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(3679, 3679, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Mitsubishi Power, a leading Japanese brand in power system solutions, has expressed commitment to continue its support for Bangladesh’s power industry.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Together with our valued partners and customers, we are committed to supporting Bangladesh in realising its energy needs and achieving net zero emissions,” said Osamu Ono, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mitsubishi Power Asia Pacific, while addressing a 2-day Gas Turbine Technical Seminar in the city on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>Mitsubishi Power, the power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, kicked off its two-day (December 11-12) event aimed at discussing the latest solutions and services in the power generation industry to advance energy security and decarbonisation.</div><div><br></div><div>Power secretary Habibur Rahman, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) chairman Md Mahbubur Rahman and Deputy Chief of Mission of Japan Embassy in Dhaka Machida Tatsuya also addressed the function.</div><div><br></div><div>Osamu Ono said Bangladesh was the first Asia-Pacific country where Mitsubishi Power successfully delivered a steam turbine back in 1960.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Since then, we have remained committed to our mandate and today, are responsible for approximately 20 percent of Bangladesh’s total energy production\", he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The country has immense potential for growth, fueled by progress in its power sector, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The event, attended by around 200 government representatives, industry leaders and local partners, includes dedicated user sessions and presentations by Mitsubishi Power’s technical experts that deep dive into Mitsubishi Power’s industry leading solutions and services – from decarbonisation technologies such as hydrogen and ammonia co-firing, to enhancement of the reliability and performance of gas turbines.</div><div><br></div><div>Addressing the event Habibur Rahman said that after achieving the target of 100 percent electricity supply across the country, now the transitional goal is to ensure affordable, better quality and uninterrupted power supply to all.</div><div><br></div><div>He hopes that Mitsubishi Power will be with them in achieving the target of 40,000 megawatt of power generation by 2030.</div><div><br></div><div>He also highlighted interest in hydrogen technology, citing Bangladesh\'s ‘Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan’ that seeks cleaner, renewable energy sources such as green hydrogen and blue hydrogen.</div><div><br></div><div>BPDB chairman Mahbubur Rahman appreciated Mitsubishi Power for partnering with Bangladesh for more than two decades and helping the country in achieving long-term power supply.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh has started hydrogen-based power generation, which will play an important role in reducing carbon emissions.</div><div><br></div><div>He expressed hopes that through this, Mitsubishi Power will play a special role in strengthening the partnership with the government towards achieving the country’s energy needs and the goal of zero carbon emission.</div><div><br></div><div>It was told that Mitsubishi Power’s gas turbines support Bangladesh’s power grid at five power plants across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Its M701F gas turbine was installed in Haripur as the first large-class gas turbine in Bangladesh and one of the most efficient and reliable in the country since 2014.</div><div><br></div><div>These power plants are complemented by after-sales and operations and maintenance services to ensure that plants remain efficient and support a constant supply of electricity across the country. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-11 14:11:45', '2022-12-11 14:11:45'),
(3680, 3680, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The chairman of the Bangladesh Security and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam has said that the capital market regulator is working to enhance the public\'s financial literacy so they can invest consciously and profitably.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">To this effect, the BSEC is cooperating with the Ministry of Education and the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) to include a chapter on the capital market in the secondary and higher secondary levels textbooks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Talking to UNB, Prof Shibli acknowledged that sometimes people are being influenced to invest their hard-earned money or chasing misinformation.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"If they can become financially literate, then no one can cheat them,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">With a nationwide average of 24.6 percent, the financial literacy score in Bangladesh is still quite low, according to a recent survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and Brac Business School.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Respondents with an educational qualification below SSC, people aged over 50, self-employed people, Dhaka natives, housewives, and farmers have the lowest scores, according to the 2022 survey report.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The BSEC is working to introduce real estate investment trust, or REIT, Pink, and Orange bonds in the capital markets by 2023. Through Pink bonds, small entrepreneurs can collect money for investment while SMEs and large entrepreneurs can collect money through Orange bonds.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Both the coloured bonds will be introduced to encourage women investors as well as empowering them in the financial sector, Prof Shibli said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Besides, the BSEC has a special bond plan for the garment and textile sector so that the entrepreneurs can collect money from the capital market to expand their business. At the same time the investors will encourage investment in this secured sector, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Prof Shibli said the country’s development projects cannot be completed depending on revenue only - project-based infrastructure bonds and municipal bonds for fund collection from the stock market would be a diversified funding scope for development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">If the project authority provides dividends of around 12-13 percent, then people will invest money in the project-based bond market instead of depositing their money in FDRs and saving certificates, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He said Bangladesh’s investment demand is over USD $800 billion for infrastructure and other service sector development in line with LDC graduation, which will not be possible to collect from domestic sources. But a large portion is possible through the capital market.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Replying to a question he said that investors who have the patience to invest in the capital market and who want to secure investment scope should invest in the bond market and get greater dividends than their returns from IDFs and saving certificates.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mutual funds, Treasury bonds’ and others are trading in the capital markets, where anyone or ordinary people can invest money. He said that the mutual funds are providing dividends of around 10 to 20 percent&nbsp; during the last 10/12 years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Those who have financial knowledge can invest in secondary share trading, and try to gain profit. They should prefer bonds and mutual funds,\" the BSEC chairman said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The regulator has pushed through dozens of reforms in the capital market, from imposing company audit systems and towards accountability of brokerage houses during his tenure. As a result, the capital market will be&nbsp; well-positioned in the future.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“We just planted the seed, from which the tree or plant will be visible within the next few years,” Prof Shibli said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 03:44:54', '2022-12-12 03:44:54'),
(3681, 3681, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A hand grenade jerry-rigged into the detergent tray of a Kherson home’s washing machine. A street sign maliciously directing passers-by toward a deadly minefield. A police station that allegedly housed a torture chamber but remains so booby-trapped that demining crews can’t even start to hunt for evidence.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sunday marks exactly one month since Russia\'s troops withdrew from Kherson and its vicinity after an eight-month occupation, sparking jubilation across Ukraine. But life in the southern city is still very far from normal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The departing Russians left behind all sorts of ugly surprises, and their artillery continues to batter the city from new, dug-in positions across the Dnieper River. The regional administration said Saturday that shelling over the past month has killed 41 people, including a child, in Kherson, and 96 were hospitalised.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Residents’ access to electricity still comes and goes, although water is largely connected, and indoor heating has only very recently been restored — and only to about 70-80% of the city — after the Russians last month blew up a giant central heating station that served much of the city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">For authorities and citizens, sifting through the countless headaches and hazards left behind by the Russians, and bracing for new ones, is a daily chore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">On Friday alone, according to the local affiliate of public broadcaster Suspilne, Russian forces shelled the region 68 times with mortars, artillery, tank and rocket fire. Meanwhile, in the last month, a total of 5,500 people have taken evacuation trains out, and work crews have cleared 190 kilometers (115 miles) of road, Suspilne reported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">When aid trucks arrived a month ago, war-weary and desperate residents flocked to the central Svoboda (Freedom) Square for food and supplies. But after a Russian strike on the square as a line of people queued to enter a bank in late November, such large gatherings have become less common and aid is doled out from smaller, more discreet distribution points.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Regional officials say some 80% of Kherson\'s pre-war population of about 320,000 fled after the Russians moved in, days after their invasion began on Feb. 24. With some 60,000-70,000 residents remaining, the city now has a feel of a ghost town. Those who remain mostly keep indoors because they\'re cautious about making forays into the streets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Life is getting back to normal, but there is a lot of shelling,\" said Valentyna Kytaiska, 56, who lives in the nearby village of Chornobaivka. She lamented the nightly “Bam! Bam!” and the unsettling uncertainty of where the Russian ordnance may land.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Normal is a relative term for a country at war. There’s no telling whether what Russia insists on calling a “special military operation” will end in days, weeks, months or even years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In the meantime, painstaking efforts go on to establish a better sense of normalcy, like clearing the mess and mines left behind by the Russians, in tough wintertime weather.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"The difficulties are very simple, it’s the weather conditions,\" said one military demining squad member, who goes by the nom de guerre of Tekhnik. He said some of their equipment simply doesn\'t work in frost conditions “because the soil is frozen like concrete.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The deployment of additional teams could help ease the heavy workload, he said. “To give you an idea, during the month of our work, we found and removed several tons of mines,\" said Tekhnik, adding that they focused only on about 10 square kilometers (about 4 square miles).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Kherson\'s Beryslavskyi district, a main road was blocked off with a sign reading “Mines Ahead” and rerouting passersby to a smaller road. In fact, it was that side road which was mined, and cost the lives of some military deminers. A few weeks later, four police officers were also killed there, including the police chief from the northern city of Chernihiv, who had come down to help Kherson regain its footing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The general state of disrepair of weather-beaten roads helped the outgoing Russians disguise their deadly traps: Potholes, some covered with soil, provided a convenient place to lay mines. Sometimes, the Russians cut into the asphalt to make holes themselves.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Demining squads go slowly house-to-house to ensure it\'s safe for owners or previous residents to return. Experts say a single home can take up to three days to be cleared.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">One crew turned up a hand grenade in one house, stuffed into a a washing machine — the pin placed in such a way that opening the detergent tray would set off an explosion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The city\'s main police station, where detainees were reportedly tortured, is packed with explosives. When demining squads tried to work their way in, part of the building exploded — so they\'ve shelved the project for now.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Longer term questions remain: Kherson sits in an agricultural region that produces crops as diverse as wheat, tomatoes, and watermelon — a regional symbol. The fields are so heavily mined that about 30% of arable land in the region is unlikely to be planted in the spring, Technik the deminer said. A cursory look reveals the tops of anti-tank mines poking up in the fields.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Even so, after a night of shelling from Friday evening into Saturday, Kherson resident Oleksandr Chebotariov said life had been even worse under the Russians for himself, his wife and 3-year-old daughter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“It\'s easier to breathe now,” the 35-year-old radiologist said — only to add: “If the banging doesn’t stop before the New Year, I’m going on vacation.” AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">bnbd24/kh</span><br></div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 03:52:28', '2022-12-12 03:52:28'),
(3682, 3682, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">More than 11,000 children are known to have been killed or maimed in Yemen\'s civil war since it escalated nearly eight years ago, the United Nations said Monday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"The true toll of this conflict is likely to be far higher,\" said the children\'s agency UNICEF about the casualties of the world\'s worst humanitarian crisis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Thousands of children have lost their lives, hundreds of thousands more remain at risk of death from preventable disease or starvation,\" said UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">About 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, one quarter of them aged under five, and most are at extreme risk from cholera, measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases, UNICEF said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Yemen\'s war broke out in 2014 and quickly saw Iran-backed Huthi rebels seize the capital Sanaa, prompting Saudi-led forces to intervene to prop up the government the following year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Hundreds of thousands have died since, either as a result of fighting or indirectly through unsafe drinking water, disease outbreaks, hunger and other impacts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The agency\'s latest numbers confirm 3,774 child deaths between March 2015 and September 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A UN-brokered truce lasted for six months until October 2, but warring parties then failed to agree on an extension.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Since then at least 62 children have been killed or wounded, said UNICEF.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"The urgent renewal of the truce would be a positive first step that would allow critical humanitarian access,\" Russell said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Ultimately, only a sustained peace will allow families to rebuild their shattered lives and begin to plan for the future.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The UN agency also said 3,904 boys had been recruited into the fighting over the years, and that more than 90 girls had been given roles including working at checkpoints.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">UNICEF appealed for $484.4 million in funding to tackle the humanitarian crisis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"If the children of Yemen are to have any chance of a decent future... all those with influence must ensure they are protected and supported,\" said Russell. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 03:56:45', '2022-12-12 03:56:45'),
(3683, 3683, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Lionel Messi and Argentina\'s World Cup dream remains alive but an indefatigable Croatia side inspired by the enduring brilliance of Luka Modric stands in their way in Tuesday\'s semi-final in Doha.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Argentina have recovered from the shock of losing their opening game in Qatar to Saudi Arabia and made the last four with an exhausting win on penalties against the Netherlands at the end of a fractious quarter-final on Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Having been 2-0 up and cruising after 83 minutes, with Messi setting up one goal in sublime fashion and netting a penalty, they conceded twice late on and had to survive extra time before triumphing 4-3 in a shoot-out.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Backed by an enormous contingent of travelling supporters who have brought the passion, noise and colour of Argentina\'s own stadiums to this World Cup, Messi and his teammates are starting to believe this really could be their year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"We have balls, passion, heart and we are doing this for 45 million people,\" said goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, and Argentina\'s optimism now has only increased after seeing great rivals Brazil go out in the last round.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Now aged 35, this has been billed as Messi\'s last chance to win a World Cup, eight years on from Argentina\'s defeat in the final to Germany in Rio de Janeiro.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He is determined to seize the chance and has already scored his first two goals in the knockout rounds of any World Cup, netting against Australia in the last 16 before his penalty against the Dutch.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">World Cup glory would complete a wonderful career for the seven-time Ballon d\'Or winner, who is possibly the greatest club player ever.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After years of being unfulfilled at international level he inspired Argentina to victory at last year\'s Copa America, but he knows there are no more dogged or durable opponents than Croatia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After all, any sense of relief at avoiding having to play Brazil in the last four will be tempered by the prospect of facing a Croatian side who knocked out the favourites on penalties and never know when they are beaten.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"They are a great team who matched up to Brazil and at times were much better,\" admitted Messi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"They have good players across the whole midfield and they have been working with the same coach since the last World Cup, so they all know each other very well.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">- \'Safer than money in the bank\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni switched to a five-man defence against the Netherlands as he brought Lisandro Martinez into his line-up.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">But the midfield is always key against Croatia, with Modric still controlling games at 37 and Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic completing a formidable trio.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After reaching the final four years ago, Croatia have beaten Japan and Brazil on penalties to make the semis here.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">They have gone to extra time in eight of their last nine major tournament knockout matches and the nation of just four million people has nothing to lose as they eye a place in the final against France or Morocco.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">And in Modric they have a master, the 2018 Ballon d\'Or winner who starred as Croatia beat Argentina 3-0 in the group stage four years ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"I think Mateo, Luka and Marcelo are the best midfield in history. When you pass them the ball, it is safer than having your money in the bank,\" said Josip Juranovic, another standout at right-back.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"We are so lucky to have them in the team.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Modric\'s history with Argentina goes back to 2006, when he made his international debut for Croatia aged 20 in a friendly between the teams.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Messi scored in that game but Croatia won 3-2. Zlatko Dalic\'s team will not be afraid of Argentina or their number 10 when the sides meet again at Lusail Stadium.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Asked about how they would handle Messi, Croatia forward Bruno Petkovic responded: \"We don\'t have a specific plan, at least not yet, for stopping Messi and usually we don\'t concentrate on one player, but Argentina is not only Messi.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Two players who will not feature for Argentina, however, are defenders Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna, both of whom are suspended. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 04:10:55', '2022-12-12 04:10:55'),
(3684, 3684, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">NASA’s Orion capsule made a blisteringly fast return from the moon Sunday, parachuting into the Pacific off Mexico to conclude a test flight that should clear the way for astronauts on the next lunar flyby.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The incoming capsule hit the atmosphere at Mach 32, or 32 times the speed of sound, and endured reentry temperatures of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) before splashing down west of Baja California near Guadalupe Island. A Navy ship quickly moved in to recover the spacecraft and its silent occupants — three test dummies rigged with vibration sensors and radiation monitors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">NASA hailed the descent and splashdown as close to perfect, as congratulations poured in from Washington..</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“I\'m overwhelmed,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said from Mission Control in Houston. “This is an extraordinary day ... It\'s historic because we are now going back into space — deep space — with a new generation.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The space agency needed a successful splashdown to stay on track for the next Orion flight around the moon, targeted for 2024 with four astronauts who will be revealed early next year. That would be followed by a two-person lunar landing as early as 2025 and, ultimately, a sustainable moon base. The long-term plan would be to launch a Mars expedition by the late 2030s.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Astronauts last landed on the moon 50 years ago. After touching down on Dec. 11, 1972, Apollo 17′s Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent three days exploring the valley of Taurus-Littrow, the longest stay of the Apollo era. They were the last of the 12 moonwalkers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Orion was the first capsule to visit the moon since then, launching on NASA’s new mega moon rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16. It was the first flight of NASA’s new Artemis moon program, named after Apollo’s mythological twin sister.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“From Tranquility Base to Taurus-Littrow to the tranquil waters of the Pacific, the latest chapter of NASA’s journey to the moon comes to a close. Orion back on Earth,” announced Mission Control commentator Rob Navias.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">While no one was on the $4 billion test flight, NASA managers were thrilled to pull off the dress rehearsal, especially after so many years of flight delays and busted budgets. Fuel leaks and hurricanes conspired for additional postponements in late summer and fall.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In an Apollo throwback, NASA held a splashdown party at Houston’s Johnson Space Center on Sunday, with employees and their families gathering to watch the broadcast of Orion’s homecoming. Next door, the visitor center threw a bash for the public.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Getting Orion back intact after the 25-day flight was NASA’s top objective. With a return speed of 25,000 mph (40,000 kph) — considerably faster than coming in from low-Earth orbit — the capsule used a new, advanced heat shield never tested before in spaceflight. To reduce the gravity or G loads, it dipped into the atmosphere and briefly skipped out, also helping to pinpoint the splashdown area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">All that unfolded in spectacular fashion, officials noted, allowing for Orion’s safe return.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“I don\'t think any one of us could have imagined a mission this successful,\" said mission manager Mike Sarafin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Further inspections will be conducted once Orion is back at Kennedy by month’s end. If the capsule checks find nothing amiss, NASA will announce the first lunar crew amid considerable hoopla in early 2023, picking from among the 42 active U.S. astronauts stationed at Houston’s Johnson Space Center.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“People are anxious, we know that,” Vanessa Wyche, Johnson\'s director, told reporters. Added Nelson: “The American people, just like (with) the original seven astronauts in the Mercury days, are going to want to know about these astronauts.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The capsule splashed down more than 300 miles (482 kilometers) south of the original target zone. Forecasts calling for choppy seas and high wind off the Southern California coast prompted NASA to switch the location.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Orion logged 1.4 million miles (2.25 million kilometers) as it zoomed to the moon and then entered a wide, swooping orbit for nearly a week before heading home.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">It came within 80 miles (130 kilometers) of the moon twice. At its farthest, the capsule was more than 268,000 miles (430,000 kilometers) from Earth.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Orion beamed back stunning photos of not only the gray, pitted moon, but also the home planet. As a parting shot, the capsule revealed a crescent Earth — Earthrise — that left the mission team speechless.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Nottingham Trent University astronomer Daniel Brown said the flight\'s many accomplishments illustrate NASA\'s capability to put astronauts on the next Artemis moonshot.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“This was the nail-biting end of an amazing and important journey for NASA’s Orion spacecraft,\" Brown said in a statement from England.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The moon has never been hotter. Just hours earlier Sunday, a spacecraft rocketed toward the moon from Cape Canaveral. The lunar lander belongs to ispace, a Tokyo company intent on developing an economy up there. Two U.S. companies, meanwhile, have lunar landers launching early next year. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"18\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 04:28:51', '2022-12-12 04:28:51'),
(3685, 3685, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">One of the most active volcanoes in Central America erupted over the weekend, spewing lava and ash and forcing Guatemalan authorities to briefly close the country\'s largest airport before activity eased on Sunday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The volcano named Fuego -- Spanish for fire -- rumbled into activity overnight Saturday into Sunday, with molten rock oozing down its slopes and ash belching two kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky. Winds carried the ash toward Guatemala City, 35 kilometers (22 miles) away.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">La Aurora international airport, six kilometers south of the capital, was temporarily closed at mid-morning, the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics said in a statement, citing the presence of ash near the runway.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">At least two incoming flights had to be diverted, aviation sources said, before it reopened around midday local time after winds changed direction and sent ash away from the facility.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In addition, a road that connects southern and central Guatemala was closed as a precaution, said Carlos Aquino, a spokesman for the highway police. It reopened Sunday afternoon as the volcano\'s activity subsided.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The volcano sits about 16 kilometers from Antigua, the country\'s picturesque former capital and biggest tourist attraction.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Fuego erupts every four to five years on average. In 2018, an eruption sent rivers of lava pouring down its sides, devastating the village of San Miguel Los Lotes, killing 215 people and leaving a similar number missing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Authorities said they were monitoring the latest eruption closely, but that no one had been evacuated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"With what happened in 2018, now the authorities are already more alert and more active,\" said Jose Sul, a resident of Alotenango, which lies at the eastern base of Fuego.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Locals saw a sudden expulsion of lava on Saturday night that reddened the sky. \"People here are used to experiencing this, and they look at it as normal,\" Demetrio Pamal, a 28-year-old Indigenous Mayan farmer, told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Many local families have a backpack ready with food, water, a flashlight and medicine so they can evacuate for up to three days at the drop of a hat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sunday afternoon, the Guatemalan volcanological institute said that \"activity has decreased; there are no longer pyroclastic flows or the emission of lava or eruptive columns loaded with ash.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"After several hours of relative calm, this eruptive activity can be considered over,\" said Roberto Merida, a technician at the volcanological institute.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Guatemala has two other active volcanoes -- Santiaguito in the west of the country and Pacaya in the south.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Fuego also adjoins the inactive Acatenango volcano -- at 3,500 meters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Unlike South America\'s Andean volcanoes, Guatemala\'s are not snow-capped because of Central America\'s warmer climate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Central America has more than 100 volcanoes, many of which are wildly popular tourist attractions, even though they occasionally cause death and destruction. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 04:43:01', '2022-12-12 04:43:01'),
(3686, 3686, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Air pollution still remains one of the top-most challenges for Bangladesh and Dhaka’s air turned ‘very unhealthy’ on Monday morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 176 at 9 am, the metropolis ranked seventh 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 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’, while a reading of 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; \">Iraq’s Baghdad, Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek and Uzbekistan’s Tashkent occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 340, 316 and 243, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Lahore and India’s Kolkata occupied the next two spots with an AQI of 223 and 216, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered \'unhealthy\', particularly for sensitive groups.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 04:53:31', '2022-12-12 04:53:31');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(3687, 3687, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The government has announced what it describes as one of the biggest overhauls of financial regulation for more than three decades.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">It says the package of more than 30 reforms will \"cut red tape\" and \"turbocharge growth\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Rules that forced banks to legally separate retail banking from riskier investment operations will be reviewed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Those were introduced after the 2008 financial crisis when some banks faced collapse.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The package of changes, the \"Edinburgh Reforms\", is being presented as an example of post-Brexit freedom to tailor regulation specifically to the needs and strengths of the UK economy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">However, critics say it risks forgetting the lessons of the financial crisis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Between 2007 and 2009 the then-Labour government spent £137bn of public money to bail out banks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Overall, taxpayers have lost £36.4bn on those bailouts, according to the latest estimate from independent forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The plans to ease regulations on financial services are being described as another \"Big Bang\" - a reference to the deregulation of financial services by Margaret Thatcher\'s government in 1986.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The government has already announced it will scrap a cap on bankers\' bonuses and allow insurance companies to invest in long-term assets such as housing and windfarms to boost investment and help its levelling up agenda.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Rules governing how senior finance executives are hired, monitored and sanctioned will be overhauled.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">There will also be new rules around bundling investments together into tradeable units - a process called securitisation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the changes would secure \"the UK\'s status as one of the most open, dynamic and competitive financial services hubs in the world\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The reforms \"seize on our Brexit freedoms to deliver an agile and home-grown regulatory regime that works in the interest of British people and our businesses\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mr Hunt met bosses of the UK\'s largest financial services in Edinburgh on Friday to discuss the reforms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">While in Edinburgh he was asked whether the reforms risked sowing the seeds of the next financial crash.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He said: \"We have learned the lessons of that crash, we put in place some very important guardrails which will remain, but the banks have become much healthier financially since 2008.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\'Race to the bottom\'</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">However, Labour\'s shadow City minister Tulip Siddiq said the reforms would bring more risk.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"That this comes after the Tories crashed our economy is beyond misguided,\" adding that the reforms were part of a \"race to the bottom\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Green charity the Finance Innovation Lab said the government \"is taking major risks with the stability of the economy\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Weakening the essential protections that were put in place after the global financial crisis is an incredibly dangerous move - they help keep the system stable and our money safe,\" said its chief executive Jesse Griffiths.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">But Chris Hayward, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, said the reforms would not weaken standards.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"It\'s a chance to actually grow our economy and I think we should be very excited about it,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After the financial crisis of 2008, when the government had to spend billions supporting the UK banking system, a new regime was brought in to increase the personal accountability of senior risk-taking staff.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">It allowed for fines, bans and even custodial sentences, although there have been very few examples of enforcement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">But City insiders say a major disadvantage it imposes is the lengthy process of getting the movement of senior staff to the UK approved by the regulator - making London less attractive to foreign firms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After the financial crisis, large banks were forced to separate or \"ring fence\" their domestic banking operations - mortgages and loans for example - from their investment banking operations, which expose their own cash to market volatility and were deemed riskier.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The cost of having two separate shock-absorbing cushions of spare money was seen by some as placing extra costs on the sector.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Most of the big banks have spent billions on this ring fencing and are not calling for its reversal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The reforms of ring fencing are aimed at mid-size banks such as Virgin Money and TSB.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The government also re-announced more freedom for the pensions and insurance industry to invest in longer term, illiquid assets - those that are hard to sell quickly such as social housing, windfarms, and nuclear - which the government will say helps their levelling up ambitions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">It is worth noting that although this will be billed as a Brexit freedom, the EU is undertaking similar reforms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">There was a nod to developing the UK as a centre for crypto assets, but with some caveats given the recent bloodbath after the demise of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Most financial industry leaders say they are crypto curious but do not feel the need to be first on this. \"Let the shipwrecks of others be your seamarks,\" said one.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\'Jurassic Park of companies\'</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">London\'s position as the pre-eminent European financial centre has been dented in recent years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The UK\'s capital city briefly lost its long-time crown of most valuable European stock market to Paris before gains in the pound pushed it narrowly back ahead, while Amsterdam took the title of busiest European share dealing centre.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Leading hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshall of Marshall Wace recently described the London financial markets as a \"Jurassic Park\" of old-fashioned companies and investors, and it has struggled to attract the world\'s fastest growing companies to list on UK exchanges, often losing out to New York, Shanghai or even Amsterdam. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 05:28:08', '2022-12-12 05:28:08'),
(3688, 3688, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Anil Kapoor and son Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Ananya Panday and Mahima Chaudhary and many others attended the Indian Television Academy Awards on Sunday. TV actors Dheeraj Dhoopar, Shraddha Arya and Disha Parmar also made a glamourous appearance on the red carpet.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Harsh walked the red carpet in a baby pink suit while Anil was in all black. Their film Thar won big at the event. While Harsh bagged Best Actor OTT, Raj Singh Chaudhary bagged Best director award for the film. Shreya Dev Dube also won Best Cinematography award at the event. Thar was a neo-Western action thriller film that released on Netflix in May. It was set in 1980s and had Anil as a cop, chasing a mysterious antique dealer, played by Harsh Varrdhan. The film also starred Fatima Sana Shaikh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Neena Gupta wore a pink outfit for the awards. She won two awards for her web series Panchayat season 2 and shared a video on Instagram to share her happiness on the same. She captioned it, “Do do awards for #panchayat. Best actor comedy &amp; Best actor popular!” She is seen showing off her trophies while being seated among the audience.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Ananya walked the red carpet at the event in a red blouse with capes and pink skirt with a thigh high slit. Varun Dhawan too attended the event and was in a blue suit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Raveena Tandon, who made her OTT debut with Aranyak, also walked the red carpet. She was in a white blouse and skirt paired with a long shrug. She had played the role of a cap in the web series. Huma Qureshi chose a shimmery red gown for the event. She featured in the web series Mitya this year. Her latest outing was Netflix Original, Monica O My Darling.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Nia Sharma walked the red carpet in a white gown with a thigh-high slit. She recently participated in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa season 10. Disha Parmar who plays the lead on Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2 was in a shimmery grey saree. She received the Best Actress award at the event and posed with co-star Nakuul Mehta on the red carpet. Shraddha Arya along with husband Rahul Nagal was also spotted. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 06:01:29', '2022-12-12 06:01:29'),
(3689, 3689, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today announced the “Smart Bangladesh” by 2041 goal.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“We will make Bangladesh a developed country by 2041, and that Bangladesh will be Smart Bangladesh,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The PM made the announcement while attending the inaugural programme of ‘Digital Bangladesh Day 2022’ – giving away prizes among winners of an online quiz competition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The ICT Division arranged the programme at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) with the theme ‘Advanced Technology Inclusive Development’.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sheikh Hasina said that from Digital Bangladesh, the country will be transformed into Smart Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">She also said that the government has set four bases to realise the Smart Bangladesh goal. These are: Smart Citizen, Smart Economy, Smart Government and Smart Society.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sheikh Hasina said that the government also formulated the Delta Plan 2100 to outline the development path of the country apart from Vision 2041.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Prime Minister hoped that the youths will take the country forward and will groom themselves as smart citizens to become soldiers for the 2041 goal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Post, Telecommunication and ICT Ministry Chairman AKM RahmatUllah, and ICT Division Senior Secretary NM Zeaul Alam also spoke at the programme.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Earlier, the prime minister gave away prizes among the winners of a quiz contest. Each winner got laptop, mobile phone and certificates.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A documentary on Digital Bangladesh was also screened at the programme.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Prime Minister through digital authentication by placing her hand on a tab inaugurated Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-Tech Park in Rajshahi and Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center in Barishal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">She also unveiled a graphic novel “Kamal”, based on the life sketch of Shaheed Sheikh Kamal, and a publication on Digital Bangladesh. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 06:48:33', '2022-12-12 06:48:33'),
(3690, 3690, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Argentina’s Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero has announced that the South American country will open an embassy in Bangladesh.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The decision follows Bangladesh’s overwhelming support for Lionel Messi and the Argentina team playing in the Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022, reports MercoPress, a south Atlantic news agency, on Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Bangladesh has always had a die-hard Argentina fanbase, but during this Qatar World Cup, they grabbed global attention by displaying their immense passion. It all began when a video of ecstatic Bangladeshi supporters cheering Messi’s goal against Mexico was posted by the official FIFA Twitter account.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The tale of Bangladesh and Argentina quickly went viral, and started trending on the internet. The Argentine media also covered it. Later, the official Twitter account of Argentina’s national football team tweeted about Bangladesh with the following message: “Thank you for supporting our team!! They are crazy like us!”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Argentines joined the media and journalists in expressing their gratitude for Bangladesh on social media. As a reciprocation for Bangladesh’s undying love for the Argentine football team, an Argentine fan group for the Bangladesh national cricket team was created on social media.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The MercoPress report quoted Argentine Foreign Minister Cafiero saying he will visit Bangladesh next year to finalise the proposal after participating in the G-20 Foreign Ministers’ Summit in India.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In August this year, Cafiero met with his Bangladeshi counterpart, AK Abdul Momen, to promote bilateral cooperation and agreed to “widen potential for trade growth.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Argentine Foreign Ministry said in a statement that they seek to explore bilateral relations, mainly in the commercial aspect, and to diversify trade through opening an embassy in Bangladesh, as per the media report.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Last year, Argentina exported products – mostly wheat, corn, and by-products of soybeans – worth USD 876 million to Bangladesh, a record high that resulted in a USD 862 million trade surplus for the South American nation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In July, Argentina informed Bangladesh that the South American country is open to exporting soybean, beef and fertilizer to Bangladesh. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 06:57:50', '2022-12-12 06:57:50'),
(3691, 3691, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Lionel Messi and Argentina\'s bid for a third World Cup crown is being boosted by hordes of travelling fans that have transformed each of their matches in Qatar into virtual home games.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Argentine football venues are renowned for their seething intensity -- iconic Buenos Aires cauldrons such as the Bombonera or Monumental tremble with passionate ferocity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Those kinds of scenes have been recreated regularly at Doha\'s Lusail Stadium, where tens of thousands of Argentine fans have created a raucous wall of blue-and-white-shirted sound.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Argentina have already played three games at the glittering 88,966-seat arena, where Messi and his team-mates will battle Croatia on Tuesday, aiming to book a place in the World Cup final.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After most Argentina games, the \"Albiceleste\" have lingered on the pitch long after the final whistle, sharing a moment of emotionally charged communion with their supporters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"We like to take advantage of these moments with the people who are here and in Argentina, where everyone is euphoric,\" Messi said following Friday\'s quarter-final win over the Netherlands.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">According to the Argentine embassy in Qatar, between 35,000 and 40,000 fans have travelled to the World Cup to support the team, one of the largest contingents of overseas supporters at the tournament.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">That sizeable support has been augmented by thousands of Qatar-based migrant workers from India and Bangladesh, where Messi and Argentina enjoy widespread support.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Compared to France, Argentina aren\'t quite at the same level as a team -- but they are a team who are benefiting from the support they have here,\" the Argentina-born former France striker David Trezeguet told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">At the end of each of their victories at the World Cup, after joining supporters in post-match singing, Argentina\'s players will repeat the line that they are playing for \"45 million\" of their compatriots.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"What I do, I do for the 45 million, They are going through a bad economic period. Giving people joy is the best thing that I can do at the moment,\" said Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, the hero of Friday\'s penalty shootout win over the Netherlands.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>- Economic hardships –</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Trezeguet believes the bond between Argentina\'s players and their supporters has been forged by the economic crisis battering the country, where inflation has skyrocketed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"My first memories of the Argentina team were in Mexico in 1986. It was crazy back then, but nothing like as crazy as it is now,\" Trezeguet said. \"The socio-economic situation in Argentina at the moment has made the support for the team more passionate than ever.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">According to reports in the media, many of the fans who have travelled to Qatar have spent years saving up to make the trip, diligently converting their Argentine pesos into US dollars in order to avoid the ravages of inflation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Others such as Beto, a fan in his 60s interviewed by AFP as he walked through Doha\'s Souq Waqif, have travelled to Qatar from the United States or elsewhere after emigrating overseas. The passion, however, remains as intense as ever.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Even though I\'ve lived in the United States for a long time, if you cut my wrist, I will bleed blue and white,\" Beto told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"We have an immense passion for football. We suffer a lot on a daily basis because there are problems in our country, the economy is not doing well. But football gives us this energy which allows us to go from nothing to everything.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">That passion is evoked in two songs that have regularly reverberated around Qatar\'s stadiums when Argentina are playing -- \"Vamos Argentina\" and \"Muchachos\", a de facto national anthem of the national team which name-checks Messi, Diego Maradona and the 1982 Falklands War between Argentina and Britain.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Argentina is a complex, politically fractured country. There are few subjects that unite the country -- but the Falklands and the football team do,\" said Edgardo Esteban, director of the Falklands Museum in Buenos Aires. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 07:24:55', '2022-12-12 07:24:55'),
(3692, 3692, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said that public universities in Bangladesh lagged behind in adapting to virtual or online class when the government tried to introduce it during the Covid-19 pandemic.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Let me share something regrettable. Our public universities were a bit slow in using the digital system in education during the pandemic period. They were far behind (compared to private universities),” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Prime Minister said this while attending the inaugural programme of Digital Bangladesh Day 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">ICT Division organised the programme at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) with the theme ‘Advanced Technology Inclusive Development’.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sheikh Hasina said that during the pandemic, public universities expressed reluctance to go for online classes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Private universities started that (online classes) quickly. But our public universities (did not), even Dhaka University (did not start promptly),” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">She said that after repeated requests, public universities of the country introduced online classes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“That was the reality. When a system is beneficial to us, why should we not adopt that?” – she questioned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">If there were no ‘Digital Bangladesh’, what would have happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, she wondered. “Everything would come to a standstill.” UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 08:02:26', '2022-12-12 08:02:26'),
(3693, 3693, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">According to a new phase 2 clinical trial led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute doctors, a three-medicine combination that drove chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) patients into profound remissions in a clinical study is very beneficial in patients with high-risk variants of the disease.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The initial cohort of the trial, which included patients with any subtype of CLL, found that a regimen of acalabrutinib, venetoclax, and obinutuzumab produced deep remissions in 89% of participants. The new cohort, which exclusively included patients with high-risk CLL, found a similar deep-remission rate of 83%.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The study\'s lead author, Christine Ryan, MD, of Dana-Farber, will present the findings at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The trial, conducted at Dana-Farber, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Stamford (Conn.) Hospital, and Lifespan Health System, in Rhode Island, involves 68 patients with previously untreated CLL, 41 of whom have a mutation and/or deletion in the TP53 gene in their tumor cells -- an abnormality associated with an aggressive form of the disease.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Patients are treated with acalabrutinib (a targeted drug), obinutuzumab (an antibody therapy), and venetoclax (a targeted agent) on a specified schedule that can continue for up to 16 cycles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">At a median follow-up of 35 months, 83% of the high-risk patients had undetectable minimal residual disease (MRD) -- no detectable CLL cells per 100,000 white blood cells -- in their bone marrow.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">And, 45% had the deepest measurable response to the treatment: complete remission and undetectable MRD in the bone marrow.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Overall, the treatment was well-tolerated, researchers found, with low rates of cardiovascular problems and infections.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After nearly three years of follow-up, 93 per cent of the trial participants were alive with no advance of their disease. The study has in part supported the development of a large, phase III trial of the regimen for patients with CLL without high-risk disease that has the potential to lead to FDA approval of the regimen.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Our data provide foundational support for using this triplet therapy in patients with high-risk CLL patients,\" says study senior author and principal investigator Matthew Davids, MD, MMSC, of Dana-Farber. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 08:30:11', '2022-12-12 08:30:11'),
(3694, 3694, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Six leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) were injured in a clash between two factions of district Awami League during&nbsp; its triennial council in Chuadanga on Monday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The injured are Chuadanga district BCL’s former president Mohaimen Hasan Joardar, former general secretary Tarek Hasan, BCL leaders Feroz Joardar, Raju Ahmed, Hirak and Swapan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A group of leaders and activists of Awami League took seats in the first row of the pandal at the council venue at Chuadanga Town Football ground this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The clash broke out when some other leaders and workers led by&nbsp; former BCL&nbsp; president Mohaimen were barred from sitting in the first row.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">At one stage, a group BCL activists attacked the other group including Mohaimen with chairs at the venue, leaving six people injured, said injured Hirak.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Later, the injured were sent to Chuadanga Sadar Hospital where they are undergoing treatment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Police brought the situation under control by charging batons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Chuadanga Police Superintendent Abdullah Al Mamun said, “I’ve come to know the matter through a video footage. I don\'t know who was beaten, where and when or who was admitted to the hospital. We will look into the matter.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After seven years, the triennial conference of Chuadanga District Awami League is being held today (Monday) at the town football ground of the district with more than 50,000 people joining it.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Awami League presidium member Kazi Zafar Ullah will announce the opening of the council while Awami League General Secretary and Minister of Road Transport and Bridges Obaidul Quader will speak as chief guest joining the event virtually. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 08:40:46', '2022-12-12 08:40:46'),
(3695, 3695, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will stage a demonstration in the capital on Tuesday protesting the arrest of the party leaders and activists including its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the police action at their central office.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The programme will be held at 2pm in front of the party’s central office at Nayapaltan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">BNP\'s standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain announced the programme at a press conference at its central office on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Besides, their party’s all city and district units will hold mass processions on the same day on same ground as per their prescheduled programme announced from Golapbagh rally .</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">This would be BNP’s first programme in front of their central office after its closure following police raid on the office.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">On Sunday noon, the central office at Nayapaltan was reopened after four days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">On December 7, a Swechchasebak Dal leader was killed and around 50 others were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office ahead of its December 10 rally.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">On December 8, a Dhaka court sent 445 BNP leaders and activists including Annie and Salam to jail in two cases filed over the December 7 violence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Besides, in the early hours of December 9, a team of Detective Branch (DB) of police picked up Mirza Fakhrul and Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas from their homes in separate raids in the capital city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A Dhaka court sent Mirza Fakhrul and Abbas to jail rejecting their bail petitions in the case on the same day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Later they were shown arrested in a case filed under the Explosive Substances Act with Paltan police station over the clash. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 08:50:18', '2022-12-12 08:50:18'),
(3696, 3696, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">You work for yourself as your own boss, when you want, and where you want. Starting a freelance business can be highly rewarding.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Since the 2020 pandemic, the number of freelancers has increased, many of whom have been disillusioned by the nine-to-five life. But making it solo isn’t as easy as it might seem.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>New freelancers have to work hard to set up a client base and earn a good income. As a result, it could take weeks or months before you develop a decently sized clientele.</div><div><br></div><div>1. Understand Your Niche</div><div>Although this freelancing tip may seem obvious, it isn’t. Before taking other steps, new freelancers must understand the space they’re about to enter. Therefore, they must conduct comprehensive research to understand their niche and how they fit into it.</div><div><br></div><div>Some freelancers might have knowledge about their niche from previous full-time jobs, but that isn’t enough when you’re handling all the work by yourself.</div><div><br></div><div>Since you’re going solo, you need to dig deep into your niche. Your research should help you identify:&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>2. Become a Generalist or a Specialist</div><div>As a freelancer, you can be a generalist in your industry, or you can venture into specific topics and services.</div><div><br></div><div>A freelance writer, for example, can choose to write for any niche they find clients in, or they could build authority in one niche, let’s say health and wellness.</div><div><br></div><div>3. Build a Website</div><div>All freelancers need to have a website to showcase their work. There is nothing better than an online portfolio to help new clients understand your capabilities.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“If you are creating a website yourself and can’t afford to hire a designer, then consider looking into website templates so that you’re still putting something out there that’s beautifully done,” advises Breanna Rose, founder of Rowan Made.</div><div><br></div><div>4. Create a Process</div><div>No matter how good a freelancer tip is, there is something you have to build on your own — discipline.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As a freelancer, you should have a defined work process that dictates your everyday workflow, not just for your craft but also for back-end operations.</div><div><br></div><div>5. Pick Tools Within Your Budget</div><div>Freelancers heavily rely on software to get work done, especially with remote working becoming the norm.</div><div><br></div><div>Upwork estimates that 22% of the American workforce will be working remotely by 2025.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As a freelancer, you’re paying for all your tools by yourself. That means you have to handpick your tools to match your budget.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>If you’re starting and can’t afford to pay for all the best software, you need to make the most of what you have.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>WordPress, for example, is a great web host that’s inexpensive. You can use it for the first few months to a year before commissioning a custom website based on your freelance career.</div><div><br></div><div>It’s important to remember that there’s plenty of free, open-source software that can do what a paid app does. So, in the beginning, it might be better to use multiple free tools rather than shelling out for a whole platform.</div><div><br></div><div>Unless previously specified, your clients will not care if you use free or paid tools to get the job done. They just want high-quality work within the given deadlines.</div><div><br></div><div>6. Set Your Rate</div><div>This freelancer tip is crucial to you and your career long-term.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Your rate depends on your niche, but generally, you can charge by the hour or the project. You can also split up payments across project milestones or deliverables.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>A freelance writer, for example, can do all of the above but can also charge per word.</div><div><br></div><div>There are many ways to decide how much to charge clients. Here is a detailed guide that could help.</div><div><br></div><div>Generally, a flat rate is better than an hourly rate. That is because hourly rates give clients the opportunity to dispute the hours listed or question the amount of work needed. Micro-management is another big worry for hourly payments.</div><div><br></div><div>PRO FREELANCING TIP: If you decide to use a flat rate, always ask for a deposit upfront. You can choose how the client will make the payments.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>For example, you can ask for half your fee before the project commences and the rest when you’ve submitted the assignment. Customize it for every project.</div><div><br></div><div>Clients will likely offer lower rates for beginners. The key is to build up your client base quickly, so you have proven work experience and testimonials that empower you to negotiate for higher prices.</div><div><br></div><div>Once you’ve got your bills covered, you can switch clients based on your desire to explore new topics or branch out into other forms of freelancing.</div><div><br></div><div>7. Leverage Social Media</div><div>Every freelancer must be comfortable with marketing themselves.</div><div><br></div><div>Social media platforms are excellent for this. You can use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to advertise your skills and get in touch with brands for potential work.</div><div><br></div><div>Self-promotion is crucial, especially if you’re new to the industry as a whole.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>While an experienced creator will have knowledge acquired from previous jobs, all a rookie has to show for their work are self-made samples. Many clients on job boards will not give you a chance over industry pros - this is why you must reach out and market yourself.</div><div><br></div><div>On platforms like Twitter, there are specific hashtags, such as #freelancedeveloper, that you can browse through to find freelance jobs or freelancing tips from experts.</div><div><br></div><div>Pick hashtags for your niche and leverage them to showcase your work and attract interest.</div><div><br></div><div>Remember that your social media efforts should complement your job board and freelance platform efforts. According to reports.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 09:13:21', '2022-12-12 09:13:21'),
(3697, 3697, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said her government is working to transform the country into \"Smart Bangladesh\" from a digital one by 2041.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"We will build Bangladesh as a developed and prosperous country by 2041. That Bangladesh will be a Smart Bangladesh. We will transform into Smart Bangladesh from the digital one,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier said her government is working to successfully implement the four bases of building \"Smart Bangladesh\" that included making smart citizens, smart economy, smart government and smart society.</div><div><br></div><div>In the Smart Bangladesh, everything will be done through technology where the citizens will be efficient in using technology and the entire economy will be run through technology, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She added that a huge task has already been done to make the government as well as the society as smart.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Describing the young generation as soldiers of transforming Bangladesh into a developed and prosperous country by 2041, she said, \"You (youths) will have to prepare yourselves as smart citizens being soldiers of 2041.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said this while addressing a programme as the chief guest marking the Digital Bangladesh Dibos-2022 and distributing prizes among the winners of the online quiz competition and Digital Bangladesh Puruskar (award)-2022.</div><div><br></div><div>At the programme, she also inaugurated the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib High-Tech Park in Rajshahi, having Joy Silicon Tower, Bangabandhu Digital Museum and a Cineplex&nbsp; and Sheikh Kamal Information Communication Training and Incubation Centre in Barishal district.</div><div><br></div><div>The Information and Communication Technology Division organised the function at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital city with the theme \"Advanced Technology, Inclusive Development.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister also unveiled the cover of digital and print versions of two books on Sheikh Kamal and Digital Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Affairs Ministry AKM Rahmatullah spoke at the function.</div><div><br></div><div>Senior Secretary of Information and Communication Technology Division NM Zeaul Alam gave the address of welcome.</div><div><br></div><div>Theme song of the Digital Bangladesh Dibos-2022, marking 14 years of building a digital Bangladesh, was also screened alongside broadcasting an audio visual documentary on Digital Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>On 12 December 2008, Sheikh Hasina made the announcement of the initiative to build a digital Bangladesh as the main premise of \"Vision 2021.\" Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 10:27:46', '2022-12-12 10:27:46'),
(3698, 3698, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">France has won this year\'s Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Yerevan, Armenia.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Thirteen year old Lissandro won with 203 points for his song Oh Maman! beating hosts Armenia in second place, Georgia third, and Ireland fourth.</div><div><br></div><div>The United Kingdom came fifth overall with 146 points - although it did win the public vote.</div><div><br></div><div>The UK\'s entrant, Freya Skye, performed live after suffering with vocal issues during rehearsals.</div><div><br></div><div>This year marks the 20th anniversary of the contest, with 16 countries competing, and is the first time the contest was broadcast on the BBC, with Lauren Layfield and HRVY commentating.</div><div><br></div><div>It\'s also the first time in more than 15 years that the UK has taken part in the junior version, where entrants have to be aged between nine and 14.</div><div><br></div><div>The result is determined by a 50/50 vote, with half of the votes deriving from online voting, and the other half from professional juries - which are based on the final dress rehearsal.</div><div><br></div><div>Serbia\'s act did not perform live due to \"medical reasons\", with viewers seeing a rehearsal performance instead.</div><div><br></div><div>The voting system is slightly different from the adult edition, as viewers were able to vote for their own country.</div><div><br></div><div>Junior Eurovision apologised for issues with the online voting element that prevented some viewers from picking their favourite during Sunday\'s show. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 10:54:00', '2022-12-12 10:54:00');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(3699, 3699, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The country\'s first-ever elevated metro rail is expected to be inaugurated partially in the last week of this month from Uttara to Agargaon as the much-awaited metro rail service is ready for commercial operation.</span><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"We have completed all sorts of construction works and now the last time preparation is going on in a full swing. We are expecting to launch the metro rail service by the last week of this month as per the Prime Minister\'s convenient time,\" said MAN Siddique, Managing Director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL).</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>He said this while briefing journalists at Metrorail Exhibition Information Centre (MEIC) here today on the occasion of a press tour jointly organised by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and MEIC to apprise the journalists of the latest update on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6.</div><div><br></div><div>Chief Representative of JICA, Bangladesh Ichiguchi Tomohide also spoke on the occasion while Project Director of MRT Line-6 Md Aftabuddin Talukder was present at the programme, among others.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Siddique said the train is now operating a system trial or service trial and it will operate a blank operation (moving without passengers) from December 18 ahead of the launching of the service.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"A total of 12 trains are ready for operation, but initially 10 will run having six coaches each train while the remaining two will be on standby to ensure an uninterrupted metro rail service if any one of the operational trains faces any problem or technical glitch,\" he added.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The DMTCL managing director said primarily the train will run for a specific period with a limited number of passengers and the frequency between two trains will be a little bit high, but the metro rail service will go on the full pledged operation by two or three months of its inception, complying with the international standard.</div><div><br></div><div>Noting that the metro rail service will be launched up to Motijhil by December 2023 and Kamlapur by June 2025, Siddique said a train from Uttara north station will reach Agargaon station within 20 minutes while it will take only 40 minutes to reach Kamlapur station once the service goes on a full operation.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Speaking on the occasion, Ichiguchi Tomohide of JICA said the launching of the operation of MRT Line-6 from Uttara to Agargaon this year is a great achievement of the golden jubilee of the relationship between Bangladesh and Japan.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>He also said the metro rail service will play a pivotal role in reducing traffic congestion and environmental pollution on a greater scale in the capital city while the service will provide a safe travel environment for women.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, the journalists were taken to the Uttara north station where the officials concerned showed and briefed the process of riding on a metro rail in practical.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Earlier at the outset of the programme, two documentaries were screened on the metro rail project and how to ride on the train and behave in the station area,&nbsp; according to BSS reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 12:09:01', '2022-12-12 12:09:01'),
(3700, 3700, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Lionel Messi and Argentina\'s bid for a third World Cup crown is being boosted by hordes of travelling fans that have transformed each of their matches in Qatar into virtual home games.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Argentine football venues are renowned for their seething intensity -- iconic Buenos Aires cauldrons such as the Bombonera or Monumental tremble with passionate ferocity.</div><div><br></div><div>Those kinds of scenes have been recreated regularly at Doha\'s Lusail Stadium, where tens of thousands of Argentine fans have created a raucous wall of blue-and-white-shirted sound.</div><div><br></div><div>Argentina have already played three games at the glittering 88,966-seat arena, where Messi and his team-mates will battle Croatia on Tuesday, aiming to book a place in the World Cup final.</div><div><br></div><div>After most Argentina games, the \"Albiceleste\" have lingered on the pitch long after the final whistle, sharing a moment of emotionally charged communion with their supporters.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We like to take advantage of these moments with the people who are here and in Argentina, where everyone is euphoric,\" Messi said following Friday\'s quarter-final win over the Netherlands.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the Argentine embassy in Qatar, between 35,000 and 40,000 fans have travelled to the World Cup to support the team, one of the largest contingents of overseas supporters at the tournament.</div><div><br></div><div>That sizeable support has been augmented by thousands of Qatar-based migrant workers from India and Bangladesh, where Messi and Argentina enjoy widespread support.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Compared to France, Argentina aren\'t quite at the same level as a team -- but they are a team who are benefiting from the support they have here,\" the Argentina-born former France striker David Trezeguet told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>At the end of each of their victories at the World Cup, after joining supporters in post-match singing, Argentina\'s players will repeat the line that they are playing for \"45 million\" of their compatriots.</div><div><br></div><div>\"What I do, I do for the 45 million, They are going through a bad economic period. Giving people joy is the best thing that I can do at the moment,\" said Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, the hero of Friday\'s penalty shootout win over the Netherlands.</div><div><br></div><div>- Economic hardships -</div><div><br></div><div>Trezeguet believes the bond between Argentina\'s players and their supporters has been forged by the economic crisis battering the country, where inflation has skyrocketed.</div><div><br></div><div>\"My first memories of the Argentina team were in Mexico in 1986. It was crazy back then, but nothing like as crazy as it is now,\" Trezeguet said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"The socio-economic situation in Argentina at the moment has made the support for the team more passionate than ever.\"</div><div><br></div><div>According to reports in the media, many of the fans who have travelled to Qatar have spent years saving up to make the trip, diligently converting their Argentine pesos into US dollars in order to avoid the ravages of inflation.</div><div><br></div><div>Others such as Beto, a fan in his 60s interviewed by AFP as he walked through Doha\'s Souq Waqif, have travelled to Qatar from the United States or elsewhere after emigrating overseas. The passion, however, remains as intense as ever.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Even though I\'ve lived in the United States for a long time, if you cut my wrist, I will bleed blue and white,\" Beto told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We have an immense passion for football. We suffer a lot on a daily basis because there are problems in our country, the economy is not doing well. But football gives us this energy which allows us to go from nothing to everything.\"</div><div><br></div><div>That passion is evoked in two songs that have regularly reverberated around Qatar\'s stadiums when Argentina are playing -- \"Vamos Argentina\" and \"Muchachos\", a de facto national anthem of the national team which name-checks Messi, Diego Maradona and the 1982 Falklands War between Argentina and Britain.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Argentina is a complex, politically fractured country. There are few subjects that unite the country -- but the Falklands and the football team do,\" said Edgardo Esteban, director of the Falklands Museum in Buenos Aires. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 12:29:06', '2022-12-12 12:29:06'),
(3701, 3701, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">China will drop a travel tracing requirement as part of an uncertain exit from its strict “zero-COVID” policies that have elicited widespread dissatisfaction.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>At midnight on Monday, the smart phone app will cease to function, meaning residents’ travels will not be traced and recorded, potentially reducing the likelihood they will be forced into quarantine for visiting pandemic hot spots.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>China’s ruling Communist Party allows no independent parties to conduct verification and such apps have been used in past to suppress travel and free speech. It’s part of a package of apps that includes the health code, which has yet to be disabled, ARAB NEWS reported.</div><div><br></div><div>The move follows the government’s snap announcement last week that it was ending many of the most draconian measures. That follows three years of lockdowns, travel restrictions and quarantines on those moving between provinces and cities, mandated testing, and requirements that a clean bill of health be shown to access public areas.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 13:42:06', '2022-12-12 13:42:06'),
(3702, 3702, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The cabinet today directed the authorities concerned to strengthen cyber security in the country.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The directive came at an unscheduled discussion of the regular cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the Prime Minister\'s Office (PMO) here.</div><div><br></div><div>Following the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam briefed the media this afternoon at the secretariat.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the cabinet asked to ensure modern equipment to strengthen cyber security.</div><div><br></div><div>As the country is going towards digital banking, special importance on cyber security is being given, he mentioned.</div><div><br></div><div>Anwarul Islam said the cabinet gave directive to quickly complete the works of the project undertaken for submarine cable.</div><div><br></div><div>It also asked authorities concerned to quickly complete the works of providing gas and oil pipelines to ensure supply.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The cabinet approved the draft of the \'Sarkari Chakori (Songsodhon) Ain\', he said, adding that if the law is passed in parliament, autonomous institutions will need consent from Finance Division on financial issues like government institutions.</div><div><br></div><div>\'Sarkari Chakori Ain\' was passed in Parliament in 2018 but there was some ambiguity in it, he said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>As per the act, the finance division is the authority for financial issues for government institutions but there was ambiguity about financial issues of autonomous and statutory bodies like Anti-Corruption Commission in the act, he mentioned.</div><div><br></div><div>He said autonomous universities will also be under the purview of the act.</div><div><br></div><div>The cabinet recommended ratifying the agreement between Iran and Bangladesh on prevention of double taxation and tax evasion.</div><div><br></div><div>Khandker Anwarul Islam joined the cabinet meeting as the cabinet secretary for the last time today as he will go on post retirement leave on December 15. Water Resources Senior Secretary Kabir Bin Anwar has already been appointed as the new cabinet secretary. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 15:36:20', '2022-12-12 15:36:20'),
(3703, 3703, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Bangladesh Bank has appointed observers at Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) and First Security Islami Bank Limited (FSIBL).</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Central bank spokesperson Mezbaul Haque today said its directors Abul Kalam Azad and Motasem Billah will work as observers at the IBBL and the FSIBL respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>The observers will attend meetings of the Shariah-based banks’ boards of directors and executive and audit committees and report to the central bank. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 15:40:01', '2022-12-12 15:40:01'),
(3704, 3704, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Iran says it has carried out a second execution linked to the anti-government protests engulfing the country.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Majidreza Rahnavard was hanged \"in public\" early on Thursday in the city of Mashhad, the judiciary announced.</div><div><br></div><div>A court convicted him of the charge of \"enmity against God\" after finding he had stabbed to death two members of the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force.</div><div><br></div><div>Human rights groups have warned that protesters are being sentenced to death after sham trials with no due process. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-12 15:42:56', '2022-12-12 15:42:56'),
(3705, 3705, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Bahamas police have arrested Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, the country\'s attorney general has said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Bahamas said it received formal notification from the US of criminal charges against Mr Bankman-Fried.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Last month FTX filed for bankruptcy in the US, leaving many users unable to withdraw their funds.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">It was the second largest crypto exchange in the world, trading about $10bn of crypto coins every day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the US Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY [Southern District of New York]. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time,\" the US Attorney\'s office in Manhattan said in a tweet.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In a series of interviews and public appearances in recent weeks, Mr Bankman-Fried has acknowledged that mistakes were made at the firm but sought to distance himself from accusations of illegal activity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"I didn\'t ever try to commit fraud,\" he said at the New York Times\' Dealbook Summit at the end of last month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on 11 November in one of the most high profile collapses of cryptocurrency exchange after users pulled $6bn (£4.9bn) from the platform in three days and rival exchange Binance abandoned a rescue deal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">At the same time, Mr Bankman-Fried resigned as FTX\'s chief executive.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">According to a court filing last month, FTX owed its 50 largest creditors almost $3.1bn.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The collapse of FTX came during a tumultuous year for the cryptocurrency industry.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">This year Bitcoin has lost more than 60% of its value, while other cryptocurrencies have also slumped.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mr Bankman-Fried was once viewed as a young version of legendary US investor Warren Buffett, and as recently as late October had a net worth estimated at more than $15bn.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He had become well known in Washington DC as a political donor, supposedly supporting pandemic prevention and improved crypto regulation. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 01:53:03', '2022-12-13 01:53:03'),
(3706, 3706, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, has suffered from heavy Russian shelling and air strikes since the start of the war in February.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Officials there say they have been collecting the remains of Russian munitions fired at the city, including fragments of missiles and rockets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Local prosecutors say the missiles caused the deaths of hundreds of civilians and hope the casings can serve as evidence in any future court action against Russia. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 01:58:31', '2022-12-13 01:58:31'),
(3707, 3707, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Iran says it has publicly hanged a 23-year-old in what is the second execution linked to the recent anti-government protests.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Majidreza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged early on Monday in the city of Mashhad, the judiciary said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A court convicted him of \"enmity against God\" after finding he had stabbed to death two members of the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Rahnavard was hanged just 23 days after his arrest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Human rights groups have warned that protesters are being sentenced to death after sham trials with no due process.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">His mother was not told of the execution until after his death.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">His family were then given the name of a cemetery and a plot number. When they turned up, security agents were burying his body.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The judiciary\'s Mizan news agency said Rahnavard was hanged \"in the presence of a group of Mashhadi citizens\" and posted several pre-dawn photographs reportedly showing the execution.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In the images a man could be seen hanging from the cable in front of onlookers - it is not clear how many people attended the execution, or who they were.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Rahnavard was denied a lawyer of his choice for his trial. The lawyer he was given did not put up a defence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mizan had previously reported that he was accused of stabbing to death two members of the Basij on a street in Mashhad on 17 November. The Basij is a volunteer force often deployed by Iranian authorities to suppress dissent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Norway-based Iran Human Rights, said on Twitter that Rahnavard\'s sentencing was based on \"coerced confessions, after a grossly unfair process and a show trial\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"This crime must be met with serious consequences for the Islamic Republic,\" he said, adding that there was a \"serious risk of mass execution of protesters\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The women-led protests against Iran\'s clerical establishment were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by morality police on 13 September for allegedly wearing her hijab, or headscarf, \"improperly\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">They have spread to 161 cities in all 31 provinces and are seen as one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Iran\'s leaders have portrayed the protests as \"riots\" instigated by the country\'s foreign enemies. However, the overwhelming majority of protesters have been unarmed and peaceful. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 02:43:15', '2022-12-13 02:43:15'),
(3708, 3708, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Six people, including two police officers, have been shot dead after a suspected ambush at a remote Australian property.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Police said they had been searching for a missing person in Wieambilla - 270km (168 miles) west of Brisbane, Queensland - when they were fired upon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After a lengthy siege, three suspects were fatally shot by police. A motive remains unclear, authorities said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it a \"heartbreaking day\" for Australia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Four Queensland police officers initially went to the property on Monday afternoon local time, after a request from New South Wales police.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, were shot dead as they approached. Another officer suffered a \"bullet graze\" and the fourth escaped the property, police said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">An unnamed neighbour, aged 58, was also killed by the suspects during the siege after going to investigate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll described it as an \"unimaginable tragedy\" and the force\'s largest loss of life in a single incident in many years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Those officers did not stand a chance. The fact that two got out alive is a miracle,\" she said after visiting the scene on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mr Arnold and Ms McCrow were relatively new to the police force but both had earned a reputation for being committed and courageous, Ms Carroll said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Both under 30 years of age. Both had wonderful careers and lives ahead of them,\" she said, visibly emotional.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A group of 16 local officers had \"bravely\" tried to rescue the pair - hoping they were still alive - before specialist police arrived and took over the operation, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The siege continued for hours, before the suspects - two men and one woman who have not been named - were shot.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">With investigations ongoing, Ms Carroll said she couldn\'t say if police were lured to the property, or comment on a possible motive. She said \"many weapons\" were used during the incident.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Local media reported that the officers were ambushed and Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers alleged they were killed \"in cold blood\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"They were met by gunfire which was just relentless,\" he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"They were executed.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Local MP David Littleproud said the attack had left his community \"numb\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"[These] are small country towns where this sort of thing just doesn\'t happen,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The deaths will be investigated by the coroner and the police response will be examined by the force\'s ethical standards command, in line with standard practice. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 03:10:14', '2022-12-13 03:10:14'),
(3709, 3709, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Elon Musk\'s Twitter has dissolved its Trust and Safety Council, the advisory group of around 100 independent civil, human rights and other organizations that the company formed in 2016 to address hate speech, child exploitation, suicide, self-harm and other problems on the platform.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The council had been scheduled to meet with Twitter representatives Monday night. But Twitter informed the group via email that it was disbanding it shortly before the meeting was to take place, according to multiple members.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The council members, who provided images of the email from Twitter to The Associated Press, spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fears of retaliation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Our work to make Twitter a safe, informative place will be moving faster and more aggressively than ever before and we will continue to welcome your ideas going forward about how to achieve this goal,” said the email, which was signed “Twitter.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The volunteer group provided expertise and guidance on how Twitter could better combat hate, harassment and other harms but didn’t have any decision-making authority and didn’t review specific content disputes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council was a group of volunteers who over many years gave up their time when consulted by Twitter staff to offer advice on a wide range of online harms and safety issues,\" tweeted council member Alex Holmes. “At no point was it a governing body or decision making.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Twitter, which is based in San Francisco, had confirmed the meeting with the council Thursday in an email in which it promised an “open conversation and Q&amp;A” with Twitter staff, including the new head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">That came on the same day that three council members announced they were resigning in a public statement posted on Twitter that said that “contrary to claims by Elon Musk, the safety and wellbeing of Twitter’s users are on the decline.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Those former council members soon became the target of online attacks after Musk amplified criticized of them and Twitter’s past leadership for allegedly not doing enough to stop child sexual exploitation on the platform.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“It is a crime that they refused to take action on child exploitation for years!” Musk tweeted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A growing number of attacks on the council led to concerns from some remaining members who sent an email to Twitter on Monday demanding the company stop misrepresenting its role.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Those false accusations by Twitter leaders were “endangering current and former Council members,” the email said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Trust and Safety Council, in fact, had as one of its advisory groups one that focused on child exploitation. This included the National Center for Missing &amp; Exploited Children, the Rati Foundation and YAKIN, or Youth Adult Survivors &amp; Kin in Need. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"5\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 03:28:45', '2022-12-13 03:28:45'),
(3710, 3710, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh Bank (BB) has appointed observers for Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited and First Security Islami Bank.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The central bank took this decision on Monday after reports of loans being approved provided without collateral and required documents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In this context, the central bank decided to appoint observers in both banks. Both banks are owned by a Chittagong-based S. Alam Group.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Spokesperson of BB Mazbaul Haque told UNB that as per the central bank’s policy, several instructions have been given to the two banks. Observers will monitor whether these instructions are being followed or not.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Abul Kalam, Director of Forex Reserve and Treasury Management Department, has been made the observer at Islami Bank. And in First Security Islami Bank, the director of the payment service department, Motasim Billah, has been appointed as the observer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Earlier, the BB had appointed observers to Islami Bank in December 2010 due to fear of loan irregularities and militant financing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After this, an officer of the rank of Director (then General Manager) of the central bank started attending various meetings of the Bank. In 2017, the ownership and management of the bank was transferred to a Chittagong-based S. Alam group while Bangladesh Bank was under observation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Then in March 2020, the observer was removed by the central bank. Then-Governor of the central bank Fazle Kabir approved the removal of the observer from the bank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Now again the question has arisen of huge loan irregularities, particularly in favour of the controlling group\'s other units.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">People related to the banking sector believe that the recent loan irregularities of Islami Bank are even worse than the irregularities of Hallmark, Basic, and Farmers Bank of Sonali Bank. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 03:35:41', '2022-12-13 03:35:41'),
(3711, 3711, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">To improve food security in Bangladesh at a time of rising commodity prices amid a global shortfall of staple crops, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing $32.5 million loan to Singapore-based agricultural commodity-trading company Agrocorp International Pte Ltd, which is a leading supplier of wheat and pulses to Bangladesh.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">According to IFC, the largest global development institution which is focused on the private sector in emerging markets, is providing an eight-year financing package consisting of a senior secured loan of up to $18 million as well as a concessional loan of $14.5 million from the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">At a time when trade financing has been constrained globally amid price instability, the investment will allow Agrocorp to buy and deliver millions of tonnes of wheat and pulses from Australia and Canada to Bangladesh, providing safe, nutritious, and calorie-rich staples to the country at a time of heightened food insecurity. These staples are sold to millers and food processors, which depend on them to produce basic foods for the Bangladeshi population, a media statement by IFC said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Agrocorp plays an important role in addressing food security in Asia, which has become more vital with all the recent shocks in global food-supply chains,” said Vijay Iyengar, Chairman and Managing Director, Agrocorp International.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“We are delighted to be partnering with IFC for this loan, which will allow us to scale up our work to provide an even stronger platform to secure food supplies for emerging markets such as Bangladesh,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“We are pleased that IFC is able to provide financial support for Agrocorp to reinforce its position in global food supply chains, and in this instance to serve the markets in Bangladesh during these challenging times”, said Geoffrey Yeo, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Singapore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“We are glad that Singapore’s role as a global trade hub has enabled companies like Agrocorp to play an important role in managing global food supplies” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The war in Ukraine has exacerbated food inflation globally, sparked high and volatile energy and fertilizer prices and restrictive trade policies, and has also worsened supply-chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Wheat has been particularly affected, as Ukraine and Russia have traditionally accounted for over a quarter of the global-trade volumes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In addition, about a quarter of Bangladesh’s population of 165 million people face food insecurity due to the impacts of climate change and the rising frequency of natural hazards, such as flooding caused by monsoon rains.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">This convergence of crises threatens to drive more people into extreme poverty, magnify hunger and malnutrition, and erase hard-won development gains in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“This investment ensures the supply of essential raw materials to food producers and processors in Bangladesh, allowing the availability of safe, nutritious, and calorie-rich staple foods to be available”, said Hector Gomez Ang, Regional Director for South Asia, IFC. “</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The IFC investment is in line with a new $6 billion Global Food Security Platform (GFSP), which aims to mobilise private investment to address the deterioration in food security, particularly in the world’s most vulnerable countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Since 2010, IFC has invested over $3.6 billion to help private sector growth in Bangladesh. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 04:47:49', '2022-12-13 04:47:49'),
(3712, 3712, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The US Air Force announced Monday it successfully tested a hypersonic missile, a cutting edge strategic weapon that is also being developed by China and Russia.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) was launched from a B-52H bomber on Friday off California\'s coast and \"reached hypersonic speeds greater than five times the speed of sound, completed its flight path and detonated in the terminal area,\" the Air Force said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"This test was the first launch of a full prototype operational missile,\" it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The United States has multiple hypersonic weapons programs, and the Pentagon\'s high-tech research body DARPA tested a different missile earlier this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Hypersonic missiles pose a potential threat to the global military balance, capable of being steered to deliver nuclear weapons precisely on target, at speeds too fast to intercept.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">China carried out a test of a hypersonic missile last year, and Russia has used hypersonic weapons during its war in Ukraine. North Korea claims to have conducted test flights as well.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The United States highlighted the growing danger from hypersonic weapons in its 2022 Missile Defense Review report.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Hypersonic weapons, designed to evade US sensors and defensive systems, pose an increasingly complex threat due to their dual (nuclear/conventional) capable nature, challenging flight profile, and maneuverability,\" the report said. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 04:53:23', '2022-12-13 04:53:23'),
(3713, 3713, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Dhaka ranked as the&nbsp; second most polluted city in the world with ‘very unhealthy’ air quality on Tuesday morning.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Dhaka’s air quality index (AQI) score was 268 at 10 am today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">An AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’, while a reading of 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; \">India’s Kolkata and Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek occupied the first and thirs spots in the list, with AQI scores of 278 and 230, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered \'unhealthy\', particularly for sensitive groups.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The worsening air quality of Dhaka city is threatening the health status and life of its residents. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 05:03:15', '2022-12-13 05:03:15');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(3714, 3714, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed Western leaders again on Monday to provide more advanced weapons to help his country in its war with Russia, and he repeated his calls for Russian forces to withdraw from occupied areas of Ukraine, suggesting Christmas as a date to retreat.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">During a video conference, Zelenskky told host Germany and other leaders of the Group of Seven industrial powers: “It would be right to begin the withdrawal of Russian troops from the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine this Christmas. If Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine, then a reliable cessation of hostilities will be ensured.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He added: “The answer from Moscow will show what they really want there: either a further confrontation with the world or finally an end to aggression.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The G-7 leaders supported Zelenskyy\'s appeal, saying in a statement after their meeting that “Russia can end this war immediately by ceasing its attacks against Ukraine and completely and unconditionally withdrawing its forces from the territory of Ukraine.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Kremlin has rejected all previous appeals to reverse its land grabs in Ukraine. It didn’t immediately respond to this latest one.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The two countries haven\'t engaged in any recent peace talks and there is no end in sight for the war, which is in its 10th month and has killed and wounded tens of thousands of people and left dozens of Ukrainian cities and towns in ruins .</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Russia has illegally annexed parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, though it doesn\'t fully control all of them. Zelenskyy has said his goal is to reclaim all occupied territory, while Russian President Vladimir Putin insists on solidifying his forces\' control over the areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In his address to the G-7, Zelenskyy echoed his prime minister\'s Sunday appeal for long-range missiles, modern tanks, artillery and missile batteries and other high-tech air defense systems to counter Russian attacks that have knocked out electricity and water supplies for millions of Ukrainians. He acknowledged that, “Unfortunately, Russia still has an advantage in artillery and missiles.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told French broadcaster LCI that in addition to making Ukrainians suffer, Russia wants to swamp Europe with Ukrainian refugees by striking power stations and other infrastructure. Zelenskyy told the G-7 that protecting Ukraine\'s energy facilities from Russian missiles and Iranian drones “will be the protection of the whole of Europe, since with these strikes Russia is provoking a humanitarian and migration catastrophe not only for Ukraine, but also for the entire EU.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Poland\'s president, Andrzej Duda, said his nation already has seen an increased demand to shelter refugees.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"The number of refugees in Poland has risen (recently) to some 3 million. That will probably also mean an increase in their numbers in Germany,” Duda said following talks with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">On Monday, Russian shelling again mostly focused on eastern and southern regions that Putin illegally annexed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">To defend against further strikes, Shmyhal repeated Ukrainian calls for Patriot surface-to-air missiles — a highly sophisticated system. During the LCI interview, he also asked for more German and French air-defense systems, resupplies of artillery shells and modern battle tanks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Providing Patriot missiles to Ukraine would advance the kinds of defense systems the West is sending to help the country repel Russian aerial attacks, and would likely mark an escalation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A U.S. official told reporters the Pentagon has no current plans to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine, but that discussions continue. The key issue is that the complex, high-tech system requires significant maintenance and training, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations in Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Air defenses were also a topic of a phone call Zelenskyy held Sunday with U.S. President Joe Biden. Biden \"highlighted how the U.S. is prioritizing efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense through our security assistance, including the Dec. 9 announcement of $275 million in additional ammunition and equipment that included systems to counter the Russian use of unmanned aerial vehicles,\" the White House said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The G-7 leaders said in their statement that they\'ve set an “immediate focus on providing Ukraine with air defense systems and capabilities.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Even with their current systems, Ukrainian forces have already succeeded in intercepting missiles and drones, and a spokeswoman for the country\'s southern armed forces, Natalia Humeniuk, said Monday on Ukrainian TV that “the effectiveness of anti-aircraft defense is 85%-90%” against weaponized drones.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">U.S. officials agree with Ukraine\'s reported success in shooting down drones and missiles, attributing the high kill rate in part to intelligence that the U.S. and other allies are providing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Russian drones are still active. Their attacks near the Black Sea port of Odesa over the weekend destroyed several energy facilities and left all customers except hospitals, maternity homes, boiler plants and pumping stations without power.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Slovakia said that in cooperation with Germany, it has opened a center to repair Ukrainian howitzers and air defense systems of Western origin. The center is located inside a military base in the town of Michalovce, some 35 kilometers (22 miles) west of the border with Ukraine, the EU member nation\'s Defense Ministry said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In Ukraine, the eastern Donbas region, made up of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, again has become a focus of intense fighting, particularly around the city of Bakhmut.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Ukrainian officials said Monday the country’s forces hit a hotel in the Luhansk region that served as a headquarters of the Wagner Group, a private Russian military contractor and mercenary group that has played a prominent role in eastern Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The region\'s Ukrainian governor, Serhiy Haidai, said in an unverified claim that hundreds of Russians were killed in the strike on Kadiivka on Sunday. Moscow-backed local officials in Luhansk confirmed that a Ukrainian strike destroyed a hotel building in Kadiivka but claimed it was unused.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Ivan Fedorov, the Ukrainian mayor of the southeastern town of Melitopol, reported that Ukraine attacked a hotel that reportedly housed analysts from Russia’s top security agency, the FSB. Moscow did not comment on that claim, and none of the reports could be independently confirmed. Russian officials, meanwhile, accused Ukrainian forces of blowing up pillars of a bridge in a suburb of Melitopol on Monday night. Various reports said Russian forces had been using the bridge to transport supplies and that traffic across it has now stopped.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Elsewhere, the Ukrainian prosecutor general\'s office said two civilians were killed and 10 were wounded in Russia’s shelling of the town of Hirnyk in the Donetsk region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Yaroslav Yanushevych, the governor of the Kherson region, said a Russian strike on the southern city of the same name, which Ukraine reclaimed a month ago, killed two civilians and left five wounded Monday. He said the Russian shelling hit residential buildings and damaged power lines.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">And in Skadovsk, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) south of Kherson where the Russian-installed Kherson regional administration had been relocated, a senior government official was lightly injured Monday in an assassination attempt, the Russian Ria-Novosti news agency reported. The driver of a car carrying the official was killed in the attack, it said. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 05:27:43', '2022-12-13 05:27:43'),
(3715, 3715, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC today celebrated the \"Digital Bangladesh Day-2022\" by arranging discussion at its Bangabandhu Auditorium on Monday afternoon.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Taking part in the discussion, Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Muhammad Imran highlighted the tremendous progress of digitalization in Bangladesh under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since the government launched the epoch-making \"Digital Bangladesh\" campaign in 2009.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He also mentioned the important role of Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the architect of \"Digital Bangladesh\" vision and the ICT Adviser to the Prime Minister, a press release said here today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Ambassador Imran called upon the expatriates to project Bangladesh\'s success stories in different fields including digitalisation abroad that took place over the last decade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">First Secretary (Visa and Passport Wing) Muhammad Abdul Hye Milton also took part in the discussion and highlighted the background and success of Digital Bangladesh concept of the government.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">facebook sharing buttontwitter sharing buttonmessenger sharing buttonwhatsapp sharing buttonsharethis sharing button. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 05:55:55', '2022-12-13 05:55:55'),
(3716, 3716, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Counter Terrorism &amp; Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested the ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Shafiqur Rahman early hours of Wednesday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Deputy Commissioner (media) of DMP Faruq Hossain confirmed it to UNB but he didn’t disclose the details of the arrest and the allegations against the Jamaat ameer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Acting Secretary General of Jamaat ATM Masum in a statement claimed the arrest was made around 1 am from his residence in the capital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He condemned and protested the arrest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He said the government cannot stop the ongoing political protests in the country by such arrests. “The people’s movement cannot be stopped by creating fear, attack and filing cases,” he said in his statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Masum urged the authority to immediately give unconditional release of arrested Jamaat leaders including Shafiqur and leaders of other political parties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">On December 11, the ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami announced a 10-point demand largely overlapping with the BNP\'s, and declared a mass rally on December 24 just after the BNP\'s announcement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Jamaat-e-Islami made the announcement to build a nationwide simultaneous mass movement based on the 10-point demand to restore democracy in the country and bring back the people\'s rights, said a media statement..UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 06:04:30', '2022-12-13 06:04:30'),
(3717, 3717, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A writ petition seeking first class facility in jail for BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas was filed Tuesday with the High Court.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The petition was submitted to the bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Mohammad Ali.</div><div><br></div><div>Mirza Fakhrul’s wife Rahat Ara Begum, Mirza Abbas’ wife Afroza Abbas and advocate AJ Mohammad Ali submitted the petition.</div><div><br></div><div>Raising the petition for hearing on Tuesday advocate Ali said “This is a very urgent matter. Two former ministers have not been given division in jail.”</div><div><br></div><div>Later, the bench scheduled the hearing on the petition at 3:00 pm onTuFakhrul, Abbas sent to jail ahead of BNP’s Dhaka rallyesday.</div><div><br></div><div>In the early hours of Friday, a team of Detective Branch (DB) of police picked up Fakhrul and Abbas from their homes in separate raids in the capital city.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, they were arrested in a case filed over the clash between police and the party activists in the capital’s Nayapaltan.</div><div><br></div><div>On Monday, a Dhaka court rejected the bail petition of 224 leaders and activists of BNP, including Fakhrul and Abbas, and sent them to jail, pending further legal procedures. UNB</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 06:49:11', '2022-12-13 06:49:11'),
(3718, 3718, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Days after announcing that he was making his film debut as a director, Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan has now also announced his maiden foray into the business world. The 25-year-old, is planning to launch a premium vodka brand in India along with his partners. For this, he and his partners have tied up with the world’s largest brewing company.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Last week, taking to Instagram, Aryan had announced that he would be making his entertainment debut as a director and showrunner of a series he has written. The announcement was met by congratulations from all sides, including father Shah Rukh Khan. Unlike his father, Aryan has no interest in acting, he has often stated. But quite like his father, Aryan is diversifying into business avenues as well.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A Mint report stated that Aryan and his two partners--Bunty Singh and Leti Blagoeva--are planning to launch a premium vodka brand and expand into the brown spirits market later. For this, they have launched a company called Slab Ventures, which has partnered with the local arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the world’s largest brewer, for distribution and marketing purposes. Talking about his business venture, Aryan told Mint, “We thought there was a kind of a void in the current space. And when there’s a void, there’s an opportunity, and I think businesses are all about opportunity.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">As per the report, Slab Ventures is targeting the more affluent consumers of the country and plans to diversify further with other premium consumer segments, including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, apparel, and accessories. “The thought was to kind of combine high quality, a youthful disruptive vision, and cool aesthetics, and bring it under one roof, and by doing that, appeal to the more mature, discerning consumers as well as the younger generation,” said Aryan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Aryan is the oldest child of Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan. He has two siblings--sister Suhana Khan, who is gearing up for her own Bollywood debut with Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies, and AbRam Khan, who is 9 years old. In the past, Aryan and Suhana have filled in for Shah Rukh at the Indian Premier League auctions for his team Kolkata Knight Riders. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 07:54:34', '2022-12-13 07:54:34'),
(3719, 3719, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">State Minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam has said Bangladesh needs \"brotherly support\" from Saudi Arabia to fulfill its energy demands amid global oil crisis due to Russia- Ukraine war.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He made the remark while Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yousef Essa Al Duhailan paid a courtesy call on him at foreign ministry here on Monday, a foreign ministry press release said today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In reply, the envoy assured that he would take up the oil supply issue with the concerned Saudi stakeholders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">During the meeting, the Ambassador expressed satisfaction at the state of excellent bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia which is growing rapidly in various fields including political, economic, defence, manpower, business, trade and investment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The envoy apprised the State Minister about the follow-up of the visit by the Saudi Deputy Interior Minister to Dhaka in last November 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He also updated him about the increasing engagement of Saudi investors in various fields including potential Saudi investment in the EEZ earmarked for Saudi Arabia.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Alam stated that his office was ready to push forward any issues/proposals from the Saudi side in making headways.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Saudi Envoy also apprised the Minister about the recent terrorist activities conducted by the Houthis in Arab peninsula despite ceasefire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He appreciated the role of Bangladesh in supporting Saudi Arabia and in denouncing terrorism against the Houthis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The State Minister underlined the need to engage more efforts to scale up bilateral collaboration with Saudi Arabia beyond the traditional labour market and Hajj and Umrah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He stated that Saudi Arabia was playing a more visible role in multilateral fora which is encouraging for the Muslim Ummah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Alam stressed the need for expanding collaboration in the new and emerging areas through time-bound and target-oriented roadmap and expedite pending investment agenda and new areas of collaboration. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 08:15:18', '2022-12-13 08:15:18'),
(3720, 3720, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today stressed the need for addressing traditional and non-traditional threats to ensure national security as the pattern of crimes has changed with the advent of newer technology.</span><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"Nowadays, the security concept is changed as on the one hand, digital devices brought many advantages and on the other hand changed the pattern of terrorism, militancy and crimes. So, it is equally important to defend non-traditional and traditional threats to ensure national security,\" she said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She also said she wants a peaceful environment to prevail in Bangladesh and added, \"We have taken the country ahead following such a way.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister was addressing as the chief guest the graduation ceremony of Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) Course-2022 and handing over certificates among the graduates at the DSCSC\'s Sheikh Hasina Complex, Mirpur Cantonment, in city.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Sheikh Hasina reiterated her call to the world leaders to stop the Russia-Ukraine war immediately for the welfare of the global community.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;\"We don\'t want war rather want peace. We want to resolve all disputes and differences through talks,\" she added</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister said her government is making the armed forces developed and powerful not to engage in war with anyone.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"Our foreign policy, \"Friendship to all, malice to none\" is very clear. We\'re running the state with maintaining friendly relations to all following the foreign policy adopted by the Father of the Nation,\" she said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister said they have even not engaged in any quarrel with Myanmar over repatriation of their forcibly displaced national Rohingyas to their home land.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"We\'re trying to solve the problem through discussions,\" she added.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The premier referred to solving the land boundary issue with India through discussion and establishing rights in the vast sea areas and on its resources after winning legal battles with neighbouring India and Myanmar maintaining friendly relations.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She once again alerted the countrymen against rumour about the foreign currency reserve and liquidity in banks, saying, \"A vested quarter is out to spread rumors about the foreign reserve and liquidity in banks. Don\'t pay heed to the rumour.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She assured the people of having enough foreign reserves and liquidity in banks.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Sheikh Hasina said her government has been able to transform Bangladesh into a digital and developing country in line with the Vision-2021 mentioned in the election manifesto of 2008.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"It is a great achievement for us to make Bangladesh a developing country when the nation celebrates the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of the country\'s independence,\" she said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister said they are now out to make Bangladesh a developed and prosperous country and transform \"Digital Bangladesh\" into a \"Smart Bangladesh\" by implementing the Vision-2041.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She greeted 250 officers including 46 from 21 friendly countries for completing their DSCSC Course-2022 and hoped the local graduates would take the country to a dignified position using their knowledge, willing power and commitment acquired from the training.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"This year, eight female officers graduated (from the DSCSC),\" she said, adding that a total of 5979 personnel from home and abroad have so far graduated from the DSCSC.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister extended her heartiest congratulation to foreign graduates.</div><div><br></div><div>She said, \"I believe you have compassion and respect for Bangladesh and our people in your hearts. So, I expect you will act as goodwill ambassadors of Bangladesh from now on. I wish you every success in life.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said her government had taken various initiatives to transform the armed forces into modern and powerful alongside making socio-economic development upon assuming power through people\'s mandate in 1996 after 21 years.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>At that time, she said her government had built the National Defence College in 1998, Military Institute of Science and technology in 1999, Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training and Armed Forces Medical College alongside appointing female officers in the army, navy and air forces in 2000.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Sheikh Hasina said her government is implementing short, mid and long term plans to make ultra-modern, time-befitting, and more developed armed forces since her party is in power for the third consecutive term from 2009.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"We are taking measures to make the armed forces more modern and developed after coming to power for the second time by implementing the Forces Goal-2030 in line with the Defence Policy, 1974 formulated by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister attached topmost priority to training, saying that the overall standard of armed forces would not be achieved through only collecting the world class war weapons, rather it required time-befitting and future oriented training alongside the war weapons.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She said her government is working to make the armed forces personnel as competent enough as none of them lags behind compared to any force of the globe.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;She also said they (armed forces personnel) have to work with other military members of various countries in the UN peacekeeping missions.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister said her government has introduced a digital system in all the forces including the armed forces.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Besides, the government is making all citizens technologically sound to develop them worthy of doing work effectively during the fourth industrial revolution. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 10:20:55', '2022-12-13 10:20:55'),
(3721, 3721, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Brazilian security personnel and supporters of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro clashed on Monday near the capital\'s police headquarters, following the arrest of an Indigenous chief involved in recent protests.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The unrest in Brasilia began after the Federal Supreme Court (STF) ordered Jose Acacio Serere Xavante to be detained for 10 days over charges he was threatening the \"democratic rule of law.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Law enforcement officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the protesters, some of whom were wearing yellow Brazilian national team jerseys, carrying wooden sticks and throwing stones, an AFP photographer saw.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities said the clashes broke out after some of the demonstrators attempted to break into the police compound and free Serere Xavante.</div><div><br></div><div>In the center of the capital, several cars and buses were attacked and set on fire.</div><div><br></div><div>Around 11:00 pm (0200 GMT), more than two hours after the clashes began, Brazilian Justice Minister Anderson Tores tweeted that \"everything will be investigated and clarified,\" noting that the situation was \"normalizing.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Officials ordered the closing of a major avenue as a preventive measure and said that security was being reinforced at the hotel where President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is staying.</div><div><br></div><div>On Wednesday, the leftist Lula received official documentation that he is president-elect, formally closing the intensely polarized electoral process between him and right-wing Bolsonaro. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 10:37:13', '2022-12-13 10:37:13'),
(3722, 3722, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 10 people were injured during a clash between police and workers of a garment factory in Gazipur on Tuesday as they blocked Dhaka-Tangail highway demanding arrears.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The workers of New Line Clothing Limited Factory put up blockaed on the highway near Mouchak area around 9 am, disrupting movement of all kind of vehicles on the road.</div><div><br></div><div>As police tried to remove them from the road agitated workers started throwing brick chips, leading to a chase-counter-chase, said Sahidur Rahman, in charge of Mouchak police outpost.</div><div><br></div><div>Police charged baton and lobbed tear shells and managed to disperse them around 10 am, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The protesting workers said 10 people including workers and local shop owner were hurt during the clash and taken treatment from a local hospital.</div><div><br></div><div>The authority of New Line Clothing Ltd has not paid wages to workers for last three months and salary the staff for last five months, said the workers.</div><div><br></div><div>In charge of Mouchak outpost Shahidur said industrial police have been deployed in the area and the situation is under control now as the workers left the highway and took position in front of the factory. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 11:03:44', '2022-12-13 11:03:44'),
(3723, 3723, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Argentina and Lionel Messi face Croatia on Tuesday in a World Cup semi-final that pits South American flair against the guile of Luka Modric and a remarkable fighting spirit.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>In the second semi-final on Wednesday, reigning champions France take on giant-killing Morocco, the first African team ever to reach the last four of a World Cup.</div><div><br></div><div>But first all eyes will be on the cavernous Lusail Stadium, where Messi, now 35, will attempt to guide Argentina into the final for the second time in eight years against the beaten finalists in 2018.</div><div><br></div><div>Messi, who suffered defeat to Germany in the 2014 final, is desperate to crown an extraordinary career by finally winning the World Cup and emulating another Argentinian legend, the late Diego Maradona.</div><div><br></div><div>The Paris Saint-Germain forward was a pivotal figure in Friday\'s stormy quarter-final win over the Netherlands, when a record 18 yellow cards were shown and players from both sides were involved in a melee as the referee fought to regain control.</div><div><br></div><div>The match ended with Argentina players appearing to taunt their distraught Dutch opponents before sprinting away to celebrate after a penalty shoot-out win.</div><div><br></div><div>Even the normally mild-mannered Messi was caught up in the bad blood, shouting abuse at Dutch players while he was being interviewed after the game.</div><div><br></div><div>Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni defended his players\' conduct in an eve-of-game news conference on Monday, insisting they had nothing to apologise for.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The game the other day was played in the right way by both teams. That is football,\" said the 44-year-old Argentina coach.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I don\'t buy this idea that we don\'t know how to win. The game was played in the right way.\"</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;Croatia surprising again</div><div><br></div><div>Croatia, who beat Japan and pre-tournament favourites Brazil in penalty shoot-outs to reach the last four, have not won a knockout game in normal time at a major tournament since they came third at the 1998 World Cup.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite doing it the hard way, the country of 3.9 million people surprised the football world by reaching the final four years ago, where France crushed their dreams with a 4-2 win.</div><div><br></div><div>Croatia, with Real Madrid playmaker Modric still the leader on the pitch at the age of 37, have again defied the odds to stand on the brink of a second successive final.</div><div><br></div><div>Coach Zlatko Dalic said he wanted Tuesday\'s match to be remembered as the \"greatest game\" in the country\'s history.</div><div><br></div><div>\"At back-to-back World Cups to be among the four best national teams, that\'s an extraordinary success for Croatia,\" said Dalic.</div><div><br></div><div>\"However, we want more,\" he added. \"I\'m optimistic and have full confidence in my players. They\'ve shown their great quality and strength of character, and deserve to be in the final.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Dalic said a lack of energy in Qatar, despite the marathon games in the last two rounds, would not be an obstacle.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We are still strong, with energy and enthusiasm, without a doubt,\" he said. \"We are going to give it our all, just as we have done in previous games.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Against Argentina we will do the same, we will give our all. We don\'t have any injury problems. They don\'t feel tired.\"</div><div><br></div><div>- Caught the imagination -</div><div>France are strong favourites to beat Morocco and take a step closer to defending their title on Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>But the African team\'s history-making run to the semis has caught the imagination of a continent and they have been backed by legions of fans in Qatar.</div><div><br></div><div>The match will have added spice -- France was Morocco\'s colonial power and hundreds of thousands of people with Moroccan roots live and work in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Demand has been so great that Royal Air Maroc has announced it is laying on 30 extra return flights to take euphoric fans to the Gulf state.</div><div><br></div><div>France defender Raphael Varane has insisted that there would be no complacency from the World Cup holders.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We know Morocco are not here by chance,\" he said. \"It is up to us experienced players to make sure everyone is prepared for another battle.\"</div><div><br></div><div>One man who knows about winning World Cups, Brazilian star Ronaldo, said he believed France would go on to take back-to-back global crowns.</div><div><br></div><div>Ronaldo, who scored both goals as his country won the 2002 World Cup final against Germany, told a media roundtable that included AFP: \"France, match after match, are backing up their status as favourites and I still see them as the big favourites.\" - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 11:25:50', '2022-12-13 11:25:50'),
(3724, 3724, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan faces an anxious wait to play the first Test against India, starting tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here as he struggles with his rib and shoulder injury.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He got hit on his rib during the second ODI against India by a bouncer of speedster Umran Malik. He thereafter had undergone an X-ray which revealed nothing serious and was allowed to play the third ODI.</div><div><br></div><div>However the pain didn\'t subside, forcing him to cancel the practice session for the first Test.</div><div><br></div><div>He then went for another scan on the injured place today and the doctor made him sure that everything is so far okay. Shakib later practiced batting session for 20 minutes.</div><div><br></div><div>Head coach Russell Domingo hoped that Shakib, the highest wicket-taker of Bangladesh in longer version format will play the first Test and lead the side from the front.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We are still assessing him. We will make a call later in the afternoon. We hope he is okay. He is still struggling with his ribs and shoulder. Hopefully he can go through hitting some balls now,\" Domingo said about Shakib.</div><div><br></div><div>While Shakib is highly likely to play, fast bowler Taskin Ahmed was given rest to recover fully from his old back pain.</div><div><br></div><div>Taskin missed the first two ODIs but returned to the third match in which he was wayward and clearly looked not fit enough. Considering his physical condition, he was ruled out of the first Test, reports BSS</div><div><br></div><div>\"We are not going to risk Taskin in the first Test. He has come off a layoff and few injections. To get him to bowl for day and a half in these conditions in Chattogram may not be good for him,\" Domingo added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 11:48:40', '2022-12-13 11:48:40'),
(3725, 3725, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The nation is set to observe the Martyred Intellectuals\' Day tomorrow in a befitting manner.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Just two days ahead of the country\'s cherished victory on this day 51 years ago, the occupation Pakistan army in collusion with their local collaborators -- Al-Badr, Al-Shams and Razakars - butchered the most prominent intellectuals of the country in a bid to cripple the newly emerging nation of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>The national programmes have been chalked out to observe the Martyred Intellectuals Day with due respect.</div><div><br></div><div>On the eve of the day, President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages today.</div><div><br></div><div>The Pakistani troops and their Bengali-speaking collaborators belonging to Razakar or other auxiliary forces killed a number of intelligentsia throughout the nine-month long Liberation War.</div><div><br></div><div>But, the Pakistan occupation force visibly engaged the infamous Gestapo like Al-Badr and Al-Shams personnel on December 14, 1971 to carry out a clandestine systematic campaign to kill the best academics and professionals like doctors, engineers and journalists to turn the newborn nation to a state of brainlessness.</div><div><br></div><div>The then Bangladesh government and victorious freedom fighters, however, came to know about their last brutal massacre only when the Pakistani troops surrendered on December 16, 1971 and their top accomplices mostly belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing went into hiding to resurface years later.</div><div><br></div><div>Those who were exposed to the killers\' wrath on December 14, 1971 included Dr Alim Chowdhury and Dr Fazle Rabbi, Journalists Shahidullah Kaisar, Sirajudddin Hossain, Nizamuddin Ahmed, SA Mannan and Selina Parveen and litterateur Monier Chowdhury, Prof Govinda Chandra Dev, Jyotirmoy Guha Thakurta, Prof Santash Chattacharjee, Prof Anwar Pasha, Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury and Prof Muniruzzaman.</div><div><br></div><div>Most of the December 14 victims were picked up from their houses blindfolded and killed during December 10 to 14 in 1971.</div><div><br></div><div>As per programmes, wreaths will be placed at 7.05am and 7.06am at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Memorial by the head of the state and the head of the government (Prime Minister) respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>Several television channels including Bangladesh Television (BTV) and private TV channels will air it from the spot.</div><div><br></div><div>Led by the Liberation War Affairs Minister, members of the martyrs\' families and the valiant freedom fighters including wounded freedom fighters will place wreaths at the Intellectuals Memorial at 7.22am and Rayer Bazar Boddho Bhumi at 8:30am.</div><div><br></div><div>From 8.30 am on the day, people from all walks of life will lay wreaths at the Intellectual Memorial.</div><div><br></div><div>Different television and radio channels including Bangladesh Television (BTV) and Bangladesh Betar will hold special discussions on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals Day highlighting the significance of the day.</div><div><br></div><div>Discussions will be held at all district and upazila levels of the country while all mosques, temples, churches, pagodas and other places for worship will offer special prayers marking the day.</div><div><br></div><div>Marking the day, ruling Awami League and other political parties have chalked out various programmes.</div><div><br></div><div>As part of the party programme, Awami League will hoist black flag at the party\'s Bangabandhu avenue central office, Bangabandhu Bhaban in city\'s Dhanmondi area and other offices of the party across the country right after dawn and keep the national and party flags at half mast.</div><div><br></div><div>The AL leaders will place wreaths at Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in Mirpur at 7am.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the leaders and workers of Awami League will place wreaths at Bangabandhu\'s portrait at Bangabandhu Bhaban at 7.30am and at Rayer Bazar Boddho Bhumi at 8.30am.</div><div><br></div><div>A discussion will be held at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) at 3 pm on the same day. The Awami League (AL) President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will preside over the programme. According to BSS reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 13:12:18', '2022-12-13 13:12:18'),
(3726, 3726, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Spanish court has acquitted soccer star Neymar and his fellow defendants in a fraud and corruption trial related to the Brazilian’s 2013 transfer from Santos to Barcelona.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The plaintiff, Brazilian company DIS, had accused Neymar, his father, and the former presidents of Santos and Barcelona of having intentionally hid the cost of his transfer to avoid paying DIS what it was due as the partial holder of his player rights.</div><div><br></div><div>However, the court said in a statement Tuesday that “it has not been proven that there was a false contract or that DIS was intended to be harmed.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The verdict is not a surprise following the decision by Spanish state prosecutors to drop all charges during the trial. That left only the lawyers of DIS to continue arguing their case.</div><div><br></div><div>DIS had initially sought a five-year prison sentence for the 30-year-old Neymar. But following the withdrawal of the state prosecutors, DIS’ lawyers reduced their demands to two-and-a-half years of prison. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 13:26:03', '2022-12-13 13:26:03'),
(3727, 3727, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Businesses will now be able to import eight sorts of essential goods on deferred payment basis as the central bank has announced such facilities aiming to make supply of these commodities available during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>These commodities are-edible oil, chickpea, pulse, pea, onion, spices, sugar and date&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“The central bank has given this privilege to the authorized importers to make the supply of these commodities surplus during the Ramadan and to keep prices of these products at tolerable limit,” said director of Foreign Exchange Policy Department (FEPD) of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) Md Sarwar Hossain.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The FEPD also has issued a circular today in this regard, he said, adding that the circular has been issued to meet the supply crunch of these essentials during the Ramadan.</div><div><br></div><div>Under the facility, the authorized dealers will be allowed to open Letter of Credits (LCs) for the import of these goods on deferred payment terms up to 90 days under suppliers/buyers’ credit scheme.</div><div><br></div><div>The facility will remain applicable for the date of initiation of imports till March 31, in 2023.</div><div><br></div><div>The latest central bank circular came after a BB instruction to all scheduled bank to keep cash margin of the import LCs at the lowest level as per the relations between banks and subscribers.&nbsp; - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 13:52:08', '2022-12-13 13:52:08'),
(3728, 3728, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A court in Dhaka on Tuesday fixed January 17 to hold hearing on charge framing in Niko graft case against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman passed the order at a temporary courtroom of the Dhaka Special Judge\'s Court-9 at Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.</div><div><br></div><div>Today was set for holding hearing on charge framing against Khaleda Zia, but she could not appear in court because of illness. Subsequently, her lawyer requested the court to adjourn the hearing.</div><div><br></div><div>Khaleda\'s lawyer Zia Uddin Zia confirmed the matter to BSS. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against five including Begum Khaleda Zia with Tejgaon police station on December 9, 2007 for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.</div><div><br></div><div>The ACC on May 5 in 2008 submitted the charge-sheet against 11 people including Khaleda Zia. The ACC accused them of incurring a loss of more than Taka 13 thousand crore of state exchequer by that deal.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 14:06:49', '2022-12-13 14:06:49'),
(3729, 3729, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 15 people have been killed following floods and landslides caused by heavy rains that hit early Tuesday several outlying districts of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a provisional assessment made public by local authorities.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Alidor Tshibanda, mayor of Mont-Ngafula, a community located in the south of Kinshasa, said the victims are mainly identified in several neighborhoods in Mont-Ngafula.</div><div><br></div><div>Tshibanda said the number of deaths and injuries is likely to rise, for many people are still trapped in the rubble caused by the rain. - Xinhua</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 14:16:59', '2022-12-13 14:16:59');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(3730, 3730, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas have been given the first class facility in jail.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>State Counsel Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar informed&nbsp; the High Court that a Dhaka court ordered to give division facility to them on December 9 and they have been given the division facility from today.</div><div><br></div><div>The HC bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Mohammad Ali fixed December 14 (Wednesday) for the hearing of the write petition filed seeking first class facility in jail for the BNP leaders.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier in the day, Mirza Fakhrul’s wife Rahat Ara Begum, Mirza Abbas’ wife Afroza Abbas and advocate AJ Mohammad Ali submitted the petitions. Later, the bench fixed 3:00 pm today for hearing on the petitions.</div><div><br></div><div>In the early hours of Friday, a team of Detective Branch (DB) of police picked up Fakhrul and Abbas from their homes in separate raids in the capital city.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, they were arrested in a case filed over the clash between police and the party activists in the capital’s Nayapaltan.</div><div><br></div><div>On Monday, a Dhaka court rejected the bail petition of 224 leaders and activists of BNP, including Fakhrul and Abbas, and sent them to jail, pending further legal procedures.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 14:26:32', '2022-12-13 14:26:32'),
(3731, 3731, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid deep respect and rich tributes to the best sons of the soil on the occasion of the Martyred Intellectuals Day.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>In separate messages on the eve of the day, the President and the Prime Minister urged the people to come forward being imbued with the ideology of the martyred intellectuals and spirit of the Liberation War to build a non-communal, happy and prosperous \'Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman .</div><div><br></div><div>President Abdul Hamid, in his message, said the intellectuals, as the conscience of the nation, had played a very significant role with their sharp writings and intellect-based spirit to create public opinion in favour of the Liberation War, provide suggestions to the war-time Mujibnagar government in advancing the war towards its successful end.</div><div><br></div><div>But it is unfortunate that the occupation forces and their local collaborators had brutally killed the country\'s eminent intellectuals, including academics , physicians, litterateurs, journalists and artists just on the eve of the victory, causing an irreparable loss to the nation, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The President called upon all to be imbued with the ideology of the martyred intellectuals and build a non-communal society based on spirit of the Liberation War.</div><div><br></div><div>In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said martyred intellectual day is a shameful chapter in the history of Bangladesh as the Pakistani occupation forces, anti-liberation forces and their local collaborators killed eminent intellectuals at the fag-end of the Liberation War to turn the nation into a brain-empty state.</div><div><br></div><div>She said when the country was close to the final victory under the leadership of the greatest Bengalis&nbsp; &nbsp;of all times, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the intellectuals were killed by the occupation forces and their local cohorts like Al-Badars, Al-Shams and Razakars.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier said Professor Mofazzal Haidar Chowdhury, Munier Choudhury, Anwar Pasha, Shahidullah Kaisar, Gias Uddin, Dr Fazle Rabbi, Abdul Alim Chowdhury, Siraj Uddin Hossain, Selina Parveen and Dr Jyotirmay Guha Thakurata&nbsp; were among those who were killed by the occupation forces and their collaborators.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina also said the anti-liberation defeated forces assassinated Bangabandhu and most of his family members on August 15 in 1975 and through this heinous killing, the anti-liberation forces started the politics of killing, coup and conspiracy in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The killers carried out repression and tortures on free thinkers, teachers, writers, journalists and politicians, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier said the terrorist and militant groups also carried out a reign of terror in the country from 2001 to 2006. After coming to power in 2009, Awami League government brought the killers of intellectuals, war criminals and those who committed crimes against humanity under trials.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We have brought the killers of the martyred intellectuals under trial and have been executing some of the verdicts. No conspiracy can divert the nation from this process. Those who wanted to save the heinous war criminals will also be brought to justice one day,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The nation will remember forever the sacrifice of the martyred intellectuals, she said and called upon the people to be united against the conspiracies of the killers of 1971 and war criminals and Jamaat-clique for continuation of development. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 14:35:54', '2022-12-13 14:35:54'),
(3732, 3732, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Jatiya Party (JP) leaders paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official Ganabhaban residence on Tuesday afternoon.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Opposition Leader Raushon Ershad, MP, deputy opposition leader and JP Chairman GM Quader, MP, and son of late President HM Ershad, Rahgir Al Mahi Ershad, MP, popularly known as Saad Ershad were present at the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>A press release of the Prime Minister\'s press wing confirmed it.</div><div>During the meeting, the Prime Minister inquired about the health of the opposition leader and exchanged greetings with them. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 14:45:46', '2022-12-13 14:45:46'),
(3733, 3733, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two police personnel were injured when the jamaat activists pelted stones on the on-duty police forces in Rajshahi city, reports BSS.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Mazharul Islam, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Boalia Model Police Station, told BSS that the jamaat men brought out a sudden procession at Kadirganj area this afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>On information, police rushed to the area quickly. Sensing the police presence the jamaat activists pelted brickbats leaving two police personnel injured. At one stage, the unruly people fled away.</div><div><br></div><div>OC Islam said the injured police men are undergoing treatment.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-13 14:53:13', '2022-12-13 14:53:13'),
(3734, 3734, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh is observing Martyred Intellectuals Day today (December 14, 2022) to honour the intellectuals brutally killed by the Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators in 1971.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In the morning, President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid tributes to the martyred intellectuals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The President and then the Prime Minister placed wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial at Mirpur.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They stood there in solemn silence for a while as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the illustrious sons and daughters of the soil.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The government has chalked out elaborate programmes to commemorate the December 14 tragedy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apart from the family members of the martyred and freedom fighters, the general public also placed wreaths at Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in the morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To mark the day, various cultural organisations have arranged several cultural programmes and paid floral tributes to the brightest minds killed by the Pakistani forces and their collaborators during the Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Television and private television channels are also airing special programmes highlighting the significance of the day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 14, 1971, many of the country’s renowned academicians, doctors, engineers, journalists, artists and teachers were dragged out of their homes across the country, blindfolded and taken to unknown places. They were brutally tortured and killed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among the martyred intellectuals were Prof Munier Chowdhury, Dr Alim Chowdhury, Prof Muniruzzaman, Dr Fazle Rabbi, Sirajuddin Hossain, Shahidullah Kaiser, Prof GC Dev, JC Guhathakurta, Prof Santosh Bhattacharya, Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury, journalists Khandaker Abu Taleb, Nizamuddin Ahmed, SA Mannan (LaduBhai), ANM Golam Mustafa, Syed Nazmul Haq and Selina Parvin. 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, '2022-12-14 06:22:25', '2022-12-14 06:22:25'),
(3735, 3735, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday paid rich tributes to the martyred intellectuals on the occasion of the Martyred Intellectuals Day.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The President and then the Prime Minister placed wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial at Mirpur.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They stood there in solemn silence for a while as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the illustrious sons of the soil.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A smartly-turned-out contingent of the Bangladesh Armed Forces gave a state salute.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Flanked by the party\'s central leaders, Hasina, also the President of Bangladesh Awami League, laid another wreath at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial as the party chief.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, the Prime Minister talked to the war-wounded freedom fighters and the family members of the martyred intellectuals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina then went to Dhanmondi in the capital and placed a wreath at the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum marking the Martyred Intellectuals Day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After placing the wreath, she stood there for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memory of Bangabandhu, the architect of independence of Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the night of December 14, 1971, over 200 intellectuals including educationists, journalists, litterateurs, writers, physicians, scientists, lawyers, artists, philosophers and political thinkers had been picked up in Dhaka by the Pakistani occupation forces, aided by their local collaborators.The intellectuals were taken blindfold to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in different parts of the city and later executed en masse at different killing grounds, most notably Rayerbazar and Mirpur.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since then, the day has been observed as the Martyred Intellectuals Day. 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, '2022-12-14 06:27:31', '2022-12-14 06:27:31'),
(3736, 3736, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Awami League paid tribute at the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals Day today.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Awami League president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, along with party leaders, paid tribute to the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi 32 by placing wreaths.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They stood there in solemn silence for a while as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the illustrious sons and daughters of the soil.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader; presidium members Matia Chowdhury, Dr. Abdur Razzak, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya Bir Bikram, Shajahan Khan; Joint General Secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Dr. Hasan Mahmud, AFM Bahauddin Nashim, Organizing Secretary Ahmed Hossain, Advocate Afzal Hossain, Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel, Science and Technology Secretary Engineer Abdus Sabur and others were present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid tribute at the Martyr Intellectual Memorial in Mirpur. 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, '2022-12-14 06:34:20', '2022-12-14 06:34:20'),
(3737, 3737, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has welcomed the generous contribution of Euro 3 million by the government of Italy for the continued protection and humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The announcement was made today by Enrico Nunziata, Ambassador of Italy in Bangladesh, and Johannes van der Klaauw, UNHCR Representative.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This contribution from the government and the people of Italy will help UNHCR continue providing lifesaving protection and assistance for almost one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who remain reliant on humanitarian assistance for survival. This includes access to health, water and sanitation, as well as crucial protection services, and also support for refugees’ education and skills development, particularly for women and children, said Johannes van der Klaauw.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This generous contribution from Italy, which comes from its foreign policy budget, highlights the longer-term nature of this commitment and is all the more welcome now that we anticipate significant reduction in financial support from the international community,” he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The grant of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is a contribution to the activities of the Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh and UNHCR on Rohingya’s protection as set up in the Joint Response Plan, in line with the commitment of the Italian government to maintain access to critical and life-sustaining services for refugees living both in Cox’s Bazar camps and on Bhasan Char.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Italy praises the efforts and generosity of the Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh in hosting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees within its territory. “Since the beginning of the Rohingya refugee crisis in August 2017, Italy has constantly given its contribution through main international organizations and UN agencies,\" said Enrico Nunziata.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The contribution from Italy will enable UNHCR to provide protection services such as registration, access to justice, support for survivors of gender-based violence, community-based protection and child-friendly spaces, said UNHCR in a media release on Wednesday.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It will also empower the refugee communities, through education, by training teachers to implement the Myanmar curriculum in the camps, and through skills development for women, to improve their resilience until they can return to Myanmar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The funds will also support the delivering of essential services, such as shelter, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, as well as the provision of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a safe and clean source of cooking energy, a key contributor in the prevention of degradation of the environment in and around the camps.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Five years after being forced to flee violence in Myanmar, some 920,000 Rohingya refugees are currently hosted in densely populated camps in Cox’s Bazar, with an additional 30,000 refugees residing on Bhasan Char. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">&nbsp;bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 06:51:06', '2022-12-14 06:51:06'),
(3738, 3738, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">An inspired Lionel Messi scored from the penalty spot and Julian Alvarez struck twice as Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday to reach their second World Cup final in eight years.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The two-times world champions, backed by a huge majority of the crowd at the Lusail Stadium, produced their best display of the tournament to ensure they will meet the winner\'s of Wednesday\'s semi-final clash between holders France and Morocco in Sunday\'s final.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi, 35, who suffered defeat to Germany in the 2014 final, is desperate to crown his extraordinary career by winning his first World Cup and bringing Argentina a third title to add to those won in 1978 and 1986.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And after getting his team on the way to victory with a perfectly struck first-half penalty he made sure of the win by brilliantly creating the third goal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Croatia, runners-up in Russia four years ago, paid the price for some untypically poor defending as they went out in the last four for the second time after their 1998 loss to France in their maiden tournament.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was not until the 25th minute when the game showed signs of life with a low pot shot from outside the box by Enzo Fernandez but Croatia keeper Dominik Livakovic did well to get across and keep it out.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was a tight affair but then a simple lofted ball over the top from Fernandez caught out the Croatian defence, Alvarez latched on to it, knocking the ball past the advancing Livakovic who collided with the striker and Italian referee Daniele Orsato pointed to the spot.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>- Scoring record -</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Livakovic guessed correctly that Messi would go to his left but his dive was in vain as the Argentine\'s sweetly struck drive flew high into the net to put his side 1-0 up in the 34th minute.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was Messi\'s fifth goal of the tournament, making him joint top-scorer with France\'s Kylian Mbappe. His 11th career goal -- in a record-equalling 25th World Cup appearance -- also took him past Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina\'s all-time World Cup top scorer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Five minutes later, Argentina doubled their lead when, after a break from a corner, Alvarez picked the ball up inside his own half and began a long dribble goalwards.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the Croatian defence backing off, Alvarez rode weak challenges from Josip Juranovic and Borna Sosa and then slipped the ball past Livakovic to send the heavily Argentine crowd into delirium.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Alexis Mac Allister then went close with an angled header from a corner, forcing a fine save out of Livakovic to avoid a third.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All Croatia could muster in response, before the break, was a low Juranovic cross-shot that Emiliano Martinez reacted well to.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic responded with a double substitution at the break, introducing Nikola Vlasic and Mislav Orsic, and five minutes later and threw on striker Bruno Petkovic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They were positive moves but still Argentina looked the more dangerous with Messi, after a swift exchange with Fernandez, forcing a save at the near post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi saved his best for last though, tormenting Josko Gvardial down the right before leaving the 20-year-old defender behind and pulling the ball back to Alvarez who coolly slotted home.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Croatia were finished but it was clear that Argentina and Messi are peaking just in time for the biggest game of their lives. 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, '2022-12-14 07:24:41', '2022-12-14 07:24:41'),
(3739, 3739, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Malaysia reported 1,040 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Tuesday, bringing the national total to 5,012,483, according to the health ministry.</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">There are two new imported cases, with 1,038 cases being local transmissions, data released by the ministry showed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another nine deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 36,778.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ministry reported 1,456 new recoveries, raising the total number of cured and discharged to 4,958,158.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are 17,547 active cases, with 69 being held in intensive care and 52 of those in need of assisted breathing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The country reported 1,958 vaccine doses administered on Tuesday and 86.1 percent of the population have received at least one dose, 84.3 percent are fully vaccinated and 49.8 percent have received the first booster and 1.9 percent have received the second booster. BSS/Xinhua</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 07:29:20', '2022-12-14 07:29:20'),
(3740, 3740, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said his team would enjoy muted celebrations after reaching the World Cup final with a 3-0 victory over Croatia on Tuesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Julian Alvarez scored a brace and Lionel Messi converted a penalty as Argentina won their fifth consecutive match at this tournament after starting with a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'ll celebrate because we know it\'s exciting to advance to the final,\" Scaloni said after the semifinal. \"But we still have one step ahead of us. It\'s a historic moment that we need to enjoy but that\'s it. We need to focus on the upcoming match.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scaloni heaped praise on Messi, who now has five goals and three assists at this tournament. His strike here saw him surpass Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina\'s all-time leading World Cup scorer with 11 goals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Of course we say that Messi is [the best player ever] and maybe we are narrow-minded because as an Argentine, it\'s enjoyable. But I have no doubt that he is the best,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I have been saying it for a long time. I\'m honored to see him train and play. It\'s exciting because every time you see him play it\'s a huge source of motivation for Argentinians. It\'s a privilege to have him in our squad.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scaloni also thanked the tens of thousands of Argentinian fans present at Lusail stadium, many of whom began singing hours before the 10pm kick-off and finished well beyond midnight.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I have the dream job of all Argentines,\" he said. \"Our people were supporting us throughout and you could feel it. It was unforgettable. We\'re all pushing in the same direction and we\'re grateful for to them.\" XINHUA/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 07:56:27', '2022-12-14 07:56:27'),
(3741, 3741, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Jamaat and Al-Badr forces, who were behind the killings of intellectuals in 1971, are the main associates of BNP, Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud said today.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“It is sad but true that leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and Al-Badr led the killings of intellectuals, and the leaders of those groups are now the main associates of BNP... Many of those who were involved in the killings of intellectuals are now BNP leaders,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister came up with the remarks while talking to reporters while paying tribute to the martyrs on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals Day at Rayerbazar memorial in Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have noticed that the process to kill intellectuals had begun on December 10 and journalist Shaheed Siraj Uddin Hossain and many others had been picked up on that day. On December 10 this year, BNP called their Dhaka divisional rally. Their love for and attachment to Pakistan are being revealed again,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasan said “Those who were against the independence and were involved in the killing of intellectuals did not want this country but they are doing politics in the country even after 51 years of independence.” 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, '2022-12-14 08:20:10', '2022-12-14 08:20:10'),
(3742, 3742, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today paid rich tributes to the martyred intellectuals and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial at Mirpur and portrait of the Father of the Nation at Dhanmondi here marking the Martyred Intellectuals Day.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier first laid the wreath at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial at Mirpur to pay glowing homage to the great sons of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After placing the wreath, she stood in solemn silence for some time to show profound respect to the martyred intellectuals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, flanked by party leaders, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of Awami League, placed another wreath at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial as the chief of her party.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister also exchanged pleasantries with the family members of the Martyred intellectuals here.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Then, she went to Dhanmondi Road No 32 in the capital and laid a wreath at the portrait of the Father of the Nation in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum there to pay homage to the Architect of the Independence Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After placing the wreath, she stood in solemn silence for some time to show profound respect to the great leader of Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Flanked by party leaders, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of the ruling Awami League, placed another wreath at Bangabandhu’s portrait as the party chief as well.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Just two days ahead of the country’s final victory for independence on this day 51 years back, the Pakistani occupation forces with the help of their local collaborators – Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams – killed the most prominent intellectuals of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As many as 200 illustrious sons of the soil, including professors, journalists, doctors, artistes, engineers and writers, were abducted from their respective residences blindfolded during December 10 to 14 in 1971.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They were first taken blindfolded to torture cells at Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other clandestine locations in different parts of the city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Subsequently, they were put to death en masse at different killing grounds, most notably Rayerbazar and Mirpur, in a bid to cripple the newly emerging Bangladesh intellectually.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Those who were exposed to the killers’ wrath on December 14, 1971 included Dr Alim Chowdhury and Dr Fazle Rabbi, Journalists Shahidullah Kaisar, Sirajuddin Hossain, Nizamuddin Ahmed, SA Mannan and Selina Parveen, and litterateur Munier Choudhury.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since then, the day is being observed as the Martyred Intellectuals Day. 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, '2022-12-14 08:42:18', '2022-12-14 08:42:18'),
(3743, 3743, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Wednesday said the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and Al-Badr, which led the country\'s intellectuals killing, are now BNP\'s main allies as he paid rich tributes to the soil\'s illustrious sons.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Many persons, who were involved in the killing of intellectuals, are now BNP leaders,\" he told reporters after paying homage at Martyred Intellectuals Memorial at Rayerbazar here marking the Martyred Intellectuals Day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the blueprint of intellectuals\' murder was made on December 10, 1971 and the Pakistani occupation force had picked journalist Siraj Uddin Hossain and some other intellectuals on the day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is really a matter of regret that BNP recently staged its rally on this day (December 10), he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In fact, their affection to Pakistan is revealed when the party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had said, \"Pakistan was better\", added Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister said the persons, who were against the independence and involved in intellectuals killing, are doing politics in the country even after 51 years of independence which is never appropriate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the BNP and its leaders are the chief patrons of these evil forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Replying to a query over banning the politics of Jamaat, Hasan said they are rejected by the countrymen many days ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are some legal issues in banning Jamaat politics and the concerned authorities including the Election Commission are looking into the legal issues, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"But, I think that they (Jamaat) are already banned by the countrymen,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister said just two days ahead of the country\'s cherished victory for independence in 1971, the Pakistani occupation force with the help of their local collaborators butchered the most prominent intellectuals to make the emerging country cripple.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasan urged the countrymen to remain united against the all anti-liberation war forces. 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, '2022-12-14 09:05:22', '2022-12-14 09:05:22'),
(3744, 3744, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Appellate Division on Wednesday upheld the verdict of a lower court that barred GM Quader from performing his duties as the Chairman of Jatiya Party (JP) on Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A three-member bench led by Chief Justice Hasan Foyez Siddiqui passed the order.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, the Appellate Division bench also asked Dhaka Joint District Judge’s Court to quickly dispose of the petition filed by Quader against its verdict that prevented him from acting as JP chief.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the hearing, Sheikh Mohammad Sirajul Islam stood for GM Quader, while Sayed Ahmed Raja represented petitioner Ziaul Haque Mridha.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The Appellate Division order bars Quader from performing activities as JP Ccief. Now we need to conduct a hearing on the petition filed against him by Mridha,” said Sirajul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on Monday, the Appellate Division fixed December 13 (Tuesday) for delivering its judgment on the temporary embargo on the political activities of Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On November 30, Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division M Enayetur Rahim stayed the High Court order allowing Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader to perform the duties of his post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On November 29, HC cleared the way for GM Quader to perform his duties as Jatiya Party Chairman by staying the lower court embargo till January 3 following a revision petition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ziaul Haque Mridha filed the case against GM Quader on October 4.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On October 30, Dhaka Joint District Sessions Judge court-1 issued a temporary embargo on the political activities of GM Quader.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On October 6, several lawyers including Sheikh Sirajul Islam and Kalim Ullah Majumdar stood for GM Quader with a petition to withdraw the ban on his political activities at the court.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the petition, the lawyers also urged the court to lift the embargo to play his role as Chairman as per the constitution of the party that was dismissed by the same court on November 16.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, Quader filed a revision petition with the HC challenging the lower court order.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the case statement, the party’s founder HM Ershad died on September 14, 2019.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Quader declared himself as chairman of the party through forgery at a council on December 28, 2019 when a writ petition case was pending at the High Court.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, Quader as party chairman fired several leaders including Ranga, Gazipur metropolitan unit’s advisor Ataur Rahman Sarkar and Organising Secretary Sabur Sikdar, among others, by exercising his power as per the constitution of the party.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, Ranga was also removed from the post of presidium member of the party on September 14 and Advocate Ziaul Hoque Mridha from the party on September 17.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the case, orders were sought to declare all removals from December 28, 2019, to September 17, 2022 and council as illegal while the next council of the party to keep stayed unless the HC writ petition is disposed of. 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, '2022-12-14 09:13:12', '2022-12-14 09:13:12'),
(3745, 3745, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A small boat carrying migrants has sunk off the southeastern coast of England, killing some of those on board, the BBC reported on Wednesday.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Britain’s government and emergency officials confirmed that an incident was ongoing, with lifeboats, helicopters and rescue teams working with the French and British navies to respond to an event that occurred in freezing conditions at around 3:40 a.m.</div><div><br></div><div>“It’s understood there have been fatalities after a migrant boat sank in the Channel. This has not yet been confirmed by the authorities,” the BBC’s local reporter said on Twitter.</div><div><br></div><div>Temperatures have plunged across Britain in the last week, bringing snow to some parts of the country. The temperature was logged at 2 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit) in a nearby town.</div><div><br></div><div>“We are aware of an incident in UK waters and all relevant agencies are supporting a coordinated response,” a spokesperson for the government said. “Further details will be provided in due course.”</div><div><br></div><div>Small boats, often inflatable dinghies, travel regularly across the Channel carrying migrants from France to Britain.</div><div><br></div><div>More than 40,000 people, a record number, have arrived via the perilous journey this year, reigniting tensions between Britain and France.</div><div><br></div><div>Data compiled by the Missing Migrants Project showed 205 migrants had been recorded dead or missing in the English Channel since 2014.</div><div><br></div><div>In the worst recorded accident of its kind, 27 people died while attempting to cross the sea in an inflatable dinghy in November 2021.</div><div><br></div><div>The new incident comes a day after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled plans to toughen the laws to stop the small boats crossing the Channel, including legislation to prevent migrants from remaining in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Sunak said the government was sending a message that “enough is enough” and people were “right to feel angry” about repeated failures to tackle the issue. Source: Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 10:06:04', '2022-12-14 10:06:04'),
(3746, 3746, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Actor Prabhas, who rearly makes public appearances, took out time recently to shoot for an episode for popular Telugu chat show, Unstoppable. The show, which is currently running in its second season, is being hosted by actor Nandamuri Balakrishna.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A glimpse of the episode was released on Wednesday and one can see Prabhas having a lot of fun and even mouthing a popular line from one of his movies. The actor appeared on stage dressed in a casual shirt and denims and was greeted by Nandamuri Balakrishna with a hug. As the fans cheered him, Prabhas sent some flying kisses their way. Actor Gopichand also joined Prabhas on the episode.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The show, which streams on the OTT platform Aha, has teased fans with a glimpse from the episode. In the comments section, fans expressed their excitement over seeing Prabhas on national television for the first time. One comment read: “What an entry into Indian television.” Another comment read: “Going to be the best episode of Unstoppable.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Darlings..</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Here\'s the most awaited and anticipated glimpse from #UnstoppableWithNBKS2. Idhi chinna glimpse matrame. Main promo thvaralo..#NBKWithPrabhas#NandamuriBalakrishna#Prabhas@YoursGopichand pic.twitter.com/mi48GDygFc</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">- ahavideoin (@ahavideoIN) December 13, 2022</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prabhas is currently busy with the shoot of his upcoming Salaar. Following the phenomenal success of his KGF franchise, director Prashanth Neel is now collaborating with Prabhas for the first time in Salaar, which is rumoured to be a remake of Kannada film Ugramm. Shruti Haasan will be seen sharing screen space with Prabhas in the film.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In August, Prashanth took to Twitter to announce the release date of Salaar.From Prashanth’s tweet, it can also be confirmed that Prithviraj Sukumaran and Sriya Reddy, who was recently seen in Amazon Prime’s Suzhal, are part of the project.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In April, a leaked still, in which Prabhas can be seen lighting a cigarette from the sets of the movie went viral on social media and fans couldn’t contain their excitement. Salaar, which will be dubbed and released in Hindi, will be presented by Anil Thadani.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Prabhas is also busy with the shoot of his upcoming multilingual science-fiction film, Project K, with director Nag Ashwin. Deepika Padukone makes her Telugu debut with this project, which will be bankrolled by Vyjayanthi Films. The film also stars Amitabh Bachchan in a key role. 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, '2022-12-14 10:19:00', '2022-12-14 10:19:00');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(3747, 3747, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The government has fixed a target to increase the money supply to 16.5 persent frome the existing 15.5 percent in the next tow fiscals.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per a government document, in the 2022-23 fiscal the rate of money supply is at 15.6 percent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For the next 2023-24 fiscal the government has projected to increase the rate to 16 percent and for the 2024-25 fiscal it will be 16.5 percent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Academically, the enhancement of money supply might increase inflation. This kind of target of ‘broad money’ growth would further invite inflation in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Broad money\" – or M2 – is a calculation of the money supply that includes all components of \"narrow money\", such as cash and checking deposits, and also \"near money\" such as savings deposits, money market securities, and other time-related deposits.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">M2 is a broader measure of money supply and is being closely watched as an indicator of money supply and future inflation, and as a target of central bank monetary policy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If broad money exceeds nominal GDP growth, academically, commodity prices will take another steep jump, leaving limited-income consumers and the poor to bear the brunt of the increasing squeeze on the cost of living.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2020-21 fiscal year the money supply was 13.6 percent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the 2021-22 fiscal the proposed money supply rate was 13.8 percent, but the revised rate was 15 percent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was increased because of the government stimulus packages to inject money in various sectors to run their activities for offsetting the impact of COVID-19 pandemic that stalled the economic activities of the whole world, as well as in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apart from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and sanctions and counter-sanctions caused another deadly impact on the world economy as world trade was seriously damaged due to this.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prices of essential commodities, fuel oil and transportation costs increased heavily. Russia and Ukraine were one of the main sources of Bangladesh for various essential items, like wheat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result, the people of the country have to spend more money in purchasing their day to day essential items.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To lessen the burden of fixed income group, low income group and lower middle income group people, the government has taken various types of steps.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">These include selling rice among 50 lakh families at the rate of Tk 15 per kg and providing special family cards to one crore people by which they will be able to procure essential commodities at fair price. 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, '2022-12-14 10:33:46', '2022-12-14 10:33:46'),
(3748, 3748, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The result of the government primary school assistant teacher recruitment test, 2022&nbsp; has been published.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">About 37,574 candidates have been selected based on written test and viva voce, according to a press release from the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Selected candidates will receive result SMS on mobile phone number.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The results have also been published on the website of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (www.mopme.gov.bd) and the website of the Directorate of Primary Education (www.dpe.gov.bd).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Selected candidates are requested to appear in person at the District Primary Education Office concerned with original copies of all certificates and three copies of National Identity Card, Police Verification Form, Health Fitness Certificate issued by Civil Surgeon by December 31.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first phase of the examination was held on April 22, second phase on May 20, and third phase on June 3.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The number of candidates in this year\'s recruitment test for assistant teachers was 13,09,461.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At present, there are 65,566 govt primary schools in the country with 4,28,701 vacant teachers’ post. 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, '2022-12-14 10:54:20', '2022-12-14 10:54:20'),
(3749, 3749, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Elon Musk is no longer the world\'s richest man after a sharp drop in the value of his shares in electric car company Tesla this year.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>According to both Forbes and Bloomberg, Mr Musk has been overtaken at the top spot by Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of luxury goods group LVMH.</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Musk is chief executive and the largest shareholder in Tesla, with a reported stake of about 14%.</div><div><br></div><div>He completed a $44bn takeover of social network Twitter in October.</div><div><br></div><div>According to Forbes, Mr Musk is now worth about $178bn (£152bn).</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Bernard Arnault has a value of $188bn. According to BBC reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 10:58:09', '2022-12-14 10:58:09'),
(3750, 3750, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Facebook\'s algorithm helped fuel the viral spread of hate and violence during Ethiopia\'s civil war, a legal case alleges.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Abrham Meareg, the son of an Ethiopian academic shot dead after being attacked in Facebook posts, is among those bringing the case against Meta.</div><div><br></div><div>They want a $2bn (£1.6bn) fund for victims of hate on Facebook and changes to the platform\'s algorithm.</div><div><br></div><div>Meta said it invested heavily in moderation and tech to remove hate.</div><div><br></div><div>Famine-like conditions</div><div><br></div><div>The case, filed in Kenya\'s High Court, is supported by campaign group Foxglove.</div><div><br></div><div>Meta has a content moderation hub in Kenyan capital Nairobi.</div><div><br></div><div>Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the conflict between the Ethiopian government and forces in the northern Tigray region, with 400,000 others living in famine-like conditions. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 11:41:03', '2022-12-14 11:41:03'),
(3751, 3751, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Dhaka court today fixed Thursday (December 15) for holding a hearing on the bail petition of BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the party\'s standing committee member Mirza Abbas in a case lodged over the clash between party men and police at Nayapaltan in the capital.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>&nbsp;</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Rezaul Karim passed the order as the defence pleaded for their bail again.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 13, the court scrapped bail pleas of 224 BNP leaders and activists, including Dhaka Metropolitan South BNP convener M Abdus Salam, BNP publicity secretary Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie, joint secretary general Khairul Kabir Khokon, former MP Fazlul Haque Milan and former MP Salim Reza Habib.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 9, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jasim sent them to jail as police produced the two BNP leaders before the court from the detective branch (DB) office around 4:10 pm.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the hearing, police pleaded to keep them behind the bars till the end of the probe in the case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">DB arrested BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and party standing committee member Mirza Abbas on Friday (December 9).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this regard, DB Chief Mohammad Harun or Rashid said \"Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Mirza Abbas were brought for questioning. They were arrested as they were instructors of the BNP-Police clash on December 7.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A man was killed and several others, including policemen, were injured in the clash in front of the BNP central office in Nayapaltan on December 7.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Police filed the case against 473 leaders and activists of the BNP and another 1,500- 2,000 unnamed people, with the capital\'s Paltan Police Station. 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, '2022-12-14 11:50:27', '2022-12-14 11:50:27'),
(3752, 3752, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">US scientists declared Tuesday that two active Hawaii volcanoes - one where lava destroyed hundreds of homes in 2018 and another where lava recently stalled before reaching a crucial Big Island highway — have stopped erupting.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Kilauea is no longer erupting,” the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement Tuesday, followed by a separate one saying, “Mauna Loa is no longer erupting.”</div><div><br></div><div>Alert levels for both volcanoes were reduced from watch to advisory.</div><div><br></div><div>Mauna Loa, the world’s largest volcano, began spewing molten rock Nov. 27 after being quiet for 38 years, drawing onlookers to take in the incandescent spectacle, and setting some nerves on edge early on among people who’ve lived through destructive eruptions.</div><div><br></div><div>It was Mauna Loa’s longest period of repose, said Ken Hon, the observatory’s scientist in charge.</div><div><br></div><div>Lava-viewers in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park enjoyed the added rare marvel of being able to see Mauna Loa’s smaller neighbor, Kilauea, erupting at the same time.</div><div><br></div><div>Kilauea had been erupting since September 2021. A 2018 Kilauea eruption destroyed more than 700 residences.</div><div><br></div><div>Mauna Loa lava didn’t pose a threat to any communities, but got within 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) of a major highway that connects the east and west sides of the island.</div><div><br></div><div>Hon called the two-week spectacle, which is a typical timespan for Mauna Loa, “my favorite eruption.”</div><div><br></div><div>“It was a beautiful eruption, and lots of people got to see it, and it didn’t take out any major infrastructure and most importantly, it didn’t affect anybody’s life,” he said at a briefing Tuesday.</div><div><br></div><div>Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Talmadge Magno said a one-way route that opened to manage traffic from throngs of people watching the lava would close Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>Magno and other county officials had warned that slow-moving lava could force the closure of Saddle Road, also known as Route 200 or Daniel K. Inouye Highway. That prompted motorists to brace for upheaval from a closure that could add hours to commute times on alternate coastal routes.</div><div><br></div><div>“Whatever it is — luck, chance — this is probably the best situation that we could ask for from Mauna Loa,” Magno said.</div><div><br></div><div>For Native Hawaiians, volcanic eruptions have deep cultural and spiritual significance. During Mauna Loa’s eruption, many Hawaiians took part in cultural traditions, such as singing, chanting and dancing to honor Pele, the deity of volcanoes and fire, and leaving offerings known as “hookupu.”</div><div><br></div><div>Lava supply to a Mauna Loa fissure ceased on Saturday, the observatory said, and volcanic tremor and earthquakes associated with the eruption “greatly diminished.”</div><div><br></div><div>“Spots of incandescence may remain near the vent, along channels, and at the flow front for days or weeks as the lava flows cool,” the observatory’s activity summary said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“However, eruptive activity is not expected to return based on past eruptive behavior.”</div><div><br></div><div>Lava supply to Kilauea’s Halemaʻumaʻu lava lake ceased on Friday, the observatory said: “Potential remains for resumption of this eruption or initiation of a new eruption at or near the summit of Kilauea.”</div><div><br></div><div>The observatory will continue monitoring the volcanoes for signs of renewed activity.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite the definitive statements, Hon said there’s generally a three-month “cooling off” period before scientists consider the eruption over.</div><div><br></div><div>But there’s been no history of a Mauna Loa rift eruption pausing and restarting, he said, “So we feel pretty confident that this eruption has in fact, paused and is probably over.”</div><div><br></div><div>It was unclear what connection there could be to the volcanoes stopping their eruptions around the same time. The volcanoes can both be seen at the same time from multiple spots in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park near Kilauea’s caldera.</div><div><br></div><div>“So, Kilauea may have been diminishing already and the Mauna Loa eruption may have caused enough physical changes to stop it, or it may have just been headed to stop on its own,” Hon said. “So we don’t have a really good answer for that right now,” reports AP.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Scientists will look at data to study the relationship between the two volcanoes, he said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 12:02:35', '2022-12-14 12:02:35'),
(3753, 3753, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Another 184 people were hospitalised with dengue in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The total fatalities remained unchanged at 267 as no death was reported during this period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Of the new patients, 100 were admitted to the hospitals of Dhaka and 84 outside it, said DGHS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 916 dengue patients, including 494 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The DGHS has recorded 60,926 dengue cases and 59,743 recoveries so far this year. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 12:05:14', '2022-12-14 12:05:14'),
(3754, 3754, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Speakers at a discussion have said that proper regulatory measures could help boost the e-commerce business in Bangladesh by creating a sustainable image of the sector already wounded by some bad examples of fraud in the recent past.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>They say the development of the sector is helping the economy in ways as the sector is set to expand further over the next few years.</div><div><br></div><div>Citing some research work, they say the business-to-customer e-commerce market in Bangladesh is expected to grow by 17.61% on an annual basis, aimed at reaching Tk65,966 crore in 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>The e-commerce market size in 2021 was about Tk56,870 crore and will be around Tk1.5 lakh crore by 2026, they say adding that the sector is gaining momentum through the country’s registered e-commerce companies, non-registered online platforms and social media-based trading pages where mostly young people are engaged as entrepreneurs.</div><div><br></div><div>The sector involves travel and hospitality, online food service, media and entertainment, healthcare and wellness, and technology products and services, they say.</div><div><br></div><div>The discussion was held at the Pan-Pacific Sonargaon Hotel on Monday night. Bangladesh Online Entrepreneurs Association (BOEA), a platform of more than 1,000 e-commerce entities from across the country, organised the discussion with Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi as Chief Guest.</div><div><br></div><div>Tipu Munshi said that the government was working with e-commerce platforms to help the sector grow in a healthy way so that it could overcome the image crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>He said that the Ministry of Commerce has been working with other business bodies such as the FBCCI to regulate the sector better.</div><div><br></div><div>“Such a discussion by the Bangladesh Online Entrepreneurs Association is very important to build consensus about the ways for moving forward. It has created an opportunity to bring the experts, market leaders, young entrepreneurs and leaders of other sectors together,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Mentioning that e-commerce has a prospect of being a billion dollar business in the country, the minister said all involved in the sector should maintain their service quality for creating its good image.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It has a great prospect to flourish more in the future. The people involved in e-commerce must ensure service honestly and maintain quality,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Mostary Morshed Smriti, President of Bangladesh Online Entrepreneurs Association (BOEA), said she dreams of the association to bring in all the online-based young entrepreneurs to build stronger bonding among them to grow as a group, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>“Challenges are there. This platform will continue to support the entrepreneurs so that they can face all the challenges and grow together,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 12:15:41', '2022-12-14 12:15:41'),
(3755, 3755, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh ended the first day of the Chattogram Test against India on a strong note, as they successfully took the sixth wicket of the day off the final ball.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India, who won the toss and chose to bat first, ended day one with a score of 278 for 6. Cheteshwar Pujara was the best Indian batter on the day with a remarkable 90 runs, while Shreyas Iyer remained unconquered at 82 not out.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For Bangladesh, left-arm spinner Taijul Islam stood out, taking three wickets while conceding just 84 runs in 30 overs. He also kept the runs at bay, registering a remarkable eight maidens - the most by any Bangladeshi bowler for the day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Taijul was at his best on the day, taking two remarkable wickets; the first being the imposing Cheteshwar Pujara who fell just 10 runs short of another Test century. He then proceeded to send the high-flying Virat Kohli back for only a run. This was all the more impressive given that Kohli had scored a hundred in the final ODI of the three-match series at the same venue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mehidy Hasan Miraz put in a great performance for Bangladesh too, taking two wickets; including the vital scalp of Axar Patel off the last ball of the day.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India had a strong start to the day, as the stand-in captain of India, Lokesh Rahul, and Shubman Gill played cautiously. In their opening stand, they added 41 runs before Taijul struck, dismissing Shubman for 20.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Within 48 runs, India had lost both Lokesh and Virat, leaving them in a difficult position in the middle. However, the fourth wicket partnership between Rishabh Pant and Pujara helped to steady the ship, as they added 64 runs to the board. Pant was looking good until Mehidy dismissed him for 46.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After Pant\'s departure, Pujara and Shreyas produced the highest partnership of the match so far, adding 149 runs to the scoreboard in a fifth-wicket stand. The partnership was eventually broken by Taijul, who dismissed Pujara.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Khaled Ahmed was the other successful bowler for Bangladesh, chipping in with a wicket.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the end of day one, the Test was well poised, with Bangladesh most likely the happier side having taken the all-important wicket off the last ball of the day. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 12:28:45', '2022-12-14 12:28:45'),
(3756, 3756, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner of Police (DB) Harun-or-Rashid told to media that BUET student Fardin Noor Parash was not murdered. He committed suicide, more than a month after his body was recovered from the Shitalakkhya river on November 7.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The DB Chief said this while addressing reporters in the capital on Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>He said, following the incident, we analyzed Fardin\'s close relatives, friends and surroundings and found out that no one killed Parash. He basically committed suicide.</div><div><br></div><div>But it is not clear the reason behind his suicide, the DB added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 12:40:58', '2022-12-14 12:40:58'),
(3757, 3757, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Today recorded zero Covid-19 death while it reported 21 coronavirus positive cases in Bangladesh .&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Bangladesh reported 0.78 percent Covid-19 positive cases as 2,700 samples were tested during the last 24 hours,\" a daily statement of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said here.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the period, the combined figure of coronavirus infection in Dhaka district and the capital is 19 while zero Covid-19 death was reported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The official tally showed that the virus killed a total of 29,437 people and infected 20,36,866 so far, the statement added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The recovery count rose to 19,86,556 after another 37 patients were&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">discharged from the dedicated hospitals during the last 24 hours.&nbsp;</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">From the beginning of the pandemic, 97.53 percent Covid-19 patients recovered among the infected people while 1.45 percent died, the DGHS statistics showed.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among the 29,437 fatalities, 12,944 occurred in Dhaka, 5,905 in Chattogram, 2,160 in Rajshahi, 3,736 in Khulna, 993 in Barishal, 1,359 in Sylhet, 1,429 in Rangpur and 911 in Mymensingh divisions. BSS&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 12:43:30', '2022-12-14 12:43:30'),
(3758, 3758, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said that her Awami League party safeguards human rights instead of violating in Bangladesh.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Awami League doesn’t violate human rights here in this country, rather gives protection to it. Awami League ensures the rights of the people,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier was addressing a discussion arranged by Bangladesh Awami League (AL) in the city’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, marking the Martyred Intellectuals Day-2022. She presided over the meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Slamming opposition BNP men for talking about the killings and forced disappearance issues, she said it is Ziaur Rahman (founder of BNP) who had started the culture of forced disappearance in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina, also the AL president, said Ziaur Rahman was responsible for killing many officers and soldiers of Bangladesh Army and Air Force. At the same time, he was also behind the killing of many AL leaders and made them disappeared, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the families and relatives could never see the bodies of the victims. “How come the BNP talks about forced disappearance and killing?”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina, the eldest daughter of slain Bangladesh leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, said they, who lost their dear ones on August 15, 1975, had no right to seek justice. She was not allowed to file a case after returning home in 1981. “Where were my human rights? Why couldn’t I see the bodies of my parents?” she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pointing at the USA and some other countries, she said they are protecting the human rights of killers and human rights violators. “They are busy in protecting the human rights of the killers,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM also blasted BNP for taking no programme to observe the Martyred Intellectuals Day and not showing respect towards the martyrs. “Today we’re observing the Martyred Intellectuals Day. But what is the BNP’s programme on this day? Do they have any?”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pointing at BNP, she said they have intimacy with the killers of the intellectuals and the Father of the Nation, the murders and corrupt persons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said BNP and Jamaat know how to loot and kill the people, and engage in corruption. So, they don’t show any respect toward the intellectuals, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“What respect can they show? We can’t expect that they would show respect (to intellectuals),” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AL president said her party had pledged to hold the trial of the killers of the martyred intellectuals and today her government tried them accordingly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">AL general secretary Obaidul Quader delivered the introduction speech, while AL leaders Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Abdur Rahman, Mahbubul Alam Hanif and AFM Bahauddin Nasim, among others, spoke at the discussion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the outset of the event, a minute of silence was observed as a mark of respect to the memories of the martyred intellectuals as well as Bangabandhu, four national leaders and the martyred freedom fighters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The nation observed the Martyred Intellectuals Day on Wednesday, paying tributes to the intellectuals who had been killed systematically by the Pakistan occupation forces and their local collaborators at the fag-end of the country’s Liberation War in 1971.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sensing an imminent defeat, the Pakistani occupation army and their local collaborators carried out the cold-blooded mass murders under a carefully thought-out plan to intellectually cripple emerging Bangladesh. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-14 16:28:31', '2022-12-14 16:28:31'),
(3759, 3759, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">France were pushed all the way by World Cup wild cards Morocco before the holders sealed a place in Sunday\'s final against Argentina.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final refused to buckle despite suffering the early blows of losing key defender Nayef Aguerd to injury after he was named in the starting line-up, and then going behind to Theo Hernandez\'s scrambled fifth minute goal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">France, for all Morocco\'s endeavour and spirit, were more clinical and substitute Randal Kolo Muani ensured they will defend their crown against Argentina and Lionel Messi at Lusail Stadium on Sunday when he turned in Kylian Mbappe\'s deflected shot 11 minutes from time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Morocco also lost the clearly unfit Romain Saiss to injury before half-time but, roared on by their fanatical support, they came close to drawing level, especially when Jawad El Yamiq\'s overhead kick was kept out by a combination of the post and France keeper Hugo Lloris.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">France, with Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate outstanding, kept their composure in the hothouse atmosphere of Al Bayt Stadium and had chances of their own, Olivier Giroud striking the post in the first half.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Didier Deschamps\' side always threatened on the break and so it proved as the lurking Muani finally broke Morocco\'s resistance late on with his first touch, 44 seconds after coming on, for his maiden France goal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">France needed to keep their nerve to stay on course to become the first country to retain the World Cup for 60 years following Brazil\'s triumphs in 1958 and 1962.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They faced a wall of sound from Morocco\'s support, with ear-splitting whistles every time they had possession, and while it was not a classic performance, France remained organised and got the job done to set up a final of two giants to conclude this Qatar World Cup.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Konate, in for Dayot Upamecano who was short of match fitness, epitomised French solidity and coach Deschamps will be hard pushed make a change in that crucial defensive position on Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And of course, the narrative of Mbappe against Messi will come to a climax on Sunday as France try to repeat their 2018 triumph in Moscow when they beat Croatia in the final.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The under-stated Deschamp has put together a France team spearheaded by the brilliant Mbappe and they rode their luck at times.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">France, however, are in another World Cup final and the 54-year-old Deschamps, who captained them when they claimed the crown on home soil in 1998, now has the chance to make history by winning the tournament twice as a coach.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Morocco\'s players and coaching staff were giving a huge and prolonged ovation from their supporters, who have been a real highlight of this World Cup, when they went towards them to take the acclaim after the final whistle.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And it was completely deserved after yet another performance of talent and character which showed exactly why they have been such a glorious surprise package at this World Cup.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Morocco coach Walid Regragui could have been forgiven for feeling the fates were against them after losing crucial players before and shortly after kick-off, as well as going behind.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Inspired by the magnificent Sofyan Amrabat, Morocco redoubled their efforts and were so close to restoring parity when El Yamiq\'s effort was kept out by a combination of the post and Lloris.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Morocco also had a clear penalty appeal waved aside in the first half when goalscorer Hernandez flattened Sofiane Boufal in the area. Not only was the spot-kick not given but Boufal was mystifyingly shown a yellow card.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Still Morocco pushed after the break but they wasted opportunities with a reluctance to shoot, a failing that left them vulnerable to a second France goal, which duly came.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Morocco may have finally been beaten but what a ride this has been for the World Cup and for African football as they beat Belgium, Spain and Portugal - three of the global game\'s elite - on the way to the last four.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is a wonderful platform to build on and Morocco have given their fans World Cup memories they will treasure for ever after this campaign in Qatar. 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, '2022-12-15 03:09:54', '2022-12-15 03:09:54'),
(3760, 3760, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The US House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted a short-term budget bill that extends federal funding at current levels until December 23 in order to avoid paralysis of federal services.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lawmakers voted 224-201 in favor of the bill, which is now headed for the Senate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is growing urgency to secure the funding, as members of Congress have until midnight Friday to adopt a new budget, otherwise all funding for federal services will be cut and operations across swathes of the government will screech to a halt.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The temporary bill would give Congress another week to reach a compromise.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Governmental departments and other federal buildings, but also national parks, some museums and other organizations would be impacted, forcing the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal workers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A winter 2018-2019 shutdown, the longest in US history, even affected baggage screening at airports.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite strong partisan divisions, most elected officials in both the Democratic and Republican parties do not want a shutdown, which risks creating chaos before the holidays.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The two parties are currently unable to agree on a final budget for the fiscal year 2023. 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, '2022-12-15 03:28:05', '2022-12-15 03:28:05'),
(3761, 3761, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A key U.N. committee has again blocked Myanmar’s military junta from taking the country’s seat at the United Nations, two well-informed U.N. diplomats said Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The General Assembly’s credentials committee met Monday and deferred action on the junta’s request, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity before a formal announcement likely later this week.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The decision means that Kyaw Moe Tun, who was Myanmar’s ambassador at the United Nations when the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, will remain on the job.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last December, Myanmar’s military rulers also failed in their effort to replace Tun, who remains a supporter of the previous government and the opposition National Unity Government, which opposes the junta.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chris Gunness, director of the London-based Myanmar Accountability Project, welcomed the credentials committee\'s move, saying it has “great diplomatic and symbolic significance, at a time when the illegal coup leaders are attempting to gain international recognition.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“General Min Aung Hlaing has inflicted on the people of Myanmar violence of a scale not seen in southeast Asia since Pol Pot unleashed the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror on Cambodia,” Gunness said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Damian Lilly, an Accountability Project official, urged the United Nations to ensure that Tun is afforded all U.N. rights and privileges and that the National Unity Government “is allowed to represent Myanmar in all UN bodies.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“At present, there are glaring inconsistencies,” he said, with Tun sitting in the 193-member General Assembly while Myanmar’s seat at the U.N. Human Rights Council is empty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lilly said the credentials committee’s action “must pave the way to resolving these anomalies which are depriving 55 million people in Myanmar of the opportunity to be represented at the U.N. by the government which they elected by a landslide in 2020.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Suu Kyi, who was arrested when the military seized power from her elected government, has been sentenced to 26 years’ imprisonment and faces additional charges.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rights groups and supporters of Suu Kyi say the charges against her are politically motivated and an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power while preventing her from returning to politics. 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, '2022-12-15 03:36:32', '2022-12-15 03:36:32');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(3762, 3762, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukraine said Wednesday it had shot down more than a dozen Iranian-made drones in Moscow\'s latest assault on Kyiv.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The attack came as the Kremlin promised no let-up to fighting over Christmas and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged European leaders to assist in setting up a court to try Russian leaders over the war.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The terrorists started this morning with 13 Shaheds,\" Zelensky said, referring to the Iran-made weapons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"All 13 were shot down,\" he added, urging residents to heed air raid sirens.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The national energy provider Ukrenergo said no electricity facilities had been damaged in the attack, crediting Ukrainian air defences for their \"brilliant\" work.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Such defense forces appeared set for a boost with ally Washington preparing to send a batch of Patriot missile defense batteries to Kyiv.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine has been subjected to frequent and deadly aerial attacks in the 10 months since Russia invaded Ukraine in February and tried to capture the capital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But since a series of key battlefield setbacks this summer and autumn, Russia began systematically targeting critical infrastructure in Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With temperatures dropping, the missile and drone attacks have disrupted electricity, water and heat to millions of Ukrainians.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Nearly 7 million children\' at risk -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The strikes targeting energy infrastructure have piled pressure on Ukraine\'s power grid, whose operators have for weeks been forced to implement rolling blackouts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That left \"nearly seven million children without sustained access to electricity, heating and water, putting them at increased risk\", UNICEF, the UN children\'s agency said Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Explosions rang out over central Kyiv and AFP journalists later saw law enforcement and emergency service workers inspecting metal fragments at a snow-covered impact site.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">City officials said debris from the downed drones had damaged residential homes and a local administrative building.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">No one was reported injured or killed, but residents cleaning up broken window glass and assessing damage vented their frustration at the Russian barrages.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Winter is coming, how can people survive?\" asked Svetlana, a local resident who described how a drone rumbled over homes before she heard a loud explosion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"They do not let Ukrainians live.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latest round of attacks came a day after dozens of countries and international organisations meeting in Paris responded to Zelensky\'s plea to help the country withstand Russia\'s onslaught on its energy grid with 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a video message from Kyiv, Zelensky said Ukraine needed assistance for its battered energy sector and spare parts for repairs, high-capacity generators, extra gas and increased electricity imports.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Ukraine\'s allies to provide his country with more weapons to help it \"fight through the winter\" and sustain Kyiv\'s military advances.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United States has been a major contributor to Ukraine\'s arsenal throughout the war, and a US official confirmed to AFP that Washington is finalising plans to send batteries of the advanced Patriot missile system to Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The public announcement on the Patriot, described by the US Army as its \"most advanced air defense system,\" could come as soon as Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>- US citizen freed -</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine separately said Wednesday it had secured the release of a US citizen as well as 64 Ukrainian members of the military in its latest prisoner swap with Russian forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia\'s state-run TASS news agency earlier reported that the American, Suedi Murekezi, had been arrested in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine in June and charged with attending anti-Russian protests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After nearly 10 months of fighting, Russia has yet to fulfil any of its stated key goals in what it refers to as its \"special military operation\" in Ukraine, including seizing the capital or the eastern Donbas region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the Moscow-installed leader of Ukraine\'s Donetsk province on Wednesday called for Russia to widen its goals and annex two more areas of Ukraine: the Black Sea region of Odessa and Chernigiv in the north.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a ceasefire was not on Moscow\'s agenda, and that it had not received proposals from Kyiv to pause fighting during the upcoming holiday period.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile on Wednesday, Zelensky accepted the European Union Sakharov Prize for human rights on behalf of Ukraine\'s people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As he accepted the EU\'s top rights award, he urged Europe to help set up a tribunal swiftly to try Russia\'s leadership for the \"crime of aggression\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelensky also warned the International Olympic Committee against welcoming back Russian athletes to international competition, after US Olympic officials signaled they were open to the idea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The only response is \"the complete isolation of the terrorist state on the international stage,\" Ukraine\'s leader told IOC president Thomas Bach in a statement. 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, '2022-12-15 04:13:45', '2022-12-15 04:13:45'),
(3763, 3763, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The World Health Organization said Wednesday it hoped that Covid-19 would no longer be a public health emergency in 2023, as it urged China to share information that could pinpoint how the pandemic started.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the third anniversary of the original outbreak rolls around, the WHO said the virus was here to stay but would need managing alongside other respiratory illnesses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the weekly Covid death toll was now around a fifth of what it was a year ago -- but was still far too high.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Last week, less than 10,000 people lost their lives. That\'s still 10,000 too many and there is still a lot that all countries can do to save lives,\" he told a press conference.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"But we have come a long way. We are hopeful that at some point next year, we will be able to say that Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The WHO\'s emergency committee on Covid-19, which advises Tedros on whether the virus constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), will discuss the criteria for declaring an end to the emergency phase when they next meet in January.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO\'s Covid-19 technical lead, said the committee would look at the epidemiology, variants like Omicron, and the impact of the virus.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While waves of infection are still expected, the pandemic \"is not what it was in the beginning\", with cases resulting in fewer hospitalisations and deaths, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"These deaths are largely happening among people who are not vaccinated,\" or have not received their full course of jabs, Van Kerkhove said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While the WHO says more than 13 billion vaccine doses have been administered, around 30 percent of the world has not received a single dose, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>- Covid origins -</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nearly 650 million confirmed Covid cases and more than 6.6 million deaths have been reported to the WHO, though the UN health agency acknowledges this will be a vast undercount.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tedros said that as the world looks to end the Covid emergency, which has upended economies and left millions suffering ongoing symptoms, it needs to understand how the pandemic began.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We continue to call on China to share the data and conduct the studies that we have requested, to better understand the origins of this virus,\" Tedros said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"All hypotheses remain on the table,\" he said, adding that this includes the theory that the virus escaped from Wuhan\'s virology laboratories.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan said the organisation could not simply stop engaging with Beijing \"because you\'re not cooperating with us on the origins\", as a huge chunk of the world\'s population live in China.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>- New vaccines hope -</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Tedros said the virus had been around so long, it was almost part of the family.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This virus will not go away. It\'s here to stay and all countries will need to learn to manage it alongside other respiratory illnesses,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The WHO\'s vaccines chief Kate O\'Brien said that the current crop of Covid jabs do not prevent people from catching the virus to the level that had been hoped for.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"We would love to have vaccines that are more effective against infection and transmission and have greater duration of protection,\" O\'Brien said, calling for more ongoing investment in research and development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>- Mpox declining -</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Mpox -- formerly known as monkeypox -- Tedros said the global outbreak this year had taken the world by surprise.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But like Covid, the emergency phase should be over within 12 months, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 82,000 cases have been reported from 110 countries, although the mortality rate has remained low, with 65 deaths.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Thankfully, the number of weekly reported cases has declined more than 90 percent since I declared a PHEIC in July,\" said Tedros.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If the current trend continues, we\'re hopeful that next year we\'ll also be able to declare an end to this emergency.\" AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 04:22:47', '2022-12-15 04:22:47'),
(3764, 3764, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prince Harry looked set to turn his fire on his brother William on Thursday, as Netflix airs the final episodes of the docuseries about the disgruntled royal and his wife Meghan.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">One trailer for the last three instalments of \"Harry &amp; Meghan\", released last week, already escalated the row between the brothers, who are reportedly now no longer on speaking terms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In an apparent reference to Buckingham Palace, Harry, 38, accused his family of \"institutional gaslighting\" and claimed they were \"happy to lie to protect my brother but were never willing to tell the truth to protect us\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another trailer, released on Wednesday saw Meghan\'s lawyer, Jenny Afia, alleging a briefing war against the couple by the palace \"to suit other people\'s agendas\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meghan\'s friend Lucy Fraser added: \"Meg became this scapegoat for the palace.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"And so they would feed stories on her whether they were true or not to avoid other less favourable stories being printed.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Afia said the \"barrage of negative articles\" about the breakdown of Meghan\'s relationship with her father was \"the final straw in a campaign of negative, nasty coverage about her\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Harry and Meghan, 41, sensationally quit royal life in early 2020 and moved to North America, from where they have launched a series of broadsides about the royal family.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the first three episodes released last Thursday, the couple -- also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex -- criticised the royal family for \"unconscious\" racial bias.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They accused the palace of failing to protect Meghan and Harry\'s mother Diana against tabloid excesses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most of their criticisms were directed at the media.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But direct mention of William, 40, in the latest trailer confirmed suspicions that the more pointed criticisms may have been saved for last.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Daily Mail royal correspondent Rebecca English said \"the gloves are off\" while her counterpart at ITV, Chris Ship, said, \"It\'s getting dirty.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Suggestions that his brother and his entourage were to blame for the negative coverage that Harry and Meghan received was \"a dramatic escalation\", he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Business as usual\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">So far the palace has declined to respond to the programme and disputed claims by Netflix that they were approached to comment on the contents of the series.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Senior royals, led by Harry\'s father King Charles III, are expected to attend a Christmas carol concert on Thursday in a demonstration of \"business as usual\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But commentators suggested they may be forced to act if criticism gets personal, as Harry and Meghan faced calls to give up their royal titles -- or have them removed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last week, Harry appeared to take a dig at his older brother and his wife Catherine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"With many people in the family, especially the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit in the mould,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Netflix said last week\'s episodes recorded 81.55 million viewing hours globally -- \"the highest view hours of any documentary title in a premiere week\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Several British newspapers said the docuseries was an effective declaration of \"war\" by the couple.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They have already faced claims of trying to sabotage William\'s first trip to the United States as heir with the release of the first trailer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A December 9 YouGov poll indicated that the docuseries, which comes three months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, had further dented Harry and Meghan\'s popularity in the UK.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Harry and Meghan saw their negative ratings with the British public fall to -26 percent and -39 percent after the programmes, from -13 percent and -32 percent before.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Only Harry\'s disgraced uncle Prince Andrew, who earlier this year settled a US civil claim for sexual assault out of court without admitting liability, was less popular.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He had a -79 percent rating. 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, '2022-12-15 05:03:41', '2022-12-15 05:03:41'),
(3765, 3765, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least three people have died as a powerful winter storm moves east across the US, spawning tornadoes in southern states and coating others in snow.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A young boy and his mother were killed in Louisiana when their home was destroyed by a tornado.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The huge storm also brought blizzard-like conditions to the Midwest, with roads and schools closed and some areas reporting 4ft (1.2m) of snow.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Around 3,300 flights have been delayed and over 150 more cancelled.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some 500,000 people across four states - Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota and Minnesota - are under blizzard warnings, with powerful winds and heavy snowfall making travel difficult. Millions more around the country are under less severe winter weather alerts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Severe storms are forecast along the Gulf coast, including in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and parts of Florida. There are also tornado warnings in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rescuers searched for hours before recovering the mother and son who died in a rural area near the city of Shreveport.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The remains of the boy - Nikolus Little, eight - were found in a wooded area half a mile from the family home.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The body of his mother - Yoshiko A Smith, 30 - was discovered about one street away from the destroyed home, under a pile of debris, officials said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheriff Steve Prator told the local television station KSLA that the father had reported them missing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We couldn\'t even find the house that he was describing with the address,\" said the sheriff. \"Everything was gone,\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A 56-year old woman was also found dead outside her home in St Charles Parish, according to a local politician. The Louisiana Department of Health said she died after a tornado destroyed her house.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the small town of Farmerville about 100 miles (160km) away, at least 25 people were hurt after a tornado hit, according to local news outlet KNOE.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 18 tornadoes touched down in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi on Tuesday, injuring residents and wrecking homes and buildings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More were reported on Wednesday, while Louisiana\'s governor declared a state of emergency.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most of the US is likely to feel some impact from the storm, with cold weather and snow forecast as it moves east over the coming days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s a fairly vigorous storm system,\" Rich Otto, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, told the BBC. \"This one is a little larger than your average winter storm.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The severe weather has caused hundreds of flight disruptions at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas and Denver International Airport in Colorado over the past two days, according to FlightAware.com.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The storm has also spilled into Canada, bringing heavy snow and high winds in the country\'s southern Prairie region, including the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Freezing rain and other wintry conditions are forecast to hit the upper Midwest and north-eastern US on Thursday, the National Weather Service said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The storm system began to hit the US last Friday, bringing powerful winds and snow to parts of California. 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, '2022-12-15 05:32:55', '2022-12-15 05:32:55'),
(3766, 3766, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>At least 24 people died allegedly after consuming toxic liquor in different villages of Chhapra in Bihar\'s Saran district of India on Wednesday. One of them died at the district hospital during treatment while some others are believed to be undergoing treatment in private. The police have taken his body into their custody.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">An official said his body will be sent for post-mortem to ascertain the cause of his death.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though the victims\' relatives claim their deaths are due to toxic liquor, the authorities are yet to confirm this.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar faced protests today in the Bihar assembly over liquor deaths in the state. A furious Mr Kumar also heard screaming at the opposition BJP leaders, \"sharabi ho tum (you are drunk)\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local BJP MLA Janak Singh accused the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government over the deaths. At least three of the deaths occurred in his village.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Thousands of people are dying in the state (due to toxic liquor) but the Chief Minister is not doing anything about it. Those at the helm of the government are to be blamed for this because he had said officials would be probed if such incidents occur in their area,\" he said without naming Nitish Kumar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I want to ask you how many such officials have been probed under whose watch such incidents are happening? How did the toxic liquor reach my village? You are making money through police stations. You have no right to be in power for even a minute,\" he further slammed the state government. NDTV</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 05:49:35', '2022-12-15 05:49:35'),
(3767, 3767, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will address the nation this evening on the occasion of the Victory Day.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister will deliver her speech at 7:30pm today, a press release of the Prime Minister\'s press wing said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Her speech will be aired by Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar as well as private TV channels and radio stations. 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, '2022-12-15 05:58:16', '2022-12-15 05:58:16'),
(3768, 3768, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Pakistani troops surrendered to allied Indian and Bangladesh forces on December 16, 1971 evening after a brief negotiation, while a former Indian military captain of late unveiled its prelude, sketching first moments of victor\'s interactions with the defeated army.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Retired lieutenant general Nirbhay Sharma said as a young Indian captain he was in the first group of Indian soldier to step into Dhaka city as part of advanced allied troops.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He recently came up with a signed memoir, describing a little known story of events of the first hours of the day, acknowledging that Bangladesh\'s freedom fighter Abdul Kader Siddique was part of the episode as well.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sharma, who later served as India\'s governor of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, said they had entered \"Dacca\" through the Mirpur Bridge to make their way to Pakistan\'s military headquarters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But some eventful episodes upset their first attempt to reach Pakistani commander Lieutenant General AAK Niazi, to whom they, however, reached subsequently carrying a message from Major General Gandharv Nagra, India\'s general officer commanding for 1010 area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sharma said on their second journey, this time along with his commanding officer of India\'s 2 Para Battalion Colonel Pannu and few others, they succeeded in reaching the message, again as the \"first troops\" to enter the enemy held Dhaka Cantonment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"While the battalion made a triumphant entry, Colonel Pannu, with me and a few other officers, made a dash to General Niazi at his headquarters,\" read Sharma\'s article, appeared in India\'s The Print newspaper.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"As we entered Pakistan\'s Eastern Command Headquarters and parked our jeeps next to General Niazi\'s office, a smartly attired, tall and well-built soldier confronted us,\" he wrote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sharma added that the \"stick orderly standing guard\" blocked the Indians entry into the office as he was quite unaware of the goings-on and did not know \"what to do or say\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He asked us not to park our jeeps in the space reserved exclusively for his general. We pushed him aside and barged into the general\'s room,\" Sharma wrote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;He recalled that Colonel Pannu \"looked hard at Niazi and the latter could not meet his gaze\" while the \"unshaven\" top Pakistani general held his head in both hands with despair.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I clearly remember his mumblings - \"Pindi mein baithe haramzaadon ne marva diya (Those sitting in Rawalpindi have let us down)\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said that Rawalpindi kept fooling him until that morning that \"help was on the way\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sharma, the adjutant of the Indian battalion at Dhaka\'s doorstep, recalled that their troops took the enemy by surprise knocking at the doors of Dhaka at Mirpur Bridge point on the midnight of 15-16 December while shelling and desultory firing continued till December 16 morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Nagra earlier landed at the scene in the morning and \"informed us that the Pakistani Army had agreed to surrender and we were to take a message for Lt General AAK Niazi\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The message read: \'My dear Abdullah, I am here. The game is up, I suggest you give yourself up to me and I will take care of you\'.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Sharma, Nagra\'s aide de camp Captain Hitesh Mehta was asked to accompany him while Pakistani troops were on position on other side of the bridge.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Initially the two captains got into a jeep with Nagra\'s handwritten message for Niazi, who was acquainted to the Indian general since their early age and \"were on first-name basis\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sharma said as they two moved to the jeep, two other officers, Major JS Sethi and Lieutenant Tejinder Singh jumped into the vehicle.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Oblivious to the impending danger, all of us were excited at the thought of moving into Dhaka with the message of surrender and making history,\" Sharma wrote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But, he recalled, little did they, young officers, knew at the time that the Pakistan army on the other side had not received instructions to surrender and so \"they opened fire as we crossed the bridge. We stopped\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Collecting all my wits, I shouted to tell them to stop firing. The firing stopped\" but immediately the enemy soldiers surrounded and disarmed the small Indian detachment, he wrote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Indian officers then asked a Pakistani junior commissioned officer (JCO) to call a senior officer while Sharma simultaneously threatened him with dire consequences if they tried harming them saying, the Indian army surrounded Dhaka and their general had agreed to surrender.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Sharma, luckily soon a Pakistani captain arrived and took the detachment to the Mirpur Garrison where its commander asked them to wait and nearly an hour later Major General Mohammad Jamshed, GOC of Dhaka Garrison arrived there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Along with Jamshed they returned to Mirpur Bridge in their Indian army jeep while a Pakistani one followed them and on their way back \"we were fired upon again, neither side knowing who we were\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Major Sethi received a medium machine gun burst on his left leg and another bullet pierced the helmet of Singh right in the middle, though was fortunately deflected but \"the situation was restored and we reached our side of the bridge\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Talking to BSS Kader Siddique recalled that a white shirt was hoisted atop the Indian army jeep that carried the junior Indian officers as no white flag was available instantly and on their way back to the Mirpur Bridge somehow the shirt was dropped somewhere leaving them unprotected that draw the enemy fires.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sharma wrote, shortly thereafter, at 10:42 am, being accompanied by Pakistani officers, the Indian officers\' detachment reentered Dhaka to hand over Niazi the Nagra\'s chit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pakistani military spokesman Major Siddiq Salik in his \"Witness to Surrender\" said receiving Nagra\'s message Niazi briefly discussed the situation with senior generals present, including navy\'s top commander in East Pakistan Rear Admiral Mohamad Shariff and Major General Rao Farman Ali.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They both, he said, suggested Niazi to give up and respond to Nagra\'s call as Pakistani side did not have enough strength to defend \"Dacca\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Talking to BSS Siddique said Jamshed came to the scene in a Mercedes car followed by several Pakistani military vehicles and Nagra and two other Indian brigadiers, San Singh and Klair and he himself got on board the car\'s backseat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Jamshed sat on the front seat beside the driver on their way to Dhaka Cantonment and halted briefly at Jamshed\'s makeshift office at Dhaka Residential School, from where they tried to make a phone to Niazi but found the line to be dead.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The delegation then went straight to Dhaka Cantonment and was received by a Pakistani captain at Niazi\'s office saying the general would come there shortly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"After 4 or 5 minutes Niazi came and the two sides saluted each other and shook hands . . . I could not extend my hand to shake his (Niazi\'s) hand,\" Siddique said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 1971 war documents suggest nearly an after later the formal surrender negotiations took place after Indian Eastern Front\'s general staff chief Major General JFR Jacob arrived at Niazi\'s headquarters. 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, '2022-12-15 06:09:45', '2022-12-15 06:09:45'),
(3769, 3769, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Amid rumours of Athiya Shetty and KL Rahul getting marrying soon, her father Suniel Shetty has said joked he will certainly attend the wedding if the reporters inform him about the confirmed dates. Athiya and KL Rahul have been together for a few years. She also accompanies him on his tours sometimes, and they go on vacations together.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last month, reports claimed that the cricketer had applied for leaves in January 2023 and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) approved it. Internet was soon flooded with speculations that he will marry Athiya in January. During the trailer launch event of his new show Dharavi Bank, Suniel had confirmed that the wedding will take place soon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, he has now said that the dates are yet to be confirmed. Suniel told ETimes, “Let me know when you get the confirmed dates so I can attend (the wedding).”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rahul had shared a couple of pictures of Athiya to mark her 30th birthday earlier this year. Sharing the photos, he wrote, \"Happy birthday to my clown (he used clown face emoji) you make everything better.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">I an earlier interview with Hindustan Times, Suniel had said, “I know about all the rumours that are around their wedding now and then. And I can tell you that I am looking at it as in the date. With both their schedules and stuff like that, we are figuring out things. Hopefully soon, we will know as to when, where and what will it finally happen.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last seen in Motichoor Chaknachoor opposite Nawazuddin Siddiui, Athiya rcently made her debut on YouTube with her own channel. Salman Khan\'s Hero, starring Sooraj Pancholi in the lead marked Athiya\'s Bollywood debut in 2015.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Suniel is riding high on the popularity of his debut show, Dharavi Bank, which released on MX Player on November 19. Dharavi Bank is directed by Samit Kakkad and also stars Vivek Oberoi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Athiya and KL Rahul have never confirmed their relationship in public but they often share pictures together on Instagram. They also comment and respond to each other\'s social media posts, displaying their affection for each other. Last year, the cricketer had also joined Athiya at a special screening of Ahaan Shetty’s debut film, Tadap. 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, '2022-12-15 06:14:40', '2022-12-15 06:14:40'),
(3771, 3771, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Multi-billionaire Elon Musk has sold another 22 million shares, worth $3.58bn (£2.9bn), in the electric car maker Tesla.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The shares were sold on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week, according to a filing with a US financial regulator.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It brings the total of Tesla stocks sold by Mr Musk over the past year to almost $40bn.&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Earlier this week Mr Musk lost his position as the world\'s richest person.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The reason for the latest share sales has not been disclosed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He remains Tesla\'s biggest shareholder with a 13.4% stake, according to financial market data provider Refinitiv.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last month Mr Musk revealed that he had sold 19.5 million shares of Tesla worth $3.95bn, just days after completing a $44bn takeover of social media platform Twitter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tesla is one of the worst performing stocks among major car makers and technology companies this year, as investors worry that Mr Musk\'s buyout of Twitter is diverting his attention.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Wednesday the value of Tesla shares listed on the technology-heavy Nasdaq index in New York closed below $500bn for the first time since 2020.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the end of last year the company was worth more than $1tn but its value has slumped in recent months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Musk completed the takeover of Twitter in October and since then has focused a significant amount of his time on the business.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Musk sold billions of dollars worth of Tesla shares to help fund his purchase, which helped to push the shares down.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Twitter deal was only completed after months of legal wrangling, and some have cited the distraction of the takeover as another factor behind Tesla\'s share price fall.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Investors have also been concerned that demand for the company\'s electric cars may slow, as the economy weakens, higher borrowing costs discourage buyers and other companies boost their electric vehicle offerings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tesla has also been hit by recalls, as well as government probes of crashes and its autopilot feature.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This week Mr Musk lost his position as the world\'s richest person after a sharp drop in the value of his shares in Tesla this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to both Forbes and Bloomberg, he was overtaken at the top spot by Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of luxury goods group LVMH.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Musk is now worth $174bn, Mr Arnault\'s fortune stands at almost $191bn, according to Forbes. 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, '2022-12-15 06:56:49', '2022-12-15 06:56:49');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(3772, 3772, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Farmers engaged in vegetable farming — on floating beds made of hyacinth and bamboo — in Nazirpur and Nesarabad upazilas of Pirojpur district are devastated by low prices of their produce.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Though the farmers keep themselves engaged in cultivating vegetables, taking advantage of the availability of hyacinth in the region, anxiety over low prices has gripped them.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the district’s Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), farmers in the region have been farming vegetables, using the floating method, for over a century.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some 3,200 farmers of the upazilas cultivate several varieties of vegetables including papaya, gourd, pumpkin, beans, okra, tomato, eggplant and cabbage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The vegetable seedlings produced on the beds are usually sold at upazilas of the district and other parts of the country but this year the sales are not seeing a momentum due to poor response from buyers.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though it was targeted to produce 86,50,000 saplings on 175 hectares of land, it exceeded the target due to favourable weather.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, a bunch of 100 saplings was sold at Tk 250 to 300 but the price is now Tk 150 to 200. The sale of saplings goes on from June to November every year.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some areas including Deulbari-Dobra, Kalardoyania and Malikhai under Nazirpur upazila and most parts of Baldiya union under Nesarabad upazila remain under 5 to 8 feet water round they year, causing no production of any crop.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The farmers said they usually take loans from local money lenders for usury and lands as sublease for cultivating vegetables and producing saplings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The farmers are bound to take loans from the lenders with a high usury because of failure to manage loans from the banks during the Robi, Kharif-1 and 2 seasons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They are deprived of bagging a good profit due to the high interest on the loans, they said.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hoping assistance from the government, the farmers said they don’t get the desired prices by selling produce due to natural disasters, damages of crops, low price, disadvantages in marketing and lack of preservation.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Local farmer Jamal Hossain said he is used to cultivating vegetables on the floating beds made of hyacinth and bamboo in the water bodies taken on sublease.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I have 15 to 16 beds where I cultivate several types of vegetables including beans, papaya, tomato, chili and gourd,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have not been getting a reasonable price due to lack of dealers caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he claimed, adding that an amount of Tk 7,000 to 10,000 is&nbsp; needed to cultivate vegetables and produce saplings on a 60-hand long bed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Md Nazrul Islam Sikdar, deputy director of the district’s DAE, told UNB that some 60 to 70 percent farmers of Gaokhali, Monohorpur, Delbari and Malikhali areas under Nazipur upazila have been involved with vegetable farming on floating beds.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We inform the farmers on maintaining quality and visit their croplands to give training,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Urging high officials of the agricultural ministry to take measures to offer loans on easy conditions, the farmers said that it will be difficult to keep vegetable cultivation on floating beds going unless loans from banks are made easy. 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, '2022-12-15 07:21:26', '2022-12-15 07:21:26'),
(3773, 3773, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The nation is set to celebrate the Victory Day, the most precious day of the Bangalees, tomorrow as the country was liberated from the Pakistani occupation forces on that day 51 years back after a nine-month-long bloodstained War of Liberation.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 16 in 1971, Bangladesh was born as an independent country under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the cost of supreme sacrifice of three million people and the honour of nearly half a million women.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will issue separate messages on the occasion, paying glowing tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War in 1971.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The programmes marking the \'Victory Day\' will include a 31-gun salute, placing of wreaths at the monuments to pay homage to martyrs, hoisting of the national flags atop all government, semi-government and private offices as well as offices of autonomous bodies across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The victory day programmes also include decorating city streets and illumination of important buildings and establishments, roads and street islands at night.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will pay homage to the martyrs of the Liberation War by placing wreaths at the National Memorial at Savar on the outskirts of the capital with the rise of the sun tomorrow.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This will be followed by the family members of Bir Sreshthos, wounded freedom fighters and Bir Muktijoddhas while Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq will lead them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, foreign diplomats, leaders of Awami League and different political and social organisations and people from all walks of life will pay homage to the martyrs of the Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Combined forces will participate in a parade at the National Parade Square in the city at 10.30am tomorrow.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Abdul Hamid will be present there and take salute while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will also be present there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The day is a public holiday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">National dailies will bring out special supplements on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The state-owned and private televisions and radios will broadcast special programmes highlighting the Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Marking the day, improved diets will be served to inmates of jails, hospitals, orphanages and vagrant homes across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, various political, social and cultural organizations including Bangladesh Awami League, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Bangla Academy, National Museum, Liberation War Museum, Bangladesh Shishu Academy, will celebrate the day with different programmes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, receptions of valiant freedom fighters and family members of martyrs will be held in the metropolis, districts and upazilas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Special prayers will be offered at mosques and other places of worship, seeking eternal peace of the departed souls of the martyrs of the Liberation War and peace, progress and prosperity of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Similar programmes will be taken at district and upazila levels as well as Bangladesh missions abroad, highlighting the significance of the day. 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, '2022-12-15 07:36:07', '2022-12-15 07:36:07'),
(3774, 3774, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Light to moderate fog was noticed across the country early this morning.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Night temperature may remain nearly unchanged and day temperature may fall slightly over the country, said a latest bulletin of Bangladesh Meteorological Department.</div><div><br></div><div>Weather may remain dry over the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The lowest temperature in the country, recorded on Wednesday, was 11.5 degree Celsius in Rajshahi and Chuadanga, while the highest temperature was 30.5 degree Celsius in Khulna.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, a low-pressure area has formed over southeast Bay and adjoining area. It is likely to intensify.</div><div><br></div><div>Dhaka city dwellers have been experiencing foggy weather since this morning as the month of ‘Poush’, ninth month of the Bengali calendar, will start from Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>As winter approaches, shopping malls, footpaths and shops are packed with people buying warm cloths. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 08:57:23', '2022-12-15 08:57:23'),
(3775, 3775, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister and Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina today said BNP plays ducks and drakes with the election and people\'s voting rights side by side pushing the country behind whenever they come to power.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"Whenever BNP assumed power, they played the ducks and drakes with the elections and people\'s voting rights and this is its character,\" she said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>She also said BNP does it as it is not a party of the masses. \"So, they don\'t care for the people as they consider power as something to enjoy and a chance of looting,\" she added.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The premier made the remark while addressing as the chief guest the triennial national council of the Bangladesh Jubo Mohila League (BJML), an affiliated body of the AL, at the historic Suhrawardy Udyan.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Referring to statistics of various developments carried out between the AL and BNP government, she said, \"The trend of development continues. But, the development backtracked whenever the BNP came to power.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She said her government elevated the education rate to 65 percent from 45 and increased electricity generation to 4300MW from 3200MW after assuming power for the first time in 1996.</div><div><br></div><div>But the education ratio got down to 45 percent and electricity generation reduced to 32,00MW when BNP came to power for the second time in 2001, she said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"BNP can only develop itself after opening Hawa Bhaban and Khawa Bhaban. They can do nothing for the welfare of the country and its people. For that reason the people have boycotted them time and again,\" she added.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The prime minister said the people know that their fate will only be changed whenever Awami League comes to power and it had helped achieve the country\'s independence under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Road Transport and Bridges Minister and General Secretary of the Awami League Obaidul Quader addressed at the function as the special guest.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>President of the Jubo Mohila League Nazma Akter presided over the council while its General Secretary Apu Ukil conducted it and presented the organisational report.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Earlier, the prime minister opened the council by hoisting the national flag and releasing pigeons, the symbol of peace and balloons.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>She later witnessed a colourful cultural programme starting with playing the party song of the BJML.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>A one minute silence was observed to show profound respect to the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War, August 15, 1975 and all the democratic and progressive movements at the council.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Leaders, activists, councillors and delegates from across the country thronged the conference venue in thousands with colourful festoons, placards and banners to make the council a grand success.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The second and last council of the Bangladesh Jubo Mohila League, which was founded on July 6 in 2002, was held on March 11, 2017. According to BSS reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 10:30:03', '2022-12-15 10:30:03'),
(3776, 3776, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The father of Buet student Fardin Noor Parash has said that he firmly believes his son didn\'t die by suicide.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Fardin\'s father Kazi Nooruddin told to media in front of the DB office in Dhaka.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"I will file no-confidence petition. My son didn\'t die by suicide,\" he said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 11:12:53', '2022-12-15 11:12:53'),
(3777, 3777, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Daisy Sarwar has been made new president while Sharmin Sultana Lily general secretary of Jubo Mohila League, the youth women front of Awami League.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader announced the names of the president and the general secretary of Jubo Mohila League from its third triennial council of the organisation held at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>Awami League president Sheikh Hasina was present as the chief guest at the council.</div><div><br></div><div>During its founding in 2002, a convening committee of 101 members was formed.</div><div><br></div><div>In the first council of the organisation held in 2004, Najma Akhtar was made president and Apu Ukil the general secretary.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 11:22:52', '2022-12-15 11:22:52'),
(3778, 3778, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The group of Buet students, who went to the DB office today to get details about the death of their peer Fardin Noor Parash, said that detectives could not produce any solid evidence in favour of their claim that he died by suicide, according to media reports.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The students said that it was not clear whether Fardin actually took his own life, and DB officials could not show any such solid or concrete evidence.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The DB officials said they were also not 100 percent sure that Fardin died by suicide, the students said.</div><div><br></div><div>They were talking to media after coming out of the DB office.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Nevertheless, the evidence shown seemed relevant to us, they have made a lot of effort\" one of the students said.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, the students also claimed the evidence provided to them had gaps.</div><div><br></div><div>Citing an example, the students said the driver of the human haulier, that dropped Fardin near a bridge on the night he disappeared, told investigators that there was someone with Fardin that night.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"But, it is not yet clear who that person was,\" the student said.</div><div><br></div><div>They said apart from such gaps, the investigating officer showed them concrete evidence on other issues and they said they were pleased with police\'s work.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 11:30:39', '2022-12-15 11:30:39'),
(3779, 3779, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President M Abdul Hamid will attend the parade at the National Parade Ground marking the 52nd Victory Day.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The President, also supreme commander of the armed forces division, will take salute and inspect the parade on the occasion, President\'s press secretary Md Joynal Abedin told BSS.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Bangladesh Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Coast Guard, Ansar, paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) will take part in the parade.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The Head of the State and other invited guests will witness armoury acquisitions of different regiments and contingents of the armed forces, a spectacular fly-past conducted by army aviation, helicopters of anti-crime elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), navy aviation, parachute landing by army paratroopers and the air force of Bangladesh.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Earlier, on his arrival at the parade venue at about 10:30 am, Abdul Hamid is scheduled to receive by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, parliament members and the chiefs of the three services and senior officers of armed forces division, according to programme schedule.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Earlier in the morning, President Hamid will pay glowing tributes to the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War by placing wreath at the National Memorial in Savar on the outskirts of the capital on the occasion.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The President is scheduled to place the wreath at the altar of the National Memorial at about 6:30 am followed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Fifty two years back, the country achieved victory through the nine-month War of Liberation against Pakistani occupation forces on this day.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>On this day in 1971, the Pakistani military conceded defeat to the allied forces and commanding officer of Pakistani forces general A A K Niazi surrendered arms with all members of his forces. ‍Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 12:06:01', '2022-12-15 12:06:01'),
(3780, 3780, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">After a delay of more than two years, finally the Aminbazar-Gopalganj 400 KV power transmission line came into operation crossing the Padma River.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“The line was commissioned successfully at 1:40 pm on December 15 (Thursday) from Gopalganj grid substation with 400 KV voltage”, the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) said in a Facebook post.</div><div><br></div><div>However, PGCB managing director Golam Kibria said that although the line was commissioned, electricity flow will not be given through this line.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We\'ve planned to flow electricity from next Saturday on test basis and then step by step it will be fully commissioned by gradually synchronising with all the systems”, he told UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>PGCB officials said that the full commissioning of the newly constructed line will facilitate electricity transmission from the two large power plants—1320 MW Payra and 1320 MW Rampal power plants—in the country’s southern region to Dhaka city.</div><div><br></div><div>Of these, the Payra power plant having two units, each 620 MW capacity, set up in joint venture with Chinese company, have already been commissioned. The first unit (620 MW capacity) of Rampal power plant is also being built in joint venture with an Indian company and it is expected to be commercially commissioned in March next year.</div><div><br></div><div>“If the electricity from these two plants can come to the capital city, it will play an important role to improve the power supply situation”, said a top official of the Power Division.</div><div><br></div><div>The government had undertaken the implementation of the Aminbazar-Gopalganj transmission line in 2016.</div><div><br></div><div>But due to construction of the Padma Bridge, works of tower installation in Padma River remained suspended until completion of the bridge construction. As a result, the project experienced a huge delay to complete.</div><div><br></div><div>The PGCB in the Facebook post mentioned that the newly constructed Aminbazar-Gopalganj 400 KV power transmission line has been successfully commissioned with charging power by the PGCB.</div><div><br></div><div>The length of the line from Gopalganj to Aminbazar grid substation is 82.5 km. Of which there is a 7.5 km river crossing on Padma River.</div><div><br></div><div>The Gopalganj to Aminbazar line has a total of 226 towers. A total of 11 tall towers have been constructed in the Padma River and also on both sides for facilitating the river crossing.</div><div><br></div><div>As the line has been successfully charged at 400 KV voltage, soon after all technical preparations and evaluations, power transmission (load flow) will be started on this line.</div><div><br></div><div>With the commissioning of the newly constructed line, the previously constructed Payra-Gopalganj 400 KV line and Gopalganj-Mongla 400 KV line have been connected to the Aminbazar grid substation on the outskirts of Dhaka.</div><div><br></div><div>This has made the connection to the national grid stronger and more reliable with the greater Khulna and Barishal regions, the PGCB mentioned. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 12:09:37', '2022-12-15 12:09:37'),
(3781, 3781, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Terming BNP a party of killers, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said those who have been identified as killers will not be able to develop the country.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Those who were involved in the killings on August 15, 1975, the Jail killing on November 3, 1975 and grenade attack on August 21, 2004 would not able to do any welfare of the state”, he told the triennial conference of Jubo Mahila League at Suhrawardy Uddhyan here.</div><div><br></div><div>Coming down heavily on a BNP leader for making statement that BNP is preparing a design to rebuild the country and it [the design] will be made public, Quader said how the BNP will do so as the party sponsored the three major bloodsheds in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Calling the BNP’s plan a ridiculous one, he surprised that how the party will rebuild the state as it had amended the country’s Constitution to give impunity to the self-confessed killers of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div><br></div><div>Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, mentioned that BNP made Bangladesh the world champions in graft for five consecutive times while a top BNP leader was convicted in a graft case on charge of siphoning off a huge amount of money abroad.</div><div><br></div><div>About on an arrogant comment made by a BNP leader that the country would be led by BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia after the December 10 this year, he minister said: “Where your arrogance is now as the country’s people smashed your pride”.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>Highlighting the country’s progress achieved by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the AL general secretary said Sheikh Hasina is doing everything for the welfare of the country’s people by taking risk and no politician is leading a risky life like her after 1975.</div><div><br></div><div>Noting that Sheikh Hasina is a leader of development ,he said the long-cherished Padma Bridge was constructed with own finance, over 100 bridges opened simultaneously, metro rail project is set to be launched, Bangabandhu tunnel is under construction beneath Karnaphuli River in Chattogram, reports BSS</div><div><br></div><div>Some 100 roads will be inaugurated in one day, Quader added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 12:54:14', '2022-12-15 12:54:14'),
(3782, 3782, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">With two more deaths from dengue recorded in 24 hours till Thursday morning, the official death toll from the mosquito-borne disease rose to 269 this year.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>During this period, 163 more patients, including 95 in Dhaka city, were hospitalised, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</div><div><br></div><div>A total of 803 dengue patients, including 477 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.</div><div>The DGHS has recorded 61,089 dengue cases and 60,017 recoveries so far this year. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 13:58:50', '2022-12-15 13:58:50'),
(3783, 3783, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister&nbsp; has urged people not to pay any heed to rumours about a cash crisis at banks.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina in her televised address to the nation on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>She said, “Rumours of banks running out of money are being spread to try and sow panic,”&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Do not pay attention to unsubstantiated gossip. There is no shortage of money in banks. Don’t try to court danger by keeping your earnings at home. Our investment, remittance inflow and export-import situation are normal.”</div><div><br></div><div>Many people have also made false claims about Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserves, according to the prime minister.</div><div><br></div><div>“A country can make do if it has reserves to meet import bills for three months,” Hasina said. “Currently, we have enough foreign currency in reserve to meet our import expenditure for five months.”</div><div><br></div><div>During the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh’s reserves swelled to $48 billion as imports of heavy equipment, foreign trips, and imports of other goods were put on hold, Hasina said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Instead of keeping this massive amount of money idle, we have taken some of it and used it to form a special fund,” she said. “Some important projects are being implemented through that fund.”</div><div><br></div><div>The state-owned Sonali Bank is also offering loans at a 2 percent interest rate. The money and interest from these loans ultimately return home, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>If the money was borrowed from a foreign bank, the interest rate would have been as high as 4-5 percent, Hasina said. The payment would also have to be made from foreign currency reserves.</div><div><br></div><div>The Ukraine-Russia war and the series of sanctions and counter-sanctions levied by Western countries in response to it has put developing and import-reliant countries such as Bangladesh in trouble, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Global commodity prices have gone up and there have been disruptions to the supply chain as transport costs have increased, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Bangladesh is trying to procure the goods needed by the public from wherever we can,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Another reason for the drop in foreign exchange reserves is that the Bangladesh government buys fuel oil, cooking oil, wheat, lentils, corn and other commodities at higher prices from the world market before selling them at a subsidised rate locally, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 14:51:28', '2022-12-15 14:51:28'),
(3784, 3784, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">India has successfully carried out night trials of the Agni V nuclear-capable ballistic missile which can hit targets beyond 5,400 km, sources in the Defence Ministry said on Thursday, amid heightened tensions with China over clashes along the de facto border in Arunachal Pradesh last week.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The test was carried out to validate new technologies and equipment on the missile and has proved that the missile can now hit targets further away than before, they added.</div><div><br></div><div>The intercontinental nuclear-capable ballistic missile was fired from Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha. This is the ninth flight of the Agni V - a missile first tested in 2012 - and was a routine test, Defence Ministry sources said.</div><div><br></div><div>While the test was carried out days after the clashes, it had been planned earlier. India had announced its intention to test a long-range missile and issued a NOTAM or Notice to Airmen well before the incident in Arunachal\'s Tawang.</div><div><br></div><div>With the incursion in Arunachal, China had tried to \"unilaterally change the status quo\" on the de facto border known as Line of Actual Control last week, triggering clashes that left troops on both sides injured, the government had said, adding that the attempt had been successfully repulsed.</div><div><br></div><div>The incident is thought to be the most serious on the nuclear-armed Asian giants\' disputed frontier since 2020 when 20 Indian troops and four Chinese soldiers died in brawling in Ladakh\'s Galwan Valley. Source: NDTV</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 14:57:23', '2022-12-15 14:57:23'),
(3785, 3785, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Outgoing Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam&nbsp; paid a courtesy call on President M Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on Thursday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>During the meeting, the outgoing cabinet secretary expressed his gratitude to the President for providing guidance and overall cooperation in fulfilling his assignments, President\'s press secretary Md Joynal Abedin told press this evening.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Head of the State thanked the outgoing cabinet secretary for his successful performance.</div><div><br></div><div>Secretaries concerned to the President were present. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-15 15:01:54', '2022-12-15 15:01:54'),
(3786, 3786, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday released a special commemorative postage stamp, an opening day cover and a data card, on the occasion of the Great Victory Day-2022.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The premier unveiled the commemorative postage stamp of Taka 10 at a ceremony at her official residence Ganabhaban in the capital this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A special canceller was used on the occasion, Prime Minister\'s Assistant Press Secretary MM Emrul Kayas told BSS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister\'s Principal Secretary Md. Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Prime Minister\'s Office Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin, Posts and Telecommunications Secretary Md Khalilur Rahman and Director General of Directorate of Posts Md Harunur Rashid were present on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The postage stamp, the first-day cover and data card, will be sold from Philatelic Bureau of Dhaka GPO and will also be available at other GPOs and head post offices across the country later. 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, '2022-12-16 07:09:50', '2022-12-16 07:09:50'),
(3787, 3787, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>President M Abdul Hamid paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War by placing wreaths at the National Memorial in Savar on the outskirts of the capital this morning marking the 52nd Victory Day.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Head of the State placed the wreaths at the altar of the National Memorial at about 6.32am followed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After placing the wreaths, the President stood in solemn silence for a while as a mark of deep respect to the memories of the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A smartly turned out contingent drawn from the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force presented the state salute on the occasion, as the bugles played the last post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The President also signed the visitors\' book kept on Memorial premises.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The nation is celebrating the 52nd Victory Day today, the most precious day of Bangalee people, as the country was liberated from the Pakistani occupation forces on the day in 1971 after a nine-month long bloodstained Liberation War. 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, '2022-12-16 07:20:20', '2022-12-16 07:20:20'),
(3788, 3788, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prince Harry accused his brother William of a furious response to his plans to quit royal life but insisted he had few regrets about leaving in final docuseries episodes out on Thursday.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Harry, 38, and his wife Meghan, 41, have lifted the lid on their experiences in the institution in the new series, risking a further rift with his family.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As young boys, the brothers provided the enduring image from their mother Princess Diana\'s funeral, walking behind her coffin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But they are reportedly now no longer on speaking terms since Harry and Meghan -- also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex -- left for North America, settling in California.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the final three episodes of \"Harry &amp; Meghan\", Harry recalled a family summit in January 2020 over their plans to move abroad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said he proposed to be \"half in, half out\" of the royal family, working for his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II but being self-funded.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It became very clear, very quickly that goal was not up for discussion or debate,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father (King Charles III) say things that just simply weren\'t true.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Harry returned for his grandfather Prince Philip\'s funeral last year, where they discussed the move and how it was portrayed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Just before the Duke of Edinburgh\'s death Harry and Meghan gave an interview to Oprah Winfrey, claiming racism in the royal family.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He indicated his father, 74, and brother, 40, misinterpreted the situation but maintained he and Meghan were \"moving on\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Heartbreaking\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Much of the content of the final episodes covered familiar ground, particularly Meghan\'s difficulties adapting to royal life, suicidal thoughts and negative media coverage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Harry accused the Daily Mail newspaper of responsibility for her suffering a miscarriage after it printed a letter to her father. She later successfully sued for breach of privacy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But he also blamed heir-to-throne William\'s office for being behind negative coverage of the couple, which he suggested was because they were \"stealing the limelight\" from other senior royals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He criticised \"constant briefings\" by palace media teams pitting one member of the family against another in collusion with the media.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s a dirty game. There is leaking but there is also planting of stories,\" he said. \"The offices end up working against each other.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"William and I both saw what happened in our dad\'s office and we made an agreement that we\'d never let that happen to our office.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"To see my brother\'s office copy the very same thing that we promised the two of us would never, ever do, that was heartbreaking.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Changed -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">So far the palace has declined to respond to the programme and disputed claims by streaming service Netflix that they were approached to comment on the contents of the series.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Senior royals, led by Harry\'s father King Charles III, are expected at a Christmas carol concert on Thursday in a demonstration of \"business as usual\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But commentators suggested they may be forced to act if they feel the criticism is too personal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Harry and Meghan have even faced calls to give up their royal titles -- or have them removed. Harry said in the programme he offered to voluntarily relinquish them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On his new life in the United States, Harry said he missed \"the weird family gatherings\", the UK and his friends.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But despite losing some friends as a result of his move, he insisted he had done the right thing, as there was \"no other option\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I came here because I was changed. I changed to the point that I\'d outgrown my environment,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Netflix said last week\'s episodes recorded 81.55 million viewing hours globally -- \"the highest view hours of any documentary title in a premiere week\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But it appears to have dented the couple\'s popularity in the UK, with one poll suggesting it had worsened their already negative approval ratings with the British public. 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, '2022-12-16 08:00:27', '2022-12-16 08:00:27'),
(3789, 3789, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The nation is celebrating the 52nd Victory Day, 2022 on Friday, the most joyous day when the country was born at the cost of the supreme sacrifice of three million martyrs and the honour of nearly half a million mothers and sisters, with elaborate programmes.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On this glorious day in 1971, Bangladesh was liberated as an independent country after the Pakistani occupation forces surrendered following a bloody nine-month-long war.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War by placing a wreath at the National Memorial in Savar in the morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The head of the state placed a wreath at the altar of the National Memorial at about 6:30am followed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After placing the wreath, they stood in solemn silence for a while as a mark of deep respect to the memories of the martyrs of the Liberation War in 1971.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A smartly turned out contingent drawn from the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force presented the state salute on the occasion as the bugles played the last post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Flanked by senior leaders of the party, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of the ruling Awami League (AL), laid another wreath at the National Memorial as the party chief.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, Sheikh Hasina as the Prime Minister and the president of Bangladesh Awami League paid homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman placing two separate wreaths at his portrait at Bangabandhu Bhaban in the city’s Dhanmondi-32 area in the morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Freedom fighters, their family members, foreign diplomats, leaders of Awami League and different political and social organisations and people from all walks of life also paid homage to martyrs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Various programmes will be held today to pay deep homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives for the country during the Liberation War in 1971.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Along with the government, different socio-political, educational and cultural institutions and organisations have chalked out a series of programmes to celebrate the day. Bangladeshis will celebrate the day at home and abroad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The day’s programme began with a 31-gun salute.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Discussion meetings will be held at the national level on the theme of \'Empowering the spirit of the liberation war and the best use of digital technology in building&nbsp; Sonar Bangla as dreamt by the Father of the Nation.’</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apart from this, reception of brave freedom fighters and martyr family members will be held in the metropolis, districts and upazilas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The national flag will be hoisted atop government, semi-government, autonomous and private offices across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On this day, an exhibition of documentary films and posters based on the history and tradition of the Liberation War will be organized at the ‘Swadhinota Stombha’ and the Museum of Suhrawardy Udyan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh embassies abroad will also undertake similar programs highlighting the significance of the day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Read more:| Victory Day: PM pays tributes to Liberation War martyrs</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The day is a public holiday. National dailies brought out special supplements on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">State-owned and private television channels and radios will broadcast month- long special programmes highlighting the significance of the Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Receptions will be accorded to the freedom fighters and family members of martyrs at city, district and upazila levels.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Destitute children will be allowed to visit the children park in the capital on the day free of cost. Improved diets will be served in jails, hospitals, orphanages across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages on the occasion. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-16 08:07:08', '2022-12-16 08:07:08');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(3790, 3790, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today attended the parade at the National Parade Ground marking the Victory Day.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The President, also supreme commander of the armed forces division, took salute and inspected the parade on the celebration of 51 years of Bangladesh\'s victory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The parade was organized and conducted by the 9th Infantry Division of Bangladesh Army under the supervision of Armed Forces Division with the directives of the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Hamid, accompanied by Major General Mohammad Shaheenul Haque, the parade commander and also General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 9th Infantry Division and Area Commander of Savar Area, riding an open jeep inspected the parade and took the salute.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Coast Guard, Ansar, paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) participated in the parade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Hamid, accompanied by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also exchanged greetings with the commanders of the contingents who took part in the parade before departing from the ground.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the occasion, the parade ground was decorated with the images of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, four national leaders, seven Birshreshthas, different development works of the government, including the image of Padma Bridge and metro rail.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apart from this, the nearby road of the parade ground was also decorated with banners and festoons highlighting the spirit of the Liberation War and the Victory Day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier along with her daughter Saima Wazed Hossain Putul and grand-daughter Samaa Hossain, the invited guests also witnessed armoury acquisitions of different regiments and contingents of the armed forces, a spectacular fly-past conducted by army aviation, helicopters of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and navy aviation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, a well-decorated horse-mounted forces and dog squad team also ensured their presence on the parade ground.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At last stage of the programme, a spectacular aerobatic display was exhibited on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thousands of people from all walks of life also witnessed the spectacular parade through the television and different social media that lasted for over two hours.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, on his arrival along at the parade venue at about 10.30am, Abdul Hamid was received by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, parliament members and the chiefs of the three services and senior officers of armed forces division.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, cabinet members, political leaders, lawmakers, foreign diplomats, senior civil and military officers were present on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fifty one year back, the country achieved victory through the nine-month War of Liberation against Pakistani occupation forces on this day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On this day in 1971, Pakistani military conceded defeat to the allied forces and commanding officer of Pakistani forces general AAK Niazi surrendered arms with all members of his forces. 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, '2022-12-16 09:06:56', '2022-12-16 09:06:56'),
(3791, 3791, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday said the anti-liberation forces are still plotting to destablise the country even after 51 years of victory.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Communal forces, militants are conspiring to thwart the joy of victory,” he told reporters after paying tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War at the National Memorial in Savar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, also urged the pro-liberation forces to come forward to resist them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">AL presidium member Abdur Rahman, publicity secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap were also present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also paid tributes to the heroes of 1971 at the National Memorial. 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, '2022-12-16 09:16:28', '2022-12-16 09:16:28'),
(3792, 3792, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A fresh barrage of fatal Russian strikes hit cities across Ukraine early Friday, cutting water and electricity in major urban hubs and piling pressure on the grid in sub-zero temperatures.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">AFP journalists in Kyiv reported several loud explosions and the mayor said the metro had stopped running to allow residents to take shelter in underground stations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The strikes killed two people and injured several others -- including children -- in the southern city of Kryvyi Rig, President Volodymyr Zelensky\'s hometown.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Another wave of massive Russian attacks on energy infrastructure,\" Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on social media, adding that: \"There will be emergency power outages.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The onslaught is just the latest of several waves of strikes that began in October after a series of embarrassing battlefield defeats for Russia in Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine\'s second largest city Kharkiv, near the border with Russia, was without electricity, its mayor said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The central cities of Poltava and Kremenchuk also had no power.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air raid sirens were sounding across the entire country while the extent of the damage was being assessed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Regional officials in Kryvyi Rig said rockets had hit a residential building.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Two people have died,\" governor Valentyn Reznichenko said, adding that \"at least five people were injured, including two children. All are in hospital.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Oleksandr Starukh, the head of the frontline Zaporizhzhia region, which houses Europe\'s largest nuclear power plant, said the territory under Ukrainian control has been targeted with more than a dozen Russian missiles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Water cuts in Kyiv -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There were explosions in several central districts of Kyiv, and water supplies were disrupted, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said metro services had been suspended so that stations could be used as bomb shelters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Due to damage to energy infrastructure, there are interruptions to water supplies in all areas of the capital,\" Klitschko said on social media.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Metro traffic is temporarily stopped on all lines.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, Russian shelling in the southern city of Kherson recently recaptured by Ukraine cut power.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kherson has been subjected to persistent Russian shelling since Moscow\'s forces retreated in November.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that a Ukrainian Red Cross volunteer had been killed by the strikes in Kherson and urged that humanitarian \"personnel and property\" be spared.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow has said the strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure are a response to an explosion on the Kerch bridge connecting the Russian mainland to the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Kremlin has also said Kyiv was ultimately responsible for the humanitarian impact of the strikes for refusing to capitulate to Russian negotation terms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The wave of attacks has spurred urgent pleas from Kyiv for greater air defence capabilities from Western allies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And Ukrainian defence officials have credited newly supplied systems for downing Russian missiles and drones.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Defence officials said this week Ukraine forces had shot down a swarm of more than a dozen Iranian-made attack drones launched at Kyiv.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Separately on Friday Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he will visit Belarus next week for talks with his counterpart and ally Alexander Lukashenko.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Minsk said the pair will hold one-on-one talks as well as wider negotiations with their ministers on \"Belarusian-Russian integration\". 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, '2022-12-16 10:14:03', '2022-12-16 10:14:03'),
(3793, 3793, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">There is ample opportunity to further expand the economic, trade and commercial relations between Bangladesh and Japan, Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan Shahabuddin Ahmed has said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh welcomed Japan’s technical and financial investments in Bangladesh under the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) initiative which complemented Bangladesh Government’s effort in augmenting infrastructure, communications, power and energy sectors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Further investment from Japan is expected in the coming days as the Japan specific Economic Zone in Narayanganj was inaugurated on December 6 by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the Ambassador.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A few mega projects being built under Japanese assistance are at the final stages of completion to strengthen infrastructure for business and improve the country’s ease of doing business rating, the envoy said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Embassy of Bangladesh in Japan celebrated the Glorious 51st Victory Day on Friday with due fervor and solemnity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Shahabuddin said Japan continued to be a true friend and trusted partner in Bangladesh\'s development pursuit since independence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He underscored that the foundation of our strong bilateral relations was laid down by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during his visit to Japan in 1973 and has strengthened our friendship.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Over the years, especially in the last 13 years her able daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina through her visits in 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2019 has created a robust and multifaceted relations with Japan, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Especially, he mentioned the bilateral relations was elevated to a “Comprehensive partnership” in 2014. Both the countries are working together to take the relations to a new heigh in the coming days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ambassador Shahabuddin thanked all to join the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Independence of Bangladesh in 2021 and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Japan this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The event was graced by the presence of Japanese dignitaries including Ambassador Matsushiro Horiguchi, Ambassador Masato Watanabe, Ambassador Kiyokazu Ota and Professor Otsubo, who gifted the half bust of Bangabandhu to the Embassy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They congratulated Bangladesh on the victory day and talked about their involvement with Bangladesh over all these years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A significant number of Bangladeshi expatriates, Japanese dignitaries, academicians and Embassy officials attended the program held at the Bangabandhu auditorium in the Embassy by following existing Covid-19 health protocol.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The program started in the morning with the hoisting of the national flag by Ambassador Shahabuddin Ahmed along with rendition of the national anthem in the presence of community members, Embassy officers and staff.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This was followed by observance of one minute silence in memory of the martyrs of the Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, the programme continued with offering special prayer (munajat) for the salvation of the souls of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members, Liberation War martyrs, four national leaders and for the continued peace and prosperity of the country as well as for the wellbeing of the Bangladeshi expatriate Community.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The messages issued by the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and State Minister for Foreign Affairs on the occasion of Victory Day-2022 were read out by Embassy officials.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ambassador Shahabuddin paid rich tribute to the Greatest Bengali of all times and architect of independent Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and all martyrs of 15 August 1975, the four national leaders and all martyred freedom fighters, those who were injured and also the two lac women who lost their dignity in the nine-month long war.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He recalled with deep gratitude the support extended by the government and the people of Japan, and the Friends of Bangladesh here to the liberation movement and struggle for independence. 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, '2022-12-16 10:19:26', '2022-12-16 10:19:26'),
(3794, 3794, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina witnessed the Victory Day parade at national parade square Friday morning, marking the 52nd Victory Day.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Abdul Hamid took salutes and inspected the parade as the chief guest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Great Victory Day Parade was held under the supervision of the Armed Forces Division and management of the 9th Infantry Division of the Bangladesh Army.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Victory Day-2022 Parade Commander Major General Mohammad Shahinul Haque accompanied the President during the inspection.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hamid also witnessed armoury acquisitions of different regiments and contingents of the armed forces, a spectacular fly-past conducted by army aviation, helicopters of anti-crime elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), navy aviation, parachute landing by army paratroopers and the air force of Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Army, Navy, Air Force,Police,Coast Guard,Ansar, paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh ( BGB) and Bangladesh National Cadet Corps ( BNCC) took part in the parade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On his arrival at the parade venue at about 10:30 am, Hamid was received by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, parliament members and the chiefs of the three services and senior officers of the armed forces division.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The President and the Prime Minister enjoyed the attractive march past, spectacular fly-past and aerobatic display there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM\'s daughter Saima Wazed Putul and grand daughter Sama Hossain were present in the time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the arrival of the premier at the parade ground at 10:22am, she was escorted by a ceremonial cavalcade, a motorcade and military police, while advancing towards the saluting dais.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Liberation War Affairs Minister, Chiefs of three services, the Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division and The Liberation War Affairs Secretary received the PM.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Nation is celebrating its 52nd Victory Day with elaborate programmes paying homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives for the country during the Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On this glorious day in 1971, Bangladesh was liberated as an independent country after the Pakistani occupation forces surrendered following a bloody nine-month war.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The people of Bangladesh at home and abroad are celebrating the Victory Day, the most joyous day when the country was born at the cost of the supreme sacrifice of three million martyrs and the honour of nearly half a million women. 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, '2022-12-16 10:59:45', '2022-12-16 10:59:45'),
(3795, 3795, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Chuadanga: People of the district are experiencing severe cold as this year’s lowest temperature in the counry 9.5-degree Celsius was recorded here on Friday morning.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rakibul Hasan, in-charge of Chuadanga meteorological office, said the lowest temperature of the country was recorded 9.5-degree Celsius around 9am.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;He predicted that mercury may fall further in the district tomorrow.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The chilly weather is disrupting daily life, forcing people to stay indoors and causing woes to low-income people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said moderate to thick fog may occur over the river basins, and light to moderate fog may occur elsewhere over the country from late night to morning. 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, '2022-12-16 11:22:54', '2022-12-16 11:22:54'),
(3796, 3796, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Another 49 people were hospitalised with dengue in 24 hours till Friday morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The total fatalities remained unchanged at 269 as no death was reported during this period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Of the new patients, 28 were admitted to the hospitals of Dhaka and 21 outside it, said DGHS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">A total of 774 dengue patients, including 451 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The DGHS has recorded 61,138 dengue cases and 60,095 recoveries so far this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The 269 fatalities is by far the highest ever recorded in a single year in Bangladesh, far outstripping the previous record of 179 deaths against 101,354 cases recorded in 2019.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That means a 50% jump in the number of deaths, despite a 40% decline in cases from 2019. The significantly increased case fatality rate could be down to the discovery of a new strain of the virus previously never spotted in Bangladesh, that DGHS scientists reported back in August.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Generally it is seen that severe dengue disease is most common in those who suffer a second infection, usually by a different strain to the first. The chances of that naturally increase with the introduction of a new strain in the environment. There are four known strains of the dengue virus. 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, '2022-12-16 11:28:11', '2022-12-16 11:28:11'),
(3797, 3797, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">DHAKA- Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury today paid deep respect to the martyrs of the Liberation War by placing a wreath at the National Memorial in capital\'s outskirts Savar marking the 52nd Victory Day.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After placing the wreath, she stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the martyrs of the Great War of Liberation in 1971.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The speaker also laid a wreath at the portrait of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in city\'s Dhanmondi Road No 32 to pay homage to the architect of the independence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, JS Deputy Speaker Md Shamsul Haque Tuku and on behalf of Chief Whip and Whips of JS, Whip Abu Saeed Al Mahmud Swapan laid wreaths at Savar National Memorial and the city\'s Dhanmondi Road No 32 on the occasion of the Great Victory Day. 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, '2022-12-16 11:58:06', '2022-12-16 11:58:06'),
(3798, 3798, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">DHAKA - The 52nd Victory Day, the most precious day of the Bangalee nation, was celebrated today across the country in a befitting manner.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 16 in 1971, Bangladesh was born as an independent country under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the cost of the supreme sacrifice of three million people and the honour of nearly half a million women.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the occasion, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to the martyrs of the Liberation War by placing wreaths at the National Memorial at Savar this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The President placed the wreath at the altar of the National Memorial at about 6.32 am followed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After placing the wreaths, the President stood in solemn silence for a while as a mark of deep respect to the memories of the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A smartly turned out contingent drawn from the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force presented the state salute on the occasion, as the bugles played the last post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The President also signed the visitors\' book kept on the Memorial premises.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid rich tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War by placing wreaths at the National Memorial.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After placing the wreath, she stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the martyrs of the Great War of Liberation in 1971.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Flanked by senior leaders of the party, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of the ruling Awami League, placed another wreath at the National Memorial as the party chief.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister also signed the visitor\'s book kept there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">AL general secretary Obaidul Quader, AL presidium members Matia Chowdhury, Dr Abdur Razzaque, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Shajahan Khan, Quamrul Islam and Abdur Rahman, its joint general secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Dr Dipu Moni, Dr Hasan Mahmud (also information and broadcasting minister) and AFM Bahauddin Nasim, organising secretaries Ahmad Hossain, BM Mozzamel Haque and Abu Sayeed Al Swapan, publicity and publication affairs secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap, cultural affairs secretary Ashim Kumar Ukil, since and technology affairs secretary Abdus Sabur, health and population affairs secretary Dr Rokeya Sultana and forest and environment affairs secretary Delwar Hossain were, among others, present on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, leaders of other political and socio-cultural organisations placed wreaths at the National Memorial to show respect to the memories of the war martyrs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina went to Dhanmondi Road No 32 in the capital and laid separate wreaths, as Prime Minister and the AL President, at the portrait of the Father of the Nation in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, the programmes taken at national level marking the \'Victory Day\' included a 31-gun salute, placing of wreaths at the monuments to pay homage to martyrs, and hoisting of the national flag atop all government, semi-government and private offices as well as offices of autonomous bodies across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The victory day programmes also included decorating city streets with miniature national flags and colourful festoons, and illumination of important buildings and establishments, roads and street islands at night. 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, '2022-12-16 13:46:40', '2022-12-16 13:46:40'),
(3799, 3799, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka– United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator (RC) in Dhaka Gwyn Lewis today said Bangladesh made itself an example for other countries to emulate, while greeting the countrymen on the 51st Victory Day.&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“On the eve of the 51st anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence, the United Nations stands with Bangladesh in partnership and wishes all Bangladeshi nationals, in the country and abroad a very happy Victory Day,” she said in a statement.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UN RC said Bangladesh has been on an extraordinary voyage from being a war and famine-ravaged newborn nation, to its current standing as a UN member state standing at the threshold of LDC graduation, and providing shelter to nearly a million Rohingya refugees.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Bangladesh’s achievements in human development and disaster response, long before it became a middle-income country, made it an example for other countries to emulate,” she wrote.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The statement said Bangladesh too has contributed to shaping the UN’s development agenda and peace operations globally. Bangladesh has also been a vocal advocate for multilateralism, climate justice and the interests of least developed countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said Bangladesh sponsored the Culture of Peace resolution that was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1999 and it was thanks to Bangladesh’s advocacy that the UN General Assembly recognized the International Mother Language Day in 2008.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Bangladesh’s advocacy internally for the rights of the most vulnerable, and its constitution illustrates the country’s determination to be a democracy in which fundamental human rights and freedoms and respect for the dignity and worth of the human person shall be guaranteed,” Lewis wrote. 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, '2022-12-16 13:51:52', '2022-12-16 13:51:52'),
(3800, 3800, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh reported 16 more Covid cases in 24 hours till Friday morning.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the new numbers, the country\'s total caseload rose to 2,036,897, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,437 as no new fatalities were reported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The daily case test positivity dropped to 0.67 percent from Thursday’s 0.44 percent percent as 2,531 samples were tested during the period.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The mortality and recovery rates remained unchanged at 1.45 percent and 97.53 percent, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 cases.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2022-12-16 14:16:55', '2022-12-16 14:16:55'),
(3801, 3801, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">DOHA- Argentina fans staged a second day of demonstrations Friday outside a Doha hotel demanding that their country\'s national federation help them to get tickets for the World Cup final.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Amid a growing frenzy ahead of Sunday\'s game against defending champions France, supporters said the cheapest official tickets are selling on underground markets for more than $4,000.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scores of fans gathered outside the Doha hotel where the Argentina Football Association is based.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Thursday night there were angry exchanges with officials outside the hotel. Some fans carried placards reading \"AFA give us tickets\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The federation finally agreed to a meeting with a delegation of three fans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Each country that qualified for the quarter-finals was given an extra allocation of tickets for matches they reached.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But with even more fans arriving from Argentina and France for the game, no announcement was made on whether more tickets will be made available.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Lusail Iconic Stadium holds about 88,900 people but more than 30,000 Argentinians are reported to be in Qatar. Many have taken out loans to be in the Gulf state to see Lionel Messi\'s last bid to win a World Cup title.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ticket negotiations are being held on a multitude of WhatsApp groups.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some Argentinian fans showed AFP messages requesting more than $4,000 for final tickets with a face value of $750.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The most expensive tickets, which FIFA says should cost $5,850, are being offered for more than $14,000.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Roberto Bascur, 53, who has been in Qatar since the start of the tournament, said he had bought tickets for every Argentina match from unofficial sources.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Whoever was selling outside the stadium had at least 15-20 tickets.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cintia Echanis, 51, said the protesters wanted access to tickets at the official price.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"What happens is that the resale is about $5,000, and it is a lot for those of us who have been here since the beginning and who have paid for many tickets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We don\'t want problems. What we want as Argentinians is to have the chance cheer for Argentina again,\" she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Argentina association did not immediately comment on the availability of tickets. 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, '2022-12-16 16:05:18', '2022-12-16 16:05:18'),
(3802, 3802, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>High-level talks are taking place in Peru to try to resolve a deepening political crisis triggered by the ousting of the former president.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Council of State, the body made up of representatives of all branches of power, and the country\'s church leaders have been meeting in the capital, Lima.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Earlier, two government ministers resigned, following days of violent protests over the impeachment of Pedro Castillo on 7 December.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">More than 20 people have been killed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In another development, thousands of tourists are trapped in the south-eastern city of Cusco after protesters forced the local airport to close.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Peru has been through years of political turmoil, with the latest crisis coming to a head when Mr Castillo announced he was dissolving Congress and introducing a state of emergency.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">However, his plan backfired and Congress instead voted overwhelmingly to impeach him. Mr Castillo, who is currently in detention, is being investigated on charges of rebellion and conspiracy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He denies all the accusation, insisting that is still the country\'s legitimate president.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Demonstrators are calling for the closure of Congress, the resignation of new president Dina Boluarte and early elections. On Friday, Congress voted against a proposal to bring elections forward to next year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Thursday\'s clashes between the army and Castillo supporters in the central Ayacucho region left at least eight people dead, health authorities said. Footage on social media showed protestors blocking main roads and airports.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Just hours later, Education Minister Patricia Correa said she was stepping down. In a Twitter post on Friday, she wrote that the \"death of compatriots has no justification\", and that \"state violence cannot be disproportionate and cause death\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Culture Minister Jair Perez also resigned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The protests are also affecting the country\'s tourism industry. The mayor of Cusco told AFP news agency that about 5,000 tourists are stranded in the city after the airport there closed when protesters tried to storm the terminal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The city is the gateway to Macchu Picchu, an ancient Inca citadel which is visited by hundreds of thousands of people a year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">About 800 tourists are also stuck in the small town at the foot of the mountain where the citadel stands, because the railway line which serves it has stopped running.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Some mostly American and European tourists have reportedly left the town on foot along the train tracks in an attempt to return to Cusco. 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, '2022-12-17 03:16:44', '2022-12-17 03:16:44');
