INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4854, 4854, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations for 2023 will begin on April 30.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Professor Tapan Kumar Sarkar, chairman of Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, revealed the schedule to UNB today.</div><div><br></div><div>Last year, Education Minister Dipu Moni said SSC and HSC exams in 2023 will be held in April and June, respectively, based on shortened syllabus, just like the previous academic session.</div><div><br></div><div>SSC exams for 2022 began on September 15 last year considering the flood situation in the country, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, according to the government\'s academic calendar, SSC exams are held from February 1 and HSC from April 1 every year. However, these exams were not held on time in the past two years due to Covid-19.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 10:09:06', '2023-01-30 10:09:06'),
(4855, 4855, '<div><div><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A powerful blast inside a mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar has left at least 25 people dead and 120 more injured, according to Peshawar deputy commissioner Shafiullah Khan, reports CNN</b><br></div></div><div><br></div><div>No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, said Saddique Khan, a senior police official in Peshawar who gave the latest casualty tolls, but the Pakistani Taliban have been blamed in similar suicide attacks in the past.</div><div><br></div><div>The bomber detonated his suicide vest as some 150 worshipers — including many policemen from nearby police offices — were praying inside. The impact of the explosion collapsed the roof of the mosque, which caved in and injured many, according to Zafar Khan, a local police officer.</div><div><br></div><div>A survivor, 38-year-old police officer Meena Gul, said he was inside the mosque when the bomb went off. He said he doesn\'t know how he survived unhurt. He could hear cries and screams after the bomb exploded, Gul said.</div><div><br></div><div>Rescuers scrambled trying to remove mounds of debris from the mosque grounds and get to worshippers still trapped under the rubble, police said. Khan said said several of the wounded were listed in critical condition at a hospital and there were fears the death toll would rise.</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a statement condemned the bombing, and ordered authorities to ensure the best possible medical treatment to the victims. He also vowed “stern action\" against those who were behind the attack.</div><div><br></div><div>Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also condemned the bombing, calling it a “terrorist suicide attack\" in a Twitter posting. “My prayers &amp; condolences go to victims families,\" said the ex-premier. “It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering &amp; properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.”</div><div><br></div><div>Peshawar is the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan and has been the scene of frequent militant attacks.</div><div><br></div><div>The Pakistani Taliban, are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and are separate group but also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.</div><div><br></div><div>The TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan over the past 15 years, fighting for stricter enforcement of Islamic laws in the country, the release of their members who are in government custody and a reduction of the Pakistani military presence in the country’s former tribal regions. - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 10:41:37', '2023-01-30 10:45:46'),
(4856, 4856, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Three years to the day after the World Health Organization sounded the highest level of global alert over Covid-19, it said Monday the pandemic remains an international emergency.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The UN health agency\'s emergency committee on Covid-19 met last Friday for a 14th time since the start of the crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>Following that meeting, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus \"concurs with the advice offered by the committee regarding the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and determines that the event continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC),\" the organisation said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Tedros, it said, \"acknowledges the committee\'s views that the Covid-19 pandemic is probably at a transition point and appreciates the advice of the committee to navigate this transition carefully and mitigate the potential negative consequences.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Even prior to the meeting, the WHO chief had suggested the emergency phase of the pandemic is not over, pointing to surging numbers of deaths and warning that the global response to the crisis \"remains hobbled\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"As we enter the fourth year of the pandemic, we are certainly in a much better position now than we were a year ago, when the Omicron wave was at its peak, and more than 70,000 deaths were being reported to WHO each week,\" he told the committee at the start of Friday\'s meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>Tedros said the weekly death rate had dropped below 10,000 in October but had been rising again since the start of December, while the lifting of Covid restrictions in China had led to a spike in deaths.</div><div><br></div><div>In mid-January, almost 40,000 Covid weekly deaths were reported -- more than half of them in China -- while the true toll \"is certainly much higher\", he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The WHO first declared a so-called PHEIC as what was then called the novel coronavirus began to spread outside China on January 30, 2020.</div><div>Though declaring a PHEIC is the internationally agreed mechanism for triggering a global response to such outbreaks, it was only after Tedros described the worsening Covid situation as a pandemic on March 11, 2020, that many countries realised the danger.</div><div><br></div><div>Globally, more than 752 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been reported to the WHO, including more than 6.8 million deaths, though the United Nations\' health agency always stresses that the true numbers are likely much higher. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 11:40:11', '2023-01-30 11:40:11'),
(4857, 4857, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni said that the present Awami League (AL) government never did and will not do anything against Islam.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Dipu Moni said this while responding to questions of&nbsp; journalists at Rajshahi University (RU) today.</div><div><br></div><div>\"If there are errors in the new textbooks, we will bring necessary corrections. But, rumors are going on frequently in this regard,\" she added,&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Dipu Moni said rumors are being spread about some issues which have not been mentioned in the books. She urged all quarters to remain alert in this regard.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister said, adding, that the errors were corrected and more corrections are going on. Committee has been formed and it has been working relentlessly.</div><div><br></div><div>She sought cooperation of all to identify the remaining errors and expressed her assurance of need-based correction.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, Education Minister Dipu Moni distributed gold medals and certificates among 103 students of RU as recognition of their brilliant results at Kazi Nazrul Islam auditorium as the chief guest. The students were from five academic sessions of graduation courses and six post-graduation courses under nine faculties.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 12:50:05', '2023-01-30 12:50:05'),
(4858, 4858, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>As part of BNP\'s four-day program, the leaders and activists of its Dhaka South City unit started marching towards the capital\'s Shyampur area from Jatrabari to press home their 10-point demand, including holding the next general election under a non-party caretaker government.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir formally inaugurated the program in front of Jatrabari Ideal School around 2:50pm on Monday.</div><div><br></div><div>It is the second such program of BNP as the leaders and activists of the party\'s Dhaka North City unit marched from Badda to Malibagh in the capital on Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>In a brief address prior to launching the march, Fakhrul asked the party leaders and activists to hold the program peacefully as they did all other previous programs.</div><div><br></div><div>He, however, warned the ruling party not to consider BNP\'s peaceful programs as its weakness. “A strong resistance will be put up if our program is obstructed.”</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader also said they will achieve the final victory by ousting the current government through peaceful programs with the involvement of the common people.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul said they have begun a new chapter of the movement through the march program for the restoration of democracy and people\'s voting and other rights. “This march is a triumph of democracy and civilization.”</div><div><br></div><div>He said the ruling party leaders are now making unguarded remarks as they have lost the grounds beneath their feet after getting isolated from people.</div><div><br></div><div>Stating the ruling party\'s various “evil” efforts to ensure the victory of Advocate Abdus Sattar, a former MP and sacked BNP leader, in the Brahmanbaria-2 constituency by-polls, Fakhrul said no fair election can be held as long as Awami League is in power.</div><div><br></div><div>“So, the Awami League government must hand over power to a caretaker government after quitting and dissolve parliament so that people can cast their votes under a new election commission,\" Fakhrul said.</div><div><br></div><div>Thousands of leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies joined the program, carrying banners, national, party and white flags, festoons and portraits of the party\'s top leaders.</div><div><br></div><div>A huge number of law enforcers have been deployed to maintain law and order and fend off any untoward incidents.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier on Thursday, BNP announced the four-day march program in the capital for January 28, 30, 31 and February 1.</div><div><br></div><div>Dhaka North City unit BNP will also march from Gabtoli to Mirpur-10 intersection on January 31, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, Dhaka South City unit BNP will march from Mugda to Malibagh on February 1.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 12:59:07', '2023-01-30 12:59:07'),
(4859, 4859, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>On-loan Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun ran through to score a remarkable 96th-minute equaliser as Reims held 10-man Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw on Sunday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>It looked like Neymar\'s strike early in the second half would be enough for PSG to take all three points despite substitute Marco Verratti being sent off shortly after that goal.</div><div><br></div><div>But an impressive Reims side got the draw they richly deserved when Balogun broke away to fire home right at the death.</div><div><br></div><div>The result sees the club coached by 30-year-old Belgian-born Englishman Will Still extend their unbeaten run to 14 games between league and cup.</div><div><br></div><div>They remain in mid-table but have now drawn with the Parisians twice this season, their collective strength allowing a team of hungry young players to hold their own against PSG\'s superstars.</div><div><br></div><div>PSG have now dropped points in three of their four league games in 2023, and while they remain three points clear of Lens at the top of the table, their form is a concern with the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich now little over two weeks away.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Overall we obviously can\'t be satisfied with our performance. It is not a question of being worried but we need to get back to winning ways quickly and play much more as a team than we are at the moment,\" coach Christophe Galtier told broadcaster Amazon Prime.</div><div><br></div><div>\"To concede a goal after 95 minutes with the number of experienced players we have -- it is damaging for us in terms of the points dropped but it is also very surprising.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Galtier fielded Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar all together in his starting line-up for the first time since the World Cup as PSG took to the field wearing their fourth kit with players\' names in Mandarin to mark the Lunar New Year.</div><div><br></div><div>In fact PSG lined up in a 4-2-4 formation at the start with Carlos Soler joining the superstar attacking trio and playing on the right wing.</div><div><br></div><div>- Neymar scores, Verratti sent off -</div><div><br></div><div>Yet they sorely missed Verratti in midfield with the Italian left on the bench in the first half as Reims looked the more dangerous side.</div><div><br></div><div>He came on at the break and they took the lead in the 51st minute as a Messi shot came off Achraf Hakimi and fell to Neymar, who duly converted his 17th goal of the season.</div><div><br></div><div>However, PSG were reduced to 10 men shortly after amid much confusion.</div><div><br></div><div>Reims were initially awarded a penalty for a foul by Marquinhos on Balogun in the box, but a VAR intervention led to the referee sending-off Verratti for a dangerous tackle on Junya Ito in the build-up and then cancelling the penalty for an offside.</div><div><br></div><div>PSG then saw Sergio Ramos head off the bar before Hakimi had a goal disallowed for offside.</div><div><br></div><div>It looked like they would hold on for the victory but, with the allotted five added minutes having been played, Kamory Doumbia sent Balogun away and the England Under-21 striker rounded Gianluigi Donnarumma and finished emphatically for his 11th Ligue 1 goal this season.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We played like a team, a team that was ready, proud and who were not afraid to play here,\" said Still, who has not lost a game since being promoted to the role of head coach following the departure of Oscar Garcia in October.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We had no complexes. I think the goal we conceded was a bit annoying but that is part of the game and we held on in there, maintained hope and were rewarded at the end.\" Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 13:21:21', '2023-01-30 13:21:21'),
(4860, 4860, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Illegal electric blankets are being sold online which could cause electric shocks, a consumer group warns.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Which? found some of the products being sold are made \"so poorly\" they could pose \"a serious risk\".</div><div><br></div><div>Separately charity Electrical Safety First says it found \"highly dangerous\" electrical products for sale by third party sellers online.</div><div><br></div><div>It wants new regulations to bolster consumer protection.</div><div><br></div><div>The cost of living crisis has seen a huge rise in the popularity of electric blankets as people try to minimise use of their central heating.</div><div><br></div><div>Nine out of the 11 electric blankets, throws and shawls Which? bought from third-party sellers on AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish should not be sold legally in the UK.</div><div><br></div><div>The consumer champion group identified problems with how the products are made, the packaging, markings and instructions.</div><div><br></div><div>Which? found some products with electric wires that could easily be pulled out and others lacked the proper safety standard marks.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition to safety concerns, some of the blankets were incredibly inefficient and did not work properly.</div><div><br></div><div>All those flagged by Which? as having issues have now been removed by the online marketplaces.</div><div><br></div><div>Which? is calling for sites to bear more legally responsibility for allowing unsafe and illegal products to be sold on their platform.</div><div><br></div><div>The current approach puts most of the responsibility on the third-party sellers.</div><div><br></div><div>Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which? said buying these products cheaply on online marketplaces can put people\'s safety at risk.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The government must urgently act to give online marketplaces greater legal responsibility for unsafe and illegal products sold on their sites so that consumers are no longer put at unnecessary risk of harm,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Last week a Private Member\'s Bill was tabled by Labour MP for Gateshead, Ian Mearns, to implement more regulation in this area.</div><div><br></div><div>The Bill, supported by the charity Electrical Safety First, aimed to \"close a gap in the law\" which has allowed online marketplaces to operate \"without any responsibility\" for ensuring that the products sold via their sites are actually safe.</div><div><br></div><div>Electrical Safety First found \"highly dangerous\" electrical products for sale by third party sellers across major online marketplaces, including Amazon Marketplace, eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Wish.com.</div><div><br></div><div>Boss Lesley Rudd said: \"Households are perpetually being left at risk from products, such as dangerous electric blankets, as people seek to keep heating costs down.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Without changes to the law, people will continue to be left exposed and vulnerable.\"</div><div><br></div><div>AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish.com all said they take safety very seriously and removed the listings that Which? flagged to them.</div><div><br></div><div>None of the third-party sellers of the products provided a comment to Which?. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 13:46:21', '2023-01-30 13:46:21'),
(4861, 4861, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The government is planning to introduce Integrated Traffic Management and Incident Detection System (ITMIDS) in a bid to ensure safer highways, an official said.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The ITMIDS will be undertaken to detect speed and traffic violations and enable traffic flow analysis while the real-time monitoring will be replicated along some of the highway corridor pilots, said Roads and Highways Division (RHD) Additional Chief Engineer Dr Md Abdullah Al Mamun.</div><div><br></div><div>The ITMIDS will coincide with the National Highway Safe Corridor Demonstration Project Sites side by side CCTV, video, and audio feeds, as well as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology.</div><div><br></div><div>The government will introduce the ITMIDS under a multi-sector project, Bangladesh Road Safety Project as RHD, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Bangladesh Police and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) will implement it.</div><div><br></div><div>The project costs US$480.87 million. The World Bank will provide $357.91 million as credit while rest of $122.96 million will come from government treasury.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking to BSS, Dr Mamun said the project is now waiting for approval from Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).</div><div><br></div><div>He informed that the World Bank has already approved $357.91 million of financing to help Bangladesh improve road safety and reduce fatalities and injuries from road crashes in selected high-risk highways and district roads.</div><div><br></div><div>The Road Safety Project will help Bangladesh achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on road safety by 2030, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the objective of the project is to build road safety management capacity and achieve targeted reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Mamun mentioned that the project comprises four components- multi-sectoral road safety pilot projects, priority road safety investments, technical assistance and contingent emergency response.</div><div><br></div><div>Under the multi-sectoral road safety pilot project, safe-system based road safety pilot projects are designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of multi-sectoral interventions on a high-risk, high-visible section of the network, for the targeted reduction in road deaths over the project period.</div><div><br></div><div>The project aims to enhance coordination between the road agencies (RHD, LGED, and district authorities), Highway and Metropolitan Police, health agencies, and civil society.</div><div><br></div><div>These measures will be independently monitored during the project period to determine the change in road safety outcomes, so that they can be replicated over the wider-geographical area through greater coordination between all stakeholders, and eventually scaled up country-wide.</div><div><br></div><div>These measures will allow reducing disaster-related accidents in vulnerable zones through safer and resilient design features and support the enhancement of emergency services with post-crash care (including for disaster-related emergency events).</div><div><br></div><div>The traffic calming measures and road safety civil works will have a positive impact on congestion reduction and will facilitate NMT travel patterns as three distinct pilot projects will be undertaken.</div><div><br></div><div>Under the Priority Road Safety Investments component, the government will support the expedited implementation of some stand-alone priority activities as per the provisions of the recently enacted Road Transport Act.</div><div><br></div><div>The idea aims to demonstrate quick wins that can be had under infrastructure, vehicle and user safety, and post-crash care, and help establish best-in-class systems.</div><div><br></div><div>The infrastructure improvements, along with improved systems/facilities and templates would likely then help replicate the pilot projects to more corridors, urban areas, and districts.</div><div><br></div><div>The proposed activities will also help reduce disaster-related accidents in vulnerable zones with safer and resilient design features, support the enhancement of emergency services and better assess vulnerabilities (with an improved crash data system).</div><div><br></div><div>Under the Technical Assistance component, the government will focus on technical capacity building and tools for all departments and implementing agencies to enable them to formulate a robust National Road Safety Program with a targeted vision and concrete investment plans in the short, medium, and long term.</div><div><br></div><div>Under the Contingent Emergency Response component, the government will improve the GoBs ability to respond effectively in the event of an emergency in line with WB procedures on disaster prevention and preparedness.</div><div><br></div><div>Following an eligible crisis or emergency, the recipient may request the Bank to reallocate project funds to support emergency response and reconstruction.</div><div><br></div><div>Mamun said the project will support Bangladesh in achieving the road safety targets set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that call respectively for a halving of global road deaths and universal access to safe transport in cities by 2030.</div><div><br></div><div>It will directly help reduce the number of deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes (SDG 3.6), he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The project will also contribute to making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable (SDG 11.2).</div><div><br></div><div>Scaled-up road safety investment in South Asia is an urgent priority and an important focus of the global dialogue on regional and country performance expectations, Mamun added.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the project will contribute primarily to the CPF Focus Area 1 Objective 1.2 Improved transport connectivity, by rehabilitating the entire national highway (NH) and regional highway (RH) networks, and related mass action treatments, especially in high-risk corridors, major and minor junctions, bazaar areas, locations connecting feeder roads to the highways, and at railway crossings in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>He also said the project is well aligned with all four thematic pillars of the World Bank Group crisis response.</div><div><br></div><div>It is expected to reduce crash-related fatalities and injuries as it will establish a system of mobile emergency medical services accessible through a toll-free number with dedicated ambulances for the transportation of crash victims, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>He said it will also strengthen the emergency departments of district hospitals through triaging protocols and negative pressure isolation rooms for the management of crash victims, reports BSS</div><div><br></div><div>The long-term road safety engagement will support the strengthening of policies, institutions, and investments for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable recovery by rebuilding better and saving lives, Mamun added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 14:24:53', '2023-01-30 14:24:53'),
(4862, 4862, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 22 people were killed and nearly two dozen injured when a public bus crashed into a truck in the center of Benin, the government on Monday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The president’s director of communications posted on Facebook that first responders had immediately been dispatched to the scene of the crash that occurred near the town of Dassa-Zoume on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>“In this painful circumstance, the government expresses its sympathy to the whole nation and presents its deepest condolences to all the grieving families. This tragedy has once again reminded us that safety on our roads remains a constant challenge and urges us to take even stronger actions for a more effective safety of people and goods,” the director said. A crisis unit has been set up for relatives to get information.</div><div><br></div><div>The cause of the crash was not immediately known. An investigation has been opened into the circumstances of the crash, said authorities.</div><div><br></div><div>Images and videos of the crash shared on social chat groups and seen by The Associated Press show the bus in flames and a charred body on the ground as one man tried to put out the fire with a jerry can of water.</div><div><br></div><div>About 21 people had burn injuries to varying degrees, said Benjamin Hounkpatin, the health minister during an interview with state television on Sunday. Speaking outside the hospital in Cotonou where the injured had been taken, he said they were alerted about the crash early evening Sunday and that health staff were doing everything they could.</div><div><br></div><div>“For the people who were burned we can\'t guarantee what will happen to them,” said Hounkpatin.</div><div><br></div><div>Transport accidents occur in Benin due to narrow roads in parts of the country, however, the death toll is not usually so high, according to locals. In July, three people were killed in a crash between a bus and a car near the town of Parakou, according to local media.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 15:09:15', '2023-01-30 15:09:15'),
(4863, 4863, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh wants to ease manpower recruitment process in Malaysia with a reduced cost through discussion as Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka in February.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“The Malaysian home minister is coming with a big team. It will help make things (related to manpower recruitment) more rationalized. We want to send our workers at a reduced cost,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>He said Bangladesh wants the manpower “cartel” to be dismantled, the recruitment cost reduced, and the rules of recruitment eased.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Md Golam Sarwar met with the Malaysian home affairs minister and discussed various issues of mutual interest.</div><div><br></div><div>The high commissioner welcomed the Malaysian minister’s crucial visit to Bangladesh and discussed various aspects of the visit, according to the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.</div><div><br></div><div>As it is his first foreign visit after taking charge as home minister, it is significant for both countries.</div><div><br></div><div>They also discussed recruiting more manpower from Bangladesh in a short time at a low cost.</div><div><br></div><div>High Commissioner Golam Sarwar requested the home minister of Malaysia to legalise the undocumented Bangladeshis in the southeast Asian country on easy terms under the recalibration programme.</div><div><br></div><div>The Malaysian home minister assured the high commissioner that they would look into the matter, according to the High Commission. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 15:16:21', '2023-01-30 15:16:21'),
(4864, 4864, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Shaya County of Aksu Prefecture in northwest China\'s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at 7:49 am on Monday Beijing Time, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), Xinhua reported.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The epicenter was monitored at 40.01 degrees north latitude and 82.29 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 50 km, the CENC said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 15:30:00', '2023-01-30 15:30:00'),
(4865, 4865, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Monday signed a Participation Agreement with 49 banks to ensure adequate liquidity for the export-oriented sector.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Earlier the central bank formed ‘The Export Facilitation Pre-financing Fund (EFPFA)’ of Tk10,000 crore to assist the export sector amid the slowdown of global economic growth. The entrepreneurs can borrow from this fund for an interim period before getting foreign buyers\' payment against the order.</div><div><br></div><div>From the newly constituted fund of Tk10,000 crore, exporters will be given loans in local currency. After taking loans in taka, they (exporters) can convert them into foreign currency and open an LC. As a result, it will act as an alternative fund to the export development fund (EDF), where exporters get loans in foreign currency, acting as a drag on the country\'s forex reserves.</div><div><br></div><div>It drew attention after the IMF insisted the EDF of USD $7 billion be counted as encumbered reserves - not as part of the country\'s liquid foreign exchange reserve.</div><div><br></div><div>The executive director and spokesperson of BB Mesbaul Haque told UNB that Governor Abdur Rauf Talukdar had a meeting with the MDs of the banks on Monday. Separate deals were signed with 49 banks in the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the deal, banks will be able to borrow from this fund at 4 percent interest rate, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>After the meeting, Chairman of Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) and Managing Director of BRAC Bank Salim RF Hossain said that the banks will benefit through the formation of the fund in local currency.</div><div><br></div><div>“We applaud this initiative. We have entered into an agreement with the central bank to avail loans from the Export Facilitation Pre-financing Fund,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>After receiving the export work order from the buyer, entrepreneurs will be given loans from this fund to import the required raw materials for the exporting sector. Loans will be given from this fund at a maximum interest of 4 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>In respect of this loan, no fee or commission can be collected in excess of the charge or commission fixed by the central bank. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 16:09:33', '2023-01-30 16:09:33'),
(4866, 4866, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 59 people have been killed by a suicide bombing that apparently targeted policemen praying in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The mosque is within the tightly guarded police headquarters area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan,\" Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Pakistani Taliban denied involvement after an initial claim by one of its commanders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The group ended a ceasefire in November, and violence has been on the rise since.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In December it targeted a police station - like Peshawar, in the north-west of the country - leading to the deaths of 33 militants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A hospital spokesman told the BBC the death toll stood at 59, while 157 people had been injured.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Between 300 and 400 police officers were in the area at the time, Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan told local media.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The mosque is in one of the most heavily controlled areas of the city, which includes police headquarters and intelligence and counter-terrorism bureaus.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Sharif said those behind the attack had \"nothing to do with Islam\". He added: \"The entire nation is standing united against the menace of terrorism.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The blast took place around 13:30 (08:30 GMT) during afternoon prayers in the north-western city, near the country\'s border with Afghanistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A video circulating on social media and verified by the BBC shows that half of a wall caved in. The mosque was covered in bricks and debris as people clambered over the rubble to escape.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hours after the blast, BBC News witnessed a facility full of the injured, many still wearing their police uniforms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some were covered in burns cream, their skin red with burns from the explosion. Others have broken bones from being hit by falling rubble.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One man said he still could not hear because of the sound of the blast. Another man said he had been rescued after being trapped under the rubble for almost an hour.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister travelled to Peshawar on an emergency visit, where he will be briefed by local officials and visit those wounded by the blast.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned the attack, with his spokeswoman saying: \"It is particularly abhorrent that such an attack occurred at a place of worship.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The attack on the mosque took place at the start of a key week for Pakistani diplomacy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Monday, the president of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was due to visit Islamabad - although the trip was cancelled at the last minute because of bad weather.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Tuesday, an International Monetary Fund delegation is meant to visit Pakistan as part of the process to unlock a bailout loan to prevent the country from defaulting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last March, Peshawar was the target of another bombing, which killed dozens in a Shia Muslim mosque in the majority Sunni Muslim country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the capital Islamabad, police issued a high alert and said security at all entry and exit points to the city had been increased. 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, '2023-01-31 02:11:34', '2023-01-31 02:11:34'),
(4867, 4867, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The UK economy will shrink and perform worse than other advanced economies as the cost of living continues to hit households, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IMF said the economy will contract by 0.6% in 2023, rather than grow slightly as previously predicted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said its new forecast reflected the UK\'s high energy prices and financial conditions, such as high inflation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the UK outperformed many forecasts last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In its World Economic Outlook update, the IMF, which works to stabilise economic growth, said the UK\'s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would shrink rather than grow by 0.3% this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It predicted the UK would be the only country - across the world\'s advanced and emerging economies - to suffer a year of declining GDP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the IMF said in 2024 it expected UK growth to be 0.9%, up from 0.6% previously.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">GDP is a measure for looking at how well, or badly, an economy is doing and in a growing economy, each quarterly GDP will be slightly bigger than the quarter before.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If a country\'s GDP falls for two quarters in a row, it means it is in recession and it is a sign that its economy is doing badly. Typically when a country is in recession, companies make less money and the number of people unemployed rises.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IMF\'s bleak picture for the UK comes after Mr Hunt warned it was \"unlikely\" that there would be room for any \"significant\" tax cuts in the Spring Budget.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The chancellor, who has been under pressure from some in his party to cut taxes to stimulate the economy, said that a pledge to halve the rate of inflation \"is the best tax cut right now\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Inflation, which is the rate at which prices rise, hit 10.5% in the 12 months to December, close to a 40-year high.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to halve inflation by the end of the year, although some economists have said price rises will slow without government policies, due to commodity prices and shipping costs decreasing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, said inflation is likely to fall rapidly this year as energy prices fall, but has warned a UK recession is still on the cards.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While the IMF has predicted the UK economy to contract, it forecast economic growth of 1.4% in the United States, 0.1% in Germany, 0.7% in France, 0.6% in Italy, 1.8% in Japan and 1.5% in Canada.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Hunt highlighted that Mr Bailey had said that any UK recession was \"likely to be shallower than previously predicted\", but did add the IMF\'s figures \"confirm we are not immune to the pressures hitting nearly all advanced economies\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Short-term challenges should not obscure our long-term prospects - the UK outperformed many forecasts last year, and if we stick to our plan to halve inflation, the UK is still predicted to grow faster than Germany and Japan over the coming years,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Treasury said since 2010, the UK had grown faster than France, Japan and Italy and that since the EU referendum in 2016, it had grown at \"about the same rate as Germany\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Cumulative growth over the 2022-24 period is predicted to be higher than Germany and Japan, and at a similar rate to the US,\" a spokesman said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Economic forecasters are not always 100% right when it comes to predicting the future. The IMF has said its forecasts for growth the following year in most advanced economies like the UK\'s have more often than not been within about 1.5 percentage points of what actually happens.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IMF did not mention Brexit in its report as a factor for the UK not performing as well as others. Today marks three years since the UK left the EU.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said the rise in central banks across the world putting up interest rates to try to curb inflation and the war in Ukraine continued to \"weigh on economic activity\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But it said China reopening its economy from Covid restrictions \"paved the way for a faster-than-expected recovery\" globally.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, the IMF estimated global inflation passed its peak and will fall from 8.8% last year to 6.6% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024. 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, '2023-01-31 02:29:43', '2023-01-31 02:29:43'),
(4868, 4868, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">US President Joe Biden has ruled out sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, despite renewed calls from Ukrainian officials for air support.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Asked by a reporter on Monday if the US would be providing the planes, Mr Biden replied simply \"no\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His comment comes a day after Germany\'s leader also ruled out sending fighter jets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine has said it needs the jets to take control of its airspace in its ongoing war with Russia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">F-16 Fighting Falcons are widely considered one of the world\'s most reliable fighter jets and are used by other countries, such as Belgium and Pakistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They would be a significant upgrade on the Soviet-era fighting jets Ukraine is currently using, which were made before the country declared independence from the USSR more than 30 years ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Mr Biden has repeatedly rebuffed Ukraine\'s pleas for the jets, instead focussing on providing military support in other areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US announced last week that it would supply Kyiv with 31 Abrams tanks, with the UK and Germany also pledging similar support.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine\'s Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrii Melnyk, welcomed that announcement but asked allies for the creation of a \"fighter jet coalition\" that would also provide Ukraine with Eurofighters, Tornados, French Rafales and Swedish Gripen jets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In an interview on Sunday, Germany\'s Chancellor said that it \"seemed frivolous\" to discuss sending other military aid to Ukraine when they had just committed to sending the Leopard 2s.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Olaf Scholz also reiterated to the German newspaper Tagesspiegel that the Nato military alliance was not at war with Russia and that it would \"not allow such an escalation\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow has accused Nato of being an aggressor by proxy and members of the alliance, including the US and Germany, have been reluctant to send military aid that could see the conflict escalate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The French President, Emmanuel Macron, on Monday echoed this sentiment - saying that while \"nothing is excluded\" when it comes to providing support to Ukraine, it must neither further inflame the situation nor limit France\'s ability to defend itself.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Other EU countries, including the Netherlands, have not yet given a definitive response on whether they will send fighter jets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Poland has indicated that it would be prepared to supply fighter jets in co-ordination with Nato. 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, '2023-01-31 02:47:29', '2023-01-31 02:47:29');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4869, 4869, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two years after Myanmar’s military seized power, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced support Monday for the democratic aspirations of Myanmar’s people and warned that the military’s planned elections amid a crackdown on civilians and political leaders “risk exacerbating instability.”</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the secretary-general strongly condemns all forms of violence in Myanmar as the crisis in the country deteriorates “and fuel serious regional implications.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The army seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, arresting her and top members of her governing National League for Democracy party, which had won a landslide victory for a second term in a November 2020 general election.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Security forces suppressed widespread opposition to the military takeover with lethal force, killing almost 2,900 civilians and arresting thousands more people who engaged in nonviolent protests. The savage crackdown triggered armed resistance in much of the country. The military government has deemed major organizations opposed to army rule to be “terrorist” groups.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military enacted a new law on registration of political parties, which was published Friday, that will make it difficult for opposition groups to mount a serious challenge to army-backed candidates in a general election scheduled for later this year. It sets minimum levels for parties, including membership levels 100 times higher than in 2020 elections, plus stiff funding requirements.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Guterres “is concerned by the military’s stated intention to hold elections amid intensifying aerial bombardment and burning of civilian houses, along with ongoing arrests, intimidation and harassment of political leaders, civil society actors and journalists,” the U.N. spokesman said. “Without conditions that permit the people of Myanmar to freely exercise their political rights, the proposed polls risk exacerbating instability.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The secretary-general “continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and to support their democratic aspirations for an inclusive, peaceful and just society and the protection of all communities, including the Rohingya,” Dujarric said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Longstanding discrimination against Rohingya Muslims in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, including denial of citizenship and many other rights, exploded in August 2017 when Myanmar’s military launched what it called a clearance campaign in northern Rakhine state in response to attacks on police and border guards by a Rohingya militant group. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, where they remain in camps, as troops allegedly committed mass rapes and killings and burned thousands of homes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In January 2020, the International Court of Justice, the U.N.’s top court, ordered Myanmar to do all it could to prevent genocide against the Rohingya. Two days earlier, an independent commission set up by Myanmar’s government concluded there were reasons to believe security forces committed war crimes against the Rohingya — but not genocide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Guterres welcomed the first-ever resolution on Myanmar adopted by the U.N. Security Council on Dec. 21 demanding an immediate end to violence in the Southeast Asian nation and urging its military rulers to release all “arbitrarily detained” prisoners, including Suu Kyi, and to restore democratic institutions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The resolution calls for the opposing parties to pursue dialogue and reconciliation and urges all sides “to respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The secretary-general considers the resolution “an important step and underlines the urgency for strengthened international unity,” Dujarric said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The spokesman said the U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, will coordinate closely with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the Security Council’s call “to engage intensively with all relevant parties in Myanmar to achieve an end to the violence and to support a return to democracy.” Indonesia took over as ASEAN chair on Jan. 1 from Cambodia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The United Nations is committed to staying in Myanmar and addressing the multiple vulnerabilities arising from the military’s actions since February 2021,” Dujarric said, urging unhindered access to all affected communities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The secretary-general renews his call for neighboring countries and other member states to urge the military leadership to respect the will and needs of the people of Myanmar and adhere to democratic norms,” the U.N. spokesman said. 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, '2023-01-31 03:29:32', '2023-01-31 03:29:32'),
(4870, 4870, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Former Twitter employees are expected to testify next week before the House Oversight Committee about the social media platform’s handling of reporting on President Joe Biden\'s son, Hunter Biden.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The scheduled testimony, confirmed by the committee Monday, will be the first time the three former executives will appear before Congress to discuss the company\'s decision to initially block from Twitter a New York Post article on Hunter Biden’s laptop in the weeks before the 2020 election.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Republicans have said the story was suppressed for political reasons, though no evidence has been released to support that claim. The witnesses for the Feb. 8 hearing are expected to be Vijaya Gadde, former chief legal officer; James Baker, former deputy general counsel; and Yoel Roth, former head of safety and integrity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The hearing is among the first of many in a GOP-controlled House to be focused on Biden and his family, as Republicans wield the power of their new, albeit slim, majority.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The New York Post first reported in October 2020 that it had received from former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, a copy of a hard drive of a laptop that Hunter Biden had dropped off 18 months earlier at a Delaware computer repair shop and never retrieved. Twitter initially blocked people from sharing links to the story for several days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Months later, Twitter’s then-CEO Jack Dorsey called the company’s communications around the Post article “not great.” He added that blocking the article’s URL with “zero context” around why it was blocked was “unacceptable.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Post article at the time was greeted with skepticism due to questions about the laptop’s origins, including Giuliani’s involvement, and because top officials in the Trump administration had already warned that Russia was working to denigrate Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election. The Kremlin had interfered in the 2016 race by hacking Democratic emails that were subsequently leaked, and fears that Russia would meddle again in the 2020 race were widespread across Washington.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This is why we’re investigating the Biden family for influence peddling,” Rep. James Comer, chairman of the Oversight committee, said at a press event Monday morning. “We want to make sure that our national security is not compromised.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The White House has sought to discredit the Republican probes into Hunter Biden, calling them “divorced-from-reality political stunts.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nonetheless, Republicans now hold subpoena power in the House, giving them the authority to compel testimony and conduct an aggressive investigation. GOP staff has spent the past year analyzing messages and financial transactions found on the laptop that belonged to the president\'s younger son. Comer has previously said the evidence they have compiled is “overwhelming,\" but did not offer specifics.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Comer has pledged there won’t be hearings regarding the Biden family until the committee has the evidence to back up any claims of alleged wrongdoing. He also acknowledged that the stakes are high whenever an investigation centers on the leader of a political party.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Monday, the Kentucky Republican, speaking at a National Press Club event, said that he could not guarantee a subpoena of Hunter Biden during his term. \"We\'re going to go where the investigation leads us. Maybe there’s nothing there.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added, “We’ll see.” AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"5\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 03:35:35', '2023-01-31 03:35:35'),
(4871, 4871, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The air quality of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka continued to be in the \'very unhealthy\' zone this morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 291 at 8:45 am today (January 31, 2023), Dhaka ranked first in the list of cities with the worst air.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pakistan’s Karachi and Myanmar’s Yangon occupied the second and third spots in the list, with AQI scores of 191 and 189, respectively.</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, '2023-01-31 04:29:14', '2023-01-31 04:29:14'),
(4872, 4872, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The overall number of Covid-19 cases around the world has now crossed 675 million, with a sudden surge of cases in Asia and some other parts of the world.</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 was 675,013,547 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,760,663 this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US has recorded 104,183,562 Covid-19 cases so far, while 1,132,719 people have died from the virus in the North American country, both highest counts around the world.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India on Monday reported 80 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of infections to 4,46,82,719.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The country also saw two new Covid-related deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the number of deaths to 530,740, according to the health ministry\'s website.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Canada has renewed its number of total Covid-19 cases and deaths to 4,550,256 and 50,380, respectively, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said on Monday.</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 11 more Covid-19 cases in 24 hours till Monday morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the new number, the country\'s total caseload rose to 2,037,543, 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 29,442 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, '2023-01-31 04:34:28', '2023-01-31 04:34:28'),
(4873, 4873, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has said it arrested two fugitives on death row, who were sentenced by the International Crimes Tribunal for committing crimes against humanity in 1971, from Dhaka\'s Dakkhinkhan and Savar\'s Ashulia area on Monday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The convicts were identified as Naqib Hossain Adil Sarkar and Mokhlesur Rahman Mukul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">ASP Imran Khan of RAB headquarters media wing said they nabbed them after separate drives on Monday night.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The RAB official, however, did not elaborate, saying that details would be given later at noon today. 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, '2023-01-31 04:55:00', '2023-01-31 04:55:00'),
(4874, 4874, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The outlook for the global economy is growing slightly brighter as China eases its zero-COVID policies and the world shows surprising resilience in the face of high inflation, elevated interest rates and Russia\'s ongoing war against Ukraine.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That\'s the view of the International Monetary Fund, which now expects the world economy to grow 2.9% this year. That forecast is better than the 2.7% expansion for 2023 that the IMF predicted in October, though down from the estimated 3.4% growth in 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IMF, a 190-country lending organization, foresees inflation easing this year, a result of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and other major central banks. Those rate hikes are expected to slow the consumer demand that has driven prices higher. Globally, the IMF expects consumer inflation to decelerate from 8.8% last year to 6.6% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A big factor in the upgrade to global growth was China’s decision late last year to lift anti-virus controls that had kept millions of people at home. The IMF said China’s “recent reopening has paved the way for a faster-than-expected recovery.’’</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IMF now expects China\'s economy — the world’s second-biggest, after the United States — to grow 5.2% this year, up from its October forecast of 4.4%. Beijing\'s economy eked out growth of just 3% in 2022 — the first year in more than 40, the IMF noted, that China has expanded more slowly than the world as a whole. But the end of virus restrictions is expected to revive economic activity in 2023.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IMF\'s 2023 growth outlook improved for the United States (forecast to grow 1.4%) as well as for the 19 countries that share the euro currency (0.7%). Europe, though suffering from energy shortages and higher prices resulting from Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine, proved “more resilient than expected,’’ the IMF said. The European economy benefited from a warmer-than-expected winter, which held down demand for natural gas,</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia\'s economy, hit by sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine, has proved sturdier than expected, too: The IMF\'s forecast foresees Russia registering 0.3% growth this year. That would mark an improvement from a contraction of 2.2% in 2022. And it\'s well above the 2.3% contraction for 2023 that the IMF had forecast for Russia in October.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United Kingdom is a striking exception to the IMF\'s brighter outlook for 2023. It has forecast that the British economy will shrink 0.6% in 2023; in October, the IMF had expected growth of 0.3%. Higher interest rates and tighter government budgets are squeezing the British economy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“These figures confirm we are not immune to the pressures hitting nearly all advanced economies,’’ Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said in response to the IMF forecast. “Short-term challenges should not obscure our long-term prospects — the U.K. outperformed many forecasts last year, and if we stick to our plan to halve inflation, the U.K. is still predicted to grow faster than Germany and Japan over the coming years.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IMF noted that the world economy still faces serous risks. They include the possibility that Russia\'s war against Ukraine war will escalate, that China will suffer a sharp increase in COVID cases and that high interest rates will cause a financial crisis in debt-laden countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The global outlook has been shrouded in uncertainty since the coronavirus pandemic struck in early 2020. Forecasters have been repeatedly confounded by events: A severe if brief recession in early 2020; an expectedly strong recovery triggered by vast government stimulus aid; then a surge in inflation, worsened when Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago disrupted world trade in energy and food.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Three weeks ago, the IMF’s sister agency, the World Bank, issued a more downbeat outlook for the global economy. The World Bank slashed its forecast for international growth this year by nearly half — to 1.7% — and warned that the global economy would come “perilously close’’ to recession. 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, '2023-01-31 05:22:59', '2023-01-31 05:22:59'),
(4875, 4875, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Lionel Messi won the World Cup because the sparkling solid gold trophy picked him to lift it, the Argentine star said in a radio interview aired on Monday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 35-year-old inspired his country to World Cup glory last month by scoring two goals and a penalty in the South Americans\' shoot-out triumph over previous holders France following a thrilling 3-3 draw in Qatar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The cup called out to me, it told me: come and grab me, now you can touch me,\" Messi told the Argentine Urbana Play radio station.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I saw it sparkling in that beautiful stadium and I didn\'t hesitate\" to kiss it, he added, referring to the stunning Lusail Stadium in Doha, where the final was played.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi finally lifted the trophy in his fifth and final World Cup tournament, having lost in the 2014 final to Germany.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also played in three losing Copa America finals before finally clinching that trophy in 2021.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"After so much suffering and lost finals, God kept it for me,\" said Messi of the World Cup.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He thus became the first Argentina captain since Diego Maradona in 1986 to lift the World Cup.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I would have liked Maradona to hand me the cup, so he could at least see Argentina champions.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Maradona died of a heart attack two years ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"From up above he gave me strength, as did so many people who love me.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Many people expected Messi to retire, at least from international duty, after the Qatar triumph but he decided to continue so he could take to the field with his teammates as world champions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, he admitted that the end was close after a glory-laden career that saw him also win four Champions League titles and 10 La Liga crowns with Barcelona, and a Ligue 1 trophy with Paris Saint-Germain, as well as the Ballon d\'Or a record seven times.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"That\'s it, there\'s nothing left, I\'ve achieved everything with the national team, with Barcelona, individually,\" he said. 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, '2023-01-31 05:30:20', '2023-01-31 05:30:20'),
(4876, 4876, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved Bangladesh\'s US$4.7 billion loan proposal during a board meeting on Monday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh will get about $3.3 billion under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and about $1.4 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), said a press release here today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">IMF’s ECF/EFF approval has enabled the immediate disbursement of about $476 million as the first of the seven instalments slated over 42 months. The remaining amount will be in six equal instalments of $704 million each.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 42-month program will help preserve macroeconomic stability, protect the vulnerable, and foster inclusive and green growth. Reforms will focus on creating fiscal space to enable greater social and developmental spending; strengthening the financial sector; modernizing policy frameworks; and building climate resilience.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">IMF said Bangladesh’s robust economic recovery from the pandemic has been interrupted by Russia’s war in Ukraine, leading to a sharp widening of Bangladesh’s current account deficit, depreciation of the Taka and a decline in foreign exchange reserves.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The authorities have taken on a comprehensive set of measures to deal with these latest economic disruptions. The authorities recognize that in addition to tackling these immediate challenges, long-standing structural issues and vulnerabilities related to climate change will also need to be addressed to accelerate growth, attract private investment, enhance productivity, and build climate resilience,” it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IMF-supported program under the ECF/EFF arrangements will help preserve macroeconomic stability and prevent disruptive adjustments to protect the vulnerable, while laying the foundations for strong, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable growth.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The concurrent RSF arrangement will supplement the resources made available under the ECF/EFF to expand the fiscal space to finance climate investment priorities identified in the authorities’ plans, help catalyze additional financing, and build resilience against long-term climate risks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">IMF Deputy Managing Director (DMD) Antoinette Monceau Sayeh said, “Since independence, Bangladesh has made steady progress in reducing poverty and significant improvements in living standards. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent Russia’s war in Ukraine interrupted this long period of robust economic performance. Multiple shocks have made macroeconomic management challenging in Bangladesh.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While confronting challenges resulting from the global headwinds, the authorities need to accelerate their ambitious reform agenda to achieve a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable growth, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this regard, she said, substantial investment in human capital and infrastructure will be needed to achieve Bangladesh’s aspiration to reach upper-middle income status by 2031 and meet the Sustainable and Development Goals (SDGs).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the authorities recognize these challenges and also the need to tackle climate change issues, which expose the economy to large risks that could threaten macroeconomic stability.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ECF/EFF arrangement will protect macroeconomic stability and rebuild buffers, while helping to advance the authorities’ reform agenda, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said, “The implementation of the domestic revenue mobilization strategy that relies on both tax policy and revenue administration reforms will allow increasing social, development and climate spending sustainably. Fiscal reforms to strengthen the management of public finance, investment, and debt will improve spending efficiency, governance, and transparency.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reducing financial sector vulnerabilities, strengthening oversight, enhancing governance and the regulatory framework, and developing capital markets will help mobilize financing to support growth objectives.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She mentioned that structural reforms to create conducive environment to expand trade and foreign direct investment, deepening the financial sector, developing human capital, and improving governance to enhance the business climate are needed to lift growth potential.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Access to RSF will provide financing to support Bangladesh’s climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts. The RSF reforms will complement reforms under the ECF/EFF by improving climate investment potential, strengthening institutions and enhancing climate-spending efficiency to build resilience and catalyze additional official and private finance,” she added. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 06:00:18', '2023-01-31 06:00:18'),
(4877, 4877, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter operating profits plunged nearly 70 percent, the biggest drop in more than eight years, as the global economic slowdown dealt a blow to electronics and chips sales.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The South Korean tech giant said operating profits for the October to December period slumped to 4.3 trillion won ($3.4 billion), a 69 percent drop from a year earlier.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The drop is in line with the estimate Samsung released earlier this month and marks the company\'s worst decline in quarterly profits since the third quarter of 2014.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The business environment deteriorated significantly in the fourth quarter due to weak demand amid a global economic slowdown,\" Samsung said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sales fell eight percent to 70.46 trillion won from the same period the previous year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Samsung singled out weak demand for memory chips, saying the sector had been hit hard \"as prices fell and customers continued to adjust inventory amid deepening uncertainties in the external environment\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The firm is the flagship subsidiary of the giant Samsung Group, by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia\'s fourth-largest economy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fourth-quarter drop is the second consecutive margin squeeze for Samsung, which saw a 31 percent fall in operating profits in the third quarter year-on-year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For the full year, Samsung reported 43.38 trillion won in operating profit and a record-high annual revenue of 302.23 trillion won.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Heavy blow\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Until the second quarter of 2022, Samsung, along with other tech companies, significantly benefited from strong demand for electronic devices -- as well as chips that power them -- during the pandemic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the global economy is now facing multiple challenges, including soaring inflation, rising interest rates and higher energy costs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Global memory chip revenue dropped 10 percent last year, as electronic equipment manufacturers \"started to deplete memory inventory they had been holding in anticipation of stronger demand,\" according to tech research firm Gartner.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Consumers also began to reduce spending, with PC and smartphone demand suffering, and then enterprises starting to reduce spending in anticipation of a global recession, all of which impacted overall semiconductor growth,\" said Andrew Norwood, VP Analyst at Gartner.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The macroeconomic uncertainties are expected to persist in 2023, Samsung said, adding: \"the Company anticipates demand to begin recovering in the second half.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Samsung was dealt a heavy blow with deteriorating external factors, like weaker demand and rising costs,\" Samsung Electronics vice chairman Han Jong-hee said during CES 2023 in Las Vegas earlier this month, according to the Yonhap News Agency.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I think this difficult business environment will continue this year as a prolonged economic slowdown and risks in supply chains increase uncertainties.\" 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, '2023-01-31 06:33:19', '2023-01-31 06:33:19'),
(4878, 4878, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>According to the new order, the retail tariff was raised at different levels of consumers. The tariff was raised for lower level consumers by an average 5 percent to Tk 4.14 per unit (each kilowatt hour) from Tk 3.94 per unit. Bulk tariff was raised by 8.06 percent to Tk 6.70 from Tk 6.20 per unit.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Enhancement in bulk tariff means, the distribution companies will purchase electricity by an increased rate of Tk 0.50 per unit from Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) while enhancement in retail tariff means, consumers will have to pay enhanced rate for using electricity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on January 13, the government raised the electricity tariff by 5 percent at the retail level with effect from January 1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At that time, the average tariff for all consumers went up by Tk 0.36 to Tk 7.49 from Tk 7.13.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On November 21, the bulk power tariff was hiked by 20 percent to Tk 6.20 per kilowatt hour by Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) with effect from December 1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The government recently amended the BERC Act empowering the Power Division to raise power, gas and petroleum fuel by administrative power any time it wants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Applying that amended Act, the new gazette notification was issued on January 30 to raise the electricity tariff at bulk and retail levels, bypassing the authorities of the energy regulator.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, energy experts believe the tariff enhancement decision came in compliance with the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that recently approved $4.5 billion in loan to Bangladesh. 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, '2023-01-31 07:15:33', '2023-01-31 07:15:33'),
(4879, 4879, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Actor Shah Rukh Khan spoke about the sequel of his latest release Pathaan, directed by Siddharth Anand. During a media interaction on Monday, Siddharth also reacted when people asked for Pathaan 2. Talking about working with Shah Rukh, Siddharth said it was a ‘gift’ to direct the actor.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sidharth also spoke about how the controversy that Pathaan faced ahead of its release affected the film\'s team. He said that their \'last two months were a little stressful, to be honest, because of the whole environment\'. The filmmaker added that everyone supported them and people came in huge numbers on the first day of the film\'s release to watch it.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As quoted by news agency ANI, Siddharth said, \"Just like every filmmaker, I also had a wish list to once work with Shah Rukh Khan. I think you have to earn a Shah Rukh Khan film, I think it was my journey which I completed and that is when I got a gift to direct Shah Rukh Khan. Pathaan aayi hai, hit hui hai. Uske baad kya banayege (Pathaan has been released, and it has been a hit. What will we make after that?\". While fans screamed Pathaan 2, Siddharth replied, \"Insha allah (God willing)\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shah Rukh said, \"This is a big day for us, my family. We haven\'t experienced this happiness in a while. Whenever he (Siddharth Anand) wants me to do Pathaan 2, I\'ll do it. If they want to make a sequel, it\'ll be my honour to do it.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pathaan is on a record-breaking run at the domestic and international box office as it collected ₹542 crore gross worldwide in just five days. Helmed by Siddharth, Pathaan was released on January 25. It also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in the lead roles. Actor Salman Khan also has an extended cameo as Tiger in the film.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is the fourth installment in the YRF Spy Universe and is Shah Rukh\'s comeback film after Zero (2018). The film has created history as it has overtaken SS Rajamouli\'s Baahubali 2 and Yash-starrer KGF 2 to become the fastest film to enter ₹200 crore club. It collected ₹429 crore gross worldwide in four days, said production banner Yash Raj Films (YRF) on Sunday. 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, '2023-01-31 07:40:44', '2023-01-31 07:40:44'),
(4880, 4880, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thusday asked the Muslim Ummah to collectively stand beside the Palestinians.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier made this call when the ambassadors and high commissioners of seven OIC member states, who are stationed in Dhaka, paid a joint courtesy call on her at her office here in the city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The seven foreign diplomats are Algerian Ambassador Rabah Larbi, Malaysian High Commissioner Haznah Md Hashim, Maldivian High Commissioner Shiruzimath Sameer, Oman’s ambassador Abdul Ghaffar Bin Abdul Karim Al-Bulushi, Palestinian Ambassador Yousef SY Ramadan, Saudi Arabian Ambassador Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan and UAE Ambassador Abdullah Ali Abdullah Khaseif Alhmoudi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM\'s Speech Writer Md Nazrul Islam briefed reporters after the meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman supported Palestine and following this she herself has been standing beside the Palestinians.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Muslim Ummah should collectively stand by the Palestinians,\" she was quoted as saying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The foreign diplomats highly appreciated the leadership of the prime minister for the last 14-year development and stability of Bangladesh, particularly for tackling the Covid-19 pandemic successfully.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They wished that the people of Bangladesh stay well and remain happy under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. So, they (envoys) as members of Muslim Ummah are happy and proud of it, they said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They mentioned that some seven million Bangladeshi people are working in the Middle East countries, making a huge contribution to the economies of the host countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They hoped that the progress of Bangladesh would continue under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina and wished her success in the next general election.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this context, the PM said a neutral election commission was constituted through enactment of a new law and she wants that the election will be fair.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said if the people vote for her, she would come to power again and otherwise not as she believes in the power of the people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She has been working not for her rather for the country and its people, the PM said, adding that her goal is to make the socio-economic uplift of the people of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said the government is working to ensure houses for all the homeless and landless people. Now in the final phase, some 40,000 houses are being constructed. Nobody will remain homeless and landless after distribution of these 40,000 abodes, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM’s International Relation Affairs Adviser Prof Dr Gowher Rizvi, Ambassador-at-large Mohammad Ziauddin and PM’s Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah were present. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 08:05:41', '2023-01-31 08:05:41'),
(4881, 4881, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has launched digital passes for litigants, citing security issues.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Supreme Court administration issued a notification in this regard this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">No plaintiff can enter the Appellate Division Bench and the area adjacent to the bench without showing the entry pass, reads the notification.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Litigants can enter the Appellate Division by collecting this pass from the Supreme Court website.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One can get the digital pass by scanning the QR code or typing in the entry date, case number, plaintiff\'s name and mobile phone number, and National ID number in the website menu.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later the pass can be printed by clicking on the registration button.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The litigants can enter the Appellate Division by showing the printed copy or screenshot or downloaded copy of this pass, added the notification. 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, '2023-01-31 08:25:58', '2023-01-31 08:25:58'),
(4882, 4882, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Appellate Divisson of the Supreme Court (SC) today has given Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami two mounts to prepare a brief statement of an appeal filed by the party against a High Court (HC) verdict that declared the registration of the party with Election Commission “illegal”.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lawyer Joynal Abedin Tuhin and Advocate Matiur Rahman Akanda represented Jamaat-e-Islami while Barrister Tanya Amir appeared for the writ petitioner during the proceedings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barrister Taniya Amir said the apex court in its order said the appeal of Jamaat-e-Islami would be defaulted (dismissed) if the party did not submit the brief statement within eight weeks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Advocate Matiur Rahman Akanda said as per the court order, Jamaat-e-Islami will take part in the hearing and it is expected that the party will get back its registration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In August, 2013, the High Court declared Jamaat’s registration illegal following a writ petition filed in 2009 by Bangladesh Tariqat Federation’s Secretary General Rezaul Haque Chandpuri and 24 others.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the petition, they said Jamaat was a religion-based political party and it did not believe in the independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, Jamaat-e-Islami filed the appeal with the apex court challenging the HC verdict. 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, '2023-01-31 09:04:04', '2023-01-31 09:04:04');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4883, 4883, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A rescue and recovery operation was continuing in Pakistan after a suicide bombing at a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed at least 92 people, most of them police officials.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Muhammad Asim, a spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that at least 170 people were also injured in the blast a day earlier.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The vast majority of those killed were police officers. Fifty-two wounded people remained in hospital, with six in a critical condition, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Bilal Faizi, the chief rescue official, said rescue teams were still working at the site where more people could still be trapped. The suicide bombing caused the roof of the mosque to collapse, and rescuers have had to remove mounds of debris to recover many of the bodies, authorities said.</div><div><br></div><div>Reporting from Peshawar, Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder said the operation had largely shifted to recovery.</div><div><br></div><div>“There has been a ceremonial send-off to those policemen who lost their lives, also funerals taking place across the province, because these policemen came from several districts - so there is mourning across the province,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, questions have grown over how the attacker was able to access the heavily fortified area, which includes the headquarters of the provincial police force and a counterterrorism department, while wearing a suicide vest.</div><div><br></div><div>That followed “credible intelligence reports” on January 21 that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) planned a wave of attacks in Peshawar and the wider Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Hyder reported.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities have not determined who was behind the bombing, although shortly after the explosion Sarbakaf Mohmand, a TTP commander, claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on Twitter. Source: Al Jazeera&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 09:41:31', '2023-01-31 09:41:31'),
(4884, 4884, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the 15th amendment to the constitution strengthened the country\'s democracy and empowered people to choose public representatives by stopping the path of grabbing state power illegally.</b></span><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"Stability is prevailing in the country due to bringing 15th amendment to the constitution and continued democratic process for a long time. So, now, no unelected person can capture state power illegally,\" she said.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She was speaking at the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected Mayor of Rangpur City Corporation (RpCC) and its ward councilors, including those from reserved seats for women at her office here.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister said the apex court had declared illegal to grab state power by issuing martial law after violating the country\'s constitution that has ensured the voting and democratic rights of the Bangladeshi people.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"We have strengthened the country\'s democracy by bringing (15th) amendment to the constitution following the declaration (the apex court verdict). This democracy is meant to reinforce the power of people\'s strength and empower people to decide who will or won\'t go to power,\" she said.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>But, the people\'s empowerment has become a matter of heart burning for a section of so-called intellectuals as they never come to power through the people\'s vote, she said, adding that so, they repeatedly try to hamper the democratic process.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"They, who were never elected by people\'s vote and fear to face the masses, have inner burning due to this reason,\" she added.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister reminded all that the Awami League (AL) government was the only government which handed over power peacefully after completion of its 1999-2001 tenure in Bangladesh\'s history.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She however mentioned that the transparent ballot box and preparing voter lists with photographs had been introduced in accordance with the proposal of the Awami League led grand alliance to hold elections in a free and fair manner.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>She also said the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia had prepared a voter list with 1.23 crore fake voters to hold a farcical election.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Election Commission (EC) has been constituted through a search committee following a law enacted by her government that has made it more transparent and accountable, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The government has also given complete financial independence to the commission as it can present the nation a free and fair election, she added.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister administered the oath to new RCC Mayor Mostafizar Rahman Mostafa, while newly elected councillors were sworn-in by LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Md Tazul Islam.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>State Minister for the LGRD and Cooperatives Ministry Swapan Bhattacharjee was present on the dais while Secretary Muhammad Ibrahim moderated the function.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Jatiya Party-backed candidate Mostafa won the mayoral race for the second consecutive term in the Rangpur City Corporation elections held on 27 December.</div><div><br></div><div>Highlighting her government\'s measures to eliminate Monga and famine from the northern region, sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has changed massively in the last 14 years and there was no food crisis (Monga) in the northern region.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister said her government is giving home to the homeless and landless people free of cost following the footsteps of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"The Father of the Nation has given the country independence. None will remain homeless and landless in the Mujib\'s Bangla,\" she said.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She mentioned that 40,000 more houses are being built, expressing her hope that there would be no homeless people after distributing those houses.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She also briefly described her government efforts to make the entire Bangladesh well-connected in terms of communications, saying her government has built required bridges across the country that include Padma Bridge and Bangabandhu Bridge on the River Jamuna.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said due to massive development of communications, the produced goods of the southern and northern regions are now reaching every corner of Bangladesh including the capital city at the quickest possible time.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She said her government has built the Teesta Bridge over the Dharola River and the Gangachara Bridge and required roads alongside taking other measures as the Monga never comes back to the northern region.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister said they have brought a revolution in building communication networks across the country which helps the countrymen be economically solvent.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She asked the newly elected RpCC mayor and councillors to devote themselves to serving the people and work for their betterment irrespective of party affiliation.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>In this connection, she said they have developed the Rangpur City Corporation like the other ones despite the mayor belonging to another party, adding her party works for the people\'s welfare without any political consideration, reports BSS</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said her government is now in hot pursuit to build a developed, prosperous and Smart Bangladesh by 2041 by cashing in on the opportunity of being a Digital Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 10:17:06', '2023-01-31 10:17:06'),
(4885, 4885, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh national men\'s cricket team may have its head coach position filled soon as Chandika Hathurusingha is set to return. However, an official confirmation is yet to come.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>This follows Cricket New South Wales confirming Hathurusingha\'s departure from his assistant coach role. Recent media speculation has been fueled by reports of an agreement between Chandika and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) following the resignation of Russell Domingo as head coach.</div><div><br></div><div>Cricket New South Wales on Tuesday confirmed that Chandika left his role as an assistant coach, and the Australian team said that he is “desired to seek a coaching role internationally”.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>However, they did not disclose where Chandika may take on a new role.</div><div><br></div><div>Nazmul Hasan, the president of the BCB, stated during a recent visit in Sylhet that the board plans to appoint a new coach in February before the home series against England. However, he kept the identity of the next head coach of the Bangladesh national team a secret.</div><div><br></div><div>Last month, Domingo resigned as the head coach for both Test and ODI cricket. Sridharan Sriram, a former Indian cricketer, served as a technical consultant for the T20 World Cup last year and has been in discussions with the BCB regarding continuing in that role, which the BCB also hopes to keep.</div><div><br></div><div>Before his sudden departure following a disappointing South Africa tour in 2017, Chandika served as the head coach of Bangladesh\'s cricket team starting in 2014. During his tenure, the team started its celebrated winning streak in ODIs at home, including series victories against India, Pakistan, and South Africa. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 10:34:12', '2023-01-31 10:34:12'),
(4886, 4886, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Superstar Shah Rukh Khan thanked fans Monday after his new film \"Pathaan\" smashed Indian box office records following its release last week, bringing hope to Bollywood after a spate of weak showings.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Pathaan\" recorded the highest-ever box office collections for a Hindi film for its opening and second day in India, and raked in 2.5 billion rupees ($30 million) in its first five days, trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>Its international ticket sales soared past one billion rupees ($13.7 million) in just three days, according to Yash Raj Films, which produced the movie.</div><div><br></div><div>It comes after glitzy Hindi-language Bollywood films struggled at the box office following the reopening of Indian cinemas about a year ago after a pandemic hiatus.</div><div><br></div><div>The release of \"Pathaan\", 57-year-old Khan\'s first movie in four years, had been highly anticipated.</div><div><br></div><div>Khan, popularly known as \"King Khan\", has a huge fan following around the world. The film also features Bollywood star Deepika Padukone and action hero John Abraham.</div><div><br></div><div>In recent months, \"Pathaan\" and other Bollywood films -- particularly those starring actors from India\'s Muslim minority such as Khan -- have been criticised by Hindu right-wingers on social media, with activists calling for boycotts.</div><div><br></div><div>Hardline Hindu groups had called for \"Pathaan\" to be banned because Padukone wore a saffron-coloured bikini -- a colour associated with their religion -- in one of the film\'s songs.</div><div><br></div><div>But Khan thanked fans for showering love on the movie and \"bringing life back to cinema\", supporting the film \"in spite of the fact that there might have been things that could have curtailed the happy release\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"I just want to say there is so much love from all sides and we can never show enough gratefulness,\" he said at a press interaction in Mumbai.</div><div><br></div><div>Videos shared on social media have shown fans in Indian cinemas dancing and cheering during the film.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The unprecedented celebratory success of \'Pathaan\' I think speaks volumes about where we are headed as the Hindi movie industry,\" theatre chain owner Akshaye Rathi told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Here we are back to the old school way of celebrating cinema in theatres as a community viewing experience.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Last year, films from southern India, such as Telugu-language \"RRR\", dominated box office takings.</div><div><br></div><div>\"RRR\" has also been feted internationally, winning a Golden Globe for best song and scoring an Oscar nomination in the same category. Source: AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 10:51:44', '2023-01-31 10:51:44'),
(4887, 4887, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Khandker Golam Faruq said a three-tier security has been taken in and around the Ekushey Book Fair venue.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The DMP commissioner said this while talking to reporters&nbsp; after visiting the book fair venue at Suhrawardy Udyan on Tuesday afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>He said there is no specific threat to anyone centering the&nbsp; book fair.</div><div>“However, if any author or publisher feels insecurity, we will keep a close eye on him/her,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>CCTV cameras have been installed at the fair venue.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, 1500 police personnel will be deployed to ensure the overall security of the fair, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>He added that they have made special arrangements so that visitors can easily enter the book fair. There will be separate gates for entering and exiting the fair and the visitors will be checked by the archway and metal detectors, added the DMP chief.</div><div><br></div><div>There will be parking arrangements at the fair venue , he said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 12:17:13', '2023-01-31 12:17:13'),
(4888, 4888, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A fire broke out at Mongla Export Processing Zone (EPZ) area in Khulna district on Tuesday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Ardesh Ali, senior station officer of Mongla EPZ Fire Service control room said the fire broke out at the VIP-1 factory inside the EPZ around 3:30 pm and spread soon.</div><div><br></div><div>On information, seven firefighting units rushed to the spot and are trying to extinguish the blaze, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>There were so many plastic and flammable materials inside the factory, which made the work of&nbsp; fire fighters difficult, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Monirul Islam, officer-in-charge of Mongla Police Station, said the fire might have originated from an electric short circuit.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 13:08:11', '2023-01-31 13:08:11'),
(4889, 4889, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">After the fatal shooting of a six-year-old girl in India last year, her parents made a choice few in the country do - donating her organs. Despite being expected to surpass China this year as the world\'s most populous nation, India is 62nd in the global donation league table. The BBC travelled to Rome, where a campaign sparked three decades ago by another child\'s gun death could show how progress can be made.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Rolly Prajapati was sleeping peacefully last April in the home she shared with her five brothers and sisters in suburban Delhi. In the next room, her parents were preparing dinner when they heard a loud bang and a scream.</div><div><br></div><div>When they went into the room, Rolly cried out for her parents before falling unconscious.</div><div><br></div><div>It was only when they saw blood trickling out of her right ear that they realised something awful had happened: a stray bullet had entered the family\'s home in Noida and hit her.</div><div><br></div><div>Rolly was rushed to hospital and, shortly after, declared brain dead. Police in Noida have told the BBC there is \"no clear suspect\" but they are continuing to investigate.</div><div><br></div><div>After days of agonising, her parents made a decision few in India have done before: to donate her organs. Rolly became the youngest donor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.</div><div><br></div><div>Her father Harnarayan Prajapati explained that the decision to donate a child\'s organs was not always straightforward.</div><div><br></div><div>He said: \"I didn\'t know what to do. I kept thinking through the night. I told the [doctor] that we needed more time to think.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Eventually we decided to go ahead, thinking \'if my daughter\'s organs could save someone\'s life, then we should do it\'.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We think that our daughter is alive inside the young recipients - our daughter will live on this way.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Both of Rolly\'s kidneys were transplanted to Dev Upadhyaya, 14, whose parents told the BBC it was \"a miracle to us\" that he received the organs.</div><div><br></div><div>They had been waiting four years for a transplant and said their \"life has been changed\" because Rolly\'s kidneys had \"given new life\" to Dev.</div><div><br></div><div>Rolly\'s liver went to a six-year-old boy, her heart valves to children aged one and four, and her corneas helped restore sight to two adults aged 35 and 71.</div><div><br></div><div>Rolly\'s death has parallels with the story of Nicholas Green.</div><div><br></div><div>The seven-year-old was on holiday in Italy with his family in September 1994 when the car he was travelling in was shot at in a suspected case of mistaken identity.</div><div><br></div><div>His parents, Maggie and Reg, made the decision to donate Nicholas\'s organs. Reg has dedicated much of his life since to a campaign to encourage more organ donation.</div><div><br></div><div>In 1993, the year before Nicholas was shot, 6.2 people per million donated an organ in Italy - by 2006 the figure had reached 20 per million.</div><div><br></div><div>This was partly due to the country moving to an opt-out system in 1999, which makes all adults potential donors unless they say otherwise. But bringing the idea of the lifesaving potential of donating into the minds of ordinary people was perhaps the most important factor.</div><div><br></div><div>L\'effetto Nicholas - the Nicholas effect - is clear to see. The hope is that a similar transformation will take place in India.</div><div><br></div><div>At the forefront of this is Dr Deepak Gupta, who has travelled to Rome to meet Reg and other experts from the organ donation community.</div><div><br></div><div>It was Dr Gupta who first spoke about the option of organ donation to Rolly\'s parents - they, like many in the country, had never heard of it.</div><div><br></div><div>He used Nicholas\'s example to show Mr Prajapati, who is illiterate, the possible impact of donating.</div><div><br></div><div>One person dies in India from a head injury every three minutes, according to the Lancet Neurology Commission, and so, as Dr Gupta says, there is \"a lot of potential for donors\".</div><div><br></div><div>On average, between 700 and 800 people have donated organs each year since 2000 in India, which has more than 1.4 billion people.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Gupta has conducted a survey which shows that factors such as religion and the attitudes of older family members can discourage donation.</div><div><br></div><div>But since Rolly\'s death last April, there have been more organ donations at AIIMS in Delhi than in the previous five years combined.</div><div><br></div><div>India has seen 846 donations in 2022, more than ever before, according to figures from the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation. Dr Gupta describes it as a \"turning point\".</div><div><br></div><div>He said: \"I\'m pretty confident - I\'m a neurosurgeon and so confidence lives in my veins and the blood - and I believe we all are born with the ability to change.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I believe I am just a very small droplet in the ocean who is trying to bring a change for people.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Each time Reg, 94, returns to Italy from his home in Los Angeles, he meets some of Nicholas\'s recipients - on this trip, he met two women bound together by the transformative effect of donation.</div><div><br></div><div>Shana Parisella\'s brother Davide was killed in a car crash in March 2013, and his heart was transplanted to Anna Iaquinta.</div><div><br></div><div>Nine years after the operation, Anna decided to search for her donor\'s family and formed a strong bond with Shana, who she says is like a sister to her.</div><div><br></div><div>Shana, who has driven 140km from Fondi to Rome, said it was a dream to meet a \"great man\" who was \"an example for everyone\".</div><div><br></div><div>Anna said: \"It\'s not easy for the person that receives the heart because you have a lot of thoughts and you kind of feel bad because on their side there\'s a lot of pain. But on your side there\'s a lot of joy, so it\'s kind of like two different emotions.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I\'m really lucky that her family was so happy to meet me and, for them, it\'s the biggest surprise and the biggest present.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The biggest gift of their life was to meet me. And for me just to be OK and to be with them, it\'s my way of saying thank you, but thank you is never enough.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Nothing will ever be enough for having received life.\" Source: BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 13:23:17', '2023-01-31 13:23:17'),
(4890, 4890, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The lack of graves for Muslims in Berlin has been an issue for decades, as more space is needed to accommodate more graves.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The umbrella associations established by Muslims operating in Germany\'s capital demanded that the Berlin state government must find an urgent solution to the problem about cemeteries where Muslims are buried with Islamic methods.</div><div><br></div><div>While the number of Muslims who want to be buried in Germany is increasing, the first generation Muslims who came to the country as workers prefer to be buried in the countries they came from, especially Türkiye.</div><div><br></div><div>However, a majority of the second and third generation Muslims in Germany want to be buried in the country they live in, as the relatives who will visit their graves and pray for them after they die live in that country.</div><div><br></div><div>Recently, the capacity of Gatow Cemetery, which is located in the westernmost borough of Berlin, has started to fill up.</div><div><br></div><div>Murat Gul, the president of the Islamic Federation of Berlin, told Anadolu that he received a letter from authorities saying that there will be no empty places in the cemetery and no burial will be allowed as of the end of March.</div><div><br></div><div>He also pointed out that a similar situation was experienced in 2018, and in 2021, bodies of 20 Muslims were kept waiting in Berlin during the New Year\'s holiday as there was no vacancy in the Gatow Cemetery.</div><div><br></div><div>The problem was solved temporarily then, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>According to Gul, more than 300,000 Muslims live in Berlin, and their numbers will be rising in the coming years, reports Anadolu Agency.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The children and grandchildren of the first generation want to be buried here. It is a human right for the state to ensure that people are buried according to their religion. We want a permanent solution. This problem must be solved urgently,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 14:09:54', '2023-01-31 14:09:54'),
(4891, 4891, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>UN expert said on Tuesday (Jan 31), Bangladesh must step up efforts to strengthen regulation of the migrant recruitment system to protect migrant workers against exploitation and abuses.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Recruitment currently imposes exorbitant high costs on many migrants, creating debt bondage, much of which are imposed by “middlemen” who are used to recruit workers,” said Felipe González Morales, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, in a statement at the end of a 10-day official visit to Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>He said “I was informed of the de facto high migration costs that are often borne by aspirant migrant workers who are desperate to go abroad and work.</div><div><br></div><div>Intermediaries/middlemen exploit these situations by imposing fees as high as 3,000 USD for a migrant to get access to work abroad, he said adding that many of these aspirant workers have to sell their properties or take on loans that become excessive, leading to debt bondage.</div><div><br></div><div>“Once they arrive at their country of destination, most of the money they try and earn often has to be used to service these loans resulting in migrant workers being left with little to support themselves and their families.”</div><div><br></div><div>He said the exploitation of aspirant migrant workers begins even before they set foot at their place of employment overseas. “I observed that there are many cases such as these and urge the Government to strengthen the protection of migrant workers, particularly those who are in situations of vulnerabilities, including the poor and illiterate.”</div><div><br></div><div>Addressing a warping up press conference at Westin Hotel on Tuesday afternoon, González Morales urged authorities to protect the rights of migrant workers at all stages of migration, including pre-departure, during employment abroad and upon their return.</div><div><br></div><div>The Special Rapporteur commended the Government for actions taken to curb these challenges, but said there was still a need to regulate, closely monitor and enhance the recruitment system to ensure effective protection for migrants, including better access to justice.</div><div><br></div><div>The expert noted the stark difference in skilled migration schemes channeled through Government-to-Government initiatives, which yield more beneficial results for migrants due to more robust regulation and oversight.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is the lower-skilled migrants who are often subject to vulnerable situations, including exploitation, as they are often poor, lack education and without access to information that can help inform their decisions and enhance their migration experiences,” González Morales said.</div><div><br></div><div>He welcomed the establishment of a database of aspiring migrant workers as well as better regulation of middlemen, including requirement for registration. González Morales emphasised that responsibility for migrant workers equally falls on countries of destination.</div><div><br></div><div>“These countries must do their part in ensuring strong protection for migrant workers, particularly women who are disproportionately at risk of human rights violations when they are hired as domestic workers,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Destination countries - most of them in the Middle East - must also take an active role in investigating and sanctioning perpetrators of human rights violations against Bangladeshi migrant workers.” “At the same time, Bangladesh should continue reinforcing its consular services”, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 14:54:55', '2023-01-31 14:54:55'),
(4892, 4892, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The United States and its allies will impose further sanctions on Myanmar on Tuesday, marking the two-year anniversary of the coup with curbs on energy officials and members of the junta, among others.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Washington will impose sanctions on the Union Election Commission, mining enterprises, energy officials and current and former military officials, according to a Treasury Department statement seen by Reuters.</div><div><br></div><div>It marks the first time the United States has targeted Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) officials under the current Myanmar sanctions program, a Treasury spokesperson said.</div><div><br></div><div>Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom also announced sanctions on Tuesday.</div><div><br></div><div>Myanmar\'s top generals led a coup in February 2021 after five years of tense power-sharing under a quasi-civilian political system that was created by the military, which led to a decade of unprecedented reform.</div><div><br></div><div>The country has been in chaos since, with a resistance movement fighting the military on multiple fronts after a bloody crackdown on opponents that saw Western sanctions re-imposed.</div><div><br></div><div>Tuesday\'s US move will target the managing director and deputy managing director of the state-owned MOGE, which is the junta\'s single largest revenue generating state-owned enterprise, according to the Treasury statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Human rights advocates have called for sanctions on MOGE, but Washington has so far held back from designating the state-owned enterprise.</div><div><br></div><div>Also among those that will be designated by Washington was the Union Minister of Energy, Myo Myint Oo, who Treasury said represents Myanmar\'s government in international and domestic energy sector engagements and manages the state-owned entities involved in the production and export of oil and gas.</div><div><br></div><div>Mining Enterprise No 1 and Mining Enterprise No 2, both state-owned enterprises, as well as the Union Election Commission, are also set to be hit with sanctions by the United States.</div><div><br></div><div>The military has pledged to hold an election in August this year. On Friday, the junta announced tough requirements for parties to contest the election, including a huge increase in their membership, a move that could sideline the military\'s opponents and cement its grip on power.</div><div><br></div><div>The rules favour the Union Solidarity and Development Party, a military proxy stacked with former generals, which was trounced by Aung San Suu Kyi\'s National League for Democracy (NLD) party in 2015 and 2020 elections.</div><div><br></div><div>The NLD in November described the election as \"phoney\" and said it would not acknowledge it. The election has also been dismissed as a sham by Western governments.</div><div><br></div><div>Washington will also target former and Myanmar military officials, the Treasury said, accusing the Air Force of continuing to launch air strikes using Russian-made aircraft against pro-democracy forces that have killed civilians.</div><div><br></div><div>Canada targeted six individuals and prohibited the export, sale, supply or shipment of aviation fuel in its action on Tuesday, while Australia targeted members of the junta and a military-run company.</div><div><br></div><div>The United Kingdom designated two companies and two individuals for helping supply Myanmar\'s air force with aviation fuel used to carry out bombing campaigns against its own citizens, reports Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement, \"The junta must be held to account for their brutal crackdown on opposition voices, terrorising air raids and brazen human rights violations.\"&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 16:27:46', '2023-01-31 16:27:46'),
(4893, 4893, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier has denied that playing Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar all together in the same side has a negative impact on the team\'s balance, as the Brazilian was ruled out of Wednesday\'s match at Montpellier.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>PSG said Neymar is suffering from muscle fatigue and received treatment as he sat out training on Tuesday while the rest of his team-mates prepared for the trip south following Sunday\'s 1-1 draw at home to Reims in Ligue 1.</div><div><br></div><div>Neymar scored the opening goal against Reims but PSG conceded an equaliser deep into stoppage time as their lead over second-placed Lens remained three points.</div><div><br></div><div>PSG have won just one of four league games this month but Galtier rejected suggestions the presence of Neymar, Mbappe and Messi was hurting the team\'s stability.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We have at PSG three incredibly strong attacking players -- Kylian, Leo and Ney, with 55 goals and 34 assists since the start of the season,\" Galtier said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"To say that we have to leave one of them out to be balanced is a mistake. We\'ve been able to play well and be solid with all of three of them.\"</div><div><br></div><div>PSG face a run of six games in 19 days including the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich on February 14.</div><div><br></div><div>\"January hasn\'t been good and everyone needs to have it in their heads that February will be better,\" added Galtier.</div><div><br></div><div>He confirmed the club was in talks to sign Morocco winger Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea but said no deal had yet been completed.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We will comment on the transfer window when it is closed,\" said Galtier.</div><div><br></div><div>\"As for whether one, two or three players might come in, based on what I have read, the club is working hard... but I\'m not going to comment on potential arrivals or departures.</div><div><br></div><div>\"If there are no arrivals, there are no arrivals.\" - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-31 16:31:52', '2023-01-31 16:31:52'),
(4894, 4894, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Just before she left for school on the afternoon of 16 September last year, nine year-old Zin Nwe Phyo was thrilled to be given a new pair of sandals by her uncle.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She made him a cup of coffee, put on the shoes and headed off to school, a 10-minute walk away in the village of Let Yet Kone in central Myanmar. Shortly afterwards, her uncle recalls, he saw two helicopters circling over the village. Suddenly they started shooting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zin Nwe Phyo and her classmates had just arrived at the school and were settling down with their teachers, when someone shouted that the aircraft were coming their way.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They began running for cover, terrified and crying out for help, as rockets and ammunition struck the school.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We did not know what to do,\" said one teacher, who had been inside a classroom when the air strikes began. \"At first I did not hear the sound of the helicopter, I heard the bullets and bombs hitting the school grounds.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Children inside the main school building were hit by the weapons and began running outside, trying to hide,\" said another teacher. With her class she managed to hide behind a big tamarind tree.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"They fired right through the school walls, hitting the children,\" said one eyewitness. \"Pieces flying out of the main building injured children in the next building. There were big holes blown out of the ground floor.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Their attackers were two Russian-made Mi-35 helicopter gunships, nicknamed \"flying tanks\" or \"crocodiles\" because of their sinister appearance and protective armour. They carry a formidable array of weapons, including powerful rapid-fire cannon, and pods that fire multiple rockets, which are devastating to people, vehicles and all but the strongest buildings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the two years since Myanmar\'s military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi\'s elected government, air strikes like this have become a new and deadly tactic in a civil war that is now a brutal stalemate across much of the country, conducted by an air force which has in recent years grown to about 70 aircraft, mostly Russian and Chinese-made.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\'s hard to estimate how many have died in such air attacks because access to much of Myanmar is now impossible, making the conflict\'s true toll largely invisible to the outside world. The BBC spoke to eyewitnesses, villagers and families over a series of phone calls to find out how the attack on the school unfolded.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The firing continued for around 30 minutes, eyewitnesses said, tearing chunks out of the walls and roofs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Then soldiers, who had landed in two other helicopters nearby, marched in, some still shooting, and ordered the survivors to come out and squat on the ground. They were warned not to look up, or they would be killed. The soldiers began questioning them about the presence of any opposition forces in the village.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Inside the main school building three children lay dead. One was Zin Nwe Phyo. Another was seven-year-old Su Yati Hlaing - she and her older sister were being brought up by their grandmother. Their parents, like so many in this region, had moved to Thailand to seek work. Others were horribly injured, some missing limbs. Among them was Phone Tay Za, also seven years old, crying out in pain.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The soldiers used plastic bin liners to collect body parts. At least 12 wounded children and teachers were loaded on to two trucks commandeered by the military and driven away to the nearest hospital in the town of Ye-U. Two of the children later died. In the fields skirting the village, a teenage boy and six adults had been shot dead by the soldiers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is a country that has long been at war with itself. The Burmese armed forces have been fighting various insurgent groups since independence in 1948. But these conflicts were low-tech affairs, involving mainly ground troops in an endless tussle for territory in contested border regions. They were often little different from the trench warfare of a century ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was in 2012 in Kachin state - just after the air force had obtained its first Mi-35 gunship - that the military first used aerial weapons extensively against insurgents. Air strikes were also used in some of the other internal conflicts which kept burning throughout Myanmar\'s 10-year democratic interlude, in Shan and Rakhine states.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, since the February 2021 coup, the army has suffered heavy casualties in road ambushes carried out by the hundreds of so-called People\'s Defence Forces, or PDFs - volunteer militias that were established after the junta crushed peaceful protests against the coup.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">So it has been forced to rely on air support - bombing by aircraft suitable for ground attack; or air mobile operations like the one at Let Yet Kone, where gunships blast targets before soldiers arrive to kill or capture any opposition forces they find. 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, '2023-02-01 02:35:49', '2023-02-01 02:35:49'),
(4895, 4895, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">In August, Donald Trump was deposed for a lawsuit where he\'s accused of inflating property values.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In a video released by the New York Attorney General\'s Office on Tuesday, the former president invoked the Fifth Amendment over and over again.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Trump denies wrongdoing and has called the civil probe a witch hunt.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution,\" Mr Trump said in a statement last summer. 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, '2023-02-01 02:43:27', '2023-02-01 02:43:27'),
(4896, 4896, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Washington DC householder has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of a 13-year-old child who he suspected of breaking into cars.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jason Michael Lewis, 41, turned himself in to Washington police on Tuesday. He is accused of shooting the teenager at around 04:00 on 7 January.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to arrest documents, as he was being shot, Karon Blake shouted, \"I am sorry, please don\'t\" and \"I\'m a kid, I\'m a kid.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Lewis is black, as was the teenager.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He is an employee with the city\'s Department of Parks and Recreation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Washington Post reports that he has been placed on leave from his $75,000 (£60,000) per year job.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The shooting took place in Brookland, a neighbourhood in the north-east of the city that has undergone rapid gentrification in recent years, like other parts of the US capital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to an affidavit, Mr Lewis left his home with his legally owned gun after saying he heard noises and fearing that someone was trying to get inside his home.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Lewis then encountered a group of young people who were apparently trying to break into cars, Washington Metropolis Police Chief Robert Contee III said in a news conference.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Hey, what are y\'all doing?\" he shouted at them, according to the affidavit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He fired once with a Smith &amp; Wesson .40-calibre handgun at the fleeing getaway vehicle, investigators say.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The affidavit adds that CCTV cameras on Mr Lewis\' property recorded Karon running as Mr Lewis continued firing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After Mr Lewis opened fire, the boy collapsed having shouted: \"I\'m a kid, I\'m a kid.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Lewis told police that Karon ran towards him after he fired at the getaway vehicle. A witness told investigators that he \"charged\" at Mr Lewis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chief Contee said Karon could have been running towards the getaway vehicle and perhaps did not realise that Mr Lewis was the person who had just opened fire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Lewis called police to report that he had \"shot a juvenile male who ran toward him\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Police body camera footage shows that he was on the ground \"performing chest compressions\" in an effort to save the boy\'s life when officers arrived.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Karon - who attended the nearby Brookland Middle School - was pronounced dead in hospital from multiple gunshot wounds.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A lawyer for Mr Lewis said his client was \"distraught\" and \"maintains his innocence\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"While this is certainly a tragedy, once all the facts are heard, I believe that a jury will find that there was no crime here,\" said lawyer Lee Smith. 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, '2023-02-01 02:49:50', '2023-02-01 02:49:50');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4897, 4897, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Bangla language has always been at the forefront of our national identity. Amar Ekushey Boi Mela (Book Fair) is a significant part of Bangladesh’s history, culture and literature. Every year, the book fair is held in the month of February. It is the biggest book fair in the country where publishers display and sell printed books under diverse categories.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This fair offers great opportunities for the readers to meet their favourite writers, poets, novelists, and publishers face-to-face. Besides serving as a platform to encourage readers to read and buy books, the Boi Mela also works as a monthlong cultural hub – showcasing the diversity of Bangladesh. Let’s look into the history of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chittaranjan Saha was born in the Noakhali district in 1927. His publishing house Punthighar Prokashoni, located at Banglabazar in Dhaka, was burnt down in 1971. Chittaranjan Saha left Dhaka after March 26. He took shelter in Agartala and then moved to Calcutta (Kolkata) during the Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the Liberation War, many prominent writers, artists, and journalists from Bangladesh had to stay in Calcutta as refugees. During that period, Chittaranjan arranged a meeting with some of the most prominent litterateurs residing in Calcutta. They decided to write and publish about the injustice and war in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). Thus, Muktodhara was born.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In February, 1972, Chittaranjan Saha laid a mat under the tree in front of the Bangla Academy building and put on display about 32 (33 according to some sources) books as a homage to the Language Movement martyrs of 1952.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though Chittaranjan Saha initiated the Boi Mela from a humble beginning, according to some sources, he was not the first person who started selling books at Bangla Academy premises in February. Ruhul Amin Nizami of Standard Publishers started displaying Russian books. Those books were very popular at that time for their rich content and affordable prices.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though Chittaranjan Saha is recognised as the initiator of Ekushey Boi Mela, the root of the book fair goes deeper.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first book fair in then East Pakistan was held in 1965. The initiative was taken by Sardar Jainuddin, who was born in 1918 in Pabna.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In 1965, he started displaying some children’s books on the ground floor of the Dhaka University Library. At that time, he was working on a project for UNESCO regarding children’s books.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>HOW DID EKUSHEY BOOK FAIR GET THE OFFICIAL TITLE?</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though the book fair event was organized for several years, it had no definite title or clear format. It was known as the ‘Annual Book Fair’ or ‘Dhaka Book Fair.’ Later in 1984, the book fair was embraced permanently with the spirit of February 21. Manjure Mawla – the then director general of Bangla Academy – tried to organize the book fair with the title ‘Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela’ in 1983. However, the event was moved to the following year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A guideline was prepared for the book fair and the first ever ‘Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela’ took place in 1984. Since then, the book fair has had its official title.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>DURATION AND VENUE OF AMAR EKUSHEY GRANTHA MELA</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the initial years, the book fair was arranged for a very short duration. It was held for a week – from the 15th to the 21st of February. During this time, there was a special discount on Bangla Academy books.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, the book fair was held for 21 days – from February 1 to 21. However, the duration of the book fair was once reduced to 14 days. But as per the demand of the publishers, the duration of the book fair was extended again to 21 days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the Boi Mela got wide acceptance, it was extended from 21 days to the whole month of February. It also lasts for 29 days in leap years. In 2013 or 2014, there was a demand to extend the duration of the fair to March 26. However, this demand was not considered.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The venue of the fair has also gone some through changes. In the very beginning, there were few publishers. The book fair events were organised inside Bangla Academy. During the fair, the publishers’ stalls were separated by making partitions on the ground and walls. As the years passed by, the book fair became hugely popular, and many publishers showed interest to join the Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2012, the number of publishers participating in the book fair was 425. Due to a large number of publishers and crowds, the Ekushey Boi Mela was extended to Suhrawardy Udyan near Bangla Academy in 2014. As a result, the fair has expanded considerably. 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, '2023-02-01 03:10:17', '2023-02-01 03:10:17'),
(4898, 4898, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Winter weather brought ice to a wide swath of the United States on Tuesday, canceling more than 1,700 flights nationwide and snarling highways. At least two people died on slick roads in Texas and two law officers in the state were seriously injured, including a deputy who was pinned under a truck, authorities said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the ice storm advanced eastward on Tuesday, watches and warnings stretched from the western heel of Texas all the way to West Virginia. Several rounds of mixed precipitation — including freezing rain and sleet — were in store for many areas through Wednesday, meaning some regions could be hit multiple times, the federal Weather Prediction Center warned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Emergency responders rushed to hundreds of auto collisions across Texas and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott urged people to stay off the roads.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorities said one person in Austin was killed in a predawn pileup Tuesday. A 45-year-old man also died Monday night after his SUV slid into a highway guardrail near Dallas in slick conditions and rolled down an embankment, according to the Arlington Police Department.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 900 flights to or from major U.S. airport hub Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and more than 250 to or from Dallas Love Field were canceled or delayed Tuesday, according to the tracking service FlightAware. At Dallas-Fort Worth, more than 50% of Tuesday’s scheduled flights had been canceled by Tuesday afternoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dallas-based Southwest Airlines canceled more than 560 flights Tuesday and delayed more than 350 more, FlightAware reported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About 7,000 power outages in Texas were reported as of late Tuesday morning, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said following a briefing in Austin on the worsening conditions. He emphasized the outages were due to factors such as ice on power lines or downed trees, and not the performance of the Texas power grid that buckled for days during a deadly winter storm in 2021.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fleets of emergency vehicles were fanned out among 1,600 roads impacted by the freeze.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Texas, a sheriff’s deputy who stopped to help the driver of an 18-wheeler that went off an icy highway on Tuesday was hit by a second truck that pinned him beneath one of its tires, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. About 45 minutes after the crash on State Highway 130, the deputy was freed from the wreckage and taken to a hospital, where he was in surgery Tuesday afternoon, officials said. The deputy is expected to survive, officials said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In another wreck, a Texas state trooper was hospitalized with serious injuries after being struck by a driver who lost control of their vehicle, said Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The roadways are very hazardous right now. We cannot overemphasize that,” Abbott said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the ice and sleet enveloped Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced that it will cancel classes Wednesday due to freezing rain and hazardous road conditions. The school system has about 100,000 students. The University of Memphis said it would announce plans for Wednesday classes by 6 a.m. tomorrow.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Arkansas, Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency Tuesday because of the ice storm. In her declaration, Sanders cited the “likelihood of numerous downed power lines” and said road conditions have created a backlog of deliveries by commercial drivers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the main thoroughfares through Arkansas — Interstate 40 — was ice-coated and “extremely hazardous” in the Forrest City area on Tuesday, according to the city’s fire department.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The department responded to two bad wrecks and about 15 other crashes Tuesday morning, Division Chief Jeremy Sharp said by telephone. In many of the crashes, the drivers pick up speed on the highway but run into trouble when they reach a bridge, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“They hit the ice and they start wrecking,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“When I-40 shuts down like that, that can be hours of waiting,” said John Gadberry, who lives in Colt, Arkansas, not far from the highway. “I-40 is usually one of the first things that freezes over due to its slight elevation.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By late Tuesday morning, I-40 was cleared and traffic had resumed, the Arkansas Department of Transportation announced. The interstate connects Little Rock, Arkansas, to Memphis, Tennessee.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The storm began Monday as part of an expected “several rounds” of wintry precipitation through Wednesday across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Marc Chenard.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Generally light to moderate freezing rain resulting in some pretty significant ice amounts,” Chenard said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We’re expecting ice accumulations potentially a quarter inch or higher as far south as Austin, Texas, up to Dallas over to Little Rock, Arkansas, towards Memphis, Tennessee, and even getting close to Nashville, Tennessee,” according to Chenard.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The flight disruptions follow Southwest’s meltdown in December that began with a winter storm but continued after most other airlines had recovered. Southwest canceled about 16,700 flights over the last 10 days of the year, and the U.S. Transportation Department is investigating.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The weather service has issued a winter storm warning for a large swath of Texas and parts of southeastern Oklahoma and an ice storm warning across the midsection of Arkansas into western Tennessee.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A winter weather advisory is in place in much of the remainder of Arkansas and Tennessee and into much of Kentucky, West Virginia and southern parts of Indiana and Ohio.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Schools and colleges in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas planned to close or go to virtual learning Tuesday. 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, '2023-02-01 03:16:53', '2023-02-01 03:16:53'),
(4899, 4899, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The government has sought a revision to the power purchase agreement (PPA) it signed with Adani Power Ltd for importing electricity from its thermal power plant in Jharkhand, India.&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), the government agency tasked with overseeing the development of the country’s power sector, has already sent a letter to the Indian company in this regard, according to officials familiar with the deal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It seems the price of coal to be purchased as fuel for the project has emerged as the prime bone of contention.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have sent a letter to the Adani Group following a request we received in relation to opening LCs (in India) to import the coal that will be used as fuel for the 1,600 MW plant in Jharkhand,” a highly-placed official of BPDB told UNB, in return for anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since practically all the power generated by the plant located in the Godda district of Jharkhand state will be exported to Bangladesh, Adani Power requires a demand note from BPDB that it can present to Indian authorities before opening LCs against the coal import.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The cost incurred to import the coal, including transport from port to plant, will ultimately be borne by Bangladesh, with the price factored into the PPA\'s tariff structure.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Adani Power recently sent a request for BPDB to issue the demand note, where the coal price is quoted at $400 per metric ton (MT) - far above what BPDB officials believe it should be given the present state of the international market.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“In our view, the coal price they have quoted ($400/MT) is excessive - it should be less than $250/MT, which is what we are paying for the imported coal at our other thermal power plants,\" the official said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The same sources also said Bangladesh’s stance on the issue was communicated to Adani Power officials during the visit of a delegation led by State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid to the site of the power plant, that took place in the first week of January.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Publicly however, the state minister gave no indication of any such issue during the visit, instead telling reporters that Bangladesh would start importing the power generated by one of the two units at the plant, some 750 MW, from March.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The subsequent letter counts as BPDB’s formal request for the PPA to be reviewed and tariff structure to be adjusted before it can start importing the electricity, officials said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">No discounts, please?A number of BPDB officials told UNB it was the absence of a provision for discounts on the purchase of coal in the PPA signed with Adani Power, that allowed the Indian firm to quote such a steep bill for the coal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The absence of such a provision is all the more notable since it was made mandatory in the PPAs for thermal power plants signed with other independent power producers, domestic or foreign. In these PPAs, the price of coal to be purchased as primary fuel was kept as “pass-through”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PPA with Adani Power was signed in November 2017, in Dhaka. Then-Power Division Joint Secretary Faizul Amin, BPDB secretary at the time Mina Masuduzzaman and Adani’s Business Development President Kandarp Patel signed two documents - the PPA and an Implementing Agreement - on behalf of their respective sides.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Interestingly, reports in Bangladeshi media from the time suggest the agreement had to be rushed through in the end, on the insistence of the Indian company. A date proposed by the Power Division had to be brought forward, reported Energy and Power magazine, as the Indian company ‘was insisting to sign the deal earlier’.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most of the top and senior officials of the Power Division were unable to attend, the report adds. Did this rush to sign ‘ahead of schedule’ in the end cause the absence of the discount provision to be missed?</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Incidentally the coal for the project, it is now known, will be purchased from the Adani-owned Carmichael mine in Queensland, Australia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Normally, the price of coal is calculated on the basis of the Newcastle Price Index, with purchases of high quantities or with higher calorific values enabling the buyer to avail discounts of upto 55 percent on the bulk value.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For example, the provision is present in the PPA for the 1320 MW Payra power plant, a Bangladesh-China&nbsp; joint venture where BPDB is benefiting from discounts on coal purchases. The amount of coal required to operate these plants typically runs into the millions of tonnes.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The annual requirement of coal for the Godda plant is estimated to be 7-9 million tonnes. But given the omission of a discount provision, Bangladesh will ultimately end up paying Adani Power Tk 20-22 per unit of electricity, once all the hidden costs are piled on top of the tariff.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Compare that to the price it pays for the electricity bought from coal-fired plants in Bangladesh, which is below Tk 12 per unit,\" the senior BPDB official said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He and others insist that if Adani doesn’t agree to adjust the pricing mechanism for coal in the PPA, it would be simply unviable for Bangladesh to import power from the Godda power plant.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per Power Division documents seen by UNB, Bangladesh would be paying Adani Power an estimated $23.87 billion, equivalent to almost Tk 240,000 crore (considering US dollar exchange rate at Tk 100), over the 25-year life cycle of the plant, if the PPA remains unchanged.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Adani Power’s investment in the plant, including transmission lines till the Bangladesh border, have been estimated at around $2.1 billion. 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, '2023-02-01 03:49:29', '2023-02-01 03:49:29'),
(4900, 4900, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>The air quality of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka continued to be in the \'unhealthy\' zone this morning.</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 168 at 9:15 am today (February 1, 2023), Dhaka ranked 11th in the list of cities with the worst air.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Kazakhstan\'s Astana, Pakistan’s Karachi and Mongolia\'s Ulaanbaatar occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 229, 195 and 190, respectively.</span><br></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 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, '2023-02-01 04:20:11', '2023-02-01 04:20:11'),
(4901, 4901, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukraine will hold a summit with the European Union in Kyiv this week, the government announced Tuesday, as it expressed hope the conference will bring the war-battered nation closer to EU membership almost a year after Russia launched its invasion.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kyiv also announced it expects to receive up to 140 modern battle tanks from its Western allies, and the prospect of more advanced weapons for Ukraine came from the United States.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In his evening address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was hopeful the summit, which will take place in the Ukrainian capital on Friday, will reflect a high \"level of cooperation and progress\" with the 27-member bloc, which Kyiv has long sought to join.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are waiting for news for Ukraine,\" Zelensky said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Announcing the summit earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said: \"The fact that this summit will be held in Kyiv is a powerful signal to both partners and enemies.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine gained EU candidacy status in June last year, several months after Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops rolling into Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">No details were provided on who would be attending the summit on the European Union side.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Weapons \'breakthrough\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that a dozen countries had promised more than one hundred tanks after Germany and Washington signed off on the deliveries last week.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"These are Leopard 2, Challenger 2, M1 Abrams,\" added the foreign minister without specifying a timeline for the deliveries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The decision to supply the weapons came after weeks of diplomatic wrangling and was seen as a breakthrough in the West\'s backing for Ukraine in its fight to win back territory from Russian forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Now Zelensky is urging the West to supply fighter jets and long-range missiles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he will be discussing the new requests for advanced weaponry with Zelensky.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'re going to talk,\" Biden told reporters, speaking the morning after he answered with an emphatic \"no\" when asked at the White House whether he favoured sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that a US defense company, General Atomics, has offered to sell Kyiv two Reaper MQ-9 drones for a dollar as it prepares for an expected Russian offensive.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under the deal, Kyiv would have to spend about $10 million to ship the aircraft to Ukraine, and about $8 million each year for maintenance, the Journal said, citing a letter from General Atomics to a Ukrainian diplomat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There was no immediate comment on the report from Washington.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu meanwhile announced that his country would send 12 more Caesar truck-mounted howitzers to Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Alongside other Western-supplied mobile cannons, the Caesar was credited last year with helping Ukraine strike targets deep behind Russian lines, undermining Moscow\'s offensive.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Razing Bakhmut\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite the flows of Western weapons, Russia has recently claimed gains in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Its defence ministry announced it had \"liberated\" the village of Blagodatne north of Bakhmut.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Blagodatne lies on a highway leading towards Bakhmut, and its announced capture comes not long after Ukraine conceded it had given up the nearby salt-mining town of Soledar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">AFP journalists around 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of Bakhmut heard sporadic shelling coming from Vugledar, which both Moscow and Kyiv have said is seeing an uptick in fighting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s very tense, the more time passes the worse, worse and worse it gets,\" said Oleksandr, a 45-year-old Ukrainian serviceman operating a mortar near Vugledar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Tuesday, Kyiv said a 12-year-old boy and 70-year-old man were killed during Russia\'s latest barrage in Bakhmut, which Moscow has been seeking to seize for months in some of the heaviest fighting of the war.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The Russians are razing Bakhmut to the ground, killing everyone they can get their hands on,\" said Pavlo Kyrylenko, the region\'s governor.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused Ukraine of using banned anti-personnel landmines against invading Russian forces, saying almost 50 civilians, including five children, had been wounded.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine\'s defence ministry insisted the army upholds its treaty obligations against mines, but will not comment on the types of weapons used until the war ends.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And international tensions remained high with the US State department on Tuesday accusing Russia of not complying with New START, the last remaining arms control treaty. It urged Moscow to return to compliance by allowing inspection activities on its territory, which Moscow suspended in August, citing what it said was American obstruction of Russian checks. 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, '2023-02-01 04:54:42', '2023-02-01 04:54:42'),
(4902, 4902, '<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Voting in the by-polls to the six parliamentary seats — left vacant after BNP MPs resigned — began this morning.</span></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The six constituencies are: Thakurgaon-3, Bogura-4 and 6, Chapainawabganj-2, 3 and Brahmanbaria-2.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Voting began at 8:30 am and will continue till 4:30 pm, said SM Asaduzzaman, Joint Secretary of the Election Commission.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being used in the by-elections. However, no CCTV cameras have been installed in the polling centers, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Forty aspirants are vying in the 6 constituencies for MP post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 22,55,217 people are expected to exercise their franchise in 867 polling centers.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Voting underway for by-polls to 6 JS seats left vacant after BNP MPs’ resignation&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, the government on Tuesday announced a public holiday on Wednesday in the election areas on the occasion of the by-elections.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on December 10, 2022 at a public rally, parliamentarians of BNP announced their resignation from the JS. The next day, on December 11, Chapainawabganj-2 lawmaker Md Aminul Islam, Bogura-4 lawmaker Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Bogura-6 lawmaker Golam Mohammad Siraj, and Thakurgaon-3 lawmaker Zahidur Rahman resigned from the parliament.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two other BNP lawmakers — Advocate Abdus Sattar of Brahmanbaria-2 constituency and Harun-or-Rashid of Chapainawabganj-3 — resigned from the parliament later. 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, '2023-02-01 05:34:19', '2023-02-01 05:34:19'),
(4903, 4903, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Shab-e-Qadr Persian phrase meaning \'the night of power\' or \'the night of respect\'; the most blessed of all the nights of the year according to Islam. In the Holy quran and hadith it is referred to as Lailatu\'l-Qadr; in Bangladesh it is commonly known as \'Shab-e-Qadr\'.&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this night, five verses of Al-Alaq, the first surah (chapter) of the Quran was revealed. About Shab-e-Qadr the Quran says: it is the night in which the Quran was revealed; it is better than a thousand months; during this night the angels including Jibra\'il descended with the permission of their Lord; there is peace all night long.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The precise date of Shab-e-Qadr is unknown except that, according to the Quran, it falls in ramadan. According to the prophetic tradition it is an odd-numbered night among the last seven or ten days of the month, that is, the 21st, 23rd, or 25th, or any of the 25th, 27th or 29th night of Ramadan. However, most Muslim scholars believe that Shab-e-Qadr is the 27th night of Ramadan, which is also the view generally held in Bangladesh. This blessed night is a great mercy of Allah to the Muslims, for by praying in this single night they can get the reward of prayer done in more than a thousand months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prophet (Sm) asked the believers to pray a lot in this night. If a believer prays throughout this night all his past sins are forgiven. Shab-e-Qadr is observed with great religious fervour in Bangladesh. Pious Muslims, who do not wish to miss the special benefits of this night, start their devotions from the 21st night of Ramadan. Most Muslims, however, observe it only on the 27th.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the time of Isha\' prayer, people assemble at mosques, with many staying till midnight to pray. Women pray at home. The day following Shab-e-Qadr is an official holiday in Bangladesh. To mark the occasion radio and television broadcast special programmes and the newspapers and periodicals publish special features. [MA Quasem]</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"7\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 06:11:50', '2023-02-01 06:11:50'),
(4904, 4904, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">An Iranian couple in their 20s have been given jail sentences totalling 10 years after posting a video of themselves dancing in the street.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They were reportedly convicted for promoting corruption, prostitution and propaganda.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The video showed them dancing by Tehran\'s Azadi (Freedom) Tower.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorities are handing heavy sentences to people seen to be involved in protests after the death of a woman who was detained by morality police.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The couple did not link their dance to the ongoing protests in Iran.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A source has confirmed to BBC Monitoring that the couple\'s arrest came after they posted the video to their Instagram accounts, which have a combined following of nearly two million.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Anti-government protests - labelled \"riots\" by Iran\'s regime - swept across the country after Mahsa Amini, 22, died in police custody in September last year. She was arrested in Tehran for allegedly violating the rule requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Astiazh Haqiqi, 21, and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, 22, are said to be convicted of \"promoting corruption and prostitution, colluding against national security, and propaganda against the establishment\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The family home of Ms Haqiqi, who lists her profession as a fashion designer, was raided before the arrest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is unclear how long the sentence is for each of the separate convictions they are facing. They have each been sentenced to a total of 10 and a half years - a combined sentence for the charges.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If their verdicts are upheld, they will have to serve the longest one of those sentencing terms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to reports, they were also handed a two-year ban on using social media and leaving 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, '2023-02-01 06:24:09', '2023-02-01 06:24:09'),
(4905, 4905, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Comilla Victorians made remarkable history in Tuesday\'s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match, succeeding in their chase of a target surpassing 200 runs and defeating the Khulna Tigers in Sylhet.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Khulna Tigers put up a strong score with contributions from Tamim Iqbal and Shai Hope, scoring 95 and 91 runs respectively, setting a total of 210 for 2 wickets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the highlight of the match was Johnson Charles from the Comilla Victorians, who scored an impressive century with 107 runs and 11 sixes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Comilla started off on the backfoot with early losses from Litton Das and Imrul Kayes while chasing a big target, but a crucial third-wicket partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Johnson Charles of 122 runs sealed a fantastic victory for the Victorians. Rizwan made a significant contribution of 73 runs with 4 sixes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Comilla achieved their chase with 7 wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare, marking their sixth consecutive win and moving up to third place in the points table with 6 wins in 9 matches.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, Khulna suffered their seventh loss in 9 matches and currently sit in sixth place with a mere 4 points.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Sylhet phase of the BPL has come to a close and the tournament will now move to Dhaka, starting on February 3rd. 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, '2023-02-01 06:44:46', '2023-02-01 06:44:46'),
(4906, 4906, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Voting in the by-polls to the six parliamentary seats — left vacant after BNP MPs resigned —is going on amid some stray incidents today.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Voting began at 8:30 am and will continue till 4:30 pm, said SM Asaduzzaman, Joint Secretary of the Election Commission.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The six constituencies are: Thakurgaon-3, Bogura-4 and 6, Chapainawabganj-2, 3 and Brahmanbaria-2.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being used in the by-elections. However, no CCTV cameras have been installed in the polling centers, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Forty aspirants are vying in the 6 constituencies for MP post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Chapainawabganj, a chase and counter-chase happened between supporters of two candidates at the District Ideal High School Centre around 9 am.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A scuffle took place between the supporters of independent candidate Samiul Haque Liton and Awami League backed candidate Abdul Wadud at the polling station -- triggering a chase and counter-chase, said Additional Superintendent of Chapainawabganj Police, Abul Kalam Shaheed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, police brought the situation under control. A crude bomb was seized from the spot.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Voting in the by-election for Brahmanbaria-2 (Sarail-Ashuganj) constituency was going on peacefully amid low voter turnout till filing of this report around noon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Abu Asif Ahmed, an expelled leader of BNP and an independent candidate, still remains missing since Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By-polls to 6 JS seats underway amid stray incidents&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some 1,100 police have been deployed at the polling stations while four platoons of BGB members, nine teams of RAB, nine mobile teams of police, and four striking teams were also performing their duties to maintain the law and order situation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 22,55,217 people are expected to exercise their franchise in 867 polling centers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, the government on Tuesday announced a public holiday on Wednesday in the election areas on the occasion of the by-elections.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on December 10, 2022 at a public rally, parliamentarians of BNP announced their resignation from the JS. The next day, on December 11, Chapainawabganj-2 lawmaker Md Aminul Islam, Bogura-4 lawmaker Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Bogura-6 lawmaker Golam Mohammad Siraj, and Thakurgaon-3 lawmaker Zahidur Rahman resigned from the parliament.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two other BNP lawmakers — Advocate Abdus Sattar of Brahmanbaria-2 constituency and Harun-or-Rashid of Chapainawabganj-3 — resigned from the parliament later. 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, '2023-02-01 07:38:14', '2023-02-01 07:38:14'),
(4907, 4907, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A newly discovered comet will make its closest approach to our planet on Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Astronomers say the object\'s journey toward us took around 50,000 years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Photographs captured by astronomers show a distinct green hue around the body of the comet.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But those expecting a brilliant streak of emerald in the sky will be disappointed. Its brightness is right at the threshold of what is visible to the naked eye.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Astronomers discovered the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) last March at the Palomar Observatory in California.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It will make its closest approach to Earth at around 41 million km (26 million miles) away this Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The object originates in the Oort cloud, a collection of icy bodies at the edge of the Solar System.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To find it, Massey suggests first searching for the pole star, which is always in the same place in the sky.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">You can identify the pole star by looking directly north and locating a star that hangs distinctly by itself.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">You can then use free planetarium software online to determine where the comet will be moving in relation to the pole star on the night you\'re looking at it.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The best time to view it will be in the early hours of Thursday morning when the Moon has set.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At that time the comet should appear just to the right of the pole star.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A green appearance for comets is not uncommon and is usually the result of breakdown of a reactive molecule called dicarbon - two carbon atoms joined together by a double bond.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Such colour is better picked up by digital cameras, which are more sensitive to colour. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"18\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 07:44:43', '2023-02-01 07:44:43');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4908, 4908, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The military regime in Myanmar have jailed, tortured and killed thousands of civilians, including children, in last two years since the coup on February 1 2021, said a joint statement issued by the US and its allies on Wednesday (Feb 1).</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Since the coup, the military regime has violently cracked down on any form of opposition, including peaceful protests. Credible reports indicate that thousands of civilians, including children, have been jailed, tortured and killed.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The joint statement issued by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union, and the Foreign Ministers of Albania, Armenia, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, the Federated States of Micronesia, Georgia, Ghana, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States, on the two year anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup d’état and seized power against the will of the people, plunging the country into a deep political, economic and humanitarian crisis,” reads the statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Over the last two years, the people of Myanmar have courageously demonstrated their commitment to a democratic country, demanding respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and showing determined resilience in the face of unspeakable atrocities.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said there are mounting reports that air strikes, bombardments and the mass burning of villages and places of worship have targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure. Reports of torture and sexual violence by the security forces are widespread. The prolonged conflict has seen thousands of civilian casualties, over 17 million people in need and 1.5 million people displaced from their homes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We welcome and support the central role of ASEAN in addressing the crisis in Myanmar, including the efforts of the ASEAN Chair and ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar,” said the joint statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US and allies in their joint statement welcomed the UN Security Council Resolution 2669 (2022) on the situation in Myanmar which calls for the immediate cessation of violence and the upholding of universal human rights, the provision of full and unhindered humanitarian access and the protection of civilians.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It calls on the military regime to effectively and fully implement ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus, and to immediately release all arbitrarily detained prisoners, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US and its allies reaffirmed their support for the ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar and the UN Special Envoy to Myanmar and encourages their close coordination.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It also urges all parties in Myanmar to work constructively with both Envoys to commence dialogue to seek a peaceful solution.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military overruled the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar as expressed in the November 2020 General Election, when they seized power on 1 February 2021. We reiterate our call for the return of Myanmar to a democratic path. The military regime must end violence and create space for meaningful and inclusive dialogue to allow for any democratic process to resume, said the statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It reiterated the call on all members of the international community to support all efforts to hold those responsible for human rights violations and abuses to account; to cease the sale and transfer of arms and equipment which facilitate atrocities; and to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of Myanmar’s people, including its most vulnerable communities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We remain resolute in our support for all those working peacefully towards an inclusive and democratic future for the people of Myanmar.” 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, '2023-02-01 08:03:26', '2023-02-01 08:03:26'),
(4909, 4909, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Following BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir lashing out at Somoy TV for “running a story” on conviction of Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman, a recent revelation by a senior journalist on how BNP-Jamaat cadres “persuaded journalists to report and telecast videos of firebombing vehicles years back” has gone viral. Scores of people were burnt with many sustaining burn injuries during the firebombing and arson attacks in 2013-14.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Appearing on a talk-show, Bangla daily Somoyer Alo Executive Editor and a correspondent for DW Bangla, Harun Ur Rashid, recalled the grisly spree of arson attacks on vehicles at that time and referred to how “BNP-Jamaat backed arsonists” insisted that journalists telecast the gory images of petrol bombs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In reference to a debate with management during his tenure as a planning editor at Ekushey TV at the time, Rashid said on the talk show that video footages were “supplied and demands were made” that such graphic visuals be aired.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The way we used to run press releases on events arranged by different political parties, they wanted us to carry such images mentioning the name of the party,” the senior journalist said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Though I don’t want to call out the parties seeking publicity for such horrendous acts, Jamaat did not shy away from circulating such content publicly. The extent of such gruesome attacks took a turn for the worse and we had to raise the question of breach in ethical journalism… columns were published,” Rashid added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Days back, amidst several recent media reports quoting Transparency International Bangladesh’s Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman as saying that keeping Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman – sentenced by the court – in BNP’s top leadership “contradicts” the party’s 27-point outline for state reform, which includes stance against corruption, and is a sign of “moral decay”, Mirza Fakhrul came down hard on Somoy TV for running a report on the issue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Featuring the BNP leader’s statement, Somoy TV again relayed the earlier story – defending its position and justification behind the report which also included references to the testimony of a US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent in a money-laundering case against Tarique Rahman.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hundreds were dead with thousands suffering burn injuries during the deadly spate of petrol bombing in 2013-14. The country incurred losses worth billions of dollars while families of the deceased are still seeking justice against perpetrators.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister’s ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy called out the BNP secretary general for criticizing Somoy TV for its report on the convictions of party chairperson Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a post on his verified Facebook page yesterday, Sajeeb Wazed wrote: “Mirza Fakhrul, at numerous events, claimed there is no freedom of expression in Bangladesh. Now, is he respecting that freedom? Does the media not have the right to speak the truth that goes against BNP?” 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, '2023-02-01 08:21:16', '2023-02-01 08:21:16'),
(4910, 4910, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Unidentified attackers fired eight rockets at a Turkish military base in northern Iraq today, two of which landed inside the facility, the Counter-Terrorism Group, a security organisation in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, said.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A Turkish security source said the attack had caused no damage and there were no casualties in the base, without going into further detail.</div><div><br></div><div>An Iraqi security source who declined to be identified said an Iraqi contractor in the base had been wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the early hours on the Zilkan base, which hosts Turkish troops in Ninevah province of northern Iraq.</div><div><br></div><div>Turkey has been carrying out operations in Iraq for decades against the Kurdistan Workers Party, which has bases in the region. It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the US, and the European Union.</div><div><br></div><div>The group launched an insurgency in southeast Turkey in 1984 in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. Source: Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 09:09:50', '2023-02-01 09:09:50'),
(4911, 4911, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Japan\'s new ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori today said the relations of the two countries will be strengthened further in future as he paid a courtesy call on Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader at his secretariat office here.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Japan and Bangladesh are very good friends---the two countries are working together to further strengthen this relationship,\" he said while Quader, also Awami League (AL) General Secretary, greeted him.</div><div><br></div><div>They discussed various issues related to the interests of the two countries.</div><div><br></div><div>The Japanese envoy said his country is cooperating with Bangladesh in the construction of various infrastructures including metro rail \"and it will continue in the future\".</div><div><br></div><div>Senior officials of the ministry and secretariat were present at the meeting. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 10:04:58', '2023-02-01 10:04:58'),
(4912, 4912, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the month-long \'Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2023\' on the premises of the Bangla Academy and the Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The theme of this year\'s book fair is \"Paro Boi, Garo Desh: Bangabandhur Bangladesh (Read Book, Build Country: Bangabandhu\'s Bangladesh). The Bangla Academy is organizing the fair.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>At the function, the Prime Minister unwrapped seven books published by the Bangla Academy that include a compilation of the books written by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman titled \"Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Rochonabali-1\" edited by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, President Abdul Hamid-written book \"Amar Jibonneeti, Amar Rajneeti\", \"Karagarer Rojnamcha Path Bishleshon,\" \"Ausomapto Atmojiboni Path Bishleshon,\" and \"Amar Dekha Noya Chin Path Bishleshon,\" edited by poet Mohammad Nurul Huda and a research based book on Zila Sahitya Mela-2022 (first part).&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman\'s youngest daughter and PM\'s younger sister Sheikh Rehana was present on the occasion.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>State Minister for Cultural Affairs K M Khalid, MP, spoke on the occasion as the special guest. Cultural Affairs Secretary Md. Abul Monsur addressed the function.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Bangla Academy President Selina Hossain presided over the inaugural function while Director General Mohammad Nurul Huda delivered the address of welcome. President of Academic and Creative Publishers Association of Bangladesh Arif Hossain Chhoton also spoke on the occasion.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Besides, the premier distributed prizes among 15 recipients of the Bangla Academy Literary Award-2022.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The book fair will remain open for all from 3 pm to 9 pm on working days and from 11:00 am to 9 pm on public holidays with a one-hour break for lunch and prayers.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>A total of 901 stalls have been allocated to 601 organizations. The authorities have allotted 165 stalls to 112 organizations for the Bangla Academy ground and 736 stalls to 489 organizations for the Suhrawardy Udyan.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Moreover, a total of 38 pavilions have been allocated this year.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Last year, a total of 774 stalls were allocated in favour of 534 organizations. Apart from this, there will be 153 stalls at Little Magazine Chattar, which were 127 in 2022, 140 in 2021 and 155 in 2020.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Strict security arrangements have been arranged in and around the book fair venue to avert any unpleasant incident. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 11:17:45', '2023-02-01 11:17:45'),
(4913, 4913, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Police investigating a suicide bombing that killed more than 100 people at a Pakistan mosque said on Tuesday that several people had been arrested, and they could not rule out the possibility that the bomber had internal assistance evading security checks.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The bombing was the most deadly in a decade to hit Peshawar, a restive northwestern city near the Afghan border, and all but three of those killed were police, making it most suffered by Pakistan’s security forces in a single attack in recent history.</div><div><br></div><div>The bomber struck on Monday as hundreds of worshippers gathered for noon prayers in a mosque that was purpose built for the police and their families living in a highly fortified area.</div><div><br></div><div>“We have found some excellent clues, and based on these clues we have made some major arrests,” Peshawar police chief Ijaz Khan told Reuters.</div><div><br></div><div>“We can’t rule out internal assistance but since the investigation is still in progress, I will not be able to share more details.”</div><div><br></div><div>Investigators, who include counter-terrorism and intelligence officials, are focusing on how the attacker managed to breach the military and police checkpoints leading into the Police Lines district, a colonial-era, self-contained encampment in the city centre that is home to middle- and lower-ranking police personnel and their families.</div><div><br></div><div>Defence minister Khawaja Asif had said the bomber was in the first row in the prayer hall when he struck. Remains of the attacker had been recovered, provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari told Reuters.</div><div><br></div><div>“We believe the attackers are not an organised group,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The most active militant group in the area, the Pakistani Taliban, also called Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has denied responsibility for the attack, which no group has claimed so far. Interior minister Rana Sanaullah had told parliament a breakaway faction of the TTP was to blame.</div><div><br></div><div>The blast demolished the upper storey of the mosque. It was the deadliest in Peshawar since twin suicide bombings at All Saints Church killed scores of worshippers in September 2013, in what remains the deadliest attack on the country’s Christian minority.</div><div><br></div><div>Peshawar sits on the edge of the Pashtun tribal lands, a region mired in violence for the past two decades.</div><div><br></div><div>The TTP is an umbrella group for Sunni and sectarian Islamist factions opposed to the government in Islamabad. The group has recently stepped up attacks against police. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 11:46:34', '2023-02-01 11:46:34'),
(4914, 4914, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Inflation has risen to a 48-year high in crisis-hit Pakistan, where the International Monetary Fund is visiting for urgent talks, according to data released on Wednesday by the country\'s statistics bureau.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Inflation in January was recorded at 27.55 percent, the highest since May 1975, with thousands of containers of imports held up at Karachi port.</div><div><br></div><div>Pakistan\'s economy is in dire straits, stricken by a balance of payments crisis while it attempts to service high amounts of external debt.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The world\'s fifth-biggest population has less than $3.7 billion in the state bank -- enough to cover just three weeks of imports.</div><div><br></div><div>On Tuesday, an IMF delegation arrived in Islamabad to revive negotiations over a stalled bailout package with the government, which has so far held out from meeting the global lender\'s tough conditions. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 15:23:22', '2023-02-01 15:23:22'),
(4915, 4915, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Short movies nominated for an Oscar often don\'t get wide public attention. But when one is about an Iranian girl seeking freedom from male domination by taking off her veil, interest is sure to spike.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>That\'s the premise of \"The Red Suitcase\", a 17-minute movie that, at the Oscar ceremony in Los Angeles on March 12, will shine a bright light on the protests that have gripped Iran since last September.</div><div><br></div><div>Set in Luxembourg\'s airport, it tells the story of a 16-year-old Iranian girl freshly arrived from Tehran who, with trepidation, takes off her veil to escape an unhappy fate dictated by men.</div><div><br></div><div>For director Cyrus Neshvad, born in Iran but of Luxembourgish nationality, the Oscar nomination is a chance to highlight what the \"virus\" of the Islamic regime is doing to the \"beautiful body\" of his birth country.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Once we get this virus out, the body will be flourishing again,\" he told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>The demonstrations in Iran were sparked by the September 16 death in custody of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, who was detained for incorrectly wearing the headscarf mandated by the country\'s religious rulers.</div><div><br></div><div>Since then they have spread to become one of the most serious popular challenges to the hardline Islamic theocrats who took power in 1979.</div><div><br></div><div>The regime has responded by cracking down on the protesters with arrests and executions -- but also turning against those voicing support, among the country\'s sportspeople and filmmakers.</div><div><br></div><div>- \'Take your hijab off\' -</div><div>For Neshvad, \"The Red Suitcase\" wasn\'t born of the current uprising in Iran -- it was filmed a year before it started.</div><div><br></div><div>But it has its roots in the injustices faced by his family -- of the Bahai religion, systematically persecuted in Iran -- as well as those long experienced by Iranian girls and women before Amini\'s death brought them to global attention.</div><div><br></div><div>\"For me, it (the movie) was about a woman, which are the women in Iran being under domination of the man,\" said the director, aged in his 40s.</div><div><br></div><div>In Iran, \"If a woman wants to do something, or go visit something, the man (her father or husband) has to consent and write the paper and sign it,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>For the girl in his movie to take her veil off, it was a moment of \"courage\" -- for her to rebel against a path forced upon her, but also to inspire those watching.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It will be a message: \'Follow me -- like me, take your hijab off, don\'t accept this domination, and let\'s be free, at least have the free will to decide\',\" Neshvad said.</div><div><br></div><div>His actress, Nawelle Evad, 22, isn\'t Iranian and used a dialogue coach to deliver the few lines in Farsi required.</div><div><br></div><div>But as a French-Algerian, the issue of women and Islamic headscarves -- and the debate in the West around them -- was familiar to her.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I had a Muslim upbringing and I used to wear it,\" she told AFP in Paris, where she lives.</div><div><br></div><div>But for her \"it was never an obligation\" to wear one, she noted.</div><div><br></div><div>And even for her character in the movie, when she takes her headscarf off, \"It\'s not of her will, it\'s despite herself that she removes it -- I think there are many women in Iran, and elsewhere, where the headscarf is an extension of themselves.\"</div><div><br></div><div>- Criticism of West too -</div><div><br></div><div>In the film though, by removing the headscarf, her character ultimately \"chooses herself\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"That\'s what I find so beautiful in this film... the doubts that anybody, in any country, in any culture, faces... What do I choose for myself? Do I listen to my family? Am I making my own choices?\"</div><div><br></div><div>Neshvad\'s French scriptwriting partner, Guillaume Levil, also suggested that the sexualised airport ads in the film underline that the West, too, can be criticised for exploiting women and their public image.</div><div><br></div><div>The final image of the movie, an ad showing a blonde model with abundant curly hair, was emblematic of both social diktats, the director said, reports AFP</div><div><br></div><div>\"The closer we go with the camera on her face, slowly we see that she\'s not happy, and when we are very, very close, we see that (she) is even frightened,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"And with this, I wanted to finish the movie. So to have both sides, not only one side, but both sides.\"&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 15:34:40', '2023-02-01 15:34:40'),
(4916, 4916, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Two Polish skiers were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir on Wednesday after a massive avalanche hit Gulmarg ski resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, local police said.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The police identified the deceased as Krzysltof, 43, and Adam Grzech, 45, both from Poland.</div><div><br></div><div>The Baramulla police on their official Twitter handle said: “Today morning three teams comprising 21 foreign nationals and two local guides went to Affarwat Gulmarg for skiing. At about 12.30 p.m. a massive avalanche hit Hapatkhud Kangdori where these skiing teams got trapped.”</div><div><br></div><div>The police along with other rescue teams of the region launched a joint operation and rescued 19 foreign nationals from Russia and Poland and two local guides, the police said.</div><div><br></div><div>Kashmir region is prone to massive avalanches during the peak winter period and in the last few weeks authorities in the region had been issuing warnings for the avalanches in and around 12 districts of the region.</div><div><br></div><div>Since Monday morning, Kashmir received a heavy snowfall curtailing air and road traffic, hitting businesses, electricity, and deferring examinations in universities.</div><div><br></div><div>The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed for traffic for the third consecutive day today following fresh landslides in the Ramban district, leaving more than 800 vehicles stranded on the road.</div><div><br></div><div>The 270-kilometer-long highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the other parts, was closed after a major landslide.</div><div><br></div><div>“There was a major landslide on the highway at Rampari area in Banihal tehsil Wednesday morning. Besides, another landslide took place in Wagon,” the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency quoted an official as saying. - Anadolu Agency&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 15:56:22', '2023-02-01 15:56:22'),
(4917, 4917, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Authorities in Western Australia say they have found a tiny radioactive capsule which went missing last month.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Emergency services had \"literally found the needle in the haystack\", they said.</div><div><br></div><div>A huge search was triggered when the object was lost while being transported along a 1,400km (870 mile) route across the state.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities released a close-up picture of the pea-sized capsule - which could cause serious harm if handled - on the ground among tiny pebbles.</div><div><br></div><div>A serial number enabled them to verify they had found the right capsule, which is 6mm (0.24 inches) in diameter and 8mm long.</div><div><br></div><div>It contains a small quantity of Caesium-137, which could cause skin damage, burns or radiation sickness.</div><div><br></div><div>Mining giant Rio Tinto apologised for losing the device, which is used as a density gauge in the mining industry.</div><div><br></div><div>A 20m \"hot zone\" has now been established around the capsule and it will be placed into a lead container.</div><div><br></div><div>It will be stored at a secure location in the town of Newman overnight before being transported to a secure facility in the city of Perth on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>Announcing their find, the state emergency services paid tribute to \"inter-agency teamwork in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds\".</div><div><br></div><div>The capsule was found when a vehicle equipped with specialist equipment, which was travelling at 70 km/h (43 mph), detected radiation, officials said.</div><div><br></div><div>Portable detection equipment was then used to locate the capsule, which was found about 2m (7ft) from the side of the road.</div><div><br></div><div>The device is part of a density gauge, which was being used at Rio Tinto\'s Gudai-Darri mine in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The simple fact is the device should never have been lost,\" said the head of the company\'s iron ore division, Simon Trott. He thanked the authorities for the \"pretty incredible recovery\" of the capsule.</div><div><br></div><div>Rio Tinto would be happy to reimburse the cost of the search if requested by the government, Mr Trott added.</div><div><br></div><div>Australian authorities have promised a review of existing laws on the matter.</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference in Perth that the current fine for failing to safely handle radioactive substances is \"ridiculously low\". It currently stands at A$1,000 ($700, £575) and A$50 ($35, £30) for every day that the offence continues.</div><div><br></div><div>Exposure to trace quantities of the metal is like \"receiving 10 X-rays in an hour, just to put it in context, and... the amount of natural radiation we would receive in a year, just by walking around,\" said Western Australia\'s chief health officer Andrew Robertson earlier this week.</div><div><br></div><div>It was thought that the capsule may have gone missing up to two weeks ago.</div><div><br></div><div>The search area for the lost capsule was huge. It is roughly equivalent to the distance by road from John O\'Groats in northern Scotland to Land\'s End in south-west England, or from Washington DC to Orlando, Florida.</div><div><br></div><div>The state\'s desert is remote and one of the least populated places in the country. Only one in five of Western Australia\'s population lives outside of Perth, the state\'s capital.</div><div><br></div><div>The gauge was being transported by a subcontracted company, which picked it up from the mine site on 12 January to move it to a storage facility in the north-east suburbs of Perth.</div><div><br></div><div>When it was unpacked for inspection on 25 January the gauge was found broken apart and the radioactive capsule was gone. One of four mounting bolts and screws were also missing.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities said vibrations during transit may have caused the bolts to become loose, allowing the capsule to fall through gaps in the casing and truck.</div><div><br></div><div>This incident came as Rio Tinto tries to repair its reputation in Australia.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2020, Rio Tinto blasted the 46,000-year-old rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia to expand an iron ore mine, sparking a major outcry that led to several of the company\'s top bosses standing down.</div><div><br></div><div>And last year, a parliamentary inquiry found sexual harassment was rife at Australia\'s mining firms, after an internal review at Rio Tinto found more than 20 women had reported actual or attempted rape or sexual assault over five years. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 16:12:10', '2023-02-01 16:12:10'),
(4918, 4918, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said discussions are on to produce hydrogen electricity from sea water.&nbsp;&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Referring to the new concept of hydrogen power generation from sea water, she said that discussions are underway with all the companies that gave proposals in this regard.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“If possible, feasibility study of hydrogen power generation at Matarbari, Maheshkhali or Banshkhali will be done,” she said while responding to a tabled question from ruling party member Anwar Hossain Khan.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister said that in some countries of the world, electricity is generated by using the tides of the sea, which is costly and has not been commercially successful.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“There are currently no plans to set up such a power plant as it is costly,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She informed about the idea of producing hydrogen electricity from sea water.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Mentioning that it is very costly, she said that in the future, if the cost of constructing such power plants comes down, the plan to use the tides of the Bay of Bengal for electricity production can be adopted to build a power plant.</div><div><br></div><div>In response to ruling party MP Kazim Uddin Ahmed\'s question, the Prime Minister said that as a result of the government\'s action, a record number of 11,13,374 workers have been employed abroad in 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Among them, the number of women workers is 1,05,466,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>She said that currently Bangladesh exports manpower to 168 countries and the government wanted to reduce manpower export dependency in the Middle Eastern countries.</div><div><br></div><div>“For that purpose, a move is on to export manpower in Eastern Europe and Eastern Asian countries,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina while responding to ruling party MP Mahfuzur Rahman said that 1,558 bridges and 7,498 culverts have been constructed or reconstructed during the tenure of the current government.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Improvement of 908.49 kilometres of road to four lanes or more is in progress.&nbsp; Out of this, 235.03 kilometres of road have already been made into four lanes or more.”</div><div><br></div><div>In response to Jatiya Party MP Rustam Ali Farazi\'s question, the Prime Minister said that up to December of the current fiscal year 2022-23, there had been an inward remittance flow of $10,493.26 million.</div><div><br></div><div>Replying to the question of ruling party member AKM Rahmatullah, she said 182,352 out of 187,290 valiant freedom fighters were given digital certificates and 95,245 smart ID cards from the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-01 16:54:05', '2023-02-01 16:54:05'),
(4919, 4919, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">If you look at a map of East Asia, you can see an arc of US alliances stretching from South Korea and Japan in the north to Australia in the south.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But smack in the middle of that is a missing link - the Philippines, which borders two of the biggest potential flashpoints, Taiwan and the South China Sea, or the West Philippine Sea as Manila insists on calling it.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">America hopes to finally stitch that gap when Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin meets Philippine President Ferdinand \"Bongbong\" Marcos Jr in Manila on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Philippine sources say the deal would expand US access to military bases in the country - a key bit of real estate which would offer a front seat to monitor the Chinese in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Three of the bases the US is seeking access to could be on Luzon, an island on the northern edge of the Philippines, the only large piece of land close to Taiwan - if you don\'t count China.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A deal with the Philippines, in part reversing the US\' departure from their former colony more than 30 years ago, is no small matter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There is no contingency in the South China Sea that does not require access to the Philippines,\" says Gregory B Poling, director of the Southeast Asia programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The US is not looking for permanent bases. It\'s about places, not bases.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That is, it is seeking access to places where \"light and flexible\" operations involving supplies and surveillance can be run as and when needed, rather than bases where large numbers of troops will be stationed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In other words, this is not a return to the 1980s, when the Philippines was home to 15,000 US troops and two of the largest American military bases in Asia, at Clark Field and nearby Subic Bay.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Then in 1991 the Philippine government called time. The Filipinos had recently overthrown the hated dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, and sending the old colonial masters home would further cement both democracy and independence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Vietnam war was long over, the Cold War was winding down, and China was as yet a military weakling. So, in 1992, the Americans went home - or at least most of them did.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Roll forward 30-odd years and another Marcos - Ferdinand Marcos Jr or Bong Bong as he is popularly known - is back in the Malacañang Palace.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More important, China is no longer a military weakling, and it\'s knocking on the Philippines\' front door. Manila has watched - horrified but powerless to intervene - as Beijing has set about redrawing the map of the South China Sea. Since 2014 China has built 10 artificial island bases, including one at Mischief Reef, deep inside the Philippines\' own exclusive economic zone or EEZ.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Up to then relations between Manila and Beijing had been free of major problems, says Herman Kraft, a political science professor at University of the Philippines.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We had a live and let live situation in the South China Sea. But in 2012 they tried to seize control of Scarborough Shoal. Then in 2014 they began building the islands. The land grab by China changed the relationship.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have very limited capability against the threat from China,\" says former Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He says the Chinese have repeatedly broken promises not to militarise their new South China Sea bases.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The Chinese have militarised those features and that puts more of our territory under threat. Only the US has the power to stop them. The Philippines cannot do it alone.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But this time there will not be thousands of US marines and airmen filling the red-light districts of Olongapo or Angeles city again. 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, '2023-02-02 02:14:25', '2023-02-02 02:14:25'),
(4920, 4920, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">No classified documents were found during an FBI search of President Joe Biden\'s home in Rehoboth, Delaware, his lawyer says.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement, Mr Biden\'s attorney said Wednesday\'s search was \"planned\" with the president\'s \"full support\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The nearly four-hour search of the property related to a wider probe into the handling of classified documents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The FBI has not commented on the search. As it was consensual, no search warrant was sought.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Biden\'s lawyer, Bob Bauer, said the search was carried out \"without advance public notice\" in the interests of \"operational security and integrity\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following the search - which lasted from 0830 to 1200 local time - Mr Bauer said that \"no documents with classified markings were found\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some \"materials and handwritten notes\" that appear to date to Mr Biden\'s time as vice president between 2009 and 2017 were taken for \"further review\", Mr Bauer added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The search is the latest in a series carried out at various locations, after classified documents were found at the Penn Biden Center - an office space - in Washington DC in November. This was not made public at the time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More documents were discovered at another of Mr Biden\'s homes in Wilmington, Delaware, in searches conducted in December and January.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The precise number of classified records recovered remains unclear - although at least a dozen were found during the January searches alone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Biden has said his team did \"what they should have done\" by alerting officials immediately, and that they are \"co-operating fully and completely\" with the investigation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the first of January\'s searches, Mr Biden told reporters the files were in a locked garage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s not like they are sitting in the street,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latest search comes a day after special counsel Robert Hur officially began his duties overseeing the probe into the documents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence have also been embroiled in controversy over the handling of classified documents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Mr Pence\'s case, a \"small number of documents bearing classified markings\" were found at his home in Carmel, Indiana, according to a letter sent to the National Archives by his lawyer. The documents were recovered by the FBI from a safe at the property on 19 January, with two boxes more delivered to the Archives on 23 January.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An August 2022 search of Mr Trump\'s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida uncovered dozens of boxes and about 11,000 documents, including about 100 with classified markings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The search warrant came after attorneys representing Mr Trump had said all government records were returned. Mr Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and claimed that he had declassified the documents taken with him. 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, '2023-02-02 02:46:00', '2023-02-02 02:46:00');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4921, 4921, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukraine\'s defence minister has said Russia is preparing a major new offensive, and warned that it could begin as soon as 24 February.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Oleksii Reznikov said Moscow had amassed thousands of troops and could \"try something\" to mark the anniversary of the initial invasion last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The attack would also mark Russia\'s Defender of the Fatherland Day on 23 February, which celebrates the army.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, three people have died in an attack on the city of Kramatorsk.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eight others were wounded in the city in Donetsk region after a Russian missile struck a residential building, the provincial governor said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The toll is expected to rise as rescuers comb through the wreckage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The only way to stop Russian terrorism is to defeat it,\" Mr Zelensky wrote on social media about the attack. \"By tanks. Fighter jets. Long-range missiles.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine has recently renewed calls for fighter jets to help protect itself from air attacks after Germany, the US and the UK agreed to send them tanks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Reznikov said Moscow had mobilised some 500,000 troops for the potential offensive.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a general mobilisation of some 300,000 conscripted troops, which he said was necessary to ensure the country\'s \"territorial integrity\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Mr Reznikov suggested that the true figure recruited and deployed to Ukraine could be far higher.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Officially they announced 300,000 but when we see the troops at the borders, according to our assessments it is much more,\" he told the French BFM network. The BBC cannot independently verify this figure.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite some heavy fighting in the eastern Donbas region, the war has entered something of a stalemate in recent months since Ukraine retook the southern city of Kherson.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the exception of the Russian seizure of the town of Soledar, neither side has made major territorial advances.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But a Russian spring offensive - and a Ukrainian counter-offensive - has long been considered likely. The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) recently said that Moscow could seek to \"undertake a decisive action\" and launch a \"big offensive\" in the east.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Reznikov said Ukraine\'s commanders would seek to \"stabilise the front and prepare for a counter-offensive\" ahead of the rumoured Russian advance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I have faith that the year 2023 can be the year of military victory,\" he said, adding that Ukraine\'s forces \"cannot lose the initiative\" they have achieved in recent months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The defence minister was in France to strike a deal to purchase additional MG-200 air defence radars, which he said would \"significantly increase the capacity of the armed forces to detect air targets, including winged and ballistic missiles, and drones of various types\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Reznikov\'s comments come as Ukrainian intelligence alleges that President Putin has ordered his forces to seize the Donbas before the end of spring.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But speaking on Monday, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that there were no indications that Mr Putin had limited his military goals to seizing eastern regions of Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"That they are actively acquiring new weapons, more ammunition, ramping up their own production, but also acquiring more weapons from other authoritarian states like Iran and North Korea,\" Mr Stoltenberg said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"And most of all, we have seen no sign that President Putin has changed his overall goal of this invasion - that is to control a neighbour, to control Ukraine. So as long as this is the case, we need to be prepared for the long haul.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Ukraine\'s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said that intense fighting was continuing in the Donbas region, where Russian forces and Wagner Group mercenaries have been trying to take the town of Bakhmut.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She added that Moscow\'s troops were also trying to seize Lyman - the former Russian logistics hub that Ukrainian troops retook in October.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Russian troops are actively trying to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions,\" she wrote on the Telegram messaging app. \"Our soldiers defend every centimetre of Ukrainian land,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking on Wednesday night, Mr Zelensky warned that the situation on the front lines of the conflict was testing his forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There is a certain increase in the occupiers\' offensive actions at the front - in the east of our country, Mr Zelensky said. \"The situation is becoming even more severe.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While the Wagner group has claimed it has been heavily involved in Russia\'s recent advances in the east, a former commander who fled to Norway has told Reuters that he witnessed the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners taken to Ukraine to fight for the group.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Andrei Medvedev made an unverified claim that in the four months he was with Wagner, he saw two people who didn\'t want to fight being shot.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About 80% of Wagner\'s personnel in Ukraine have been drawn from prisons, according to the US National Security Council. 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, '2023-02-02 02:59:58', '2023-02-02 02:59:58'),
(4922, 4922, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russia is mustering its military might in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, officials said Wednesday, in what Kyiv suspects is preparation for an offensive as the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion approaches.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government continued its crackdown on alleged corruption with the dismissal of several high-ranking officials, prominent lawmaker David Arakhamia said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform in a country long gripped by graft. The latest allegations come as Western allies are channeling billions of dollars to help Kyiv fight Moscow and as the Ukrainian government is introducing reforms so it can potentially join the European Union one day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine\'s Security Service said on the Telegram messaging app that an operation on Wednesday targeted “corrupt officials who undermine the country’s economy and the stable functioning of the defense-industrial complex.” It identified one as a former Defense Ministry official accused of embezzling state funds through the purchase of nearly 3,000 bulletproof vests that would inadequately protect Ukrainian soldiers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Summing up the day\'s focus on fighting corruption, Zelenskyy declared in his nightly video address Wednesday: “We will not allow anyone to weaken our state.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the battlefront, a Russian missile destroyed an apartment building and damaged seven others in the eastern Donetsk provincial city of Kramatorsk late Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding at least 20, police said. Rescuers were searching the rubble for other victims. Russia has frequently attacked apartment buildings during the war, causing civilian casualties, although the Kremlin often denies such reports.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelenskyy used the attack to press again for more Western weapons: “No goal other than terror,” he said on Facebook. “The only way to stop Russian terrorism is to defeat it. By tanks. Fighter jets. Long-range missiles.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Elsewhere, the Kremlin’s forces were expelling residents near the Russian-held parts of the front line so they can\'t tell Ukrainian artillery forces about Russian troop deployments, Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“There is an active transfer of (Russian troops) to the region and they are definitely preparing for something on the eastern front in February,” Haidai said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Institute for the Study of War predicted “an imminent Russian offensive in the coming months.” Some predict it will coincide with the invasion anniversary on Feb. 24.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported Wednesday that Russia was also concentrating in neighboring Donetsk province, especially in its bid to capture the key city of Bakhmut.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Donetsk and Luhansk provinces make up the Donbas, an industrial region bordering Russia that President Vladimir Putin identified as a goal for takeover from the war’s outset and where Moscow-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian forces since 2014.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russian shelling of Bakhmut, from which most residents have fled while others shelter in cellars, killed at least five civilians and wounded 10 on Tuesday, Ukraine’s presidential office said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko posted images of the shelling aftermath, showing huge black holes in residential buildings in the embattled city, reporting that Russia is deploying more troops.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Donetsk was one of four provinces that Russia illegally annexed in the fall, but controls only about half of it. To take the remaining half, Russian forces have no choice but to go through Bakhmut, the only approach to bigger Ukrainian-held cities. Russian forces have been trying for months to capture Bakhmut.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow-installed authorities in Donetsk claimed Russian troops are “closing the ring” around the city. But the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary group headed by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Wednesday denied that Bakhmut was encircled. “When the city is taken, you will certainly know about it,” Prigozhin said in an online post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine is keen to secure more Western military aid to fend off much larger Russian forces. It has already won pledges of tanks and now wants more.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described media reports about planned new U.S. military assistance to Ukraine as “a direct path to inciting tensions and taking the escalation to a new level.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It will require additional efforts on our part, but it won’t change the course of events,” he told reporters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In other developments Wednesday:</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">—David Arakhamia, the head of a parliamentary faction, said several senior officials were targeted in the government’s anti-corruption drive. Among those dismissed were Yuri Sotnik, First Deputy Chairman of the State Forest Agency; Alexander Shchutsky, First Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Service; and Andrei Lordkipanidze, Deputy Chairman of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, Arakhamia said. In addition, the deputy head of the customs service, Ruslan Cherkassky, has been suspended, according to Arakhamia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Security Service of Ukraine said two customs officials in northern Ukraine were placed under house arrest on accusations that they helped illegally import ambulances without paying customs fees. A third target was the former management of oil producing company Ukrnafta and refiner Ukrtatnafta. They were accused of tax evasion and “legalization of funds obtained through criminal means,” the Security Service said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukrainian media reported that high-profile anti-corruption raids targeted oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and former interior minister Arsen Avakov.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">—Ukraine\'s anti-corruption drive is expected to be on the agenda when the European Union’s two top officials, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel, meet with Zelenskyy on Friday. Ukraine’s long road toward potential membership of the EU will be a key issue under discussion, with stamping out corruption a key condition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">—Authorities in Russia’s western Bryansk province, which borders Ukraine, reported power outages after a Ukrainian rocket allegedly fell near an oil pumping station. No one was reported hurt. Putin met with officials to discuss alleviating damage from such cross-border attacks. Gov. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Alexander Bogomaz told Putin that in the Bryansk region, Ukrainian shelling has killed four people, wounded 22 and damaged 235 houses since the conflict started. Kursk Gov. Roman Starovoit said 23 apartment buildings and 379 private houses in his region have been damaged. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Putin said “the priority task is to liquidate the possibility of shelling,” repair damaged buildings and infrastructure, and compensate residents. Ukrainian officials have kept mum about most cross-border attacks, but emphasized their right to strike Russian territory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">—At a news conference in Kyiv with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Zelenskyy condemned Austrian businesses, which “do not leave Russia and continue to support the terrorist state.” He mentioned Raiffeisen Bank, which he said not only pays taxes but announced a tax holiday for mobilized Russian troops. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This is unacceptable in today’s realities,” Ukraine’s president said. The bank didn\'t immediately respond to a request for comment. Austrian media quoted Raiffeisen Bank as saying it\'s required under Russian law to provide the tax holiday. 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, '2023-02-02 03:39:50', '2023-02-02 15:45:37'),
(4923, 4923, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least three people were killed Wednesday and 20 wounded when a Russian rocket struck a residential building in the centre of the eastern city of Kramatorsk, Ukrainian officials said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">AFP saw two bodies at the scene as rescue workers cleared the rubble.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Two hours ago, the Russian occupiers hit a residential building in the centre of the city with a rocket and completely destroyed it,\" regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on the Telegram messaging app.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The regional police said on their official website that it was \"preliminarily known that there are three dead civilians and 20 wounded\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Peaceful people died and are under the rubble,\" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote after the rocket strike.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This is the daily reality of life in our country.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kramatorsk is located in the eastern industrial region of Donetsk, parts of which, including its largest city, have been controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists since 2014.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow is seeking to capture the entire region after declaring it part of Russia last year. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 03:55:41', '2023-02-02 03:55:41'),
(4924, 4924, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The inward remittance flow in January came as good news while Bangladesh Bank (BB) is struggling with LCs liabilities to import essential commodities and industrial raw materials amid volatile foreign exchange supply.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In January, Bangladesh received $1.96 billion in the legal channel, the BB updated data revealed on Wednesday. In December, the remittance was $1.69 billion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh received $12.45 billion inward remittances in seven months (July-January) in the current fiscal year 2022-23.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bank officials said many import payments are being deferred due to the dollar crisis. For this, expatriate income of dollars are being bought at a higher price than the fixed price.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result, expatriate income increased. If the price limit of the dollar is removed, the crisis will go away, they said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BB spokesperson Mesbaul Haque told UNB that in order to increase remittance inflow, the central bank has increased the exchange rate of US dollars for remittance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition to a 2.5 percent hassle-free incentive for remittance, several banks also provide additional incentives to attract foreign exchange, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Banks will not cut any charge or fee for sending remittances in the legal channel, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Research by Bangladesh Bank found that more than 40 percent of remittance of expatriate income is sent to the country through hundi. 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, '2023-02-02 04:28:35', '2023-02-02 04:28:35'),
(4925, 4925, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Israeli aircraft carried out several raids at a militant site in the Gaza Strip early Thursday, the Israeli military said, hours after Palestinian militants fired a rocket into Israel\'s south, raising already heightened tensions under the country’s new ultranationalist government.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted a rocket production workshop for the militant Hamas group, which controls Gaza. It said the site contained raw chemical materials.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There were no reports of casualties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Late Wednesday, Israeli air defenses intercepted a rocket from Gaza, the army said. Last week, Gaza militants and Israel broke months of cross-border calm by exchanging rockets and airstrikes after Israel killed 10 Palestinians in a military operation in the West Bank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Israel, local residents reported hearing explosions. Israel’s rescue service said it received no reports of injuries except for a 50-year-old woman who slipped and fell while running to a shelter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The action came after Hamas threatened Israel over the combative stance of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has promised harsh treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. From the occupied West Bank to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, many Palestinians revere prisoners as heroes for the Palestinian cause.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ben-Gvir said the new rocket fire from Gaza won’t stop him from implementing his punitive policies against Palestinian detainees. He called for an urgent Security Cabinet meeting to discuss a response.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israeli-Palestinian violence has spiked in recent days as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited with a call for calm.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most of the 10 killed during the Israeli raid on a militant stronghold in the West Bank city of Jenin last week were militants. The next day, a Palestinian shooting attack in an east Jerusalem Jewish settlement killed seven people. A separate east Jerusalem shooting over the weekend by a 13-year-old Palestinian wounded two Israelis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following the unrest, Israel approved a series of punitive steps against the Palestinians.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hamas issued a statement Tuesday condemning alleged assaults by prison guards against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, specifically female detainees.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Israeli Prison Service said the problems started last Friday when it placed dozens of Palestinian prisoners in solitary confinement after they celebrated the deadly Palestinian attack outside the synagogue in east Jerusalem. A female Palestinian detainee who was punished with isolation tried to set fire to her cell in protest, the prison service said. In an unrelated move, the prison service removed televisions from three cells in Israel’s Ofer Prison near the city of Ramallah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amani Srahneh from the Palestinian Prisoners Club, a group representing former and current prisoners, said the “escalatory measures and this new Israeli government’s policy of inciting against prisoners” was creating “a very tense situation.” 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, '2023-02-02 04:58:43', '2023-02-02 04:58:43'),
(4926, 4926, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">South Korea said Thursday it had staged joint air drills with the United States featuring strategic bombers and stealth fighters, prompting Pyongyang to warn that such exercises could \"ignite an all-out showdown\".</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The exercises, the first by the security allies this year, came a day after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart vowed to boost security cooperation to counter an increasingly belligerent nuclear-armed North Korea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The drills on Wednesday showed \"the US\'s will and capabilities to provide strong and credible extended deterrence against North Korea\'s nuclear and missile threats,\" the South Korean defence ministry said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They involved American B-1B long-range heavy bombers and stealth fighters -- US Air Force F-22s and South Korean F-35s -- flying over the Yellow Sea, the ministry added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman warned the exercises could \"ignite an all-out showdown\", the state news agency KCNA reported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Seoul and Washington\'s moves to ramp up joint drills crossed \"an extreme red-line\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Korea is eager to convince its increasingly nervous public of America\'s robust defence commitment, after a year in which North Korea declared itself an \"irreversible\" nuclear power and conducted a weapons test almost every month in defiance of international sanctions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Austin and South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup agreed this week to \"expand and bolster the level and scale\" of joint military exercises in light of \"continued provocations\" from Pyongyang, including a recent drone incursion into the South.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Nuke for nuke\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bolstering US-South Korean military drills and deploying strategic weapons to the region was akin to \"talking about the use of nuclear weapons against the DPRK\", the North Korean statement on KCNA said, using the country\'s official name.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It warned that North Korea would follow the \"principle of \'nuke for nuke and an all-out confrontation for an all-out confrontation!\'\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The DPRK is not interested in any contact or dialogue with the U.S. as long as it pursues its hostile policy and confrontational line,\" it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US-South Korean joint military exercises infuriate Pyongyang, which views them as rehearsals for an invasion and has often responded with threats and drills of its own.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"By emphasising that the United States is entirely responsible for the deterioration of the situation on the Korean peninsula, (North Korea) is accumulating legitimacy for the development of its missile and nuclear weapons programmes,\" said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added that a large North Korean military parade and its planned launch of a spy satellite could further raise tensions with Seoul and Washington.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Commercial satellite imagery has suggested that \"extensive parade preparations\" are under way in Pyongyang ahead of one of the biggest state holidays, according to the 38 North website.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The parade could be held on the \"Day of the Shining Star\" on February 16, the birthday of Kim Jong Il, the son of North Korea\'s founder Kim Il Sung and the father and predecessor of current leader Kim Jong Un, it added. 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, '2023-02-02 05:29:19', '2023-02-02 05:29:19'),
(4927, 4927, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Shilpa Shetty has shared a candid birthday wish for sister Shamita Shetty. The actor turned 44 on Thursday. Wishing her with a montage of their throwback pictures together, Shilpa recalled how Shamita was always against sharing clothes with her and the two used to have ugly fights while growing up.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sharing the video comprising their pictures, Shilpa Shetty wrote on Instagram, “From sharing a box of chocolates and NOT wanting to share clothes..From being each other’s agony aunts to pulling each other’s hair out. To... NOW becoming an inseparable pair. I love you to the moon and back... HAPPPYYYYY BIRTHDAAAAYYYYY, my darling Tunki! Wishing you only all the choicest blessings the universe has to offer and great health above all.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bipasha Basu also wished Shamita Shetty with a throwback picture from her own babyshower ceremony last year. She wrote, “Happy birthday Shamita Shetty. May the universe make all your dreams come true this year.” Shamita had performed a special dance number Sharara in Bipasha Basu\'s 2002 film Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shamita made her film debut with 2000 film Mohabbatein. during their \'Bigg Boss OTT\' stint. Zeher, Bewafaa, Cash and Mohabbat Ho Gayi Hai Tumse. She returned to spotlight with her emerging as a finalist on Bigg Boss OTT. She also went on to date her co-finalist Raqest Bapat before their breakup last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shamita recently lashed out at those who linked her with Aamir Ali after a video of them getting candid outside a restaurant surfaced online. She wrote on Twitter, \"I\'m baffled by society and it\'s convenient prudish mindset all across. Why is every action and every person subjected to scrutiny or snap judgement with no reality check? There are possibilities beyond the narrow-minded assumptions of the NETIZENS, it\'s high time we open our minds to it! Single n happy... let’s focus on more important issues in this country!\". 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, '2023-02-02 05:44:00', '2023-02-02 05:44:00'),
(4928, 4928, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday opened the construction work of the country\'s first-ever 31.241-km underground metro rail project, Mass Rapid Transit Line-1 (MRT-1).</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She unveiled the inaugural plaque of MRT Line-1, joining its launching ceremony at Purbachal in Rupganj of Narayanganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The MRT Line-1 having both underground and elevated facilities will be constructed at an estimated cost of Tk 52,561.43 crore by 2026.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first underground metro line will have two parts -- a 19.872-km part from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur (Airport route) and an around 11.37-km elevated line from Natun Bazar to Purbachal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The airport-Kamalapur part includes 16.4-km underground with 12 stations, while the Natun Bazar-Purbachal part includes seven stations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of six metro rail routes will be inaugurated in the capital city Dhaka by 2030.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To implement the MRT Line-1, Japan International Cooperation (JICA) will finance Tk 39,450.32 crore, while the rest Tk 13,111.11 crore will be drawn from the government’s fund.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some eight lakh passengers will be able to travel through the MRT Line-1 every day. Passengers will take only 25 minutes to travel from Airport to Kamalapur with breaks at 12 underground stations and 21 minutes from Natun Bazar to Purbachal with breaks at seven stations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, passengers will be able to reach Purbachal from Kamalapur with an interchange in Natun Bazar station within only 40 minutes with breaks at 16 stations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both the elevated and underground stations will have lifts, stairs, and escalators.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the MRT line-1 project at Tk 52,561.43 crore in 2019.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 28 last year the prime minister opened the operation of the country\'s first ever metro rail service on the Uttara-Agargaon part of MRT Line-6 (Uttara-Agargaon-Farmgate-TSC-Motijheel-Kamalapur). The work of MRT-6 line till Motijheel will be completed by December 2023 and will be extended to Kamalapur by June 2025.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The construction work of MRT-5 (northern route) will be inaugurated in July 2023. MRT-5 (northern route) line will be from Savar\'s Hemayetpur to Bhatara via Gabtoli, Mirpur and Gulshan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori, Secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, Managing Director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) MAN Siddique and Chief Representative of JICA Bangladesh Ichiguchi Tomohide were present. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 06:35:52', '2023-02-02 06:35:52'),
(4929, 4929, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A leading US maker of advanced military surveillance drones announced Wednesday that it was willing to sell two to Ukraine for just $1, and called on the US government to approve the deal.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">General Atomic Aeronautical Systems said it had been urging Washington for months to provide Ukraine its powerful Grey Eagle and Reaper drones, which US forces have used to great effect in surveillance and targeted attacks over Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and other conflict zones.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said the drones, which can fly long distances at mid-altitudes, are one of the most obvious, force-enhancing technologies that Ukraine needs in its war against Russian forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US military has provided Ukraine with a number of small attack and surveillance drones, but nothing with the advanced technologies and long-range abilities like General Atomic\'s unmanned aircraft.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"From the outset of the Russian invasion, we began looking for options to respond to the requests of Ukrainian forces with our products, including the MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1C Gray Eagle,\" General Atomics chief executive Linden Blue said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the company has offered to train Ukrainian operators at no cost to the US or Ukrainian governments.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And the company was ready to hand over two of its own training aircraft, along with a ground control station and other hardware, for a symbolic $1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine or someone else would have to pay for outfitting and transferring the aircraft and setting up the operation to put them in the air over the battlefield, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The offer is a remarkable deal with no strings attached,\" Blue said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"All that is required is approval from the US government.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"From our perspective, it is long past time to enable Ukrainian forces with the information dominance required to win this war,\" he said. 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, '2023-02-02 06:58:18', '2023-02-02 06:58:18'),
(4930, 4930, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) has announced package for performing hajj under private management this year fixing minimum cost at Tk 6,72, 618.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">M Shahadat Hossain, president of HAAB, announced the package at a programme in the city on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This year, the cost for performing hajj under private management has increased by Tk 1.49 lakh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on Wednesday, the government fixed Tk 6,83,018 as the cost for each pilgrim to perform hajj this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hajj-2023 will be held on 9th day of Zilhaj (June 28) depending on moon sighting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The government signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia over hajj on January 9.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the agreement, 15,000 people will be able to go to Hajj under government management while 1,12,198 can go under private management.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Biman Bangladesh Airlines will carry 50 percent passengers while Saudia Airlines will carry 50 percent passengers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, the age limit for Hajj pilgrims during the pandemic has been lifted by the Saudi government – paving the way for people over 65 to go for the significant pilgrimage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the ‘Route to Mecca initiative’ deal, all hajj pilgrims will complete their pre-arrival immigration in Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In case of Covid vulnerable situation, the Saudi authorities can take a decision about the number of the pilgrimage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This year, 70 percent Bangladeshi pilgrims will go through Jeddah Airport while the rest 30 percent will go through Madinah airport. 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, '2023-02-02 07:06:31', '2023-02-02 07:06:31'),
(4931, 4931, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Opener Shubman Gill on Wednesday announced himself as an all-format player with his maiden Twenty20 international century to help India crush New Zealand by 168 runs in a series-clinching victory.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gill smashed an unbeaten 126 off 63 balls to steer the team to 234-4 after they elected to bat first in the decider at the world\'s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Indian bowlers skittled out the Kiwis for a paltry 66 in 12.1 overs for a 2-1 series win. The hosts had whitewashed the Kiwis in three one-day matches.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The huge victory was India\'s biggest ever in T20 internationals and the biggest margin by runs in a match played between two Test-playing nations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gill, who hit a match-winning Test ton in Bangladesh in December and then his maiden ODI double hundred in January, had scored just 76 runs in his previous five T20s since making his debut last month against Sri Lanka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I was backing myself to get the big ones even in one-days and T20s, unfortunately it don\'t happen for me in the Sri Lanka series,\" said the 23-year-old Gill.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Asked about the demands of playing all three formats, Gill said: \"When you are representing your country, I don\'t think there is any kind of fatigue. I always wanted to play for India and being fortunate enough to play all the three formats, it is a blessing.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India elected to bat first on a batting-friendly pitch and Gill continued his magnificent run of form -- hitting 12 fours and seven sixes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He had also put the New Zealand bowling to the sword by scoring 360 runs in the preceding ODIs -- the joint-most in a bilateral three-match series.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Normalise pressure games\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gill put on 103 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Hardik Pandya, who made 30 and then took four wickets with his pace bowling, at the 132,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We want to normalise these pressure games, and hopefully we can do better at bigger stages,\" said Pandya, who was named man of the series.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Off-spinner Michael Bracewell struck early as he trapped Ishan Kishan lbw for one in the second over of the innings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gill hit back with a flurry of boundaries including three in one over off Blair Tickner. Rahul Tripathi, who made 44, joined the charge as the two put on 80 runs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tripathi smashed three sixes including one off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi only to hole out next ball in another attempt to clear the ropes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gill, who became only the fifth Indian batsman to record centuries across all three formats, found another attacking partner in Suryakumar Yadav who smashed 24 off 13 balls as the two kept up the onslaught.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tickner cut short Suryakumar\'s stay with Bracewell taking a sharp catch at mid-on.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the unstoppable Gill changed gears and raised his ton off 54 balls with a boundary as he took off his helmet and let off a roar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New Zealand made a horrendous start to their mammoth chase as they lost their top four for just seven runs inside three overs as Arshdeep Singh struck twice in the second over of the innings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Suryakumar took two spectacular catches at first slip off Pandya\'s pace bowling to send back Finn Allen, for three, and Glenn Phillips, for two.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tearaway quick Umran Malik bowled Bracewell before Daryl Mitchell, who made 35, and skipper Mitchell Santner attempted to resist.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s tough to win if you lose five (wickets) in the powerplay,\" said Santner.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arshdeep, Umran and Shivam Mavi took two wickets each.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India will now head into the hotly-anticipated four-Test series against Australia starting February 9 in Nagpur. 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, '2023-02-02 07:34:24', '2023-02-02 07:34:24');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4932, 4932, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said none can harm the Awami League (AL) government by staging any movement as long as the people are with it.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"You can (AL leaders and workers) keep trust that none can do anything by waging movement until the people are with us and we\'re working for people\'s welfare,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister was addressing a civic rally that turned into a grand rally held at Purbachal of Patilganj under Rupganj Upazila in Narayanganj after unveiling the plaque of the construction work of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-1 at sector 4 there. 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, '2023-02-02 08:25:30', '2023-02-02 12:47:15'),
(4933, 4933, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A mild cold wave is sweeping several parts of the country and it may continue, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said Thursday morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the regular bulletin of BMD, “Mild cold wave is sweeping Nilphamari, Pabna, Dinajpur and Kurigram districts and it may continue.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country, it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moderate to thick fog may occur at places over the river basins and light to moderate fog may occur elsewhere the country from late night to morning, said the bulletin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Night temperature may fall slightly and day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, the depression over Southwest Bay and adjoining area moved west-southwestwards and crossed Sri Lanka Coast on Thursday. It is likely to move west-southwestwards direction</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">further.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Its associated trough extends up to North Bay. Ridge of sub-continental high extends up to West Bengal and adjoining area. 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, '2023-02-02 08:37:19', '2023-02-02 08:37:19'),
(4934, 4934, '<p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday launched the construction of the country\'s first-ever underground metro rail, hailing it as another milestone in Bangladesh\'s journey towards progress under her leadership.</b><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Another milestone has been set up in the development journey of Bangladesh. We’ve opened the construction work of underground metro rail,” she said.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The premier was addressing a civic rally arranged at Purbachal on the outskirts of Dhaka city to mark the historic inauguration of construction work of Mass Rapid Transit Line-1 (MRT-1), the country\'s first-ever underground metro project.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">She opened the construction work of the 31.241-km MRT Line-1, unveiling its inaugural plaque there in Rupganj under Narayanganj.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The MRT Line-1 having both underground and elevated facilities will be constructed at an estimated cost of Tk 52,561.43 crore by 2026.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \"> Hasina said Bangladesh is marching towards prosperity at an indomitable space as per the slogan ‘Bangladesh on the march towards prosperity,’ which was announced in her party’s 2018 election manifesto.  </p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">“We keep our promises one by one,” she said, adding that her government implemented the Vision-2021 as per its commitment announced before the 2008 election as well as kept another commitment made in its 2018 election manifesto by construction of metro rail to ease traffic congestion.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">“If Awami League makes any promise, it will keep it,” she said.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">AL now gets votes winning hearts of the people through work and deeds: PM</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sheikh Hasina, also the Awami League president, said the BNP-Jamaat alliance  secured only 30 seats out of 300  in the 2008 parliamentary election.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">She said the people now vote for the Awami League as her government worked for the welfare of the people for so many years. </p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">“We’re ensured the well-being of the people. So, the people are voting for us. We’re getting the trust and confidence of the people. We’re getting votes, winning the hearts of the people through our work,” she added.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Referring to Wednesda\'s parliamentary by-elections, she said ‘Boat,’ the electoral symbol of Awami League won in by-polls in Bogura and Chapainawabganj as well.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The AL chief extended sincere thanks to those who voted for the boat.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The first underground metro line will have two parts -- a 19.872-km part from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur (Airport route) and an around 11.37-km elevated line from Natun Bazar to Purbachal (Purbachal route).</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The airport route includes 16.4-km underground with 12 stations, while the purbachal route includes seven stations.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">To implement the MRT Line-1, Japan International Cooperation (JICA) will finance Tk 39,450.32 crore, while the rest Tk 13,111.11 crore will be drawn from the government’s fund.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Some eight lakh passengers will be able to travel through the MRT Line-1 every day. Passengers will take only 25 minutes to travel from Airport to Kamalapur with breaks at 12 underground stations and 21 minutes from Natun Bazar to Purbachal with breaks at seven stations.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Besides, passengers will be able to reach Purbachal from Kamalapur with an interchange in Natun Bazar station within only 40 minutes with breaks at 16 stations.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">A total of six metro rail routes will be inaugurated in the capital city Dhaka by 2030.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the MRT line-1 project at Tk 52,561.43 crore in 2019.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">On December 28 last year the prime minister opened the operation of the country\'s first ever metro rail service on the Uttara-Agargaon part of MRT Line-6 (Uttara-Agargaon-Farmgate-TSC-Motijheel-Kamalapur). The work of MRT-6 line till Motijheel will be completed by December 2023 and will be extended to Kamalapur by June 2025.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The construction work of MRT-5 (northern route) will be inaugurated in July 2023. MRT-5 (northern route) line will be from Savar\'s Hemayetpur to Bhatara via Gabtoli, Mirpur and Gulshan.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader presided over the event, while Textiles and Jute Minister and local MP Golam Dastagir Gazi, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori, Secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, Managing Director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) MAN Siddique and Chief Representative of JICA Bangladesh Ichiguchi Tomohide spoke on the occasion.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Narayanganj City Corporation Mayor  Salina Hayat Ivy, Bagerhat-1 MP Sk. Helal Uddin, local Narayanganj MPs Shamim Osman, AKM Salim Osman, Nazrul Islam Babu and Leakoat Hossain Khoka were present on the dais. UNB</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</p>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 08:51:25', '2023-02-02 15:42:45'),
(4935, 4935, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A daylong bird fair will be held at Jahangirnagar University (JU) on Friday, aiming to create mass awareness about wildlife conservation and preserving birds, reports UNB.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The Zoology Department in association with WildLife Rescue Centre, Bangladesh Bird Club, Aronnyok Foundation, Prokriti O Jibon Foundation, Bangladesh Zoological Society and International Union for Conservation of Nature will organise the fair, said a press release.</div><div><br></div><div>JU vice-chancellor professor Nurul Alam will inaugurate the programme in the morning on Zahir Raihan auditorium premises of the university.</div><div><br></div><div>Convener of the fair professor Md Kamrul Hasan said, ‘We are expecting a successful fair as the previous years. Moreover, the fair will bring more hype this year as we could not organise the fair last two years due to the Covid pandemic.’</div><div><br></div><div>The daylong fair will include an inaugural session, competition of bird identification through audio and video, debate on environment and bird painting competition for children, award giving session and others.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, a total of 7 bird conservationists will be awarded under three categories - Big Bird Bangladesh Award, Conservation Media Award and Scientific Publication Award.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 09:45:54', '2023-02-02 09:45:54'),
(4936, 4936, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for February has gone up by Tk266 for every 12kg cylinder at the consumer level. The new price has been increased from Tk1,232 to Tk1,498.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) issued a press release in this regard on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>The new price would come into effect at 6pm on Thursday, according to reports.</div><div><br></div><div>Apart from the 12kg cylinder, the prices of all cylinders starting from 5 and a half kg to 45kg have been increased, mentioned in the press release, it said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>However, the price of 12.5kg cylinder has not changed at the government level. On the other hand, on January 2, the price of 12kg LPG was reduced by Tk65.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 10:48:18', '2023-02-02 10:48:18'),
(4937, 4937, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for Dhaka University Prof Rahmat Ullah, who was relieved by the university authorities for paying tribute to Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmad,&nbsp; to continue his academic activities.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The five-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Justice Borhanuddin passed the order after disposing of a leave-to appeal petition.</div><div><br></div><div>It also asked the High Court to dispose of the rule issued in this regard soon.</div><div>On June 8, 2022, the High Court stayed the decision of the universities relieving Prof Rahmat from academic and administrative activities and issued a rule in this regard.</div><div><br></div><div>Senior Lawyer Ahsanul Karim and Advocate Syeda Nasrin stood for Prof. Rahmat while Advocate Mohamamd Hossain represented the university authorities.</div><div><br></div><div>DU Prof. Rahmat paid tribute to member of Mujibnagar government and Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmad on historical ‘Mujibnagar Day’ on April 17 last year.</div><div><br></div><div>Later the DU authorities relieved Prof. Rahmat Ullah from academic and administrative activities.</div><div><br></div><div>Prof Rahman filed a writ petition challenging the DU decision. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 11:29:06', '2023-02-02 11:29:06'),
(4938, 4938, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said none can harm the Awami League (AL) government by staging any movement as long as the people are with it.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"You can (AL leaders and workers) keep trust that none can do anything by waging movement until the people are with us and we\'re working for people\'s welfare,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister was addressing a civic rally that turned into a grand rally held at Purbachal of Patilganj under Rupganj Upazila in Narayanganj after unveiling the plaque of the construction work of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-1 at sector 4 in the capital. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 12:15:18', '2023-02-02 12:15:18'),
(4939, 4939, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">After several years of Grammy ceremonies with clear frontrunners for Best New Artist, Sunday\'s race is wide open -- but no matter who wins, many of the nominees have TikTok to thank.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The short-form video app has been a powerful force in music for years now -- a jump-off point for artists looking to make it and a means of promotion for those already established in the industry.</div><div><br></div><div>And though the Recording Academy is not exactly known for reflecting the zeitgeist -- its voters routinely favor legacy performers and throwback acts -- the Best New Artist category has grown increasingly eclectic and representative of the internet age\'s impact on popular music.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Social media over time has made the music industry a lot more reactive to what people are raising their hands for, rather than taking this top-down approach of kind of deciding, okay, this is the star of the moment,\" said Tatiana Cirisano, a music industry analyst at MIDiA Research.</div><div><br></div><div>It\'s not new for artists to come up through social media -- Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube, and Shawn Mendes gained traction on the video app Vine -- but \"TikTok has just really exploded,\" Cirisano said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It\'s clear that it\'s an integral part of pretty much every artist\'s strategy.\"</div><div><br></div><div>TikTok named three of this year\'s artists vying for the Best New Artist prize -- Latto, Muni Long and Omar Apollo -- as top emerging artists on its app.</div><div><br></div><div>Also up for the coveted Grammy are Brazil\'s Anitta, who found viral TikTok fame with a dance challenge to her smash \"Envolver,\" and Italy\'s Maneskin, the Eurovision rockers who saw their cover of \"Beggin\'\" strike algorithm gold.</div><div><br></div><div>The past two Best New Artist winners, Olivia Rodrigo and Megan Thee Stallion, also found resounding success on TikTok.</div><div><br></div><div>The other 2023 nominees -- indie act Wet Leg, jazz duo JD Beck and Domi, rapper-singer Tobe Nwigwe, bluegrass artist Molly Tuttle and jazz singer Samara Joy -- all also boast strong followings on the app.</div><div><br></div><div>Joy told NPR last year she had recently joined \"because that\'s where my generation is.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"I posted a couple of videos, and a month later, 100,000 people -- I was like, I can\'t,\" she said with a laugh.</div><div><br></div><div>\"People now are, like, coming up to me like, \'I found you on social media. I found you on TikTok, and I just had to, you know, come see a show.\'\"</div><div><br></div><div>- \'The new MTV\' -</div><div><br></div><div>While most Grammy awards have little to nothing to do with fan base or commercial success, the primary eligibility requirement for Best New Artist is breaking into the public consciousness -- and thus it\'s the award \"that the people have the biggest impact on,\" Cirisano told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>\"These days, 90 percent of artists\' breakthroughs into public consciousness is happening on TikTok,\" the analyst said.</div><div><br></div><div>Cassie Petrey, the founder of the digital marketing company Crowd Surf, agrees: \"TikTok is the new MTV.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"When I was younger, all the artists in the Best New Artist category generally would have been on the radio or on MTV... TikTok is one of those mainstream media platforms of our time.\"</div><div><br></div><div>And Cirisano says it\'s changed the way record labels find new talent in the first place.</div><div><br></div><div>While scouts used to check out local shows, find potential artists and then cultivate them, labels now are \"looking for them to already have an audience, and already have had sort of a breakthrough moment on their own,\" she explains.</div><div><br></div><div>In some ways, Cirisano says, this has been democratizing, opening doors \"for so many artists that maybe never would have had the means or the resources, or just by luck been able to get the attention of anyone in the industry.\"</div><div><br></div><div>But it\'s also left some artists bemoaning the mental health toll that a robust online presence can have, or the stress they feel over spending too much time on social media instead of making music.</div><div><br></div><div>Marketer Petrey said that while promotion is important, it\'s not the job of artists to figure out strategy.</div><div><br></div><div>\"You just have to stay focused on art -- that\'s your job,\" she said. \"We\'re reminding people of that all the time.\"</div><div><br></div><div>And though there have been complaints among some people in the industry that artists are tailoring their music to make it more social media-friendly, Cirisano thinks those concerns are overblown, noting that past developments like Auto-Tune or ringtones triggered similar worry.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I would just encourage people to recognize how every new technology has been met with a similar reaction,\" she said. \"I tend to think that those concerns are a little bit overstated.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"I think that good music will always shine through at the end of the day.\" - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 12:45:41', '2023-02-02 12:45:41'),
(4940, 4940, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Oil and gas giant Shell has reported record annual profits after energy prices surged last year following Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Profits hit $39.9bn (£32.2bn) in 2022, double last year\'s total and the highest in its 115-year history.</div><div><br></div><div>Energy firms have seen record earnings since oil and gas prices jumped following the invasion of Ukraine.</div><div><br></div><div>It has heaped pressure on firms to pay more tax as households struggle with rising bills.</div><div><br></div><div>Opposition parties said Shell\'s profits were \"outrageous\" and the government was letting energy firms \"off the hook\". They also called for the planned increase in the energy price cap due in April to be scrapped.</div><div><br></div><div>Energy prices had begun to climb after the end of Covid lockdowns but rose sharply in March last year after the events in Ukraine led to worries over supplies.</div><div><br></div><div>The price of Brent crude oil reached nearly $128 a barrel following the invasion, but has since fallen back to about $83. Gas prices also spiked but have come down from their highs.</div><div><br></div><div>It has led to bumper profits for energy companies, but also fuelled a rise in energy bills for households and businesses.</div><div><br></div><div>Last year, the UK government introduced a windfall tax - called the Energy Profits Levy - on the \"extraordinary\" earnings of firms to help fund its scheme to lower gas and electricity bills.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite the move, Shell previously said it did not expect to pay any UK tax this year as it is allowed to offset decommissioning costs and investments in UK projects against any UK profits.</div><div><br></div><div>But the BBC understands that it will now say that it has paid some tax in 2022 and expects to pay hundreds of millions in UK tax in 2023.</div><div><br></div><div>These numbers look small compared to its profits but Shell only derives around 5% of its revenue from the UK - the rest is made and taxed in other jurisdictions.</div><div><br></div><div>However, this may not satisfy those who think that a UK-headquartered company which has set a new record for corporate profits should be paying more, and those who will notice that Shell paid more to its shareholders than it spent on renewable investments.</div><div><br></div><div>The government is currently limiting gas and electricity bills so a household using a typical amount of energy will pay £2,500 a year.</div><div><br></div><div>However, that is still more than twice what it was before Russia\'s invasion, and the threshold is due to rise to £3,000 in April.</div><div><br></div><div>The government\'s windfall tax only applies to profits made from extracting UK oil and gas. The rate was originally set at 25%, but has now been increased to 35%.</div><div><br></div><div>Oil and gas firms also pay 30% corporation tax on their profits as well as a supplementary 10% rate. Along with the new windfall tax, that takes their total tax rate to 75%.</div><div><br></div><div>However, companies are able to reduce the amount of tax they pay by factoring in losses or spending on things like decommissioning North Sea oil platforms. It has meant that in recent years, energy giants such as BP and Shell have paid little or no tax in the UK.</div><div><br></div><div>\'Fair share\'</div><div>The annual profit figure far surpassed Shell\'s previous record set in 2008. The company also said it had paid out $6.3bn to its shareholders in the final three months of 2022, and that it planned another $4bn share buyback.</div><div><br></div><div>Shell chief executive Wael Sawan said the firm\'s latest results \"demonstrate the strength of Shell\'s differentiated portfolio, as well as our capacity to deliver vital energy to our customers in a volatile world\".</div><div><br></div><div>Labour\'s shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband said: \"As the British people face an energy price hike of 40% in April, the government is letting the fossil fuel companies making bumper profits off the hook with their refusal to implement a proper windfall tax, reports BBC</div><div><br></div><div>\"Labour would stop the energy price cap going up in April, because it is only right that the companies making unexpected windfall profits from the proceeds of war pay their fair share.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: \"No company should be making these kind of outrageous profits out of Putin\'s illegal invasion of Ukraine.</div><div><br></div><div>\"They must tax the oil and gas companies properly and at the very least ensure that energy bills don\'t rise yet again in April.\"</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 12:49:52', '2023-02-02 12:49:52'),
(4941, 4941, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">England picked teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed in their white-ball squads for the first time on Thursday ahead of next month\'s tour of Bangladesh.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The 18-year-old Leicestershire bowler became England\'s youngest men\'s Test cricketer against Pakistan in Karachi in December and marked his debut in style with a five-wicket haul.</div><div><br></div><div>Ahmed had played just three first-class matches before making his Test bow, but has more experience in white-ball cricket, having appeared regularly for his county side.</div><div><br></div><div>Saqib Mahmood has been included in the one-day international squad for the first time since suffering a stress fracture of the back in May last year.</div><div><br></div><div>But there was no place for Alex Hales, with the big-hitting batsman set to honour his contract to play in the Pakistan Super League after only returning to England duty last year.</div><div><br></div><div>Hales was a key figure in England\'s T20 World Cup triumph in Australia in November after a positive test for recreational drug use came to light on the eve of the 2019 50-over World Cup led to more than three years of international exile.</div><div><br></div><div>England will play three ODIs and three T20s in Bangladesh from March 1 to 14.</div><div><br></div><div>The T20 fixtures are their first in the format since Jos Buttler\'s men became world champions, adding to their 50-over global title.</div><div><br></div><div>Squads</div><div>ODI squad: Jos Buttler (Lancashire, capt/wkt), Tom Abell (Somerset), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Moeen Ali (Warwickshire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Sam Curran (Surrey), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)</div><div><br></div><div>T20 squad: Buttler, Abell, Ahmed, Ali, Archer, Curran, Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Will Jacks (Surrey), Chris Jordan (Surrey), Malan, Rashid, Salt, Topley, Woakes, Wood - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 13:33:30', '2023-02-02 13:33:30'),
(4942, 4942, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Although there are a couple of weeks more to optimum time for setting flowers, some of the mango trees have started sprouting early in the Rajshahi region for the last few weeks.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Mango trees are sprouting early at various places like Vatapara, Raipara, Kasiadanga, Police line, Malopara, Meherchandi and Bhadra in the city. But the extent of flowering is comparatively less than that of the normal time.</div><div><br></div><div>Prof Bidhan Chandra Das, a retired teacher in the Department of Zoology at Rajshahi University, told BSS that the length of winter has been reduced due to the adverse impact of climate change and that might be the reason behind the unusual mango flowering.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>He pointed out that the existing agricultural system has started facing a serious threat because of climate change that also leads to various natural disasters.</div><div><br></div><div>Prof Bidhan Das said this is the time to change the system, not climate besides showing red-cards to the big carbon emitters.</div><div><br></div><div>He referred to the enormous contribution of farmers to the region\'s agricultural development and said the farmers deserve the rights of getting all requisite privileges. There is no alternative to protect their interests as a whole.</div><div><br></div><div>Golam Mourtoza, 55, a mango trader of Baneswar village under Puthiya upazila, said that the farmers are seen very busy nursing mango trees at present to protect the flower from dropping.</div><div><br></div><div>Usually, he added, mango flowers are not seen to sprout so early amid the cold temperature; rather the blooming of mango in some early varieties are seen to occur during the last week of January and continues till middle of March.</div><div><br></div><div>Motaleb Hossain, a mango grower of Charghat upazila, said he has over 200 mango trees in his orchard. He has cultivated a large variety of mangoes this season. He expects a handsome profit for the early blooming of mango trees this year.</div><div><br></div><div>Abdul Washeque, a resident of Rajabari village, said mango flowers are not seen to sprout at this time. He said the impact of global climate change might be a cause of such early budding of mango trees.</div><div><br></div><div>Mango growers are now busy taking care of their orchards. A number of early varieties of mango trees have already bloomed. However, Lengra, Gopalbhog, Fazlee, Amrapali, Khirsapati and Mohanbhog varieties will bloom in phases.</div><div><br></div><div>Mozdar Hossain, deputy director of Department of Agricultural Extension, saidmango flower sprouts early every year. The flower has started appearing this year also. If the current sprouting process was not affected by any dense fog, the farmers can carry out early harvest.</div><div><br></div><div>There are around 3.5 million mango trees of different ages over some 23 thousand hectares of land in the region.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Shafiqul Islam, principal scientific officer of Fruit Research Station, said BARI-11 variety of mango is seen budding at an early time.</div><div><br></div><div>He said for the last one decade it has been noticed from some places of the country that mangoes are budding early.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Islam said mangoes grown through such early blossoms are usually tasty and sweet but those contain more fiber.</div><div><br></div><div>The weather of the region seems suitable for the smooth sprouting of mango so far and due to the non-emergence of many new leaves on the trees, there is a possibility of huge flowering of mango trees this year.</div><div><br></div><div>If the weather remains favourable, there would be abundant production of mango in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts, famous for mango production.</div><div><br></div><div>The number of mango trees has been increasing in the region for the last couple of years following greater interest among the people. Mango, the leading seasonal cash crop of the northwestern region, vitalizes the overall economy of the two districts. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 14:23:15', '2023-02-02 14:23:15'),
(4943, 4943, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh has received the first installment of $476 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) out of the $4.7 billion loan package.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Bangladesh Bank (BB) received IMF\'s first installment on Thursday,\" BB Executive Director and Spokesman Mezbaul Haque told BSS.</div><div><br></div><div>IMF approved Bangladesh\'s $4.7 billion loan proposal during a board meeting on Monday. The remaining amount will be in six equal installments of $704 million each.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh will get about $3.3 billion under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and about $1.4 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), according to an IMF press release issued on 31 January.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;With the approval of a $1.4 billion loan under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), Bangladesh became the first country in Asia to receive a loan from the fund created for low and middle-income countries that are at risk due to climate change.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>According to a press release from IMF on January 31, the 42-month program will help preserve macroeconomic stability, protect the vulnerable, and foster inclusive and green growth. Reforms will focus on creating fiscal space to enable greater social and developmental spending; strengthening the financial sector; modernizing policy frameworks; and building climate resilience.</div><div><br></div><div>IMF said Bangladesh\'s robust economic recovery from the pandemic has been interrupted by Russia\'s war in Ukraine, leading to a sharp widening of Bangladesh\'s current account deficit, depreciation of the Taka and a decline in foreign exchange reserves.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The authorities have taken on a comprehensive set of measures to deal with these latest economic disruptions.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The authorities recognize that in addition to tackling these immediate challenges, long-standing structural issues and vulnerabilities related to climate change will also need to be addressed to accelerate growth, attract private investment, enhance productivity, and build climate resilience,\" it added.</div><div><br></div><div>The IMF-supported program under the ECF/EFF arrangements will help preserve macroeconomic stability and prevent disruptive adjustments to protect the vulnerable while laying the foundations for strong, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable growth. The concurrent RSF arrangement will supplement the resources made available under the ECF/EFF to expand the fiscal space to finance climate investment priorities identified in the authorities\' plans, help catalyze additional financing, and build resilience against long-term climate risks. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 15:10:09', '2023-02-02 15:10:09'),
(4944, 4944, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Education Minister Dipu Moni on Thursday said some of the newly established public universities do not have their own campus yet.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>She also said that professors of the old universities do not want to go to new universities.</div><div><br></div><div>The Education Minister said this while speaking at the passage of Mujibnagar University, Meherpur Bill, 2023 in Parliament.</div><div><br></div><div>Stating that there are 53 public universities in the country, the Education Minister said that the most recently established universities have no place of their own so far.</div><div><br></div><div>“The construction work has not begun. Apart from that, there are some completely new ones. There is no professor rank except vice-chancellor and treasurer.”</div><div><br></div><div>She said that no one with the rank of professor from the old university wants to go to the new university.</div><div><br></div><div>“Lecturers are appointed as teachers there, it will take another 15 years for them to become professors. But it is not that research opportunities have been created in the new universities. We have to accept that reality.”</div><div><br></div><div>Dipu Moni admitted that research in all universities is not the same. She said that the standards and interest in research are not the same in all universities.</div><div><br></div><div>“University is not for practising knowledge, but for creating knowledge. The way to create that knowledge is research.”</div><div><br></div><div>She said that the government has opened honours indiscriminately due to the interest of public representatives.</div><div><br></div><div>“If the students are not of honours standard the teacher may not be of honours standard either. But we have opened honours courses,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>In the discussion of public opinion, the Education Minister said that she is working to increase efficiency.</div><div><br></div><div>“70 percent of our higher education students go to national universities in 2,257 colleges across the country.”</div><div><br></div><div>Participating in the discussion on public opinion, Jatiya Party MP Shamim Haider Patwari demanded the establishment of an expatriate university.</div><div><br></div><div>He said that eight to 10 lakh people go abroad every year.</div><div><br></div><div>“What has the education system provided for them? Didn\'t do anything. Didn\'t even teach them the language.”</div><div><br></div><div>“Passport and immigration knowledge is not given. We need expatriate universities. Where the sons and daughters of expatriates will study? And they will get the knowledge of what they will do abroad.”</div><div><br></div><div>Patwari claimed that no research has been done on how much manpower is needed in a sector of the country.</div><div><br></div><div>“We have not done any global research. How many lorry drivers are needed all over the world, how many nurses are needed, even how many are needed in our country.”</div><div><br></div><div>Claiming that European Union is interested in talent partnership with Bangladesh, he said: “We should go for talent partnership. If we don\'t do this and create only graduates, they will wander around the world as unemployed.”</div><div><br></div><div>He said that education was, is and will be the backbone of the nation. A country that has no resources such as oil and gas people are the wealth of that country.</div><div><br></div><div>“Educating them and making them skilled is wealth. From there we are giving more focus to bricks, stones while considering bridges, culverts as the backbone of the nation. Education and skills should be the backbone of the nation.”</div><div><br></div><div>Jatiya Party’s Pir Fazlur Rahman said that the tenure of the 11th parliament is coming to an end. The education minister repeatedly told the parliament that she would appeal against the decision to exclude Members of Parliament from the post of president of higher secondary colleges, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>“Appeals will be made, hearings will be held, listening to that the whole term of this Parliament is coming to an end.”</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 15:29:51', '2023-02-02 15:29:51'),
(4945, 4945, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Police arrested a fugitive, who was awarded life term imprisonment by a Gopalganj court in 2020 in a rape case filed in 2016, from Kalabagan in the capital last night.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The detainee was identified as Abdullah Al Mamun, 50, hailed from Kashiani upazila in the district.</div><div><br></div><div>Officer-in-Charge of Kashiani Thana Mohammad Firoz Alam said Mamun was arrested by Kashiani Thana police at around 1:30 am last night in Kalabagan area.</div><div>Mamun was produced before a Gopalganj court today. Source; BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 15:48:29', '2023-02-02 15:48:29'),
(4946, 4946, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The wintry cold winds can take a toll on the moisture level of our hair. Rob Smith, Dyson Senior Principal Hair Care Scientist shares a few hair health tips and tricks to build into daily routines as well as to protect precious locks from harsh winters.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Condition with every wash: Conditioners are some of the best products you can use on your hair. They coat the hair and lubricate it, meaning a comb can more easily reduce static build-up and reduce flyaway. Conditioners do not repair hair, but they help to reduce the signs of damage in the future.</div><div><br></div><div>Wide tooth combs: Using a wide tooth comb works well to reduce friction and mechanical damage when your hair is wet and much weaker.</div><div><br></div><div>Brush down: A good brushing technique is to brush down, starting from the ends of your hair, to remove tangles. Starting from the root will only tighten the knots further.</div><div><br></div><div>Milder shampoos: Greasy hair and scalp are caused by the build-up of the sebum produced by each hair follicle. Washing your hair often is not necessarily bad; reducing unpleasant residues such as sebum, loose skin cells, sweat, and environmental pollutants. If you wash your hair every day, try using a milder shampoo; Cocamidopropyl betaine (look on the ingredients list) can help, making a shampoo less irritating and milder. There is currently no clear scientific evidence that using a pre-shampoo is actually needed. If you use a milder or moisturizing shampoo your hair will remain in good condition without the extra step.</div><div><br></div><div>Hairspray, mousses, and oils: Hairspray and mousses work like glue to help with style retention by holding the hairs together in your desired style. High-hold hairsprays change how your hair feels because the strands are held more tightly together, so your hair is less able to move around. Natural oils and silicones can be used on your hair to reduce water from getting in, keeping your style in place longer. Too much however can weigh down your hair and have the opposite effect.</div><div><br></div><div>Dry shampoo: Some dry shampoos can be used for styling as they give the same benefits of backcombing but without damage to the cuticle. It can help to create a beachy/voluminous look or mattify the hair. A texturising spray, or some dry shampoos, can leave a powdered residue in your hair.</div><div><br></div><div>Mechanical damage: This is the most frequent form of hair damage. Examples of causes are brushing, towel drying, and running fingers through the hair. If towel drying, wrap hair in a towel and let it dry naturally to avoid further mechanical damage.</div><div><br></div><div>Tips for the colder seasons:</div><div>Avoid leaving the house with wet hair: Hair is weaker when wet as the bonds that give it strength are disrupted by water. This makes it much easier to damage. If you use a good hair dryer, you can dry and style hair at the same time, helping you look the way you want and avoid leaving your hair in a weakened state for extended periods of time.</div><div><br></div><div>Shampoo less, condition more: During the colder months your scalp can become drier and itchier. Shampooing can remove the natural oils that you produce that help keep your scalp moisturized, so using a milder shampoo or reducing the frequency of washing can help avoid this.</div><div><br></div><div>Dry scalp: At colder times of the year the air tends to be drier. Consider using a humidifier at home, this can help retain higher levels of moisture on your scalp. Also, consider a good quality oil to apply to your scalp after shampooing to help keep it feeling moisturized.</div><div><br></div><div>Static electricity: This can increase in the colder seasons as lower humidity means hair will hold less moisture. This can cause hair to be visibly frizzier and more unruly. Overdrying your hair can also result in increased frizz. To help control static and frizz, avoid using a plastic hairbrush, which can cause static build-up, and use a hair dryer with controlled airflow and an ionizer.</div><div><br></div><div>Use a good quality conditioner: This helps reduce friction and wear, protecting your hair cuticles and reducing tangles and knots. Source: IANS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-02 15:55:32', '2023-02-02 15:55:32'),
(4947, 4947, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The U.S. is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down over concerns of hurting people on the ground, officials said Thursday. The discovery of the balloon puts a further strain on U.S.-China relations at a time of heightened tensions.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has “very high confidence” it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. One of the places the balloon was spotted was Montana, which is home to one of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, provided a brief statement on the issue, saying the government continues to track the balloon. He said it is “currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said similar balloon activity has been seen in the past several years. He added that the U.S. took steps to ensure it did not collect sensitive information.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A senior administration official, who was also not authorized to publicly discuss sensitive information, said President Joe Biden was briefed and asked the military to present options. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advised against taking “kinetic action” because of risks to the safety of people on the ground. Biden accepted that recommendation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The defense official said the U.S. has “engaged” Chinese officials through multiple channels and communicated the seriousness of the matter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The incident comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was supposed to make his first trip to Beijing, expected this weekend, to try to find some common ground. Although the trip has not been formally announced, both Beijing and Washington have been talking about his imminent arrival.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was not immediately clear if the discovery of the balloon would impact Blinken’s travel plans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The senior defense official said the U.S. did get fighter jets, including F-22s, ready to shoot down the balloon if ordered to by the White House. The Pentagon ultimately recommended against it, noting that even as the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough that it could have put people at risk.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was not clear what the military was doing to prevent it from collecting sensitive information or what will happen with the balloon if it isn’t shot down.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a letter sent Thursday to Austin, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., wrote: “The fact that this balloon was occupying Montana airspace creates significant concern that Malmstrom Air Force Base and the United States’ intercontinental ballistic missile fields are the target of this intelligence gathering mission. ... It is vital to establish the flight path of this balloon, any compromised U.S. national security assets, and all telecom or IT infrastructure on the ground within the U.S. that this spy balloon was utilizing.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The defense official said the spy balloon was trying to fly over the Montana missile fields, but the U.S. has assessed that it has “limited” value in terms of providing China intelligence it couldn’t already collect by other means, such through spy satellites.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The official would not specify the size of the balloon, but said it was large enough that despite its high altitude, commercial pilots could see it. All air traffic was halted at Montana\'s Billings Logan International Airport from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, as the military provided options to the White House.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A photograph of a large white balloon lingering over the area was captured by The Billings Gazette, but the Pentagon would not confirm if that was the surveillance balloon. The balloon could be seen drifting in and out of clouds and had what appeared to be a solar array hanging from the bottom, said Gazette photographer Larry Mayer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The defense official said what concerned them about this launch was the altitude the balloon was flying at and the length of time it lingered over a location, without providing specifics.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said he was briefed Wednesday about the situation after the Montana National Guard was notified of an ongoing military operation taking place in Montana airspace, according to a statement from the Republican governor and spokesperson Brooke Stroyke. 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, '2023-02-03 07:04:32', '2023-02-03 07:04:32');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4948, 4948, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka\'s air quality remained in the \"unhealthy\" zone Friday morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 177 at 10:30am, the capital ranked ninth in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered \"unhealthy,\" 201 and 300 \"very unhealthy,\" and 301 to 400 is considered \"hazardous,\" posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pakistan\'s Karachi and Lahore and Iraq\'s Baghdad occupied the first, second and third spots in the list, with AQI scores of 267, 239 and 229, respectively.</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;\">Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person\'s chances of developing 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, '2023-02-03 07:08:54', '2023-02-03 07:08:54'),
(4949, 4949, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A first year student of the journalism and media studies department of Jahangirnagar University is on life support after being hit by a bike and dragged under the bike on campus.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The incident took place near Maulana Bhasani Hall at 7:30 pm.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The victim Jahid was going to \"Gerua\" near campus.The bike hit from behind and dragged him several yards. Ferdous Mahamud Neon of the philosophy department was driving the bike.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some of Jahid\'s friends and other students took him to university medical centre then to Enam Medical College Hospital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ujjal Kumar Mandal, assistant professor of his department, quoting doctors, said that Jahid\'s condition is not good. \"He is on life support. He has scalp fracture on the right side of head. Brain hemorrhage on the left side of head.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this regard, Proctor ASM Firoz Ul Hasan said, \"I went to Enam Medical and saw the injured student. I will go out and talk to the students.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, students of the journalism department staged a protest before the vice-chancellor\'s house. 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, '2023-02-03 07:12:39', '2023-02-03 07:12:39'),
(4950, 4950, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Real Madrid reduced Barcelona\'s La Liga lead to five points with a 2-0 win over Valencia on Thursday, thanks to spectacular goals from Marco Asensio and Vinicius Junior.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The duo struck in a three-minute second half salvo which stunned the visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu, and Valencia were later reduced to 10 men when Gabriel Paulista took a wild hack at Vinicius.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Madrid dominated throughout but an otherwise good night was tainted when captain Karim Benzema went off injured in the second half with an apparent thigh problem, and Eder Militao was also replaced for a similar reason.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Benzema\'s injury was \"very light\" but that Militao would miss Sunday\'s trip to face Real Mallorca.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The game will likely be remembered for Gabriel\'s red card tackle on Vinicius, who netted his 50th goal for Madrid on his 200th appearance at 22 years old.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have to protect Vinicius a bit, he\'s a very expressive kid, he dribbles a lot and defences don\'t like that,\" Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois told DAZN.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We need that Vini. In a lot of games he\'s been kicked a lot. I am happy that the referee had the bravery to send off Paulista.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Not just because it\'s Vini -- if we did that then we would have to be sent off too.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Valencia\'s interim coach Voro, taking over for the eighth time on a temporary basis after Gennaro Gattuso departed by mutual consent on Monday, had a tough night visiting the reigning champions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Los Che sit 14th, just one point clear of the relegation zone, and will now be without experienced defender Gabriel.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We had a good first half, that was our plan, leaving them little space, but in the second it was harder for us,\" Valencia\'s Hugo Guillamon told DAZN.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ancelotti started with Eduardo Camavinga at left-back again and made two changes from Sunday\'s draw with Real Sociedad, bringing in Luka Modric and Asensio.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The duo combined after three minutes with the Croatian playmaker feeding the forward, who should have scored, but Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili made a fine save down to his right.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Asensio was denied again after a brilliant Benzema backheel set him up, with Gabriel throwing himself in the way of the Spaniard\'s shot and deflecting it over.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vinicius sent a tame effort at Mamardashvili, while Camavinga rifled into the side netting as Madrid monopolised the chances but failed to break through.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Antonio Rudiger headed home from a corner in stoppage time but the goal was ruled out by VAR after a push from Benzema in the face of Yunus Musah was spotted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Changing gears -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Madrid stepped up several gears after the break and quickly moved in front.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Asensio broke the deadlock with a rocket from the edge of the box which ripped past the helpless Mamardashvili in the 52nd minute.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two minutes later Vinicius doubled their lead, with Benzema sending him sprinting through on the halfway line, outpacing the defence and tucking home.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Benzema had a chance to score the third but his effort was blocked by Mouctar Diakhaby, before the Frenchman limped off holding the back of his thigh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gabriel was dismissed for his hack at Vinicius as the former Arsenal defender lost his head when his Brazilian compatriot flew past him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Madrid kept theirs to secure the three points and stay five points behind Barcelona at the halfway point of the season.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ancelotti played down the clash between Gabriel and Vinicius.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"(They) had clashed very few times in the game, I think it was just the frustration, they were losing,\" Ancelotti told reporters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I can understand it. It\'s a bit of an ugly tackle, but Gabriel Paulista has always behaved well.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Sometimes the frustration doesn\'t let you think in the right way.\" 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, '2023-02-03 07:56:00', '2023-02-03 07:56:00'),
(4951, 4951, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>At least eight people died in a fire that ripped through temporary housing for construction workers in Moscow-annexed Crimea, the Russian emergency situations ministry said on Thursday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The fire broke out overnight in a two-storey building for construction workers near Crimea\'s port city of Sevastopol, the ministry said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"As a result of the fire, eight people died and two were injured,\" it said, adding that the fire had been \"completely extinguished\" by Thursday morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Two of the injured were in hospital in a stable condition, according to the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He said the victims were building workers from \"different Russian regions\", who were involved in the construction of a major highway across the peninsula.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Local investigators said a criminal probe has been launched on charges of \"death by negligence\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">More than 100 people lived in the temporary accommodation, they added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Russian news agency TASS cited a law enforcement source as saying the fire could have been caused by an electrical appliance short-circuiting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, following a referendum that was not recognised by Kyiv or its Western allies. 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, '2023-02-03 08:30:12', '2023-02-03 08:30:12'),
(4952, 4952, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Vladimir Putin leveraged a World War II commemoration on Thursday to whip up support for his army\'s intervention in Ukraine, comparing the fighting to Nazi Germany\'s invasion and hinting Moscow could use nuclear weapons.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Putin has used World War II to promote his political agenda in recent years while the Kremlin has sought to give cult status to Moscow\'s victory in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arriving in the southern city of Volgograd for commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad, achieved at enormous cost, Putin sought to boost support for his assault on Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He compared Russia\'s so-called \"special military operation\" in Ukraine to the war against Nazi Germany in 1941-1945 and claimed Russians were ready to go \"until the end.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Again and again we are forced to repel the aggression of the collective West,\" Putin said in the city on the Volga River formerly known as Stalingrad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We aren\'t sending tanks to their borders but we have something to respond with, and it won\'t be just about using armoured vehicles. Everyone should understand this,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"A modern war with Russia will be completely different,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since sending troops to pro-Western Ukraine last February Putin has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons against the West if the conflict escalates.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s unbelievable but true. We are again being threatened by German Leopard tanks.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'To go until the end\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Readiness to go until the end, to do the impossible for the sake of the motherland, for the sake of truth was -- and is -- in the blood, in the character of our multinational people,\" said Putin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He spoke after laying flowers at the city\'s legendary landmark -- a hilltop memorial to the battle that includes the towering 85-metre (279-foot) sculpture of a woman with a raised sword known as \"The Motherland Calls\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The commemorations in the southern Russian city come as the Kremlin looks to step up its offensive in Ukraine, bolstered by tens of thousands of reservists mobilised last autumn.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 1942-43 Battle of Stalingrad raged for nearly six months and when it was over the city was in ruins and more than a million soldiers and civilians had lost their lives.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Red Army\'s victory marked a turning point not only for the Soviet Union, which had suffered several heavy defeats, but also for the Allied forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia has claimed recent gains near the hotspot town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow recently announced the capture of the eastern town of Soledar as it seeks to wrest control of the entirety of the region of Donetsk -- a region it claims to have annexed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although the significance of capturing the salt-mining town is disputed, Soledar was the first major victory for Russia\'s forces following a series of setbacks on the ground.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Bust of Stalin -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the eve of Putin\'s arrival, a bust of dictator Joseph Stalin was unveiled in Volgograd.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since Putin took power in Russia in 2000, a growing chorus of Russians are taking a positive view of the despot\'s role in history, and analysts have pointed to the creeping rehabilitation of Stalin in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nostalgic for the superpower status of the USSR, many Russian officials have been promoting Stalin as a tough leader who led the Soviet Union to victory in World War II and presided over the country\'s industrialisation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Soviet Union lost an estimated 20 million people in World War II and the legacy of what is known in the country as the Great Patriotic War is venerated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials declared Wednesday and Thursday public holidays in Volgograd following a request from war veterans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The city was renamed Volgograd in 1961, eight years after the death of Stalin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since 2013, the city is temporarily renamed Stalingrad several times a year, including on February 2 and on May 9, when Russia holds nationwide celebrations on the anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd24/kh</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-03 08:55:39', '2023-02-03 08:55:39'),
(4953, 4953, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Although coastal and freshwater wetlands – such as swamps, mangroves and marshes – contain 40 percent of all plant and animal species, many are polluted or degraded due to climate change and human development.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On World Wetlands Day Thursday, the UN called for urgent action to revive and restore these ecosystems, which are disappearing three times faster than forests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wetlands cover roughly six percent of the Earth\'s land surface and are vital for human health, food supply, tourism and jobs.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than a billion people worldwide depend on them for their livelihoods, while their shallow waters and abundant plant life support everything from insects to ducks to moose.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wetlands also play a crucial role in both achieving sustainable development and the fight against climate change.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They provide essential ecosystem services such as water regulation, and reducing the impact of flooding, for example.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Peatlands, a particular type of vegetated wetland, store twice as much carbon as forests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, over the past 200 years, wetlands have been drained to make way for farmland or infrastructure development, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Roughly 35 percent of all wetlands globally disappeared between 1970 and 2015, and the rate of loss has been accelerating since the year 2000.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Depending on the amount of climate-related sea level rise, some 20 to 90 percent of current coastal wetlands could be gone by the end of the century, the UNEP said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wetlands have also suffered more biodiversity loss than other land and marine ecosystems.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leticia Carvalho, head of the agency\'s Marine and Freshwater Branch, urged governments to end policies and subsidies that incentivise deforestation and wetlands degradation, and urgently focus on restoration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"At the same time, we must guide and drive investments to protect priority ecosystems, such as peatlands, and encourage the private sector to commit to deforestation and peatland-drainage-free supply chains,\" she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Recently, governments have been stepping up efforts to protect wetlands.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the UN Biodiversity Conference in December, countries agreed a landmark deal to protect a third of the planet\'s lands, coastal areas and inland waters by 2030.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Action to restore wetlands is gathering momentum around the world. For example, China is developing the \"sponge cities\" concept, in the face of rapid urbanisation and intensified climate hazards, including flooding.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Initiatives include \"green\" rooves, constructed wetlands and pavements that capture, slow down and filter stormwater. 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, '2023-02-03 09:12:31', '2023-02-03 09:12:31'),
(4954, 4954, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Losses for the troubled Adani Group, India\'s second-largest conglomerate, deepened on Friday as shares in its flagship company tumbled another 25%, extending over a week of declines that have wiped out tens of billions of dollars in market value.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The debacle, which led Adani Enterprises, the group\'s flagship company, to cancel a share offering meant to raise $2.5 billion, has drawn calls for regulators to investigate after a U.S. short-selling firm, Hindenburg Research, issued a report claiming the group engages in market manipulation and other fraudulent practices. Adani denies the allegations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Opposition lawmakers blocked Parliament proceedings for a second day Friday, chanting slogans and demanding a probe into the business dealings of coal tycoon Gautam Adani, who is said to enjoy close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The government has remained silent. A Finance Ministry spokesperson told The Associated Press there were no plans for any comment. Amit Malviya, the governing Bharatiya Janata Party’s information and technology chief, said in a television interview that the opposition was using Adani’s crisis to target the Modi government and that “regulators are looking into” what happened.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, also has not commented. The Economic Times newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources, that the agency had asked stock exchanges to check for any unusual activity in Adani stocks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shares in Adani Enterprises fell as much as 30%, to 1,017 rupees ($12) Friday before recovering to trade about 15% lower. The company\'s share price has plunged by about 66% since Hindenburg released its report last week, when it stood at 3,436 rupees ($41). Stock in six other Adani-listed companies were down 5% to 10% on Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Adani, who made a vast fortune mining coal and trading before expanding into construction, power generation, manufacturing and media, was Asia\'s richest man and the world\'s third wealthiest before the troubles began with Hindenburg\'s report.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Friday, his net worth had halved to $61 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, where he dropped to the 21st spot worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He has said little publicly since the troubles began, though in a video address after Adani Enterprises cancelled its already fully subscribed share offering he promised to repay investors. The company has said it is reviewing its fundraising plans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hindenburg\'s report said it was betting against seven publicly listed Adani companies, judging them to have an “85% downside, purely on a fundamental basis owing to sky-high valuations.” Other allegations in the report included concerns over debt, use of offshore shell companies to artificially raise share prices and past investigations into fraud.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Adani\'s speedy, debt-led expansion in recent years caused his net worth to shoot up nearly 2,000%. Even before last week, critics said his ascent was aided by his apparent close ties to Modi and his government.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Analysts say he has been successful at aligning his priorities with that of the government by investing in key sectors, but point out that he also has major infrastructure projects in states that are ruled by opposition parties. 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, '2023-02-03 10:39:35', '2023-02-03 10:39:35'),
(4955, 4955, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A South Korean court on Friday sentenced a former justice minister, Cho Kuk, to two years in prison, after he was found guilty of creating fake credentials to help his children get into prestigious schools, a scandal that rocked the country’s previous government and sparked huge protests.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cho was also found guilty of abusing his powers while serving as a senior aide to former President Moon Jae-in, by blocking an investigation into a former Financial Services Commission official seen as close to Moon who was eventually arrested for taking bribes from businesspeople.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the Seoul Central District Court decided not to place Cho under immediate arrest, saying he wasn’t a threat to flee and that his wife was already serving a prison term over the charges related to their children. Cho told reporters after the ruling that he plans to appeal, and if he does within seven days he will stay out of prison until at least the appellate ruling.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ruling culminated the public demise of the former Seoul National University law professor and liberal icon, whose political rise during the Moon government had him considered as a future presidential contender for the liberals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After initially serving as Moon’s senior secretary of civil affairs, Cho was appointed as justice minister in 2019 but was forced to resign months later after allegations emerged that he colluded with his wife to forge documents and certificates to help their daughter get into a medical school. The couple later faced similar accusations surrounding the education of their son.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cho’s wife, Chung Kyung-shim, had already been serving a four-year prison sentence before the Seoul court on Friday added another year to her term, after finding her guilty of additional charges related to her son.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cho apologized for the perks his daughter has received as he stepped down as justice minister but has steadfastly denied legal wrongdoing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The charges struck a nerve in a country grappling with widening rich-poor gaps and where teenagers toil in hyper-competitive school environments because graduating from elite universities is seen as crucial to career prospects.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cho’s legal saga also tarnished the reformist image of Moon, who vowed to restore faith in fairness and justice after winning a presidential by-election in 2017 to replace his conservative predecessor, Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and jailed for corruption.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I will appeal the charges that I was found guilty of and put up a more sincere argument (in court),” Cho told reporters after the ruling. He left without taking any questions. 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, '2023-02-03 11:37:16', '2023-02-03 11:37:16'),
(4956, 4956, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP senior leader Barkatullah Bulu on Friday alleged that the government has begun the work on underground metro rail project amid economic crisis only for plundering public money.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There is a crisis all over the country. Imports are being hampered due to dollar crisis. Amid this crisis, you (Prime Minister) have given a budget of Tk52,000 crore for 20 km subway. You’re implementing this project for plundering,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking at a human chain programme, the BNP leader also questioned the justification of taking such a mega project when the country’s huge number of people remained unemployed. “What benefit will the state get from the Tk 52,000 crore subway?”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bulu, a BNP vice-chairman, said the government can invest the money in the agriculture sector or can set up mills factories for generating job opportunities for unemployed people. “We know you won’t do that as it will not create scope for you to loot public money.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nagorik Odhikar Andolo (Civil Rights Movement), a pro-BNP platform, arranged the human chain programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club to demand the release of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction of Bangladesh’s first-ever underground metro rail, a month after the country rolled out its first metro rail system.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bulu alleged that the government siphoned off Tk14,00,000 crore abroad from Bangladesh to different countries, including Canada, Dubai and America.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said an MP, who is also the Prime Minister’s special assistant, became the owner of 17 houses in the USA in four years. “It seems as if Aladdin’s magic lamp is in their hands.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this way, Bulu said people belonging to the Awami League have got their named written in the list of world\'s rich abroad by indulging in looting a huge amount of money in the name of quick rental and rental power project.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The power sector has been looted. There is no country in the world where no one can file a case against the corruption of any project. But the government passed the indemnity bill in parliament so that no one can file any case against the plundering in the name of quick rental power,” he observed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP leader said there is now no alternative to ousting the Awami League government to save the country from misrule and plundering.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The next election must be held under a non-party caretaker government by ensuring the fall of current regime through the movement,” he said. 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, '2023-02-03 12:12:51', '2023-02-03 12:12:51'),
(4957, 4957, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>An eighth-grade boy was found hanging from the fan of his classroom in Khulna\'s Dumuria upazila early Friday, the day after he was reported missing, police said.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Six people were detained in connection with the incident.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nirob Mandal, 14, from Gutudiya village of the upazila, was a student of Gutudiya Secondary High School.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Locals and police said Nirob did not return home after attending school Thursday morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Family members looked for him everywhere but could not find any trace of him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An anonymous person called Nirob\'s father Shekhar Mandal over the phone and demanded Tk30 lakh as ransom in the afternoon, they said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After that, Shekhar Mandal lodged a general diary at the police station.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Kony Miah, officer-in-charge (OC) of Dumuria Police Station, said on information they found the body hanging inside a classroom around 1am. However, he did not say how they were tipped off to the classroom.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It was assumed that Nirob\'s body was hung from the ceiling fan after he was strangled to death. The body was sent to Khulna Medical College Hospital for autopsy,\" the OC 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, '2023-02-03 12:18:58', '2023-02-03 12:18:58'),
(4958, 4958, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir lied over the voter turnout in recent by-polls to six constituencies in the country.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has allegedly tried to confuse the nation by presenting false information about the attendance of voters in the by-polls to six seats held on February 1,\" Quader said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Citing a calculation made by the BNP that the voter presence in the by-polls was not more than five percent, which was totally baseless and fabricated, said the ruling party leader.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fakhrul made this \'shameless falsehood\' aiming to gain heinous political interest, said Quader, adding \"Over 25 per cent voters in all the by-polls casted their votes ...even the voter attendance in Thakurgaon-3 by-polls was almost 45 percent.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The voters came to the polling stations and casted their votes even amid extreme cold weather, said the minister. As the by-polls were not related with the change of the government and that\'s why people were less interested to vote compare to the national elections, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Usually, the attendance of voters definitely will increase in the national elections and cast their votes with due enthusiasm, the Road Transport and Bridges Minister said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Referring to graft cases unleashed by the BNP, the ruling party general secretary said \"the ruling Awami League is always working for the development of the nation as well as the people under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The Prime Minister has declared \'zero\' tolerance against the corruption\", he said in his statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the contrary, Quader said \"corruption is inherent in BNP...even \'Hawa Bhaban\' also was established led by Tareque Rahman aiming to institutionalize the corruption.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Criticizing Mirza Fakhrul\'s unawareness on commodity prices, Quader said since commodity price hike is now a consequence of Russia-Ukraine war, saying that he (Fakhrul) was blaming the government for raising commodity price without taking the global phenomenon in his consideration. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Violation of human rights, killing minorities and torture on opposition are the political character of BNP, said the ruling party leader.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> \"Falsehood is their (BNP) only tool\", he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP leaders is now formulating the blue print of the conspiracy without getting any response from the mass people, said Quader, adding that and that\'s why the people did not response to their movement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is firm to establish a transparent and accountable government and that\'s why she has announced for building a \'Smart Bangladesh\' as a whole. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-03 12:35:35', '2023-02-03 12:50:45'),
(4959, 4959, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today greeted the people of the country including taxpayers, officials and employees of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on the occasion of the \'Revenue Conference-2023\' beginning tomorrow.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to inaugurate the two-day revenue conference on Sunday at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going to organize the revenue conference to develop the country\'s revenue management system. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to inaugurate the two-day revenue conference on Sunday at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city. She will also inaugurate the new building of the NBR on the same day,\" said NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem at a press conference at NBR conference room here today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the eve of the day, they issued separate messages to this end wishing all programmes undertaken on the occasion of \'Revenue Conference\' a success.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Abdul Hamid in his message said: \"I welcome the initiative of NBR to organize a two-day \'Revenue Conference-2023\' in Dhaka.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The head of the state added that the inauguration of the newly constructed revenue building in city\'s Agargaon area by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is a new addition to the infrastructure development of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He hoped that the tax officials, traders, taxpayers will be able to create a tax-friendly environment by exchanging necessary information related to tax regulations at the revenue conference.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To further accelerate the ongoing process of revenue collection, the president urged the tax payers, traders and consumers at all levels of the country to pay the revenue as per law.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said: \"I am glad to know that the \'Revenue Conference-2023\' is being organized by the NBR. At the same time, the newly constructed Revenue Bhaban is being inaugurated at Agargaon, Dhaka, which will make the Revenue Conference more meaningful and memorable.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The greatest Bangalee of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman established the National Board of Revenue in 1972 with the dream of building a self-reliant country through economic growth, the premier said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the Great War of Liberation, Bangabandhu hoped that the economic growth will be gained with continuous development by extracting internal resource of the country by NBR, she added.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina said that the Revenue Conference is an excellent initiative of the National Board of Revenue.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She hoped that the conference will increase the scope of mutual exchange and expansion of cooperation between the officials of Income Tax, Customs and VAT Departments in revenue collection.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier believed that important issues and challenges in tax collection will emerge through the revenue conference and all concerned will work with honesty, integrity and dedication to overcome those issues and challen. 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, '2023-02-03 12:47:26', '2023-02-03 12:47:26'),
(4960, 4960, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Actor Arbaaz Khan has launched a new chat show and began with none other than his own father, writer Salim Khan. On the first episode, he asked Salim some questions about his work, his personal life and also about his children. Towards the end, Arbaaz even asked a rather tough question about whether Salim compared the successes of his kids.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the show, titled The Invincibles, Arbaaz asks Salim, “Salman is an achiever and a big star in the eyes of the world. On comparison, the rest of your kids, including me, we are not successful. Somewhere, are you disappointed by it?” Salman is the oldest of his siblings, which includes Arbaaz, Sohail, Alvira and Arpita Khan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Salim replied, “When I look at their effort, I see that they are also trying. They are also working hard. So I feel something or the other will happen. I am also a very optimistic person as well. What\'s important is that they are not wasting their time.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Arbaaz also asked his father\'s advice on how to handle failure and success. “It\'s easy to handle failure. One keeps thinking how to get out of it. But it\'s success that gets to your head. A popular Hollywood director has said that success has destroyed more people than failure,\" he says. The antidote to it, as per Salim, is ‘humility’. “Remember your origins and know what to say no to,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Salim Khan has penned a string of cult classics in collaboration with Javed Akhtar. Famously called as Salim-Javed, the duo has scripted many commercially and critically accepted films like Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Zanjeer, Deewaar, Trishul, Kaala Patthar, Dostana, Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay, Mr India, Don, and many more.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Arbaaz Khan was recently seen in the series Tanaav alongside Manav Vij which streamed exclusively on Sony Liv. Set against the idyllic backdrop of Kashmir in the year 2017, Tanaav was a fictional thriller revolving around a Special Unit, their bravery, and courage. Delving into the human drama behind the ideologies, dealing with complex emotions and flawed characters, all of whom share the same feelings of love, loss, betrayal and revenge, the show is a socio-political action drama with family at its core. 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, '2023-02-03 13:12:38', '2023-02-03 13:12:38');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4961, 4961, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Life can get stressful and tiresome, to say the least in our contemporary society with hectic schedules, busyness and over-stimulation. We find ourselves like the proverbial White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, running helter-skelter in a haphazard search for something unattainable. We always have somewhere to be and we are always late!</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">We never have enough for we always want more; there is nothing that can satiate our hubris. Our ego driven personalities are ruthless. Our actions are laden with the toxicity of competitiveness that is fostered by society at large.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Our minds are bogged down with the stress of having to keep up with appearances and we\'re afraid to open up and appear vulnerable. The Jungian Masks we wear just keep piling up in number. We play so many different roles throughout the day, that sometimes we can forget who we are and not to mention, it is extremely exhausting!</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even if we have embarked on a spiritual quest or at least decided to, we experience insurmountable obstacles on the path and most of us give up. Nah, too much work! But it need not be.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This text below will give you tips on how you can stick to the mystical path even when worldly challenges are a dime a dozen.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">1. SALT BATH</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Using water as a healing tool can be extremely beneficial and if you look through different spiritual/religious systems, you’ll see that they all use water as a magical component. Like the Baptism ritual in Christianity is based on the idea that water purifies. Ritual ablutions are practiced by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains. The list is endless. Water has memory and all of it found on earth and its atmosphere is older than the Sun!</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Spiritual baths are like ablutions and they can rid your subliminal mind from the bombardment of negativity you face in life. Water helps the body calm down and clears the mind of disturbing thoughts. When you crawl into your tub, consider the act to be sacred and bless the water before stepping in. Think of this as a purifying ritual. You can of course buy tons of really expensive bath bombs, but you don’t actually need them. All you need is rock salt or mota namak. You can add essential oils and herbs to the mix.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If you pick the right herbs and crystals, then this bath becomes a therapy session and its energies greatly beneficial. The aroma, the salt, the oils all add to the heady feeling of bliss and relaxation. When you chuck some crystals in the mix, you have magic! For instance, if you’re going on a date, use Rose Quartz in your bath with rose essential oil and rose petals and watch Venus magic happen!</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This salt bath has the potential to remove all negativity from your mind, body and soul. Physiologically, you’ll see enhanced blood circulation and the prevention of skin ailments. It is a great antidote to insomnia. What a perfect self-care regime! Oh, and don’t forget to light a white candle and switch off all lights, be safe though.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">2. SAGING aka SMOKE CEREMONY</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Numerous cultures worldwide have practiced smoke ceremonies in some way or another. Mostly people use incense, but camphor and other herbs are also burnt to drive away any negative energy in the place of work or residence.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Before you begin this practice, you must understand that this act is not as mundane as burning a bunch of herbs, it’s so much more. Smudging or cleaning the aura with smoke helps you align with your inner vibration and shuts off all the external din. When you sage your space, you’re doing away with all the emotional pain and anguish people experienced there. You’re driving out the hurt, the suffering, the tears and the pain.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is a symbolic way to affirm to your unconscious that you’re ready to let go. You don’t want to hold onto anything as the extra baggage is just not worth it. Smudging brings an infusion of positive and mystical energies almost immediately and vivifies your whole being.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Always remember to open your windows so the negative energies can escape when they’re being driven away. Start from your front gate and keep moving north all the while chanting, “Air, Fir, Water, Earth, cleanse, dismiss, dispel” and move through each room till you reach the front gate again.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Let the smoke waft through your home or office. Make sure to target nooks and crannies, crevices and all damp spots. Smudge your clothes, but be careful with the burning incense as if you’re clumsy, you can inadvertently start a fire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sage the people at home too. Just wave the smoke on their person and say a prayer. Smudging can be done anytime, but it\'s best to do this weekly and definitely when you’re moving into a new house.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">3. DAILY PRAYER OR SELF-AFFIRMATION</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prayer or mantra you decide to chant is a deeply personal thing and you can always tune into your intuition to find answers if you’re not from a religious or spiritual background and you have no idea what to do. Then I suggest, look into all the systems that interest you and try prayers from them all so as to better identify what truly resonates with your soul.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Your body will tell you if you’re being pulled towards a certain prayer. Your mind will signal to you by becoming calm and quiet. However, after a few months of trying multiple prayers and finding the correct one for you, stick with it!</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">No matter how busy your schedule gets, always carve out an hour or so for your spiritual practices. Even if you skip a day, resume again whenever you can. The point is to integrate daily prayer as a sustained practice in your life. If Psalms or mantras don’t work for you, then try self-affirmations.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When you wake up in the morning, you should definitely chant this prayer and throughout the day you can keep going back to it. Your prayer will become your constant companion that will connect you to the divine energies and will help you navigate through all the hassles and stresses of life. Your mind and body will begin to listen to you and can help you tap into an inner reservoir of ever-expanding resources of love, bliss, strength and empathy that emanate from within. Never forget your prayer or your mantra, keep repeating it in your mind, as often as possible. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"24\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-03 13:18:47', '2023-02-03 13:18:47'),
(4962, 4962, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The government on Friday gave directives to the relevant authorities to keep the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Dedicated Covid-19 Hospital ready in the wake of the spread of the Nipah virus in 28 districts of the country.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) issued the directives asking the hospital authorities to keep 10 beds at the isolation ward and 10 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds prepared, said a press release signed by Dr Sheikh Daud Adnan, director (hospitals and clinics) of the DGHS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On January 29, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said a total of five people died of Nipah virus across the country this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eight people were infected with Nipah virus and of them five people died.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Usually more than 70 percent of infected people die and people who drink raw date juice and fruits partially eaten by birds, especially bats, have the possibility of being infected with the virus.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, healthy people who come in contact with the infected ones also have the possibility of being infected with the virus and it spreads from person to person quickly which is a matter of concern. 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, '2023-02-03 13:25:30', '2023-02-03 13:25:30'),
(4963, 4963, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Flight operations at Sylhet MAG Osmani International Airport resumed on Friday afternoon after three and half hours of disruption caused by the wheel puncture of a Boeing aircraft blocking the runway.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The flights resumed around 4:30pm after removing the Biman aircraft from the runway, said Hafiz Ahmed, manager of the airport.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, one of the wheels of the Boeing-737 of Biman Bangladesh Airlines got punctured with a big bang when it began its approach to take off.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the airport authority, the aircraft carrying 148 passengers was scheduled to take off for Dhaka around 12.55pm.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Passenger Mostak Hyat Khan said, “We were panicked as the aircraft started shaking after a big bang.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the shaking, the pilot slowed the speed of the plane and tried to take off but was forced to halt when they came to know about the problem, Khan said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We were stranded inside the aircraft for around 40 minutes and later brought to the airport lounge,” he added. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-03 13:45:55', '2023-02-03 13:45:55'),
(4964, 4964, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Ukrainians will fight \"for as long as we can\" to hold the eastern city of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Friday, as he hosted European Union leaders to discuss further sanctions on Russia and Kyiv\'s prospects for joining the EU.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, the United States said it would send more than $2.175 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine, including a new rocket that will double Kyiv\'s strike range to reach most Ukrainian territory now held by the Russians.</div><div><br></div><div>The head of the EU\'s executive Commission and the chairman of the 27 EU national leaders were in Kyiv to demonstrate support for Ukraine as the first anniversary of Russia\'s Feb 24 invasion of its neighbour approaches.</div><div><br></div><div>As they and Zelensky\'s government discussed a range of issues, air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv and across the country - a regular occurrence during months of Russian missile attacks on Ukraine\'s energy infrastructure far from the battlefields in the east and south - but there were no reports of new air strikes.</div><div><br></div><div>Zelensky, flanked by the EU leaders at a news conference, said European sanctions should aim to ensure Russia cannot rebuild its military capability. And he had a defiant message on Bakhmut, the focal point of Ukrainian resistance to Russia\'s invasion and of Moscow\'s drive to regain battlefield momentum.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Nobody will give away Bakhmut. We will fight for as long as we can. We consider Bakhmut our fortress,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Moscow says Russian forces are encircling the city that had a pre-war population of around 75,000 from several directions and battling to take control of a road which is also an important supply route for Ukrainian forces.</div><div><br></div><div>\"If weapon (supplies) are accelerated, specifically long- range weapons, not only will we not abandon Bakhmut but we will also begin to remove the occupiers from the Donbas (region of eastern Ukraine), occupied since 2014,\" Zelensky said.</div><div><br></div><div>The US military aid announced on Friday included rockets known as Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB), whose 151 km (94 mile) range would put all of Russia\'s supply lines in eastern Ukraine within reach, as well as part of the Crimea peninsula, also seized by Moscow in 2014. Source: Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 08:48:53', '2023-02-04 08:48:53'),
(4965, 4965, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma today visited the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant at Rampal, being built with funding from the Indian government’s concessional financing scheme with an outlay of about US$ 2 billion.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Majority of the amount is being provided by India’s EXIM Bank.</div><div><br></div><div>The plant uses ultra super critical technology and is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.</div><div><br></div><div>Phase-I of the 1320 MW power plant was inaugurated by the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh in September 2022 and has already started supplying electricity to the national grid of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Phase-II of the project is expected to be completed shortly, officials said.</div><div><br></div><div>Energy cooperation is an \"important component\" of India-Bangladesh development partnership and the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant is a concrete manifestation of the deep-rooted friendship and cooperation between India and Bangladesh, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.</div><div><br></div><div>Pranay Verma visits Rupsha Rail Bridge</div><div><br></div><div>On February 3, the Indian high commissioner visited the Rupsha rail bridge which is expected to \"boost trade and connectivity\" for not only Bangladesh but also for the entire sub-region.</div><div><br></div><div>The bridge is being developed under the Indian government’s concessional line of credit (LOCs) extended to the Bangladesh government.</div><div><br></div><div>During his two-day visit to Khulna division on February 3-4, High Commissioner Pranay Verma will be visiting some of the important connectivity projects which are being developed under the Bangladesh-India development partnership.</div><div><br></div><div>The total length of the Rupsha bridge is over 5km and the cost of constructing the bridge is US$ 169.26 million.</div><div><br></div><div>The bridge has been constructed over the Rupsha river, and its construction was a challenging engineering feat as it required use of specialized technology for piling work, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Friday night.</div><div><br></div><div>The bridge also has additional features for ensuring navigation safety and the navigational clearance is more than 18m from standard high-water level.</div><div><br></div><div>India is Bangladesh’s largest development partner in South Asia.</div><div><br></div><div>India has already committed LOCs worth nearly US$ 8 billion to Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>The bridge is a visible example of the India-Bangladesh development partnership, said the High Commission.</div><div><br></div><div>The Rupsha railway bridge and the Khulna-Mongla port rail line will greatly facilitate transportation of goods, and enhanced connectivity and accessibility to Mongla Port will improve market access for local businesses including for agricultural produce in the region. It is also expected to positively impact tourism to prominent spots in the southwestern part of Bangladesh. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 09:15:00', '2023-02-04 09:15:00'),
(4966, 4966, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A head-on collision between a passenger bus and a speeding truck trailer near a tunnel in northwest Pakistan overnight killed at least 17 passengers, including women and children, a rescue official said early Friday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The crash happened in Kohat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the local emergency official and state-run media.</div><div><br></div><div>“We have transported all the dead and injured to a hospital in Kohat,” rescue official Rehmat Ullah said.</div><div><br></div><div>TV footage showed images of the destroyed bus.</div><div><br></div><div>Azam Khan, the caretaker chief minister in the province, has expressed his deep sorrow and grief over the tragic accident.</div><div><br></div><div>On Sunday, a passenger bus crashed into a pillar and fell off a bridge in Baluchistan province, catching fire and killing 40 people.</div><div><br></div><div>Deadly accidents are common in Pakistan due to poor road infrastructure and a disregard for traffic laws. - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 09:26:41', '2023-02-04 09:26:41'),
(4967, 4967, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Pakistan has banned Wikipedia over the website\'s refusal to remove what the establishment termed as ‘blasphemous content’, Pakistan website The News reported. The restoration of the services will be subjected to consideration if the website removes the content, Hindustan Times reported.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The blacklisting of Wikipedia comes days after the Pakistan Telecom Authority degraded Wikipedia services for 48 hours, threatening to block it if the content deemed ‘blasphemous’ was not deleted.</div><div><br></div><div>“Wikipedia was approached for blocking/removal of the said contents by issuing a notice under applicable law &amp; court order(s). An opportunity of hearing was also provided, however, the platform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the Authority”, the Pakistan Telecom Authority tweeted.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 09:37:29', '2023-02-04 09:37:29'),
(4968, 4968, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Forecasters say the coldest wind chill ever has been recorded in the continental US as an Arctic cold snap freezes a swathe of North America.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The National Weather Service (NWS) said the icy gusts on Mount Washington in New Hampshire on Friday produced a wind chill of -108F (-77C).</div><div><br></div><div>Nearly 100 million people across the north-eastern US and Canada are shivering in the frigid blast.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities warned frostbite could strike in less than 10 minutes.</div><div><br></div><div>Residents from Manitoba to Maine are being urged to limit their time outdoors until Saturday in the \"once-in-a-generation\" cold snap.</div><div><br></div><div>The NWS said the actual temperature on the summit of Mount Washington at 20:00 on Friday (01:00 GMT Saturday) was down to -46F - the coldest ever recorded there. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 09:45:05', '2023-02-04 09:45:05'),
(4969, 4969, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The number of flu patients across Japan in the week ended Sunday has reached warning levels in the country for the first time in three years, the health ministry said, Xinhua reported.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>According to data released by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases on Friday, during the week up to Jan. 29, the average number of patients per medical institution nationwide came to 10.36, surpassing the warning level benchmark of 10 per institution.</div><div><br></div><div>The warning level suggests the possibility of an epidemic occurring in the coming four weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>About 5,000 regularly monitored medical institutions in all of Japan\'s 47 prefectures reported a total of more than 51,000 influenza cases during the seven-day period, the data showed.</div><div><br></div><div>By prefecture, the per-hospital number was the highest in Okinawa at 41.23, followed by Fukui at 25.38, Osaka at 24.34, and Fukuoka at 21.70.</div><div><br></div><div>Experts here warned that flu infections may further spread unlike normal years after strict COVID-19 countermeasures apparently helped keep flu infections at fairly low levels in 2021 and 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 09:59:56', '2023-02-04 09:59:56'),
(4970, 4970, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Road crashes claimed 585 lives across the country in January, said a report of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Forty-six people killed in 44 railway accidents while 11 killed and one was injured in 13 waterway accidents, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>The report was published on Saturday after analysing accident reports published in the country\'s national and regional dailies and online media during the period.</div><div><br></div><div>Total 642 people were killed and 978 others injured in 650 accidents on roads, waterways and railways across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Two hundred five people died and 114 others were injured in some 214 motorbike accidents across the country last month.</div><div><br></div><div>Among those killed in road accident in January, 206 people were drivers, 109 pedestrians, 35 transport workers, 53 students, 10 teachers, 13 members of law enforcement agencies, 115 women, 62 children, five journalists, one freedom fighter, two lawyers, three engineers and 14 activists of different political parties.</div><div><br></div><div>Among those vehicles involved in the accidents were 12.5 percent buses, 24.75 percent pick-up vans,, covered vans and lorries, 5.2 percent private cars, jeeps and microbuses, 5.88 percent CNG-run auto-rickshaws, 27.32 percent motorbikes, 14.58 percent battery-run human haulers and 9.92 percent three-wheeler vehicles.</div><div><br></div><div>Of the accidents, 29.51 percent occurred on national highways, 38.61 on regional roads and 24.45 percent on roads. Besides, 5.22 percent accidents occurred in Dhaka city, 1.18 in Chattogram city and 1.01 percent on rail tracks.</div><div><br></div><div>The association blamed reckless driving, dangerous overtaking and movement of unfit vehicles, unskilled drivers and helpers, plying of slow-moving three-wheelers and human-haulers on highways, using headphones or mobile phones, using drugs, illegal occupation of footpaths, poor traffic management, and violation of traffic rules for the accidents and deaths. ‍Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 11:06:45', '2023-02-04 11:06:45'),
(4971, 4971, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The government has, so far, procured around 36,5000 tonnes of Aman rice during the current procurement drive in Khulna.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>As part of the ongoing nationwide Aman rice procurement drive, the government has procured the food grain from all 10 districts in Khulna division.</div><div><br></div><div>Md Abdus Salam, regional controller of food, said they procured around 36,508.90 tonnes of boiled rice at the rate of Taka 42 per kilogram till Wednesday last.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>He said the procurement drive of the newly harvested rice is going on in full-swing everywhere in the division that has created a high hope in ensuring food security.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Md Abdus Salam said the government has set a target of procuring over 65,860 tonnes of Aman rice from all 10 districts in Khulna division during the current season.</div><div><br></div><div>He said they will procure 8,224.64 tonnes of rice from the growers directly. Contracts have been signed with 734 millers for collecting 52,902.34 tonnes of boiled rice.</div><div><br></div><div>Under the procurement drive, the Food Department has been procuring rice at Taka 42 per kilogram since November 17 in 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>According to regional food controller office, a total of 5,185 tonnes of Aman rice has been procured in Khulna, 1,788.60 tonnes in Bagerhat, 5,724 tonnes in Satkhira, 5,609 tonnes in Jashore, 2,323.56 tonnes in Jhenaidah, 621 tonnes in Magura, 1,236 tonnes in Narail, 1,2519.87 tonnes in Kushtia, 1,466 tonnes in Chuadanga and 35 tonnes in Meherpur till February 1.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, procuring of the remaining boiled rice is going on in full swing everywhere in the division and it will be completed very soon, said Abdus Salam, adding that it generates seasonal employment opportunities for scores of unemployed people at present, reports BSS</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, tyranny of the middle man has reduced as the government is directly procuring rice, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 11:46:42', '2023-02-04 11:46:42'),
(4972, 4972, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP\'s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, BNP leaders and activists across the country will go on a march on February 11 to press home their 10-point demand, including resignation of the current government.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced at the party\'s rally in Nayapaltan at 5 pm.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul Islam said that the march is set to start at the union level across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The procession will be held at the union level, followed by the upazila level and then the district level, and finally in metropolitan areas,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 12:13:34', '2023-02-04 12:13:34'),
(4973, 4973, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">An all-time record 17.759-million kilograms (kg) of processed tea worth Taka 284 crore produced in five northern districts last year kept the regional agro-economy vibrant despite the global crises and Covid-19 pandemic.</span><br></b></div><div><b>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</b></div><div>Officials of Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) at its Panchagarh regional office said the last year\'s production of 17.759 million kgs of processed tea is higher by 3.219 million kgs against the production of 14.54 million kgs of the previous year 2021.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"Despite the global crises, tea cultivation on plain lands continued expanding in Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat districts last year,\" BTB\'s Development Officer Agriculturist Md. Amir Hossain told journalists on Saturday&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Owners of nine registered and 21 unregistered tea gardens and 8,355 small holders cultivated tea on 12,079 acres of land in these five districts and produced over 90.274-mn kgs of green tea leaves in 2022.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The 12,079 acres land area brought under tea farming in 2022 is higher by 645 acres against 11,434 acres of land in 2021 in these districts where farmers cultivated the cash crop in 10,170 acres of plain lands in 2020.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The produced 90.274-mn kgs of green tea leaves in 2022 is higher by 16.704-mn kgs against 73.57-mn kgs of green tea leaves produced in 2021.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"Following a visionary direction of the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her visit to Panchagarh in 1996, the then Deputy Commissioner Rabiul Islam planted tea saplings on Panchagarh Circuit House premises on experimental basis,\" Hossain added.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Getting good results, a BTB team conducted a feasibility study in Panchagarh and Thakurgaon districts in 1999 and found 16,000 hectares of land suitable for commercial basis tea cultivation.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"Tentulia Tea Company Limited (TTCL) first started commercial tea cultivation on plain lands in Tentulia upazila in 2000,\" said Hossain.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Later, other companies and local farmers started commercial tea farming in 2005 ushering in a new hope in the agro-economy alongside creating huge jobs for farm-labourers.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>A total of 25 companies operating in Panchagarh, Thakurgaon and Lalmonirhat processed the 90.274-mn kgs of green tea leaves producing 17.759-mn kgs of processed tea in 2022 which is 22.13 percent higher than the production in 2021.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>In 2022, the produced 17.759-mn kgs of processed tea in five northern districts stands at 18.92 percent against the total national production of 93.83-mn kgs.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"As per guidance of BTB Chairman Major General Md. Ashraful Islam, we are providing the latest technologies and training to farmers for further development of the tea industry on plain lands in the north,\" Hossain added.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Tea grower Shahinur Rahman of village Buraburi in Tentulia upazila of Panchagarh said he started `small-scale gardening-basis\' tea cultivation on his land seven years ago.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"I am now cultivating tea on 6.50 acres of land and selling green tea-leaves to tea processing companies to earn excellent profits,\" Rahman said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Farmers Ali Ahsan Prodhan of Sadar upazila and Matiar Rahman of Atwari upazila in Panchagarh said `small-scale gardening-basis\' tea cultivation on plain lands is increasing every year bringing fortunes to farmers.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"After getting repeated bumper output with lucrative prices every year, I am cultivating tea on about 60 acres of land now,\" Rahman added.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Tea-garden workers Rubi, Aklima, and Sabiha of Tentulia upazila said they are earning better wages from plucking green-tea leaves to lead a normal life despite the global crises and Covid-19 pandemic.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>President of Bangladesh Small Tea Garden Owners\' Association Amirul Haque Khokan said boosting tea cultivation is bringing lucrative profits to farmers alongside creating huge jobs improving the living standard of many people in five northern districts, reports BSS</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"Currently, over 30,000 people, including 18,000 women, are earning well from farm activities and plucking tea-leaves to lead a better life,\" Haque added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 13:07:54', '2023-02-04 13:07:54'),
(4974, 4974, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Friday called on Russia to respect its treaty with the United States on nuclear weapons, which contributes to international stability.</b></span><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>NATO ambassadors said in a statement that \"We note with concern that Russia has failed to comply with legally-binding obligations under the New START Treaty.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) was signed by Russia and the United States in 2010. The last remaining nuclear arms control treaty in force between the two nuclear superpowers can be extended by a maximum of five years with the consent of the two countries. Russia and the United States officially extended the treaty by five years on Feb. 3, 2021.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The ambassadors said that Russia\'s refusal to hold consultations or to allow U.S. inspections since last August \"prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the treaty, and undermines the United States\' ability to adequately verify Russian compliance with the treaty\'s central limits.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"We call on Russia to fulfil its obligations under the treaty by facilitating New START inspections on Russian territory, and by returning to participation in the treaty\'s implementation body,\" NATO said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Earlier this week, Moscow accused the United States of undermining the principles of implementing the treaty.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Moscow remains committed to the treaty but does not see the same commitment from Washington. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 13:13:04', '2023-02-04 13:13:04'),
(4975, 4975, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni on Saturday said major changes have been brought in the learning method and evaluation through launching the new curriculum.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“A section of people has been spreading falsehood and propaganda deliberately about the new curriculum and some mistakes in textbooks getting no other issues against the Sheikh Hasina government,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She made the remarks while talking to journalists after inaugurating the ‘Intra schools and madrashas athletics competition’ at Sheikh Kamal Stadium in the town in the morning.</div><div><br></div><div>Corrections will be made if mistakes are detected in the printed textbooks distributed across the country, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>In the new curriculum, the entire teaching and learning methods have been changed and students will be able to learn with joy, Dipu Moni said.</div><div><br></div><div>She said there should discussions over the qualitative changes in the new curriculum but those have been overlooked.</div><div><br></div><div>Deputy Commissioner Kamarul Hasan, Superintendent of Police Md Milon Mahmud and Additional DC Rasheda Akter were ,among others, present at the inaugural ceremony. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 13:17:05', '2023-02-04 13:17:05'),
(4976, 4976, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has dismissed the opposition BNP\'s principal demand of a non-party government to oversee the next elections, and said that although BNP is now pretending to be a systematic movement, if given the chance it would create anarchy again in the country.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"So Awami League leaders and activists must have to be careful,\" the minister said at a peace rally organised by the Chittagong Metropolitan Awami League at Andarkilla intersection in the city on Saturday (February 4) afternoon as a chief guest, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasan Mahmud said, \"BNP knows that they have no chance to win in the elections, so they have plotted many conspiracies. But no one will be allowed to create any kind of chaos in the country. If anyone tries to create chaos, Awami League will resist them with the people.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"There is no caretaker government anywhere in the world except Pakistan. BNP wants to follow Pakistan, but Bangladesh doesn\'t,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"As per the constitution, a fair and neutral election will be held in the country through the Election Commission under a government elected by people,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 16:21:01', '2023-02-04 16:21:01'),
(4977, 4977, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The first Chinese surveillance balloon that the Pentagon found flying over sensitive US ballistic missile sites may be guided by advanced artificial intelligence technology, a US expert said Friday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A second Chinese surveillance balloon was later spotted over Latin America, the Pentagon said, without specifying its exact location.</div><div><br></div><div>William Kim, a specialist in surveillance balloons at the Marathon Initiative think tank in Washington, told AFP that balloons are a valuable means of observation that are difficult to shoot down.</div><div>- Guided by AI? -</div><div><br></div><div>Kim said the first Chinese balloon looked like a normal weather balloon but with distinct characteristics.</div><div><br></div><div>It has a quite large, visible \"payload\" -- the electronics for guidance and collecting information, powered by large solar panels.</div><div><br></div><div>And it appears to have advanced steering technologies that the US military hasn\'t yet put in the air.</div><div><br></div><div>Artificial intelligence has made it possible for a balloon, just by reading the changes in the air around it, to adjust its altitude to guide it where it wants to go, Kim said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Before you either had to have a tether... or you just send it up and it just goes wherever the wind takes it,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"What\'s happened very recently with advances in AI is that you can have a balloon that... doesn\'t need its own motion system. Merely by adjusting the altitude it can control its direction.\"</div><div><br></div><div>That could also involve radio communications from its home base, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>But \"if the point of it is to monitor (intercontinental ballistic missile) silos, which is one of the theories... you wouldn\'t necessarily need to tell it to adjust its location,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>- What advantages over satellites? -</div><div><br></div><div>Kim said that as satellites become more vulnerable to being attacked from the Earth and space, balloons have distinct advantages.</div><div><br></div><div>Firstly, they don\'t easily show up on radars.</div><div><br></div><div>\"These are materials that don\'t reflect, they\'re not metal. So even though these balloons expand to quite large, detecting... the balloon itself is going to be a problem,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>And the payload, if small enough, can be overlooked.</div><div><br></div><div>Balloons also have the advantage of holding relatively stationary positions over a surveillance target, compared to constantly orbiting satellites used by spy agencies to take photographs.</div><div><br></div><div>\"These things can stay overhead, they can stay over one spot months at a time, compared to the low-Earth-orbit satellites,\" Kim said.</div><div><br></div><div>- Could it have entered US airspace by accident? -</div><div><br></div><div>Kim called it a \"real possibility\" that a Chinese balloon may have been intended to collect data from outside US boundaries or much higher but malfunctioned.</div><div><br></div><div>\"These balloons don\'t always work perfectly,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The balloons usually operate at altitudes of 65,000-100,000 feet (20-30 kilometers) , and this one is at around 46,000 feet, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"That\'s definitely a little low... If you wanted it to be harder to spot, if you want it to be harder to shoot down, then it would make sense to operate at higher altitudes.\"</div><div><br></div><div>- Why can\'t the US shoot it down? -</div><div><br></div><div>Shooting down a balloon is not as easy as it sounds, said Kim.</div><div><br></div><div>\"These balloons use helium... It\'s not the Hindenburg, you can\'t just shoot it and then and then it goes up in flames.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"If you do punch holes in it, it\'s just kind of going to leak out very slowly.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Kim recalled that in 1998 the Canadian air force sent up F-18 fighter jets to try and shoot down a rogue weather balloon.</div><div><br></div><div>\"They fired a thousand 20-millimeter cannon rounds into it. And it still took six days before it finally came down. These are not things that explode or pop when you shoot at them.\"</div><div><br></div><div>He said it was not clear if using surface-to-air missiles would work, because their guidance systems are designed to hit fast-moving missiles and aircraft. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 16:31:53', '2023-02-04 16:31:53'),
(4978, 4978, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Despite there being available seats under the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Jagannath University, they have to start new session classes leaving the available seats empty. Current students from those departments feel that these seats remain vacant because the students who have been allocated for the department change quota from the science unit are not interested in taking admission to those departments.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>According to them, if these seats allocated for science units were reduced and increased for students of arts and social science units,&nbsp; more students would have got the opportunity for admission in those departments.</div><div><br></div><div>According to sources, Jagannath University started the classes in the 2021-22 session with 190 seats vacant. Despite repeated notifications, it is difficult to get students in all the departments under Arts and Social Sciences. The teachers and students are blaming the clustering, and allotment of seats in arts and social science faculty for the students of the science unit.</div><div><br></div><div>Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Dr. Md Raees Uddin said, currently there are more seats allotted in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences for the students of the Science Unit, as a result of which the admission process is getting longer. This time, it is being considered to reduce the seats by discussing with the department chairmen.</div><div><br></div><div>Dean of Science Faculty Prof. Dr. Md. Shahjahan said, in the education process, the students of the Science Department should change their department and study humanities. However, whether 270 seats is more or not is not a matter of individual decision, what the administration decides through collective discussion will be done.</div><div><br></div><div>General Secretary of Jagannath University Teachers\' Association Professor Dr. Abul Kalam Md. Lutfar Rahman said that one vacant seat is a loss for the University and the country. If a student from the science department does not want to be admitted, the seat can be filled by a student from the humanities department, but it is not desirable to keep the seat vacant in any way.</div><div><br></div><div>According to information sources, several departments are thinking about reducing the seats. A decision will be taken after a collective discussion between the departmental chairmen.&nbsp;</div><div>by Mahamudur Rahman Najid</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-04 16:35:57', '2023-02-04 16:35:57');
