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');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4979, 4979, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The US has shot down a giant Chinese balloon that it says has been spying on key military sites across America.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Department of Defense confirmed its fighter jets brought down the balloon over US territorial waters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China\'s foreign ministry later expressed \"strong dissatisfaction and protest against the US\'s use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Footage on US TV networks showed the balloon falling to the sea after a small explosion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An F-22 jet fighter engaged the high-altitude balloon with one missile - an AIM-9X Sidewinder - and it went down about six nautical miles off the US coast at 14:39 EST (19:39 GMT), a defence official told reporters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Defence officials told US media the debris landed in 47ft (14m) of water - shallower than they had expected - near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military is now trying to recover debris which is spread over seven miles (11km). Two naval ships, including one with a heavy crane for recovery, are in the area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US President Joe Biden had been under pressure to shoot the balloon down since defence officials first announced they were tracking it on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the balloon was shot down, Mr Biden said: \"They successfully took it down, and I want to compliment our aviators who did it.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement a few hours later, the Chinese foreign ministry said: \"The Chinese side has repeatedly informed the US side after verification that the airship is for civilian use and entered the US due to force majeure - it was completely an accident.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The discovery of the balloon set off a diplomatic crisis, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken immediately calling off this weekend\'s trip to China over the \"irresponsible act\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Chinese authorities have denied it is a spying aircraft, and instead said it was a weather ship blown astray.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reacting to the incident, Taiwan\'s foreign ministry said in a statement: \"The Chinese Communist Party government\'s actions that violate international law and violate the airspace and sovereignty of other countries should not be tolerated in a civilised international community.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China considers self-ruled Taiwan a breakaway province that will eventually be under Beijing\'s control. President Xi Jinping has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve this.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Taiwan sees itself as independent, with its own constitution and democratically-elected leaders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Biden first approved the plan to down the balloon on Wednesday, but the Pentagon said it had decided to wait until the object was over water so as not to put people on the ground at undue risk.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Groundwork for the operation was laid when the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) briefly paused all civilian flights at three airports around the South Carolina coast on Saturday afternoon because of a \"national security effort\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The coast guard also advised mariners to leave the area due to military operations \"that present a significant hazard\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An eyewitness on the coast, Hayley Walsh, told BBC News she saw three fighter jets circling before the missile was fired, then \"we heard a huge boom, the house shook\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One senior military official told CNN the recovery of debris should be \"fairly easy\" and could take \"relatively short time\". The official added that \"capable Navy divers\" could be deployed to assist in the operation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Defence officials also revealed on Saturday the balloon had first entered US airspace on 28 January, before moving to Canadian airspace three days later, and re-entering the US on 31 January. The object was spotted in the US state of Montana, which is home to a number of sensitive nuclear missile sites.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Relations between China and the US have been exacerbated by the incident, with the Pentagon calling it an \"unacceptable violation\" of US sovereignty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Blinken - America\'s top diplomat - told Beijing it was \"an irresponsible act\" ahead of his now-cancelled trip on 5-6 February - it would have been the first such high level US-China meeting there in years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But China sought to play down the cancellation of his visit, saying in a statement on Saturday that neither side had formally announced a plan for a trip.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China\'s foreign ministry said Beijing \"would not accept any groundless conjecture or hype\" and accused \"some politicians and media in the United States\" of using the incident \"as a pretext to attack and smear China.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Friday, the Pentagon said a second Chinese spy balloon had been spotted - this time over Latin America with reported sightings over Costa Rica and Venezuela.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China has so far made no public comments on the reported second balloon. 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, '2023-02-05 02:13:31', '2023-02-05 02:13:31'),
(4980, 4980, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">As Wolverhampton Wanderers closed out the final few minutes of Saturday\'s hugely impressive dismantling of Liverpool, their fans responded to a lengthy spell of passing with chants of \"ole\".</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In recent seasons, that is something Reds fans were often able to inflict on their opponents - but those days feel like a long time ago as a season of disappointment continues.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If a 3-0 loss at Brighton last month felt like a significant low, then this 3-0 defeat at Molineux was arguably worse. After all, the Seagulls are chasing a top-seven finish while Wolves started Saturday in the relegation zone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This latest defeat also marked the first time since 2012 that Liverpool have lost three successive away games in the Premier League. Since the turn of the year, they have conceded nine goals in four games and scored just one - hardly ideal form with the Merseyside derby up next.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have to change it immediately in the next game,\" accepted boss Jurgen Klopp.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Everton won today and they are in a good moment so we have to prove a point again.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The defeat leaves Liverpool in 10th, 11 points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For Klopp, the damage done against Wolves was self-inflicted with a dreadful opening.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The home side, energetic and confident from the outset, capitalised on Liverpool\'s lethargic start to take the lead after five minutes. Hwang Hee-chan was allowed to get in behind on the right and his drilled cross deflected off Joel Matip into the back of the net.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While there was an element of bad luck about the opener, awful defending led to the second goal seven minutes later as Liverpool failed to clear inside their own box, allowing Wolves debutant Craig Dawson to drive in.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Those mistakes led to goals, but there were plenty of other examples of error-ridden play by Liverpool in that nightmare start.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We caused the misery with the first 12 minutes,\" lamented a frustrated-looking Klopp in the post-match news conference. \"It cannot happen.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added: \"In a game like this it is not allowed. You can criticise and judge us and you are probably right because those 12 minutes are not allowed.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Problems in all areas</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Much has been made of Liverpool\'s struggles this season stemming from their midfield, an area the Reds have not strengthened in either of the last two transfer windows.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the defence and attack have also been well below par this campaign, despite the latter area having been significantly strengthened.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Injuries, of course, have not helped, but Saturday\'s dreadful start was reminiscent of Liverpool\'s performances early in the campaign - when they conceded the opening goal in five of their first seven games.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Reds have now conceded three goals in each of their past three away games in the Premier League - at Brentford, Brighton and now Wolves - with the latest treble meaning they have conceded more goals (28 in 20 games) than they did in the whole of last season (26 in 38 games).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Liverpool did finish last year with four wins in a row, so have the capability to turn things around, but need their attack to start scoring again, having managed just one goal in their past 360 minutes of Premier League football.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Asked if he still believes in his players to rediscover the form that saw them challenge for multiple trophies last season, Klopp said: \"I don\'t lose confidence in the boys but we have to improve and that is what we are working on.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\'Sacked in the morning\' - can Klopp turn it around?</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Towards the end of Saturday\'s game, Wolves fans took great joy in taunting Klopp with chants of \"you\'re getting sacked in the morning\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was tongue in cheek but Klopp is certainly facing the most difficult challenge of his eight years at Anfield.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"For fans to be calling for Klopp\'s head is just funny,\" former Everton and Scotland forward James McFadden said on BBC Radio 5 Live.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Look at the job he has done at that club. The season hasn\'t even finished and already they are calling it a disappointment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Jurgen Klopp is a brilliant manager, as much as it pains me to say it with my Everton connections, but he obviously has enough in the bank to turn this around.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Liverpool face Everton at Anfield on 13 February, and a victory in that game could provide the boost they need to resurrect their fortunes. Eight days later they host holders Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, a repeat of last year\'s final.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Asked if he believes in his own ability to turn things around for the Reds, Klopp responded: \"Yes. Absolutely.\"&nbsp; BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 02:17:46', '2023-02-05 02:17:46'),
(4981, 4981, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Oscar-nominated screenwriter Hanif Kureishi has told the BBC he \"saw death\" after being paralysed following a fall in December.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The award-winning author of My Beautiful Laundrette and The Buddha of Suburbia fell while on holiday in Rome on Boxing Day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The episode left him unable to move his arms and legs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In his first international broadcast interview, he told the World Service\'s Newshour how his life has changed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I saw Death; Death was chattering to me\" he told me, convinced he was going to die, and said he wanted to video-call his children to say goodbye, but was persuaded against it by his girlfriend, Isabella D\'Amico.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He eluded death but is now learning to live with his transformed circumstances. He has some feeling in his arms and legs but can\'t do anything.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A physiotherapist says he may be able to hold and use a fork in a few weeks. And then there is the surprise of a new and growing audience for his work: millions of people are reading the words he is dictating on his blog, about what has happened to him, but also what he is learning about himself and the human condition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He has never written like this before, preferring writing in a book with a fountain pen, and a computer for re-writes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Now, he dictates his thoughts and has been amazed by the response; an accident that came out of an accident.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He says he has often felt alone and sleeps little, listening to the World Service, BBC Radio 3 and 4, and has had some comfort from knowing people like his writing and are rooting for him, in the midst of what he describes as despair, all the time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The words he has been dictating have been life-affirming, dark, funny and alive to his reality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And shifted what he thinks about disabled people: \"Suddenly, I walked through the door of sickness, and I have been transformed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I had never really thought about the condition of disabled people and now I know. There isn\'t a family in the world that will not have some experience of a disabled person.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are living in a world of agony and pain that I never knew existed, and I want to see the world from these people\'s point of view.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I also want to set up a charity for writers who are disabled, called Metamorphosis, after the Kafka novel.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His friend the writer Salman Rushdie, who was attacked at a literary event in the summer last year, is in touch with him, regularly, sending amusing texts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Kureishi, Rushdie does not talk about what happened to him, saying that he\'s very private.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Whereas, I do talk about what happened to me. I need to remember my identity as a writer, in the only way I can.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When I asked him if he was a patient, he said he wasn\'t. But he had to be.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">What he wants is for his hands to come back, so he can write and type. They will, he thinks, but it could take six months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He says of that question that sick people often ask themselves - why me? - the simple answer came from a school friend: why not me?</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">What makes any of us think that we will be the exception, that illness will not strike us down?</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kureishi, who is nearly 70, says he is grateful that it has happened to him towards the end of his life. 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, '2023-02-05 03:51:12', '2023-02-05 03:51:12'),
(4982, 4982, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Liz Truss has said she was never given a \"realistic chance\" to implement her radical tax-cutting agenda by her party.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a 4,000-word essay in the Sunday Telegraph, Ms Truss stood by her plans to boost economic growth, arguing they were brought down by \"the left-wing economic establishment\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They are the first public comments the ex-PM has made on her resignation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But she said she was not \"blameless\" for the unravelling of the mini-budget.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ms Truss was forced to quit after she and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng\'s £45bn package of unfunded tax cuts panicked the markets and tanked the pound to a record low.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Her brief time in power - 49 days - made her the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ms Truss said that while her experience last autumn was \"bruising for me personally\", she believed that over the medium term her policies would have increased growth and therefore brought down debt.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ex-PM said she had not been warned of the risks to the bond markets from liability-driven investments (LDIs) - bought up by pension funds - due to the mini-budget, which forced the Bank of England to step in to prevent them collapsing as the cost of government borrowing soared.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The government did not tell the Bank of England about its tax cut plans before the mini-budget, one of its deputy governors said at the time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the ex-PM argued that the government was made a \"scapegoat\" for developments that had been brewing for some time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She wrote: \"While the government was focused on investigating what had happened and taking action to remedy the situation, political and media commentators cast an immediate verdict blaming the mini-budget.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Frankly, we were also pushing water uphill. Large parts of the media and the wider public sphere had become unfamiliar with key arguments about tax and economic policy and over time sentiment had shifted leftwards.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Regrettably, the government became a useful scapegoat for problems that had been brewing over a number of months.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After 100 days of \"soul searching\" we have a version of events from the shortest serving UK Prime Minister in history.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is Liz Truss\'s catastrophic time in office, described and defended in her own words.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At some length, she attempts to argue her case and answer for her actions. There is reflection and regret but not the apology which many might expect.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">What burns through this 4000 word essay is a sense from Liz Truss that almost everything was against her as she makes a case for what might have been.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The system, officials, Conservative MPs all played a part, she argues, in stopping her from achieving her aim of economic growth through tax cuts and de-regulation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are breath taking reminders of how high the stakes were as her policies sent shockwaves through the economy - Kwasi Kwarteng had to go to avoid \"a serious meltdown for the UK\" and \"the starkest of warnings\" came from officials that the country may have to default on its debt.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite her downfall, Liz Truss argues many still share her enthusiasm for what she was trying to achieve.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">1px transparent line</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And as Conservatives engage in open debate about whether her successor Rishi Sunak should move to cut taxes more quickly, she\'s promised more to come.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also said she had not appreciated the strength of the resistance she would face to her plans - including plans to abolish the 45p top rate of income tax.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I assumed upon entering Downing Street that my mandate would be respected and accepted. How wrong I was. While I anticipated resistance to my programme from the system, I underestimated the extent of it,\" she writes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Kwarteng dropped the 45p income tax proposals 10 days after they were announced, telling the BBC it was \"a massive distraction on what was a strong package\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Less than a fortnight later, Ms Truss sacked Mr Kwarteng, something she said she was \"deeply disturbed by\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Kwasi Kwarteng had put together a brave package that was genuinely transformative - he is an original thinker and a great advocate for Conservative ideas. But at this point, it was clear that the policy agenda could not survive and my priority had to be avoiding a serious meltdown for the UK,\" she wrote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the benefit of hindsight, she writes that she would have acted differently during her premiership - but she still backs her plans for growth.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I have lost track of how many people have written to me or approached me since leaving Downing Street to say that they believe my diagnosis of the problems causing our country\'s economic lethargy was correct and that they shared my enthusiasm for the solutions I was proposing,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"While I regret that I wasn\'t able to implement my full programme, I am still optimistic for the future, with the United Kingdom now able to steer its own course as a free nation.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While Liz Truss resigned as prime minister, she is still serving in parliament as the MP for South West Norfolk. 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, '2023-02-05 03:57:04', '2023-02-05 03:57:04'),
(4983, 4983, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka ranked worst in the AQI index with a score of 239 at 08:55 am today.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The air was classified as ‘very unhealthy’.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy’ while 201–300 is ‘‘very unhealthy’, and 301–400 is \'hazardous\', posing severe health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India’s Mumbai and China’s Chengdu occupied the second and third spots in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air, with scores of 199 and 197, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 04:09:32', '2023-02-05 04:09:32'),
(4984, 4984, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Most wealthy Gulf Arab nations followed Saudi Arabia’s lead in recent years and ostracized crisis-hit Lebanon because of the growing influence of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. The exception was Qatar.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Doha has been silently expanding its influence in Lebanon. It continued receiving Lebanese leaders and pumped tens millions of dollars into helping the country’s armed forces amid a historic economic meltdown.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The small, gas-rich nation in late January began seeing the fruits of its investment, when state-owned Qatar Energy replaced a Russian firm in an international consortium that will search for gas in the Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon’s coast.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And on Monday, Qatar will for the first time join a meeting in Paris along with officials from France, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. for discussions focusing on Lebanon’s political and economic crises.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Qatar portrays itself as a more neutral force in a country where for decades outside powers have used Lebanon’s sectarian divisions to fight their proxy battles. Saudi Arabia long backed Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim factions and tried to push out Iran’s influence through Shiite Hezbollah. The rivalry repeatedly pushed Lebanon to the brink of armed conflict.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Qatar, which has good ties with Iran, has been trying to advance negotiations between Tehran and Gulf nations. Its inclusion in the upcoming talks “is a signal that Iran will not be completely left out of that meeting and a recognition of the influence that Tehran has over Lebanon,” said Mohamad Bazzi, a professor and director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“With Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states less heavily involved in Lebanon, Qatar is trying to revive its mediator role in the country,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Still, Qatar – one of the richest countries in the world with its natural gas wealth – so far “has shown little sign of being willing to bail out Lebanon on its own,” Bazzi said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since late 2019, Lebanon’s economy has collapsed under the weight of widespread corruption and mismanagement. The currency has lost more than 90% of its value, throwing most of the population into poverty. International donors, including Qatar, have been demanding the government implement reforms to release some $11 billion in loans and grants. But Lebanon’s politicians have resisted because reforms would weaken their grip in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Qatar’s involvement in Lebanon is not new.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, Qatar helped rebuild several towns and villages that suffered major destruction in southern Lebanon. Giant billboards with signs reading “Thank You Qatar” popped up around Lebanon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In May 2008, after Hezbollah and its allies battled their Western-backed rivals in Beirut’s worst fighting since the 1975-90 civil war, Lebanese political leaders flew to Qatar, where they reached a deal known as the “Doha Agreement.” The deal ended an 18-month deadlock and brought the election of a new president and formation of a new government. In the calm that followed, massive foreign investment flowed in, and Lebanon’s economy grew at an average of 9% for three years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In December 2018, then-President Michel Aoun inaugurated the newly rehabilitated Lebanese National Library in Beirut, funded by Qatar at a cost of $25 million. The current emir’s mother, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser al-Missned, had laid the foundation stone for the project in the heart of Beirut in 2009.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Saudi Arabia pulled back from Lebanon in recent years as Hezbollah’s power grew. Last year, the main Saudi ally in Lebanon, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a dual Lebanese-Saudi citizen, announced he is suspending his work in politics.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2020, Riyadh banned imports of Lebanese products after a Lebanese official derided the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. Several other Gulf countries followed suit, but Qatar did not.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Qatar doubled down on its investment as Lebanon’s economy melted down.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Qatari investors bought the famous Beirut Le Vendome hotel overlooking the Mediterranean in 2020. There are reports that Doha plans to pump money into Lebanon’s struggling banking sector to buy one of the country’s lenders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In June, Qatar donated $60 million to support the salaries of members of the Lebanese army. It was already supporting the army with monthly supplies of food. Strengthening Lebanon’s military has long been a policy of the United States, which sees the force as a counterbalance to Hezbollah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A week ago, three months after Lebanon and Israel signed a U.S.-mediated maritime border agreement, Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi joined Lebanese officials in Beirut for a ceremony inking an agreement for Qatar to take a 30% share in a consortium for oil and gas exploration in Lebanese waters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“For us in Qatar, this important agreement gives us an opportunity to support economic developments in Lebanon during this critical turn,” al-Kaabi said at the event. “Qatar is always present to support a better future for Lebanon and its people.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the agreement, Qatar Energy will take over the 20% stake vacated by Russia’s Novatek in addition to 5% each from Italy’s giant ENI and France’s TotalEnergies leaving the Arab company with a stake of 30%. Total and ENI will have 35% stakes each.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This is a win-win situation for Lebanon and Qatar,” said Lebanon’s former energy minister, Cesar Abi Khalil. Qatar gets a stake in the possible gas resources in Lebanese waters, while Lebanon gets the credibility of a Qatari company in the project.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the political field, Qatar has not openly backed any party. But it reportedly supports the Lebanese Army commander, Gen. Joseph Aoun, to become the country’s next president. Aoun, who is not related to the outgoing president, was invited to visit Qatar in December and met with high-level officials. Hezbollah is believed to oppose him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As it often does, Qatar is advancing its economic and political interests together, said Lebanese economist Antoine Farah. It is ensuring income from its investments while gaining a political role in the country where it invests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Ali Hamade, a journalist with the Lebanese daily An-Nahar, said Qatar, like other Gulf nations, will want to see Lebanon’s political leaders enact serious reforms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Lebanon should help itself in order for Arabs to help Lebanon. Lebanese politicians cannot sit and wait for money to rain from the sky,” Hamade said. 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, '2023-02-05 04:55:47', '2023-02-05 04:55:47'),
(4985, 4985, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Moderate to thick fog may occur at places over the river basins and light to moderate fog may occur elsewhere over the country — from late night to Monday morning.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy skies across the country, Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said in its bulletin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Night and day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The lowest temperature in the country was recorded at 10.8 degrees Celsius in Chuadanga district, in 24 hours till 6 am today. The highest temperature was recorded at 31 degrees Celsius in Teknaf during this time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A ridge of sub-continental high extends up to India’s Bihar and adjoining areas. Seasonal low lies over south Bay. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 05:37:57', '2023-02-05 05:37:57'),
(4986, 4986, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukraine fought off a fresh Russian assault on the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut, its leaders said Saturday, as it endured a fresh wave of shelling in the disputed Donetsk region.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials meanwhile recovered the bodies of two British volunteers, killed trying to help evacuate people from the eastern warzone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And the southern city of Odesa suffered a massive power cut affecting half a million households after an accident at a war-damaged electrical substation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This week, the Russian occupation forces threw all their efforts into breaking through our defence and encircling Bakhmut, and launched a powerful offensive in the Lyman sector,\" said Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"But thanks to the resilience of our soldiers, they did not succeed.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine\'s border guard service reported that its soldiers had stopped the latest attack, killing four and wounding seven of the opposing forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia unleashed a fresh wave of bombardment across the eastern front lines Saturday morning. Ukrainian officials reported shelling in the Chernigiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv Lugansk, Donetsk and Mykolaiv regions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In his evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that the situation was getting tougher.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia, he said, was \"throwing more and more of its forces at breaking down our defence\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is very difficult now in Bakhmut, Vugledar, Lyman and other areas,\" he added, referring to the frontline cities in the east of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">France, Italy and the United States on Friday all promised fresh deliveries of weapons to Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Germany\'s leader said in an interview Sunday there was agreement that weapons supplied by the West would not be used to attack Russian territory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There is a consensus on this point,\" Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with the weekly Bild am Sonntag.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kyiv, while expressing its gratitude for the pledged weapons, is already pressing for more, including fighter jets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Foreign casualties -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials in Kyiv said Saturday that the bodies of the two Britons killed while trying to help people evacuate from the eastern warzone had been recovered in a prisoner swap.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chris Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 47, were undertaking voluntary work in Soledar, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, when their vehicle was reportedly hit by a shell.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Their bodies were returned to Ukraine authorities as part of a wider exchange, in which Kyiv got 116 prisoners and Russia 63.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We managed to return the bodies of the dead foreign volunteers,\" said Zelensky\'s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, naming them as the two British men.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Concern had grown about their fates after the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which helped capture Soledar from Ukrainian forces, said on January 11 that one of the missing men\'s bodies had been found there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had also published online photographs of passports that appeared to belong to Parry and Bagshaw, which he claimed were found with the corpses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Friday, news emerged of the death of an American medic killed in Bakhmut when his evacuation vehicle was hit by a missile.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Global Outreach Doctors, with whom he was working, said 33-year-old Pete Reed was a former US Marine Corps rifleman who also worked as a paramedic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Odesa power cut hit hundreds of thousands of people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"As of today, almost 500,000 customers have no electricity supply,\" said Maksym Marchenko, of the Odesa regional administration. Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said that came to \"about a third of consumers\" there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The situation is complex, the scale of the accident is significant,\" Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said on messaging app Telegram.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukrenergo, the country\'s energy operator, reported an accident at a substation supplying both the city and the region of Odesa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The power network there had been gradually degraded by repeated Russian bombardment in recent months, it added: \"As a result, the reliability of power supply in the region has decreased.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Fresh embargo -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Sunday, Russia faces a fresh turn of the sanctions screw, with an embargo on ship deliveries of its refined oil products.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The European Union, the Group of Seven industrialised nations and Australia will cap the price of Moscow\'s refined oil products.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Already in December, the EU imposed an embargo on Russian crude oil coming into the bloc by sea and -- with its G7 partners -- imposed a $60-per-barrel cap on Russian crude exports to other parts of the world.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new embargo and price caps starting Sunday will target Russian refined oil products such as petrol, diesel and heating fuel arriving on ships.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Kremlin has warned that the measures will destabilise world markets. 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, '2023-02-05 05:47:47', '2023-02-05 05:47:47');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4987, 4987, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Lionel Messi scored a superb second-half winner as a Paris Saint-Germain side missing the injured Kylian Mbappe and Neymar came from behind to beat Toulouse 2-1 on Saturday and consolidate their lead at the top of Ligue 1.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dutch midfielder Branco van den Boomen gave mid-table Toulouse the lead at the Parc des Princes from a 20th-minute free-kick, only for Achraf Hakimi to curl in the equaliser with half-time approaching.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi then put PSG in front just before the hour mark with a glorious first-time strike on his left foot low into the corner of the net from just outside the area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was Messi\'s 10th Ligue 1 goal of the season and his 15th for his club this campaign, as the World Cup winner stepped up in the absence of PSG\'s two other superstar attackers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Qatar-owned club are now eight points clear at the top of the table from Marseille, who play Nice on Sunday and then host PSG in the French Cup last 16 in midweek.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mbappe will miss that game and the Champions League last-16 first leg against Bayern Munich on February 14 after being ruled out for three weeks with a thigh injury suffered in the 3-1 win at Montpellier last Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Neymar missed a second successive game with an apparently minor adductor problem, meaning it was left to Messi to lead the attack alongside the 20-year-old Hugo Ekitike with support from Vitinha and Carlos Soler.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- More injury problems -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Christophe Galtier\'s side have other issues, with Sergio Ramos unable to play, Marco Verratti suspended, and Renato Sanches forced to come off in tears just 12 minutes into the game.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Leo is holding the team together,\" Galtier told broadcaster Amazon Prime.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is not just two players we are missing. There is Kylian and \'Ney\' but also Marco Verratti and Sergio Ramos.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He takes on the role of leader naturally, and he did so in midweek too. He was so important to the way we played. He takes the initiative. We need to give him the ball even more.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Portugal midfielder Sanches was starting for just the fifth time since joining from Lille at the start of the season but had to come off with what looked like a hamstring injury.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was replaced by teenage defender El Chadaille Bitshiabu, with Danilo Pereira moving up into the midfield, and the substitute was partly responsible when PSG fell behind.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bitshiabu was booked for bringing down Zakaria Aboukhlal 25 metres from goal, and Van den Boomen sent the resulting free-kick low into the left corner of the net with Gianluigi Donnarumma beaten.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi hit the post from a corner and Toulouse had another goal disallowed for offside before the home side drew level seven minutes from half-time as Hakimi collected a Soler pass, cut in from the right flank and curled a shot on his left foot into the far corner from 20 metres.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hakimi then turned provider as he set up Messi to make it 2-1 on 58 minutes, the goal standing despite Toulouse coach Philippe Montanier feeling it should have been disallowed as Marquinhos blocked the goalkeeper\'s view while in an offside position.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Wins for Lyon, Lille -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The outcome was rarely in doubt after that with PSG -- who have had some recent wobbles -- deserved winners.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Anthony Rouault did force a good save from Donnarumma deep into injury time before Messi hit the post again right at the death.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile Rennes missed out on an 11th consecutive home league win as they went down 3-1 to fellow European hopefuls Lille.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amine Gouiri put the home side ahead inside 30 seconds but Edon Zhegrova, Remy Cabella and on-loan Everton midfielder Andre Gomes all scored in the second half for sixth-placed Lille, who are now just two points behind Rennes in fifth.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Elsewhere, Lyon boosted their outside hopes of European qualification with a 3-1 win at Troyes in which Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki both scored before Alexandre Lacazette netted his 16th goal of the season. 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, '2023-02-05 05:57:27', '2023-02-05 05:57:27'),
(4988, 4988, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Some 89.30 percent of the targeted 1,76,10,956 people of all eight districts in Rangpur have so far been vaccinated with the first doses of Covid-19 jabs.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Till Saturday, 1,53,99,277 persons or 89.30 percent against the targeted people got the first doses of Covid-19 jabs, and among them, 1,44,95,556 people or 82.31 percent got the second doses,\" Divisional Director (Health) Dr. ABM Abu Hanif said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the same time, 69,24,884 persons have been vaccinated with the booster doses and 2,12,303 people with the fourth doses of Covid-19 jabs in the division.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, more 16,187 doses of Covid-19 jabs were administered on Saturday as the first, second, booster and fourth doses raising the total number of vaccinated jabs to three crore 73 lakh 59 thousand and 189 doses in the division.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The total number of Covid-19 patients remained steady at 64,955 as no fresh Covid-19 cases were diagnosed after testing new samples on Saturday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The number of recovered Covid-19 patients remained steady at 63,662 as no more patients healed during the last 24 hours ending at 8 am today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Besides, the number of casualties also remained steady at 1,293 as no new death was reported during the last 24 hours,\" Dr. Hanif added. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 06:19:18', '2023-02-05 06:19:18'),
(4989, 4989, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today inaugurated the newly constructed 12-storey building of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at Agargaon of Sher-e Bangla Nagar in the city.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She inaugurated the new Revenue Building through unveiling its plaque this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After inaugurating the building, the Prime Minister went round its different sections.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Internal Resources Division Senior Secretary and National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem and its Member Dr Abdul Mannan Shikder were present, among others.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the opening of the new building, the NBR has got a new establishment with all modern facilities after 50 years of its inception.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Public Works Department constructed the most modern and eye-catching building at a cost of Taka 412 crore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The building has an eco-friendly central air conditioning system, eight elevators, a 510-seat multipurpose hall, a revenue archive, a library, a record room and a central data processing centre and server space.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, it has a computer lab, training centre as well as other facilities like a full-time generator, building management system, access control security system, entry and exit for the physically challenged and senior citizens, cafeteria, day-care centre, media centre and separate prayer rooms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Each of the floors of the building has about 46,000 square feet of space, which is the largest floor space among all buildings in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Already many of the units, including Large Taxpayers Units (LTU) under VAT and the Income Tax wing of NBR, started shifting to the new building. The Tax Appellate Tribunal started its office on January 1, 2023 there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All shifting is set to be completed by the middle of February. From March 1, 2023, the revenue board will fully start office in the new building of NBR, official sources said. 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, '2023-02-05 06:25:24', '2023-02-05 08:07:20'),
(4990, 4990, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russian President Vladimir Putin did not threaten \"either me or Germany\" during telephone talks, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"No, Putin did not threaten either me or Germany,\" Scholz said. \"Absolutely different points of view\" of the current situation in Ukraine are traced very clearly in telephone conversations with the Russian leader, the German Chancellor noted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Germany will keep a cool head and continue weighing in all the decisions in the future,\" Scholz noted, referring to the issue of tanks supplies to Kiev. \"All the other things would be careless and extremely dangerous,\" the Chancellor said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;\"The consensus is in place in this regard,\" he added, answering the question whether there had been an agreement with the Ukrainian president that the Western weapons would be used on the territory of Ukraine only. TASS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 06:54:36', '2023-02-05 06:54:36'),
(4991, 4991, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup and later led a reluctant Pakistan into aiding the U.S. war in Afghanistan against the same Taliban fighters his nation murkily backed even as Islamic militants twice targeted him for assassination, has died, an official said Sunday. He was 79.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musharraf, a former special forces commando, became president through the last of a string of military coups that roiled Pakistan since its founding amid the bloody 1947 partition of India. He ruled the nuclear-armed state after his 1999 coup through tensions with India, an atomic proliferation scandal and an Islamic extremist insurgency. He stepped down in 2008 while facing possible impeachment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later in life, Musharraf lived in self-imposed exile in Dubai to avoid criminal charges, despite attempting a political comeback in 2012. But it wasn’t to be as his poor health plagued his last years. He maintained a soldier’s fatalism after avoiding a violent death that always seemed to be stalking him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I have confronted death and defied it several times in the past because destiny and fate have always smiled on me,” Musharraf once wrote. “I only pray that I have more than the proverbial nine lives of a cat.” Musharraf’s family announced in June 2022 that he had been hospitalized for weeks while suffering from amyloidosis, an incurable condition that sees proteins build up in the body’s organs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Going through a difficult stage where recovery is not possible and organs are malfunctioning,” the family said. They later said he also needed access to the drug daratumumab, which is used to treat multiple myeloma. That bone marrow cancer can cause amyloidosis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shazia Siraj, a spokeswoman for the Pakistani Consulate in Dubai, confirmed his death and said diplomats were providing support to his family.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pakistan, a nation nearly twice the size of California along the Arabian Sea, is now home to 220 million people. But it would be its border with Afghanistan that would soon draw the U.S.′ attention and dominate Musharraf’s life a little under two years after he seized power.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden launched the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks from Afghanistan, sheltered by the country’s Taliban rulers. Musharraf knew what would come next.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“America was sure to react violently, like a wounded bear,” he wrote in his autobiography. “If the perpetrator turned out to be al-Qaida, then that wounded bear would come charging straight toward us.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Sept. 12, then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Musharraf that Pakistan would either be “with us or against us.” Musharraf said another American official threatened to bomb Pakistan ”back into the Stone Age” if it chose the latter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musharraf chose the former. A month later, he stood by then-President George W. Bush at the Waldorf Astoria in New York to declare Pakistan’s unwavering support to fight with the United States against “terrorism in all its forms wherever it exists.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pakistan became a crucial transit point for NATO supplies head to landlocked Afghanistan. That was the case even though Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency had backed the Taliban after it swept into power in Afghanistan in 1994. Prior to that, the CIA and others funneled money and arms through the ISI to Islamic fighters battling the 1980s Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan saw Taliban fighters flee over the border back into Pakistan, including bin Laden, whom the U.S. would kill in 2011 at a compound in Abbottabad. They regrouped and the offshoot Pakistani Taliban emerged, beginning a yearslong insurgency in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The CIA began flying armed Predator drones from Pakistan with Musharraf’s blessing, using an airstrip built by the founding president of the United Arab Emirates for falconing in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The program helped beat back the militants but saw over 400 strikes in Pakistan alone kill at least 2,366 people — including 245 civilians, according to the Washington-based New America Foundation think tank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though Pakistan under Musharraf launched these operations, the militants still thrived as billions of American dollars flowed into the nation. That led to suspicion that still plagues the U.S. relationship with Pakistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“After 9/11, then President Musharraf made a strategic shift to abandon the Taliban and support the U.S. in the war on terror, but neither side believes the other has lived up to expectations flowing from that decision,” a 2009 U.S. cable from then-Ambassador Anne Patterson published by WikiLeaks said, describing what had become the diplomatic equivalent of a loveless marriage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The relationship is one of co-dependency we grudgingly admit — Pakistan knows the U.S. cannot afford to walk away; the U.S. knows Pakistan cannot survive without our support.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But it would be Musharraf’s life on the line. Militants tried to assassinate Musharraf twice in 2003 by targeting his convoy, first with a bomb planted on a bridge and then with car bombs. That second attack saw Musharraf’s vehicle lifted into the air by the blast before touching the ground again. It raced to safety on just its rims, Musharraf pulling a Glock pistol in case he needed to fight his way out.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It wasn’t until his wife, Sehba, saw the car covered in gore that the scale of the attack dawned on him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“She is always calm in the face of danger,” he recounted. But then, “she was screaming uncontrollably, hysterically.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Born Aug. 11, 1943, in New Delhi, India, Musharraf was the middle son of a diplomat. His family joined millions of other Muslims in fleeing westward when predominantly Hindu India and Islamic Pakistan split during independence from Britain in 1947. The partition saw hundreds of thousands of people killed in riots and fighting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musharraf entered the Pakistani army at age 18 and made his career there as Islamabad fought three wars against India. He’d launch his own attempt at seizing territory in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir in 1999 just before seizing power from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sharif had ordered Musharraf’s dismissal as the army chief flew home from a visit to Sri Lanka and denied his plane landing rights in Pakistan, even as it ran low on fuel. On the ground, the army seized control and after he landed Musharraf took charge.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yet as ruler, Musharraf nearly reached a deal with India on Kashmir, according to U.S. diplomats at the time. He also worked toward a rapprochement with Pakistan’s longtime rival.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another major scandal emerged under his rule when the world discovered that famed Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, long associated with the country’s atomic bomb, had been selling centrifuge designs and other secrets to countries including Iran, Libya and North Korea, making tens of millions of dollars. Those designs helped Pyongyang to arm itself with a nuclear weapon, while centrifuges from Khan’s designs still spin in Iran amid the collapse of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musharraf said he suspected Khan but it wasn’t until 2003 when then-CIA director George Tenet showed him detailed plans for a Pakistani centrifuge that the scientist had been selling that he realized the severity of what happened.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Khan would confess on state television in 2004 and Musharraf would pardon him, though he’d be confined to house arrest after that.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“For years, A.Q.’s lavish lifestyle and tales of his wealth, properties, corrupt practices and financial magnanimity at state expense were generally all too well known in Islamabad’s social and government circles,” Musharraf later wrote. “However, these were largely ignored. ... In hindsight that neglect was apparently a serious mistake.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musharraf’s domestic support eventually eroded. He held flawed elections in late 2002 — only after changing the constitution to give himself sweeping powers to sack the prime minister and parliament. He then reneged on a promise to stand down as army chief by the end of 2004.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Militant anger toward Musharraf increased in 2007 when he ordered a raid against the Red Mosque in downtown Islamabad. It had become a sanctuary for militants opposed to Pakistan’s support of the Afghan war. The weeklong operation killed over 100 people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The incident severely damaged Musharraf’s reputation among everyday citizens and earned him the undying hatred of militants who launched a series of punishing attacks following the raid.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fearing the judiciary would block his continued rule, Musharraf fired the chief justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court. That triggered mass demonstrations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under pressure at home and abroad to restore civilian rule, Musharraf stepped down as army chief. Though he won another five-year presidential term, Musharraf faced a major crisis following former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in December 2007 at a campaign rally as she sought to become prime minister for the third time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The public suspected Musharraf’s hand in the killing, which he denied. A later United Nations report acknowledged the Pakistani Taliban was a main suspect in her slaying but warned that elements of Pakistan’s intelligence services may have been involved.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musharraf resigned as president in August 2008 after ruling coalition officials threatened to have him impeached for imposing emergency rule and firing judges.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I hope the nation and the people will forgive my mistakes,” Musharraf, struggling with his emotions, said in an hourlong televised address.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Afterward, he lived abroad in Dubai and London, attempting a political comeback in 2012. But Pakistan instead arrested the former general and put him under house arrest. He faced treason allegations over the Supreme Court debacle and other charges stemming from the Red Mosque raid and Bhutto’s assassination.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The image of Musharraf being treated as a criminal suspect shocked Pakistan, where military generals long have been considered above the law. Pakistan allowed him to leave the country on bail to Dubai in 2016 for medical treatment and he remained there after facing a later-overturned death sentence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But it suggested Pakistan may be ready to turn a corner in its history of military rule.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Musharraf’s resignation is a sad yet familiar story of hubris, this time in a soldier who never became a good politician,” wrote Patterson, the U.S. ambassador, at the time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The good news is that the demonstrated strength of institutions that brought Musharraf down — the media, free elections and civil society — also provide some hope for Pakistan’s future. It was these institutions that ironically became much stronger under his government.” 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, '2023-02-05 07:10:35', '2023-02-05 07:10:35'),
(4992, 4992, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today called upon all to make investments in the country for building a developed Bangladesh.&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Please everyone make investment (in the country). It will not only bring benefit for yourself, but also for the country,” she said.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier made the call while inaugurating the newly constructed “Biniyog Bhaban” (Investment Building) of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) as chief guest in the city’s Agargaon area.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The multi-storey Investment Building would be used as the offices of three agencies –BIDA, the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) and the National Skills Development Authority (NSDA).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister laid emphasis on expansion of the export basket incorporating new export items alongside exploring new markets.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Bangladesh will progress further through both local and foreign investment, and Bangladesh will be a developed country by 2041,” she said.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mentioning that the main target of her government is to develop the people of the grassroots level, she said “Their purchasing power is increasing, their per capita income is increasing and in this case our own market is being created.”&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this connection, she also said that the government has established communication with the neighbouring countries including Bhutan, Nepal, India, Thailand and Myanmar as Bangladesh is geographically located in a good position.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She noted that South Asia is a market of 300 crore people and anyone can take the advantages of it.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina mentioned that an international airport is being constructed in Cox’s Bazar, besides establishing direct rail communication with Dhaka and developing roads.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Bangladesh could be a bridge between the East and the West. We are developing Bangladesh in that way,” she said.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the geopolitical location is in favour of Bangladesh and that is why the government is establishing deep sea port in Matarbari, the development of Payra port alongside Chattogram and Mongla ports is going on and Bay terminal is being built along with and other facilities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I hope this forward march of Bangladesh will continue,” she added.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister urged all the businessmen to work with confidence as the government will build the country as smart Bangladesh where people will be smart, economy will be smart, business will be smart and all works will be done digitally.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the government is setting up hi-tech parks and incubation centres where people are getting training and this is a huge place of investment.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She opined that agriculture and ICT are very important for Bangladesh. “Our children are very meritorious and they learn so quickly. You (businessman) have to utilise it.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister mentioned that her government has provided cent percent electricity across the country.&nbsp; She, however, said the users should pay the actual cost to avail themselves of gas and electricity supply.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The gas and electricity supply can be given, if all agree to pay the purchasing costs. How much subsidy can be given to it? And why should we give subsidies to it?” she said, adding that the government is providing subsidies to agriculture and food production in the greater interest of the common people.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said the production cost of per kilowatt electricity is Taka 12, but its price is only Taka 6. Despite this, the government is criticised for this electricity tariff, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In England, the electricity price has been increased by 150 percent. “We’ve not reached this stage (such a worse situation) yet,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina urged the country’s people to make investments in a larger way in the food and agro-processing industry, particularly in the 100 economic zones, now being developed throughout the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said there is high demand for food in the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing war. The food prices soared significantly, she said.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman, MP, in the chair, BIDA Executive Chairman Lokman Hossain Miah delivered the welcome address.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister M Tofazzel Hossain Miah was also present, among others.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister sought foreign investments and wished that the country’s youths would turn themselves into investors.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We want foreign investment. But, simultaneously we want that our youth folk will be investors,” she said.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About developing entrepreneurship, she said that they have taken initiatives to develop entrepreneurship in the country and also launched start-up programme for the young generation with separate budgets.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We’ve revised company law so that single-person based company can be formed and the country’s young generation can move up,” she added.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She observed that Bangladesh’s one of the advantages is that it’s young generation is very skilled.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are setting up technical training centre in each Upazila for the skilled young generation and prepare themselves appropriately,” she added.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina said her government is working relentlessly to produce skilled Human Resources.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Talking about environment friendly industries, she said the government has reduced taxes on equipment in the convenience of setting up environment friendly industries in the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that they are also taking measures to ensure suitable atmosphere for the labourers in the factories.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To this end, measures have been taken to inspect factories by appointing inspectors, she added.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She revealed that meanwhile over 5,000 factories have been inspected while measures have been taken to inspect another 10,000 factories.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We will take all types of measures to make all our factories environment friendly in this way,” 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, '2023-02-05 07:36:29', '2023-02-05 07:36:29'),
(4993, 4993, '<p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today inaugurated a two-day revenue conference-2023 aimed at developing the country\'s revenue management system.</span><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">She opened the conference, first of its kind in the country, at a function held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Internal Resources Division Senior Secretary and National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem and its Member Dr Abdul Mannan Shikder spoke at the function.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">A video documentary on the activities of the NBR was screened on the occasion.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Three seminars on value added tax (VAT), customs and income tax will be held marking the conference.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">There will be information booths on these issues to let the people know more about VAT, customs and income tax. At the same time, awareness about online services will also increase. BSS</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</p>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 08:03:08', '2023-02-05 08:03:08'),
(4994, 4994, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Shah Rukh Khan had beaten Aamir Khan in a crucial race of the blockbusters. His Pathaan has overtaken Aamir\'s Dangal as the highest grossing film of all time, released in Hindi. It has collected ₹729 crore worldwide.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That being said, the overall worldwide collection of Dangal is still legions ahead at ₹2000 crore, thanks to the insane run it had at the Chinese box office in 2017. Pathaan has only beaten Dangal in the Hindi version race, considering Dangal released in Mandarin in China, which collected approximately ₹1200 crore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amid dating rumours, Salman Khan smiles bright as he attends Pooja Hegde\'s brother\'s.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Film trade analyst Ramesh Bala tweeted the fresh figures, as did the film\'s producers, Yash Raj Films. A fresh poster with the latest collection spelled that worldwide, Pathaan has collected $88.92 million (approximately ₹730 crore). In India, it has collected ₹453 crore (gross) and overseas ₹276 crore (gross).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ramesh Bala tweeted, “#Pathaan early estimates for 2nd Saturday All-India Nett is ₹ 22 Crs. Crossing #Dangal to become All-time No.1 Straight Hindi movie in India.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Analyst Taran Adarsh also tweeted trends from bigger theatre chains on second Saturday. “#Pathaan at *national chains*… Week 2: Saturday… #PVR: 5 cr [Fri: 2.95 cr] #INOX: 3.75 cr [Fri: 2.16 cr] #Cinepolis 2 cr [Fri: 1.20 cr] Total: ₹ 10.75 cr [Fri: 6.31 cr] 70.36% growth at *national chains*.” He later updated the figure to ₹11.01 crore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pathaan is a spy actioner that follows Shah Rukh\'s titular Indian intelligence agent, who resurfaces to thwart a terror attack planned by mercenary group Outfit X, led by Jim (John) on the Indian capital. The film also features Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana in pivotal roles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pathaan is Shah Rukh\'s first big screen release as a lead in four years. It is the fourth movie in producer Aditya Chopra\'s spy universe, following Salman Khan\'s Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai, and War, featuring Hrithik Roshan. Salman made a special appearance as Tiger in Pathaan. 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, '2023-02-05 08:18:01', '2023-02-05 08:18:01'),
(4995, 4995, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh is expected to get back the money borrowed by Sri Lanka from September this year as the country\'s economic situation is improving.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"Sri Lanka is gradually doing better. They are recovering slowly,\" Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told reporters at state guesthouse Padma on Sunday afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh Bank earlier granted Sri Lanka six more months to repay the $200 million loan after the Island nation requested to extend the repayment period due to its prolonged economic crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>In a friendly gesture, Bangladesh had extended the loan to cash-strapped Sri Lanka under a currency swap arrangement in 2021. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 10:11:47', '2023-02-05 10:11:47'),
(4996, 4996, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Cuba has warned drivers of state-owned cars to pick up people at bus stops or face prosecution, as Havana faces painful shortages of diesel fuel, authorities said this week.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Diesel has been in very short supply since being diverted in March to run oil-fueled power plants.</div><div><br></div><div>As Cubans sweat out the island\'s worst economic crisis in three decades, public transport has become an ordeal; nearly 50 percent of buses are out of operation \"for lack of tires and batteries,\" a ministry official told AFP last year.</div><div><br></div><div>So the Americas\' only one-party Communist government announced it has begun implementing the old but previously unenforced rule on picking up riders.</div><div><br></div><div>People in Havana routinely wait hours for a bus to get to their schools or jobs.</div><div><br></div><div>Betty Pairol, a Cuban military officer, recently got a big surprise while trying to get to work. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 10:46:49', '2023-02-05 10:46:49'),
(4997, 4997, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A 16-year-old girl died on Saturday after being mauled by a shark in a river in Western Australia\'s state capital Perth after she jumped in the water to swim with a pod of dolphins, Hindustan Times reported.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Police said they were called to the scene of the attack about 3:45 p.m. Saturday (0745 GMT) near a traffic bridge in the Swan River, in the Fremantle port area of Perth.</div><div><br></div><div>The girl was pulled from the water with critical injuries and she died at the scene, police said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Police believe the victim was with friends and jumped off a jet ski to swim with a pod of dolphins in the river when the shark attack occurred.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities were not sure what kind of shark attacked the girl, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.</div><div><br></div><div>People were being urged to take extra caution in the Swan River around Fremantle in the wake of the mauling.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 11:08:57', '2023-02-05 11:08:57'),
(4998, 4998, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Sixteen people were killed after five multi-vehicle rear-end collisions occurred in central China\'s Hunan Province, local authorities said.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The rear-end collisions, involving a total of 49 vehicles, happened at around 5 p.m. on Saturday on the Hunan section of an expressway, according to the high-way traffic police department of Hunan Province.</div><div><br></div><div>The accidents have also left 66 people injured, of whom eight people are seriously injured but are in stable condition for the time being. All the injured have been sent to hospital for treatment.</div><div><br></div><div>An investigation into the accident is underway. The Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a working team to the site of the accidents to guide handling of the accidents. - XINHUA</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 12:16:19', '2023-02-05 12:16:19'),
(4999, 4999, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) price witnessed a record hike recently amid increase in prices of essentials and fuel. Consumers now say they are not getting LPG at the government-set price in Khulna city either.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>It has come as another blow to low- and middle-income groups as they have to pay Tk 100 to 150 more than the rate for a 12 kg LPG cylinder set by the government.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) increased the LPG price by Tk 22.15 per kg to Tk 124.85 for the month of February.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the new price, 12 kg LPG cylinder cost has been increased by Tk 266 as a retail consumer will get it at Tk 1498 instead of previous price of Tk 1,232 including VAT.</div><div><br></div><div>Consumers alleged that there was a supply crunch in the LPG market in the last two weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>Apprehending a possible hike in LPG price, the traders stockpiled gas cylinders instead of selling those, leading to shortage of LPG in market and the supply situation became normal after increase in gas price on February 2, they said.</div><div><br></div><div>A large number of people in Khulna city, municipality and adjacent villages depend on LPG.</div><div><br></div><div>Sohrab Hossain, a resident of Gobarchaka area of the city, said, “The government has fixed the price at Tk 1,498 for a 12 kg cylinder but the retailers are charging Tk 1700. After arguments, I bought a cylinder at Tk 1650.”</div><div><br></div><div>Visiting different areas in the city, this UNB correspondent found that there is no 12 kg gas cylinder below Tk 1600 anywhere. It is being sold either at Tk 1650 or Tk 1700 across the city.</div><div><br></div><div>Iqbal Hasan, a resident of Sheikhpara area of the city, said that the government set the price by keeping a profit of Tk 40/50 for wholesalers and retailers but they want to make more profit.</div><div><br></div><div>“The greed for more profit is emptying the pockets of the customers. But there is no one to address this,” Iqbal added.</div><div><br></div><div>Birendra Nath, a resident of Sir Iqbal Road, said, “Shopkeepers insult us when we ask about government-fixed prices. We are helpless.”</div><div><br></div><div>BERC officials said that the prices witnessed such an excessive rise due to huge increase in the prices of Saudi CP (contract price).</div><div><br></div><div>Last month, as per the Saudi CP, the LPG price was $599.59 per metric ton while the current month’s CP was set at $790 per MT with an increase by $190.25 per MT, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladeshi LPG operators normally import their products from the Middle-Eastern market on the basis of Saudi CP. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 12:46:44', '2023-02-05 12:46:44');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(5000, 5000, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Manchester City striker Erling Haaland can improve by watching and learning from his Tottenham Hotspur counterpart Harry Kane, manager Pep Guardiola said before the Premier League champions travel to the north London club on Sunday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Norway\'s Haaland, 22, scored his fourth league hat-trick in City\'s 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend, taking his tally to 25 goals from 19 games as his sensational debut season in the English top-flight continues.</div><div><br></div><div>But Guardiola said Haaland can develop his all-round game by studying players like Kane, who became Tottenham\'s joint all-time record goalscorer on Jan. 23.</div><div><br></div><div>\"With Erling, one of the attributes that surprised me the most is how he is aware he can improve in many departments,\" Guardiola said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"And I\'m pretty sure maybe watching Harry Kane, but not necessarily Harry, other players too, he has the will to think, \'I can do better.\' With his age, this is the best thing he can believe. Otherwise, it would be boring.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Kane, who has 16 league goals, scored the winner in Tottenham\'s 1-0 win at Fulham two weeks ago to draw level with the late Jimmy Greaves on 266 goals for the club.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Harry Kane remains one of the best strikers I have ever seen in my life,\" Guardiola added. \"What an exceptional player - the numbers and, more than the goals, the quality.</div><div><br></div><div>\"That they didn\'t win a title (does not mean) he is not a good player. I think he proved that.\"</div><div><br></div><div>City came from two goals down to beat Spurs 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium last month. They are second in the league standings with 45 points, five behind leaders Arsenal, while Spurs are fifth with 36 points. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 13:07:59', '2023-02-05 13:07:59'),
(5001, 5001, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Fans were delighted to see the main cast of 3 Idiots reunite after 14 years on Instagram, Hindustan Times reported.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Bollywood actors Aamir Khan and R Madhavan joined their co-star Sharman Joshi ahead of the release of his Gujarati film Congratulations as he put up a video.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In the 2009 Rajkumar Hirani film, they played the popular characters of Rancho (Aamir), Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman). A few fans also wished for a sequel that would bring their characters back.</div><div><br></div><div>On Friday, Sharman put up a video on Instagram in which he \'tried\' to speak about his Gujarati film Congratulations which he has also produced. He wrote, \"3 idiots are promoting \"congratulations\" film which is releasing today.\"&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As the actor tries to introduce, his film, he is interrupted by Madhavan who comes up to him and asks about his film. They do a bit where Madhavan and later Aamir Khan both get confused about the film\'s title and instead think that Sharman is congratulating them.</div><div><br></div><div>He gets frustrated and later asks the camera to follow him to the side where he will try recording the promo again. The three actors are on a cricket pitch and dressed in matching red uniforms. Aamir and Madhavan have a black jacket over their uniforms and Aamir has also worn leg guards.</div><div><br></div><div>Sharman\'s co-star in Congratulations, Manasi Parekh, shared, \"This is epic !!!!\" While his sister Mansi Joshi Roy wrote, \"Haha awesome.\" Fans were happy to see them together. One fan said, \"So good to see you guys together after so long.\" Another commented, \"Sir isska aik part aur banna chahie (another film should be made).\"&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Another fan seconded the idea and said, \"We want #3idiotsagain #3idiotssequel.\" Yet another added, \"On my god the Greatest character of Indian cinema Rancho , Raju , Farhan.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Directed by Rehan Chaudhary, Congratulations features Sharman as a man who gets pregnant as his wife can\'t have a baby after a miscarriage. The actor was last seen in the Hindi film Babloo Bachelor (2021). Aamir\'s last project was Laal Singh Chaddha (2022), the official Hindi remake of Tom Hanks-starrer Forrest Gump (1994). Last year, R Madhavan made his directorial debut with Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, a biopic on scientist Nambi Narayanan in which he also starred in.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 13:34:36', '2023-02-05 13:34:36'),
(5002, 5002, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A former Israeli prime minister who served briefly as a mediator at the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine says he drew a promise from the Russian president not to kill his Ukrainian counterpart.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett emerged as an unlikely intermediary in the war’s first weeks, becoming one of the few Western leaders to meet President Vladimir Putin during the war in a snap trip to Moscow last March.</div><div><br></div><div>While Bennett’s mediation efforts appear to have done little to end the bloodshed that continues until today, his remarks, in an interview posted online late Saturday, shed light on the backroom diplomacy and urgent efforts that were underway to try to bring the conflict to a speedy conclusion in its early days.</div><div><br></div><div>In the five-hour interview, which touched on numerous other subjects, Bennett says he asked Putin about whether he intended to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;“I asked ‘what’s with this? Are you planning to kill Zelenskyy?’ He said ‘I won’t kill Zelenskyy.’ I then said to him ‘I have to understand that you’re giving me your word that you won’t kill Zelenskyy.’ He said ‘I’m not going to kill Zelenskyy.’”</div><div><br></div><div>Bennett said he then called Zelenskyy to inform him of Putin’s pledge.</div><div><br></div><div>“‘Listen, I came out of a meeting, he’s not going to kill you.’ He asks, ‘are you sure?’ I said ’100% he won’t kill you.’”</div><div><br></div><div>Bennett said that during his mediation, Putin dropped his vow to seek Ukraine’s disarmament and Zelenskyy promised not to join NATO.</div><div><br></div><div>There was no immediate response from the Kremlin, which has previously denied Ukrainian claims that Russia intended to assassinate Zelenskyy.</div><div><br></div><div>Bennett, a largely untested leader who had served as prime minister for just over six months when the war broke out, unexpectedly thrust himself into international diplomacy after he had positioned Israel into an uncomfortable middle ground between Russia and Ukraine. Israel views its good ties with the Kremlin as strategic in the face of threats from Iran but it aligns itself with Western nations and also seeks to show support for Ukraine.</div><div><br></div><div>An observant Jew and little known internationally, he flew to Moscow for his meeting with Putin during the Jewish Sabbath, breaking his religious commitments and putting himself at the forefront of global efforts to halt the war.</div><div><br></div><div>But his peacemaking efforts did not appear to take off and his time in power was short-lived. Bennett’s government, an ideologically diverse union that sent current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a brief political exile, collapsed in the summer over infighting. Bennett stepped away from politics and is now a private citizen. - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 14:30:37', '2023-02-05 14:30:37'),
(5003, 5003, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid on Sunday said that the electricity under the agreement with India\'s Adani\'s power will come into Bangladesh in the first week of March.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“There is no concern about Adani\'s electricity import and discussion on Adani\'s power is baseless,” he told the journalist at his ministry conference room.</div><div><br></div><div>Nasrul Hamid said Bangladesh will get the electricity from the Indian company at competitive market price, adding: “There is no doubt about this. 750MW power will come from the first unit in March.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Another 750MW of power will come from the second unit of Adani\'s power in April.”</div><div><br></div><div>“There is nothing to worry about the electricity supply during the coming irrigation season. Several coal-based power plants will come into production soon,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The state minister said Rampal Power Plant has already come into production, while SS Power and Barisal Power Plant will come in generation soon.</div><div><br></div><div>“Efforts have been made to keep the supply of electricity normal. There is nothing to be panicked about the power supply during the irrigation season,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Nasrul Hamid informed about the import of eight cargos of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from sport market, while LNG import is going on so gas supply is being increased.</div><div><br></div><div>In March, 750MW electricity from Adani Power Plant in Jharkhand in West Bengal will connect to the national grid.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, Bangladesh Power Development Board signed an agreement with Adani Group for importing electricity from Jharkhand, India. As per the agreement Adani Group has been constructing a 1600MW power plant having two units with 800MW generation capacities each at Godda, in Jhadkhand.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, Adani group constructed a dedicated transmission line to supply electricity from India to Bangladesh. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 14:41:26', '2023-02-05 14:41:26'),
(5004, 5004, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate in the country in the last fiscal year (FY22) reached a healthy 7.10 percent braving the shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The GDP growth rate in the country in FY21 was 6.94 percent up from 3.45 percent notched in FY20. The GDP growth rate in the country in FY19 was a healthy 7.88 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the latest data of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) issued today, the per capita income in the country in the last fiscal year (FY22) totaled $2,793 up from $2,591 recorded in FY21.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The per capita income in FY20 was $2,326 up from $2,209 in FY19.</div><div>Talking to BSS, Planning Minister MA Mannan today said that the latest GDP growth figures of Bangladesh was very good as he termed it as ‘outstanding’ considering the current global condition.</div><div><br></div><div>He said amid the current global situation mostly because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the figures were pretty good. “I was not surprised to see the figures amid the current global condition. The internal force has played its due role behind such performance,”</div><div><br></div><div>Mannan also noted that the strong labour force both domestically and in abroad has been continuing to give solid foundation to the economy.</div><div><br></div><div>He also hoped that the GDP growth rate in the current fiscal year and also in the next fiscal year would continue to keep up the current momentum despite the downward predictions by the development partners.</div><div><br></div><div>The BBS statistics showed that the GDP size of Bangladesh in constant prices in the last fiscal year (FY22) reached Taka 3,03,51,496 million&nbsp; up from Taka 2,83,39,444 million recorded in FY21.</div><div><br></div><div>Analyzing the sectoral share of GDP at constant prices, it was found that services sector still continue to enjoy the lion share with 51.48 percent followed by industry sector with 36.92 percent and agriculture sector with 11.61 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>If considered the sectoral growth rate of GDP at constant prices, the industry sector, however, witnessed the highest growth with 9.86 percent in the last fiscal year followed by services sector with 6.26 percent and agriculture sector with 3.05 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>The BBS figures also showed that the investment ratio to GDP in the last fiscal year increased to 32.05 percent compared to 31.02 percent in FY21. Out of that, the private investment ratio to GDP increased to 24.52 percent while the public investment ratio to GDP also enhanced to 7.53 percent in the last fiscal year. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-05 14:50:19', '2023-02-05 14:50:19'),
(5005, 5005, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Europe imposed a ban Sunday on Russian diesel fuel and other refined oil products, slashing energy dependency on Moscow and seeking to further crimp the Kremlin’s fossil fuel earnings as punishment for invading Ukraine.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ban comes along with a price cap agreed by the Group of Seven allied democracies. The goal is allowing Russian diesel to keep flowing to countries like China and India and avoiding a sudden price rise that would hurt consumers worldwide, while reducing the profits funding Moscow’s budget and war.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Diesel is key for the economy because it is used to power cars, trucks carrying goods, farm equipment and factory machinery. Diesel prices have been elevated due to recovering demand after the COVID-19 pandemic and limits on refining capacity, contributing to inflation for other goods worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new sanctions create uncertainty about prices as the 27-nation European Union finds new supplies of diesel from the U.S., Middle East and India to replace those from Russia, which at one point delivered 10% of Europe’s total diesel needs. Those are longer journeys than from Russia’s ports, stretching available tankers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prices also could be driven up by reviving demand from China as the economy rebounds after the end of draconian COVID-19 restrictions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The price cap of $100 per barrel for diesel, jet fuel and gasoline is to be enforced by barring insurance and shipping services from handling diesel priced over the limit. Most of those companies are located in Western countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It follows a $60-per-barrel cap on Russian crude that took effect in December and is supposed to work the same way. Both the diesel and oil caps could be tightened later.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Once we have these price caps set, we can squeeze the Russian price and deny them, deny (President Vladimir) Putin money for his war without a price spike that’s going to hurt Western economies and developing economies,” said Thomas O’Donnell, a global fellow with the Washington-based Wilson Center.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The diesel price cap will not bite immediately because it was set at about what Russian diesel trades for. Russia’s chief problem now will be finding new customers, not evading the price ceiling. However, the cap aims to prevent Russian gains from any sudden price spikes in refined oil products.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Analysts say there might be a price bump initially as markets sort out the changes. But they say the embargo should not cause a price spike if the cap works as intended and Russian diesel keeps flowing to other countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Diesel fuel at the pump has been flat since the start of December, costing 1.80 euros per liter ($7.37 per gallon) as of Jan. 30, according to the weekly oil market report issued by the European Union’s executive commission. Pump prices in Germany, the EU’s largest economy, fell 2.6 cents to 1.83 euros per liter ($7.48 per gallon) as of Jan. 31.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ban provides for a 55-day grace period for diesel loaded on tankers before Sunday, a step aimed at avoiding ruffling markets. European Union officials say importers have had time to adjust since the ban was announced in June.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia earned more than $2 billion from diesel sales to Europe in December alone as importers appear to have stocked up with added purchases ahead of the ban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Europe has already banned Russian coal and most crude oil, while Moscow has cut off most shipments of natural gas. 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, '2023-02-06 03:36:06', '2023-02-06 03:36:06'),
(5006, 5006, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">US Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Kara C. McDonald has shelved her planned visit to Bangladesh.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She was scheduled to arrive for a three-day visit from February 7 to discuss labour rights issues.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told UNB that the visit is not taking place now. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, there has been no official announcement regarding the visit - neither from the US side, nor from the Bangladesh side.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">McDonald oversees the Bureau’s work on Europe, South and Central Asia, and the Multilateral and Global Affairs teams. 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, '2023-02-06 03:40:45', '2023-02-06 14:02:27'),
(5007, 5007, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) price witnessed a record hike recently amid increase in prices of essentials and fuel. Consumers now say they are not getting LPG at the government-set price in Khulna city either.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It has come as another blow to low- and middle-income groups as they have to pay Tk 100 to 150 more than the rate for a 12 kg LPG cylinder set by the government.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) increased the LPG price by Tk 22.15 per kg to Tk 124.85 for the month of February.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the new price, 12 kg LPG cylinder cost has been increased by Tk 266 as a retail consumer will get it at Tk 1498 instead of previous price of Tk 1,232 including VAT.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Consumers alleged that there was a supply crunch in the LPG market in the last two weeks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apprehending a possible hike in LPG price, the traders stockpiled gas cylinders instead of selling those, leading to shortage of LPG in market and the supply situation became normal after increase in gas price on February 2, they said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A large number of people in Khulna city, municipality and adjacent villages depend on LPG.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sohrab Hossain, a resident of Gobarchaka area of the city, said, “The government has fixed the price at Tk 1,498 for a 12 kg cylinder but the retailers are charging Tk 1700. After arguments, I bought a cylinder at Tk 1650.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Visiting different areas in the city, this UNB correspondent found that there is no 12 kg gas cylinder below Tk 1600 anywhere. It is being sold either at Tk 1650 or Tk 1700 across the city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iqbal Hasan, a resident of Sheikhpara area of the city, said that the government set the price by keeping a profit of Tk 40/50 for wholesalers and retailers but they want to make more profit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The greed for more profit is emptying the pockets of the customers. But there is no one to address this,” Iqbal added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Birendra Nath, a resident of Sir Iqbal Road, said, “Shopkeepers insult us when we ask about government-fixed prices. We are helpless.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">BERC officials said that the prices witnessed such an excessive rise due to huge increase in the prices of Saudi CP (contract price).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last month, as per the Saudi CP, the LPG price was $599.59 per metric ton while the current month’s CP was set at $790 per MT with an increase by $190.25 per MT, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladeshi LPG operators normally import their products from the Middle-Eastern market on the basis of Saudi CP. 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, '2023-02-06 03:43:43', '2023-02-06 03:43:43'),
(5008, 5008, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">&nbsp;Ukraine\'s defence minister will be replaced by the chief of military intelligence ahead of an expected Russian offensive and following corruption scandals, a senior lawmaker said on Sunday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Kyrylo Budanov will head the defence ministry, which is absolutely logical in wartime,\" said senior lawmaker David Arakhamia, referring to the 37-year-old head of military intelligence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Oleksiy Reznikov, 56, will be appointed minister for strategic industries, the lawmaker said without specifying a timeline for the planned reshuffle.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"War dictates personnel policies,\" added Arakhamia, who is the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky\'s party.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Time and circumstances require reinforcement and regrouping. This is happening now and will continue to happen in the future,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The enemy is preparing to advance. We are preparing to defend ourselves.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reznikov said in an interview with a local news site that he had not been told about his new appointment to the Ministry of Strategic Industries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I can comment that this is new information for me. I did not have any conversation about the Ministry of Strategic Industries with the president of Ukraine,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the best-known faces of Ukraine\'s war effort, Reznikov was appointed defence minister in November 2021 and has helped secure Western weapons to buttress Ukrainian forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But his ministry has been beset by corruption scandals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reznikov\'s deputy was forced to resign in late January after the ministry was accused of signing food contracts at prices two to three times higher than current rates for basic foodstuffs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking to reporters earlier Sunday, Reznikov said only President Volodymyr Zelensky, who last week stepped up efforts to clamp down on corruption, could decide his fate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The stress that I have endured this year is hard to measure precisely. I am not ashamed of anything,\" Reznikov said. \"My conscience is absolutely clear.\" 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, '2023-02-06 03:47:41', '2023-02-06 03:47:41'),
(5009, 5009, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Beyonce on Sunday broke the record for the most Grammy wins of any artist, scoring her 32nd prize ever and fourth of the night to resounding applause.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She clinched the title by winning the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for her smash \"Renaissance,\" thus surpassing the late classical conductor Georg Solti, who had 31 awards.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I\'m trying not to be too emotional. And I\'m trying to just receive this night,\" Queen Bey said, wearing a shimmering, curve-hugging gown, with her hair in mermaid waves, as her peers stood to honor the 41-year-old in her history-making moment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Beyonce\'s \"Renaissance,\" her seventh solo studio album, is a pulsating, sweaty collection of club tracks aimed at liberating a world consumed by ennui.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Its release over the summer landed Beyonce at number one on Billboard\'s top songs list for the first time in well over a decade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Beyonce\'s soaring vocals have their place on \"Renaissance,\" but it\'s the rhythmic, urgent call to the dance floor that stands out, and the fusion of influences, paying homage to pioneers of funk, soul, rap, house and disco.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I\'d like to thank my parents, my father, my mother, for loving me and pushing me. I\'d like to thank my beautiful husband, my beautiful three children who are at home watching,\" she told the crowd at the gala in Los Angeles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I\'d like to thank the queer community for your love, and for inventing this genre.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Beyonce was still up for several awards later Sunday, including album, record and song of the year. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 03:53:22', '2023-02-06 03:53:22'),
(5010, 5010, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister and Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina today expressed profound shock and sorrow at the death of her party\'s Chattogram South Unit President, incumbent lawmaker from Chattogram-8 constituency and valiant freedom fighter Moslem Uddin.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a message of condolence, she said, \" Bangladesh Awami League has lost a dedicated leader with the demise of Moslem Uddin.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Recalling his contribution to the AL, the Prime Minister said Moslem Uddin was elected Vice President (VP) of the Government Commerce College in 1969 and joined the Liberation War at the directive of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He performed responsibilities of different posts of the Chattogram City and District Chhatra League fom 1970 to 1982, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AL President said that Moslem Uddin had shouldered responsibility of Chattogram South City AL as its General Secretary from 2005-2013 and as President from 2013 till date.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family. 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, '2023-02-06 03:56:54', '2023-02-06 03:56:54'),
(5011, 5011, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Moslem Uddin Ahmad, a valiant freedom fighter and MP from Chittagong-8 constituency. </b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a condolence message, the prime minister said that \"Bangladesh Awami League has lost a dedicated leader in the death of Moslem Uddin.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The lawmaker,  also the President of Chittagong South Awami League, was elected Vice President of Government Commerce College in 1969 and participated in the Great Liberation War responding to the call of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.  </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said that from 1970 to 1982, he performed various important duties in Chittagong city and district  Chhatra League. He served as General Secretary of Chittagong South District Awami League from 2005 to 2013 and President of Chittagong South District Awami League from 2013 until his death. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved members of his family. 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, '2023-02-06 04:21:15', '2023-02-07 08:55:03'),
(5012, 5012, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing dozens, levelling buildings while people were still in their sleep, and sending tremors that were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local officials in Turkey put the initial death toll at 53, although it threatened to climb substantially higher because it caught most people while they were still at home asleep.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 42 people also died in government-controlled parts of northern Syria, state media said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Television images showed shocked people in Turkey standing in the snow in their pyjamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles), the US agency said, with a 6.7-magnitude aftershock striking 15 minutes later.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turkey\'s AFAD emergencies service centre put the first quake\'s magnitude at 7.4.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The earthquake was one of the most powerful to hit the region in at least a century.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I convey my best wishes to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake,\" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The earthquake levelled dozens of buildings across major cities of southern Turkey as well as neighbouring Syria, a country gripped by more than a decade of violence that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions of people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Images on Turkish television and social media showed rescuers digging through the rubble of levelled buildings in the city of Kahramanmaras and neighbouring Gaziantep.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A fire lit up the night sky in one image from Kahramanmaras, although its origin remained unclear.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">NTV television said buildings also crumbled in the cities of Adiyaman, Malatya and Diyarbakir.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">CNN Turk television said the quake was also felt across parts of central Turkey and the capital Ankara.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Biggest earthquake\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Syrian state television reported that a building near Latakia, on the west coast of Syria, had collapsed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pro-government media said several buildings had partially collapsed in Hama, central Syria, with civil defence and firefighters working to pull survivors out of the rubble.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Raed Ahmed, who heads Syria\'s National Earthquake Centre, told pro-government radio that this was \"historically, the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Naci Gorur, an earthquake expert with Turkey\'s Academy of Sciences, urged local officials to immediately check the region\'s dams for cracks to avert potentially catastrophic floodings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turkey is in one of the world\'s most active earthquake zones</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Turkish region of Duzce suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 -- the worst to hit Turkey in decades.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That quake killed more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, which has allowed widespread building without safety precautions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A magnitude-6.8 quake hit Elazig in January 2020, killing more than 40 people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And in October that year, a magnitude-7.0 quake hit Turkey\'s Aegean coast, killing 114 people and wounding more than 1,000. 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, '2023-02-06 04:36:37', '2023-02-06 04:36:37'),
(5013, 5013, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing dozens, levelling buildings while people were still in their sleep, and sending tremors that were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local officials in Turkey put the initial death toll at 53, although it threatened to climb substantially higher because it caught most people while they were still at home asleep.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 42 people also died in government-controlled parts of northern Syria, state media said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Television images showed shocked people in Turkey standing in the snow in their pyjamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles), the US agency said, with a 6.7-magnitude aftershock striking 15 minutes later.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turkey\'s AFAD emergencies service centre put the first quake\'s magnitude at 7.4.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The earthquake was one of the most powerful to hit the region in at least a century.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I convey my best wishes to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake,\" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The earthquake levelled dozens of buildings across major cities of southern Turkey as well as neighbouring Syria, a country gripped by more than a decade of violence that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions of people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Images on Turkish television and social media showed rescuers digging through the rubble of levelled buildings in the city of Kahramanmaras and neighbouring Gaziantep.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A fire lit up the night sky in one image from Kahramanmaras, although its origin remained unclear.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">NTV television said buildings also crumbled in the cities of Adiyaman, Malatya and Diyarbakir.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">CNN Turk television said the quake was also felt across parts of central Turkey and the capital Ankara.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Biggest earthquake\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Syrian state television reported that a building near Latakia, on the west coast of Syria, had collapsed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pro-government media said several buildings had partially collapsed in Hama, central Syria, with civil defence and firefighters working to pull survivors out of the rubble.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Raed Ahmed, who heads Syria\'s National Earthquake Centre, told pro-government radio that this was \"historically, the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Naci Gorur, an earthquake expert with Turkey\'s Academy of Sciences, urged local officials to immediately check the region\'s dams for cracks to avert potentially catastrophic floodings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turkey is in one of the world\'s most active earthquake zones</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Turkish region of Duzce suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 -- the worst to hit Turkey in decades.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That quake killed more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, which has allowed widespread building without safety precautions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A magnitude-6.8 quake hit Elazig in January 2020, killing more than 40 people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And in October that year, a magnitude-7.0 quake hit Turkey\'s Aegean coast, killing 114 people and wounding more than 1,000. 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, '2023-02-06 05:31:01', '2023-02-06 05:31:01'),
(5014, 5014, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka’s air quality continued to be in the \'very unhealthy\' zone on Saturday morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 199 at 10:45 am, the capital of Bangladesh ranked second in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India’s Delhi Lahore and China’s Wuhan occupied the first and the third spots, with AQI scores of 232 and 191, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy’ while between 201–300 is ‘‘very unhealthy’, and 301–400 is \'hazardous\', posing severe health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 05:42:07', '2023-02-06 05:42:07');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(5015, 5015, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Mali\'s ruling junta said Sunday that it was expelling the head of the human rights division of MINUSMA, the United Nations mission there, giving him 48 hours to leave the country.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The decision comes after a Malian rights activist last month denounced the security situation in the country in a speech to a UN gathering, and accused the regime\'s new Russian military partners of serious rights violations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The foreign ministry had declared Guillaume Ngefa Atonodok Andali, head of MINUSMA\'s human rights section, persona non grata, said a statement issued by government spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This measure comes after the destabilising and subversive actions of Monsieur Andali,\" added the statement, which was also read out on national&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">television news.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Andali had taken it upon himself to decide who were the representatives of civil society, ignoring the authorities and national institutions, the statement added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Andali\'s bias was even more evident during the last review of the United Nations Security Council on Mali\", the statement added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On January 27, rights activist Aminata Cheick Dicko criticised the regime at a special UN Security Council briefing on Mali.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Then on January 31, UN rights experts in Geneva called for an independent probe into abuses and possible war crimes in Mali carried out by government forces and Russia\'s Wagner group, which has been operating alongside them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Growing tension -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">MINUSMA was set up in 2013 to try to stabilise Mali in the face of the growing threat from jihadist fighters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Its mission also included the protection of civilians, contributing to peace efforts and defending human rights.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although its mandate was renewed in 2019, the deteriorating security situation has raised questions in Mali and abroad about thecontinuing usefulness of the UN mission.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some of the countries that once contributed to it have either already pulled out or are planning to. They include France and Ivory Coast, both of which have had major diplomatic breaks with Mali\'s military regime.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Other countries including Egypt, Germany and Sweden have either pulled out of the mission or announced that they are going to do so.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Germany\'s defence ministry said last Monday its soldiers would be pulling out by May 2024 because it made no sense to stay on when the troops could not fulfill their mission.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tensions between the Malian authorities and the UN mission have increased with the arrival of the military junta, which seized power two years ago, promising to tackle the jihadist threat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the security situation has continued to deteriorate in the west African country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military regime has repeatedly blocked MINUSMA\'s attempts to investigate reports of human rights abuses carried out by the armed forces. 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, '2023-02-06 07:03:48', '2023-02-06 07:03:48'),
(5016, 5016, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and triggering a frantic search for survivors in the rubble in cities and towns across the area. At least 650 were killed and hundreds injured, and the toll was expected to rise.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On both sides of the border, residents jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn quake rushed outside on a cold, rainy and snowy winter night, as buildings were flattened and strong aftershocks continued.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rescue workers and residents searched for survivors under the rubble of their homes in multiple cities, working through tangles of metal and chunks of concrete.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the Turkish city of Adana, one resident said three buildings near his home collapsed. “I don’t have the strength anymore,” one survivor could be heard calling out from beneath the rubble as rescue workers tried to reach him, said the resident, journalism student Muhammet Fatih Yavus. Further east in Diyarbakir, cranes and rescue teams rushed people on stretchers out of a mountain of pancaked concrete floors that was once an apartment building.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the Syrian side of the border, the quake smashed opposition-held regions that are packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of Syria by the country’s long civil war. Many of them live in decrepit conditions with little health care. Rescue workers said hospitals in the area were packed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We fear that the deaths are in the hundreds,” Muheeb Qaddour, a doctor, said by phone from the town of Atmeh, referring to the entire rebel-held area. Raed Salah, the head of the White Helmets, the emergency organization in opposition areas, said whole neighborhoods were collapsed in some areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The quake, felt as far away as Cairo, was centered about 90 kilometers (60 miles) from the Syrian border, just north of the city of Gaziantep, a major Turkish provincial capital of more than 2 million people. The region has been shaped by more than a decade of war in Syria. Millions of Syrian refugees live in Turkey. The swath of Syria affected by the quake is divided between government-held and opposition-held areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 20 aftershocks followed, some hours later during daylight, the strongest measuring 6.6, Turkish authorities said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched” to the areas hit by the quake.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage,” he wrote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management agency said at least 76 people in seven Turkish provinces. The agency said 440 people were injured. The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed to 237 with more than 630 injured, according to Syrian state media. At least 47 people were reported killed in rebel-held areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Buildings were reported collapsed in a swath from Syria’s cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey’s Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometers (200 miles) to the northeast.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Turkey, people trying to leave the quake-stricken regions caused traffic jams, hampering efforts of emergency teams trying to reach the affected areas. Authorities urged residents not to take to the roads. Mosques around the region were being opened up as a shelter for people unable to return to damaged homes amid temperatures that hovered around freezing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Diyarbakir, rescue teams called for silence as they tried to listen for survivors under the wreckage of an 11-story building. Rescue workers pulled out one man, carrying him on a stretcher through a dense crowd of hundreds of people anxiously watching the rescue efforts. A gray-haired woman wailed before being escorted away by a man, while a rescue worker wearing a white helmet tried to calm a crying girl, who was also being cuddled by two friends.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In rebel-held northwest Syria, the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense described the situation as “disastrous” adding that entire buildings have collapsed and people are trapped under the rubble.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the small Syrian rebel-held town of Azmarin in the mountains by the Turkish border, the bodies of several dead children, wrapped in blankets, were brought to a hospital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Emergency rooms in the territory were full of injured, said Amjad Rass, president of the Syrian American Medical Society.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from Gaziantep. It was centered 18 kilometers (11 miles) deep.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Damascus, buildings shook and many people went down to the streets in fear.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The quake jolted residents in Lebanon from beds, shaking buildings for about 40 seconds. Many residents of Beirut left their homes and took to the streets or drove in their cars away from buildings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The earthquake came as the Middle East is experiencing a snowstorm that is expected to continue until Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some 18,000 were killed in powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report. 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, '2023-02-06 07:43:44', '2023-02-06 08:49:23'),
(5017, 5017, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">While Deepika Padukone has done action roles in films such as Chandni Chowk to China (2009) and XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017), in Pathaan she plays a Pakistani spy Rubai, who is just as comfortable beating up the villains as her male co-stars. Shah Rukh Khan recently shared that Deepika had ‘the sexiest fight scene’ in the film.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He was speaking about the moment when Deepika beats up a bad guy; Shah Rukh added he wished to be in that man’s place. The actor added if it were him, he would have wanted Deepika to hit him more.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Deepika made her acting debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om in 2007. They teamed up to work again in Rohit Shetty\'s Chennai Express (2013) and Happy New Year (2014) with director Farah Khan once again. Pathaan is the fourth time they have worked together.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At an event to celebrate the success of the film, Shah Rukh had stated how he found a scene in the film, where she displays her action prowess as the ‘sexiest fight scene’ from the film. He explained, \"Many people have seen it and woh trailer mein bhi hai, ek admi se lipatkar, ghoomakar, usko neeche girake, uspe chadkar usko maarti hai... mere saath aisa karle... itna pyaar hai uske andar... I\'m toh jealous of that guy ki yaar itne kareeb se itni khoobsurati aur uske upper baitkar... main bolta \'aur maar aur maar\' (Many people have seen it already and it’s also in the trailer where [Deepika in the action scene], jumps onto someone, flips him, drops him to the floor and hits him, I wish she did that with me. I’m jealous of that guy for being so close to someone so beautiful. If it were me, I would have said \'hit me more, hit me more\'.)”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added, “If I may say so, I think it’s one of the sexiest action scenes that I have seen.” Directed by Siddharth Anand, Pathaan also stars John Abraham as the antagonist along with Shah Rukh, Deepika, Dimple Kapdia and Ashutosh Rana. The action thriller has broken several box office records and has grossed over ₹700 crore worldwide in its second week. 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, '2023-02-06 07:55:30', '2023-02-06 07:55:30'),
(5018, 5018, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Israeli forces seeking to arrest suspects from a recent shooting attack killed on Monday \"a&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">number\" of armed men during a gunfight in the Palestinian city of Jericho in&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">the occupied West Bank, the army said.</span></b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">According to the Palestinian health ministry, \"three citizens were shot by&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">the Israeli occupation during the attack on Jericho,\" one of them in critical&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">condition.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Israeli army said in a statement that \"a number of armed assailants were&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">killed after firing toward IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers who were&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">operating in the area.\"</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The army did not say how many people were killed in the Aqabat Jabr camp at&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">the entrance to the city. It reported no casualties among its forces.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Monday raid was aimed at arresting \"the Hamas terrorist squad that&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">carried out the shooting attack\" on January 28, when two armed men approached&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">an Israeli restaurant near Jericho, the army said.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">One of the gunmen opened fire at the restaurant but his weapon jammed after&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">just one bullet that did not hurt anyone.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The two then fled to Jericho, and the army has since been conducting searches&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">in the area. AFP</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 08:23:50', '2023-02-06 08:23:50'),
(5019, 5019, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Mathilde, the Queen of Belgium, landed in Dhaka on Monday for a three-day visit to Bangladesh in her capacity as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) advocate.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen received her upon her arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport this morning. Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud was also present on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Belgian Queen plans to measure and support the progress made in Bangladesh in the areas of girls’ education, women’s economic empowerment, fight against domestic violence and mental health awareness.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She is also interested in responses to environmental problems.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She plans to visit Kutupalong, the largest refugee camp in the world, which hosts more than a million Rohingyas, according to Belgian Royal Palace.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As one of the 17 SDG Advocates of the UN, she will visit projects in Dhaka and Khulna districts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is expected that Queen Mathilde (Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d’Udekem d’Acoz) will meet President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Seheli Sabrin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Agenda 2030 requires citizens, civil society, academia, scientists, philanthropic organisations, and the private sector to work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ownership and participation are key,” the UN quoted the queen as saying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The SDG advocates are 17 inspiring, influential people raising global awareness of the SDGs and the need for accelerated action.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They use their unique global platforms to raise ambition around the SDGs and reach the most vulnerable first.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">SDG advocates are strong public figures dedicated to peace, prosperity and the planet, rallying behind the vision of a better world and inspiring others to do the same.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Queen Mathilde ascended the throne in 2013. She is the honorary president of Child Focus, a foundation for missing and sexually exploited children, and UNICEF Belgium.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2001, she established the Princess Mathilde Fund (now the Queen Mathilde Fund) to promote the care of vulnerable people. As an SDG advocate, she is particularly focused on mental health. 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, '2023-02-06 08:27:51', '2023-02-06 08:27:51'),
(5020, 5020, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Researchers at VTC\'s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute are investigating potential preventative and treatment methods for optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH), a disorder that causes vision impairment in neonates.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the National Institutes of Health, the disorder arises when the optic nerves that convey information from the retina to the brain are undeveloped at birth, resulting in moderate to severe vision loss in children (NIH). It has no recognised cause, and families affected by it have limited medical options.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With support from a four-year, USD 1.56 million grant from the National Eye Institute of the NIH, Virginia Tech scientists, led by principal investigator Konark Mukherjee, will explore whether a prenatal deficiency of an important fatty acid known as arachidonic acid contributes to the disorder.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If so, the discovery could explain why ONH in babies has been associated with factors such as young maternal age and prenatal exposures to smoking, alcohol, recreational drugs, anti-depressants, anticonvulsants, and other agents. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 08:45:50', '2023-02-06 08:45:50'),
(5021, 5021, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Harry Styles on Sunday won the coveted Grammy for Album of the Year, a surprising victory over heavy favorites Beyonce and Adele.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The pop sensation scored the award, usually seen as the night\'s most prestigious, for his third album \"Harry\'s House,\" his most intimate yet, which combined twangy synths and soft acoustics with very personal lyrics.</div><div><br></div><div>\"This doesn\'t happen to people like me very often, and this is so nice,\" he said onstage.</div><div><br></div><div>The album\'s release marked an evolution for the one-time boy band heartthrob to the teenage masses, who has steadily grown into a heartthrob for all.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Harry\'s House\" conjures the sonic equivalent of a warmly lit California afternoon by the pool, and showcases Styles\' developing songwriting skills.</div><div><br></div><div>But it was not necessarily tipped for Grammy gold, as it faced off against blockbuster releases from pop\'s titans.</div><div><br></div><div>Prior to Sunday, Styles had just one Grammy to his name, and was perhaps better known for his flamboyant style and campy stage presence than his musical chops.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier in the night, he also scooped the award for Best Pop Vocal Album.</div><div><br></div><div>His Album of the Year triumph was sure to draw comparisons to the 2017 Grammys, when Beyonce lost out to Adele in the top category despite releasing the earth-shaking \"Lemonade.\"</div><div><br></div><div>This year, her album \"Renaissance\" was considered a near shoo-in for the night\'s top award, especially after she became the winningest artist of all time, with 32 lifetime Grammys.</div><div><br></div><div>But it was Styles who ended up with the golden statuette.</div><div><br></div><div>\"On nights like tonight, it\'s obviously so important for us to remember that there is no such thing as bests in music,\" he told his peers. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 10:20:36', '2023-02-06 10:20:36'),
(5022, 5022, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Pakistan cricket team’s fast bowler Naseem Shah has been appointed as Goodwill Ambassador of Balochistan Police on Saturday.&nbsp;</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The Balochistan police appointed Shah as the “Honorary DSP” of the police. For this appointment, a ceremony was held at the IG Balochistan Police Office, Quetta, in which the pacer was formally dressed in police uniform and ranks were also installed.</div><div><br></div><div>During the ceremony, Shah took to the stage to share his thoughts on his appointment. Grinning with obvious joy, the cricketer expressed his gratitude to the Balochistan Police for the “honour”.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“As a child, I had been scared of policemen. My parents would scare me by mentioning the police. However, as I have grown up. I have come to realise the sacrifices they make to keep us safe,” he said. “They don’t just put their lives at risk for us, but I have a far more simple example of their service. Those appointed with us at the NCA stay awake at night to protect us. I cannot even function if I do not get a good night’s rest. I have immense respect for the police and am deeply grateful for their assistance.”</div><div><br></div><div>Soon after the announcement was made, fans of the cricketer took to Twitter to share their love and support for him. One user wrote: “National talented fast-bowler Naseem Shah has been awarded the post of honorary DSP by Balochistan Police. Naseem Shah has been made their brand ambassador by Balochistan Police. Masha Allah congratulations” Others commented him on looking “handsome” in the uniform, saying that he was “glowing”.</div><div><br></div><div>It should be noted that in July 2022, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police appointed Pakistani cricketer Shaheen Shah Afridi as a goodwill ambassador to promote the soft image of the law enforcement agency among the citizens. Addressing the ceremony, Afridi had said that becoming a goodwill ambassador for the KP Police is an honour for him. The cricketer paid tribute to the martyrs of the police force. Highlighting the services of the force, he saluted the police. Source: Daily Times</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 10:36:23', '2023-02-06 10:36:23'),
(5023, 5023, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday directed the authorities concerned not to destroy any land where three crops are planted and harvested a year.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>She issued this directive while chairing the Cabinet meeting held at her office here.</div><div><br></div><div>“The premier has given a clear directive that no triple cropping land can be destroyed. No project can be taken on triple cropping lands. Rather these lands will have to be protected,” said Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain briefing reporters at Bangladesh Secretariat.</div><div>He said the government will now monitor the matter of protecting triple-cropping land regularly.</div><div><br></div><div>The directive came as different ministries received some proposals for using the triple cropping land for development works like solar installation and building construction. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 11:34:55', '2023-02-06 11:34:55'),
(5024, 5024, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka is in touch with the Embassy of Bangladesh in Ankara though it is “less likely” that any Bangladesh citizen will be affected due to the earthquake considering its location, said a spokesperson on Monday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“We are in touch with our mission,” MoFA spokesperson Seheli Sabrin told UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 1,300 people.</div><div><br></div><div>Hundreds were still believed to be trapped under rubble, and the toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area, reports AP.</div><div><br></div><div>On both sides of the border, residents jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn quake rushed outside on a cold, rainy and snowy winter night, as buildings were flattened and strong aftershocks continued. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 12:03:03', '2023-02-06 12:03:03'),
(5025, 5025, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The crisis engulfing the Adani Group intensified on Monday (Feb 6) as dozens of members from India\'s main opposition party were detained by police during protests, and parliament was suspended again due to disruptions over the saga.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Adani shares continued their freefall, with the conglomerate\'s cumulative market value loss now topping US$110 billion.</div><div><br></div><div>The crisis was triggered by United States-based short-seller Hindenburg Research\'s report on Jan 24, accusing the Adani Group of stock manipulation, unsustainable debt and the use of tax havens.</div><div><br></div><div>The Adani Group, one of India\'s top conglomerates, has rejected the criticism and denied wrongdoing in detailed rebuttals, but that has failed to arrest the unabated fall in its shares.</div><div><br></div><div>ONGOING PROTESTS</div><div><br></div><div>In New Delhi\'s Jantar Mantar, a Mughal-era observatory that doubles up as a protest site for all causes, protesters held up banners and shouted slogans against Adani Group\'s billionaire founder Gautam Adani.</div><div><br></div><div>Some broke through barricades, forcing the police to detain them.</div><div><br></div><div>Hundreds of Congress Party members gathered to protest across the country, including outside several offices of state-owned insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and State Bank of India (SBI), both of which have exposure to Adani Group companies.</div><div><br></div><div>At Jantar Mantar, some members burnt a suitcase with an SBI logo on it.</div><div><br></div><div>Both houses of India\'s parliament were also adjourned on Monday, the third consecutive day, amid sloganeering and demands to launch an inquiry.</div><div><br></div><div>In the brutal fallout of Hindenburg\'s report, Adani Group flagship company Adani Enterprises was forced to abandon a US$2.5 billion share sale last week.</div><div><br></div><div>Adani has lost his crown as Asia\'s richest person and slipped down the global rankings of the wealthy.</div><div><br></div><div>Critics say he has close ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and they are both from the same Gujarat state.</div><div><br></div><div>But Adani has denied allegations by Modi\'s opponents that he had benefited from their close ties, and Modi\'s government has also denied those allegations.</div><div><br></div><div>CREDIT RATINGS WARNINGS</div><div><br></div><div>The stock market rout triggered a series of credit ratings warnings last Friday with Moody\'s saying the Adani Group may struggle to raise capital, and fellow credit rating firm S&amp;P cutting its outlook on two of its companies.</div><div><br></div><div>Even attempts by regulators and the Indian government to calm spooked investors do not appear to be working.</div><div><br></div><div>The Reserve Bank of India said last Friday the country\'s banking system remains resilient and stable. India\'s market regulator added on Saturday the country\'s financial markets remain stable and continue to function in a transparent and efficient manner.</div><div><br></div><div>SBI said last Friday it was not concerned about the exposure to the Adani group, but further financing to its projects would be \"evaluated on its own merit\".</div><div><br></div><div>India\'s divestment secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey told Reuters last Friday that LIC shareholders and customers should not be concerned about its exposure to the Adani Group.</div><div><br></div><div>Shares of Adani Enterprises sank 9.6 per cent on Monday, taking its market capitalisation losses to nearly US$28 billion since the release of the Hindenburg report.</div><div><br></div><div>Adani Transmission Ltd dropped 10 per cent, while Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas, Adani Power, and Adani Wilmar fell roughly 5 per cent.</div><div><br></div><div>Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was the only stock to buck the trend, rising 1.2 per cent. Source: CNA</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 12:15:08', '2023-02-06 12:15:08'),
(5026, 5026, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Cabinet on Monday gave the final approval to the draft of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 2023 banning the sale of antibiotic drugs without prescription from a registered doctor.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The approval came from the weekly Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office.</div><div><br></div><div>“As per the draft law, the antibiotic drugs can’t be sold without the prescription of any registered doctor and it\'ll be a punishable offence,” said Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain while briefing reporters at Bangladesh Secretariat after the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>He said if the antibiotic drug is sold without the prescription, the shopper will be fined Tk 20,000.</div><div><br></div><div>The Cabinet Secretary said the matters of monitoring and controlling the use of antibiotics were included in the proposed law as prevention of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has now emerged as a big challenge.</div><div><br></div><div>Now there are two drug laws, which are Drugs Act, 1940 and Drugs (Control) Ordinance, 1982.</div><div><br></div><div>But the two laws focused only on drug issues, not cosmetics. “In the proposed law, the cosmetics issue has been included,” said Mahbub Hossain.</div><div><br></div><div>In the proposed law, some 30 types of offences were cited and the maximum punishment would be life-term imprisonment for several offences like production of fake and adulterated drugs as well as creating artificial crisis of drugs, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Some new issues including development of drugs, vaccines and medical devices were incorporated in the draft law, he said adding that the WHO guidelines will have to be followed in case of drug issue.</div><div><br></div><div>Mahbub said the government will fix the prices of some drug items as per the draft law.</div><div><br></div><div>The meeting also gave the final nod to the draft of the Copyright Act, 2023 keeping punitive provisions to check piracy. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 13:14:39', '2023-02-06 13:14:39'),
(5027, 5027, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Eleven more people were hospitalised with dengue in the 24 hours to Monday morning.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The four new patients were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest were at the outside of the capital, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</div><div><br></div><div>Thirty dengue patients, including 18 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>So far, the DGHS has recorded 604 dengue cases, 566 recoveries, and six deaths this year.</div><div><br></div><div>The country logged 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Also, it recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 13:58:24', '2023-02-06 13:58:24'),
(5028, 5028, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh take on lowly Bhutan in their third and last league match of SAFF U-20 Women\'s Championship scheduled to be held tomorrow (Tuesday) at Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in the city\'s Kamalapur.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The match kicks off at 7 pm, following the day\'s other match between India and Nepal that begins at 3 pm at the same venue.</div><div><br></div><div>After a fabulous start to their SAFF U-20 Women\'s Championship campaign, title aspirant India were held to a goalless draw by Bangladesh. It was a close contest from the opening exchanges, with India creating more scoring chances despite a deluge of midfield traffic.</div><div><br></div><div>After the match, Bangladesh\' head coach Golam Rabbani Choton expressed his stratification over his girls\' performance against India. Custodian Rupna Chakma was superb under the bar foiling some real attacks and the head coach must be looking forward the same performance against Rupna in the Bhutan match.</div><div><br></div><div>After the two matches, Bangladesh have collected four points from two matches while Bhutan, who already eliminated from the title race, losing their first two matches, is yet to secure any points playing the same number of matches.</div><div><br></div><div>India, who also have a bright chance of making the final of the championship, also have four points from the same number of matches, however are ahead of Bangladesh in the points table in terms of goal difference.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh will play the final if they draw against Bhutan. In that case, a team between Nepal and India will be the next finalist. Even if Bangladesh loses against Bhutan, there will be also possibility of playing in final. In this case, Bangladesh will go through complex calculations.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, Bangladesh beat Nepal by 3-1 goals in their opening match but played out to a goalless draw with arch-rival India in their second match.</div><div><br></div><div>While Bhutan were thrashed by India by 12-0 goals in their opening match and again suffered a 0-4 defeat to Nepal in their second match.</div><div>After the league based matches, the two top teams will play the final on February 9 at 6 pm at the same venue. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 15:21:48', '2023-02-06 15:21:48'),
(5029, 5029, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked wide swaths of Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 2,500 people, according to media reports.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Hundreds were still believed to be trapped under rubble, and the toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area.</div><div><br></div><div>On both sides of the border, residents jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn quake rushed outside on a cold, rainy and snowy night. Buildings were reduced to piles of pancaked floors, and major aftershocks or new quakes, including one nearly as strong as the first, continued to rattle the region.</div><div><br></div><div>Rescue workers and residents in multiple cities searched for survivors, working through tangles of metal and concrete. A hospital in Turkey collapsed, and patients, including newborns, were evacuated from facilities in Syria.</div><div><br></div><div>In the Turkish city of Adana, one resident said three buildings near his home were toppled. “I don’t have the strength anymore,” one survivor could be heard calling out from beneath the rubble as rescue workers tried to reach him, said the resident, journalism student Muhammet Fatih Yavus.</div><div><br></div><div>“Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. “Hopefully, we will leave these disastrous days behind us in unity and solidarity as a country and a nation.”</div><div><br></div><div>The quake, which was centered north of the Turkish provincial capital of Gaziantep, was felt as far away as Cairo. It sent residents of Damascus rushing into the street, and jolted awake people in their beds in Beirut.</div><div><br></div><div>It struck a region that has been shaped on both sides of the border by more than a decade of civil war in Syria. On the Syrian side, the swath affected is divided between government-held territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey, meanwhile, is home to millions of refugees from that conflict.</div><div><br></div><div>The opposition-held regions in Syria are packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the fighting. Many of them live in buildings that are already wrecked from past bombardments. Hundreds of families remained trapped in rubble, the opposition emergency organization, called the White Helmets, said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Strained health facilities and hospitals were quickly filled with wounded, rescue workers said. Others had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.</div><div><br></div><div>The region sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in a similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999. The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday\'s quake at 7.8. At least 20 aftershocks followed, authorities said, including one that measured 7.5.</div><div><br></div><div>Thousands of buildings were reported collapsed in a wide area extending from Syria’s cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey’s Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometers (200 miles) to the northeast. A hospital collapsed in the Mediterranean coastal city of Iskenderun, but casualties were not immediately known, his vice president, Fuat Oktay, said.</div><div><br></div><div>Televisions stations in Turkey aired screens split into four or five, showing live coverage from rescue efforts in the worst-hit provinces. In the city of Kahramanmaras, rescuers pulled two children alive from the rubble, while others tried to reach a relative.</div><div><br></div><div>Offers of help — from search-and-rescue teams to medical supplies and money — poured in from dozens of countries, as well as the European Union and NATO.</div><div><br></div><div>The damage evident from photos of the affected areas is typically associated with a significant loss of life — while bitterly cold temperatures and the difficulty of working in areas beset by civil war will only complicate rescue efforts, said Dr. Steven Godby, an expert in natural hazards at Nottingham Trent University.</div><div><br></div><div>In Turkey, people trying to leave the quake-stricken regions caused traffic jams, hampering efforts of emergency teams trying to reach the affected areas. Authorities urged residents not to take to the roads. Mosques around the region were opened to provide shelter for people unable to return to damaged homes amid temperatures that hovered around freezing.</div><div><br></div><div>The quake heavily damaged Gaziantep’s most famed landmark, its historic castle perched atop a hill in the center of the city. Parts of the fortresses’ walls and watch towers were leveled and other parts heavily damaged, images from the city showed.</div><div><br></div><div>In Diyarbakir, hundreds of rescue workers and civilians formed lines across a mountain of wreckage, passing down broken concrete pieces, household belongings and other debris as they searched for trapped survivors while excavators dug through the rubble below.</div><div><br></div><div>In northwest Syria, the quake added new woes to the opposition-held enclave centered on the province of Idlib, which has been under siege for years, with frequent Russian and government airstrikes. The territory depends on a flow of aid from nearby Turkey for everything from food to medical supplies.</div><div><br></div><div>The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense described the situation there as “disastrous.”</div><div><br></div><div>Osama Abdelhamid, who was being treated for injuries at a hospital in Idlib, said most of his neighbors died. He said their shared four-story building collapsed just as he, his wife and three children ran toward the exit. A wooden door fell on them and acted as a shield.</div><div><br></div><div>“I was reborn, thank God,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>In the small Syrian rebel-held town of Azmarin in the mountains by the Turkish border, the bodies of several dead children, wrapped in blankets, were brought to a hospital.</div><div><br></div><div>The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums in Syira said the earthquake has caused some damage to the Crusader-built Marqab, or Watchtower Castle, on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean. Part of a tower and parts of some walls collapsed.</div><div><br></div><div>The USGS said the quake was centered about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from Gaziantep. It was 18 kilometers (11 miles) deep.</div><div><br></div><div>More than 900 people were killed in 10 Turkish provinces, with more than 5,400 injured, according to Turkey\'s president. The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed over 330 people, with some 1,000 injured, according to the Health Ministry. In rebel-held areas, more than 200 people were killed, according to the White Helmets, though the SAMS medical organization put the toll at more than 135; both said hundreds were hurt.</div><div><br></div><div>Huseyin Yayman, a legislator from Turkey\'s Hatay province, said several of his family members were stuck under the rubble of their collapsed homes.</div><div><br></div><div>“There are so many other people who are also trapped,” he told HaberTurk television by telephone. “There are so many buildings that have been damaged. People are on the streets. It’s raining, it’s winter.” - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 15:34:00', '2023-02-06 15:34:00'),
(5030, 5030, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina has said that the death of Awami League lawmaker Moslem Uddin Ahmed is a great loss for the party.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"It is a big loss for the Awami League,\" she said while taking part in a condolence motion in the parliament.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury moved the motion in the House at the beginning of the session.</div><div> </div><div>Recalling his sincerity and dutifulness, she said the nation will remember him forever as he was a dedicated person for the party as well as for the nation.</div><div> </div><div>\"Despite his illness I made Moslem Uddin the president of Chittagong South Awami League, considering his contribution to the party,\" said Sheikh Hasina, also President of the AL.</div><div> </div><div>The Premier said that he joined politics during his student life and he was involved in the politics of the Chhatra League, Jubo League and Awami League. </div><div> </div><div>\"He was always active during the Liberation War in 1971 or the movements before it. He also participated in the Liberation War,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She recalled that Moslem Uddin Ahmed and Mohiuddin Chowdhury were arrested during an operation in the Liberation War.</div><div> </div><div>Sheikh Hasina said that Moslem Uddin was with the people of Chittagong, who raised their voices against the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div> </div><div>\"He was active in all movements,\" she said.</div><div> </div><div>Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Whip Samshul Haque Chowdhury, Whip Abu Saeed Al Mahmud Swapan and Jatiya Party lawmakers Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud, Kazi Firoz Rashid and Mosiur Rahman Rangan also spoke.</div><div> </div><div>A one-minute silence was observed and a munajat was offered seeking the eternal peace of the departed soul. Tarikat Federation MP Najibul Bashar Maijbhandari conducted the munajat.</div><div> </div><div>Later, due to the death of Moslem Uddin, the running lawmaker from the Chattogram-8 constituency, the meeting of the parliament was adjourned as per custom. According to BSS reports </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-02-06 16:11:22', '2023-02-07 08:47:28');
