BFM-TV news station, blaming the ultra-left. He said some 2,000 radicals were at the Paris march.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Tear gas hung over the end point of the Paris march, Place de la Nation, where a huge black cloud lofted high above the trees after radicals set two fuel cans afire outside a building renovation site, police said.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">French union members were joined by groups fighting for economic justice, or just expressing anger at what is seen as Macron\'s out-of-touch, pro-business leadership. Labor activists from abroad were present, among them Hyrwon Chong of the South Korean Metal Workers’ Union.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Today we see rising inequality throughout the world, terrible inflation,\" she said, adding that Macron\'s government was trying \"to tear down a pillar of the social system which is the pension system.”</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Northern Macedonia’s capital Skopje, thousands of trade union members protested a recent government decision granting ministers a 78% raise. The minimum monthly wage in one of Europe’s poorest countries, is 320 euros ($350), while the hike will put ministers\' wages at around 2,300 euros ($2,530). “We are here, not only (to mark) Labor Day, but also to warn that if there is no social justice, there will be no social peace either,\" said union leader Jakim Nedelkovski.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Turkey, police prevented demonstrators from reaching Istanbul’s main square, Taksim, and detained around a dozen of them, independent television station Sozcu reported.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The square has symbolic importance for Turkey’s trade unions after unknown gunmen opened fire on a May Day celebration at Taksim in 1977, causing a stampede that killed dozens. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has declared Taksim off-limits to protests, though small groups were allowed to enter to lay wreaths at a monument.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Pakistan, authorities banned rallies in some cities because of a tense security and political atmosphere. In Peshawar, in the restive northwest, labor organizations and trade unions held indoor events to demand better workers’ rights amid high inflation.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sri Lanka’s opposition political parties and trade unions held workers’ day rallies protesting austerity measures and economic reforms linked to a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Protesters demanded the government halt moves to privatize state-owned and semi-government businesses. Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis in history and has suspended foreign debt repayments.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In South Korea, tens of thousands of people attended rallies in its biggest May Day gatherings since the pandemic began in early 2020.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">“The price of everything has increased except for our wages. Increase our minimum wages!” an activist at a Seoul rally shouted at the podium.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Tokyo, thousands of labor union members, opposition lawmakers and academics demanded wage increases to offset the impact of rising costs as they recover from damage from the pandemic. They criticized Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s plan to double the defense budget, saying the money should be spent on welfare, social security and improving people’s daily lives.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Indonesia, demonstrators demanded the government repeal a job creation law they argue would only benefit business.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Taiwan, thousands of workers protested what they call the inadequacies of the self-ruled island’s labor policies, putting pressure on the ruling party before the 2024 presidential election.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Protests in Germany kicked off with a “Take Back the Night” rally organized by feminist and queer groups on the eve of May Day to protest against violence directed at women and LGBTQ+ people. On Monday, thousands more turned out in marches organized by Germany labor unions in Berlin, Cologne and other cities, rejecting recent calls by conservative politicians for restrictions on the right to strike.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">More than 70 marches were held across Spain, and powerful unions warned of “social conflict” if low salaries compared to the EU average don’t rise in line with inflation. The Illustrious College of Lawyers of Madrid urged reforms of historic laws that require them to be on call 365 days of the year, regardless of the death of family members or medical emergencies. In recent years, lawyers have tweeted images of themselves working from hospital beds on IV drips to illustrate their plight.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Italy’s far-right premier, Giorgia Meloni, made a point of working on Monday — as her Cabinet passed measures on Labor Day that it contends demonstrates concern for workers. But opposition lawmakers and union leaders said the measures do nothing to increase salaries or combat the widespread practice of hiring workers on temporary contracts. Many young people say they can’t contemplate starting families or even move out of parents’ homes because they only get temporary contracts.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In war-ravaged Ukraine, May Day is associated with Soviet-era celebrations when the country was ruled from Moscow — an era that many want forgotten.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">“It is good that we don’t celebrate this holiday like it was done during the Bolshevik times. It was something truly awful,” said Anatolii Borsiuk, a 77-year-old in Kyiv.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Alla Liapkina described the flowers and balloons of Soviet May Day gatherings, but said it’s time to move on. “We live in a new era,\'\' she said. ‘’We don’t need to go back to such a past.”</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Venezuela, which has suffered rampant inflation for years, thousands of workers demonstrated to demand a minimum wage increase at a time when the majority cannot meet basic needs despite their last increase 14 months ago. “Decent wages and pensions now!” protesters chanted in the capital, Caracas. Many also alluded to U.S. sanctions against the socialist-led government of Nicolás Maduro, chanting, “This is not a blockade, this is looting.”</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Bolivia, leftist President Luis Arce led a Labor Day march in La Paz with a major union and announced a 5% increase in the minimum wage. Arce said his government “is strong because the unions are strong.”</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Brazil, the focus was not only on traditional labor unions but on parttime workers and those in the informal sector, with the government of new leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announcing a work group on proposals to regulate that sector after the president recently described those workers as “almost like slaves.” AP/UNB</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</p>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 14:31:33', '2023-05-02 14:31:33'),
(6638, 6638, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Salman Mohammad Muqtadir, the very first successful YouTube celebrity in Bangladesh, has finally settled down and got married.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The popular social media celebrity shared some of the images from his wedding photoshoots across his verified profiles on Facebook and Instagram on Tuesday, and the caption suggested that the couple got married on April 30.</div><div><br></div><div>However, name of his bride is yet to be revealed by the YouTube superstar.</div><div><br></div><div>A fashion clothing brand named Safiya Sathi was tagged on Salman\'s post, which congratulated him on its Facebook post stating \"Salman Muqtaqir is wearing our couture white Sherwani to match the dazzling bride\'s ensemble.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Although some netizens seemingly took it as a prank or some sort of sponsored promotional activity, people from celebrities to his regular followers are showering the newlyweds with love and best wishes.</div><div><br></div><div>10 Minutes School CEO and content creator Ayman Sadiq wrote, \"I never thought I would see this day. So glad to see you guys happy.</div><div><br></div><div>Wish both of you a happy &amp; peaceful journey together.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Popular presenter and host Rafsan Shabab wrote, \"From seeing your heart and mind suffer to seeing your heart being won by a beautiful partner - could not be more happy. May this be the beginning of a new story, filled with love, peace and happiness. Congratulations to you two &lt;3 .\"</div><div><br></div><div>Salman started his YouTube journey in 2012 under the name \"SalmoN TheBrownFish\" and has subsequently become one of the most popular YouTubers in Bangladesh. Aside from his works as a successful YouTube content creator, he also acted in several television drama and music videos. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 17:39:01', '2023-05-02 17:39:01'),
(6639, 6639, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Tuesday urged India to take more effective steps in persuading Myanmar to take the Rohingyas back home from Bangladesh for resolving the issue.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The president made the call when Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma met him at Bangabhaban. Verma became the first foreign envoy to meet the president since he took office on April 24 last.</div><div><br></div><div>Press secretary Joynal Abedin briefed reporters after the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>President Shahabuddin said that Bangladesh has sheltered Rohingyas for humanitarian reasons, and their prolonged stay is creating problems not only for Bangladesh but for the entire region.</div><div><br></div><div>He expressed his gratefulness to India for the crucial support it had given to Bangladesh War of Liberation in 1971 led by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div><br></div><div>He also shared his experience as a freedom fighter during the Liberation War and the training in India.</div><div><br></div><div>Shahabuddin stated that Bangladesh attaches highest importance to its relations with India which is so closely linked by geographical proximity, shared history and sacrifices.</div><div><br></div><div>He noted with satisfaction that India can now permanently use ports in Chattogram and Mongla for transporting goods from the mainland to its north-eastern states</div><div><br></div><div>\"This will help boost the trade volume alongside the socio-economic development,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>He hoped that the two countries will continue working together in diverse areas for mutual benefit of their people and would also contribute in bringing peace and prosperity in the region.</div><div><br></div><div>He stated that Bangladesh-India bilateral ties have been strengthened by the unprecedented state visits by both the President and the Prime Minister of India to Bangladesh in 2021.</div><div><br></div><div>He hoped that the two countries would amicably resolve the unsettled issues between them, including the water sharing of common rivers, for greater benefit of the two peoples.</div><div><br></div><div>He also hoped that the trade deficit and the issues of trade barriers, would be addressed in a balanced manner.</div><div><br></div><div>The president said that the excellent relations between the two neighbourly countries would be elevated to an even newer height in the coming days and the two countries will continue to cooperate at different regional and multilateral forums.</div><div><br></div><div>In his remarks, the Indian high commissioner said India attaches highest importance to the relationship with Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The connectivity between the two countries has increased manifold over the last 15 years. People of both countries are enjoying this,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Praising Bangladesh\'s zero tolerance policy against terrorism and militancy, he said this&nbsp; has brought stability in this region and is playing a positive role in economic development. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 18:07:39', '2023-05-02 18:07:39'),
(6640, 6640, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">India is now home to the world’s tallest railway bridge. Some 35 meters (over 10 feet) taller than the Eiffel Tower, the Chenab Bridge sits 359 meters (around 109 feet) above the Chenab River in India’s contentious Jammu and Kashmir region.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>After decades of construction, the bridge in northern India will be open to visitors by the end of December 2023 or January 2024, the Ministry of Railways said in a March press release.</div><div><br></div><div>The 1,315 meter-long (4,314 feet) bridge is part of a broader project to make the Kashmir Valley accessible by the Indian Railway network. In addition to the Chenab Bridge, the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project involves what will become the country’s longest transportation tunnel and Indian Railways’ first cable bridge.</div><div><br></div><div>For India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who swept to power in 2014 on a ticket of nationalism and a promise of future greatness, investments in infrastructure like the Chenab Bridge and the broader rail link project can be seen as a powerful tool for social integration and political influence, connecting disparate regions with key cities, reports CNN</div><div><br></div><div>“The bridge and the greater connectivity it’s meant to create will be projected by New Delhi as another big victory for the region’s development,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 20:47:32', '2023-05-02 20:47:32'),
(6641, 6641, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The number of unemployed people has increased by 2.70 lakh to 25.90 lakh in the first quarter of current year (2023), said a survey on labour force conducted by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The BBS disclosed the survey report in a press conference at the conference hall of National Economic Council (NEC) on Tuesday.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the BBS, there are 25.90 lakh people unemployed in the country in the first quarter (January-March) of 2023, while the number was 23.20 lakh in the last quarter (October-December) of the previous year (2022).</div><div><br></div><div>Disclosing the report, Dr Shamsul Alam,  State Minister for Planning, said that there are less job opportunities during winter, especially in the agricultural sector. Now the paddy harvesting season has started and job opportunities have increased with it.</div><div><br></div><div>As a result, the number of unemployed people will decrease again, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the Labour Force Survey, 2022, the total number of unemployed people in the country was 26.30 lakh. Among them, the number of male was 16.90 lakh and the number of female was 9.40 lakh.</div><div><br></div><div>The survey data revealed, unemployment rate in the country was 3.51 percent in the first quarter of 2023. The unemployment rate among men is 3.54 percent and among women it is 3.46 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the Labor Force Survey 2023, the total population employed in the country is 7.36 crore during January to March and the employed population is currently 7.11 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Population outside the labour force is 4.62 crore and the labour force participation rate is 61.37, according to the report.</div><div><br></div><div>It said 3.19 crore people are engaged in agriculture sector, 1.22 crore in the industrial sector, 2.69 lakh in the service sector.</div><div><br></div><div>Apart from this, the country\'s youth labour force is 2.73 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The total employable population is 7.36 crore, which is 20.15 percent of the country\'s total labour force.</div><div><br></div><div>According to BBS, the unemployed population consists mainly of those who have not worked for at least one hour in the past seven days, but were willing to work in the past seven days and have sought work for wages. According to BSS reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 21:32:19', '2023-05-02 21:32:52'),
(6642, 6642, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said her government is trying to bring back home BNP\'s convicted acting chairman Tarique Rahman to implement the court verdict,&nbsp; but it all depends on the UK government.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“He is there (UK). Whoever the criminal is, they should be brought back and their sentence should be carried out. We are making our efforts in this regard. But now it totally depends on the British government. Will they keep him there or allow the punishment to be executed? It totally depends on them,” she told Voice of America Bangla service in an interview in Washington.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said initiative is always there from the Bangladesh government side. She mentioned a number of cases including money laundering, arms smuggling, corruption and also the 21 August grenade attack. “Many more such cases are pending against them.”</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina said Tarique left the country during the caretaker government period signing a bond. “So we want him to be brought back as soon as possible to implement the verdict in this case.”</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, the VoA journalist wanted to know whether the prime minister had any discussions with the UK government about taking Tarique back to Bangladesh, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, the PM also said, “Of course. At one point we repeatedly contacted the UK government.”&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 21:42:31', '2023-05-02 21:42:31'),
(6643, 6643, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Eleven lakh doses of bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, a new type of vaccine that provides protection against both the Delta and Omicron variants of COVID-19, have been brought to the country,&nbsp; while another 20 lakh will arrive \'in a short period of time\', Health Minister Zahid Maleque said Tuesday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>They will be administered as booster doses to tackle Covid-19, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), bivalent COVID-19 vaccines include a component of the original virus strain to provide broad protection against COVID-19 and a component of the omicron variant to provide better protection against COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant.</div><div><br></div><div>“Bivalent is being brought from World Health Organisation (WHO) and it worked as an antidote of omicron and delta variant of Covid-19 and people more than 12 years old will be brought under this vaccination programme which will be started soon,” said the minister.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister came up with this information while speaking at a press briefing held at the ministry.</div><div><br></div><div>The government has taken training programmes to make the activities of the ministry dynamic and also considering how to best train up the physicians abroad and locally, and in which subject, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the ministry is taking preparation to organise a conference that will be held every year with the participation of 700 people including physicians, civil surgeons, professors and directors of different hospitals, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>It will also help to encourage the physicians, said the minister, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>Mentioning that the institutional practice is going on in full swing, Zahid said the physicians and patients are satisfied with that and the evening service will be launched in more than 100 institutions within next week.</div><div>The government is planning to make its Universal Health Coverage programme more dynamic and the process is underway, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>“The base of the Universal Health Coverage is to provide medical services to the people at free of cost and we should work on how to bring the cost of medical services to a minimum in private hospitals and If it works then Universal Health Coverage will be implemented in a major portion,” added Zahid.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-02 21:47:58', '2023-05-02 21:47:58'),
(6644, 6644, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Authorities near Houston say they have caught a man suspected of killing five of his neighbors, including a 9-year-old boy, with an AR-style rifle after the family confronted him late at night about firing rounds in his yard.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Francisco Oropeza, 38, was arrested Tuesday, four days after the shooting late Friday in the town of Cleveland, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Houston, according to Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Oropeza was was arrested without incident near Conroe, which is roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the home authorities say Oropeza fled after shooting his neighbors and setting off a widening manhunt that had grown to more than 250 people from multiple jurisdictions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The sheriff would not say whether Oropeza was armed or how authorities figured out where he was.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Police had used drones and scent-tracking dogs during the wide search for Oropeza that included combing a heavily wooded forest a few miles from the scene. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott offered $50,000 in reward money as the search dragged late into the weekend and the FBI acknowledged that they had little indication as to Oropeza’s whereabouts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The alleged shooter is a Mexican national who has been deported four times, according to U.S. immigration officials. The gunman was first deported in March 2009 and last in July 2016. He was also deported in September 2009 and January 2012.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said that prior to the shooting deputies had been called to the suspect’s house at least one other time previously over shooting rounds in his yard.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All of the victims were from Honduras. Wilson Garcia, who survived the shooting, said friends and family in the home tried to hide and shield themselves and children after Oropeza walked up to the home and began firing, killing his wife first at the front door.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Garcia said Oropeza came running over to their house loading an AR-15 after he and two other people had asked him to stop firing off rounds late at night because a baby inside was trying to sleep. Garcia said Oropeza told him he could do what he wanted on his property.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In offering the reward, Abbot called the victims “illegal immigrants,” a partially false statement that his office walked back and apologized for Monday after drawing wide backlash over drawing attention to the immigration status of the victims.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The victims were identified as Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 08:59:38', '2023-05-03 08:59:38'),
(6645, 6645, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said Bangladesh wants the United States as a long-term productive partner for increasing global competitiveness, and expand the export base to become a \"developing\" country in 2026.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We shall need support to increase our global competitiveness and expand the export base. I am optimistic that the United States would become our long-term productive partner in this challenging venture through trade, investment, technology transfer, and by creating a smooth and predictable supply chain for mutual benefits,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister made the appeal while speaking at a business roundtable on “US-Bangladesh Economic Partnership: Shared Vision for Smart Growth” at US Chamber of Commerce here.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US-Bangladesh Business Council organised the event with important US business leaders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier is here on a six-day visit to celebrate the 50 years of the partnership between the World Bank and Bangladesh. She arrived in Washington DC on April 29.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the roundtable, Hasina also invited the US businesses to invest in Bangladesh’s many vibrant and high-potential sectors, such as renewable energy, shipbuilding, automobile, pharmaceuticals, light and heavy machineries, chemical fertilisers, ICT, marine resources, and medical equipment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said her government is setting up 100 ‘Special Economic Zones’ (SEZs) and 39 Hi-tech Parks in different parts of the country. With more than 600,000 free-lancing IT professionals, Bangladesh is just the right destination for IT investments. Moreover, access to young, skilled vibrant workforce at a competitive wage will continue to be an added advantage in Bangladesh, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier repeated her offer of a dedicated ‘Special Economic Zone’ solely for the US investors in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She called on the US business leaders to explore opportunities and invest in Bangladesh. “I also call on you here today to remain and be with us as partners in our journey to a developed, prosperous, and Smart Bangladesh by 2041,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina said the United States is a major economic and development partner of Bangladesh. Both countries have intensive engagements in many areas, including trade and investment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our shared aim is to achieve mutual benefit and prosperity for our peoples. This shows in our growing bilateral trade, and people-to-people interaction.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2021-2022, Bangladesh exported commodities worth US$ 10.42 billion to the United States, and imported goods worth US$ 2.8 billion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stating that Bangladesh is a market of 170 million and its geographical location puts it in the heart of a market of 3 billion, she said, “Since connectivity brings prosperity, we promoted and established connectivity with our neighbours.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;“Bangladesh has now emerged as an ideal place for trade and investment in the region, and beyond. An example is Japan’s proposal to develop an industrial hub in Bangladesh along the coastal belt.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She mentioned that now the focus of Bangladesh is to promote economic and commercial relations with regional and global partners, including the United States.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the physical, legal, and financial infrastructures of Bangladesh are being improved.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our efforts to sustain overall growth through investments in infrastructure are visible across the country. Last year, over the large Padma River, we built with our own fund, our longest bridge, now an important feature in regional development,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said Bangladesh has also built metro rail, and improved port infrastructure, including deep seaport. “These have heightened domestic and regional connectivity.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said the climate responsible growth policy, labour reforms, and improvement in labour safety standards of Bangladesh deserve appreciation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the government\'s efforts have led to Bangladesh making remarkable socio-economic growth over the last 14 years. “It is now universally acknowledged as a “Role Model of Socio-Economic development.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This has also been possible due to the continuity of good governance, rule of law, and stability; investment in rural economy; empowerment of women; and ICT that led to Digital Bangladesh,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the government’s vision is to build a “Smart Bangladesh” by 2041. This vision is beyond becoming a high income developed country by 2041. Smart Bangladesh is about being inclusive and founded on its smart citizens, smart economy, smart government, and smart society.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina reiterated Bangladesh\'s most liberal investment policy status in the region. It includes foreign investment protection by law; tax holiday; remittances of royalty; unrestricted exit policy; full repatriation of dividend and capital on exit and others.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I assure you that we are giving topmost priority to improving our investment environment. In this regard, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority is implementing the Bangladesh Investment Climate Improvement Programme”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She opined that the United States can be the most robust partner of Bangladesh. It is currently the largest single country destination of exports, largest source of foreign direct investment, a long-standing development partner, and an important source of training and technology.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;“I hope that the U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council will play a significant role in advancing trade and investment cooperation between our two friendly countries.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the event, she inaugurated the US Bangladesh IT Connect portal (us.itconnect.gov.bd) to facilitate b2b matchmaking and to make it easier for US businesses to find their right ICT partner in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM’s ICT&nbsp; Affairs Advisor Sajeeb Wazed and State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid also spoke at the high-level roundtable.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Planning Minister MA Mannan, and PM\'s Private Industry and Investment Affairs Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, Chairman of Board of Directors of U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council Board and also president of Excelerate Energy Steven Kobos, President of U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council Ambassador Atul Keshap, Global Chair Emeritus of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Hans-Paul Bürkner, Senior Vice President of Global Public Policy and Indo-Pacific Policy Operations at Mastercard Ravi Aurora, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of bKash Kamal Quadir, President and Managing Director of Chevron Bangladesh Eric Walker and Global Head of Exploration and New Venture at ExxonMobil Dr John Ardill were present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister earlier attended two separate meetings with USBBC senior executives and the President and CEO of the US Chamber and Commerce at the Briefing Centre at the US Chamber of Commerce here. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 09:10:32', '2023-05-03 09:10:32');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6646, 6646, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Washington did not warn Kyiv about the top-secret documents leaked to internet chat rooms -- containing sensitive information about Ukraine\'s war effort -- before the news broke in the media last month, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Washington Post.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The embarrassing security breach revealed US unease about a coming counteroffensive by Kyiv\'s forces against Russian troops as well as concerns about Ukrainian air defenses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I did not receive information from the White House or the Pentagon beforehand,\" Zelensky told the newspaper in an interview in Kyiv Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We did not have that information. I personally did not. It\'s definitely a bad story,\" he said, calling the situation \"unprofitable.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking on CNN, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder would not confirm or deny Zelensky\'s claim, saying only that Washington remains \"committed to working very closely with Ukraine and our international allies to ensure that they have the security assistance they need to be able to defend their country.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old IT specialist with the US Air Force National Guard, is accused of posting classified material online in the most damaging government leak in a decade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last month, he was arrested and charged on two counts over the breach, which the Pentagon has said poses a \"very serious risk\" to national security.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is not beneficial to the reputation of the White House, and I believe it is not beneficial to the reputation of the United States,\" Zelensky told the Post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The documents also contained information on Russian and Ukrainian troop casualties and equipment losses, details about NATO observation flights over the Black Sea, and accounts which point to American surveillance of close partner Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Anything that informs our enemy in advance in one way or another is definitely a minus for us,\" Zelensky told the Post, while refusing to confirm or deny the veracity of any of the exposed material.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the newspaper, Zelensky said he must prioritize the larger war effort over his personal feelings on the lack of communication by the United States, which has contributed billions of dollars in support since Russia\'s invasion in February 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I cannot risk our state,\" he told the newspaper.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Where I can speak frankly, I do it. But there are high risks,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Teixeira is suspected of posting the documents, some dated as recently as early March, to a private chat group on the social media platform Discord over a period of months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some of the documents later appeared on other sites, including Twitter, 4Chan and Telegram, with some also showing Washington had apparently spied on allies Israel and South Korea. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 09:53:40', '2023-05-03 09:53:40'),
(6647, 6647, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said world must speak with one voice — stop lies and disinformation, and stop targeting truth and truth-tellers.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"As journalists stand up for truth, the world stands with them,\" he said in a message marking World Press Freedom Day that falls on May 3.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For three decades, on World Press Freedom Day, the international community has celebrated the work of journalists and media workers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Freedom of the press is the foundation of democracy and justice. It gives all of us the facts we need to shape opinions and speak truth to power. And as this year’s theme reminds us, press freedom represents the very lifeblood of human rights,\" Guterres said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But in every corner of the world, freedom of the press is under attack, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Truth is threatened by disinformation and hate speech seeking to blur the lines between fact and fiction, between science and conspiracy, the UN chief said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The increased concentration of the media industry into the hands of a few, the financial collapse of scores of independent news organizations, and an increase of national laws and regulations that stifle journalists are further expanding censorship and threatening freedom of expression, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Guterres said, journalists and media workers are directly targeted on and offline as they carry out their vital work. They are routinely harassed, intimidated, detained and imprisoned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 67 media workers were killed in 2022 — an unbelievable 50 percent increase over the previous year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nearly three quarters of women journalists have experienced violence online, and one in four have been threatened physically.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ten years ago, the United Nations established a plan of action on the safety of journalists to protect media workers and end impunity for crimes committed against them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The world must stop the threats and attacks, the UN chief said. \"Stop detaining and imprisoning journalists for doing their jobs.\" UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 09:56:40', '2023-05-03 09:56:40'),
(6648, 6648, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Denouncing oppsition BNP and Jamaat as arson terrorists Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated her call to the people to prevent them from coming to the power again.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The arson terrorist BNP-Jamaat alliance, the killers, the anti-liberation forces and war criminals must not come to power again in this land (Bangladesh),” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said this on Tuesday while speaking at a civic reception accorded to her at Ritz Carlton hotel here.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM is now in Washington on a six-day official visit to the United States during which she attended the celebration of 50 years of Bangladesh\'s partnership with the World Bank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that BNP-Jamaat nexus drove Bangladesh to the verge of destruction during their regime.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that her Awami League government has been able to put Bangladesh on the \"highways of development\" through hard work over the last 14 years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Bangladesh will keep marching forward. Bangladesh will be built as the developed and prosperous Golden Bengladesh of the Father of the Nation, and that is our aim. We will work keeping that target in our mind,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said that the government has built the country as Digital Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Taking advantage of digital Bangladesh they (BNP-Jamaat) are engaged in spreading lies against us. please do not pay heed to their propaganda,” she told her audience. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 10:53:55', '2023-05-03 10:53:55'),
(6649, 6649, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Indian batsman Aman Khan\'s defiant 51 and inspired bowling helped Delhi Capitals edge out holders Gujarat Titans by five runs in a low-scoring Indian Premier League thriller on Tuesday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Aman hit his maiden fifty to lift his team from a precarious 23-5 to 130-8 in a clash billed as David v Goliath between bottom-placed Delhi and table-toppers Gujarat in Ahmedabad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gujarat pace spearhead Mohammed Shami\'s bowling figures of 4-11 -- his IPL best -- went in vain but was named man of the match.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Delhi bowlers led by left-arm quick Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma limited Gujarat to 125-6 despite an unbeaten 59 by skipper Hardik Pandya and Rahul Tewatia\'s seven-ball 20.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our bowlers were absolutely amazing,\" Delhi skipper David Warner said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our bowlers were amazing. Our batters struggled but credit to the way Shami bowled. We just find ways to lose wickets in clumps, I don\'t know what\'s happening with our batting.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The left-handed Tewatia, called \"iceman\" for his ability to hit sixes in pressure situations, smashed Anrich Nortje for three straight hits over the fence in the 19th over but fell in the 20th.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ishant returned figures of 2-23 and held his nerve in the final over with Gujarat needing 12 to win and falling short.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gujarat, who had a fairytale IPL debut after they won the crown last season, remain strong to make the play-offs with six wins in nine matches.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Delhi, coached by Ricky Ponting, are have registered their third win in nine matches to keep their play-off hopes alive.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was Aman\'s 44-ball knock that made Delhi fightback as he put on key partnerships including fifty-plus stands with Axar Patel (24) and Ripal Patel (23) to give his team a total, which ultimately made them win their third match in nine outings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Aman smashed three fours and three sixes in his 44-ball knock before falling to Rashid Khan\'s leg spin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shami got Phil Salt for a first ball duck and then Rilee Rossouw, for eight, in his two overs before a double strike in his third.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In reply, Khaleel struck in the first over and soon Gujarat were in deep trouble when South African big-hitter David Miller fell for a duck.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pandya attempted to turn it around in a 62-run partnership with Abhinav Manohar, who made 26, but the effort was not enough as Delhi defended their lowest total ever. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 11:41:42', '2023-05-03 11:41:42'),
(6650, 6650, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>When visting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina saw a group of BNP-Jamaat supporters protesting outside Ritz Carlton hotel amid cold and pouring rain, she invited them to come inside to talk about their problems.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the demonstrators poured cold water on her good gesture and left the place. This happened here on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Prime Minister\'s speech writer M Nazrul Islam when Hasina was coming to hotel Ritz Carlton to attend a civic reception she saw that some supporters of BNP-Jamaat were demonstrating in front of the hotel.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The Prime Minister saw it and at that time it was raining and biting cold outside,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said since they (BNP-Jamaat supporters) are demonstrating outside in cold, let their representatives come in, according to Nazrul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Let them come in here to say what they want,” he quoted the PM as saying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier then asked her PS-II Al Mamun Murshed and one official from the the Bangladesh mission to bring them to the hotel.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“But police officials here at first denied to allow them without the permission from the hotel authority, then the officials took the permission from the hotel authority for taking them inside. But the demonstrating BNP-Jamaat supporters left the place spurning the good gesture of the Prime Minister,” Nazrul mentioned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister sincerely wanted to listen to them, he said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 12:01:45', '2023-05-03 12:01:45'),
(6651, 6651, '<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">To move things forward, the European Union and Sweden, currently holding the EU presidency, will host the second EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Stockholm on May 13.</b><br></p><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The meeting, co-chaired by the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tobias Billström, and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, takes place against the backdrop of turbulent international relations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The world’s geopolitical architecture and the multilateral systems are under threat, while the global economy is hampered by inflation and stretched supply chains – not to mention the profound impact that the climate crisis has in particular on littoral states such as Bangladesh,\" said Charles Whiteley, EU Ambassador to Bangladesh, and Alexandra Berg von Linde, Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh, in a joint article.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On April 24, Bangladesh launched its Indo-Pacific Outlook.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The outlook highlights stability and prosperity in the region as essential pillars when it comes to translating the vision of Bangladesh’s future as a modern, knowledge-based developed country by 2041 into reality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The text chimes well with the European Union’s (EU) own 2021 Indo-Pacific Strategy, which aims to contribute to the stability, security, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region,\" the article reads.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh and the EU attach importance to the same crucial principles: respect for international law and the UN Charter, freedom of navigation and overflight, maritime security and safety, it says.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition, both approaches place great emphasis on connectivity in all its incarnations, including energy, trade and digital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Furthermore, there is a common understanding of the global environmental challenges related to climate change, biodiversity and disaster risk reduction.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The European Union has a clear interest in engaging in the Indo-Pacific region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Together with Indo-Pacific nations we represent a majority of the world’s population, economy, and trade. This gives us the potential to shape global conditions, be it by securing supply chains or by setting up sustainable infrastructure networks,\" the two envoys wrote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh is among the first countries in the Indo-Pacific region that features a Global Gateway flagship initiative, promoting green energy transition through renewable power generation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the security domain, the EU’s CRIMARIO programme, securing critical maritime routes in the Indo-Pacific region, has strengthened cooperation in maritime surveillance by sharing information, building capacity and providing training for its members.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Stockholm will address these key areas and explore opportunities for further cooperation between two of the most dynamic economic areas in the world, according to the article.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Bangladesh’s Indo-Pacific Outlook delivers a welcome contribution to these joint efforts and is a very timely initiative indeed: in the current year, which celebrates 50 years of Bangladesh-EU relations, the need for closer relations between the EU and the Indo-Pacific region has never been greater,\" the envoys wrote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the aim of strengthening the partnership between the EU and the Indo-Pacific region, the meeting will bring together around 60 foreign ministers from the Indo-Pacific region and the EU, along with representatives of Indo-Pacific regional organisations and other partners.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“In many ways, the Indo-Pacific region is where the future of our planet and of history will be decided. How the region develops is of direct interest to us. We have a stake in each other’s security and a shared interest in upholding the rules-based international order. Today, both partners are facing similar challenges, not just in security, but in trade and aid. In a globalised world, there is no ‘faraway’ and conflicts cannot be separated,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Cooperation between the EU and the Indo-Pacific region is of great geopolitical and economic importance. Growing tensions are putting pressure on trade, technology and foreign and security policy, underscoring the need for Sweden and the EU to deepen partnerships and political dialogues with the Indo-Pacific. It is my hope and belief that this meeting will lead to even stronger cooperation,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Indo-Pacific region accounts for two thirds of global growth and, together with the EU, 70 percent of global trade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Discussions during the meeting will centre on common challenges with respect to security, trade, global value chains, digitalisation, the green transition and energy security. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 12:26:47', '2023-05-03 12:26:47'),
(6652, 6652, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Lionel Messi was suspended by Paris Saint-Germain for taking a trip to Saudi Arabia without the club’s permission, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The person would not specify the length of the suspension, though French media reported it to be two weeks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A two-week suspension would mean Messi would miss PSG’s next two games. L’Equipe and RMC Sport both reported the suspension without citing sources.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The person told the AP that the World Cup champion won’t be allowed to train or play with the team and won’t be paid during his suspension.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PSG had denied Messi’s request to make the trip, the person said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 35-year-old Messi has a commercial contract with Saudi Arabia to promote tourism in the Middle Eastern country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The suspension comes at a delicate time as the French club had hoped to extend the Argentine star’s contract beyond this season.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi’s trip followed PSG’s surprise 3-1 loss to Lorient on Sunday, leaving the defending champions with a five-point lead over Marseille with five games left in the season. Messi played the full game.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">L’Equipe had reported that PSG coach Christophe Galtier pledged to give his players two days off — Monday and Tuesday — if they beat Lorient. Instead, the team trained on Monday and had Tuesday off.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The forward joined PSG from Barcelona two years ago on hopes he could lead the team to an elusive Champions League title. Instead, the Qatari-backed club was eliminated in the round of 16 in consecutive seasons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The has been speculation about where he would play next, especially after reports that contract talks with PSG had broken down. Some PSG fans have even booed Messi amid the team’s inconsistent campaign.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi led Argentina to the World Cup title in December. He’s scored 15 league goals and leads the French league with 15 assists.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi hasn’t commented publicly about the suspension on his social media accounts. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 12:41:54', '2023-05-03 12:41:54'),
(6653, 6653, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Mohammed Shahabuddin will host a reception for the Buddhists community members at Credential Hall of Bangabhaban here tomorrow afternoon on the occasion of the Buddha Purnima, the greatest religious festival of the Buddhists.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Head of the State along with his wife Dr Rebecca Sultana will exchange greetings with the Buddhists community commemorating the Buddha Purnima, the birthday of Gautama Buddha.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Buddha Purnima, the most sacred festival of the Buddhists, will be celebrated tomorrow with much enthusiasm and solemn devotion in the capital and elsewhere across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chattogram Hill Tracts Affairs Minister Bir Bahadur U Shwe Sing, State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan and secretaries concerned to the Bangabhaban will be present there, President\'s Press Secretary Md Joynal Abedin told BSS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About 1650 people, including over eight hundred invited guests, are expected to join the ceremony.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leaders of Buddhists community, foreign diplomats and heads of the international agencies in Bangladesh will attend the function scheduled to continue from 4:00pm to 4:45 pm.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the exchange of greetings, Buddhist religious song with music will be played there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Buddhist religious leaders will also greet President Shahabuddin by presenting a bouquet to him on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The President will also deliver a short greeting speech on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">History reveals that the emergence of Lord Buddha took place on this day 2,559 years ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prince Siddhartha Gautam was born on the full moon day at Lumbini of Nepal in 563 BC. He attained supreme enlightenment after six years rigorous meditation at Bodhgoya as Buddha and passed away on the same day at Kushinagar, India. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 13:15:03', '2023-05-03 13:15:03'),
(6654, 6654, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Expressing satisfaction over the discussion between the PMs of Bangladesh and Japan during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent official visit, Japanese Ambassador Iwama Kiminori today said the two countries are focusing on a “very comprehensive and targeted-oriented” partnership.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our relationship has been elevated to strategic partnership from comprehensive partnership. Strategic partnership does not mean only political and security issues,” he told reporters at a media briefing at the Japanese embassy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ambassador, who returned from Tokyo on Tuesday, said the two countries should have mutually beneficial cooperation on economic front.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said the two countries agreed to further enhance the existing defence cooperation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Responding to a question on Bangladesh’s Indo-Pacific Outlook, the ambassador said there are many similarities between that and Japan’s views on the Indo-Pacific region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the Japanese side appreciated the idea but it is a “little premature” to evaluate the outlook at the moment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the summit meeting in Tokyo, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio welcomed the initiation of negotiations concerning the transfer of defence equipment and technology, recognising future potential.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They decided to “elevate” the bilateral relationship to a “Strategic Partnership” as a guiding principle to lead the two countries’ journey into the next 50 years and beyond.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also read: Japan can mediate to return the Rohingyas back to Myanmar: PM Hasina</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both leaders shared the determination to enhance cooperation specifically in three major areas: cooperation for peace and stability in the region and beyond, deepening economic cooperation for mutual benefit and regional prosperity, and expansion of cultural cooperation and people to people exchanges.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the invitation of the Japanese Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina made an official visit to Japan and had a summit meeting on April 26. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 13:31:45', '2023-05-03 13:31:45'),
(6655, 6655, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Mamunul Haque, former joint secretary general of Hefazat-e-Islam, in five separate cases over clash with police and vandalism filed with Paltan and Hathazari Police Stations.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The HC bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Aminul Islam passed the order after separate petitions were filed by Mamunul’s counsel Advocate Helal Uddin Molla in four cases.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All the cases were filed in 2021.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Advocate Helal said 41 cases were filed against the former Hefajat leader. Mamunul earlier secured bail in 12 cases.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Of the 41 cases—four were filed at Motijheel Police Station, nine with Paltan Police, three with Sonargaon police, three with Siddhirganj police, eight with Hathazari Model police, one each with Khulna Sonadanga police, Cumilla Chandina Police, Bhatara police and Mohammadpur police, five with Darus Salam Police and three with Mirpur Model Police.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, two more cases were filed at Dhaka Special Tribunal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was arrested from Mohammadpur Jamia Rahmania Arabia Madrasha on April 18, 2021 and since then he is in jail. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 14:13:08', '2023-05-03 14:13:08'),
(6656, 6656, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Recenctly a toal of five female students of Comilla University (CoU) have been selected for the Prime Minister Gold Medal-2019 by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in recognition of their outstanding acadamic results.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The selected students are: Sonia Akter (3.97) of Statistics department from Faculty of Science, Nur E Jahan Tahin (3.46) of English department from Faculty of Arts and Humanities , Mst Taslima Akter (3.82) of Archeology department from Faculty of Social Science, Taspia Jahan (3.88) of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) from Faculty of Engineering and Ripa Akter (3.98) of Finance and Banking from Faculty of Business Studies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Comilla University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr AFM Abdul Moyeen congratulated them for their brilliant success. He also said, it is really a good news for us.I hope that this number of PM Gold Medal will be increased in future.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Comilla University Correspondent', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 14:50:48', '2023-05-03 14:50:48'),
(6657, 6657, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Near-death experience accounts that include stories of white light, visitation from deceased loved ones, hearing voices, among other characteristics, grab our imagination and are ingrained in our culture.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fact that these reports have so many similarities makes one wonder if there is something fundamentally real underlying them. It is also possible that those who have survived death are revealing glimmers of a consciousness that persists even after the heart has stopped beating.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, provides early evidence of a surge of activity correlated with consciousness in the dying brain.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The study, led by Jimo Borjigin, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Molecular &amp; Integrative Physiology and the Department of Neurology, and her team is a follow-up to animal studies conducted almost ten years ago in collaboration with George Mashour, M.D., Ph.D., the founding director of the Michigan Center for Consciousness Science.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Similar signatures of gamma activation were recorded in the dying brains of both animals and humans upon a loss of oxygen following cardiac arrest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"How vivid experience can emerge from a dysfunctional brain during the process of dying is a neuroscientific paradox. Dr. Borjigin has led an important study that helps shed light on the underlying neurophysiologic mechanisms,\" said Mashour.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The team identified four patients who passed away due to cardiac arrest in the hospital while under EEG monitoring. All four of the patients were comatose and unresponsive. They were ultimately determined to be beyond medical help and, with their families\' permission, removed from life support.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Upon removal of ventilator support, two of the patients showed an increase in heart rate along with a surge of gamma wave activity, considered the fastest brain activity and associated with consciousness.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Furthermore, the activity was detected in the so-called hot zone of neural correlates of consciousness in the brain, the junction between the temporal, parietal and occipital lobes in the back of the brain. This area has been correlated with dreaming, visual hallucinations in epilepsy, and altered states of consciousness in other brain studies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">These two patients had previous reports of seizures, but no seizures during the hour before their deaths, explained Nusha Mihaylova, M.D., Ph.D., a clinical associate professor in the Department of Neurology who has collaborated with Dr. Borjigin since 2015 by collecting EEG data from deceased patients under ICU care. The other two patients did not display the same increase in heartrate upon removal from life support nor did they have increased brain activity. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 14:59:59', '2023-05-03 14:59:59'),
(6658, 6658, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Mohammed Shahabuddin today asked all officers and employees of Bangabhaban to ensure neutrality, transparency and accountability at all levels of their respective assignments.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have to ensure impartiality, transparency and accountability at all levels . . . We have to think of enhancing reputation of Bangabhaban,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Head of State said this while exchanging greetings with all military and civil officers and employees of Bangabhaban at its Durbar Hall here this noon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Every officer and employees of Bangabhaban will perform their duties with devotion, honesty and sincerity and strive to shine the image of Bangabhaban, he expected.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said, \"So every activity of you (Bangabhaban officials-employees) should be such service-oriented so that people can put trust and confidence in you.\" BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 15:06:00', '2023-05-03 15:06:00'),
(6659, 6659, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Russia says it downed two drones that were targeting the Kremlin in Moscow last night and accused Ukraine of attempting to kill President Vladimir Putin.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Kremlin said the drones were disabled by special services using electronic radar assets.</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state news agency, adding there was no material damage to buildings.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine says it is making no comment.</div><div><br></div><div><iframe frameborder=\"0\" src=\"//www.youtube.com/embed/fcvGHIRDHlo\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"note-video-clip\"></iframe><br></div><div>Unverified footage on Russian social media showed smoke over central Moscow in the early hours of Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>In a statement, the Kremlin said: \"Last night, the Kyiv regime attempted to carry out a strike on the Kremlin residence of the President of the Russian Federation with unmanned aerial vehicles.\"</div><div><br></div><div>It said it regarded this \"as a planned terrorist act and an assassination attempt on the president\", and Russia \"reserves the right to take retaliatory measures wherever and whenever is deemed necessary\".</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Putin had not been hurt and his schedule would continue as normal, the statement said. Fragments of the drones had fallen on the Kremlin site but no-one had been hurt, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Kremlin also noted the incident had come shortly before Russia\'s 9 May Victory Day parade, which foreign dignitaries were expected to attend.</div><div><br></div><div>The Ukrainian presidential office told the BBC it was not commenting at this time. According to BBC reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 19:59:19', '2023-05-03 19:59:19'),
(6660, 6660, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>High Commissioner of Canada in Bangladesh Dr. Lilly Nicholls paid a courtesy call on BGMEA President Faruque Hassan at the BGMEA Complex in Uttara today.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Director Barrister Vidiya Amrit Khan, Political Counsellor Bradley Coates and Trade Commissioner at the Canadian High Commission Md. Kamal Uddin were also present on the occasion.</div><div><br></div><div>During the meeting, their discussion focused on various issues of mutual interest aimed at enhancing trade between Bangladesh and Canada, said a press release.</div><div><br></div><div>They discussed how Bangladesh could increase its share of RMG exports to the Canadian market, especially high-value garments and attract investment in different potential sectors like value-added and non-cotton textiles along with others.</div><div><br></div><div>BGMEA President Faruque Hassan gave an overview of the readymade garment industry including its current status, opportunities and ongoing efforts to realize its potential.</div><div><br></div><div>He briefed the High Commissioner about the vast progress made by Bangladesh\'s RMG industry in terms of workplace safety, environmental sustainability and workers\' rights and welfare, adding that the industry is committed to continue the achievements.</div><div><br></div><div>He laid emphasis on the importance of ethical buying practices and fair price to build a more resilient supply chain where the issue of workers\' rights and welfare is considered with high importance.</div><div><br></div><div>The BGMEA President appraised the Canadian envoy of the industry\'s vision and preparedness to meet the future challenges and enhance the competitiveness and reputation of Bangladesh as a safe and sustainable apparel sourcing hub in the world.</div><div><br></div><div>In the meeting, he also highlighted the future priorities of Bangladesh\'s RMG industry including increased emphasis on shifting to value-added garments, especially those made from non-cotton and technical textiles, technological up gradation, skills and efficiency enhancement in order to continue the sector\'s growth momentum.</div><div><br></div><div>BGMEA has established a Center of Innovation, Efficiency and Occupational Health and Safety (CIEOSH) to support the RMG industry of Bangladesh with knowledge, skills and technological know-how in becoming more advanced and competitive in the global market.</div><div><br></div><div>He, through the High Commissioner, sought cooperation of Canada in developing knowledge and skills of the students of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) in textile, apparel, fashion, design and business through collaboration with leading Canadian fashion institutes and universities.</div><div><br></div><div>Faruque Hassan expressed high optimism about more cooperation between Bangladesh and Canada to reap more mutual benefits. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 20:52:09', '2023-05-03 20:52:09'),
(6661, 6661, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will leave Washington DC for London tomorrow to attend the coronation of Charles III and his wife Camilla as the king and the queen of the United Kingdom (UK) and the other Commonwealth realms.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A United Airlines flight carrying the prime minister and her entourage members will depart from the Dulles International Airport in Washington DC around 08:25 Washington time.</div><div><br></div><div>Ambassador of Bangladesh to the USA Muhammad Imran will see off the prime minister at the airport.</div><div><br></div><div>The flight will land at the Heathrow International Airport in London at 20:55 (local time) where Bangladesh High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Saida Muna Tasneem will receive the Prime Minister.</div><div><br></div><div>During her stay in London, she will also attend a programme of Commonwealth Leaders, an event foxed by the Cambridge University and a civic reception.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister attended a programme marking 50 years of Bangladesh-World Bank partnership and some side events that include a roundtable with US business leaders and several meetings with WB\'s incoming President Ajay Banga and a civic reception.</div><div><br></div><div>She arrived in Washington DC on April 28 wrapping up her four-day official visit to Tokyo in Japan at the invitation of her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier on April 24, a special chartered VVIP flight (BG1403) of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the prime minister and her entourage members landed at the Haneda International Airport, Tokyo at 4:45pm (local time).</div><div><br></div><div>Japan had rolled out a red carpet to welcome the Bangladeshi prime minister and gave her the state guard of honour at the airport.</div><div><br></div><div>During her visit to Japan, she signed eight instruments on agriculture, metro rail, industrial upgrade, ship recycling, customs matters, intellectual properties, defence cooperation, ICT and cyber security cooperation.</div><div><br></div><div>On 26 April, Sheikh Hasina paid a courtesy call on the Emperor of Japan Naruhito. Then on the same day, she held a bilateral meeting with her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida after the signing of the deals.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier also attended an investment summit and a community reception alongside handing over the \"Friends of Liberation War Honour\" to four Japanese nationals on 27 April for their contribution to Bangladesh\'s Liberation War in 1971.</div><div><br></div><div>During her visit to Tokyo, the prime minister attended several additional bilateral meetings with Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi as well as leaders of JAICA, JETRO, JEBIC, JBPFL and JBCCEC.</div><div><br></div><div>She also met the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe\'s wife Akie Abe and Japanese architect Tadao Ando.</div><div><br></div><div>Her sister Sheikh Rehana, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen, agriculture minister Abdur Razzaque, prime minister\'s private industry and investment adviser Salman F Rahman, state minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid and state minister for information and communication technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak along with concerned high level government officials accompanied the prime minister during her visit to Japan.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister is scheduled to reach Dhaka from London on 9 May.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 21:13:46', '2023-05-03 21:13:46');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6662, 6662, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Bangladesh Sports Press Association (BSPA), the largest body of sports journalists in Bangladesh, has suspended the honorary membership of Kazi Salahuddin, the President of the Bangladesh Football Federation.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>According to a BSPA notice, Salahuddin\'s membership was suspended after he insulted the journalists by saying that journalists should submit photos of their parents to the BFF in order to enter its headquarters, with their father\'s shoes visible in the image.</div><div><br></div><div>Salahuddin made these disparaging comments just before a press conference at the BFF, and the comments were recorded on a device that journalists had set up to record the press conference.</div><div><br></div><div>Following the public release of his cheap comments on social media, Salahuddin faced widespread criticism from the public. He subsequently offered an apology to the journalists.</div><div><br></div><div>“How much they hate journalists is revealed in their words,” the BSPA statement read. “BSPA offered honorary membership to Salahuddin in 2012. Now, after his disrespectful comments to journalists, we have decided to remove him from our organization.”</div><div><br></div><div>Salahuddin and BFF have recently landed in hot water after FIFA banned its secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag for involving in corruption. BFF, however, denied the allegation but did not come up with an explanation.</div><div><br></div><div>Dhaka Union of Journalists(DUJ) and Dhaka Reporters Unity(DRU) also condemned remarks made by Salahuddin. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 21:36:26', '2023-05-03 21:36:26'),
(6663, 6663, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Wicket-keeper batter Liton Das reached Chelmsford, England to join Bangladesh team to play a three-match ODI series against Ireland.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Liton who had to leave the IPL prematurely due to family emergency left the country at the early hour (1.40AM) on Wednesday. In his first stint in IPL, Lion just played only one match for Kolkata Knight Riders and scored 4 runs.</div><div><br></div><div>Another player Mustafizur Rahman, who is the part of Delhi Capitals in IPL is expected to reach country today. He is scheduled to board UK flight tomorrow (Thursday).</div><div><br></div><div>Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan who is now in the USA with his family will also join the side very soon, team management sources said.</div><div><br></div><div>The team management however expected all of the players to join the team ahead of Bangladesh\'s practice game against Ireland A, slated to be held on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>The three ODIs against Ireland are scheduled on May 9, 12 and 14. All of the matches will be held in Essex Country Club\'s home ground Chelmsford.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, after a rest day, Bangladesh started their practice session for the series today.</div><div><br></div><div>The series is the part of ICC ODI Super League and is crucial particularly for Ireland as they need to win all of the three matches to directly qualify for the ODI World Cup in India in next October-November.</div><div><br></div><div>Ireland are playing the series in England as the weather back in their country will remain inclement in this month.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh however had already qualified to the World Cup but they want to keep the winning momentum going on after beating Ireland at home in March by 2-0. Bangladesh also won a one-off Test and three-match T20 series against Ireland at home.</div><div><br></div><div>Squad: Tamim Iqbal (captain), Liton Das, Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 22:04:23', '2023-05-03 22:04:23'),
(6664, 6664, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq today said Digital Security Act (DSA) will not be repealed.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"I want to say it clearly that the DSA will not be repealed. Like all other acts, this one too will have provision for the protection of the honest journalists,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister said these while addressing a discussion titled \"Shaping A Future of Rights\" organised by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) marking World Press Freedom Day in the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The present government is working to stop the misuse of the DSA. I am telling this once again, this act was formulated only to tackle cyber-crimes.</div><div><br></div><div>I can assure you that the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will never curb the freedom of press,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The law minister further said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had recognised the freedom of press as a fundamental rights in his constitution and his worthy daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also believes in this.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, after assuming office for the first time in 1996, gave approval to the country\'s first private television channel. She has formulated Right to Information Act, gave approval to more than 40 television channels, 22 FM radios and 17 community radios,\" Anisul mentioned.</div><div><br></div><div>Emphasising on the need of an act like DSA, the law minister also said cyber-crimes are being committed worldwide through new media and many countries have similar acts under different names.</div><div><br></div><div>Conducted by TOB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, the discussion was also addressed, among others, by National Human Rights Commission Chairman Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Swedish Ambassador Alexandra Berg von Linde and UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis, according to BSS reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 22:16:40', '2023-05-03 22:16:40'),
(6665, 6665, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Information and Broadcasting Minister and Awami League (AL) Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud today said the freedom of press and the expansion of media in Bangladesh are examples for other developing countries.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“We believe in free media, we believe in media freedom. The mass media hasn’t expanded in many neighboring countries and doesn’t enjoy such unfettered freedom,” he said at a discussion in the Jatiya Press Club (JPC) here as the chief guest.</div><div><br></div><div>The JPC organized the discussion titled ‘Role of Mass Media in Protecting Human Rights and Expanding Democracy’, marking the World Press Freedom Day with its President Farida Yasmin in the chair.&nbsp;</div><div>Dainik Jugantor Editor Saiful Alam, Dainik Samakal Editor Mozammel Hossain, senior journalist Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul and JPC Joint Secretary Md Ayub Bhuiyan also spoke at the event, reports BSS.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Hasan told if there is the responsibility with freedom, mass media can operate properly. But if the freedom is exercised avoiding responsibility, then in many cases the society as well as the state is harmed, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The mass media is the fourth pillar of the state and democracy and the mass media are complement to each other, he said, “Without freedom and transparency of media, democracy can never be operative and democratic social system cannot survive. Therefore, freedom of media and freedom of expression are definitely necessary to consolidate the democracy”.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-03 22:23:51', '2023-05-03 22:23:51'),
(6666, 6666, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The US central bank has raised interest rates to the highest level in 16 years as it battles to stabilise prices.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Federal Reserve increased its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points - its 10th hike in 14 months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Fed signalled that Wednesday\'s rise may be its last one for now.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The moves have pushed its benchmark rate to between 5% and 5.25% - up from near zero in March 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Higher rates have sharply raised borrowing costs across the world\'s largest economy, spurring a slowdown in sectors such as housing and playing a role in the recent failures of three US banks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'re no longer saying that we anticipate\" additional interest rate increases, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference after the announcement, calling it a \"significant change\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, he refused to rule out further action, saying: \"We\'ll be driven by incoming data.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The bank started raising interest rates aggressively last year when prices in the US were soaring at the fastest pace in decades.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Central banks around the world, including in the UK and in Europe, have taken similar action.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Higher interest rates make it more expensive to buy a home, borrow to expand a business or take on other debt. By increasing those costs, officials expect demand to fall and prices to cool off.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since the Fed started its campaign, price increases in the US have shown signs of moderating.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In March, inflation, the rate at which prices rise, stood at 5% - the lowest level in nearly two years - though still uncomfortably high for the Fed, which is targeting a 2% rate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, said he thought the Fed would be \"prudent\" to pause now, noting that the risks to the economy as activity slows are growing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The fear of a recession is very much present in the economy today,\" he said. \"I don\'t think the inflation battle is over, but we are in a situation where we\'re seeing gradual disinflation and we\'re also in an environment where interest rates are high and elevated and therefore should be constraining business activity, which should lead to further disinflation in coming months.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At Ball Chain Manufacturing, a family-owned firm in New York, customers have become more cautious in recent months due to economic worries, says president Bill Taubner. His company has also cut back on replenishing its supplies in response to still-rising prices.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But he said his firm did not face imminent borrowing needs and he remained hopeful that any slowdown would be mild and relatively short-lived.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We realise there is some softness in the marketplace because of inflation and obviously the interest rate issues,\" he said. \"But long term, we\'re very positive.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The recent bank failures, and an anticipated pullback in lending as a result, are likely to weigh on the economy, Mr Powell said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But he added that he remained hopeful that the US would avoid a recession, noting that hiring has remained strong and unemployment low.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I continue to think that it\'s possible…that this time is really different,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Fed\'s decision to raise rates on Wednesday was unanimous and widely expected by financial markets, which are looking for clues as to what the bank may do next.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a written statement, the bank scrapped previous guidance it provided in March when it said \"some additional policy firming may be appropriate\" to bring inflation under control.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the press conference, Mr Powell said the bank was \"getting close or maybe even there\" when it came to pausing its rate-hike campaign but was prepared to do more if warranted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Whitney Watson, global co-head of fixed income and liquidity solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said the Fed could still raise rates, depending on what happens in the coming months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Inflation is trending in the right direction, but progress has been bumpy,\" she said. \"A pause in rate actions is therefore appropriate, but further tightening is plausible should inflation prove sticky.\" BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 07:51:29', '2023-05-04 07:51:29'),
(6667, 6667, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Lionel Messi\'s future at PSG was plunged into doubt on Wednesday after he was suspended by Paris Saint-Germain after travelling to Saudi Arabia without the club\'s permission.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A source with knowledge of the disciplinary procedure told AFP that Argentina\'s 35-year-old World-Cup winning captain, who is out of contract at the end of the season, would be sidelined for \"several days\", while various media in France reported that he would be suspended for two weeks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He cannot train, cannot play, and will not be paid while disciplinary measures are in place,\" the source added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another source, also speaking on condition they were not identified, indicated that the seven-time Ballon d\'Or winner would \"probably\" be sidelined for a fortnight, noting that \"nobody is more important than the club\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi played the whole game in PSG\'s 3-1 home defeat by Lorient in Ligue 1 on Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He then travelled to Saudi Arabia to fulfil commercial commitments in his role as a tourism ambassador for the Gulf state.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Saudi Tourism Authority said in a press release on Wednesday that Messi had \"returned to Saudi for a second time, this time with his family\" and had been treated to a demonstration of palm weaving and had fed Arabian gazelles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result of the trip, Messi missed a training session scheduled for Monday following the weekend defeat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PSG squad were given a day off on Tuesday and Messi did not take part in training on Wednesday either.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Fed up with mercenaries\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PSG are due to return to league action away at struggling Troyes on Sunday, a game that Messi may now miss.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If he were to be sidelined for two weeks he would also sit out a home match against Ajaccio on May 13.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The disciplinary measures make the prospect of Messi staying in the French capital after his two-year deal expires at the end of this season even more remote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Having at one point looked set to extend his stay for another year, a source close to the club told AFP last month that he was now \"much more likely\" to depart.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi arrived from Barcelona, the club where he had spent the majority of his career, in 2021 but has struggled to reproduce his best form at Qatar-backed Paris.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite that, he has scored 31 goals in 71 appearances in all competitions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was recently jeered by a section of the PSG support, who see him as a symbol of all the club have done wrong in focusing on superstar signings while failing to build a genuinely competitive team.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi has scored 20 goals in all competitions this season and is the leading assist provider in Ligue 1, with 15.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, his form since leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar has declined along with that of most of the PSG team.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Their insipid performance against Lorient was a sixth defeat in 17 Ligue 1 matches in 2023.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They remain five points clear of Marseille at the top of the table with five games left, and are therefore still on course for a record 11th French title.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, they were knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 by Bayern Munich and also went out of the French Cup at the same stage to Marseille.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile hundreds of fans gathered at the club to protest over PSG\'s current form and the Messi saga.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'re fed up with mercenaries! We must sack Messi! We must sack Nasser Al-Khelaifi (the club\'s Qatari president),\" supporters chanted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are sincerely worried about the future and the sustainability of our club,\" the team\'s \'ultras\' supporters said in a statement, adding \"is there still a pilot on the plane?\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, several videos posted on Twitter appeared to show a group of supporters, dressed in black gathered in front of the home of Neymar, shouting abuse at their injured Brazilian superstar. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 09:44:17', '2023-05-04 09:44:17'),
(6668, 6668, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Getting vaccinated against Covid-19 does not make women more likely to seek medical attention for menstrual problems, the largest study conducted on the subject said on Thursday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since Covid vaccination campaigns began nearly two and a half years ago, some women have reported changes in their menstrual cycle after getting the mRNA shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This led to the European Union\'s drug watchdog recommending that heavy periods be listed as a possible side effect of the vaccines.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It has also been greatly exaggerated by anti-vaccine campaigners seeking to spread misinformation online about the supposed dangers of getting inoculated, according to experts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new study looked at patient data from Sweden\'s health registry which included nearly three million women, around 40 percent of the country\'s female population.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rickard Ljung, a professor at the Swedish Medical Products Agency and lead author of the new study, told AFP that it was \"by far\" the largest carried out on the issue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was also the first to use independent data on whether women contacted healthcare professionals over their menstrual problems, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Previous research has used self-reported data -- including information from apps that track periods -- to indicate that some women have changes in their menstrual cycle after getting vaccinated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"What we show is that it does not seem that these (potential) disturbances are so severe that they have led to the women seeking medical attention,\" Ljung said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The researchers acknowledged that self-reported data could include menstrual problems which were not quite bad enough for patients to seek help but were still \"sufficiently disturbing\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They also pointed out that self-reported data can be \"stimulated by media attention\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The study looked at first, second and third doses of the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines in Swedish women aged 12-74 from December 2020 to February 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For women who had not yet been through menopause, there was no link between vaccination and menstrual disturbances once variables had been adjusted for, the study said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For post-menopausal women, there was a slight increase in seeking medical attention for menstrual problems after the third dose of Pfizer and Moderna\'s vaccine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the study said the link between the two factors was \"weak and inconsistent\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, the study, published in the BMJ journal, said its \"findings do not provide substantial support for a causal association\" between Covid vaccines and seeking medical attention for menstrual or bleeding disorders. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 09:48:28', '2023-05-04 09:48:28'),
(6669, 6669, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The next time NASA goes to the Moon, it intends to stay. Under the Artemis program, the US space agency plans to maintain a human presence, for the very first time, on a celestial body other than Earth.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But building a lunar base is no small feat. It will need power generators, vehicles and habitats, and the space industry is racing to meet the technological challenges.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s the Super Bowl of engineering,\" Neal Davis, lead systems engineer for the Lunar Terrain Vehicle at space company Dynetics, told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dynetics revealed its prototype design for a Moon rover last month at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But it probably won\'t be until later Artemis missions -- 7 onwards -- \"where we\'re starting to look at adding permanent habitations on the surface,\" said NASA associate administrator Jim Free.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Artemis 3, the first planned landing, won\'t happen until later this decade, so habitat building wouldn\'t start before the 2030s.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The base would likely comprise multiple sites, he added, to diversify the targets of scientific exploration and to offer more flexibility for the landings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Power and communications -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite this distant timeline, companies are already chomping at the bit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Step zero is communications,\" Joe Landon, CEO of Crescent Space, a new subsidiary of Lockheed Martin dedicated to lunar services, told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Think about when you move into a new apartment, you\'ve got to hook up your phone and your internet first.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Starting out with a pair of satellites, the company wants to become the Moon\'s internet and GPS provider.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This would relieve the strain on NASA\'s Deep Space Network, which threatens to overheat in the face of all the upcoming missions, including private ones.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Landon estimates the value of the lunar market will be \"$100 billion over the next 10 years.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Next up: switching on the lights.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Astrobotic, with 220 employees, is one of three companies selected by NASA to develop solar panels.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They need to be placed vertically because at the Moon\'s south pole -- the intended destination because it has water in the form of ice -- the Sun barely peeps above the horizon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About 60 feet (18 meters) high, the Astrobotic panels will be connected by cables running several miles (kilometers), said Mike Provenzano, the company\'s director of lunar surface systems.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The solar arrays will be fixed to vehicles that can run them out to different locations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Vehicles -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For its scientific expeditions, NASA has tasked industry with developing an unpressurized -- that is to say, open top -- rover for two people, ready by 2028.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Unlike the Apollo missions\' rovers, it will also have to operate autonomously for outings without an astronaut.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This means surviving frigid lunar nights, which can last two weeks, with temperatures dropping to around -280 degrees Fahrenheit (-170 Celsius).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Many companies have made a start.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lockheed Martin has partnered with General Motors, leaning on the auto giant\'s expertise in electric and off-road vehicles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dynetics, a subsidiary of engineering behemoth Leidos, has joined forces with Nascar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Its prototype, which will achieve a top speed of nine miles per hour (15 kilometers per hour), includes a robotic arm and metal wheels that are braided like textiles to maximize traction on the sandy surface and deal with any rocks they encounter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"But at the same time, they actually have a lot of openings to the outside so that they don\'t collect that sand and carry it with us,\" Davis said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moon dust, or regolith, poses a major challenge because, lacking erosion by water or wind, it is almost as abrasive as glass.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">NASA has yet to announce the selected company or companies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the longer term, NASA is working with the Japanese space agency JAXA on a pressurized vehicle, in which astronauts won\'t need to keep their suits on.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Habitats -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Finally, the crew will need a place to hang up their helmets and call home.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">NASA has awarded a $57.2 million contract to the Texas-based company Icon, which specializes in 3D printing, to develop the technology needed to build roads, landing strips on the Moon, and ultimately, dwellings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The idea is to use lunar soil as a material. Other companies, such as Lockheed Martin, are developing inflatable habitat concepts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The beautiful thing is you can land it on the moon and inflate it and now there\'s a much larger volume for the crew to live in and work in,\" Kirk Shireman, vice president for the Lockheed Martin Lunar Exploration Campaign, told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Inside would be bedrooms, a kitchen, a space for scientific instruments, etc. -- all mounted on a frame, so the habitat can be mobile.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The basic concept behind returning to the Moon under Artemis is to help NASA prepare for much more distant missions to Mars.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Whatever money we have to spend to go develop these systems on the moon, we want those same systems to be applicable to go to Mars,\" said Shireman. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"5\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 10:00:36', '2023-05-04 10:00:36'),
(6670, 6670, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">&nbsp;A drone attack in southern Russia caused a fire at an oil refinery, the state-run TASS news agency reported on Thursday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The alleged incident joins a string of recent drone attacks announced by Russia, including what it said was an attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fire at the oil refinery\'s reservoir, in the southern Krasnodar region\'s Ilsky settlement, started after an attack by \"an unidentified drone\", an emergency services official told TASS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said the refinery fire had been localised to a 400-square-metre (4,300-square-foot) area and was quickly extinguished by emergency services.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the nearby village Volna, a similar blaze at an oil reservoir engulfed 1,200 square metres, with officials blaming a drone crash.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That same day, Moscow said it shot down two drones aimed at Putin\'s residence and accused Ukraine of attempting a \"terrorist act\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kyiv insisted it had \"nothing to do\" with the alleged drone attack, suggesting instead it was \"staged\" by Moscow, while the United States expressed scepticism about any allegations made by Russia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The spate of apparent sabotage attacks has been used to underscore Russia\'s exposure to enemy blows as the Kremlin gears up for important anniversary celebrations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The May 9 victory lap that commemorates the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II has become a central event during Putin\'s rule. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 10:32:24', '2023-05-04 10:32:24'),
(6671, 6671, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Buddha Purnima, the biggest religious festival of the Buddhist community, is being celebrated in the country on Thursday.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Buddha Purnima marks Gautama Buddha\'s birth, enlightenment and death. On this day in 563 BC, Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama in Kapilabastu at the foothill of the Himalayas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He attained supreme enlightenment at the age of 35 and finally departed into “nirvana” at the age of 80 in 483 BC.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The day is a public holiday in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages greeting the Buddhist community on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Shahabuddin said, “Buddhist civilisation and its culture have been deeply intertwined with the people of Bengal since ancient times. Paharpur and Mainamati Shalban Bihar are its shining examples.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Gautam Buddha always sought welfare for mankind and he tried his best to make the whole world peaceful and prosperous.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We hope that the Buddhist community will continue their efforts for the development of the country by practicing this tradition and upholding the great ideals of the Buddha,\" President Shahabuddin said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister urged all to work to further strengthen the practice and bond of harmony in Bangladesh in future.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It is necessary to follow the teachings of Buddha in today\'s world to suppress the brute forces driven by violence, prevent the degradation of values and build a peaceful society,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in her message.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I hope that by upholding and nurturing the ideals of Gautam Buddha, everyone will play a role in building Bangladesh as a peaceful country,” she said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"7\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 10:51:21', '2023-05-04 10:51:21'),
(6672, 6672, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The densely populated capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, has once again topped the list of cities around the world with the worst air quality.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka\'s air quality was recorded at 159 at 8:55 am on Thursday, according to Air Quality Index (AQI).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India’s Delhi and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the next two spots, with AQI scores of 158 and 157, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 151 and 200 is said to be ‘unhealthy’ while 201 and 300 is considered ‘very unhealthy’, and 301 to 400 is ranked \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 10:54:24', '2023-05-04 10:54:24'),
(6673, 6673, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Police on Wednesday evening arrested a man accused of opening fire inside the waiting room of an Atlanta medical practice, killing one woman and wounding four others earlier in the day.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorities had swarmed the city’s bustling midtown neighborhood shortly after noon in search of the suspect, who fled after the shooting. Police said in a statement that the gunman, who they identified as 24-year-old Deion Patterson, was captured in Cobb County, just northwest of Atlanta.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorities said Patterson shot five women on the 11th floor of a Northside Medical building, which is in a commercial area filled with office towers and high-rise apartments. News of the shooting prompted workers and lunchgoers to shelter in place for hours.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Patterson had an appointment at the medical practice and shortly after arriving shot the first victim, law enforcement officials said at a news conference Wednesday night. The shooting lasted approximately two minutes before Patterson left the building and went to a Shell gas station and took a pickup truck that had been left running and unattended, authorities said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said a 39-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting. The Fulton County medical examiner’s office identified her as Amy St. Pierre.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The four wounded victims were also women, aged 25, 39, 56 and 71. Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said they remained in critical but stable condition Wednesday night. Their names were not immediately released.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hampton declined to discuss any details of the investigation or possible motive, saying, “Why he did what he did, all of that is still under investigation.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Patterson’s mother, Minyone Patterson, who police said had accompanied her son to the medical office, told The Associated Press by phone that her son, a former Coast Guardsman, had “some mental instability going on” from medication he received from the Veterans Affairs health system that he began taking on Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said her son had wanted Ativan to deal with anxiety and depression but that the VA wouldn’t give it to him because they said it would be “too addicting.” She’s a nurse and said she told them he would only have taken the proper dosage “because he listened to me in every way.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Those families, those families,” she said, starting to sob. “They’re hurting because they wouldn’t give my son his damn Ativan. Those families lost their loved ones because he had a mental break because they wouldn’t listen to me.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She ended the call without saying what medication her son had been taking.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are horrified and saddened to hear of the active shooter situation in Atlanta today,” Veterans Affairs Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said in an emailed statement. “Due to patient privacy, we cannot discuss the Veteran’s personal information without written consent.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement, the U.S. Coast Guard said Patterson had joined the service in 2018 and was discharged from active duty in January. He was an electrician’s mate second class at the time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens applauded the fact that Patterson was arrested and taken into custody alive so he can be prosecuted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Right now, we’ve had a successful end to a traumatic day,” Dickens said, while also advocating for tougher gun laws and stressing the importance of police training.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I hope the city, the region, rests easy that he is in custody, but I also hope that we will stay vigilant to continue to look at a future where individuals who shouldn’t have a gun in possession won’t have one, and also that individuals are brought to justice, and also that we deal with these things that are mental health or easy access to guns,” Dickens said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement that he was “heartbroken” by the shooting and praying for victims, going on to praise law enforcement, saying officers “demonstrated yet again their professionalism, courage and unwavering dedication.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said technology played a huge role in finding the suspected shooter, saying even as recently as four years ago they may not have been able to find him so quickly. He said the department had acquired some technology tools and those along with the Department of Transportation’s cameras and community members calling with information, led to the arrest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Those tools are really what got us the clues that we we needed to make this successful — and the people getting those clues,” VanHoozer said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The pickup truck was found in a parking garage near the Battery, a mixed-use development that is next to the stadium where the Atlanta Braves play. Video aired by WSB-TV showed Patterson was arrested near a tennis court and swimming pool in a wooded condominium complex about a half-mile (less than a kilometer) to the north.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Around the time of the shooting, Cassidy Hale, a medical device representative, said she was driving to the facility to check on a machine in the building’s 12th floor outpatient surgery center.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hale saw firetrucks but didn’t realize anything was wrong until after she parked and found the elevator wasn’t working. Hale said she called the operating room manager, who told her there was an active shooter and she should go back to her car.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hale said police kept her from leaving the parking garage and later checked each car and escorted her out to be interviewed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She gathered with other employees and patients in a building across the street, where she said “everyone was really in shock” and “trying to process what was going on.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The shooting comes as cities around the U.S. have been wracked by gun violence and mass shootings in 2023.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shortly after the shooting, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia took to the Senate floor to decry gun violence and to urge his colleagues to advance gun reform.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“There have been so many mass shootings ... that, tragically, we act as if this is routine,” the Democrat said during a 12-minute speech. “We behave as if this is normal. It is not normal.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Atlanta pastor added: “I shudder to say it, but the truth is, in a real sense, it’s only a matter of time that this kind of tragedy comes knocking on your door.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Georgia’s other U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, also a Democrat, echoed his colleague in a statement: “The level of gun violence in America today is unconscionable and unacceptable, and policymakers at all levels have a responsibility to ensure public safety and implement long-overdue reforms.” AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 11:37:57', '2023-05-04 11:37:57');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6674, 6674, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The United States on Wednesday announced a new $300 million military aid package for Ukraine that features a slew of ammunition ahead of a planned offensive against invading Russian forces.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The package \"includes additional ammunition for US-provided HIMARS (rocket launchers), additional howitzers, artillery and mortar rounds, and anti-armor capabilities that Ukraine is using to push back against Russia\'s unprovoked war of aggression,\" the Defense Department said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre cited \"extensive work by the US government over the past few months to fulfill Ukraine\'s request ahead of its planned counter-offensive.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United States has provided more than $35.7 billion in security assistance for Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in late February 2022. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 12:11:42', '2023-05-04 12:11:42'),
(6675, 6675, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has shared the outline of Bangladesh’s recently released Indo-Pacific outlook.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US side noted a number of areas of convergence between the two countries’ respective Indo-Pacific documents.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen briefed his US counterpart about various measures taken by Bangladesh’s Election Commission to pave the way for free and fair elections at both regional and national levels.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US side appreciated the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s commitment to free and fair elections as well as openness to engage international election monitors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 9th Bangladesh-US Partnership Dialogue was held at the US Department of State headquarters in Washington DC on Wednesday where key bilateral and global issues of mutual interest were discussed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Secretary Ambassador Masud Bin Momen and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Ambassador Victoria Nuland led their respective delegations to the dialogue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Secretary Momen briefed the US side about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Japan, and later to Washington DC to celebrate the 50 years of partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Foreign Secretary shared some positive developments in Bangladesh’s recent human rights performance.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He reiterated the call for lifting the sanctions on RAB and extraditing Rashed Chowdhury, a self-confessed killer of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nuland acknowledged the Bangladesh Government’s announcement to review the Digital Security Act by this year.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also emphasized the importance of continuing progress in the labour sector reform in order to attract enhanced investment from the US.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both sides expressed satisfaction over the growing and vibrant business cooperation in a number of critical sectors.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They agreed to continue working further on cyber security and data protection to enhance business engagements by the US tech giants in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ambassador Nuland appreciated Bangladesh’s remarkable generosity in hosting the Rohingyas from Myanmar and assured USA’s continued humanitarian support.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Secretary Momen briefed Ambassador Nuland about the latest situation concerning the funding for Rohingyas as well as the renewed pilot scheme for repatriating a limited number of Rohingyas to Myanmar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both sides agreed to further scale up the resettlement programme for some of the most vulnerable Rohingyas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The two sides exchanged their views on the climate change-related issues and discussed areas of cooperation in this regard.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Foreign Secretary invited Under Secretary Nuland to the 10th round of the Partnership Dialogue which will take place in Dhaka next year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Muhammad Imran and senior officials from relevant ministries and the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington were present at the meeting.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and senior officials from the US State Department, White House and the USAID were present from the US side. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 12:52:50', '2023-05-04 12:52:50'),
(6676, 6676, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at Amsterdam\'s airport late Wednesday for an unannounced visit to the Netherlands, with a trip to the International Criminal Court on his agenda, local media reported.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dutch news agency ANP said Zelensky, making his first visit to the Netherlands, landed at Schiphol airport after attending a Nordic summit in Helsinki.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">ANP published a dark photo of an aircraft, claiming it was the Dutch government plane probably carrying the Ukrainian leader.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelensky will visit the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is based in The Hague, the news agency said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In March, he issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Ukrainian president is also expected to deliver a speech in The Hague entitled \"No peace without justice for Ukraine\", according to public broadcaster NOS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A meeting with Dutch MPs is planned, as well as talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, ANP reported, citing unnamed sources.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Netherlands has pledged both financial and military support to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The EU nation announced last month that it would buy 14 Leopard 2 tanks with Denmark to give to Kyiv, which is demanding more heavy weapons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelensky made another surprise visit to Finland on Wednesday, promising that this year would be \"decisive\" in dealing with Russia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I believe that this year will be decisive for us, for Europe, for Ukraine, decisive for victory,\" he told reporters during a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelensky also denied that Ukraine launched an attack on Putin, after Moscow claimed to have shot down two drones launched against the Kremlin compound.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Dutch government plane that picked up Zelensky flew on Wednesday from a Polish airport to Helsinki, according to NOS. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 13:09:01', '2023-05-04 13:09:01'),
(6677, 6677, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Packaging works were already completed for sending the first consignment of mango to Italy from Bagha upazila of the district of the current season.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Wednesday evening, the mangoes were sent to Dhaka and those are expected to be sent to Italy today (Thursday).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Confirming the issue Upazila Agriculture Officer Shafiullah Sultan said mangoes are being exported to Italy this time in the initial stage of the current season of the delicious fruit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said 300 kilograms of mangoes, which are local varieties, to be exported through Adab International, an exporting entity in Dhaka, in the preliminary stage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shafiqul Islam, owner of Sadia Enterprize, a mango growing organization, said the advanced variety mangoes are very much tasty and its demand is comparatively higher than many other varieties in local markets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are trying to export it to make the variety popular in foreign markets,\" he said, adding the mangoes were sold at Taka 100 per kilogram for export.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, the juicy and delicious fruit Mango has started appearing in the markets of Rajshahi city and its adjacent areas as its harvesting began today morning, abiding by the instruction of local administration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Like the previous years, some of the indigenous varieties have appeared in the markets as farmers and traders have started harvesting mangoes since the morning following the instruction.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mozder Hossain, deputy director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), told BSS that most of the mangoes will mature and ripen within the stipulated time and then those could be harvested normally.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said some of the indigenous varieties of mangoes have already ripened. But the other delicious and famous varieties- -Gopalbhog, Khirshapat and Langra- need some more days to be ripened.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the administrative decision, the farmers can pluck local varieties from today, while Gopalbhog from May 15, Ranipachhand May 20, and Himsagar or Khirshapat from May 25.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They can also harvest Langra from June 6, Amropali and Fazly from June 10, Ashwina and BARI Aam-4 from July 10, Gormati from July 10 and Ilamati from August 20.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mozder Hossain said there are mango orchards on 19,578 hectares of land with 63,986 trees in the district and the target has been fixed to produce around 2.58 lakh tonnes of mango worth around Taka 1,500 crore this year. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 13:24:45', '2023-05-04 13:24:45'),
(6678, 6678, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The price of bottled soybean oil has been hiked by Tk 12 per litre to Tk 199, which is effective from today (May 4, 2023).</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (BVORVMA), the association of owners of edible oil refining and marketing companies, has increased the edible oil price, a press release said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, the price per litre of bottled soybean oil was Tk 187.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, the price of unbottled soybean oil was fixed at Tk 176 and the price of palm oil was fixed at Tk 135 per litre.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The price of 5-litre bottle of soybean oil was fixed at Tk 960.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Claiming the higher price of soybean and palm oil, the traders argued for hiking the price by Tk 15 per litre to the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The commission allowed the price of bottled soybean oil to be increased to Tk 12 per litre.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per consultation with the ministry and tariff commission, the BVORVMA issued a notification of increasing the edible oil price on Wednesday night. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 13:53:29', '2023-05-04 13:53:29'),
(6679, 6679, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting The Hague on Thursday and will meet with the leadership of the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Russia\'s Vladimir Putin, his spokesman said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are in The Hague. We will meet the leaders of the International Criminal Court,\" spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov told AFP, referring to the court which issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president in March over a war crime charge AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 14:20:29', '2023-05-04 14:20:29'),
(6680, 6680, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The price of bottled soybean oil has been hiked by Tk 12 per litre to Tk 199, which is effective from today (May 4, 2023).</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (BVORVMA), the association of owners of edible oil refining and marketing companies, has increased the edible oil price, a press release said.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, the price per litre of bottled soybean oil was Tk 187.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, the price of unbottled soybean oil was fixed at Tk 176 and the price of palm oil was fixed at Tk 135 per litre.</div><div><br></div><div>The price of 5-litre bottle of soybean oil was fixed at Tk 960.</div><div><br></div><div>Claiming the higher price of soybean and palm oil, the traders argued for hiking the price by Tk 15 per litre to the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission.</div><div><br></div><div>The commission allowed the price of bottled soybean oil to be increased to Tk 12 per litre.</div><div><br></div><div>As per consultation with the ministry and tariff commission, the BVORVMA issued a notification of increasing the edible oil price on Wednesday night. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 15:42:07', '2023-05-04 15:42:07'),
(6681, 6681, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh and South Korea on Thursday signed a new framework arrangement concerning USD 3 billion of concessional loans from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) for the year 2023 through 2027.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The signing ceremony took place in Incheon, South Korea on the occasion of 56th Annual General Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Development Bank (ADB). Kisun Bang, South Korean First Vice Minister for Economy and Finance, and Sharifa Khan, Secretary of Economic Relations Division (ERD) of Bangladesh, signed the arrangement on behalf of respective sides.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>On this occasion, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the cooperation for Dhaka MRT Line 4 and EDCF Loan Agreement (L/A) for two projects, procurement of CNG-run buses and modernization of railway signalling system, have also been signed by concerned representatives from both sides.</div><div><br></div><div>The signed arrangement will serve as a legal foundation for the South Korean government’s provision of up to 3 billion US dollars in concessional loans to the Government of Bangladesh for the next five years.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the arrangement, the repayment period of the EDCF loans will be 40 years, including 15 year grace period, with the annual interest rate between 0.01%-0.05%.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the arrangement, candidate projects will be identified in the future in close consultation between the two governments.</div><div><br></div><div>With the signing of the new framework arrangement, Bangladesh has become the second largest recipient of South Korea’s Official Development Aid (ODA) across the globe.</div><div><br></div><div>The amount authorized by the newly signed arrangement has more than quadrupled compared to that of previous EDCF Framework Arrangement which stipulated provision of up to 700 million US dollars for the year 2021 through 2025.</div><div><br></div><div>So far, the Korean government has supported 30 development projects with aggregate amount of 1.7 billion US dollars through the EDCF.</div><div><br></div><div>The government of the Republic of Korea has made a bold decision to increase assistance considerably in view of amicable relations with Bangladesh and of the bright future of the country.</div><div><br></div><div>South Korean Ambassador Lee Jang-kuen said it is particularly meaningful to sign a new EDCF Framework Arrangement in the year of 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.</div><div><br></div><div>\"With the substantial increase of the concessional loan to Bangladesh, it is expected that Korea will be able to support mega projects in Bangladesh, thus contributing to continuous socio-economic development of Bangladesh,\" said the South Korean Ambassador.</div><div><br></div><div>He hoped this 3 billion US dollars support serves as a catalyst for improving daily lives of Bangladeshis, such as in the areas of transportation, health and education, and for enhancing friendship between the people of Bangladesh and South Korea. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 18:13:23', '2023-05-04 18:13:23'),
(6682, 6682, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Mohammed Shahabuddin called upon the Buddhist people to work for the welfare of the country and its people as he addressed the \'Buddha Purnima\' reception for the Buddhist leaders at Bangabhaban here.</span><br></b></div><div><b>&nbsp;</b></div><div>\"Show the light to the people. Work for welfare of the country and its people,\" he told the function at Credential Hall of the Presidential palace on the occasion of the \'Happy Buddha Purnima\', the greatest religious festival of the Buddhist community.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The Head of State added: \"All religions of the world always tell about the welfare of people. Every religion has good things.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Calling Goutam Buddha as a symbol of humanity and liberty, he advised all Buddhist community people to accept the best thing from the religion.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"You are part of one of the largest religious communities in the world. . . You have a lot of responsibilities and duties to establish peace and harmony in this region as well as in the world,\" he told the Buddhist leaders.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"Let us be inspired to live an honest and beautiful life, refrain from all kinds of dishonest activities and build ourselves as country\'s worthy citizens through good deeds,\" the President said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Noting that the religion is for the welfare of the mankind, he said, \"Religion is for the people\".</div><div><br></div><div>He also urged the countrymen to think of doing something good for all.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The leaders of the Buddhist community must reflect the teachings of Mahamati Buddha in their own lives and encourage others to do so as well, he hoped.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Congratulating the Buddhists in Bangladesh and elsewhere across the world, the President said, \"Bangladesh soil and people are mingled with ancient Buddhist monasteries, including many 1000-year-old Buddha Bihars (Buddhist temples).\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>He also put emphasis on inspiring everyone to lead an honest and beautiful life, to do good deeds and be worthy citizens of the country.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>On the occasion, the President and his wife Dr. Rebecca Sultana exchanged greetings with the representatives of Buddhist community for about an hour from 4:00 pm to 4:50 pm.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The Buddhist religious leaders also greeted President Shahabuddin, also a valiant freedom Fighter, by presenting a bouquet.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan, Sangraj (the highest religious leader of Buddhist Community) Dr Gyanashree Mahathero, President\'s Office Secretary Sampad Barua, Secretary of the Religious Affairs Ministry Kazi Enamul Hassan, Vice Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology, Chittagong Professor Dr Pravat Chandra Barua, Vice-Chairman of Buddhist Religious Welfare Trust Supta Voshan Barua, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and Bangladesh Awami League Office Secretary Barrister Biplab Barua and Secretary of the Trust Joydatta Barua, among others, were present.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Over one thousand people, including over eight hundred invited guests, Buddhist community leaders, ambassadors, high commissioners and heads of different international agencies working in Bangladesh attended the reception.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The Buddhist religious songs or music were also played through the sound system on the occasion. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 19:14:38', '2023-05-04 19:14:38'),
(6683, 6683, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The World Health Organization says it has fired the scientist who led a high-profile delegation from the UN health agency to China two years ago to jointly look into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, citing sexual misconduct.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Peter Ben Embarek, who led the WHO side of a joint team with scientists in China, was dismissed last year, the health agency said. WHO says it has stepped up efforts to root out sexual abuse, exploitation and harassment in recent months after a string of cases and incidents were reported in the press.</div><div><br></div><div>“Peter Ben Embarek was dismissed following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process,” said spokeswoman Marcia Poole said in an email. “The findings concern allegations relating to 2015 and 2017 that were first received by the WHO investigations team in 2018.”</div><div><br></div><div>She said other allegations could not be fully investigated as the “victim(s) did not wish to engage with the investigation process.”</div><div><br></div><div>Ben Embarek did not immediately respond to a call or text message to his mobile phone on Thursday. The news was first reported by The Financial Times.</div><div><br></div><div>Ben Embarek led an international team picked by WHO that traveled to China in early 2021, visited the Huanan market in Wuhan — the city where the first human cases appeared — and worked closely with Chinese scientists to try to identify how the virus first began sickening people.</div><div><br></div><div>The team issued a report in March that year that said the most likely scenario was that COVID-19 jumped from bats to humans via another animal, dismissing a lab leak as “extremely unlikely.” WHO officials, including Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, have since said that the origins remain unclear and the lab-leak theory cannot be ruled out.</div><div><br></div><div>Ben Embarek, a Danish expert on disease transmission from animals to humans, told a TV program in Denmark later in 2021 that he had concerns about a Chinese lab near the market later in 2021.</div><div><br></div><div>The impact of Ben Embarek’s dismissal on efforts to solve that lingering enigma remains unclear. The joint WHO-China team has since been disbanded, and a separate panel of experts drafted by WHO has taken up the role of trying to find the origins of the coronavirus.</div><div><br></div><div>Word of the dismissal comes as WHO is convening an expert group this week to decide if COVID-19 remains an international health emergency, after sharp declines in case counts and deaths from the pandemic in recent months — even if pockets of cases continue.</div><div><br></div><div>WHO says it has been working to root out sexual abuse, exploitation and harassment in its ranks after press reports first arose in 2020 about systemic abuse of dozens of women during the agency’s response to an Ebola outbreak in Congo.</div><div><br></div><div>More than 80 staffers under the direction of WHO and partners were alleged to have raped women and young girls, demanded sex in return for jobs and forced some victims to have abortions, in the biggest known sex abuse scandal in the UN health agency’s history.</div><div><br></div><div>Not a single senior manager connected to the Congo abuse has been dismissed, despite documents showing WHO leaders were aware as it was happening. An internal U.N. report submitted to WHO earlier this year found that despite senior managers being informed of the sexual abuse, no misconduct was committed. ‍Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 19:39:51', '2023-05-04 19:39:51'),
(6684, 6684, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A total of 340 people were killed by lightning strikes in the country from April 2022 to May 3, 2023.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Among them, 274 people including 239 men and 35 women died due to lightning strikes during the period of April to December last year.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum (SSTF) published the death toll during an awareness program involving 300 farmers on Thursday.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The SSTF has been monitoring casualties from thunderstorms since 2019.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Kabirul Bashar,&nbsp; president of the organization and General Secretary Rashim Mollah demanded steps&nbsp; from the government to reduce the number of deaths from lightning.</div><div><br></div><div>They presented the government with two points of demand that include raising awareness among people regarding thunderstorms by incorporating the topic in textbooks and building lightning-resistant towers and planting high and fast-growing trees in open fields.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>According to SSTF statistics, the first death due to lightning in 2023 was reported on March 15.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>From March to May 3, 66 people died by lightning. Of them, 63 are men and three are women.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Eight people were injured during this period. 51 people died while working in the field alone, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, eleven people died while on boats or while fishing.</div><div><br></div><div>The figures of lightning casualties were collected from national dailies, local daily newspapers, online news portals and television channels.</div><div><br></div><div>This year, the highest number of casualties from thunderstorms&nbsp; occurred in Sunamganj of Sylhet division. Seven people have died in the district. and five people died in Sylhet district.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 19:56:59', '2023-05-04 19:56:59'),
(6685, 6685, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Khaleda Zia returned to her Gulshan residence \'Feroza\' from Evercae Hospital on Thursday evening after medical check-ups and treatment there for five days, said her personal physician Professor AZM Zahid Hossain.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>He said, \"Madam was discharged from hospital as per the decision of the medical board. The board has taken this decision after reviewing the tests. Now she will be treated at home.”</div><div><br></div><div>“Khaleda Zia left the hospital at 4:30 pm and reached home at 6:20 pm,” said the BNP chief’s media wing member Sayrul Kabir Khan.</div><div><br></div><div>Khaleda Zia was accompanied by Sharmila Rahman Sithi, wife of late Arafat Rahman Koko, at the hospital.</div><div><br></div><div>\"She had some illnesses, some symptoms. That\'s why she was admitted to the hospital. After admission, she responded fairly well to the treatment given under the close supervision of the physicians,”said Professor Zahid Hossain.</div><div><br></div><div>She was admitted to the hospital on Saturday night for some medical tests and required treatment.</div><div><br></div><div>Her medical board member Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said the BNP chief&nbsp; was kept in a cabin under close observation of doctors and her condition improved a little as she was given treatment as per the advice of her medical board.</div><div><br></div><div>Khaleda, a 77-year-old former prime minister, has been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung, heart and eye problems.</div><div><br></div><div>Since her conditional release in 2020, the BNP chief has been receiving treatment at the hospital under a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder.</div><div><br></div><div>She visited the same hospital for health check-ups on February 27 last. Khaleda received treatment at the hospital six times since she was infected with Coronavirus in April 2021. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 21:36:43', '2023-05-04 21:36:43'),
(6686, 6686, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>One man was killed and at least six others were injured in a fire that broke out at a re-rolling mill of Bhulta Gauchia area of Rupganj upazila in Narayanganj.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The deceased was identified as Shankar, a worker of the mill.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Rescue team member Ashiq Hasan said the accident occurred when sevem workers of a re-rolling mill were burnt from hot molten iron.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>Later, they were rushed to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn &amp; Plastic Surgery where Shankar was declared dead.</div><div><br></div><div>Inspector Md Bachchu Mia, in-charge of DMCH Police Outpost, confirmed the matter. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 22:52:51', '2023-05-04 22:52:51'),
(6687, 6687, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>At least seven teachers have been killed in a shooting at a school in northwestern Pakistan, following a separate attack in which another teacher was shot dead, Geo TV reported.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Both incidents took place on Thursday in the Parachinar area of Kurram tribal district near the border with Afghanistan, the local television channel said.</div><div><br></div><div>It said the motive behind the killings remained unclear, and that the teachers killed in both incidents belong to the country’s Shia Muslim minority.</div><div><br></div><div>Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the “gruesome incident” took place in an area that has witnessed in the past sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni tribes.</div><div><br></div><div>“Most of the teachers who were killed belonged to the Turi Shia tribe,” Hyder said.</div><div><br></div><div>“This particular attack targeted the teachers while they were in the staffroom … They were there to conduct examinations which are under way throughout the province for lower secondary school,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The circumstances have remained “mysterious”, as not many people were able to see what had transpired, how many attackers were involved, or what their motives were, Hyder said.</div><div><br></div><div>Another teacher was gunned down earlier “not far away from that location”, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The tribal district contains a majority Shia population who are often attacked by armed groups as part of the local Taliban movement.</div><div><br></div><div>Local police said they were gathering more information and investigating the incident. Source: Aljazeera</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 22:56:47', '2023-05-04 22:56:47'),
(6688, 6688, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Moscow on Thursday accused the US of masterminding a drone attack on the Kremlin, a charge denied by Washington, and said Ukrainian sabotage on Russian territory had reached \"unprecedented momentum\".</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Moscow said President Vladimir Putin was working from the Kremlin the day after the attack, which it said was a Ukrainian attempt to kill him.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Decisions on such attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington,\" Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Kyiv only does what it is told to do... Washington should understand clearly that we know this,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Ukraine has denied responsibility, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying \"We do not attack Moscow or Putin.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The US also denied any involvement.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple,\" John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said on MSNBC.</div><div><br></div><div>Throughout its more than year-long offensive in Ukraine, Moscow has maintained that Kyiv is taking orders from the US -- accusing the West of leading a war against Russia by proxy.</div><div><br></div><div>- \'Unprecedented\' sabotage -</div><div>The Kremlin attack came as Russia prepares to mark one of its main holidays of May 9 -- celebrating the Soviet victory over the Nazis -- with a traditional military parade on Red Square.</div><div><br></div><div>It came after five days of extraordinary apparent sabotage attacks, including trains derailed by explosions and massive fires in annexed Crimea.</div><div><br></div><div>On Thursday, Russia\'s southern Krasnodar and Rostov regions, both near Ukraine, reported drone strikes that caused fires.</div><div><br></div><div>But the Kremlin insisted the May 9 parade will go ahead, despite the attacks in border regions and in the heart of Russian power, though under \"strengthened\" security.</div><div><br></div><div>Russian television on Thursday showed Putin in the Kremlin for the first time since the drone attack.</div><div><br></div><div>The Russian leader does not plan \"any address on this topic\", according to his spokesman.</div><div><br></div><div>Moscow did however acknowledge that the country was facing an \"unprecedented\" wave of sabotage.</div><div><br></div><div>Russia has opened a terrorism probe into the Moscow attack.</div><div><br></div><div>Russia has not released official images of the attack. Unverified social media images showed a drone hitting the Kremlin Senate building.</div><div><br></div><div>Peskov said \"two copper sheets\" on the dome of the 18th-century building had been damaged by fire.</div><div><br></div><div>\"They have been or will be replaced, everything will be like new. There is no other damage.\"</div><div><br></div><div>- \'Criminal actions\' -</div><div><br></div><div>As Moscow accused the US of planning the Kremlin attack, Ukraine\'s Zelensky arrived on a surprise visit to The Hague.</div><div><br></div><div>He visited the International Criminal Court, which in March issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged illegal deportation of Ukranian children.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We all want to see a different Vladimir here,\" Zelensky said, referring to the Russian President, his namesake, who he believes \"deserves to be sanctioned for his criminal actions here, in the capital of international law.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Zelensky called for a special tribunal to be created to hold Russia to account for its \"crime of aggression\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"There should be responsibility for this crime. And this can only be enforced by the tribunal,\" he told diplomats and officials at the court.</div><div><br></div><div>The Netherlands has pledged both financial and military support to Ukraine since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>Zelensky also met Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and said that Ukraine was \"realistic\" that it would not be able to join NATO while still fighting Russia.</div><div><br></div><div>\"But we want a very clear message that we will be in NATO after the war,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Putin has used Ukraine\'s wish to join the alliance to justify launching his offensive.</div><div><br></div><div>- Intense strikes -</div><div><br></div><div>On the day of the alleged Kremlin attack, Ukraine said Russia shelled the southern Kherson region, including in a strike on a supermarket.</div><div><br></div><div>At least 23 people died, and 46 were wounded in the strikes, officials said.</div><div><br></div><div>After the Kremlin accused Kyiv of attempting to kill Putin, Ukrainian authorities said they faced a new series of strikes overnight.</div><div><br></div><div>The Ukrainian air force said Thursday that Russia had fired 24 attack drones overnight, of which 18 were downed. Authorities said there were no casualties.</div><div><br></div><div>Sergiy Popko, the head of the city of Kyiv\'s military administration, said that \"all enemy missiles and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were destroyed over Kyiv by air defence forces\".</div><div><br></div><div>Popko said it was the third day of attempted strikes on Kyiv in May, reports AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Our city has not experienced such intensity of strikes since the beginning of this year,\" he said, adding that debris from the downed drones had fallen on various parts of the city.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-04 23:06:57', '2023-05-04 23:06:57'),
(6689, 6689, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A 27-member delegation including 20 Rohingyas left for Myanmar’s Rakhine on Friday morning to monitor the arrangements made by the Myanmar government ahead of a planned repatriation of Rohingya refugees.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The delegation left Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf upazila on a speed boat through the Naf River around 9am on Friday. There are 20 Rohingyas, including three women, a translator and six Bangladeshi officials of different departments.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A 16-member BGB team accompanied them to ensure security.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Md Shamsud Douza, the additional refugee relief and repatriation commissioner said the delegation will monitor Myanmar\'s repatriation arrangement and the situation in Rakhine’s Maungdaw town.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“They’ll visit the place where the Rohingya people will live following their repatriation,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The delegation will be back to Tekhnaf by the evening, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, a list of more than 800,000 Rohingyas was sent to Myanmar from the Bangladesh government. The country had identified about 1,140 people in the first phase as a pilot project to repatriate from the list.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, Myanmar voiced objections regarding 429 individuals on the list.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On March 15, a 19-member technical team came to Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf, and met 480 members of 177 Rohingya families and returned to Myanmar. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 15:14:50', '2023-05-05 15:14:50'),
(6690, 6690, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has arrived&nbsp; in London on an official visit to the UK to attend the coronation of UK’s King Charles III.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The flight carrying the premier landed land at Heathrow International Airport in London at 11:49pm local time (4:49am Friday Bangladesh Time).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She flew to London on a five-day visit after concluding a six-day visit to the USA.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During her stay in London, Hasina will attend the coronation of UK’s King Charles III, to be hosted by Buckingham Palace on May 6. She will represent Bangladesh at the ceremony.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It will be held at Westminster Abbey on May 6 and the King, who will be crowned along with the Queen Consort, will be the 40th reigning monarch crowned there since 1066.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She is expected to attend a reception for the King and Queen Consort to be held at Buckingham Palace on May 5.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also, on the same day, the PM will take part in the Commonwealth Leaders\' Forum hosted by the Commonwealth secretary general at Marlborough House in presence of the king.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is expected that the heads of states or governments of about 130 countries (including the heads of governments of most Commonwealth countries) will participate in the coronation ceremony to be held in the UK after 70 years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the visit, Prime Minister Hasina will also attend a civic reception organized at a London hotel and exchange views with expat Bangladeshis and British citizens of Bangladeshi origin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM is expected to return home on May 9, concluding her 15-day three-nation visit to Japan, the USA and the UK.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM Hasina was in Japan from 25 to 28 April at the invitation of Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 15:18:23', '2023-05-05 15:18:23'),
(6691, 6691, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Visiting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sources, the two leaders may hold the talks&nbsp; at the bilateral meeting room of the Marlborough House of the The Commonwealth Secretariat here at London Pall Mall.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This will be the British leader\'s first meeting with Hasina after he took office on October 25 last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina is in London on the third and final leg of a three-nation official tour that also took her to Japan and the US.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the afternoon the prime minister&nbsp; &nbsp;will attend the Commonwealth Leaders Event at Marlborough House of the The Commonwealth Secretariat&nbsp; at London Pall Mall.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She will have Interaction with King Charles III, head of the Commonwealth at the Delegate\'s Lounge and join Commonwealth joint family photo session in the Garden of Marlborough House.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina will also attend the Commonwealth leaders\' closed discussion at the Main Conference Room which will be chaired by President of Rwanda and Commonwealth Chair in Office Paul Kagame.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the evening, she will attend King\'s reception for heads of the state,&nbsp; governments and overseas representatives at Buckingham Palace in advance of the coronation of&nbsp; the King and the Queen Consort.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, Professor Payam Akhavan will call on PM Hasina at the bilateral room of the Claridge’s Hotel.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Akhavan is professor of International Law and Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto, Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and former Legal Advisor, Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 15:22:29', '2023-05-05 15:22:29');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6692, 6692, '<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A light earthquake jolted different parts of Dhaka in the early hours of today.</b></p><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The quake was felt around 5.57am at 4.3 degree on Richter scale, according to a Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) press release.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The quake\'s epicenter was Dohar, approximately 30 km away from East South East of BMD Seismic Centre, Agargaon, Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, no casualty was reported. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 15:57:19', '2023-05-05 15:57:19'),
(6693, 6693, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A strong earthquake hit near central Japan on Friday, but officials said there was no preliminary damage and no tsunami threat.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 6.2 quake happened in Ishikawa prefecture near the central west coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu, according to the U.S. Geological Survey\'s earthquake information center.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Japan\'s Kyodo News agency reported that there was nothing concerning at a nearby nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Japanese officials said there could be small waves but no tsunami danger.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Japan is one of the world\'s most earthquake-prone nations. A massive 2011 quake in the country\'s northeast caused a devastating tsunami and nuclear plant meltdown that still reverberates today. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 16:00:25', '2023-05-05 16:00:25'),
(6694, 6694, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">An unnamed youth was killed last night after coming under a moving train in Karwan Bazar Rail Crossing in the capital.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The boy, 17, was trying to cross the rail line in a hurry as the Mymensingh bound Haor Express was going through the track at around 10.30 pm on Thursday. He was hit by the moving train and fell under that. He died on the spot,\" duty officer ASI Navera Nasrin of Kamalapur Railway Police Station told BSS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Police said the body of the boy, who was wearing a navy-blue full pant and sky blue full shirt at the time of the accident, was badly severed and barely recognizable. His body was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An unnatural death case has been filed in this regard. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 16:32:29', '2023-05-05 16:32:29'),
(6695, 6695, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A ship carrying record numbers of reconditioned vehicles imported from Japan and Singapore has arrived at Chittagong port recently.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Malaysian flag carrier \'MV Malaysia Star\' carrying 1265 reconditioned vehicles berthed at&nbsp; the port\'s Jetty No. 7 and 8,&nbsp; said Barrister Badruzzaman Munshi, deputy commissioner of Chittagong Customs House.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said that 569 vehicles were unloaded at Chittagong Port. The rest will be cleared at Mongla port, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Chittagong Customs sources, because of the dollar crisis, the opening of LC for luxury goods was closed for a long time. Recently,&nbsp; vehicle LCs have been opened again as the economic situation has become normal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The port authorities have expressed hope that the revenue from these cars will be over Tk 200 crore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Habibur Rahman, the former general secretary of Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association (BARVIDA), an organisation of car dealers, said that if the economy of the country is to be kept alive, the use of cars must be continued. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 16:35:05', '2023-05-05 16:35:05'),
(6696, 6696, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has criticised the government for its alleged lack of planning to protect the country\'s environment from the adverse effects of global climate change.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At a seminar titled \'Climate Change: Bangladesh and Rivers,\' organized by BNP, he said that Dhaka has become one of the most polluted cities in the country due to the government\'s negligence in addressing the issue of environmental pollution.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP leader accused the government of having no plan to address these issues and improve people\'s future or livelihoods.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The small rivers that once existed in Savar-Dhamrai have nearly died out. You may have noticed that several clubs have emerged along the Turag river, with the backing and support of high-ranking government officials,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“These clubs have been constructed on top of the riverbed. Water levels are decreasing, and rivers are being encroached upon - anyone can see it. Those who are connected to the current government are responsible for these actions, yet no measures are being taken against them,” he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He called for a people-oriented government to protect the environment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fakhrul highlighted various measures, including the banning of plastic bags, a canal digging programme and the banning of tri-stroke baby taxis, taken under BNP\'s rule to protect the environment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He stressed that a people-oriented government is needed to protect the environment and democracy is necessary for accountability.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The harmful aspects of building dams upstream in India and the threat to nature and biodiversity were also discussed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Other speakers included BNP Standing Committee member, Khandkar Mosharraf Hossain, who criticised the government\'s Farakka Treaty agreement and the lack of a guarantee clause.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">BNP Joint Secretary General Khairul Kabir Khokon, Media Cell Convener Zahir Uddin Swapan and Save the Sundar Foundation Chairman Sheikh Faridul Islam spoke at the seminar. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 17:54:26', '2023-05-05 17:54:26'),
(6697, 6697, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Train movement from Dhaka to the country’s Western, North and South regions has remained suspended since Friday afternoon after a freight train got derailed on Dhaka-Iswardi rail tracks in Ullapara upazila of Sirajganj.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Md Mahbubur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sirajganj Bazar Railway Police Station, said the derailment occurred around 2pm when the freight train came from Ishwardi and was changing lines at the Ullapara Rail Station, causing suspension of the train movement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A salvage train from Pakshi arrived at the spot and was trying to remove the two derailed bogies, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As of the filling of this report around 4:20pm, the train movement remained suspended, the railway officer added. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 18:45:22', '2023-05-05 18:45:22'),
(6698, 6698, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina\'s government has been working constantly to build a toxic-free state structure.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The government is not making the state-structure toxic rather it is working incessantly to build a toxic-free country,\" he said in a statement protesting against BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir\'s recent \"misleading comments\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Quader said BNP, which was born at the hands of military dictator Ziaur Rahman who seized the state power through the barrel of gun, had poisoned the state-structure by staying in power for a long time. The state and society are still bearing the brunt, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister said BNP, in the name of politics, established and nurtured the anti-liberation forces and the ideology against the spirit of Liberation War everywhere.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the course of time, BNP has become a poisonous tree, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the government led by Bangabandhu\'s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is determined to build a non-communal, progressive, developed, prosperous and Smart Bangladesh after rooting out the poisonous tree.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AL general secretary said Mirza Fakhrul ascertained his stance against the independence by raising questions over the number of freedom fighters in AL.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the secretary general of BNP, formed with some brokers, killers and anti-liberation forces, is making derogatory comments against Awami League which led the country\'s great Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">These comments reveal their stance against the independence, he mentioned. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 18:59:50', '2023-05-05 18:59:50'),
(6699, 6699, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh reported 9 more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Friday morning.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the new numbers, the country\'s total caseload rose to 2,038,300 according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,446 as no new fatalities were reported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The daily case test positivity increased to 2.18 percent from Monday\'s 1.14 percent as 412 samples were tested.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The recovery and death rates remained unchanged at 98.41 percent and 1.44 percent, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 in 2021 and highest number of fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 19:48:09', '2023-05-05 19:48:09'),
(6700, 6700, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will attend King Charles III\'s reception for heads of state and government or overseas representatives in advance of the coronation of the King and Queen Consort.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The event will begin at the Buckingham Palace at 5:15 in the afternoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister arrived in London at 11:49 pm on May 4 to attend the coronation of King Charles III, to be held on May 6, on the third leg of her visit after attending a programme of the World Bank marking its 50-year partnership with Bangladesh in Washington DC, the USA and a bilateral visit to Japan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prior to the reception, the Prime Minister, this afternoon, will also attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting - a biennial summit of governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The summit will be held at Marlborough House, the Commonwealth Secretariat, London and the Bangladesh Premier is scheduled to attend the event.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Interaction with King Charles III, Head of Commonwealth, by the Commonwealth Heads of the Governments is scheduled to be from 14pm to 14.45pm.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Closed discussion of the Commonwealth leaders will be held at the Main Conference Room, to be chaired by Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, Commonwealth Chair in Office, from 3pm to 4.30pm.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Commonwealth joint family will also be captured at the event.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;Charles III, 74, became King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on September 8, 2022, after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;As per royal tradition, a British monarch\'s coronation takes place some months later, after national mourning and intense preparations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">King Charles III\'s coronation ceremony will be held at London\'s Westminster Abbey on May 6.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The event is expected to be attended by heads of state from around the world, including Ireland, France, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Hungary and Australia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had met King Charles III last year in London and offered her condolences over the passing away of Queen Elizabeth II. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 19:56:37', '2023-05-05 19:56:37'),
(6701, 6701, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Covid-19 pandemic, which for over three years has killed millions of people, wreaked economic havoc and deepened inequalities, no longer constitutes a global health emergency, the WHO said Friday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is \"with great hope that I declare Covid-19 over as a global health emergency\", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, estimating that the pandemic had killed \"at least 20 million\" people -- nearly three times the official estimate. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 20:06:29', '2023-05-05 20:06:29'),
(6702, 6702, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday afternoon attended the Commonwealth Leaders Event here in London.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The event started at 2pm local time (7:00pm Bangladesh Time) at Marlborough House of the Commonwealth Secretariat at Pall Mall.</div><div><br></div><div>In the event, Sheikh Hasina had Interaction with King Charles III, head of the Commonwealth at the Delegate\'s Lounge. She will join the Commonwealth joint family photo session in the Garden of Marlborough House.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina will also attend the Commonwealth leaders\' closed discussion at the Main Conference Room there, which will be chaired by President of Rwanda and Commonwealth Chair in Office Paul Kagame.</div><div><br></div><div>In the evening, she will attend the King\'s reception for heads of states, governments and overseas representatives at Buckingham Palace in advance of the coronation of&nbsp; the King and the Queen Consort.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, Professor Payam Akhavan will call on PM Hasina at the bilateral room of the Claridge’s Hotel.</div><div><br></div><div>Akhavan is professor of International Law and Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto, Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and former Legal Advisor, Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.</div><div><br></div><div>PM Sheikh Hasina arrived in London on an official visit to the UK from Washington in the early hours of Friday to attend the coronation of UK’s King Charles III, to be hosted by Buckingham Palace on May 6.&nbsp; She will represent Bangladesh at the ceremony.</div><div><br></div><div>It will be held at Westminster Abbey on May 6 and the King, who will be crowned along with the Queen Consort, will be the 40th reigning monarch crowned there since 1066.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM is expected to return home on May 9, concluding her 15-day three-nation visit to Japan, the USA and the UK. UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-05 20:12:10', '2023-05-05 20:12:10'),
(6703, 6703, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today held her maiden bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) Rishi Sunak this afternoon.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The bilateral meeting of the two leaders held at the bilateral meeting room of the Marlborough House of the Commonwealth Secretariat here at London Pall Mall, sources familiar with the process told BSS.</div><div><br></div><div>This was the first meeting of the two leaders since Sunak assumed his office on 25 October last year.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister arrived in London at 11:49 pm on May 4 to attend the coronation of King Charles III to be held on May 6, on the third leg of her visits after attending a programme of the World Bank marking its 50-year partnership with Bangladesh in Washington DC, the USA and a bilateral visit to Tokyo in Japan. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 11:49:48', '2023-05-06 11:49:48'),
(6704, 6704, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A 27-member delegation including 20 Rohingyas that left for Myanmar’s Rakhine on Friday morning returned to Bangladesh on Friday around 5.50 pm after visiting 15 villages and other infrastructure built for the Rohingyas.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“We have visited the places in our village, but I still don\'t see any opportunity to go there before fulfilling demands. We want to see the fulfillment of our demand from here (Bangladesh) and then we will return to Myanmar,” said Sufian, a member of the delegation and a resident of Rohingya camp number 26 while speaking at a briefing after returning at Teknaf-Myanmar Transit Ghat in Cox\'s Bazar.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We went there and made our demands. We have demanded citizenship, we have demanded our land,\" Sufian added.</div><div><br></div><div>However, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, also the leader of the 27-member delegation team that went to Rakhine State, said, “We returned today with 20 Rohingyas after visiting the arrangements made for them around Maungdaw town. I have seen the goodwill of the Myanmar government regarding repatriation. We want to start repatriation.”</div><div><br></div><div>\"We also had Rohingya representatives with us. Basically this event is for them. They will be deported, so they have been shown it in person. Myanmar authorities have briefed, visited various places,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>At that time, Mizanur Rahman also assured that there are a lot of Rohingya in Maungdaw city.</div><div><br></div><div>“As far as I can tell, about 80% of the Rohingya are doing business. I have spoken to them and told them that they are not facing any problem,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Mohammad Selim, a Rohingya member of the delegation and a resident of Rohingya camp number 26, said that after many years, we have had the opportunity to see our country Myanmar.</div><div><br></div><div>“Our last word is that if we are not given security, citizenship and land, we will not go back to Myanmar,” Selim said.</div><div><br></div><div>Additional Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (Additional Secretary) Mohammad Khalid Hossain, Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Biswajit Debnath and senior officials of various government agencies were present in the delegation.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, a list of more than 800,000 Rohingyas was sent to Myanmar from the Bangladesh government. The country had identified about 1,140 people in the first phase as a pilot project to repatriate from the list.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, Myanmar voiced objections regarding 429 individuals on the list.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 15, a 19-member technical team came to Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf, and met 480 members of 177 Rohingya families and returned to Myanmar. Accoridng to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 14:54:36', '2023-05-06 14:54:36'),
(6705, 6705, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The latest report of the Internal Monetary Fund (IMF) on Asia-Pacific region forecasts that Bangladesh\'s GDP growth rate in the current fiscal year will overtake that of China.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The report also predicts that Bangladesh will be in second place, after Vietnam, in terms of GDP growth rate in Asia-Pacific in the next fiscal year.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the IMF\'s Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific May 2023 report, Bangladesh is expected to surpass both China and India in terms of growth in 2024.</div><div><br></div><div>In Bangladesh, GDP growth rate will slow down to 5.5 percent in 2023 because of demand-management measures, which is still higher than China\'s projected growth rate of 5.2 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>But the economy of China is much bigger than that of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>The IMF report suggests that the recently approved Extended Fund Facility for Bangladesh will help address economic challenges caused by Russia\'s war in Ukraine, and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangement will expand fiscal space to finance climate investment priorities and build resilience against long-term climate risks.</div><div><br></div><div>The report highlights the importance of international cooperation, particularly in securing financial assistance for climate change adaptation in vulnerable emerging markets in the region, including Bangladesh and the Pacific Islands. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 17:44:52', '2023-05-06 17:44:52'),
(6706, 6706, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>More than 170 people have died after heavy rains and flooding in eastern DR Congo\'s South Kivu province, officials said Friday, after torrential downpours killed dozens in neighbouring Rwanda.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>South Kivu governor Theo Ngwabije said dozens of people were unaccounted for in the Kalehe region, west of Lake Kivu and near the Rwandan border, where the floods also washed away hundreds of homes.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We have about 176 people dead,\" he said while visiting the affected area.</div><div>\"This toll is provisional,\" he said. \"We also have about 100 people missing.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Archimede Karhebwa, the assistant administrator of Kalehe, had earlier told AFP that about 100 people had died, according to a provisional toll.</div><div><br></div><div>A day of national mourning will be observed on Monday with flags lowered to half-mast \"in memory of the lost compatriots\", the government announced on Friday evening.</div><div><br></div><div>Several villages in Kalehe were submerged when rivers burst their banks after heavy rains, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Karhebwa said the floods carried away hundreds of houses and also \"surprised vendors and their clients in the markets\".</div><div><br></div><div>Innocent Mupenda, a civil society figure from the region, said a downpour started on Thursday afternoon, before the \"river carried away villagers\".</div><div>His mother and 11 children died in the flood, Mupenda said.</div><div><br></div><div>Heavy downpours during rainy seasons in central Africa regularly lead to flooding and landslides. AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 17:52:47', '2023-05-06 17:52:47'),
(6707, 6707, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The admission test of first year honours of Dhaka University (DU) for the 2022-2023 academic sessions was held peacefully at the Khulna University sub-center on Saturday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>At least 95.46 percent admission seekers out of 8,597 students attended the first day’s examination from 11.00am to 12.30pm today. The admission seekers took part in the examination under humanity, law and social science group, said a KU press release.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides the KU, some students took part in the admission test at Dildar Ahmed Government Secondary School, Reverend Pauls High School and Hope Polytechnic Institute under the KU center.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Vice-Chancellor of KU Dr Mahmud Hossain visited different centers during the admission test.</div><div><br></div><div>Expressing his satisfaction, the KU VC said, admission seekers became very happy by participating the entry test in a peaceful atmosphere, reports BSS</div><div><br></div><div>He also thanked government, DU Authorities for taking admission test outside the capital for avoiding hassle free examination, the press release added.</div><div><br></div><div>The admission test for the Science faculty will be held at the same venue on May 12 while the admission test for the Business faculty will be held only at the KU center on May 13, the press release added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 18:11:13', '2023-05-06 18:11:13'),
(6708, 6708, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A wild elephant was found dead in a paddy field in Jhenaigati upazila of Sherpur district on Friday morning, said forest officials.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>According to the forest department and locals, several herds of elephants from Garo hill along the border had been damaging crops and&nbsp; vegetables at Kangsha union of the upazila for the past couple of weeks. To prevent damage of crops, farmers set electric wires surrounding the croplands.</div><div><br></div><div>Md Mokrul Islam Akanda, a Rangatiya&nbsp; range official of the Forest Department, said that they recovered the body from the cropland of one Nuhu Miah at Paschim Bakakura village under Kangsha union in the morning.</div><div><br></div><div>Primarily it seemed that the elephant died from electrocution while it was trying to enter the cropland, he said, adding that they seized&nbsp; some electric and GI wires from the area.</div><div><br></div><div>The exact reason behind the death of the three and a half year old elephant will be known after getting the autopsy report, the forest officer said.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr ATM Fayezul Razzak Akanda, a livestock officer of the upazila, said though they primarily found no marks of injuries on the body and collected samples for viscera test to know the exact reason of death. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 18:52:03', '2023-05-06 18:52:03'),
(6709, 6709, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The harvesting of onion, the main cash crop of three upazilas of the district, has already been completed with excellent production during the current season, Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;The onion cultivation exceeded the fixed target and the cultivators are happy to get bumper production of their products and high prices, the sources added.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>DAE office has set a target for cultivating onion on 6,500 hectares of land during the current season in all seven upazilas of the district with the production target of 96,395 metric tons of onion. But onion was cultivated on 6,782 hectares of land exceeding its fixed target by 282 hectares.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The DAE office had set a target for cultivating onion on 5,954 hectares of land last year with a production target of 63,113 metric tons of onion. But, the farmers had cultivated onion on 6,449 hectares of land exceeding the fixed target.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Most of the onion is cultivated in three upazilas of the district Harirampur, Ghior and Shibalaya. More than 80 percent of onion is cultivated only in those upazilas.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Ahmed Ali, 50, one of the onion cultivators of village Maluchi under Shibalaya upazila said \"We have achieved a bumper production during the current season as we got quality seeds, fertilizers and other agri inputs at the right time, adding that the prices of onion are satisfactory.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Babul Mia, 43, another onion culvators of village Naudubi under Harirampur upazila of the district said \"every year the prices of onion declined on a large scale during the harvesting time, this year it does not happen, rather we are getting more than our expectation.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Now per kilogram of moisturized onion is being sold at Taka 60 in retail markets and Taka 50-55 in wholesale markets all over the district, the market sources said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Abu Mohammad Enayet Ullah, Deputy Director (DD) of DAE, said the land of three upazilas of the district is suitable for onion cultivation and the farmers of the areas cultivate this spicy product as one of the best cash crops, reports BSS</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Most of the onions of these areas are supplied to the various markets in the country including capital city Dhaka round the year, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 21:00:04', '2023-05-06 21:00:04'),
(6710, 6710, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">King Charles III was crowned Saturday at Westminster Abbey, receiving the bejeweled St. Edward\'s Crown in a ceremony built on ancient traditions at a time when the monarchy is striving to remain relevant in a fractured modern Britain.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Trumpets sounded inside the medieval abbey and the congregation shouted “God save the king!” at a ceremony attended by more than 2,000 guests, including world leaders, aristocrats and celebrities. Outside, thousands of troops, tens of thousands of spectators and a smattering of protesters converged.</div><div><br></div><div>It was the culmination of a seven-decade journey for Charles from heir to monarch.</div><div><br></div><div>To the royal family and government, the occasion — code-named Operation Golden Orb — was a display of heritage, tradition and spectacle unmatched around the world. The rite was expected to by watched by millions, though the awe and reverence the ceremony was designed to evoke are largely gone — and many greeted the day with a shrug.</div><div><br></div><div>Some even met it with disdain. Republican protesters gathered outside to holler “ Not my king ” for a celebration of an institution they say stands for privilege and inequality, in a country of deepening poverty and fraying social ties. A handful were arrested.</div><div><br></div><div>Nonetheless, thousands of people from across the U.K. and around the world camped overnight along a 1.3-mile (2-kilometer) route that the king and his wife, Camilla, traveled to reach the abbey in a gilt-trimmed, horse-drawn carriage.</div><div><br></div><div>The church buzzed with excitement and was abloom with fragrant flowers and colorful hats as the congregation of international dignitaries and nobles arrived. Among them were U.S. First Lady Jill Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, eight current and former British prime ministers and celebrities including Judi Dench, Emma Thompson and Lionel Richie.</div><div><br></div><div>At a traditional Anglican service slightly tweaked for modern times, Charles, clad in crimson and cream robes, swore on a Bible that he is a “true Protestant.”</div><div><br></div><div>But a preface was added to the coronation oath to say the Church of England “will seek to foster an environment where people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely,\" and the epistle from the King James Bible was read by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Britain\'s first Hindu leader.</div><div><br></div><div>A gospel choir performed a newly composed “Alleluia,” and, for the first time, female clergy took part in the ceremony. It was also the first to include representatives of the Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh faiths.</div><div><br></div><div>In an ancient display of kingly power, Charles was anointed with oil from the Mount of Olives in the Holy Land and presented with an orb, swords and scepters, before Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed the solid gold crown bedecked with more than 400 precious stones on the monarch’s head. As trumpets sounded, gun salutes were fired across the U.K.</div><div><br></div><div>For 1,000 years and more, British monarchs have been crowned in grandiose ceremonies that confirm their right to rule. Charles is the 40th sovereign to be crowned in the abbey — and, at 74, the oldest.</div><div><br></div><div>These days, the king no longer has executive or political power, and the service is purely ceremonial since Charles automatically became king upon death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September.</div><div><br></div><div>The king does remain the U.K.’s head of state and a symbol of national identity — and Charles will have to work to bring together a multicultural nation and shore up support for monarchy at at time when it is waning, especially among younger people.</div><div><br></div><div>The anti-monarchy group Republic said six of its members, including its chief executive, were arrested as they arrived at a protest. Police have said they will have have a “low tolerance” for people seeking to disrupt the day, sparking criticism that they are clamping down on free speech.</div><div><br></div><div>The multimillion-pound cost of the all the pomp — the exact figure unknown — also rankled some amid a cost-of-living crisis that has meant many Britons are struggling to pay energy bills and buy food.</div><div><br></div><div>Still, Charles has sought to lead a smaller, less expensive royal machine for the 21st century. His was a shorter affair than Elizabeth\'s three-hour coronation, with fewer guests and an abbreviated procession — though there was still plenty to see: judges in wigs, soldiers with gleaming medals attached to red tunics, members of the House of Lords, world royalty, heads of state, public servants, key workers and local heroes.</div><div><br></div><div>The notoriously feuding royal family put on a show of unity. Heir to the throne Prince William, his wife, Kate, and their three children were all in attendance. William’s younger brother Prince Harry, who has publicly sparred with the family, arrived alone. His wife Meghan and their children remained at home in California.</div><div><br></div><div>Towards the end of the ceremony, William knelt before his father and pledged loyalty to the king — before kissing him on the cheek.</div><div><br></div><div>Then Welby invited everyone in the abbey to swear “true allegiance” to the monarch. He invited people watching on television to pay homage, too — though that part of the ceremony was toned down after some criticized it as a tone-deaf effort to demand a public oath of allegiance for Charles.</div><div><br></div><div>Today\'s public is very different from the audience that saw Elizabeth crowned. Almost 20% of the population now comes from ethnic minority groups, compared with less than 1% in the 1950s. More than 300 languages are spoken in British schools, and less than half of the population describe themselves as Christian.</div><div><br></div><div>Still, people came from around the world, and across Britain, to be part of the occasion.</div><div><br></div><div>“It’s just to be surrounded by love and to see our King Charles. He’s our mainstay,\" said Jill Coughlin, a royal fan from Essex, east of London. \"We loved our queen and this is just further generations. So it’s wonderful for us, absolutely wonderful.” According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 21:04:36', '2023-05-06 21:04:36'),
(6711, 6711, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh Metrological Department (BMD) has predicted formation of a low pressure area over the Southeast Bay and adjoining area.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“A low pressure area is likely to form over Southeast Bay and its adjoining area by May 8,” said Dr Abul Kalam Mallik, a meteorologist of BMD.</div><div><br></div><div>“Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at one or two places over Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram divisions with hails at isolated places,” Met office said in its bulletin.</div><div><br></div><div>Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Day and night temperatures may rise slightly over the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, a trough of Westerly low lies over West Bengal and adjoining area. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 21:13:29', '2023-05-06 21:13:29'),
(6712, 6712, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Chinese cut-price fast-fashion giant Shein defended its business model in an interview with AFP, saying demand-based production accounted for its low prices and not forced or cheap labour.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Founded in China in 2008, Shein has swiftly claimed a top place in the global fast-fashion marketplace, offering young social-media-savvy customers low-priced collections that turn over at a steady clip.</div><div><br></div><div>The Singapore-based firm\'s strategy chief Peter Pernot-Day told AFP that Shein is \"an on-demand manufacturer... the global pioneer of this technology\" during a visit to Paris to attend the opening of a Shein pop-up store.</div><div><br></div><div>Testing products with a small run and spooling up production if there was demand meant Shein has eliminated \"inventory risk\", Pernot-Day said, wiping out \"the most significant component of garment cost\".</div><div><br></div><div>Shein\'s sales rose 60 percent in 2021 to $16 billion worldwide, Bloomberg reported -- just behind Swedish high-street name H&amp;M.</div><div><br></div><div>With 9,000 employees worldwide and counting, Shein has big plans for further expansion.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It\'s important to have teams that are in the countries and geographies and regions where we are doing business,\" Pernot-Day said.</div><div><br></div><div>The \"localisation\" strategy includes building a 40,000-square-metre (430,000 square feet) new warehouse in Poland allowing faster deliveries to the European market.</div><div><br></div><div>\"There will be more,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Online, Shein plans to create a digital marketplace that will allow shoppers to buy other products from other brands through its platform.</div><div><br></div><div>Pernot-Day said the fashion and lifestyle shopping experience would resemble a \"digital grand magasin\", referring to Paris\' swanky department stores.</div><div><br></div><div>- \'Still learning\' -</div><div><br></div><div>But relentless expansion of sales and production is exactly what NGOs and some governments hold against Shein, saying its low costs cannot be compatible with fair treatment of labour or the environment.</div><div><br></div><div>Pernot-Day insisted that doing away with the risk of being left with unsold inventory and warehousing accounted for its ability to offer extremely low prices, such as T-Shirts for just 4.99 euros ($5.50).</div><div><br></div><div>\"We are able to accurately measure... demand and only produce enough garments to meet that,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Shein\'s efforts to green its image include a second-hand clothing business in the US, materials research and integrating recycled materials in its products.</div><div><br></div><div>While acknowledging \"fair criticism\" that its product pages offer consumers little detail about recycled content and other tracability factors, \"we\'re trying to enhance how we describe and categorise our products,\" Pernot-Day said.</div><div><br></div><div>He insisted that Shein is \"very connected digitally\" with suppliers\' information about sourcing.</div><div><br></div><div>The company carried out up to 300,000 chemical tests this year alone, Pernot-Day said, adding that it worked with Oritain, a product analysis firm that also works with the US government.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We\'re still learning,\" he added. \"The challenge is that we have a lot of suppliers, lots of products\".</div><div><br></div><div>Pernot-Day also maintained that Shein has \"no suppliers in Xinjiang\" in northwestern China, where aid groups have accused it of using forced labour by Uyghur people.</div><div><br></div><div>US lawmakers recently asked the SEC financial watchdog to require an independent investigation into allegations of forced Uyghur labour at several brands including Shein.</div><div><br></div><div>But the company uses a US government forced labour blacklist \"to look at our supply chain and understand whether or not the companies are in there,\" Pernot-Day said.</div><div><br></div><div>And when allegations are made of copied goods being sold on Shein, \"if it is (proved), we remove it from sale, if not, we won\'t,\" he added, although \"this is a difficult legal question\", reports AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We\'ve seen a reduction of the number of complaints against us\" for intellectual property violations, Pernot-Day told.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 21:22:24', '2023-05-06 21:22:24'),
(6713, 6713, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader had told his concerns about the upcoming elections in five city corporation polls, doubting whether the voters will be able to cast their votes without facing intimidation</b>.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>GM Quader said, \"Will voters be able to cast their votes? Even if they can cast their votes, will those be counted? Will not the ruling Awami League declare the candidates elected as per their choice?\"</div><div><br></div><div>Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader said this while speaking at the 40th founding anniversary of Jatiya Svechchasevak Party at Jatiya Party Chairman\'s Banani office.</div><div><br></div><div>The JP boss said, \"We have given candidates in five city corporation elections. We want to win in all the five city corporations because the candidates who have been nominated have acceptance among people.\"</div><div><br></div><div>GM Quader said, those who talk big in the name of democracy, those who talk about people\'s right to food and vote, have eroded people\'s confidence in voting system.</div><div><br></div><div>He said people are fade up and disappointed with politics. Because common people think that whether we vote or not, the government supporters will win.</div><div><br></div><div>\"People are worried about whether they will be beaten when they go to the vote centres, whether their homes will be attacked,\" Quader added.</div><div><br></div><div>The JP chairman said, Jatiya Party will stand for the people in the upcoming national elections. \"We will do what the people want in the parliamentary elections. We will establish people\'s right to vote.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Quader also said that there is no democracy in the country now. All the powers of the state are now in the hands of one person.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 21:31:28', '2023-05-06 21:31:28');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6714, 6714, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Sri Lanka\'s Matheesha Pathirana led an inspired pace attack to help Chennai Super Kings hammer Mumbai Indians by six wickets in a clash of IPL heavyweights on Saturday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Pathirana, who is called \"Baby Malinga\" for his slinging action similar to former Sri Lankan pace ace Lasith Malinga, returned figures of 3-15 to limit five-time winners Mumbai to 139-8 in Chennai.</div><div><br></div><div>New Zealand opener Devon Conway made 44 as M.S. Dhoni\'s Chennai -- four-time IPL champions -- romped home with 14 balls to spare.</div><div><br></div><div>Dhoni praised Pathirana, saying, \"People who don\'t have any clean action, batsmen have a difficult time picking it. But his consistency, pace makes him special.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Dhoni advised the youngster to stay away from Test cricket and concentrate on playing \"only ICC tournaments with ODIs\".</div><div><br></div><div>The left-handed Conway put on a strong opening stand of 46 with Ruturaj Gaikwad and moved second in the batting chart with 458 runs behind Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis (466).</div><div><br></div><div>The 41-year-old Dhoni hit the winning run at Chennai\'s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium as fans, who are coming in numbers to cheer the superstar cricketer in what it is expected to be his last IPL season as player, went wild.</div><div><br></div><div>Shivam Dube hit an unbeaten 26 off 18 balls as Chennai jumped a spot to second behind table-toppers Gujarat Titans in the 10-team table.</div><div><br></div><div>Chennai\'s bowlers set up victory after they rattled the Mumbai top-order including the key wickets of Cameron Green, out for six after opening the batting, and skipper Rohit Sharma, dismissed for a second successive duck after coming at number three.</div><div><br></div><div>The opening pace duo of Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande reduced Mumbai to 3-14 inside three overs before Nehal Wadhera (64) and Suryakumar Yadav (26) attempted to rebuild in their stand of 55.</div><div><br></div><div>Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja sent back Suryakumar and the 20-year-old Pathirana, who has played one T20 for Sri Lanka, bowled Wadhera with a yorker -- his main weapon -- to take the steam out of the Mumbai batting.</div><div><br></div><div>Pathirana with a unique celebration of his hands in front of his chest and eyes in meditation said, \"I\'m a die-hard fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and have modelled my celebration after him.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Wickets kept tumbling as the dangerous Tim David fell for two off Deshpande and Pathirana got South African batsman Tristan Stubbs for 20. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-06 21:40:45', '2023-05-06 21:40:45'),
(6715, 6715, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">King Charles and Queen Camilla have been crowned on a historic day of pageantry, capped by cheering from crowds in front of Buckingham Palace.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thousands packed the Mall despite the rain, after a deeply religious Coronation service at Westminster Abbey and a huge procession through London.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The King and Queen waved from the Palace balcony as the RAF Red Arrows painted the sky red, white and blue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the BBC understands Prince Harry was not invited to join them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Duke of Sussex had been at the ceremony in the abbey earlier, sitting two rows back from his brother Prince William - the first time they had been seen together since Harry\'s sensational memoir, Spare, was released. He left for the US straight afterwards.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The King\'s day began shortly after 10:00 BST, with the procession to Westminster Abbey in the horse-drawn Diamond Jubilee State Coach, past cheering crowds and an honour guard of 1,000 members of the armed forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Faith leaders and commonwealth leaders began the processions, with the King and Queen following behind.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The two-hour ceremony - the first to crown a monarch in 70 years - was watched on TV around the world, as well as some 2,300 people inside the abbey.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the crown was placed on Charles\'s head cries of \"God Save the King\" were heard inside and outside, and gun salutes were made across the UK.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Celebrity guests were among those inside Westminster Abbey - including actress Emma Thompson and US singer Katy Perry.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US First Lady Jill Biden and her granddaughter Finnegan arrived in a three-car motorcade, although President Biden did not travel to the UK. French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska were also in the abbey, as were Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and leaders of the Commonwealth countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In all, 90 heads of state attended, the Foreign Office said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Coronation\'s main theme was the importance of service.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I come not to be served, but to serve,\" the King said in his first prayer after reaching the abbey.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Charles was proclaimed as the \"undoubted King\" in the first stage of the ceremony. The congregation was then asked to show their homage and service, shouting \"God Save the King\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yet among the music and oaths, there were moments of complete silence as each stage of the ancient ceremony finished.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Traditions rarely seen elsewhere in modern life were maintained - such as the inclusion of the orb and sceptre and the carrying of the gilded Sword of State.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In one part of the service, the King was screened from public for the anointing - seen as the most sacred part of proceedings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This was where the King was anointed with holy oils by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The need for privacy, the Palace said, was because it \"has historically been regarded as a moment between the Sovereign and God\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While waiting for the anointed King to reappear, choristers sang Handel\'s Zadok the Priest - performed at every coronation since 1727.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prince William also made a pledge of loyalty to King Charles, and kissed him on the cheek, before members of the congregation were invited to offer their own support.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Returning to the Palace, it was a spectacle of pomp and pageantry as the newly crowned King and Queen travelled up The Mall in the Gold State Coach flanked by thousands of servicemen and women.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In total, 4,000 armed forces personnel and 19 military bands took part - making it the biggest state occasion since the coronation of the late Queen in 1953.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite the very English weather - constant rain - there was a celebratory atmosphere on The Mall, with periodic Mexican waves and police officers being cheered.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among the thousands of spectators, many of whom camped overnight for the best viewing spot, was Alexandra Hornyak, 57, from Montreal, Canada.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I\'ve known for years that I would want to attend this day, and the day that it was announced, I was driving to the office, and my husband just called me and said \'May 6\',\" she told the BBC.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I knew exactly what it was. And I jumped on the phone to get a hotel reservation and we went from there.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hours later, the Prince and Princess of Wales tweeted a video of the family\'s day, writing: \"What. A. Day. Thank you to everyone who made it happen.\" BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbdd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 07:49:57', '2023-05-07 07:49:57'),
(6716, 6716, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Police say a shooting at a Dallas-area mall left 9 dead and others injured.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A gunman stepped out of a silver sedan and began shooting people at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, on Saturday, sending hundreds of shoppers fleeing in panic in the latest gun violence to strike the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Witnesses who were at the Allen Premium Outlets told The Associated Press they saw multiple victims, including some who appeared to be children, and that they saw a police officer and a mall security guard who appeared to be unconscious on the ground.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A gunman stepped out of a silver sedan and began shooting people at an outlet mall in the Dallas suburb of Allen, Texas, on Saturday, killing an unknown number and sending hundreds of shoppers fleeing in panic in the latest gun violence to strike the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Witnesses who were at the Allen Premium Outlets told The Associated Press they saw multiple victims, including some who appeared to be children, and that they saw a police officer and a mall security guard who appeared to be unconscious on the ground.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Allen police said in a Facebook post that nine victims had been taken to hospitals. Medical City Healthcare, a Dallas-area hospital system, said in a written statement it was treating eight between the ages of 5 and 61. Their conditions were unknown.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dashcam video that circulated online showed a gunman step out of a vehicle outside the mall and immediately start shooting at people on the sidewalk. More than three dozen shots could be heard as the vehicle recording the video drove off.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An Allen Police officer was in the area on an unrelated call when he heard shots at 3:36 p.m., the police department wrote on Facebook.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The officer engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat. He then called for emergency personnel. Nine victims were transported to local hospitals by Allen Fire Department,” the agency wrote in the Facebook post. “There is no longer an active threat.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mass killings are happening with staggering frequency in the United States this year: an average of about one a week, according to an analysis of The AP/USA Today data.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The White House said President Biden had been briefed on the shooting and that the administration had offered support to local officials. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has signed laws easing firearms restrictions following past mass shootings, called it an “unspeakable tragedy.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A crowd of hundreds of people who had been shopping stood outside, across the street from the mall, Saturday evening. Officers circulated among them asking if anyone had seen what happened.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fontayne Payton, 35, was at H&amp;M when he heard the sound of gunshots through the headphones he was wearing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It was so loud, it sounded like it was right outside,” Payton said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">People in the store scattered before employees ushered the group into the fitting rooms and then a lockable back room, he said. When they were given the all-clear to leave, Payton saw the store had broken windows and a trail of blood to the door. Discarded sandals and bloodied clothes were laying nearby.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Once outside, Payton saw bodies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I pray it wasn’t kids, but it looked like kids,” he said. The bodies were covered in white towels, slumped over bags on the ground, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It broke me when I walked out to see that,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Further away, he saw the body of a heavyset man wearing all black. He assumed it was the shooter, Payton said, because unlike the other bodies it had not been covered up.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tarakram Nunna, 25, and Ramakrishna Mullapudi, 26, said they saw what appeared to be three people lying motionless on the ground, including one who appeared to be a police officer and another who appeared to be a mall security guard.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another shopper, Sharkie Mouli, 24, said he hid in a Banana Republic store during the shooting. As he left, he saw what appeared to be an unconscious police officer lying next to another unconscious person outside the outlet store.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I have seen his gun lying right next to him and a guy who is like passing out right next to him,” Mouli said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stan and Mary Ann Greene were browsing in the Columbia sportswear store when the shooting started.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We had just gotten in, just a couple minutes earlier, and we just heard a lot of loud popping,” Mary Ann Greene told The Associated Press.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Employees immediately rolled down the security gate and brought everyone to the rear of the store until police arrived and escorted them out, the Greenes said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eber Romero was at the Under Armour store when a cashier mentioned that there was a shooting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As he left the store, Romero said, the mall appeared empty, and all the shops had their security gates down. That is when he started seeing broken glass and people who had been shot on the floor.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Video shared on social media showed people running through a parking lot while gunfire could be heard.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Read more: Teenage boy kills 8 children, guard at school in Belgrade</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 30 police cruisers with lights flashing were blocking an entrance to the mall, with multiple ambulances on the scene.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A live aerial broadcast from the news station showed armored trucks and other law enforcement vehicles stationed outside the sprawling outdoor mall.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ambulances from several neighboring cities responded to the scene.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Dallas office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Allen, a suburb about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of downtown Dallas, has roughly 105,000 residents. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 08:32:54', '2023-05-07 08:32:54'),
(6717, 6717, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the Awami League (AL) government also wants free and fair elections in Bangladesh likewise the United Kingdom (UK) as its Foreign Minister James Cleverly along with his wife Susannah Sparks called on her here.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We also want fair elections. My party always maintains democracy in the country. We have given the country’s democracy a strong footing,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen quoted her as saying while briefing reporters after their meeting on Saturday (local time).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s younger daughter and the Bangladesh premier’s only sister Sheikh Rehana, among others, was present at the meeting held at the bilateral meeting room of Sheikh Hasina’s Palace of Residence, The Claridge Hotel.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Briefing the newsmen at the hotel, the foreign minister said the UK foreign minister has talked about the upcoming general election in Bangladesh and they want a fair election to be held in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In response, the Bangladesh prime minister said, “We’re committed to hold a fair election. It requires participation of all and I want cooperation from all to hold a fair poll.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the AL government has done everything required to hold a fair election that includes introducing a voter list with photographs and transparent ballot boxes as none can manipulate the polls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the contrary, the BNP had prepared a voter list with 1.23 crore fake voters for rigging votes during its tenure, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have made the Election Commission (EC) as independent and powerful enough alongside bringing institutional frameworks to hold a fair election,” she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said they believe in Westminster like democracy following which Bangladesh has introduced a question-answer session.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the meeting, several bilateral issues like climate, trade and commerce alongside the Rohingya have come up for the talks prominently among others issues, Momen said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UK foreign minister has highly praised the humanitarian role of Bangladesh premier for sheltering a huge number of Rohingyas in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Britain will remain beside Bangladesh for quick repatriation of Rohingyas,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Momen said the British government has taken a bill on the Rohingya issue in the Security Council and played an effective role to pass the resolution.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UK foreign minister also expressed his gratitude to the Bangladesh premier as she joined the coronation of King Charles III.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has a very good relationship with the UK since Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur&nbsp; Rahman arrived in London after being released from the Pakistani jail following the country’s independence and was warmly received there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UK foreign minister said, “Relations between Bangladesh and the UK is very deep-rooted and it is being further consolidated as the days approaches and the relationship has been strengthened over the years.”&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He lauded the economic advancement of Bangladesh under the dynamic leadership of Sheikh Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bangladesh premier has highly praised the late Queen Elizabeth II recalling that the Queen had always inquired about her and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Momen said Sheikh Hasina also had interactions with King Charles III during the Commonwealth Leaders’ Event while she invited the King to visit Bangladesh and the King replied positively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, PM’s Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah, PM’s Speechwriter M Nazrul Islam and Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida&nbsp; Muna Tasneem, among others, were present at the briefing. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 08:46:44', '2023-05-07 08:46:44'),
(6718, 6718, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has offered Bhutan to build an economic zone in Bangladesh for mutual benefits as Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema had a meeting with her here.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We’re establishing economic zones in Bangladesh. You can build an economic zone in our country which will be familiar with the Bhutan Economic Zone,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen quoted her as saying in a news briefing after their meeting on Saturday (local time).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, the Bangladesh premier and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana received the Bhutanese King and Queen upon their arrival at Sheikh Hasina’s Palace of Residence, The Claridge Hotel as the meeting was held at its bilateral meeting room.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bangladesh premier said they have already provided economic zones in Bangladesh to India, Japan and South Korea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“If you want, we can give you an economic zone in Kurigram,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina has made the offer when the Bhutanese King said they wanted to build an administrative economic zone in his country keeping the environment unharmed.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bangladesh foreign minister said Bhutan doesn’t want to endanger their country environmentally as their country is a happy one.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said that Bangladesh has been developing communication with neighbours through all the ways that include railways.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Bangladesh is a connectivity hub. Bhutan can use Bangladesh’s two ports and the Syedpur International Airport as we make those open for this purpose,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bhutanese King and Queen highly praised the economic advancement of Bangladesh under the dynamic leadership of Sheikh Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck has expressed his desire to get direct transit with Bangladesh through India.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bangladesh premier has welcomed the Bhutan’s eagerness, saying, “If necessary, we will talk to India over the matter.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bhutanese King said his country’s prime minister and foreign minister have a special attachment with Bangladesh as both of them studied in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said both the premier and foreign minister of Bhutan have wanted to visit Bangladesh privately.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To this end, Sheikh Hasina said, “My door is open for your people.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the 50 minutes meeting, they also discussed various family affairs and the Bhutanese King and Queen considered the prime minister as their maternal aunt, the Bangladesh foreign minister said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, PM’s Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, PM’s Speechwriter M Nazrul Islam and Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida&nbsp; Muna Tasneem, among others, were present at the meeting. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 09:45:21', '2023-05-07 09:45:21'),
(6719, 6719, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">With eight more days left to appear the Bangla month of Jyestha, commonly known as \"Modhumash\", the juicy fruit litchi has started appearing in the local markets including Rajshahi city and its adjacent areas in limited scale.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But due to its less quantity, the present price is beyond the purchasing capacity of the commoners.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The summer season will bring many other juicy fruits like mango and jackfruit naturally in the region by mid of this month and June abundantly that will infuse dynamism into the local economy like the previous years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Shafiqul Islam, principal scientific officer of Fruit Research Station, told BSS that only the local varieties of litchi have started appearing in the markets at present. But, the Bombay variety is expected to come to the markets within the next couple of weeks abundantly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said many people are getting benefits by growing litchi as China-3 (hybrid), Bombay and Madrazi are the most popular varieties in the region. Litchi is grown well in Rajshahi and Dinajpur districts but \'litchi of Ishwardi\' is very delicious and famous across the country, Dr Islam added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition to commercial farming, high yielding China-3, Bombay and Madrazi variety litchis are also being cultivated on homestead lands.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said commercial farming of some of the fruits especially mango and litchi are gradually increasing in the region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Shafiqul Islam, however, mentioned that satisfactory flowering was seen in many of the trees in the region including Ishwardi, which is famous for litchi production, during the current season that will create a positive impact on total production.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Seasonal traders set up makeshift shops at different points in the city especially Shaheb Bazar, Bindurmore, Laxmipur Bazar, Sheroil Bus Terminal, Railway Station and Court Bazaar with the eye-catching fruit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the advent of the season, every 100 litchi fruits are being sold at Taka 300 to 450 based on quality and size.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sellers said the price is high as the supply is scanty but it will be reduced to some extent when the supply will be enhanced within the next couple of days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trader Shamim Hossain in Shaheb Bazar area said many farmers are harvesting immature litchi with the hope of getting more money.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Abdur Razzaque of Kapasia village said all of his 30 litchi trees on one bigha of land bloomed this year and there were large number of \'guti\' (young litchi) on the branches.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sharing his personal experience, he said a five-year-old tree can produce around 100 to 150 kilograms of litchi which are equivalent to 2,000 to 6,000 pieces of fruits in number.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most of the families at Bargachhi, Bagsara, Charghat and Bagha have become economically solvent by cultivating the fruit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Shamsul Wadud said many people became self-reliant by cultivating litchi in recent years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said there are hundreds of litchi orchards on more than 1,000 hectares of land which produces huge yields. This production meets the local demand as well as being consigned to other parts of the country every year, Wadud added. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 10:45:45', '2023-05-07 10:45:45'),
(6720, 6720, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka’s air ranked 9th most polluted among cities around the world this morning, as per Air Quality Index (AQI).</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The air in Dhaka was categorised as ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, with an AQI score of 104 at 9:10am.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chile’s Santiago, India’s Delhi and Nepal’s Kathmandu occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 170, 158, and 157 respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 150 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, between 201 and 300 is said to be \'very unhealthy\', while a reading of 301+ is considered \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants — particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 10:48:33', '2023-05-07 10:48:33'),
(6721, 6721, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Vietnam posted a record high temperature of 44.1 degrees Celsius on Saturday, officials said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The reading from a weather station in the north-central Thanh Hoa province breaks the country\'s previous high of 43.4 degrees and comes only a month after much of South Asia endured record-breaking temperatures. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 11:10:36', '2023-05-07 11:10:36'),
(6722, 6722, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in South Korea on Sunday as Seoul and Tokyo seek to restart their \"shuttle diplomacy\" and mend ties in the face of growing nuclear threats from Pyongyang.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The plane carrying Kishida landed at Seoul Airport in Seongnam on Sunday -- the first official bilateral visit by a Japanese leader to South Korea in over a decade. He was greeted by officials ahead of a key summit later in the day with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The East Asian neighbours, both key security allies of the United States, have long been at odds over historic issues linked to Japan\'s brutal 1910 to 1945 colonial occupation of the Korean peninsula, including sexual slavery and forced labour.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But President Yoon has made resetting ties with Japan a top priority for his administration, and was in Tokyo in March for a key fence-mending visit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kishida said Sunday ahead of his departure that the two leaders were working to resume their so-called \"shuttle diplomacy\" -- paused for years during a bitter trade spat linked to the forced labour issue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During their March summit, Kishida and Yoon agreed to end tit-for-tat trade curbs, with Kishida inviting the South Korean leader to a G7 meeting in Hiroshima this month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kishida said he was looking forward to \"an honest exchange of views\" with Yoon, \"based on a relationship of trust\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After his arrival, Kishida will visit the Seoul National Cemetery -- where South Korea\'s war veterans are buried -- to lay flowers. He will hold talks with Yoon on Sunday afternoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yoon is expected to host a dinner party at the presidential residence -- likely serving Korean barbeque -- and he may even cook for Kishida, according to local reports.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Forced labour dispute -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2018, South Korea\'s Supreme Court ordered Japanese firms to compensate the wartime victims of forced labour, enraging Tokyo and triggering a breakdown in ties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Yoon, who took office last year, has sought to bury the historical hatchet, earlier announcing a plan to compensate victims without direct involvement from Tokyo.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kishida said Sunday that the leaders planned to hold \"candid exchanges\" on this topic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Around 100 South Koreans gathered Saturday to protest Kishida\'s trip, saying that Japan\'s wartime animosities must be on top of the agenda at Sunday\'s summit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kishida \"must sincerely apologise for Japan\'s crimes against humanity and fulfil its responsibilities,\" said demonstrator Kim Jae-won.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The best possible outcome for Koreans would be for \"Kishida to apologise in his own words,\" Benjamin A. Engel, research professor at the Institute of International Affairs at Seoul National University, told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Even then it probably won\'t be enough for many Koreans, but if Kishida has nothing new to say compared with the previous meeting the summit will not be well received in Korea,\" Engel said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Efforts to mend ties come as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who last year declared his country an \"irreversible\" nuclear power, doubles down on weapons development and testing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pyongyang has conducted a record-breaking string of launches in 2023, including test-firing the country\'s first solid-fuel ballistic missile -- a technical breakthrough.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United States and South Korea have in turn been ramping up their defence cooperation, staging a series of major military exercises including two trilateral drills involving Japan this year. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 12:01:17', '2023-05-07 12:01:17'),
(6723, 6723, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The UN nuclear chief warned of dangerous conditions around Europe\'s largest nuclear power plant as Russia\'s evacuation of civilians from near the Zaporizhzhia station has sparked fears of escalating conflict in the area.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly raised concern over the safety of the six-reactor plant in southern Ukraine, which has been on the front line since Russian forces seized it last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Blaming stepped-up shelling from the Ukrainian side, Russia last week ordered families with children and elderly to temporarily leave the nearby town of Enerhodar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The general situation in the area near the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous,\" IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement on Saturday. \"I\'m extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While the nuclear plant\'s staff remain onsite, IAEA experts have \"received information that the announced evacuation of residents from the nearby town of Enerhodar -- where most plant staff live -- has started and they are closely monitoring the situation for any potential impact on nuclear safety and security,\" Grossi added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Enerhodar evacuation is part of a wider removal order that extends to 18 other frontline locations in the Zaporizhzhia region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, a city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, accused the Russian forces of proceeding too quickly with the evacuation, with buses departing every 20-30 minutes starting Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Posting pictures on Telegram of the checkpoint between Russian-occupied Melitopol and annexed Crimea, he said on Saturday that there was \"a mad panic and no less mad queues\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The partial evacuation they announced is going too fast, and there is a possibility that they may be preparing for provocations and (for that reason) focusing on civilians,\" Fedorov wrote on Telegram.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow has blamed Kyiv -- and its Western supporters -- for a series of attacks and sabotage operations, including on the Kremlin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine has been preparing an offensive against Russian forces for months and some analysts see these recent incidents as a sign it is now imminent. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 12:06:18', '2023-05-07 12:06:18');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6724, 6724, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Rodrygo Goes fired Real Madrid to Copa del Rey glory with a clinical double in a 2-1 victory over Osasuna in Seville on Saturday, with Brazilian compatriot Vinicius Junior playing a part in both goals.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Carlo Ancelotti\'s Madrid earned their 20th Spanish Cup at La Cartuja in their 40th final, ending a nine-year wait to lift the trophy again.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Osasuna, who have never won a major trophy, fought well but ultimately fell short against the reigning Spanish and European champions, who face Manchester City on Tuesday in the Champions League semi-finals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Madrid have now won all six of the trophies available to them during Ancelotti\'s second reign at the club, after the Italian returned in 2021.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rodrygo fired Madrid ahead inside two minutes after Vinicius\' run down the left, and Ancelotti\'s team had the better chances in the first half.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Lucas Torro levelled for Osasuna in the 58th minute to give them hope of an upset in their first cup final since 2005, and second ever.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rodrygo whisked it away, firing home after a rebound fell his way following another Vinicius charge, ensuring Madrid would take the trophy back to the capital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"They made the difference, Vini unbalanced them and Rodrygo scored the two goals,\" said Ancelotti of his Brazilian wingers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Madrid beat both Atletico Madrid and then rivals Barcelona to reach the final and Ancelotti said it was time to celebrate, but not too heavily ahead of the clash with City.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This Copa arrived at an important moment, we came through very tricky ties, it\'s a deserved prize against strong opponents,\" added the coach.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This night we will celebrate, a little bit, not too much, and then we will get back to work for Tuesday.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Osasuna coach Jagoba Arrasate deployed midfielder Jon Moncayola at right-back to try and stop Madrid winger Vinicius.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It didn\'t work. Vinicius broke in down the left in the second minute and his dangerous cut-back was missed by Fede Valverde but slammed home by Rodrygo.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Brazilian, in sparkling form, scored the earliest Copa del Rey final goal since 2006 -- a year after Osasuna finished runners-up to Real Betis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Karim Benzema should have doubled Madrid\'s lead but Sergio Herrera saved brilliantly to deny the forward after another lightning Vinicius break.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Osasuna earned a foothold in the game and came inches from equalising when on loan Barcelona winger Ez Abde broke through on goal but Dani Carvajal cleared his effort off the line.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Vinicius in wars -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Madrid continued to push for their second goal -- David Alaba struck the crossbar with a free kick and Vinicius went down in the box under pressure from Osasuna defender David Garcia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His appeals were waved away and Vinicius clashed with Garcia, who attended the 2005 final as a childhood supporter, who ruffled his hair to annoy him further.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vinicius was booked just before half-time for complaining, and exchanged heated words with Osasuna substitute Chimy Avila as the players walked in at half-time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Torro drilled Osasuna level from the edge of the box when Abde\'s deflected cross fell into his path.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The club\'s passionate supporters celebrated wildly, including letting off a flare which needed to be extinguished, and one fan was taken away on a stretcher, although he appeared to be smiling.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Osasuna\'s joy did not last long though, with Vinicius making another dangerous burst in down the left -- Madrid president Florentino Perez later calling him the best in the world in his position.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vinicius fed Toni Kroos, whose shot was blocked, but Rodrygo was in the right place at the right time to finish with aplomb and put Madrid\'s name on the trophy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I\'m really happy, we were talking about this in the week, that it was a long time since Madrid had won this competition,\" Rodrygo told Spanish television broadcaster La 1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Osasuna departed with the taste of defeat but their heads held high.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s very difficult to defend against (Vinicius) and on Tuesday I am sure City will suffer too,\" said coach Arrasate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s not news that Vinicius stood out, Rodrygo scored two as well, we\'re talking about two of the best players in the world.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"(Madrid) are champions because they deserve this cup, but we\'re proud of the team, and let\'s try to do it again.\" AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 12:18:09', '2023-05-07 12:18:09'),
(6725, 6725, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Gazipur City Corporation’s (GCC) former mayor Jahangir Alam on Sunday submitted a writ petition to the High Court, challenging the legality of cancellation of his nomination paper for the mayoral post in the upcoming GCC election.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barrister Nakib Saiful Islam, on behalf of the former mayor, submitted the petition to the HC bench concerned a week after Gazipur’s Returning Officer (RO) Faridul Islam cancelled his nomination paper in a primary scrutinization, as he is a “loan defaulter”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On May 4, Jahangir appealed to Dhaka divisional commissioner against the cancellation; the appeal was rejected on the same day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After being rejected, Jahangir moved the HC, challenging the cancellation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On April 30, during primary scrutinization, Jahangir’s nomination was cancelled while his mother Zaida Khatun’s nomination was declared valid.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jahangir was the guarantor of an industrial organization. Jahangir was declared a loan defaulter along with the organization, the returning officer said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though the former mayor and his counsel submitted documents demonstrating paying off the loan along with the nomination paper, the returning officer cancelled his nomination during the scrutinization. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 13:58:12', '2023-05-07 13:58:12'),
(6726, 6726, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Saturday lashed out at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for their foreign trips amid the country\'s current \"crises\", Dawn reported.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is currently in the UK for the coronation of King Charles III while Foreign Minister Bilawal visited India on Thursday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)\'s Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Imran Khan, while addressing a PTI rally from inside his vehicle in Lahore, took aim at the two leaders. The rally was held to show support and solidarity with the Supreme Court, Constitution and Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Pakistan is being humiliated in the world. We ask the question, Bilawal you are touring the entire world but first tell us, before going, do you ask anyone that you\'re spending the country\'s money on a trip, so what will be the benefit or loss from it?\" Khan said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PTI chief questioned what benefit was gained from the trip to India, Dawn reported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in his remarks at the SCO meeting, said terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, must be stopped, usually a reference to Pakistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We firmly believe that there can be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, he alleged that Pakistan backed terrorists in Kashmir and the Pakistan foreign minister\'s position was \"found out and called out\", according to Dawn. NTDV</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 14:06:08', '2023-05-07 14:06:08'),
(6727, 6727, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Kangana Ranaut has said that she does not want many people to see the conversation that she has with her fans. She was responding to a suggestion that she should ‘buy followers’ on social media.&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A fan of Kangana\'s tweeted to her, \"Seriously @KanganaTeam you are top actress you should also buy fake followers like other actresses you deserve better than this.\" Kangana responded to the suggestion and wrote, \"No, no I don’t want too many people to see my personal communication with my fans only those who are deserving. Even if they become less it’s better …. Lord Krishna has said anything of value you must never offer unless asked for … there are consequences to such an act of irresponsibility.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kangana\'s fans were happy with her response and many tweeted to apperiate her take. \"Exactly, and why need fake followers she is the real person in the outer world and inner too ..much love,\" one of them said. Another one added, \"That’s what make you different from others. This is the reason we admire you.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most recently seen in Rajneesh Ghai\'s Dhaakad, Kangana has several interesting projects lined up for next. She will star in P Vasu\'s Chandramukhi 2 - a sequel to the blockbuster hit Tamil horror comedy film Chandramukhi that featured Rajinikanth and Jyothika. Kangana will essay the role of a court dancer in the new film.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kangana is also set to make her directorial debut later this year with the film Emergency. She essays the role of India\'s first woman prime minister, late Indira Gandhi in the film that also stars Pankaj Tripathi, Mahima Chaudhry, Anupam Kher, and Shreyas Talpade. Kangana will also has Tejas, Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda, and The Incarnation: Sita in the pipeline. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 14:30:59', '2023-05-07 14:30:59'),
(6728, 6728, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A man who went on a rampage at a Texas outlet mall on Saturday shot dead eight people before he was himself killed, authorities said.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>More 7 others also sustained critical injuries in the incident.</div><div><br></div><div>\"(We) found seven deceased individuals on scene. We transported nine individuals to the hospital... Of those we transported, two have since died,\" said fire chief Jonathan Boyd of Allen, Texas.</div><div><br></div><div>The shooting sparked panic at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling shopping complex in Allen, 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Dallas, filled with weekend shoppers.</div><div><br></div><div>A police officer was in the mall on an unrelated call when gunfire broke out around 3:30 pm (2030 GMT), said chief Brian Harvey of the Allen police department.</div><div><br></div><div>\"He heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralized the suspect,\" Harvey said. \"He also then called for ambulances.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The identity of the shooter was not released. His body, sprawled on a sidewalk, was one of the seven deaths at the mall when more police arrived.</div><div><br></div><div>Among the wounded at area hospitals, \"three are in critical surgery, and four are stable,\" Boyd, the fire chief, said.</div><div><br></div><div>Some of the victims were as young as five years old, a hospital official told NBC News.</div><div><br></div><div>Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the mass shooting an \"unspeakable tragedy.\"</div><div><br></div><div>President Joe Biden \"has been briefed on the shooting,\" a White House official told reporters.</div><div><br></div><div>Local officials hailed the actions of the police officer who charged and killed the shooter.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We owe a debt of gratitude to first responders that ran toward the gunfire and acted swiftly to neutralize the threat,\" said Keith Self, a Republican congressman whose district includes the city of Allen.</div><div><br></div><div>Video footage aired by CNN showed the shooter getting out of a sedan in the parking lot of the mall, and beginning his rampage.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities believed initially that a second shooter might be on the loose. As police combed through stores in the mall, frantic shoppers and store employees rushed into parking lots.</div><div><br></div><div>Harvey later said police believe the unidentified shooter, who CNN said was wearing tactical gear, \"acted alone.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Janet St. James, a spokesperson for Medical City Healthcare, which operates multiple trauma facilities in North Texas, said it received eight patients from the shooting, ranging in age from five to 61, NBC News reported.</div><div><br></div><div>A father who arrived at the mall after his daughter, who was inside, phoned to tell him about the shooting, also told CNN that police had informed him there may have been a second shooter.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We saw the police outside the door, and they told us we had to go, and that they are still looking for the person,\" Jaynal Pervez said, according to CNN.</div><div><br></div><div>\"There\'s no more safe places. I don\'t know what to do.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Pervez later told broadcaster CBS that scenes in the mall parking lot were chaotic.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I saw the shoes around there, people\'s cell phones on the street,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>With more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country -- 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before.</div><div><br></div><div>There have been more than 195 mass shootings -- defined as four or more people wounded or killed -- so far this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 16:24:34', '2023-05-07 16:24:34'),
(6729, 6729, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Sunday underlined the need for ensuring that the public money is spent properly.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He said this when Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of Bangladesh Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury presented the annual audit and account report to him at Bangabhaban, President\'s press secretary Joynal Abedin said.</div><div><br></div><div>Sahabuddin said the importance of audit to ensure discipline in the financial sector is immense.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the president directed the authorities concerned to be more proactive in resolving audit objections.</div><div><br></div><div>The CAG briefed the president about various aspects of the report.</div><div><br></div><div>He submitted 47 audit and accounting reports to the president.</div><div><br></div><div>President\'s office secretary Sampad Barua, military secretary Major General SM Salah Uddin Islam were also present. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 18:40:55', '2023-05-07 18:40:55'),
(6730, 6730, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>In Dasherkandi village, located around the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, local children happily swam in the clean river under the scorching sun. Deng Mingze, deputy manager of the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant project, felt elated as he observed this scene.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Things were completely different before,\" explained the 33-year-old Chinese engineer from PowerChina Chengdu Engineering Corporation Limited, adding that untreated sewage went straight into the river, making it so dirty in the past.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant, financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and constructed by HydroChina Corporation, a subsidiary of PowerChina, started operation in April 2022. It marked the first modern large-scale sewage treatment plant in Bangladesh, capable of providing modern sewerage services to approximately 5 million people in Dhaka.</div><div><br></div><div>From then on, all water that flows into the river has been treated, making the river clear and visible to the naked eye, Deng said, citing that children frequently play in the area.</div><div><br></div><div>However, the project was not without its challenges. During the busiest period of construction, Deng and his colleagues worked from 6 a.m. until late at night for nearly six months.</div><div><br></div><div>As the saying goes, \"no pain, no gain.\" Deng recalled that despite difficulties throughout the project, he became stronger mentally and more capable.</div><div><br></div><div>\"As young people, we should have adaptability, innovation and problem-solving skills while working on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects to demonstrate the positive spirit of the Chinese youth to the world,\" he stressed.</div><div><br></div><div>In Keraniganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Zhang Yadong, an engineer from China Railway Group Limited, is working alongside his local colleagues on Bangladesh\'s largest BRI rail project.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Zhang arrived in Bangladesh right after his graduation in 2016, and he vividly remembers his initial struggles. \"The first difficulty I encountered was having a meeting with the quantity surveyor to discuss measurements independently. It took me a long time to communicate with him due to differences in our understanding of the measurements,\" he said, adding that \"it was a small thing, but I was really nervous at the time.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Using this experience as a foundation, Zhang has grown from an assistant economist to a commercial executive, working on key projects such as the 172-km Padma Bridge Rail Link Project that connects over 20 districts in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>In early April, the project, financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and constructed by China Railway Group Limited, conducted a successful test run of the train. Despite the challenges during construction such as the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhang said all the efforts were worthwhile when he saw the first train travel on a newly-built BRI railway on Bangladesh\'s largest Chinese-built Padma Bridge.</div><div><br></div><div>The BRI, a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was initiated by China in 2013 to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes.</div><div><br></div><div>In recent years, Bangladesh has actively participated in the BRI and has cooperated with China on many infrastructure projects, including the Dhaka Elevated Expressway.</div><div><br></div><div>The project is expected to employ more than 10,000 people during the construction and reduce travel time from the airport to the N1 national highway to about a quarter of the original time upon its launch.</div><div><br></div><div>Yao Yao, the finance manager of the Asia-Pacific company of China Shandong International Economic and Technical Cooperation Ltd., the investment platform of Shandong High-Speed Group, is proud to work on this project.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I arrived in Bangladesh in March 2020, just one month before the project financing was closed. We had to work overtime every day to communicate with the local government, bank agents and legal advisers to meet various requirements within such a limited time. Fortunately, we secured the first bank loan in early April,\" Yao said, adding that completing the expressway as scheduled was not easy, \"but our whole team was great.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The team Yao mentioned is a youth group consisting of 12 members, with the youngest being born after 2000 and the oldest in the 1980s, and an average age of less than 30. At every crucial stage of the project, young engineers spontaneously built a team to ensure its success.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Everyone on the team is positive, enthusiastic and dynamic,\" he said. They also organize badminton and basketball games in their spare time. \"Busy but fulfilling. Balancing work and life is what young people should strive for.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"Young people involved in the BRI projects are not just constructors but also a shining light of China and the bond that connects China with other countries. We must do our best,\" Yao added. - XINHUA</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 19:24:17', '2023-05-07 19:24:17'),
(6731, 6731, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday requested the Commonwealth to send diversified election observers from different member countries for the upcoming general election&nbsp; in Bangladesh.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>She made the request while the Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Patricia Scotland called on the visiting prime minister her at the Claridge Hotel here.</div><div><br></div><div>Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen briefed the reporters after the call on.</div><div><br></div><div>He said that the prime minister raised the issue of election and made the request for diversified election observers from various Commonwealth countries.</div><div><br></div><div>In reply, Patricia Scotland said that the Commonwealth is ready to help Bangladesh in holding the election, according to Momen.</div><div><br></div><div>She said that In many Commonwealth countries they&nbsp; made the same arrangement where all political parties express their commitment that they will participate in the election, and what they want for making the polls fair.</div><div><br></div><div>“If they do not win in the election, they must accept it,” Momen quoted her as saying.</div><div><br></div><div>She also said that the political parties will pledge that they will not go for violence.</div><div><br></div><div>“All political parties will express their commitment for free and fair election,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Momen said that Bangladesh government also wants that.</div><div><br></div><div>“All political parties will make their political commitment,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The Commonwealth secretary general said that the political parties will make their public commitment where they will say that they will participate in the election, will do everything for ensuring fair and non-violent election.</div><div><br></div><div>“They want to help us,” Momen said adding, “We said of course.\"</div><div><br></div><div>PM Hasina requested them to impart training to the Election Commission officers in the district level like they did in the past.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina asked them to hold meetings with the Election Commission as it is now independent.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister informed the Commonwealth that her government has taken a number of steps to strengthen the Election Commission and ensured voting rights in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>She mentioned that apart from ruling Awami League all other major political parties of the country originated from the cantonment, after grabbing state power illegally.</div><div><br></div><div>“Awami League is the only political party that belongs to the people and has always upheld the country’s democratic process,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>PM’s speechwriter M Nazrul Islam and Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida&nbsp; Muna Tasneem were also present in the briefing.</div><div><br></div><div>Apart from the election, artificial intelligence, climate, mental health and digital connectivity were prominently discussed in the meeting, Momen said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Premier has expressed her desire that Bangladesh wanted to lead artificial intelligence committee of Commonwealth from June next as the country is now leading the Commonwealth’s business to business event, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>He went on saying that the Commonwealth Secretary General has agreed to the matter, reports UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 20:28:54', '2023-05-07 20:28:54'),
(6732, 6732, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A multi-vehicle crash in southern Turkiye\'s Hatay province killed at least 12 people and injured 31 others, including three seriously, officials said.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A truck crossed into opposite lanes after the driver lost control late on Saturday, colliding with nine cars and two minibuses, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.</div><div><br></div><div>Many of the vehicles were parked by the roadside near a gas station as friends and relatives said goodbye to men leaving to carry out mandatory military service.</div><div><br></div><div>Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that fires broke out on the Iskenderun-Antakya highway.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister tweeted that 22 ambulances and three medical rescue teams were sent to the scene in Topbogazli.</div><div><br></div><div>“May God have mercy on our citizens who lost their lives, I express my condolences to their relatives,” he tweeted. “We will do our best to ensure that the injured regain their health as soon as possible.”</div><div><br></div><div>Hatay was one of the worst hit of the 11 Turkish provinces affected by a Feb. 6 earthquake that devastated parts of Turkiye and Syria. At least 50,783 died in Turkiye, according to the government.</div><div><br></div><div>The private Demiroren news agency said that the truck was carrying excavated earthquake rubble and hit another truck before crossing the highway at around 7 pm local time (1600 GMT).</div><div><br></div><div>Witness Ali Sarrac said that some of those killed had burned to death, Anadolu reported. Images showed burning vehicles as emergency teams tried to keep people away from the blaze. - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 21:57:54', '2023-05-07 21:57:54'),
(6733, 6733, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has highly praised Bangladesh’s tremendous economic advancement under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Paying a courtesy call on Bangladesh Prime Minister at the Claridge\'s hotel on Sunday, he also expressed his desire to help Bangladesh for further development in various sectors.</div><div><br></div><div>Foreign Minister Dr Ak Abdul Momen briefed reporters afterwards.</div><div><br></div><div>“The former UK Prime Minister has highly admired Bangladesh’s development and wanted to help Bangladesh in its further development,“ the foreign minister said.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister told Blair that Bangladesh needs more foreign investment to generate more employment, according to Momen.</div><div><br></div><div>Tony Blair said that he has good relations with the Middle East countries particularly the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) ones and he can help Bangladesh to increase business connectivity.</div><div><br></div><div>Blair, also head of the Tony Blair Institution for Global Change, was quoted as saying: “The current economy of Bangladesh is very attractive and Bangladesh is doing very well economically.”</div><div><br></div><div>The foreign minister said the ex-prime minister of UK expressed his happiness over the bilateral relations between the UK and Bangladesh, saying, “The UK and Bangladesh relationship is very excellent.”</div><div><br></div><div>He also greeted the Bangladesh premier for coming to attend the coronation of King Charles III.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities concerned from the Tony Blair Institution for Global Change will visit Bangladesh and sit with BIDA to identify the sectors for which Bangladesh needs help in development.</div><div><br></div><div>PM’s Speechwriter M Nazrul Islam and Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem, among others, were present at the briefing. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 22:05:54', '2023-05-07 22:05:54'),
(6734, 6734, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">DMP Commissioner Khandkar Golam Faruq today asked his subordinates to face any situation in ‘cool brain’ to keep law and order normal.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“To keep the law and order, subordinates will follow orders of the commander with patience and cool brain in any situation” he said after inspecting the master parade at Mirpur POM (Public Order Management) Police Lines ground this morning.</div><div><br></div><div>The DMP Commissioner said everyone has to know the parade for discipline and future leadership, adding, “Police have to be efficient in both civilian dress and uniform. In any situation, keep brain cool and obey the command of the commander.”</div><div><br></div><div>He also made directives to deputy commissioners concerned to conduct continuous parades for increasing physical capacity and mental refreshment.</div><div><br></div><div>Faruq also instructed for ensuring necessary training on how to defend oneself with bare hands and do public management.</div><div><br></div><div>He said that the POM\'s force played a humanitarian role in the Newmarket fire incident. As a result, the status of DMP and Bangladesh Police has increased.</div><div><br></div><div>The DMP chief expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the POM Force in the last few months.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, the commissioner took salute of the well-equipped contingent and flag-bearers comprising members of various units of the DMP. Deputy Commissioner of POM West Division Momtazul Ehsan Ahmed Humayun led the parade. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 22:12:34', '2023-05-07 22:12:34'),
(6735, 6735, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Taliban agreed with China and Pakistan to extend the Belt and Road Initiative to Afghanistan, potentially drawing in billions of dollars to fund infrastructure projects in the sanctions-hit country.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang and his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met in Islamabad on Saturday and pledged to work together on Afghanistan’s reconstruction process including taking the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to the Taliban-ruled nation.</div><div><br></div><div>“The two sides agreed to continue their humanitarian and economic assistance for the Afghan people and enhance development cooperation in Afghanistan, including through extension of CPEC to Afghanistan,” according to a joint statement issued by Pakistan’s foreign ministry following the meeting</div><div><br></div><div>Chinese and Pakistani officials have previously discussed extending the project to Afghanistan built under President Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt and Road initiative that started almost a decade ago. The cash-strapped Taliban government has expressed readiness to participate in the project and the prospect of getting much needed infrastructure investment.</div><div><br></div><div>The Taliban’s top diplomat, Amir Khan Muttaqi, traveled to Islamabad to meet his Chinese and Pakistani counterparts and reached an agreement, his deputy spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmad said by phone.</div><div><br></div><div>The Taliban have also harbored hopes for China to boost investments in the country’s rich resources, estimated to be $1 trillion. The government inked its first contract in January with a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation to extract oil from the northern Amu Darya basin.</div><div><br></div><div>The Chinese and Pakistani ministers also stressed on the need to unfreeze Afghanistan’s overseas financial assets. The Taliban has been blocked from accessing about $9 billion of Afghanistan’s central bank reserves held overseas on concerns the funds will be used for terror activities.</div><div><br></div><div>Washington later agreed to release half of it to bolster the economy but put it on hold after the Taliban imposed certain school and work restrictions on Afghan women last year.</div><div><br></div><div>The militants-turned-administrators see investments as a way to fix a cash-strapped economy after international aid, accounting for 60% of public spending, was halted following the chaotic withdrawal of US troops in 2021.</div><div><br></div><div>China, Russia, and Iran are among a handful of countries that maintain warm ties with the Taliban. They have provided aid in the tens of millions of dollars to the Taliban, but have stopped short of formally recognizing the government.</div><div><br></div><div>The US remains the single largest donor to the humanitarian response by global agencies, having provided more than $2.1 billion since the Taliban retook power, according to a report.</div><div><br></div><div>A UN agency said last week it requires $4.6 billion this year to help more than two-thirds of the country’s 40 million population who’re living in extreme poverty. A 2022 Gallup poll showed that nine in ten Afghans find it “difficult” or “very difficult” to survive on their present income.</div><div><br></div><div>Chinese businesses have been wary of investing in Afghanistan due to attacks by the Islamic State group, which is competing with the Taliban for influence. In December, the militant group took credit for an attack at a Kabul hotel popular with Chinese diplomats and businessmen.</div><div><br></div><div>There’s also the presence of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, a Xinjiang-based separatist group, that’s kept Beijing rather cautious about expanding its influence.</div><div><br></div><div>Muttaqi’s second visit to Pakistan comes days after the United Nations stressed the need to engage with the Taliban rulers as Afghanistan is facing the “largest” humanitarian crisis in the world. Source: Times of India</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-07 22:59:26', '2023-05-07 22:59:26'),
(6736, 6736, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Texas authorities have named a heavily armed gunman who killed eight people including children at a Dallas shopping mall as Mauricio Garcia, aged 33.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The man, from Dallas himself, was shot dead by a police officer who was attending a different call in the area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The gunman in Saturday\'s attack used an AR-15 style rifle and wore combat gear, President Joe Biden said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Investigators quoted by US media say he may have had far-right links, as suggested by a clothing patch he wore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two sources told CBS News - the BBC\'s US partner - that the patch bore the letters RWDS, standing for \"Right Wing Death Squad\" - believed to be a neo-Nazi group.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Police searched a nearby hotel where Garcia was staying, as well as a home in the city, reports say. He opened fire on shoppers at the Allen Premium Outlets mall, in the north Dallas suburbs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least three injured victims remained in critical condition on Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Garcia also had a handgun, and more weapons and ammunition were found in his car, an investigator said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A law-enforcement source told CBS that he used an assault weapon to gun down his victims and multiple rounds of ammunition were found on his person. He was wearing armoured ballistic gear.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Investigators are combing through social media and online accounts looking for clues as to whether he may have had links to domestic violent extremists and like-minded individuals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Biden called for a ban on such assault rifles earlier on Sunday, lamenting what he called \"the latest act of gun violence to devastate our nation\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Confirming that children had been killed in the attack, the president said that \"too many families have empty chairs at their dinner tables\" - and called once again on his political opponents in the Republican party to support tougher gun controls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Garcia was reportedly working as a security guard at the time of the shooting and did not have a serious criminal record.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Warning: You may find descriptions below upsetting</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Footage seemed to show the suspect stepping out of his vehicle in the mall car park, and opening fire on people walking nearby without warning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One woman working in the mall said the first she knew about the attack was a customer approaching her and warning: \"You all need to close the doors.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I was confused. Next thing you know, we hear gunshots... all you hear is like 50, 60 gunshots,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We kept our calm as best that we could, tried to keep our customers calm... we shut the door, everything is closed. Nobody can buy anything. We\'re all hiding in the back.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another witness, Elaine Penicaro, said she was finishing her shopping trip when she heard \"all this popping\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"So we kind of just all just stopped. But then a second later, like pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. And we saw sparks flying like it was right in front of us,\" she said. \"So we just ran into the Converse store. They locked the door. We all hunkered down in the back - and that\'s where we stayed.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking to CBS, Steven Spainhouer described how he rushed to the scene after getting a call from his son who reported shooting. He spoke of \"unfathomable carnage\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said at least three victims could not be saved even after he applied CPR. \"The first girl I walked up to was crouched down covering her head in the bushes,\" he recalled. \"So I felt for a pulse, pulled her head to the side, and she had no face.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He helped a boy who was under his mother\'s dead body. \"When I rolled the mother over, he came out. I asked him if he was OK and he said, \'My mom is hurt, my mom is hurt\'. So, rather than traumatise him any more, I pulled him around the corner sat him down.\" The boy was \"covered from head to toe\" in blood, Mr Spainhouer said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Biden has ordered the US flag to be flown at half-mast on federal buildings. His call for tighter gun controls, however, was seen differently by Texas\' Republican governor Gregg Abbott.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking to Fox News Sunday, he said his aim was to target the possession of weapons by criminals and deal with a rising mental health crisis, rather than consider wider bans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This is something that we have been grappling with over the past year, and there are some potential easy solutions such as passing laws, that we\'re working on right now, to get guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals and to increase penalties for criminals to possess guns,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"One thing that we can observe very easily and that is there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of anger and violence that\'s taking place in America. And what Texas is doing in a big-time way, we are working to address that anger and violence by going to its root cause, which is addressing the mental health problems behind it.\" BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 07:43:20', '2023-05-08 07:43:20');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6737, 6737, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russia launched a large-scale wave of strikes on Kyiv and across Ukraine sowing destruction and injuries, officials said early on Monday, as Moscow prepares for its cherished Victory Day holiday that marks the anniversary of its defeat of Nazi Germany.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least five people were injured due to Russian strikes on Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said, while Russian missiles set ablaze a foodstuff warehouse in the Black Sea city of Odesa and blasts were reported in several other Ukrainian regions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fresh attacks come as Moscow prepares for its Victory Day parade on Tuesday, a key anniversary for President Vladimir Putin who has evoked the spirit of the Soviet army that defeated Nazi German forces to declare that Russia would defeat a Ukraine supposedly in the grip of a new incarnation of Nazism.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia intensified shelling of Bakhmut hoping to take it by Tuesday, Ukraine\'s top general in charge of the defence of the besieged city said, after Russia\'s Wagner mercenary group appeared to ditch plans to withdraw from it.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Three people were injured in blasts in Kyiv\'s Solomyanskyi district and two others were injured when drone wreckage fell onto the Sviatoshyn district, both west of the capital\'s centre, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on his Telegram messaging channel.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Kyiv\'s military administration said that drone wreckage fell on a runway of the Zhuliany airport, one of the two passenger airports of the Ukrainian capital, causing no fire, but emergency services were working on the site.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It also said that in Kyiv\'s central Shevchenkivskyi district, drone debris seemed to have hit a two-storey building, causing damages. There was no immediate information about potential casualties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reuters\' witnesses said they had heard numerous explosions in Kyiv, with local officials saying that air defence systems were repelling the attacks. It was not immediately clear how many drones were launched on Kyiv.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa military administration, posted on his Telegram channel photos of a large structure fully engulfed in flames, in what he said was a Russian attack on a foodstuff warehouse, among others.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After air raid alerts blared for hours over roughly two-thirds of Ukraine, there were also media reports of sounds of explosions in the southern region of Kherson and in the Zaporizhzhia region in southeast.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed local official in Zaporizhzhia, said that Russian forces hit a warehouse and Ukrainian troops\' position in Orikhiv, a small city in the region. Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Separately, Russian forces shelled eight locations in Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine on Sunday, the regional military administration said in a Facebook post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the past two weeks, strikes have also intensified on Russian-held targets, especially in Crimea. Ukraine, without confirming any role in those attacks, says destroying enemy infrastructure is preparation for its long-expected ground assault.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, calling it a \"special military operation\" to defend Russia from neo-Nazis in Ukraine, but Kyiv and its allies say it was an unprovoked, land grab.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The invasion sparked the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two and has killed thousands and forced millions to flee the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">(Reporting by Valentyn Ogirenko, Gleb Garanich, Lidia Kelly and Elaine Monaghan; Writing by Lidia Kelly;Editing by Himani Sarkar and Michael Perry). Reuters</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 08:05:56', '2023-05-08 08:05:56'),
(6738, 6738, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Arab League on Sunday welcomed back Syria\'s government, ending a more than decade-long suspension and securing President Bashar al-Assad\'s return to the Arab fold after years of isolation.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In November 2011, the body suspended Damascus over its crackdown on peaceful protests which began earlier that year and which spiralled into a war that has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and battered the country\'s infrastructure and industry.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While the front lines have mostly quietened, large parts of the country\'s north remain outside government control, and no political solution has yet been reached to the 12-year-old conflict.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Government delegations from the Syrian Arab Republic will resume their participation in Arab League meetings\" starting Sunday, said a unanimous decision by the group\'s foreign ministers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ministers in a statement emphasised their \"keenness to launch a leading Arab role in efforts to resolve\" the Syria crisis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They agreed to form a ministerial committee to continue \"direct dialogue with the Syrian government in order to reach a comprehensive solution\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahmed Aboul Gheit, head of the 22-member Arab League, said the decision \"brings the Arab side into communication with the Syrian government for the first time in years\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Syria\'s return to the body is \"the beginning... not the end of the issue\", he added, noting it was up to individual countries to decide whether to resume ties with Damascus.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Diplomatic victory\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following the announcement, Syria\'s foreign ministry stressed the importance of \"Arab cooperation\", in a statement carried by state news agency SANA.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The next stage requires an effective and constructive Arab approach... based on dialogue, mutual respect and common Arab interests\", it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Several Arab countries cut ties with Syria early in the conflict, betting on Assad\'s demise, while some including Qatar and Saudi Arabia provided support to the Syrian opposition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Qatar on Sunday said it would not normalise relations with Assad\'s government, but foreign ministry spokesman Majid bin Muhammad Al-Ansari told state media Doha would not be \"an obstacle\" to the Arab move.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The last Arab League summit Assad attended was in 2010, while the opposition attended the pan-Arab group\'s summit in Doha in 2013, to Damascus\'s fury.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Aboul Gheit told a press conference Assad was welcome to attend the Arab League\'s next summit on May 19 once invited by host Saudi Arabia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Regional capitals have gradually been warming to Assad as he has stubbornly held onto power and clawed back lost territory with crucial support from Iran and Russia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United Arab Emirates, which re-established ties in late 2018, has been leading the recent charge to reintegrate Damascus into the Arab fold.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A February 6 earthquake that wreaked devastation in Turkey and Syria sparked Arab outreach to Assad\'s government, while intensified regional diplomatic activity has been underway since a March decision by rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume ties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Syria\'s regional isolation is officially broken,\" analyst Fabrice Balanche told AFP, calling Sunday\'s decision a \"diplomatic victory\" for Assad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Opposition \'abandoned\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">April saw first a first Saudi official, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, visit Damascus since the start of the war, days after a trip to Jeddah by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mekdad has travelled to a string of Arab countries in recent weeks, including a May 1 meeting in Amman with counterparts from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt to discuss the long-running conflict.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Assad is hoping normalisation with wealthy Gulf nations could bring economic relief and money for reconstruction.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the war far from over and Assad still internationally isolated, analysts say sanctions will likely continue to deter investment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Syrian National Coalition, the main opposition alliance, said Sunday\'s decision meant \"abandoning\" and ignoring \"the will of the Syrian people\", leaving them \"without official Arab support\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is unacceptable to allow (Assad) to avoid punishment for the war crimes he has committed against Syrians,\" said the Turkey-based coalition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Qatari foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday Damascus must \"address the roots of the crisis that led to its boycott, and to take positive steps towards addressing the issues of the Syrian people\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In northwest Syria\'s rebel-held Idlib region, displaced Syrians expressed frustration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We were pushed out of our homes,\" said Ghassan Yussef, 54.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I ask the Arab rulers: where are you taking us?\" AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 09:35:15', '2023-05-08 09:35:15'),
(6739, 6739, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The UN\'s top aid official was in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for ceasefire talks between Sudan\'s warring generals, as concern grows for the humanitarian situation at the start of a fourth week of gun battles and air strikes in the Sudanese capital.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Multiple truce deals have been eclared, without effect, since fighting erupted between army and paramilitary forces on April 15 in the poverty-stricken country with a history of political instability.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fierce combat since then has killed hundreds of people, most of them civilians, wounded thousands and sparked multiple warnings of a \"catastrophic\" humanitarian crisis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 100,000 people have already fled the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahmed al-Amin, a resident of the Haj Yousif district in northeastern Khartoum, on Sunday told AFP he \"saw fighter jets flying above our heads and heard the sounds of explosions and anti-aircraft\" fire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Across the Red Sea in the Saudi city of Jeddah, talks were underway aiming for a ceasefire that could push efforts to bring humanitarian aid to the besieged population.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Those unable to flee face dire shortages of water, food, medicines and other staples.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even before the war began about one-third of Sudan\'s people required humanitarian assistance, the UN said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fighting has seen aid workers killed, health facilities attacked, and the UN projects that the number of \"acutely food insecure people\" in Sudan could increase by between two and 2.5 million if the war is prolonged.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Analysts expect that it will be.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Gunfire everywhere\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Martin Griffiths, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, was in Jeddah Sunday \"and the purpose of his visit is to engage in humanitarian issues related to Sudan,\" spokesperson Eri Kaneko said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Port Sudan last week, Griffiths said he had been informed by the UN\'s World Food Programme that six trucks bringing aid to the Darfur region had been \"looted en route\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He called for security guarantees \"clearly given by militaries, to protect humanitarian systems to deliver\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There was no indication that Griffiths would play a direct role in the Saudi discussions about a possible ceasefire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The generals leading the warring parties have said little about the talks being held in Jeddah since Saturday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Thursday US President Joe Biden signed an executive order that broadens authority to impose sanctions over Sudan\'s conflict. It did not name potential targets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Army spokesman Brigadier General Nabil Abdalla said the Jeddah talks were on how a truce \"can be correctly implemented to serve the humanitarian side\", while Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries, only said on Twitter that he welcomed the technical discussions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Riyadh and Washington have supported the \"pre-negotiation talks\" and urged the belligerents to \"get actively involved\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed his support Sunday for the \"indirect negotiations\" in order to prevent \"an escalation of the current conflict\" into a prolonged war \"that divides Sudan into warring regions.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the same meeting of the bloc in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned of \"a slide into a worse and more dangerous security situation\" affecting the region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Heavyweights in the pan-Arab bloc are divided on Sudan. Egypt solidly supports the regular army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the UAE is in favour of the RSF, according to experts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Egypt, to which more than 60,000 refugees have fled, announced Shoukry will head Monday to South Sudan and Chad, both of which also border Sudan and have themselves received tens of thousands of people escaping the war.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thousands have also crossed into neighbouring Ethiopia, most of them third-country nationals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This is my second war that I flee,\" Syrian refugee Salam Kanhoush told AFP at the Ethiopian border town of Metema.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Women carrying infants and donkey carts laden with baggage converge on the bustling, dusty crossing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our safety and life comes first,\" Eritrean refugee Sara told AFP, asking to be identified only by her first name. \"We can\'t be thinking of the things that we have left behind\" in Sudan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The one thing they were relieved to abandon was the violence. Muhammad Yusuf, a Sudanese refugee, described \"gunfire everywhere\" and \"expecting to be a victim at anytime.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'No apparent consensus\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hopes for international efforts to silence the guns are modest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The lowest common denominator of the international community is a cessation of hostilities,\" said Sudan researcher Aly Verjee at Sweden\'s University of Gothenburg. \"But there is no apparent consensus on what to do beyond that initial objective.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Burhan and Daglo jointly staged Sudan\'s latest coup in 2021.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That putsch derailed a transition to democracy after the ouster two years earlier of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir following mass pro-democracy protests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bashir had unleashed the Janjaweed militia in response to an uprising in Sudan\'s Darfur region in 2003, leading to war crimes charges against him and others.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The RSF are descended from the Janjaweed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since their coup, Burhan and Daglo have fallen out in a bitter power struggle, lastly over a plan to integrate the RSF into the army.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 700 people have been killed in the fighting, which has spread beyond Khartoum to Darfur and elsewhere, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. The Sudanese doctors\' union said 479 of the dead were civilians. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 09:38:25', '2023-05-08 09:38:25'),
(6740, 6740, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called the BNP-Jamaat vote thieves, saying the Bangladesh people will vote for Awami League (AL) in the next elections as she was accorded a civic reception by expatriate Bangladeshis in the United Kingdom (UK).</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"They (BNP-Jamaat) will destroy Bangladesh. So, make sure that BNP-Jamaat clique couldn\'t come to power again,\" she told the function held at London Marriott Hotel here on Sunday (local time).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister also called upon the countrymen not to cast vote for BNP-Jamaat as they\'re out to destroy the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said her party will win the next general polls as it is always beside the people in their needs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Insha Allah, the people will give us scope to serve them. All (AL leaders and activists) will have to work confidently as we can win the vote,\" the premier said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She, as well, expressed her hope that the people of the country will not keep trust in the BNP-Jamaat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina said: \"They (BNP) laundered the country\'s money abroad and such destroyed the country. So, how the people will have confidence in them.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the people have already known they (BNP-Jamaat) are thieves, corrupts, killers, grenade attackers, looters and patrons of killers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said that BNP-Jamaat nexus siphoned off money and put the country on the verge of the destruction.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that Tarique Rahman has been sentenced for his corruption and the government has been able to bring back some Tk 40 crore that was siphoned off by Khaleda Zia\'s younger son Coco.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier reiterated her vow that the country will be a Smart Bangladesh by 2041, saying, \"We have formulated Delta-2100 plan. We have to take the country forward.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that there will also be no homeless, landless people in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Awami League works for the welfare of the people. No person in Bangladesh will remain without food,\" she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister again dubbed the BNP and its leaders as vote thieves, saying, \"Tarique Zia is a vote thief and his mother is also a vote thief.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that Awami League did not come to the power through vote rigging like BNP-Jamaat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Awami League always fights for the rights of the people. It comes to power after being elected by people. It never grabbed or stole power,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier asked the BNP leaders that how many parties did participate in the February 15, 1996 election and how many votes were cast?</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina, also AL president, said that the people of the country are aware enough about their right to vote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have made the people aware of it,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said no one has anything to say about the 2008 election.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"What was the result of that election? How many seats did BNP\'s 20-party alliance get? The 20-party coalition won 29 seats in that election and 1 in a by-election, totaling 30 seats. And the remaining seat was of the Awami League led alliance. We got all. What is their (BNP-Jamaat) position to the people that they jump so much?\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister also briefly enunciated her government\'s various development programmes in the last 14 years. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 09:41:46', '2023-05-08 09:41:46'),
(6741, 6741, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least seven people were killed Sunday in south Texas and several others injured when a car plowed through a group waiting at a bus stop outside a migrant aid center, police said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Law enforcement said they were treating the incident as an accident for now, though a witness told AFP the driver had yelled insults at the group before accelerating.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The gray sport utility vehicle \"went through a red light and ran over several people\" at around 8:30 am (1330 GMT) in Brownsville, a border city at the southernmost tip of the state, local police spokesman Martin Sandoval told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said seven people died and \"nearly 10\" other people were injured.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Witness Luis Herrera, whose arm was hurt in the incident, told AFP the crash was \"sudden.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"A woman went by in a car and warned us to get out of the way,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It was a matter of moments. The killer came (through) in the car, gesturing at us, insulting us,\" the 36-year-old Venezuelan said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Herrera then described the driver as accelerating the car to full force.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The motorist, whom Sandoval said was also taken to the hospital, was detained by witnesses until police arrived. He has been charged for now with reckless driving.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"More than likely there\'s going to be other charges coming on later,\" Sandoval earlier told a local ABC affiliate, without clarifying what the additional charges might be.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorities have launched an investigation into whether the fatal crash was an accident or intentional, Sandoval said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'re looking (into it),\" he told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Intense\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The victims were among a crowd of about 25 people waiting at a bus stop, according to Victor Maldonado, the executive director of the Ozanam Center, a homeless shelter across the street from the crash.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The group, whom he said were all Venezuelan, had just eaten breakfast at the facility.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He described a grisly scene, with body parts left behind along the street.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Witnesses were \"really shocked,\" Maldonado told AFP. \"It was pretty intense.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The homeless center is open 24 hours per day, Maldonado said, as \"we\'ve been housing individuals coming from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, China, Ukraine - and multiple Venezuelans,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sandoval said at least some of the victims were migrants, but could not confirm whether they all were.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s something that we are investigating with border police,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The news of the tragedy comes as authorities brace for the lifting on Thursday of a Donald Trump-era federal policy that allows border patrol officers to deport or turn away migrants without even accepting their asylum applications.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The looming expiration of the rule known as Title 42 has authorities fearing a spike in undocumented migrants entering the United States.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It also comes a day after a shooter killed at least eight people at a shopping mall, also in Texas, in the latest mass shooting to rock the country. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 09:46:41', '2023-05-08 09:46:41'),
(6742, 6742, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Henry Shipley and Rachin Ravindra shared six wickets as New Zealand beat Pakistan by 47 runs in the fifth and final one-day international in Karachi on Sunday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The victory meant New Zealand avoided being swept in the five game series, which Pakistan won 4-1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New Zealand batted first and were bowled out for 299 in 49.3 overs with half centuries from Will Young and Tom Latham.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fast bowler Shipley then took 3-34 and spinner Ravindra a career best 3-65 as New Zealand survived a brilliant 72-ball 94 not out by Iftikhar Ahmed to dismiss Pakistan for 252 in 46.1 overs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The defeat means Pakistan\'s rise to number one in the ODI rankings lasted just 48 hours and they are now third behind Australia and India.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s is certainly pleasing to put on a complete performance in the last game,\" said Latham.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Shipley bowled fantastically well with the new ball, he found the right lengths on this wicket after we got a par score.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahmed led Pakistan\'s fightback from 66-4 as he added 97 for the fifth wicket with Agha Salman who scored run-a-ball 57 but New Zealand held their nerve to get last man Haris Rauf run out for one.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahmed\'s fiery knock contained eight fours and two sixes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A holiday crowd of around 20,000 had come in anticipation of Babar Azam making his 100th ODI memorable but they were left disappointed when Pakistan skipper was caught off a miscued shot off Shipley for a five-ball one.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Before that opener Shan Masood had fallen for seven. Fakhar Zaman managed a laborious 64-ball 33 and Mohammad Rizwan fell for nine, leaving Pakistan struggling on 66-4.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The way we planned, we couldn\'t finish it that way,\" said Azam.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"However, the entire series was outstanding. There were good performances. There were many positives, we were able to check on our bench strength.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Usama Mir scored 20, Shadab Khan 14, Shaheen Shah Afridi nought and Mohammad Waseem six but could not offer enough to support Ahmed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New Zealand\'s innings was built around Young\'s 91-ball 87 and a 58-ball 59 from Latham after the visitors won the toss and opted to bat at the National Stadium.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New Zealand lost Tom Blundell for 15 and then Henry Nicholls for 23 before Young steadied the innings in a 74-run third wicket stand with Latham.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Young hit eight fours and two sixes and was looking set for a hundred but was smartly caught by wicketkeeper Rizwan off leg-spinner Shadab in the 30th over.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mark Chapman upped the tempo with a breezy 33-ball 43 with two sixes and five fours, adding 56 for the fourth wicket with Latham.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chapman was unlucky to be caught behind off the glove as he tried to sweep Shadab to leg side. He took 22 off one over from spinner Agha Salman.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Latham also holed out off spinner Mir in the 42nd over after hitting five boundaries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ravindra (28) and Cole McConchie (26) added useful runs before New Zealand were bowled in 49.3 overs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For Pakistan, Shaheen took 3-46 while Mir and Shadab claimed two wickets apiece.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pakistan won the first two matches by five and seven wickets in Rawalpindi before taking the next two in Karachi by 26 and 102 runs. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 11:05:16', '2023-05-08 11:05:16'),
(6743, 6743, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka\'s air quality is unhealthy for sensitive people this morning (May 8, 2023).</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 119 at 9:25 am, Dhaka ranked 10th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Qatar\'s Doha, India\'s Delhi and Thailand\'s Chiang Mai occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 174, 165 and 157, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 151 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, between 201 and 300 is said to be \'very unhealthy\', while a reading of 301+ is considered \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants — particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 11:08:50', '2023-05-08 11:08:50'),
(6744, 6744, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The overall number of global Covid-19 cases is gradually nearing 688 million.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the latest global data, the total Covid-19 case count is 687,803,066, while the death toll reached 6,871,031 this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US has reported 106,768,296 Covid-19 cases so far, while 1,162,431 people have died from the virus in the country — both highest counts globally.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India on Sunday logged 2,380 new cases of Covid-19, bringing down the active cases to 27,212 from 30,041 a day before.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the global data, the Covid-19 case tally was recorded at 44,969,630.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">France and Germany have registered 40,021,190 and 38,411,062 Covid-19 cases so far, occupying the third and fourth positions in the world number-wise, and 166,811 and 173,375 people have died in the European countries, as per Worldometer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer a global health emergency. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, made the announcement while addressing a media briefing on Covid-19 and global health issues.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh reported 23 more Covid-19 cases in 24 hours till Sunday morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the new numbers, the country\'s total caseload rose to 2,038,338 according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,446 as no new fatalities were reported. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 11:15:21', '2023-05-08 11:15:21'),
(6745, 6745, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A low-pressure area has been formed over Southeast Bay and adjoining South Andaman Sea.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is likely to intensify, said the Bangladesh Metrological Department on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Mild to moderate heat wave is sweeping over Rajshahi, Khulna and Barishal divisions and Dhaka, Tangail, Faridpur, Gopalgonj, Manikgonj, Narayangonj, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Kurigram, Moulvibazar, Chattogram, Rangamati, Cumilla, Chandpur, Feni, Noakhali and Bandarban districts ,”said a BMD bulletin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;The heat wave may continue and spread, it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country in 24 hours from 9 am today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Day and night temperature may rise slightly over the country during the period. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 11:59:39', '2023-05-08 11:59:39'),
(6746, 6746, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">NASA launched two small satellites designed to track tropical cyclones hour by hour from a base in New Zealand on Monday, in a project that could improve weather predictions on devastating storms.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new storm trackers, sent into orbit on a rocket built by US company Rocket Lab, can fly over hurricanes (or typhoons in the Pacific) every hour, compared to every six hours with current satellites.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Researchers will be able to see storms evolve on an hourly basis, said NASA scientist Will McCarty at a press conference for the first launch of the TROPICS mission.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We still need the large satellites,\" he added. \"What we get from this is the ability to add more information to the flagship satellites that we already have.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A second Rocket Lab-built vessel is due to launch in about two weeks carrying two more satellites to complete a small constellation of four storm-tracking satellites.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The information gathered on rainfall, temperature and humidity could help scientists determine where a hurricane will make landfall and how intense it will be, helping people living in coastal areas be better prepared for possible evacuations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Many operational organizations like the National Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center and many others are ready to receive tropical imagery to help inform their forecasters,\" said Ben Kim, a program executive at NASA.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the long term, a better understanding of the formation and evolution of these storms could help improve climate models.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The constellation was originally intended to have six satellites, not four, but the first two were lost when a US Astra rocket malfunctioned shortly after lift-off last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hurricanes, or typhoons, are becoming more powerful as the ocean surface warms, scientists say.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hurricane Ian, which devastated Florida in 2022, killed dozens of people and caused more than $100 billion in damage, making it by far the world\'s most expensive weather disaster of the year. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"18\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 12:29:32', '2023-05-08 12:29:32'),
(6747, 6747, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Appellate Division on Monday rejected a petition to scrap the trial proceeding in the case filed against Nobel Laureate and Chairman of Grameen Communications Dr Muhammad Yunus for violating the Labour Law.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The three-member appellate division headed by Justice Md. Nuruzzaman passed the order.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Now there is no legal bar to continuing the trial proceeding against him in the labour court, said Khurshid Alam Khan, counsel of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun appeared in the court hearing on behalf of Prof Yunus.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On September 9, 2021, Labour Inspector Arifuzzaman of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, filed the case with Dhaka 3rd Labour Court.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Other accused in the case are- Ashraful Hasan, Managing Director of Grameen Telecom, its directors Nurzahan Begum and Shahjahan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the case, in an inspection visit to Grameen Telecom inspectors of the department found that 101 workers and staff who were supposed to be permanent were not made so.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">No participation fund and welfare fund was formed for them and five per cent of the company’s profit was not provided to the workers following the law.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Upon a complaint, a criminal case was filed under sections 4, 7, 8, 117, 234 of the Labour Act.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On October 12, the labour court granted bail to all four accused.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later on December 7, Prof Yunus filed a petition with the High Court seeking scrapping of the case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 12, HC stayed the procedure of a case for six months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On August 17 last year, the High Court (HC) rejected a petition to scrap the case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later Prof Yunus filed a leave to appeal against the High Court verdict. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-05-08 12:58:43', '2023-05-08 12:58:43');
