INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(8576, 8576, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Moscow\'s Luna-25 lander is due to reach the Moon\'s orbit Wednesday, in the first such Russian mission in almost 50 years,</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>according to the schedule of space agency Roscosmos.</div><div><br></div><div>With the lunar launch, Moscow\'s first since 1976, Russia is seeking to restart and rebuild on the Soviet Union\'s pioneering space programme.</div><div><br></div><div>The lander is set to revolve 100 kilometres (62 miles) above the Moon\'s surface, before a planned landing Monday north of the Boguslawsky crater on the lunar south pole.</div><div><br></div><div>Cameras installed on the lander have already taken distant shots of the Earth and Moon from space, Roscosmos said.</div><div><br></div><div>The lander, weighing around 800 kilograms (1,764 pounds), was carried into space by a Soyuz rocket launched Friday from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia\'s Far East.</div><div><br></div><div>It is due to stay on the Moon for a year, where it is tasked with collecting samples and analysing soil.</div><div><br></div><div>The mission comes as the future of Russia\'s long-running cooperation with the West in space looks in doubt, as Moscow presses ahead with its offensive in Ukraine.</div><div><br></div><div>Russia said it would go ahead with its own lunar plans, despite the European Space Agency (ESA) announcing it would not cooperate with Moscow on future missions over its actions in Ukraine. According to AFP reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-17 01:13:06', '2023-08-17 01:13:06'),
(8577, 8577, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A new invasive species has been spotted in the U.S. for the first time. A living yellow-legged hornet, also known as an Asian hornet, was detected in Georgia, which state officials say could cause damage to its agricultural industry if left uncontrolled.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Georgia Department of Agriculture said Tuesday the discovery has the potential to threaten honey production and native pollinators.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier this month, a Georgian beekeeper discovered and reported the insect to the state. The yellow-legged hornet\'s identity was then confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture\'s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Georgians play an important role helping GDA identify unwanted, non-native pests, and I want to thank the beekeeper who reported his sighting to us,\" said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper in a statement.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"Our experienced team of professionals will continue to assess the situation and are working directly with USDA APHIS and UGA to trap, track, and eradicate the yellow-legged hornet in Georgia. \"</div><div><br></div><div>The next step for officials will be to set up traps to find out if there are more of these pests in the area. If they are able to find a colony, it will be destroyed, Georgia agriculture officials said. The hornet that has already been identified will be DNA tested so that scientists can determine whether the insect originated from Europe of Asia.</div><div><br></div><div>The yellow-legged hornet, which is identified as a social wasp species, is native to tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia, and is also established in much of Europe, parts of the Middle East, and parts of Asia where it is not native.</div><div><br></div><div>The insect builds egg-shaped nests, often in trees, and can host up to 6,000 worker hornets.</div><div><br></div><div>The press release emphasized how important public reports of the insect will be in its eradication efforts. The GDA encourages people to take photos of any insects they believe to be yellow-legged hornets and file a report here. However, it is important to exercise caution around the hornets as they can be dangerous, the department said.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2019, a relative of the yellow-legged hornet — the \"murder hornet,\" or Asian giant hornet — caused alarm after being found in Washington state. The invasive insects, which are now called northern giant hornets, were feared also because of their ability to rapidly kill domestic honeybee and hornet species. Washington state eradicated a giant nest of nearly 1,500 murder hornets in 2021. - CBS News</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', '<p><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">A new invasive species</span><br></p>', 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-17 01:57:09', '2023-08-17 01:57:09'),
(8578, 8578, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>One of Vietnam’s biggest automakers has made a big splash on its entry to Wall Street, pushing its market capitalization above that of industry giants such as Volkswagen and Ford.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>VinFast, an electric vehicle maker, enjoyed a red-hot debut in New York on Tuesday after merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Black Spade Acquisition Co.</div><div><br></div><div>Shares of the newly combined company skyrocketed 270% on the Nasdaq on their first day of trade. They opened at $22, more than double the initial price of $10, and closed at $37 apiece.</div><div><br></div><div>The surge propelled VinFast’s market cap above $85 billion. That’s more than Volkswagen (VLKAF) or Ford (F), which are valued at 63.9 billion euros ($69.7 billion) and $48 billion, respectively, according to Refinitiv.</div><div><br></div><div>The eye-popping rally, however, was based on thin trade. VinFast is still 99% owned by Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong, through shares held by his other company Vingroup and other business entities, according to a regulatory filing.</div><div><br></div><div>Vuong, the chairman of both Vingroup and VinFast, saw his own wealth soar by approximately $39 billion on Tuesday as shares of the carmaker shot up, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index. He is now estimated to be worth about $44.3 billion.</div><div><br></div><div>VinFast was founded in 2017 as a subsidiary of Vingroup, one of Vietnam’s largest conglomerates. The firm makes electric SUVs, scooters and buses, which are sold in Vietnam and North America.</div><div><br></div><div>Its performance Tuesday makes VinFast the largest US-listed Vietnamese company by market cap, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>In a statement, CEO Thuy Le said: “It is our hope that VinFast’s listing will inspire and unleash greater opportunities for Vietnamese brands to participate in the global market.”</div><div><br></div><div>Chilly US reception</div><div><br></div><div>So far, the company has released four electric vehicle models and delivered roughly 19,000 vehicles, according to its prospectus. For comparison, Volkswagen sold 4.4 million vehicles just in the first six months of 2023, more than 321,000 of which were electric.</div><div><br></div><div>VinFast is a household name in Vietnam, where its cars have become bestsellers and have access to an extensive charging network across more than 60 cities and provinces.</div><div><br></div><div>But the Vietnamese newcomer has had less success in the United States, where it started delivering to customers earlier this year.</div><div><br></div><div>In recent months, VinFast has been hit by poor reviews about its electric SUV, the VF 8, after letting US reporters test drive the vehicle.</div><div><br></div><div>Several headlines have been particularly blunt, with one by industry outlet Road &amp; Track calling the vehicle “simply unacceptable.” Another by MotorTrend read: “Return to sender.”</div><div><br></div><div>Other reviews were more forgiving. One reminded readers that it was the company’s first effort at a car for the US market. Another praised the power delivery from the SUV’s electric motors.</div><div><br></div><div>VinFast has made no secret of its global ambitions. In July, it broke ground on a new factory in North Carolina, which it hopes to use as a base for US sales. The company says the facility may eventually reach capacity of 150,000 vehicles a year.</div><div><br></div><div>The company has also teased a Europe launch, telling shareholders it will enter the region “soon.”</div><div><br></div><div>In her statement Tuesday, Le suggested the company will use the new proceeds raised to fuel its expansion, saying its listing “unlocks access to the capital markets and important avenues for future development.”</div><div><br></div><div>VinFast is not profitable yet. It reported a loss of $1.4 billion for the nine months through last September. It also carried about $2.5 billion in debt as of the end of September, according to a regulatory filing. - CNN</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-17 02:46:19', '2023-08-17 02:46:19'),
(8579, 8579, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday alleged that the secret motive of some foreign countries is to hinder the progress of Bangladesh and they are taking interest in the upcoming election of the country to use the Bay of Bengal.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“They want to create a (unstable) situation in this country on different pleas of election, democracy and different other names so that they can use the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. The purpose of some of them is to attack different countries in this region and destroy the countries,” she said, without mentioning the name of any country.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier was addressing a memorial meeting arranged by Bangladesh Awami League (AL) here on the occasion of the National Mourning Day-2023.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina, also the AL President, chaired the commemorative event held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.</div><div><br></div><div>She said their purpose is neither (arrangement of) an election nor democracy. “They want to create obstacles on the development journey of Bangladesh. It is reality,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM said her government strengthened the foundation of democracy and ensured the voting rights of the people, uplifted the socio-economic condition of the people, brought down the poverty rate to 18.6 percent from 41 percent and extreme poverty rate to 5.7 percent from 25 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the Bay of Bengal is a very important place in terms of geographical location as it is in the Indian Ocean which is the safest and undisputed waterway for international goods transportation. So, they want to create a situation in this country on the plea of election, democracy and different other names so that they can use the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Criticizing the local supporters of the foreign forces, Sheikh Hasina said some clowns are here in the country who speak to their tune not understanding and realizing this reality. “They (local clowns) are doing these in many ways just for some pennies,” she said, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier asked the people of Bangladesh to remain vigilant in this regard. “I believe that the countries located in the Indian Ocean region remain conscious enough in this regard,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-17 03:17:47', '2023-08-17 03:17:47'),
(8580, 8580, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said Universal Pension Scheme will ensure better and improved life of everyone by bringing country\'s people aged above 18 under its coverage.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"We have introduced the pension scheme so that every person of the country can lead a better life,\" she said while opening the Universal Pension Scheme virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence in the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said they have initially opened the four pension schemes out of six - Pragati, Surokkha, Samata and Prabashi- while two others will later be introduced.</div><div><br></div><div>She said people\'s love, confidence and trust on her and the Awami League (AL) drive her to work for welfare of the country and its people.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I request the people of Bangladesh to continue the confidence, trust and love on me in the days to come,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had the only target to give the countrymen a better life, for which, he had dedicated his entire life.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We introduced the pension scheme in the month of mourning. After seeing our efforts to give his people a beautiful and improved life, the souls of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangamata will get peace,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina has sought blessings from the people as she can accomplish her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman\'s incomplete tasks aimed at making the life of each people of the country meaningful.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the country\'s independence gifted by Bangabandhu will not be meaningful if every person doesn\'t get a developed and better life.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We can’t let the country\'s independence to fail and it will not be failed, even it has not failed. We have got the status of a developing nation from the least developed country following his (Bangabandhu\'s) ideal,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div> She reiterated her pledge to work in continuing Bangladesh\'s indomitable march towards a developed and prosperous country keeping the status of a developing nation to build a hunger and poverty free \"Sonar Bangla” as envisioned by the Father of the Nation.   </div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister also exchanged views with the local public representatives, government officials and beneficiaries as three districts - Gopalganj, Bagerhat and Rangpur, -and Consulate General of Bangladesh, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia - were connected to the event through a video conference.</div><div><br></div><div>The Pragati scheme will be applicable for private job holders, the Surokkha for self-employed persons, the Samata for low-income people and the Prabashi scheme for expatriate Bangladeshis.</div><div><br></div><div>The main target of the universal pension scheme is to bring all the citizens of the country above 18 under its coverage and they will enjoy a lifetime pension facility after being their age 60.</div><div><br></div><div>The age limit of pension scheme was initially fixed at 50 years which was later revised. The people above 50 years also can enjoy pension facility after paying installments for 10 consecutive years.</div><div><br></div><div>Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal and Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder also spoke.</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister\'s Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah moderated the function while Senior Secretary of the Finance Division Fatima Yasmin gave the address of welcome.</div><div><br></div><div>A video documentary on the Universal Pension Scheme was also screened on the occasion. According to BSS reports </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-17 19:57:50', '2023-08-17 19:58:25'),
(8581, 8581, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The World Health Organization opened its first summit on traditional medicine on Thursday, with the group saying it was seeking to collect evidence and data to allow for the safe use of such treatments.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Traditional medicines are a \"first port of call for millions of people worldwide\", the UN health agency said, with the talks in India bringing together policymakers and academics aiming to \"mobilise political commitment and evidence-based action\" towards them.</div><div><br></div><div>\"WHO is working to build the evidence and data to inform policies, standards and regulations for the safe, cost-effective and equitable use of traditional medicine\", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as he opened the summit.</div><div><br></div><div>Traditional medicine could boost healthcare \"access gaps\", but was of value only if used \"appropriately, effectively, and above all, safely based on the latest scientific evidence\", Tedros warned earlier.</div><div><br></div><div>The two-day WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit takes place alongside a meeting of G20 health ministers in the Indian city of Gandhinagar.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We need to face a very important real-life fact that traditional medicines are very widely used,\" Nobel laureate and Chair of WHO Science Council Harold Varmus told the summit via video link.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It is important to understand what ingredients are actually in traditional medicines, why they work in some cases... and importantly, we need to understand and identify which traditional medicines don\'t work\".</div><div><br></div><div>The summit, set to become a regular event, follows the opening last year of a WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine, also in India\'s Gujarat state.</div><div><br></div><div>- Lack of regulatory oversight -</div><div>While traditional medicines are widely used in some parts of the world, they also face fierce criticism.</div><div><br></div><div>The UN health agency defines traditional medicine as the knowledge, skills and practices used over time to maintain health and prevent, diagnose and treat physical and mental illness.</div><div><br></div><div>But many traditional treatments have no proven scientific value and conservationists say the industry drives a rampant trade in endangered animals -- including tigers, rhinos and pangolins -- and threatens the existence of entire species.</div><div><br></div><div>Use of homemade remedies soared during the Covid-19 pandemic, including a green herbal drink based on Artemisia that was promoted by Madagascar\'s president as a cure.</div><div><br></div><div>The plant has a proven efficacy in malaria treatment, but its use to combat Covid was widely scorned by many doctors.</div><div><br></div><div>In China, traditional medicine has a distinguished history, but top European medical bodies have previously demanded it be subject to the same regulatory oversight as conventional medical methods.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Advancing science on traditional medicine should be held to the same rigorous standards as in other fields of health,\" WHO research chief John Reeder said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Of the WHO\'s 194 member states, 170 acknowledged their use of traditional and complementary medicine since 2018, but only 124 reported having laws or regulations for the use of herbal medicines -- while only half had a national policy on such methods and medicines.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Natural doesn\'t always mean safe, and centuries of use are not a guarantee of efficacy; therefore, scientific method and process must be applied to provide the rigorous evidence required,\" the WHO said.</div><div><br></div><div>About 40 percent of approved pharmaceutical products currently in use derive from a \"natural product basis\", according to the WHO, citing \"landmark drugs\" that derive from traditional medicine, including aspirin, drawing on formulations using willow tree bark.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-17 20:38:10', '2023-08-17 20:38:10'),
(8582, 8582, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A total of 62 humanitarian aid workers have died this year around the world, the United Nations said Thursday as it prepared to mark 20 years since a devastating attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The UN observes World Humanitarian Day on August 19 each year as it remembers the suicide bombing, which claimed 22 lives, including that of Sergio Vieira de Mello, then the UN high commissioner for human rights and the head of the UN mission in that country.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides the 62 deaths this year in the world\'s conflict zones, another 84 aid workers were wounded and 34 were kidnapped, according to the Aid Worker Security Database, compiled by the consulting firm Humanitarian Outcomes. The fatality figure for all of 2022 was 116.</div><div><br></div><div>For several years running South Sudan has been the world\'s most dangerous place for aid workers. As of August 10, there had been 40 attacks on humanitarian staffers there with 22 lives lost, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.</div><div><br></div><div>Next on the list was Sudan to the north, with 17 attacks on aid workers and 19 deaths so far this year. Such high figures had not been seen since the Darfur conflict from 2006 to 2009.</div><div><br></div><div>Other countries where humanitarian workers died include the Central African Republic, Mali, Somalia, Ukraine and Yemen.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The risks we face are beyond human comprehension,\" states a report compiled by NGOs including Doctors of the World, Action Against Hunger and Handicap International, with help from the European Union.</div><div><br></div><div>Every year more than 90 percent of the people who die in attacks on aid workers are locals, according to the International NGO Safety Organization.</div><div><br></div><div>This year World Humanitarian Day marks 20 years since the bombing in Baghdad against the Canal Hotel, which was serving as the UN headquarters in the Iraqi capital.</div><div><br></div><div>That 2003 blast, carried out amid the chaos of the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, killed 22 people, including the Brazilian Vieira de Mello, and wounded around 150 local and international aid workers.</div><div><br></div><div>\"World Humanitarian Day and the Canal Hotel bombing will always be an occasion of mixed and still raw emotions for me and many others,\" said the UN\'s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Every year, nearly six times more aid workers are killed in the line of duty than were killed on that dark day in Baghdad, and they are overwhelmingly local aid workers,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Impunity for these crimes is a scar on our collective conscience.\"</div><div><br></div><div>As upheavals around the world have grown, the United Nations says it is working to help nearly 250 million people living in crisis areas. That is 10 times more than in 2003. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-17 20:55:19', '2023-08-17 20:55:19'),
(8583, 8583, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Pop star Britney Spears and her husband Sam Asghari have split after 14 months of marriage, according to US media reports.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The couple first met on the set of a Spears music video in 2016, and were married in a small but star-studded ceremony in June 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>Asghari, 29, supported Spears, 41, through her mental health treatment and the end of her conservatorship.</div><div><br></div><div>But rumours of their marital struggles have been splashed across US tabloids.</div><div><br></div><div>Representatives for Spears and Asghari have not yet commented.</div><div><br></div><div>TMZ first broke the news and a source confirmed to the Associated Press news agency that Asghari had filed for divorce.</div><div><br></div><div>The Iranian-American model and fitness trainer met Spears while she was shooting the video for her song Slumber Party.</div><div><br></div><div>He played a key role during her conservatorship fight with father Jamie, sporting a Free Britney T-shirt on Instagram before a crucial court hearing.</div><div><br></div><div>Asghari proposed to Spears at their home in September 2021.</div><div>While engaged, the pair announced they were expecting their first child together, but later said there had been a miscarriage.</div><div><br></div><div>Their wedding, at the superstar\'s home in Thousand Oaks, California, was an intimate and lavish affair attended by celebrities including Paris Hilton, Madonna and Drew Barrymore.</div><div><br></div><div>But the two were recently spotted not wearing their wedding rings in public.</div><div><br></div><div>Spears has not yet addressed the reported split on social media. Her most recent Instagram post, published after the news surfaced, only discussed her plans to buy a horse.</div><div><br></div><div>The separation comes as Spears prepares to publish her memoir - The Woman in Me - this October.</div><div><br></div><div>She was previously married to childhood friend Jason Alexander for 55 hours in 2004, and rapper Kevin Federline from 2004 to 2007. She has two children with Federline. According to BBC reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-17 22:09:09', '2023-08-17 22:09:09'),
(8584, 8584, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Primary and Mass Education Secretary Farid Ahmed on Thursday said textbooks of the next academic year will reach upazila level by November as they are committed to deliver books to all children on the first day of the new year.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The minister announced this while speaking as the chief guest at a virtual workshop on the 2nd Annual Action Plan of USAID’s “Shobai Miley Shikhi” (Let\'s learn together) project in the morning.</div><div><br></div><div>For the new academic year, the textbooks of class 2 and 3 have been prepared according to the revised curriculum.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, students of 4th and 5th grade will get new textbooks&nbsp; based on a revised curriculum in the academic year of 2025.</div><div><br></div><div>On the “Shobai Miley Shikhi” project, the Mass Education Secretary said,”The key to learning together is that no one will be left out or left behind, everyone will get equal opportunities, and will move forward continuously through collective efforts.”</div><div><br></div><div>He called for an action plan to develop children to meet the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.</div><div><br></div><div>Presided over by Additional Director General of the Department of Primary Education Dilip Kumar Banik, the workshop was addressed, among others, by Additional Secretary of Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Mosharraf Hossain, Supervisory Contracting Officer of USAID’s Bangladesh mission Andrew Holland, USAID’s Director of Education Sonjai Reynolds-Cooper, Director of Department of Primary Education Manish Chakma. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-17 22:19:03', '2023-08-17 22:19:03'),
(8585, 8585, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Describing August 15, 1975 as the biggest human rights violation in independent Bangladesh, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Thursday urged the United States to hand over Bangabandhu’s self-confessed killer, showing respect to the law of Bangladesh.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Rashed Chowdhury, one of the prime culprits of the incident, took shelter in the United States. We don\'t know exactly why, at whose behest and for what purpose they (US) are not returning him,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The state minister said that the United States is profoundly vocal on the question of human rights and democracy and Bangladesh considers the US as a friendly country but it gives Bangladeshis pain and makes them frustrated when the US shelters the killer of the Father of the Nation.</div><div><br></div><div>Shahriar Alam was speaking at a protest rally organized by Bangladesh Awami Swechhasebak League on August 17, 2005, on the 18th anniversary of the series bomb blasts in 63 districts across the country by the militant organization JMB.</div><div><br></div><div>The five killers of Bangabandhu who still remain fugitives are Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim, Nur Chowdhury, Rashed Chowdhury and Moslehuddin Khan.</div><div><br></div><div>Of them, Nur Chowdhury and Rashed Chowdhury have been traced in Canada and the US.</div><div><br></div><div>To respect the laws of Bangladesh, to end injustice and to restore the rule of law, there is no alternative to implement the verdict of the trial, Shahriar Alam said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I hope they will definitely return Rashed Chowdhury,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen criticised the United States and Canada for giving shelter to killers of Bangabandhu instead of handing them over to Bangladesh with various excuses.</div><div><br></div><div>“It’s a shame for those countries while (it is) unfortunate for us,” he said, referring to the US and Canada not returning the convicted killers of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div><br></div><div>Referring to a recent survey conducted by the US-based organisation that shows massive support for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Shahriar Alam said no space was given to any terrorist party who gives threats.</div><div><br></div><div>He highlighted government efforts in boosting security and how militants were uprooted from Rajshahi and other parts of the country. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-18 02:38:04', '2023-08-18 02:38:04'),
(8586, 8586, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A small aircraft crashed Thursday in a suburb in Malaysia\'s central Selangor state, with at least nine bodies recovered, police said.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Shah Alam district police chief Mohamad Iqbal Ibrahim confirmed that a jet has crashed. He said it appeared that all the passengers on the plane had perished but couldn’t give further details. Another police officer, who declined to be named as he isn’t authorized to speak to the media, said that at least nine bodies have been found.</div><div><br></div><div>Civil aviation authorities said there were six passengers and two crew members on board the plane. The Malay Mail online news portal quoted eyewitnesses as saying the airplane exploded upon impact, with some of the debris from the crash hitting a motorcycle.</div><div><br></div><div>The New Straits Times, an English-language newspaper, said on its website that the plane was believe to be en route from the northern resort island of Langkawi to the Subang airport in Selangor when it was believed to have encountered difficulties and crashed onto the highway.</div><div><br></div><div>Videos shared on social media showed fire and plumes of black smoke rising from the crash site on a grassy lawn by the side of a main highway in Shah Alam. Part of the road was seen covered in thick soot. Police and firemen have been deployed to the scene.</div><div><br></div><div>Transport Minister Anthony Loke is expected to release further details at a news conference later Thursday. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-18 03:17:14', '2023-08-18 03:17:14'),
(8587, 8587, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>After riding a fossil-fuel boom for decades, Gulf Arab states are eyeing \"green\" hydrogen as they try to transition their economies and ease the climate crisis at a stro</b>ke.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Oil producers Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman are investing heavily in the climate-friendly fuel in a search for alternative revenues to crude and gas.</div><div><br></div><div>Green hydrogen, which is the hydrogen created when renewable energy electrolyses water, appears to solve many problems: it is low-polluting and has widespread potential uses, which could make it lucrative and planet-saving at the same time.</div><div><br></div><div>But the fuel, which currently makes up less than one percent of total hydrogen production, is not yet commercially viable and needs a major scaling-up of renewable energy sources -- a process that could take years.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite this, the Gulf monarchies sense an opportunity to remain major players in energy markets as oil revenues fall.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Gulf states aim to lead the global hydrogen market,\" said Karim Elgendy, associate fellow at Britain\'s Chatham House think tank.</div><div><br></div><div>\"They see green hydrogen as critical to remain major energy powers, allowing them to continue their influence as fossil fuel demand declines.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Most hydrogen is produced from polluting fossil fuels, but green hydrogen is extracted from water using renewable energy such as wind, solar and hydropower.</div><div><br></div><div>While fossil fuels create harmful greenhouse gases when they burn, hydrogen emits only water vapour. It is touted for potential use in high-polluting industries such as transport, shipping and steel.</div><div>- \'Export leaders\' -</div><div><br></div><div>Wielding its massive investment capital, oil-rich Saudi Arabia is constructing the world\'s largest green hydrogen plant at NEOM, the $500 billion futuristic megacity being built on the Red Sea.</div><div><br></div><div>The $8.4-billion plant will integrate solar and wind energy to produce up to 600 tonnes of green hydrogen a day by the end of 2026, officials say.</div><div><br></div><div>In July the UAE, which will host the United Nations\' COP28 climate conference this year, approved a hydrogen strategy that aims to make it one of the top 10 producers by 2031.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Hydrogen will be a critical fuel for the energy transition,\" said Hanan Balalaa, a senior official at the UAE\'s oil firm ADNOC, calling it a \"natural extension\" for the company.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We believe hydrogen and its carrier fuels have great potential as new, low carbon fuels, that the UAE is well placed to capitalise\" on, Balalaa told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>But it is Oman, which lags Saudi Arabia and the UAE in fossil fuel production, that looks poised to lead the Gulf\'s clean hydrogen race.</div><div><br></div><div>The sultanate is on track to become the sixth-largest exporter globally and the biggest in the Middle East by the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency said in a June report.</div><div><br></div><div>Oman aims to produce at least one million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030, and up to 8.5 million tonnes by 2050, \"which would be greater than total hydrogen demand in Europe today\", the IEA said.</div><div><br></div><div>According to auditing firm Deloitte, Middle Eastern countries, primarily the Gulf, will lead global clean hydrogen trade in the short-term, exporting around half of their domestic production by 2030.</div><div><br></div><div>By 2050, North Africa and Australia are projected to have the greatest potential, although Gulf states will remain \"export leaders\", the company said in a June report.</div><div><br></div><div>- Hope or hype? -</div><div><br></div><div>The investment in green hydrogen has not curbed expansion in oil and gas, with both the UAE and Saudi Arabia planning to grow their hydrocarbon industries.</div><div><br></div><div>Experts predict it could still take years before Gulf countries can produce green hydrogen at a cost competitive with fossil fuel-based alternatives.</div><div><br></div><div>While the cost of renewable energy has fallen due to technological advances, green hydrogen cannot yet be produced at a profit.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Gulf countries will focus on maximising the sales of hydrocarbons as long as possible,\" said Aisha al-Sarihi, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore\'s Middle East Institute.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It will take years of trial and error for green hydrogen to become a commercially traded commodity,\" the expert said, adding that it \"can be the new fuel of the future\" once the technology matures and costs fall.</div><div><br></div><div>Demand for hydrogen also remains unclear.</div><div><br></div><div>But Gulf states are long-time energy suppliers of import-dependent Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea that plan to incorporate it in their decarbonisation plans.</div><div><br></div><div>Abdullah al-Nuaimi, the UAE\'s former climate change minister, cautioned, however, that \"the existing infrastructure for transporting hydrogen is not adequate and would require massive investment to modify\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"The time required to overcome and solve the challenges facing hydrogen is too long,\" he told.&nbsp; - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-18 03:24:33', '2023-08-18 03:24:33'),
(8588, 8588, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has recently directed the Bangladesh Missions abroad to take appropriate steps to counter propaganda against Bangladesh and the government ahead of the next national election.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“We think we need to work in a more proactive way as there might be more propaganda ahead of the elections,” Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Seheli Sabrin, told reporters at a weekly briefing on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have long been working on this issue and Bangladesh missions abroad uphold the country’s position with the host countries from where disinformation and misinformation are being spread.</div><div><br></div><div>“A committee comprising three ministries – Information, Law, and Foreign Affairs – is working on it,” Sabrin said.</div><div><br></div><div>Experts at a discussion last week laid emphasis on pragmatic and effective steps to counter the anti-Bangladesh campaign and efforts to undermine the country’s achievements.</div><div><br></div><div>They emphasized on identifying the points from where disinformation and anti-Bangladesh propaganda are being spread and addressing it with proper counter efforts based on facts.</div><div><br></div><div>Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen hosted the views exchange programme at the Foreign Service Academy.</div><div><br></div><div>\"In three places you need to give attention: London, Brussels and Washington DC. There is scope to work there,\" said former chairman of National Human Rights Commission Prof Dr Mizanur Rahman, drawing the foreign minister’s attention at the discussion.</div><div><br></div><div>At the meeting, Foreign Minister Momen also introduced Ferdousi Shahriar who will lead a cell on election observers.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking to reporters at the media briefing on Thursday, Seheli Sabrin said the special cell was set up for facilitating foreign observers for the upcoming national parliamentary election.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the cell will be in touch when anyone showing interest to observe the upcoming election.</div><div><br></div><div>The next national election is scheduled to be held in December this year or January, 2024.</div><div><br></div><div>“We will follow our own laws and the Election Commission rules to facilitate any observer,” she said, adding that they are yet to receive any request from any individual or organization.</div><div><br></div><div>Responding to a question, she said Bangladesh is trying to collect sufficient information about the construction of eight hydroelectric dams reportedly by China on the upstream of the Brahmaputra River.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We are trying to collect sufficient information about this [the hydropower dams]. We will let you know later,\" said Seheli Sabrin.</div><div><br></div><div>Asked whether there have been any talks on an agreement over the water issue between Bangladesh and China, she said, \"No, there has been no discussion.\" According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-18 03:32:56', '2023-08-18 03:32:56'),
(8589, 8589, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">In an effort to bring the elderly under a sustainable social security system, the government of Bangladesh has introduced the Universal Pension Scheme today (August 17, 2023).</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>According to Finance Ministry sources, there are four schemes under the Universal Pension: Probas, Progoti, Surokkha and Samata. Through the schemes, private sector employees and migrant workers will get pensions ranging from a minimum of 2.30 to 12.31 times their total installments.</div><div><br></div><div>People aged between 18-50 can join the Universal Pension Scheme, and those aged 60 and above can avail life term pension facilities. People aged 50 and above can also be included in the scheme, and in that case they will get the pension after providing installments for 10 years.</div><div><br></div><div>Registration process</div><div>Those who want to enrol in the Universal Pension Scheme should register at first and people aged 18 and above can join the scheme by using their National Identity Card (NID).</div><div><br></div><div>How to provide installment</div><div>People can pay their monthly installments from home. The authorities concerned have created an app for this. Migrant workers, who do not have NID cards can join the scheme with their valid passports at banking channels, approved mobile banking services, and foreign exchange houses.</div><div><br></div><div>After completing registration, a number will be provided through which the installment and other procedures can be done.</div><div><br></div><div>In the rural areas, Union Digital Centres will help people with the registration process and there will be no exchange in the scheme. All dealings will be operated online.</div><div><br></div><div>The authorities concerned of the Universal Pension Scheme will open an account at the state-owned Sonali Bank and participants will provide their installments each month to the respective account.</div><div><br></div><div>Migrant workers can provide installments from abroad while people can also provide installments to the account directly or through Nagad, bKash and mobile financial services.</div><div><br></div><div>Progoti scheme for private sector employees</div><div>Private sector employees can open the Progoti scheme by providing Tk 2,000, Tk 3,000 and Tk 5,000 installments per month. Fifty percent of the installment will be provided by the employees while the rest will be provided by the companies.</div><div><br></div><div>If any private company does not want to join the Universal Pension Scheme, employees can join the scheme on their own.</div><div><br></div><div>If any employee joins the scheme at the age of 18 and provides installments of Tk 2,000 per month for 42 years, he/she will be able to get Tk 68,931 as pension per month at the age of 60. During the same period, those who provide Tk 3,000 per month will get Tk 1,03,396 per month, and people who will provide Tk 5,000 installment per month can withdraw Tk 1,72,327 from the scheme per month for life. This means a person who will provide Tk 5,000 installment per month for 42 years will get Tk 3,10,24,800 in total which will be 12.31 percent of the total installments.</div><div><br></div><div>Surokkha for informal sector workers</div><div>The Surokkha scheme will be applicable for self-employed and informal sector workers. Farmers, rickshaw pullers, day labourers, blacksmiths, potters, fishermen and weavers can enrol under the scheme.</div><div><br></div><div>The installments per month under the scheme can be Tk 1,000, Tk 2,000, Tk 3,000 and Tk 5,000. Those who continue the scheme after providing Tk 1,000 per month will get Tk 34,465 as pension per month after 60 years. Besides, those who provide Tk 2,000 per month can withdraw Tk 68,931 per month after 60 years.</div><div><br></div><div>People who will provide Tk 3,000 and Tk 5,000 per month would be able to withdraw Tk 1,03,396 and Tk 1,72,327 per month for life as pension, respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>Samata for the ultra poor</div><div>Under the scheme, the monthly installment would be Tk 1,000 and the customer can provide Tk 500 per month while the rest will be provided by the government. People living below extreme poverty level can avail the opportunity. If any person joins the scheme at the age of 18 and provides Tk 500 installment per month he/she will get Tk 34,465 per month as pension after 60 years. Besides, people over 50 years will get Tk 1,530 per month after providing Tk 500 as installment for ten years.</div><div><br></div><div>Probas for migrant workers</div><div>For the migrant workers, the government has fixed Tk 5,000, Tk 7,500, Tk 10,000 installment per month under the scheme and if anyone returns to the country before 60 years, he/she can pay the amount through local currency or exchange the scheme.</div><div><br></div><div>They will get their pension in local currency after their scheme matures.</div><div><br></div><div>If an 18-year-old migrant workers provides Tk 10,000 per month for 42 years, his/her total amount of the installment will be Tk 50.40 lakh and he/she will be able to withdraw Tk 3,44,655 per month after 60 years till 75. The total amount of pension will be Tk 6,20,37,900 which will be 12.31 percent multiple of the total amount.</div><div><br></div><div>Under the same scheme, those who provide Tk 5,000 and 7,500 as installment for 42 years, he/she will get Tk 1,72,327 and Tk 2,58,491 per month after 60 years.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, if someone provides Tk 5,000 per month for a minimum of 10 years under this scheme, then he/she will deposit a total of Tk 6 lakh. In return, he/she will get a total pension of Tk 13,77,180 after getting Tk 7,651 per month from the age of 60, which will be 2.30 percent more than the total amount.</div><div><br></div><div>Finance Ministry sources said, the National Pension Authority has sent letters to the deputy commissioners of eight districts--Gopalganj, Sylhet, Rangpur, Pabna, Bagerhat, Mymensingh, Rangamati and Barguna--to introduce the pension on the opening day.</div><div><br></div><div>The authorities also sent letters to the Bangladesh missions in Jeddah and Kuala Lumpur.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, in the day, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rolled out the much anticipated Universal Pension Scheme, aiming to bring all citizens aged above 18 under the coverage.</div><div><br></div><div>She launched the pension scheme, joining virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban. Participants and beneficiaries were connected from three districts -- Gopalganj, Bagerhat and Rangpur -- and the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-18 04:02:26', '2023-08-18 04:02:26');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(8590, 8590, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The death toll in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh of India rose to 74 as another body was pulled out of the rubble of a Shiva temple here and two more people killed in Chamba district, officials said on Thursday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Twenty-one of these deaths were in the three major landslides in Shimla alone –at the Shiva temple in Summer Hill and in Fagli and Krishnanagar.</div><div><br></div><div>Eight persons are still feared buried in the temple debris.</div><div><br></div><div>On Wednesday, workers at the Summer Hill landslide site retrieved the body of P L Sharma, head of the Mathematics department at Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told PTI.</div><div><br></div><div>Two rain-related deaths were reported in Chamba district where a person fell from a height and another drowned, taking the death count over the past four days to 74, according to the state emergency operation centre.</div><div><br></div><div>The state recorded heavy rains for three days, beginning Sunday. After Tuesday, there has been less rain. There were light showers at some places on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>Since the onset of the monsoon on June 24, 217 persons have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Operations are on at the landslide sites in Shimla. So far, 14 bodies have been recovered from Summer Hill, five from Fagli and two from Krishnanagar, SP Gandhi said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Indian Army, Air Force and other rescue personnel evacuated 309 people from the flood-affected area in Kangra district\'s Fatehpur and Pong Dam in Indora.</div><div><br></div><div>Over the last three days, 2074 people have been evacuated from these areas.</div><div><br></div><div>Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday visited the rain and flood-affected areas of Matehdi, Baldwara, Maseran and Jukain of Sarkaghat assembly segment of Mandi district and met people there.</div><div><br></div><div>He assured them all possible support from the government.</div><div><br></div><div>Principal Secretary (Revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma said the losses in the monsoon season have touched 7,500 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Schools were closed in Shimla city on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>Officials said 875 roads remain blocked in the state, and 1,135 transformers and 285 water supply schemes disrupted.</div><div><br></div><div>In an interview with PTI, Sukhu has said the state will take a year to rebuild the infrastructure damaged by the heavy rains this monsoon. He estimated that the loss in the two devastating spells of heavy rains – this week and in July – is about Rs 10,000 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The chief minister said it takes time to rebuild roads and water projects. But the government is speeding up the process. We have to get the infrastructure fully restored within a year. I am working with this in mind.</div><div><br></div><div>The state government on Thursday relaxed conditions for spending the MLA local area development fund.</div><div><br></div><div>The MLAs would now be able to use their fund of Rs 2.10 crore per year for projects like the construction of retaining walls and channelisation of nullahs.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, the Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh said the central government has approved Rs 2,643 crore for upgrading 254 roads in rural areas during the current financial year under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. - PTI</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-18 21:49:13', '2023-08-18 21:49:13'),
(8591, 8591, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The embattled head of Maui\'s emergency management agency, who had come under fire for sirens not being sounded as a wildfire tore through the Hawaiian town of Lahaina, resigned Thursday, a statement said.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"Today Mayor Richard Bissen accepted the resignation of Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Administrator Herman Andaya,\" a Maui County release said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Citing health reasons, Andaya submitted his resignation effective immediately.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Andaya on Wednesday told a news conference he did not regret the decision to not activate an island-wide network of 121-decibel sirens as the deadly wildfire bore down on Lahaina and its more-than 12,000 residents.</div><div><br></div><div>That decision, along with other perceived missteps before, during and after the disaster, which left at least 111 people dead, has sparked fury among survivors, who say more lives could have been saved.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Given the gravity of the crisis we are facing, my team and I will be placing someone in this key position as quickly as possible and I look forward to making that announcement soon,\" Bissen said. According to AFP reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-18 23:45:24', '2023-08-18 23:45:24'),
(8592, 8592, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday alleged that the Awami League government is trying to defame late president Ziaur Rahman and to erase him from history by ‘falsely’ involving him in the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>”We cannot forget that the Awami League leaders formed a government while the body of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was lying on the stairs of his house. Those who now spread lies that Ziaur Rahman was involved (with Mujib’s murder) have only one objective: to malign him and to remove him from history,” Fakhrul said.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader was speaking at an award distribution ceremony of an essay competition programme, marking the 42nd death anniversary of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the government has long been making efforts to defame Zia by carrying out a false campaign against him and distorting history.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader said the Prime Minister’s recent comment linking Zia to the August 15 incident in 1975 was a complete lie.</div><div><br></div><div>“They’re now telling such strange stories that Ziaur Rahman was involved in the murder of late leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It\'s nothing but a distortion of history with a motive to foil the movement that has started to bring back democracy,” Fakhrul observed.</div><div><br></div><div>He said BNP was not yet founded as a party when Sheikh Mujibur was assassinated and Ziaur Rahman was the deputy chief of army at the time.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader also said the chiefs of the army, navy, and air forces expressed their loyalty to the government formed under the leadership of Awami League leader Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed after the assassination of Bangabandhu and most of his family members on August 15, 1975.</div><div><br></div><div>After independence, Fakhrul alleged that Awami League turned Bangladesh into a state of misrule and plundering, and established one-party Baksal rule by destroying democracy and snatching people’s rights.</div><div><br></div><div>He said it was Zia who later restored democracy and people’s lost rights by introducing multi-party democracy.</div><div><br></div><div>Stating that the country is now in a deep crisis, he urged the country’s people to get united to restore democracy and establish an elected government through a credible election under a non-party administration. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-19 01:30:13', '2023-08-19 01:30:13'),
(8593, 8593, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP on Friday alleged that the government has launched the universal pension scheme as part of its trick to steal public money and use it in the next election.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“Awami League has depleted Bangladesh’s resources by indulging in plundering. They have taken another trick to steal people’s money in the name of the pension scheme. They want to steal that money to hold the next election,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader, however, said the country’s people will no longer allow the government to plunder their money.</div><div><br></div><div>He made the remarks while addressing a rally prior to bringing out a mass procession in the city’s Doyaganj areas arranged by BNP’s Dhaka south city unit.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul urged the government to quit with dignity by handing over power to a non-party neutral government, paving the way for holding the next polls in a free and fair manner.</div><div><br></div><div>Or else, he said the country’s people know very well how to remove a fascist and autocratic regime as they did in 1952, 1969, 1971, and 1990. “Be careful, now it\'s your turn (to be ousted). So, step down immediately by accepting the demand of the people.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader slammed the government for oppressing the opposition leaders and activists and arresting them in false cases. “The entire country has apparently become a jail. They arrested our many leaders out of fear of losing power.”</div><div><br></div><div>Issuing a warning to the law enforcers who are arresting BNP leaders and activists, he said nine police officers who amassed wealth in the USA now can’t go there. “They now can’t sleep at night wondering what will happen to the resources they accumulated abroad.”</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul said the situation is going to be even worse as different rights bodies and institutions are urging the US government to give more sanctions to ensure a fair election in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>He also criticised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina her remark that some foreign countries is pressuring Bangladesh on holding free and fair elections and protecting human rights with a motive to control the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal to attack different countries in this region and destroy them.</div><div><br></div><div>“There’s no point in talking about the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal…there is no way left (for the govt) to escape. There is no escape route on any side,” the BNP leader said.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, Fakhrul together with party senior leaders, including standing committee members Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, senior joint secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Dhaka south city unit convener Abdus Salam, and acting member secretary Tanveer Ahmed Robin brought out a procession with the participation of thousands of party leaders and workers. The procession ended at the Khilgaon intersection after parading through different roads.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas inaugurated the Dhaka north city unit BNP’s mass procession near the DNCC marker in the city’s Gulshan-1 area.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking at a brief rally before bringing out the procession people no longer want to see Awami League in power as they have got fed up with its misrule for 15 years.</div><div><br></div><div>He alleged that the ruling party leaders are resorting to lies to mislead people as they have been in power stealing votes.</div><div><br></div><div>Abbas said the government has been using the state machinery to subdue the opposition in a bid to cling to power.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader urged the government officials and employees to play their role neutrally and stop harassing and oppressing the opposition leaders and activists.</div><div><br></div><div>He also urged the government to allow Khaleda to go abroad for her advanced treatment.</div><div><br></div><div>Otherwise, the BNP leader warned that they will wage a fierce movement to ensure her unconditional release from jail and her treatment abroad.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, the BNP leaders and activists took out the procession that ended at Mohakhali Bus Station.</div><div><br></div><div>Thousands of leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies joined the two processions, carrying banners, festoons and portraits of the party\'s top leaders.</div><div><br></div><div>Apart from BNP, Ganotantra Mancha, Jatiyatabadi Samamona Jote, LDP, Gonoforum and People’s Party, Peshajibi Ganatantrik Jote, Gonotantrik Bam Oikya, 12-party alliance, Labour Party, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (Monju), NDM, Bangladesh Sadaran Chhatra Odhikar Sanrakshan Parishad and two factions of Gono Odhikar Parishad also brought out processions separately in different areas of the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>A similar programme was also held in all metropolitan cities arranged by BNP and other opposition parties.</div><div><br></div><div>This was the fourth programme of the opposition\'s one-point movement with the goal to remove Awami League from power.</div><div><br></div><div>On July 12 last, BNP and the like-minded parties announced their one-point movement to realise their demands.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-19 02:06:23', '2023-08-19 02:06:23'),
(8594, 8594, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Fish farmers in 13 out of 15 upazilas of Chattogram have to count a loss of around Tk 70 crore caused by a recent flood in the district.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The Directorate of District Fisheries shared this information of extent of loss through investigation after the flood water receded.</div><div><br></div><div>However, there was no remarkable loss in the fish sector in Sitakunda and Fatikchhari upazilas.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Md Mahbubur Rahman, survey officer of the district fisheries office, said the extent of loss caused by the flood was estimated at Tk 70 crore in the district.</div><div><br></div><div>A total of 4, 154 tonnes of fishes were washed away from 13, 379 ponds and 126 fish enclosures in the district during the flood district, he said, adding that an amount of Tk 69.38 crore was damaged.</div><div><br></div><div>People of the district experienced an unprecedented flood from August 1 to 4 this month and the city dwellers were stranded in water for four days since August 7.</div><div><br></div><div>The four upazilas hit by the flood badly are Satkania, Lohagara, Patiya and Chandanaish. An amount of Tk 35 crore was damaged by the flood as fish was cultivated in 10, 000 ponds of the upazilas.</div><div><br></div><div>Md Hasan Ahsanul Kabir, fisheries officer of Satkania upazila, said around 6, 000 fish projects were washed away in the flood in Chandanaish, Satkania and Lohagara upazilas which caused a loss of Tk 25 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>It will take time to recover the loss though the flood water started to recede, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Patiya upazila’s Assistant Fisheries Officer Sujat Kumar Chowdhury said fish of 4, 000 of 8, 000 ponds in the upazila were washed away causing the loss of Tk 10 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Mohammad Hasan Ahsanul Kabir, fisheries officer of Chandanish upazila said they estimated that fish from 2, 537 water bodies were washed away in the upazila and it caused a loss of Tk 12 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Not only fish but also other agricultural farms were damaged in the flood.</div><div><br></div><div>Chandanish’s young entrepreneur Md Harun said around 1000 chickens of his poultry farm died in the flood and his vegetable lands were also damaged.</div><div><br></div><div>Fish farmers of the flood affected upazilas urged the government to extend their support to recover the loss; otherwise it won’t be possible to make up the loss. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-19 02:09:44', '2023-08-19 02:09:44'),
(8595, 8595, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Women lose value if men can see their uncovered faces in public, a spokesman for a key ministry of Afghanistan’s Taliban government said Thursday, adding that religious scholars in the country agree that a woman must keep her face covered when outside the home.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The Taliban, who took over the country in August of 2021, have cited the failure of women to observe the proper way to wear the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, as a reason for barring them from most public spaces, including parks, jobs and university.</div><div><br></div><div>Molvi Mohammad Sadiq Akif, the spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue, said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press that if women’s faces are visible in public there is a possibility of fitna, or falling into sin.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is very bad to see women (without the hijab) in some areas (big cities), and our scholars also agree that women’s faces should be hidden,” Akif said. “It’s not that her face will be harmed or damaged. A woman has her own value and that value decreases by men looking at her. Allah gives respect to females in hijab and there is value in this.”</div><div><br></div><div>Tim Winter, who is the Shaykh Zayed Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University, said there was no scriptural mandate in Islam for face coverings and the Taliban would struggle to find anything in Islamic scripture that backed their interpretation of hijab rules.</div><div><br></div><div>“Their name implies they are not senior religious experts,” he told AP. “The word Taliban means students. \"</div><div><br></div><div>He said the Taliban operate on the basis of textbooks used in village madrassas, religious schools, and that Muslim scholars who have been to Afghanistan during both periods of Taliban rule have been underwhelmed by their level of religious knowledge. “They have just been so isolated from the wider Muslim community.”</div><div><br></div><div>The Taliban’s restrictions on girls and women have caused global outrage, including from some Muslim-majority countries.</div><div><br></div><div>On Wednesday, U.N. special envoy Gordon Brown said the International Criminal Court should prosecute Taliban leaders for crimes against humanity for denying education and employment to Afghan girls and women.</div><div><br></div><div>Akif, who is the main spokesman for the Vice and Virtue Ministry, did not answer questions about the bans, including whether any of them could be lifted if there were to be universal adherence to hijab rules. He said there were other departments to deal with these issues.</div><div><br></div><div>Akif said the ministry faced no obstacles in its work and that people supported its measures.</div><div><br></div><div>“People wanted to implement Sharia (Islamic law) here. Now we’re carrying out the implementation of Sharia.” All the decrees are Islamic rulings and the Taliban have added nothing to them, he said. “The orders of Sharia were issued 1,400 years ago and they are still there.”</div><div><br></div><div>He said that under the current administration men no longer harass or stare at women like they used to do in the time of the previous government.</div><div><br></div><div>The Taliban government also says it has destroyed the “evils” of drinking alcohol and bacha bazi, a practice in which wealthy or powerful men exploit boys for entertainment, especially dancing and sexual activities.</div><div><br></div><div>The ministry is in a fortified compound near Darul Aman Palace in the Afghan capital, Kabul. Women are forbidden from entering ministry premises, some of the guards who were on duty Thursday told AP, although there is a female-only security screening hut.</div><div><br></div><div>Slogans on concrete barricades praise the purpose of the ministry.</div><div><br></div><div>One reads: “The promotion of virtues and the prohibition of vices are an effective means of social order.” Another says: “The promotion of virtues and the prohibition of vices save society from catastrophe.”</div><div><br></div><div>Akif said the ministry relies on a network of officials and informants to check if people are following regulations.</div><div><br></div><div>“Our ombudsmen walk in markets, public places, universities, schools, madrassas and mosques,” he said. “They visit all these places and watch people. They also speak with them and educate them. We monitor them and people also cooperate with and inform us.”</div><div><br></div><div>When asked if women can go to parks, one of the spaces they are banned from, he said they would be able to if certain conditions could be met.</div><div><br></div><div>“You can go to the park, but only if there are no men there. If there are men, then Sharia does not allow it. We don’t say that a woman can’t do sports, she can’t go to the park or she can’t run. She can do all these things, but not in the same way as some women want, to be semi-naked and among men.\"</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-19 02:31:37', '2023-08-19 02:31:37'),
(8596, 8596, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has predicted light to moderate rain or thundershowers in eight divisions, including Dhaka, over 24 hours (starting from 9 am today).</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind are likely to occur at a few places in Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places in Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh and Dhaka divisions with moderately heavy falls at places aross the country,” said a regular BMD bulletin on Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>Day and night temperatures may remain nearly unchanged across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The low pressure area over northwest Bay and adjoining area now lies over India\'s Jharkhand and north Odisha.</div><div><br></div><div>Monsoon is fairly active over Bangladesh and moderate over north Bay. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-19 19:58:15', '2023-08-19 19:58:15'),
(8597, 8597, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">More than 2,400 people have been killed in Haiti since the start of 2023 amid rampant gang violence, including hundreds killed in lynchings by vigilante mobs, the UN said Friday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The toll comes as clashes in Haiti\'s capital of Port-au-Prince this week left 30 residents dead and more than a dozen wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Between January 1 and August 15 of this year, at least 2,439 people have been killed and a further 902 injured,\" UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition, she said, \"951 people have been kidnapped\" during the same period.</div><div><br></div><div>And as anger grows, she warned that a rise in popular justice movements and self-defence groups was fuelling the fire.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Since April 24 up to mid-August, more than 350 people have been lynched by local people and vigilante groups,\" she said, adding that of those, 310 were alleged gang members and one was a police officer.</div><div><br></div><div>The remainder were members of the public.</div><div><br></div><div>Houses in Port-au-Prince\'s Carrefour-Feuilles neighbourhood were set on fire in the attacks and two police officers also died, according to a provisional toll provided to AFP by the National Human Rights Defense Network.</div><div><br></div><div>The neighbourhood is a strategic area for the gangs, which control about 80 percent of Haiti\'s capital. More than 5,000 people have fled their homes, authorities said.</div><div><br></div><div>Violent crimes include kidnappings for ransom, carjackings, rapes and armed thefts.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Reports from Haiti this week have underscored the extreme brutality of the violence being inflicted on the population and the impact that it is having on their human rights,\" Shamdasani said.</div><div><br></div><div>In the face of the violence, UN rights chief Volker Turk called for urgent action to be taken on an appeal for a non-UN multinational force to be sent in \"to support the Haitian police in addressing the grave security situation and restoring the rule of law\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"The human rights of the Haitian people must be protected and their suffering alleviated,\" Turk said.</div><div><br></div><div>At the end of July, Kenya announced it was ready to lead a multinational force and deploy 1,000 police \"to help train and help the Haitian police restore normality in the country\".</div><div><br></div><div>Haiti has been mired for years in intertwining economic, security and political crises.</div><div><br></div><div>The assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 has dramatically worsened the situation, with gangs taking an increasingly strong hold.</div><div><br></div><div>The head of the Haitian National Human Rights Defense Network said that the population had been \"left to fend for itself\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"The national police is dysfunctional and is facing leadership problems,\" said Pierre Esperance, criticizing the \"highest level connivance\" with the crime gangs.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The Haitian police cannot solve the problem of insecurity because it is part of insecurity,\" he said, noting that the crisis cannot be tackled \"without tackling the problems of governance, the absence of the rule of law, impunity and political instability\". - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-19 20:26:51', '2023-08-19 20:26:51'),
(8598, 8598, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are likely to hold a meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. Both South Asian leaders are traveling to the African country this week.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>They will be visiting Johannesburg, South Africa from August 22 to 24 to attend the 15th BRICS Summit at the invitation of Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa.</div><div><br></div><div>During his visit, Indian Prime Minister Modi will hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg, said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs without mentioning names&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Hasina will also attend the G20 Summit in India in September.</div><div><br></div><div>The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi on September 9-10 will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.</div><div><br></div><div>A G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking to reporters, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen had earlier said that New Delhi will be better than Johannesburg for a bilateral meeting with Indian PM Modi. The two countries are already in touch regarding the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>Momen also said that Africa is a “rising star”, and Bangladesh wants to make stronger connections with countries in the continent.</div><div><br></div><div>“Our relations with African countries are not that strong. We have opened two missions there. The prime minister will give them instructions (to make greater efforts),” he remarked.</div><div><br></div><div>This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit since 2019. The Summit will provide an opportunity to review progress of the initiatives launched by the grouping, and identify future areas of activity.</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Modi will also participate in a special event “BRICS – Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue” being organised after the BRICS Summit, which will include other countries invited by South Africa. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-19 21:01:05', '2023-08-19 21:01:05'),
(8599, 8599, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday said their party hopes that India will respect the democratic aspirations of the people of Bangladesh.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Talking to reporters on the grave premises of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, he also said it will not be good for the security of the people of South Asia if India takes any step against the will of the people of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>“We definitely hope that India will respect the democratic aspirations of the people of Bangladesh and they’ll express their full support for an election under a truly impartial and non-partisan government in the country with the participation of all parties and with the goodwill of all,” the BNP leader said.</div><div><br></div><div>As a reporter drew his attention to a report on India’s message to the US against its various steps to destabilize the Hasina government, Fakhrul said, “We also saw that report in the newspapers citing Deutsche Welle. If the report is true, it is very unfortunate.”</div><div><br></div><div>He alleged that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina\'s goal to establish a one-party rule system is the root cause of all the present crises in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader alleged indescribable torture has been inflicted on the people of Bangladesh by the state over the last 15 years. “A state terrorism has been created in Bangladesh and it can be said that a total deep state has been created. Under such a situation, if this news is true, it is unexpected from a democratic country like India which always talks about upholding democracy.”</div><div><br></div><div>“We would never say like this, but we are forced to say if the news is true, then they (India) are interfering in the internal politics in Bangladesh,\" Fakhrul observed.</div><div><br></div><div>He said their party has confidence in the people of Bangladesh and in their strengths. “I think India will judge what the people of Bangladesh want. If they (India) take any steps against the desire of the people of Bangladesh, it will be very unfortunate and we think it won\'t be good for the people of Bangladesh and also for the people of the region.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader categorically said there is no possibility that any fundamentalist party can come to power in Bangladesh. “No fundamentalist party has ever been able to come to power in the 52-year history of Bangladesh. Rather, their strength has waned.”</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, Fakhrul together with the leaders and activists of Jatiyatabadi Swechchasebak Dal placed a wreath at Zia’s grave paying homage to him, marking the 43rd founding anniversary of the BNP’s voluntary wing.</div><div><br></div><div>According to reports of Deutsche Welle and Anandabazar Patrika, India has conveyed to the US that the way various steps are being taken by the US to destabilize the Hasina government is not positive for the overall security of India as a neighboring country and South Asia as a whole.</div><div><br></div><div>The reports also said India is not happy with the current role of America centering the upcoming elections in Bangladesh and this message has also been conveyed to Washington. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 00:27:14', '2023-08-20 00:27:14'),
(8600, 8600, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Sifat Kabir, Senior Newsroom Editor of the English department at Banglanews24, one of Bangladesh\'s prominent news portals, has been offered a prestigious fellowship from the Netherlands for his exceptional contributions to the field of journalism, particularly in Public Interest Journalism (PIJ).</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>With a decade of dedicated experience in the sector, Kabir has emerged as a prominent figure in Bangladesh\'s media landscape, gaining acclaim for his exceptional work both as a journalist and as the CEO of Radio Sixteen.</div><div><br></div><div>Sifat Kabir conducted the first comprehensive research on local journalism in Bangladesh, resulting in a published and monitored research paper by the Media and Communication Department of IUB (Independent University, Bangladesh).</div><div><br></div><div>Kabir\'s remarkable journey in journalism commenced a decade ago, characterized by a passion for truth, dedication to ethical reporting, and an unwavering commitment to uncovering stories of significance. His unique perspective and insightful analysis have earned him a reputation as a respected voice in the industry.</div><div><br></div><div>In his role as the CEO of Radio Sixteen, Kabir has played a pivotal part in shaping media discourse. Under his leadership, Radio Sixteen has risen as a prominent platform for meaningful discussions, providing underrepresented voices a platform and highlighting critical societal issues.</div><div><br></div><div>Kabir\'s dedication and innovative approach have garnered the attention of the Netherlands, resulting in his selection for a highly coveted fellowship. This recognition stands as a testament to his excellence in journalism and his commitment to promoting responsible and impactful reporting.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition to his fellowship, Sifat Kabir has been honored with the prestigious Reuters Digital Journalism Award, solidifying his position as a trailblazer in the digital media sphere. This accolade underscores his adept navigation of the rapidly evolving digital landscape and his ability to harness its potential to disseminate accurate and thought-provoking news.</div><div><br></div><div>As Sifat Kabir embarks on this new chapter in his illustrious career, the journalism community eagerly anticipates the insights and perspectives he will undoubtedly bring back from his fellowship experience in the Netherlands. His journey serves as an inspiration to aspiring journalists and underscores the significance of fearless, ethical, and impactful reporting in today\'s world.</div><div><br></div><div>With his steadfast dedication, impressive achievements, and unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity, Sifat Kabir continues to make an indelible mark on the field of journalism, both nationally and internationally. His accomplishments stand as a testament to the power of storytelling and the enduring impact of responsible journalism.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 01:24:08', '2023-08-20 01:24:08'),
(8601, 8601, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Ukrainian defences shot down 15 Russian drones during an overnight attack, Kyiv\'s air force said Saturday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>It said 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones were used in the aerial assault, and did not specify what happened to the other two.</div><div><br></div><div>Russian forces \"attacked from the north with \'Shahed-136/131\' attack UAVs. A total of 17 attack drones were launched from the Kursk region,\" the Ukrainian force said on Telegram.</div><div><br></div><div>It added that air defences were activated in \"northern and central, as well as in the western regions\".</div><div><br></div><div>Moscow has ramped up attacks on Ukraine\'s port infrastructure in the Black Sea and the Danube, since the scrapping of a deal that had allowed the safe export grain through the shipping hub.</div><div><br></div><div>On Friday, the United States told Denmark and the Netherlands they can hand Ukraine their F-16 fighter jets when the country\'s pilots are trained to use them, a move welcomed as \"great news\" by Ukraine\'s Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 01:32:15', '2023-08-20 01:32:15'),
(8602, 8602, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>India\'s space agency has released latest images of the Moon as its third lunar mission starts descending towards the little-explored south pole.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The pictures have been taken by Vikram, Chandrayaan-3\'s lander, which began the last phase of its mission on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>Vikram, which carries a rover in its belly, is due to land near the south pole on 23 August.</div><div><br></div><div>The lander detached from the propulsion module, which carried it close to the Moon, on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>The black-and-white images show close-ups of rocks and craters on the Moon\'s surface. One of the photographs shows the propulsion module too.</div><div><br></div><div>Chandrayaan-3 and Russia\'s Luna-25 are among the two spacecraft headed towards the Moon\'s south pole and both are expected to land next week.</div><div><br></div><div>Luna-25 - Russia\'s first Moon mission since 1976, when it was part of the Soviet Union - was launched last week and is expected to make history by making a soft landing on 21st or 22nd August, just days before the Indian touchdown. If it succeeds, Chandrayaan-3 will have to settle for being a close second in reaching the south pole. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 01:57:08', '2023-08-20 01:57:08'),
(8603, 8603, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The security and democracy of the country are not safe in the hands of the BNP, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said on Saturday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“People\'s lives are not safe from dengue while the country’s security and democracy are not safe in the hands of the BNP. So, we have to prevent these two main dangerous enemies, dengue and BNP,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Obaidul Quader was addressing a public awareness programme to prevent dengue in the capital’s Rabindra Sarobar of Dhanmondi, arranged by the Awami League\'s health and population subcommittee.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, he urged authorities concerned as well as party leaders and activists to carry out dengue prevention programmes across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Replying to a question, AL leader said that BNP is looking at the United States of America in the hope of when it will give sanctions and visa policy. But, the power of its (BNP) eyes has decreased by looking at them and now BNP can see nothing. On the other hand, Awami League is looking at the people of the country, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Presided by Pran Gopal Datta, Former Vice-Chancellor and Professor, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Awami League Presidium Member Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Health and Population Affairs Secretary Dr Rokeya Sultana, Dhaka North Awami League President Sheikh Bazlur Rahman were, present in the programme.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, leaflets were distributed in order to increase the awareness of prevention of dengue disease and control of Aedes mosquitoes. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 02:17:12', '2023-08-20 02:17:12'),
(8604, 8604, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha held a special meeting with the coaches of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) ahead of two important events - Asia Cup and World Cup.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>In the four and half hour long meeting at the BCB office in Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur today, Hathurusingha disclosed his plan to the coaches.</div><div><br></div><div>He also revealed the action plan he wants to execute, a BCB official said.</div><div><br></div><div>BCB\'s head of program David Moore, coaches of national team, aged level team and High Performance Unit were present in this meeting. Cricket Operations Chairman Jalal Yunus was also in the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>While the Asia Cup is knocking at the door, the World Cup is not even two months away. The BCB has high hopes revolving around those two events as they believe it is high time to show the world that they are really a world class ODI team which deserves a multinational silverware.</div><div><br></div><div>Apart from the Asia Cup squad, the special camp of eight players including Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad will start from tomorrow (Sunday). The coaches were given the action plan for these two tournaments.</div><div><br></div><div>After a two-day break, the Bangladesh team will resume its practice tomorrow. In this phase, the practice will continue for three consecutive days. The practice will continue till August 25 before the team flies to Sri Lanka to play the Asia Cup. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 02:49:20', '2023-08-20 02:49:20'),
(8605, 8605, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>At least 150 people, including several cops, were injured as the activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and police locked into a clash in Shaestanagar area of Habiganj town on Saturday afternoon.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Ajay Dev, officer-in-charge (OC) of Habiganj police station and general secretary of Habiganj municipal unit BNP Awal were among the injured.</div><div><br></div><div>As part of the pre-announced programme, BNP leaders and activists from nine upazilas of the district started gathering in and around the residence of BNP joint convener and former municipal mayor GK Gaus in the afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>Around 5 pm, the BNP leaders and activists started the march from the Shaestanagar Bazar area.</div><div><br></div><div>When they reached the Water Development Board office, police obstructed them.</div><div><br></div><div>Refusing to be deterred by the police barricade, the BNP procession attempted to move forward, and police responded with a baton charge, resulting in a clash between law enforcers and BNP leaders and activists.</div><div><br></div><div>During the chase and counter-chase, agitated BNP men threw bricks at the police.</div><div><br></div><div>Police fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to take the situation under control.</div><div><br></div><div>Several cops including Habiganj OC Ajay Dev were injured during the clash, said Badiuzzaman, OC (Investigation).</div><div><br></div><div>“We are still at the scene to avoid any untoward situation, \" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Joint convener of district BNP GK Gaus said, \"When we were going home after completing the march peacefully, the police led by OC Ajay attacked us, leaving our 150 leaders and activists injured.</div><div><br></div><div>Among the injured, municipal BNP general secretary Awal’s condition is critical, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Without going to the hospital, he alleged that the injured are receiving treatment secretly to avoid arrest. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 03:19:07', '2023-08-20 03:19:07'),
(8606, 8606, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma on Saturday said India stands beside Bangladesh as a \"steadfast partner\" and committed to supporting its aspirations for a \"peaceful, prosperous, and inclusive\" future.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Today, Bangladesh is on a path of progress and development,\" he said, adding that their \"collaborative efforts\" in areas such as trade, connectivity, security, and people-to-people ties continue to flourish, cementing our place as two nations united by common goals and shared values.</div><div><br></div><div>High Commissioner Verma was invited by the Bangladesh India Friendship Society as a special guest in a discussion meeting on the occasion of the 48th martyrdom anniversary of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div><br></div><div>Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque was the chief guest at the event.</div><div><br></div><div>The Minister said Bangladesh and India\'s friendship is written in blood. \"This friendship of Bangladesh-India is written in blood.\"</div><div><br></div><div>On behalf of the government and the people of India, the High Commissioner extended his heartfelt condolences to the people of Bangladesh as they remember and honour the memory of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the valiant souls who fell victim to that tragic night of August 15, 1975.</div><div><br></div><div>The National Mourning Day holds a significant place in the history and hearts of the Bangladeshi people, said the envoy, adding that it is a day of reflection, remembrance, and recommitment to the values and ideals that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman espoused – democracy, human rights, and social justice.</div><div><br></div><div>\"His indomitable spirit, visionary leadership, and unwavering dedication to the welfare of his people continue to inspire generations not just within the borders of Bangladesh, but far beyond,\" said the High Commissioner.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Today, as we come together to pay our respects, we also reaffirm the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation between India and Bangladesh. Our two nations share a historical, cultural, and geographical relationship that has endured the test of time,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The shared struggles and sacrifices of peoples during the Liberation War of 1971 have forged an unbreakable bond of camaraderie and mutual respect, Verma said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"As we commemorate this day, let us not only remember the past but also reflect on the present and envisage a future filled with hope and possibilities,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The High Commissioner also said, \"Let us stand together against extremism, intolerance, and violence, and work towards a world where the ideals of justice, equality, and human dignity prevail.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"May the memory of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman continue to guide us as we march forward on the path of progress and prosperity,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>He noted that Bangabandhu\'s life and ideals continue to guide the special relations between India and Bangladesh as the two countries work together towards a brighter and more prosperous future for their peoples. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 03:56:55', '2023-08-20 03:56:55');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(8607, 8607, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Brazilian superstar Neymar will be unveiled to fans at Al-Hilal on Saturday as he becomes the latest world-famous footballer snapped up by the big-spending Saudi Pro League.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The flamboyant forward, 31, will be welcomed at Al-Hilal\'s 68,000-capacity stadium in Riyadh alongside two other new signings, fellow Brazilian Malcolm and Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.</div><div><br></div><div>Excitement has been high for Neymar, who joins a string of huge names approaching the twilight of their careers to be lured by oil-rich Saudi\'s giant contracts.</div><div><br></div><div>Neymar joined Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2017 for a world-record fee of 222 million euros ($242 million), scoring 118 goals in 173 matches despite a series of injuries.</div><div><br></div><div>He will earn 100 million euros a season in Saudi Arabia, according to a source close to the negotiations, while PSG will pocket 100 million euros in the deal.</div><div><br></div><div>Cristiano Ronaldo set the Saudi Pro League\'s plans in motion when he joined Al-Nassr in January in a two-and-a-half-year deal said to be worth 400 million euros.</div><div><br></div><div>It opened the floodgates for a jaw-dropping summer transfer window when the Saudi league, previously a footballing backwater, snapped up some of the biggest names in the sport.</div><div><br></div><div>Real Madrid superstar Karim Benzema was a gala signing for Al-Ittihad in June, followed by Riyadh Mahrez, Sadio Mane, N\'Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson and others.</div><div><br></div><div>Al-Hilal are the second biggest spending club worldwide in the current transfer window, trailing only Chelsea, and four Saudi teams -- Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad -- have spent nearly more than 560 million euros between them, according to Transfermarkt.com.</div><div><br></div><div>The four clubs are owned by the Public Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth vehicle, which has been snapping up assets as part of an aggressive drive to diversify the economy of the world\'s biggest oil exporter.</div><div><br></div><div>Two global superstars resisted the Saudi advances: Lionel Messi, who opted for Inter Miami, and his former PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe, who reportedly refused to meet Al-Hilal officials.</div><div><br></div><div>Off the field, Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard joined Al-Ettifaq, ex-Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo became the Saudi league\'s director of football and Roma coach Jose Mourinho joined the board of Saudi\'s Mahd Sports Academy.</div><div><br></div><div>The buying spree has understandably caught the attention of other leagues, with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp expressing concern that the Saudi transfer window closes on September 20 -- three weeks after Europe.</div><div><br></div><div>Al-Hilal are coached by Portugal\'s Jorge Jesus, who is in his second spell at the club, while the squad has five international players recently lured from Europe -- Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Malcom and Bounou.</div><div><br></div><div>Al-Hilal have traditionally been one of Saudi Arabia\'s top clubs and have been crowned Asian Champions League winners on four occasions. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 04:01:12', '2023-08-20 04:01:12'),
(8608, 8608, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said Bangladesh has been moving forward facing all the natural and manmade disasters since 2009.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A democratic government has continuously been here sincd 2009. The stability has been prevailing in the country. Though we had to face many things like natural calamities, manmade disasters and arson violence, Bangladesh is marching forward,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier said this while inaugurating the newly constructed two multistory office buildings– named Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Bhaban and Information Commission Bhaban – in the city’s Agargaon area.</div><div><br></div><div>She opened the eye-catching 15-storey BTRC Bhaban and 13-storey Information Commission Bhaban through a virtual platform, joining a function from her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, Hasina unveiled the foundation stone of BFDC Complex to construct a multistory new complex for Bangladesh Film Development Corporation in the city’s Karwan Bazar area.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM said they want the progress of Bangladesh would continue.</div><div><br></div><div>She expressed her gratitude to the people of Bangladesh for allowing her time and again to serve them by voting for ‘boat,’ the electoral symbol of her party- Bangladesh Awami League.</div><div><br></div><div>The BTRC Bhaban was constructed on one acre of land, while the Information Commission Bhaban on 0.35 acre of land.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said her government has taken steps to equip the citizens, the society, government and the country with the knowledge of modern technology.</div><div><br></div><div>“We’ll be able to do it successfully. There will be no hunger and poverty in Bangladesh. Every landless will get a house and the living standard of every individual will improve,” she said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Talking about the recently introduced universal pension scheme, Sheikh Hasina said her government has made the pension scheme universal. Now all, not only the government staff, will get pension, so that they would lead a meaningful life in the family and society, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Noting that her government transformed the country into a Digital Bangladesh, she said “We want to build the country as a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ by 2041 where the population, economy, society and government will be smart.”</div><div><br></div><div>Focusing on her government\'s success in the telecommunication sector, PM Hasina said now the teledensity has increased to 104 percent in Bangladesh. “I think it is an incredible development,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the number of mobile SIM subscribers is now 180 million against 170 million population in Bangladesh as an individual subscribes more than one SIMs in many cases.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM said she opened the television channels for the private sector during her 1996-2001 regime aiming to raise employment generation in the country as much as possible. Now some 32 out of 44 permitted television channels are in operation in the country, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the network of optical fiber is some 1.60 lakh km throughout the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking about the film sector, the premier asked the filmmakers to make a larger number of kids movies for the children of the country.</div><div><br></div><div>“We need to make more movies for the children so that they can learn many things from the films,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Highlighting different steps taken by her government to develop the film industry, she said the government is constructing Bangabandhu Film City on a five-acre of land at Kaliakoir in Gazipur at cost of Tk 380 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the government formed the welfare trusts for artists and enhanced the fund allocation for making healthy movies.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM said it is expected that the construction of the BFDC complex would be completed by 2024. It’ll be an excellent structure in a nearby place of scenic Hatirjheel, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;“An excellent structure is going to be constructed,” she said, extending her thanks to the architects of the BFDC complex.</div><div><br></div><div>Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud and Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar spoke at the function moderated by PMO Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 19:08:11', '2023-08-20 19:08:11'),
(8609, 8609, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Agargaon-Motijheel section of Dhaka Metro Rail on October 20, Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said today.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A rally will be held at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital at 3pm on October 20, marking the inauguration, the minister said while exchanging views with journalists at the conference room of the Road, Transport and Bridges Ministry in the Secretariat.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, the 11.5 km stretch of Dhaka Elevated Expressway, from Kawla to Farmgate, will be opened on September 2. On this occasion, a rally will be held at the old trade fair ground in Dhaka’s Agargaon.</div><div><br></div><div>The construction work of the northern route of MRT Line 5 will be inaugurated on September 16, Quader also said.</div><div><br></div><div>On October 28, a rally will be held in Chattogram’s Anwara upazila to mark the inauguration of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually inaugurate 140 bridges, 12 overpasses across the country from the newly-constructed Sarak Bhaban in Dhaka on October 22. A vehicle inspection centre will also be inaugurated at the same time. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 20:01:48', '2023-08-20 20:01:48'),
(8610, 8610, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday alleged that the partisan remarks of top police officials have exposed that the government is going to hold another lopsided national election.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“There was a meeting of high-level police officers yesterday (Saturday). An officer\'s statements in the meeting have gone viral on social media. Hearing his speech, I could not differentiate whether he was a police officer or Shahbag Awami League\'s publicity secretary,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking at a human chain programme, the BNP leader said when the senior police officers speak the language of Hasan Mahmud (Information Minister) and the language of the Jubo League and Chhatra League leaders, it gives an impression of how terrible the next election will be.</div><div><br></div><div>“People and voters won’t be able to join that election, let alone the participation of the opposition parties. That election will be one-sided with novelty. A sign of that election process exposed by the partisan speeches given by senior police officers yesterday (Sunday),” he observed.</div><div><br></div><div>Jatiyatabadi Tanti Dal’s Dhaka south city unit arranged the human chain programme in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, demanding the release of the organisation’s joint convener Rejaul Karim Rana.</div><div><br></div><div>Rizvi feared that the current police administration will spread panic among voters to discourage them from going to the polling stations and will arrest those who go for electioneering in favour of the opposition parties during the election.</div><div><br></div><div>“This is the partisan police administration. This is how Sheikh Hasina is making a big blueprint of a one-sided election and holding again an election without a mandate (of people),” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader said the Awami government has got isolated from the entire world as only one or two countries are now with this regime.</div><div><br></div><div>He said they have heard that an influential minister of the Awami League has sent two tonnes of hilsa fish to a journalist in India’s Kolkata to write in favour of the current ‘illegal’ regime in Bangladesh.&nbsp; “We don\'t know how much of this incident is true. But there is such hearsay.”</div><div><br></div><div>Rizvi said India is a democratic country and there are many conscientious journalists who are writing there for a fair election in Bangladesh. “Maybe one or two journalists can be bought with hilsa fish, but not all of them.”</div><div><br></div><div>He slammed the Detective Branch (DB) of police for arresting Dhaka south city unit BNP acting member secretary Tanveer Ahmed Robin at nightingale crossing in the city in the early hours of Sunday and demanded his immediate release. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 21:29:55', '2023-08-20 21:29:55'),
(8611, 8611, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today announced the toll rates for Dhaka Elevated Expressway, which is set to be partially opened to the public on September 2.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Tolls will be collected from vehicles plying the expressway in four categories, the minister said in a press briefing at the conference room of the Ministry of Road, Transport and Bridges in Secretariat on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>Private cars, microbuses (&lt;16 seats) and mini-trucks (&lt;3 tonnes) will have to pay Tk 80, medium-sized trucks (up to 6 wheels) and large trucks with more than 6 wheels will pay Tk 320 and Tk 400 respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, all buses and minibuses with 16 or more seats will have to pay Tk 160 to ply the Kawla-Farmgate section of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway.</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the 11.5 km section of the much anticipated Dhaka Elevated Expressway on September 2. A rally will be held at the old trade fair ground in Dhaka’s Agargaon marking the inauguration. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 22:51:41', '2023-08-20 22:51:41'),
(8612, 8612, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Eleven labourers were killed in a bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan, a local government official said Sunday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The labourers who were building a new post for the Pakistan army were killed Saturday evening by an IED attached to their vehicle, Rehman Gul Khattak, senior government official for North Waziristan, said in a statement. - AFP</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 22:55:24', '2023-08-20 22:55:24'),
(8613, 8613, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal has taken a significant step forward in his journey towards a comeback to competitive cricket, as he resumed batting practice on Sunday at the indoor practice facility in Mirpur.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>After undergoing a comprehensive two-week fitness training following a specialized treatment for his persistent back injury in London, Tamim\'s determination and focus on recovery are apparent.</div><div><br></div><div>This marks a crucial milestone in his rehabilitation program, aimed at putting him in contention for the upcoming World Cup scheduled to be held in India later this year.</div><div><br></div><div>The left-handed batsman\'s path to recovery has been beset by challenges. The prolonged battle with his back injury forced him to miss out on the Asia Cup and cast doubt over his participation in the the home series against New Zealand.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite a brief retirement from international cricket last month, he was prompted to reconsider his decision following intervention by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leading to his recommitment to the team.</div><div><br></div><div>The injury also prompted Tamim to step down from his role as Bangladesh\'s ODI captain, a position he held with pride.</div><div><br></div><div>Nazmul Hasan,&nbsp; President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), had expressed optimism about Tamim\'s eventual return to leadership.</div><div><br></div><div>Reflecting on his decision to relinquish the captaincy, Tamim emphasized his selflessness, saying, \"I could have participated in the Asia Cup if I chose to. However, that would have been self-centered at the expense of the team. Considering the team\'s future, I have opted to step down from the captaincy.\" - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 23:00:45', '2023-08-20 23:00:45'),
(8614, 8614, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Russia\'s capital Moscow\'s Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports have suspended flight arrivals and departures, a representative of air traffic services told TASS.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Vnukovo and Domodedovo are temporarily closed for aircraft arrivals and departures,\" the person said.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the Flightradar service, planes are rerouted for landing in Sheremetyevo, another Moscow airport, or awaiting further instructions in midair over Ryazan. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 23:03:51', '2023-08-20 23:03:51'),
(8615, 8615, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Describing the Indian government as “very mature” Foreign Minister&nbsp; AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said if New Delhi does something for them, regional peace and stability, this will certainly be beneficial to the region.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Momen said India is a very strong democratic country and they (India) do whatever they think good for them.</div><div><br></div><div>“We have no reason to comment about this. Because we believe they have a mature government system,” he told reporters at a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.</div><div><br></div><div>The foreign minister made the remarks when his comment was sought on recent reports run by Anandabazar Patrika and DW Bangla.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>India has conveyed to the US that the way various steps are being taken by the US to destabilize the Hasina government is not positive for the overall security of India as a neighbouring country and South Asia as a whole, reports Anandabazar Patrika.</div><div><br></div><div>India is not happy with the current role of America centering the upcoming elections in Bangladesh and this message has also been conveyed to Washington, said the newspaper published from Kolkata, West Bengal, quoting unnamed sources.</div><div><br></div><div>Political leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties spoke soon after the reports run by two media outlets.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The media briefing was arranged to highlight Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming visit to South Africa.</div><div><br></div><div>State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin, among others, were present.</div><div><br></div><div>BRICS Summit</div><div><br></div><div>PM Hasina will leave Dhaka for Johannesburg, South Africa on August 22 to attend the BRICS Summit and hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines while there.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We will arrange a number of meetings on the sidelines. These are yet to get final shape as such meetings are finalised at the last minute. It is in the process,\" the foreign minister said.</div><div><br></div><div>Responding to a question, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said the government is planning to hold a number of meetings both in South Africa and India.</div><div><br></div><div>\"As we will have limited time in South Africa, we will try to hold those meetings (with heads of governments and states) that are possible while the rest can take place in New Delhi,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Around 22 countries have shown interest to be members of BRICS and the five original members are trying to build consensus among them to take new members, the foreign minister said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We don\'t know when the new members will join,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Indian Prime Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are among the global leaders who are traveling to the African country this week.</div><div><br></div><div>They will be visiting Johannesburg, South Africa from August 22 to 24 to attend the 15th BRICS Summit at the invitation of Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa.</div><div><br></div><div>Modi will hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg, said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs without mentioning names.</div><div><br></div><div>The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi on September 9-10 will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.</div><div><br></div><div>A G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.</div><div><br></div><div>Foreign Minister Momen had earlier told reporters that New Delhi will be better than Johannesburg for a bilateral meeting with Indian PM Modi. The two countries are already in touch regarding the meeting. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 23:15:10', '2023-08-20 23:15:10'),
(8616, 8616, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>At least 16 people were killed on Sunday after a passenger bus caught fire after colliding with a pick-up laden with drums of diesel on the motorway near Pindi Bhattian of Pakistan.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Hafizabad District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Fahad Ahmad told Dawn.com that the passenger bus was headed to Islamabad from Karachi, adding that the accident occurred at 4:30am.</div><div><br></div><div>The DPO said that the passenger bus had collided with the pick-up truck, which caused the former to burst into flames. He said that the drivers of both vehicles were killed in the accident.</div><div><br></div><div>He said that the seriously injured, some of whom were critical, were being shifted to a hospital in Faisalabad.</div><div><br></div><div>A statement issued by the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) said that timely action was taken and 15 passengers were safely evacuated. The dead and injured passengers were shifted to the hospital, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>NHMP further said that Inspector General Sultan Ali Khawaja also visited the scene of the accident and oversaw relief work. He also expressed grief over the lives lost in the accident.</div><div><br></div><div>A separate statement issued by the NHMP spokesperson quoted IG Khawaja as saying that an inquiry had been initiated. “According to initial investigations, the accident occurred due to the bus driver’s negligence,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The IG further said that the relevant commander and night patrolling officer had been suspended. “Strict action will be taken against those responsible for the accident,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The NHMP statement also quoted Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Muhammad Saleem as saying that an inquiry committee had been formed to take departmental action. “The inquiry committee will submit its report in 24 hours,” the DIG said.</div><div><br></div><div>Separately, an official statement issued by Edhi said that officials were facing difficulty in identifying the dead bodies due to the extent of their burns. It said that identifying the bodies would only be possible after conducting a DNA test.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Radio Pakistan said that Interim Information Minister Murtaza Solangi expressed sorrow over the bus accident. He stressed the need to determine the reasons behind the accident in order to avoid the same in the future.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister also prayed for those killed in the accident. SourceL The Dawn</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 23:19:56', '2023-08-20 23:19:56'),
(8617, 8617, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Russia\'s Luna-25 spacecraft has crashed into the Moon after spinning into an uncontrolled orbit, officials say.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The unmanned craft was due to make a soft landing on the Moon\'s south pole, but failed after encountering issues as it moved into its pre-landing orbit.</div><div><br></div><div>It was Russia\'s first Moon mission in almost 50 years.</div><div><br></div><div>The spacecraft was scheduled to land on Monday to explore a part of the Moon which scientists think could hold frozen water and precious elements.</div><div><br></div><div>Roskosmos, Russia\'s state space corporation, said it lost contact with the Luna-25 shortly after running into difficulties. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 23:26:09', '2023-08-20 23:26:09'),
(8618, 8618, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Road Transport and Bridges Minister and Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate a compensation programme on October 22 for those killed and injured in road accidents.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"Each family of those killed in road accidents will get Taka five lakh as compensation, while each person who lost limbs will get compensation of Taka three lakh,\" he told a press conference at the Secretariat here this morning.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking about the inauguration of various mega projects, Quader said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Agargaon-Motijheel section of the metrorail on October 20. \"On this occasion, a citizen rally will be held at the old trade fair ground at 3 pm,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>On October 22, the road transport and bridges minister said, the premier will open 140 bridges simultaneously virtually connecting from the newly constructed Sarak Bhaban in Tejgaon, and she will also launch the Vehicle Inspection Centre on the same day.</div><div><br></div><div>Informing that the ground-breaking activities of MRT Line-5 Northern Route will be inaugurated on September 16, he said, a citizen rally will be held in Savar on this occasion.</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate on October 28 the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel constructed in Chattogram, Quader said, adding that on this day, the premier will address a rally in Anwara of Chattogram.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the Dhaka Elevated Expressway from Airport to Farmgate will be inaugurated on September 2, while a rally will be held at the old trade fair ground in the capital on this occasion.</div><div><br></div><div>Responding to a question, the AL general secretary said the big countries of the world have headache only over Bangladesh, while elections will be held in 20 to 22 countries this year but they do not talk about these countries.</div><div><br></div><div>Claiming that the United States of America has no headache over the demands BNP is voicing, he said, adding the European Union and India also did not say anything in this regard.</div><div><br></div><div>Quader said the government is committed to holding free, fair and peaceful elections in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It is our internal matter. We have a constitution. Elections will be held in Bangladesh in the same way the polls are held in other democratic countries,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri and Bridge Division Secretary Md Monjur Hossain were, among others, present at the press conference. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-20 23:51:45', '2023-08-20 23:51:45'),
(8619, 8619, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The price of an AK-47 assault rifle, one of the most-recognisable weapons of war, has fallen over the last few months by 50% on the black market in Sudan\'s capital, Khartoum - now costing only around $830 (£650).</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A long-time arms dealer attributed the sharp drop in price to the fact that the black market has become saturated with the Russian-invented Kalashnikov - colloquially known as \"the Clash\" - after Sudan plunged into a civil war in April.</div><div><br></div><div>Battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rage daily on the streets of Khartoum and the two other cities - Bahri and Omdurman - that make up the greater capital.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking on condition of anonymity, the man - who buys and sells weapons as a full-time business of sorts - said that although some of his suppliers are retired army officers, most are from the ranks of the RSF. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 01:24:29', '2023-08-21 01:24:29'),
(8620, 8620, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday alleged that the government has been carrying out state-sponsored terrorism to remove the opposition from the field ahead of the next general election.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“The situation is getting more complicated every day. The recent incidents in view of the current political context in Bangladesh are giving an indication that they (govt) will try to usurp power again after illegally removing the opposition parties from the (election) field by any means applying all strengths and using the state machinery,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking at a press conference at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, the BNP leader also said the government’s now main goal is to clear the election field by driving away the opposition parties with repressive acts.</div><div><br></div><div>He said Awami League has become a terrorist party while the police have been indulging in the acts of terrorists at the behest of the current ‘illegal’ regime. “We can call it state-sponsored terrorism which is now going on. The judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and all other state institutions have been working similarly.”</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul said they have some documents on the government’s instructions to the judges to promptly dispose of the cases against the opposition leaders and activists and take the deposition of witnesses even by picking them up.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“This is a terrible situation. On the one hand, repression is going on by police and on the other a programme is on to hurriedly convict (the opposition leaders) by judges to clear the field.”</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;The BNP leader alleged that the law enforcers are arresting the BNP leaders and talking about subversive activities with the aim to create an untoward situation and shift the blame onto the opposition.</div><div><br></div><div>“This is nothing new as they did the same thing in the past in the same way…they’re talking about these things (violence and subversive acts) to prepare the ground. Where did we indulge in terrorism as you (govt) are doing it? The guns, pistols, and laws are in your hands. You’re carrying out terror acts using the state machinery,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>About the statement of DB police regarding the arrest of six leaders of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) with arms, the BNP leader said it is a blatant lie and a politically motivated move.</div><div><br></div><div>He lamented that despite being a state force, the police are now working for the ruling party.</div><div><br></div><div>“A case was filed against Chhatra Dal leaders under the Arms Act. The weapons the DB showed up in their press briefing were (made) in the prehistoric period,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the DB said BNP collected these arms to foil the election. \"We’re surprised that they\'re now speaking entirely in favour of a political party. It can be understood that their statements are political.\"</div><div><br></div><div>He demanded the release of the Chhatra Dal leaders.</div><div><br></div><div>The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said they arrested six leaders of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) from Dhaka’s Lalbagh area on Saturday and seized three illegal firearms and 36 rounds of bullet from them.</div><div><br></div><div>During the preliminary interrogation, the DB police said arrestees admitted that the high command of the BNP and its student wing\'s units at Dhaka University and other private universities were planning to display the illegal firearms and create panic among the public in order to destabilise the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul condemned and protested the attacks on their peaceful march programme in different parts of the country, including Narayanganj and Habiganj, police on Saturday and the arrest of BNP leaders and workers, including Dhaka south city unit acting member secretary Tanveer Ahmed Robin. - UNB&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 01:39:06', '2023-08-21 01:39:06'),
(8621, 8621, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh thinks the group of major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) - should not be considered a “platform of geopolitics”, but rather a supportive platform for emerging economies to help developing countries.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“The developed countries should be happy that the BRICS emerging countries, who have resources, would like to help developing countries,” Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told journalists at a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, ahead of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Johannesburg, South Africa to attend the BRICS Summit 2023.</div><div><br></div><div>The briefing was arranged to highlight PM Hasina’s engagements at the BRICS Summit.</div><div><br></div><div>State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Ministry Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin, among others, were present.</div><div><br></div><div>Momen said it should be win-win for all the countries though some people speak more about the geopolitical tension for some reason.</div><div><br></div><div>The BRICS will hold its 15th heads of state and government summit in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24.</div><div><br></div><div>Momen, however, said the countries of the Global South are facing difficulties as many banks were expelled from the SWIFT, a bank messaging system for transacting dollars.</div><div><br></div><div>“Many speak about de-dollarisation, but it is not easy. We don’t have much to comment on this,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>“So, if the emerging countries support us with funding, the developed countries should be happy. In that case, their responsibilities will be shared. None is their enemy,” Momen added.</div><div><br></div><div>Indian Prime Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are among the global leaders who are traveling to South Africa this week for the BRICS Summit.</div><div><br></div><div>India and China are two core members of the BRICS nations, which also include Brazil, Russia and South Africa.</div><div><br></div><div>A regular flight (EK 583) of the Emirates Airlines is scheduled to depart from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) with Prime Minister Hasina and her entourage members at 10:15 am on August 22.</div><div><br></div><div>The flight will arrive at the O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa at 20:50 hrs after a short stopover at the Dubai International Airport.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister will be received by a minister-in-waiting of the South Africa government and High Commissioner of Bangladesh to South Africa at the airport from where Sheikh Hasina will be escorted to the Place of Residence, Radisson Blu Hotel Sandton Johannesburg.</div><div><br></div><div>On her first day of engagement in Johannesburg, the Prime Minister will attend the Bangladesh Trade and Business Summit at 10 am at the Radisson Hotel and Convention Center on August 23.</div><div><br></div><div>On the same day, she will attend and speak at the Bangladesh Envoys Conference in South Africa at the Palace of Residence at 12:30 pm.</div><div><br></div><div>The Premier is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President XI Jinping at Hotel Hilton, Sandton at 3:30 pm.</div><div><br></div><div>She will later attend a banquet and cultural show at the Gallagher Estate, Johannesburg.</div><div><br></div><div>On August 24, the Prime Minister will attend the Friends of BRICS Leaders Dialogue (BRICS-Africa Outreach and the BRICS Plus Dialogues) to begin from 9 am at the Sandton Convention Centre.</div><div><br></div><div>She is scheduled to deliver a speech at the summit for five minutes.</div><div><br></div><div>On the sideline of the summit, the Prime Minister is expected to hold several bilateral meetings with President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Mozambique Filipe Jacinto Nyusi and President of the New Development Bank Dilma Vana Rousseff at the Sandton Convention Centre.</div><div><br></div><div>She will attend a luncheon hosted by President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa.</div><div><br></div><div>The Premier will attend a meeting of the community leaders on August 25.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina will depart the O.R. Tambo International Airport by a flight (EK 762) of the Emirates Airlines at 13:40 pm (local time) and will arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 8:40 pm on August 27 following a brief stopover at the Dubai International Airport. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 03:02:28', '2023-08-21 03:02:28'),
(8622, 8622, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Erosion by the Teesta River has taken a serious turn in Kurigram district with the recession of floodwater, displacing many families and devouring vast tracts of cropland.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The river has been eroding its banks for the last three months and the erosion has intensified recently in Rajarhat upazila of the district.</div><div><br></div><div>Locals said Khitab Khan Government Primary School is at risk of being washed away by the river any time as the river is only 30 to 35 meters away from the school now. The same is the case with Char Khitab Khan Government Primary School and Gatiasham Community Clinic.</div><div><br></div><div>In Khitab Khan village alone, homes of 30 families including those of Ismail Hossain, Rasul, Mostak, Kadimal, Hasen Ali, Yusuf, Dulal, Abdur Rahim, Balo, Kacho Mamud Momin and&nbsp; Harun went into the gorge of the river. The figure will 50 including the number of families in four other villages.</div><div><br></div><div>The Teesta river is devouring hundreds of acres of cropland and trees in Khitabkhan, Gatiasham villages of&nbsp; Gharialdanga union and Chatura, Ramhari and Kalirhat villages of Bidyananda union, said locals.</div><div><br></div><div>Many of them have been living under the open sky.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, thousands of houses in five villages of Bidyananda and Gharialdanga unions of the upazila, Kalirhat Bazar, Burirhat Bazar, Kalirhat Government Primary School, KhitabKhan Government Primary School, Char Khitabkhan Government Primary School, Gatiasham Community Clinic and four mosques, two temples, various structures and hundreds of acres of cropland are facing erosion threat.</div><div><br></div><div>Abdus Sattar, 80, who lost home due to river erosion in Khitab Khan village, said, \"We do not expect relief, we demand the government to implement the Teesta Master Plan to stop the erosion by the river.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Bhavesh Chandra, 70, of the same village, said, \"There is no school within 3 or 4 kilometers of this village. Many boys and girls of this village will stop studying if Khitab Khan school is washed away by the river. ”</div><div><br></div><div>Local UP member Mamun Mandal said, \"Implementing the Teesta Master Plan to prevent erosion is the demand of thousands of people in this area. He said the education of 300 to 400 students of KhitabKhan Government Primary School will be uncertain if it is washed away by the river.”</div><div><br></div><div>Abdullah Al Mamun, executive engineer of Kurigram Water Development Board, said the work of dumping sand bags is going on at some places of Gharialdanga and Bidyananda unions to prevent erosion.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 18:22:46', '2023-08-21 18:22:46'),
(8623, 8623, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh\'s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday (August 21, 2023) stressed the need for expediting the implementation of the trial court’s verdict of the August 21 grenade attack case.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Our leaders and activists including Ivy Rahman were brutally killed in broad daylight on this August 21. The trial has been held. Its (trial court) judgment has been handed out. This verdict should be implemented soon,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier was addressing a discussion arranged by Bangladesh Awami League (AL) in the city’s Bangabandhu Avenue, marking the 19th anniversary of the August 21 grenade attack.</div><div><br></div><div>The August 21 grenade attack was carried out on an anti-terrorism rally organised by then opposition AL in 2004 in front of its central office in the Bangabandhu Avenue.</div><div><br></div><div>The horrendous attack left 24 people killed and nearly 1000 injured. AL President and also then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina luckily escaped death, but her hearing was impaired by the repeated grenade blasts. Among the dead was Awami League’s women affairs secretary and late President Zillur Rahman’s wife Ivy Rahman.</div><div><br></div><div>A Dhaka court had already convicted and sentenced 49 people – 19 of them to death and 19 to life imprisonment. Eleven others were sentenced to jail on different terms.</div><div><br></div><div>Eighteen convicted people, including BNP leader Tarique Rahman, have remained fugitives.</div><div><br></div><div>Appeals against the judgment are now being heard in the high court.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina, while presiding over today’s discussion, said some convicted people of the grenade attack case are now in jail but the main mastermind stays outside the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Not mentioning the name of Tarique Rahman, she said he went abroad signing a bond. “Why doesn’t he come back if he has courage? We’ve transformed the country into Digital Bangladesh. He is now talking big taking its advantages…. He should come back if he has courage. The people of Bangladesh will not spare that killer,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Recalling the memories of the grisly grenade attack, the premier said Khaleda Zia was the then prime minister and the question is what role she did she play at that time.</div><div><br></div><div>She questioned why Khaleda obstructed police (to play the proper role) and didn’t take any initiative to protect evidence of the attack.</div><div><br></div><div>“What does it prove? There is no doubt that Khaleda, Tarique and their men were completely involved in this grenade attack. It was also revealed in the investigation,” said the AL President.</div><div><br></div><div>Referring to the involvement of Ziaur Rahman in the August 15 carnage and Khaleda Zia in the August 21 grenade attacks, the PM said BNP and Khaleda do the politics of killings and annihilating or destroying a family (Bangabandhu’s family. They do it in broad daylight, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Pointing at the BNP, Hasina said they tried to erase the name of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the people of Bangladesh and banned his historic 7th March speech, but finally failed.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the spirit of the Liberation War has come back now and the people have got back the scope of knowing the authentic history of the Liberation War.</div><div><br></div><div>Terming Zia’s family a killer family, the PM said, “The reign of killers won’t run anymore in this country. Zia’s family means a family of killers.”</div><div><br></div><div>She asked the people of the country to remain alert so that the killers couldn’t exploit the people, kill the people through arson violence, and play ducks and drakes with the fate of the people anymore.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina said since Allah saved her from the murder attempts time and again, she would provide an improved life for the people by serving them as long as she survives.</div><div><br></div><div>She said today Bangladesh has turned around and has earned dignity on the world stage. “We’ll move forward upholding this dignity. Today our promise is that we’ll have to take Bangladesh forward accordingly,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier said the killers, wrongdoers, thieves, arms haulers, money launderers and bribe takers should not be allowed to play games with the fate of the people anymore.</div><div><br></div><div>“I want every person of this country to show hatred towards the killers,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>One-minute silence was observed in memory of the victims of the August 15, 1975 carnage, The November 3, 1975 jail-killing and the August 21, 2004 grenade attacks before offering prayers for the salvation of the departed souls.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM placed a wreath at the monument there to pay tributes to the victims of the August 21 grenade attack.</div><div><br></div><div>Flanked by senior AL leaders, Sheikh Hasina then placed another wreath at the monument on behalf of her party.</div><div><br></div><div>Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader delivered the opening speech.</div><div><br></div><div>On this day in 2004, a grisly attack was carried out on an anti-terrorism rally of Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue when the BNP-Jamaat alliance was in power. The then opposition leader and current PM Sheikh Hasina was the main target. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 19:59:51', '2023-08-21 19:59:51'),
(8624, 8624, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 12 people were killed, and 19 others injured after a bus fell down on a stockade in Turkiye\'s central Yozgat province, the local DHA news agency reported Monday.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The passenger bus, traveling from the province of Sivas to Istanbul, went off the road for an unknown reason at the exit of the Sorgun district of Yozgat, said the report.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said that a judicial investigation had been launched. Xinhua</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 20:14:25', '2023-08-21 20:14:25');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(8625, 8625, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Pakistan\'s President Arif Alvi denied approving two controversial bills which further enhance the military\'s powers.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday, he said he returned the bills unsigned but his staff \"undermined my will\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The two laws make it an offence to reveal the identities of military intelligence officers and also propose jail terms for defaming the army.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Alvi\'s statement could call the legality of the two laws into question.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Pakistan\'s interim law minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam told reporters that under the constitution, the president had the option of either giving assent to the bills, or referring them to parliament with \"specific observations\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Instead, Dr Alvi \"purposely delayed the assent\", and returned the bills with neither assent nor observations, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Aslam added that since the signed bills were not received from the president even after 10 days, they automatically became law.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A gazette from the Senate Secretariat stated that they were \"deemed to have been assented to by the president\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The disputed bills were sent to President Alvi before parliament was dissolved on 9 August, with the aim of holding elections in November.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the polls have been postponed until February as the electoral commission says electoral boundaries must be redrawn to reflect fresh census data, a months-long process, before polls can be held.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The country is currently under a caretaker government.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier this month, the Of­­ficial Secrets (Amend­m­ent) Bill and the Pakistan Army (Amend­ment) Bill provoked bitter debate in the National Assembly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The former bill recommends a three-year jail term and a fine of up to 10 million rupees (£27,000 ; $34,000) for anyone who discloses the identity of an intelligence official, informant or source, while the latter imposes a jail term of up to five years on anyone who discloses sensitive information relating to national security.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the coalition partners of the the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) called the government out for passing \"draconian laws in haste\" and without discussion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The laws have already been used to arrest some opposition members. PTI vice chair Shah Mehmood Qureshi was arrested over the weekend under the Official Secrets Act.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PTI claimed that Mr Qureshi was detained for holding a press conference where he challenged the postponement of the election. Authorities accuse him of leaking the contents of a secret diplomatic cable for political gain.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Pakistani intelligence services are regularly accused of illegally detaining opposition members, politicians, activists and journalists, with human rights organisations noting the increasing number of enforced disappearances every month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PTI has also said that it will take the disputed bills to the Supreme Court, and declared its \"complete support\" for the president.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Alvi is a founding member of the PTI, led by former prime minister Imran Khan. Mr Khan\'s arrest in May saw violent protests that also targeted military cantonments. Since then, the party has been systematically targeted, with many key leaders, including Mr Khan, given jail sentences over a variety of charges. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 20:19:07', '2023-08-21 20:19:07'),
(8626, 8626, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">India\'s space agency has released images of the far side of the Moon as its third lunar mission attempts to locate a safe landing spot on the little-explored south pole.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The pictures have been taken by Vikram, Chandrayaan-3\'s lander, which began the last phase of its mission on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vikram, which carries a rover in its belly, is due to land on 23 August.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The photos come a day after Russia\'s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The craft - Russia\'s first Moon mission in nearly 50 years - was due to be the first ever to land on the south pole, but failed after encountering problems as it moved into its pre-landing orbit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Monday morning, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said the lander from Chandrayaan-3, which is due to touch down on Wednesday at 18:04 local time (12:34 GMT), has been mapping the landing area and taking images with its \"hazard detection and avoidance\" camera.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Isro added that the black-and-white images sent by this camera will assist them \"in locating a safe landing area - without boulders or deep trenches\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The lunar far side is the side that faces away from the Earth and is sometimes also called \"the dark side of the Moon\" because so little is known about it. Scientists say landing there can be a tricky affair.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But there\'s a lot of interest in this part of the Moon which scientists think could hold frozen water and precious elements.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Isro said on Sunday that the lander module had been successfully lowered into an orbit closer to the Moon (of 25km by 134km) and is now waiting for the lunar Sun-rise to land.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If Chandrayaan-3 is successful, India will be first to land on the lunar south pole. It will also be only the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon after the US, the former Soviet Union and China.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The third in India\'s programme of lunar exploration, Chandrayaan-3 is expected to build on the success of its earlier Moon missions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It comes 15 years after the country\'s first Moon mission in 2008, which discovered the presence of water molecules on the parched lunar surface and established that the Moon has an atmosphere during daytime.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chandrayaan-2 - which also comprised an orbiter, a lander and a rover - was launched in July 2019 but it was only partially successful. Its orbiter continues to circle and study the Moon even today, but the lander-rover failed to make a soft landing and crashed during touchdown.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Isro chief Sreedhara Panicker Somanath has said that the space agency had carefully studied the data from its crash and carried out simulation exercises to fix the glitches in Chandrayaan-3, which weighs 3,900kg and cost 6.1bn rupees ($75m; £58m). The lander module weighs about 1,500kg, including the 26kg-rover Pragyaan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The south pole of the Moon is still largely unexplored - the surface area that remains in shadow there is huge, and scientists say it means there is a possibility of water in areas that are permanently shadowed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the major goals of Chandrayaan-3 is to hunt for water ice, which scientists say could support human habitation on the Moon in future. It could also be used for supplying propellant for spacecraft headed to Mars and other distant destinations. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"18\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 20:24:45', '2023-08-21 20:24:45'),
(8627, 8627, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The ruling party Awami League (AL), its associate bodies, its left-leaning allies and other political parties today paid homage to the martyrs of the brutal grenade attack that killed 24 people and wounded nearly 500 others.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina first paid rich tribute to the martyrs of the grenade attack by placing floral wreaths at the altar set up in memory of the martyrs of the grenade attack in front of Awami League central office at Bangabandhu Avenue here.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After paying tribute, the Prime Minister observed a moment of silence in memory of the martyrs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, the premier along with other central leaders including the party\'s General Secretary Obaidul Quader paid tribute to the martyrs on behalf of Awami League.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also exchanged greetings with party leaders and those injured in the August 21st grenade attack.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister also attended a discussion meeting organized to protest the attack and commemorate the victims.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the discussion, alter in memory of the martyrs of August 21 was kept open for all when the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left the venue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Then leaders from different political parties and the leaders of ruling Awami League and its different associate bodies also paid tribute.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leaders from different political parties were crowded in front of the AL\'s central office at Bangabandhu Avenue in the city this morning for paying rich tribute to the martyrs of the grenade attack on August 21 in 2004.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tributes also were paid to the martyrs on behalf of the 14-parties. The 19th anniversary of the attack is being observed every year through different programmes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) led by its Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh also paid tribute to the deceased of the grenade attack.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 24 people including Awami League\'s women Affairs secretary Ivy Rahman were killed at a rally organized by the ruling party at Bangabandhu Avenue in the city on that day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The injured persons and family members of the grenade attack victims along with different political parties including Dhaka city South and North units of Awami League, Krishak League, Sramik League, Jubo League, Chattro League, Tanti League, Mahila Awami League, Matshyajibi League, Swechasebok League, Jubo League north and south city units, Dhaka district Awami League , Bangabandhu Parishad, Dhaka district Swechasebok League, Bangabandhu Sangskrit Jote, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Mayor Mohammad Hanif Memorial Foundation, Muktijoddah Projonmo League and Bangabandhu Gobeshona Parishad, among others, also paid respect to the martyrs by placing floral wreaths. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 20:54:05', '2023-08-21 20:54:05'),
(8628, 8628, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka-Mymensingh train service, which was halted after the Agnibina Express derailed on Sunday, has resumed after eleven and half hours.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Sunday, three compartments of Dhaka-bound Agnibina Express train derailed near Fatema Nagar Station in Trishal of Mymensingh around 8:45 pm.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Railway Mymensingh Senior Deputy Assistant Engineer Md Nazmul Haque confirmed that the trains began to run on the route after repairing the line at the accident site at around 8:30 am today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As train operation halted on the route, the Brahmaputra Express train got stuck at Mymensingh Junction and the train movement on the Mymensingh-Dhaka route was stopped. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 21:10:18', '2023-08-21 21:10:18'),
(8629, 8629, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Own land-home, but no right to enter. Despite various attempts over the years, the house owners are unable to enter their own homes. Under the guise of a developer, properties including land have been acquired through deceptive contracts. A case has been filed against a developer company named \"Index\" by the affected property owners.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>This building (House 20, Road 99, Gulshan 2) was purchased from the deceased resident of Gulshan, Hamida Khatoon, in 1966. Construction of the six-story building, financed with the latest investment, began in 2007 on an 18-katha, 22-square-foot plot of land. Despite a loan of one crore taka from a bank and subsequent financial issues, the building was completed in 2011. After that, ongoing irregularities related to the project at Index Developer Limited came to light. During this time, a deal was struck with the organization\'s Chief of Carnage, Jahidul Islam Khan.</div><div><br></div><div>After Hamida Khatoon\'s passing, her family claims that an additional 50 million taka is needed to complete the six-story building\'s overall work according to the agreement. At that time, Hamida Khatoon and Jahid entered into an agreement that this expense would be borne by Jahid\'s organization, \'Index Developer.\' However, in exchange for this 50 million taka, Index will lease the building for eight years. Rent collected will amount to 500,000 taka per month. Additionally, Hamida Khatoon will receive an extra 300,000 taka in cash. Despite the agreement, Jahidul Islam Khan has consistently breached the terms. He not only fails to provide the rent money but has also kept the building under his control for nearly four years.</div><div><br></div><div>Hamida Khatoon\'s family sought help from the police and the courts, but they found no solution. Similar incidents involving Index Developer have occurred in various parts of the capital, including Uttara. Another family has fallen victim to the harassment by Index.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2013, Jahid forcefully took possession of about seven kathas of land from a woman named Laila Rahman. He was involved in negotiations with Jahidul of Index for the sale of 2 kathas of land beside the 14th road of her Sector 5 plot for 25 lakhs taka. At that time, Jahid agreed to pay 1.2 million taka for the entire plot, effectively breaching the boundary and taking possession. Despite seeking justice through various means, Laila received no relief.</div><div><br></div><div>Moreover, Colonel Sharif Ahmed, retired from Sector 14, Uttara, also had his land seized. In the name of building a house on his 8-katha plot, Jahid forcefully entered the land in 2013. Until now, he has kept possession despite the legal battle involving the Power of Attorney attorney of the victim.</div><div><br></div><div>These incidents involve taking millions of taka from ordinary people through illegal means, orchestrated by the tormentor Jahid, using Index Group as a medium. There are allegations that several people collaborated to unlawfully earn money, constructing a rice mill named Salada Rice Mill in Gazipur Rajendrapur. Additionally, on Road 22 in Sector 14, they took possession of a plot by building a dog farm.</div><div><br></div><div>However, the accuracy of these allegations has not been verified through communication with the company. Jahid has always operated under the guise of a Muslim businessman, and his accomplice, Elias Mridha, has assisted him in this business. Elias has played various roles, from political shelter to administrative management to legal representation, all on behalf of Jahid. Regarding contacting Jahidul Islam, he did not respond to phone calls.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24</div>', NULL, 'Md Mehedi Hasan', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 22:10:38', '2023-08-21 22:48:55'),
(8630, 8630, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Recalling the moments of heinous 21 August grenade attack, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s cousin and her former personal security staff Nazib Ahmed has said the killers actually wanted to do what they could not do on August 15, 1975 killing the then opposition leader and other Awami League leaders.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It was a state-sponsored final conspiracy (to complete the unfinished job of killers),” he told UNB, adding that the court verdict in this case should be implemented by bringing back the killers including BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman who are fugitives now.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“If the court verdict is implemented, their souls - the leaders and activists of AL whom we have lost- will find peace,” Ahmed said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The August 21 grenade attack was carried out on an anti-terrorism rally organised by then opposition AL in 2004 in front of its central office in the Bangabandhu Avenue when the BNP-Jamaat alliance was in power. The then opposition leader and current PM Sheikh Hasina was the main target.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The horrendous attack left 24 people killed and nearly 1000 injured. AL President and also then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina luckily escaped death, but her hearing was impaired by the repeated grenade blasts. Among the dead was Awami League’s women affairs secretary and late President Zillur Rahman’s wife Ivy Rahman.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said they had a single goal that was to shift her to a safer place. “We could do that. We were committed politically and we had a responsibility to protect her. We did not flee keeping her alone. It is the biggest success of my life that we could protect her from the killers taking the risk of our own lives.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahmed said he is satisfied today to see Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina alive. “I am ready to go for any war to keep her protected. Still I have that strength and courage.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He, however, thinks Almighty Allah protected her and people have no such power.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahmed said it could have been another lifelong pain for him if he was not there for Prime Minister Hasina on that violent day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“In my body, I feel like splinters of grenades keep walking from one place to another. We who are bearing the splinters can only understand the pain. Nobody can make others understand this pain. We, who are bearing splinters in our bodies, can’t even do MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging),” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Going back to the dangerous moments of the first blast, Ahmed said, “At one stage, all leaders completed their speeches. Leader Hasina was at the last part of her speech. She uttered Joy Bangla and was about to utter Joy Bangabandhu. Exactly at that moment, I noticed a black object flying towards us from the City Hotel front. Within a second, the blast occurred.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He claimed to be senior most among those who were deployed for her safety and security all the time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Usually, at Bangabandhu Avenue, police and AL leaders come together but one that particular day, no AL leaders and activists were allowed to be there on the rooftop. No police were deployed on the rooftop. We did not take it much seriously at that time but it came to our notice,” Ahmed said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When within seconds there were a number of blasts, three sides surrounding Sheikh Hasina were covered immediately by the senior AL leaders and activists, he recalled and said, “We were on the truck. Hanif bhai, Maya bhai and Squadron Leader Mamun shielded Apa [Hasina] from three sides.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“There was something like a table on her front side exposing her half of the body. I blocked the front side as her front side was open to a large extent. We built a human shield to protect her at any cost,” Ahmed said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Sheikh Hasina kept telling him to remember Almighty Allah. “Only Alah can protect us. We were reciting Doa Yunus together as she asked. We were again attacked and the splinter hit me and others.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They got down from the truck and managed to take Hasina to the SUV. Maj Mamun ran to the vehicle and opened its left door. Hasina huddled inside it. Nazib, Tarique, Shoyeb, Mamun and Maya followed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They saw the frightening scenes and some of the injured lay on the street, bleeding profusely, while some groaned sitting on congealed blood and some motionless bodies lay scattered.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I saw Ivy chachi (Ivy Rahman) lying in a pool of blood, motionless. I also saw my cousin Bahauddin Nasim trying to stand up amid blood, but failed,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Getting off the car, Hasina gave some money to her party men and asked them to go to the spot immediately.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday stressed the need for expediting the implementation of the trial court’s verdict of the August 21 grenade attack case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our leaders and activists including Ivy Rahman were brutally killed in broad daylight on this August 21. The trial has been held. Its (trial court) judgment has been handed out. This verdict should be implemented soon,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Dhaka court had already convicted and sentenced 49 people – 19 of them to death and 19 to life imprisonment. Eleven others were sentenced to jail on different terms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eighteen convicted people, including BNP leader Tarique Rahman, have remained fugitives.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Appeals against the judgment are now being heard in the high court.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina, while presiding over today’s discussion, said some convicted people of the grenade attack case are now in jail but the main mastermind stays outside the country. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 22:32:39', '2023-08-21 22:32:39'),
(8631, 8631, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday alleged that the trial process of the August-21 grenade attack case was nothing but a “stage-managed drama”.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking at a conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he also claimed that their party’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman and other leaders were not involved in any way in the grenade attack.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The trial process has ended. I would like to say the whole thing (trial process) is absolutely a stage-managed drama,\" the BNP leader said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He alleged that the names of Tarique Rahman and other BNP leaders have been included in the case deliberately out of political vendetta. “We have records that this was done without any proper investigation.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fakhrul said Tarique’s name was not there in the first three first information reports (FIRs) of the case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, he said retired police officer Abdul Kahar Akhand, who sought Awami League nomination, was re-appointed and made the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case. “That gentleman gave</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tarique Rahman\'s name there in the FIR.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP leader also said Tarique’s name was not mentioned anywhere in the entire investigation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said only Mufti Hannan was forced to tell Tarique’s name after being remanded for about 145 days, but he denied it later and gave an affidavit in this regard.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fakhrul said the Awami League shifted their scheduled venue of the August-21 rally to another place without informing the then authorities of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have repeatedly said that there should be an impartial and fair investigation into the grenade attack incident. That neutral investigation was not done. We condemn the August-21 incident. It’s definitely one of the heinous incidents in Bangladesh politics and it’s condemnable,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BNP leader said the government has been trying to make a political gain by ‘unnecessarily’ implicating the BNP leaders in the case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We repeat that Tariq Rahman, BNP\'s Abdus Salam Pintu or Lutfuzzaman Babar were not involved in the attack and they’re implicated in it for political reasons,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The August 21 grenade attack was carried out at an anti-terrorism rally organised by the then-opposition Awami League in 2004 in front of its central office on Bangabandhu Avenue, killing 24 people and injuring nearly 1,000.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On October 10, 2018, a Dhaka court convicted and sentenced 49 people -- 19 of them to death and 19 others to life imprisonment. Eleven others were sentenced to jail on different terms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tarique and 18 others were sentenced to life in prison while former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and ex-deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu and 17 others were given the death penalty on charges of killing through criminal conspiracy. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 22:39:18', '2023-08-21 22:39:18'),
(8632, 8632, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn) on Sunday detained an employee of Biman Bangladesh Airlines along with 68 gold bars&nbsp; weighing around 8 kg at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport .</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The detainee is Shafiqul Islam, 33, a resident of Khulna\'s Daulatpur Thana.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He joined Biman Bangladesh Airlines as a casual staff in 2013 and became a permanent employee in 2017.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Additional SP of Airport Armed Police (AAP) Mohammad Ziaul Haque said they detained Shafiqul Islam with the gold bars stashed around his waist around 10pm on Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Boeing 777 flight arrived at Dhaka airport at 7:30pm from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When All the staff in charge of cleaning and maintenance left the aircraft, Shafiqul&nbsp; went inside it at 10 pm and his movement appeared suspicious to a team of APBn agents, ASP Ziaul said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">APBn found the gold bars after searching him in the presence of other law enforcers, the ASP said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“During interrogation, he didn’t give any clear answer about the source and the destination of the gold bars,” he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the APBn, the market value of recovered gold is Tk7.80 crore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Preparations are underway to file a case against him, the APBn official said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 23:09:42', '2023-08-21 23:09:42'),
(8633, 8633, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan sought prayers from the expatriate Bangladeshis for their two important missions-Asia Cup and World Cup as he inaugurated a gold shop in Dubai, UAE.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another cricket star of Bangladesh Mohammad Ashraful was with him during the opening ceremony of the shop, named NRI Jewellers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He called upon the company to do business with honesty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"\'Thank you to NRI Jewellery. They are the reason why I came here and met you. They are taking the country forward with such honesty and devotion, I hope you will do the same so that we can take the country forward together,\" Shakib said in his speech.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A large number of Bangladeshi spectators gathered there as Shakib was present. \"All you know we have two important tournaments-- Asia Cup and the World Cup ahead and we are desperate to earn a good result there. You all pray that we can play well.\'</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shakib left the country last month to play Canada\'s Global Twenty20. After playing in that tournament, he joined the Lankan Premier League (LPL).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He went on to inaugurate this gold shop after participating in two franchise events. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-21 23:56:06', '2023-08-21 23:56:06'),
(8634, 8634, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday ordered BNP leader Nipun Roy Chowdhury to surrender before Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court within eight weeks in a case over clashes with police in Dhaka’s Dholaikhal area on July 29.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>A bench of the division led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order after hearing a petition filed by the state seeking a stay order over her eight-week anticipatory bail in the case.</div><div><br></div><div>Advocate Nitai Roy Chowdhury, father of the defendant, stood for Nipun in the court during the hearing.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier on July 29, a clash broke out between police and supporters of the opposition BNP over a sit-in programme arranged to oust the Awami League government in Dholaikhal area.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, police filed a case accusing 424 BNP leaders and activists including Nipun Roy with Sutrapur police station.</div><div><br></div><div>On August 1, the High Court granted an eight-week anticipatory bail to the BNP leader. The state side submitted a petition to the Appellate Division seeking stay order of the HC order.</div><div><br></div><div>The division delivered the order after hearing the petition in this regard on Monday. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 01:43:35', '2023-08-22 01:43:35'),
(8635, 8635, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The price of onion crossed Tk100 per Kg in the retail market of Dhaka on Monday after India imposed a 40 percent duty on onion export.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The prices of the local varieties of onion rose by Tk 18 to 20 per kg while imported hybrid onion prices also went up by Tk 15 to 18 per kg.</div><div><br></div><div>The correspondent talked to consumers of different areas in Dhaka, including Mogbazar, Malibag, Fakirerpool, Hatirpul, Rampura, and Karwan Bazar on Monday evening who said that they bought the local variety of onions for Tk 95 to Tk 105 per kg based on quality.</div><div><br></div><div>Nazrul Islam Bulbul, a resident of New Eskaton who bought 5 kgs of onion from Karwan Bazar for Tk 95 per kg on Monday afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>Monjur Ahmed, a resident of Poribag, told this correspondent that he had to pay Tk 210 to take 2 kgs of onion on the day.</div><div><br></div><div>Rabeya Khatun, a resident of Rampura area, shared the same experience and said that he bought one kg of onion for Tk 98 on Monday.</div><div><br></div><div>Each kg of the imported Indian onion was being sold for Tk 85 to 90 on Monday, which cost only Tk 68 to 75 per kg on Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>However, on 19 August, India announced to impose a 40 percent duty on onion export to increase its own storage. As a result, the price of onion has started increasing in the local markets sharply.</div><div><br></div><div>Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque on Monday said that it is very sad to increase onion export duty by India without prior notice.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh will search for an alternative market for onion along with continuing import from India.</div><div><br></div><div>People concerned regarding onion trading said that onion was imported from India at Tk 38 to 46 earlier. Now this cost will stand at Tk 53 to 65 per kg following the imposition of duty.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, traders have not yet started importing onions from India at higher prices. But they increased the prices in the local markets after hearing the news of imposing duty.</div><div><br></div><div>SM Nazer Hossain, Vice President of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), told UNB that the price of onion has increased after the announcement of raising duty by India.</div><div><br></div><div>“With the news of the price hike in the international market, unscrupulous businessmen have increased the price in the domestic market before the high-priced product arrives in the country. It is the nature of the businessmen in our country,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Again, even if the price falls at some points, they do not want to cut the price arguing that the product has not yet arrived, said Hossain. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 01:45:53', '2023-08-22 01:45:53'),
(8636, 8636, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Monday said everyone will suffer if “jihadi activities, terrorism and corruption” return in Bangladesh the way they were prevalent during the 2001-2006 rule of BNP-Jamaat alliance.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“If there are jihadi (activities) here, where there are 170 million people, the future of the entire region will be dark,” he said, referring to the situation in Afghanistan that had “jolted the world.”</div><div><br></div><div>He said peace and stability are imperative for development and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is a shining example of promoting both in the region.</div><div><br></div><div>\"My basic policy is peace and stability,\" Momen told reporters when asked about Bangladesh’s engagements in the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.</div><div><br></div><div>He said India also realises the importance of peace and stability in the whole region.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Regional peace and stability are most important. For any country\'s growth and development, peace and stability are major factors,\" said the Foreign Minister.</div><div><br></div><div>Asked about PM Hasina’s meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, Momen said nothing has been finalised yet.</div><div><br></div><div>He said Bangladesh sought a courtesy meeting with PM Modi in Johannesburg as both the prime ministers are likely to have a broader bilateral meeting on the sidelines of G20 in September in New Delhi.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Time is very limited in Johannesburg. And the governments confirm things at the last minute,\" Momen said.</div><div><br></div><div>He said China is a development partner of Bangladesh and if there is any meeting with the Chinese president, issues related to trade and investment, expeditious implementation of previous decisions, and climate change will be discussed.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We want more investment and more trade. Normally we raise these issues,\" Momen said.</div><div><br></div><div>A regular flight (EK 583) of Emirates is scheduled to depart from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her entourage members at 10:15 am on August 22.</div><div><br></div><div>The flight will arrive at the O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa at 20:50 hrs after a short stopover at the Dubai International Airport.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister will be received by a minister-in-waiting of the South Africa government and High Commissioner of Bangladesh to South Africa at the airport from where Sheikh Hasina will be escorted to the Place of Residence, Radisson Blu Hotel Sandton Johannesburg. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 02:53:28', '2023-08-22 02:53:28'),
(8637, 8637, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The return of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from 15 years of exile has been often promised, and always hotly anticipated.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He is one of the most divisive figures in Thai history. The brash, politically-ambitious tycoon\'s repeated successes in elections going back more than two decades provoked strong reactions from conservative forces - ranging from military coups, the occupations of government ministries and airports, to contentious court verdicts which have sacked three prime ministers and dissolved three pro-Thaksin political parties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Now he is back, presumably after striking a quiet deal with his royalist adversaries to keep him out of prison. He has sentences of about 10 years outstanding from criminal cases he says were politically motivated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He is expected to be whisked straight from the Don Mueang Airport to the Supreme Court in Bangkok, and from there probably to spend the night in a prison hospital. No-one expects him to stay in custody long.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He still has support in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Samniang Kongpolparn, 63, arrived at the airport early Monday evening from Surin province in Thailand\'s northeast - the stronghold of Thaksin\'s party in past decades - alongside hundreds of supporters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He\'s the best prime minister we\'ve ever had. Even though I won\'t get to see him today, I still wanted to come to show him support,\" said the housewife. \"I\'m ok with them reconciling with the pro-military government, or else we\'re stuck with the senators. We don\'t want that.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All this has coincided with the attempt by his party, Pheu Thai, to form the next government - a byzantine process which in three months has taken Thailand full circle.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It began with the heady hopes of a new dawn led by the radical young Move Forward party, which won the most seats in the May election, and initially formed a partnership with Pheu Thai; and has ended in what is now certain to be a coalition of almost everyone but the reformers, including two parties led by former coup-makers - a deal with its sworn enemies that Pheu Thai vowed it would not do.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is true that Pheu Thai\'s hands have been tied by the unelected senate, a 250-seat constitutional landmine planted in Thailand\'s political landscape by the military junta which ruled for five years after a 2014 coup.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And Pheu Thai\'s bargaining position was weakened by its poorer-then-expected performance in the election, when it lost a lot of support to Move Forward and for the first time was relegated to second place.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The senators, all appointed under the junta, are allowed to join the 500 elected MPs in voting for the new prime minister. Their thinly-disguised remit is to block any party which might threaten the status quo - the nexus of monarchy, military and big business which has dominated decision-making in Thailand for decades.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Unsurprisingly they refused to back the Move Forward-led coalition with Pheu Thai, despite its commanding majority in the lower house. When it was Pheu Thai\'s turn to negotiate a new coalition, its need for senate support meant it had to take in some of its former opponents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However some Pheu Thai politicians argue that the party should have held out for a better deal, by refusing to be in a government with the most hard-line conservative groups. Any minority administration formed without Pheu Thai and Move Forward would quickly collapse, because the senators cannot join normal parliamentary votes on issues like the budget.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the Pheu Thai leadership was not willing to wait; it even invited the ultra-royalist party United Thai Nation to join the coalition, whose leaders have in the past been virulently critical of the Shinawatra family and their supporters, and were instrumental in ousting the last Pheu Thai government led by Thaksin\'s sister Yingluck. That these two factions will now sit together in the same government is a mark of how far Thai politics has shifted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the end for the ultra-royalists the perceived threat posed by Move Forward, and by a younger generation of Thais demanding a conversation about the power and wealth of the monarchy, eclipsed their long feud with the Shinawatra family.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For the Shinawatras, and Pheu Thai\'s more conservative, business-minded elements, getting into government again and guaranteeing the deal to bring Thaksin back, have been bigger priorities than worrying about the party\'s reputation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But there are those, even within Pheu Thai, who are horrified by the cynical pragmatism of this deal. They are warning that the party will lose even more of its once-passionate grass-roots supporters, and lose, perhaps forever, the dominance it held over electoral politics in Thailand for two decades. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 14:08:37', '2023-08-22 14:08:37');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(8638, 8638, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has appeared in his first video address since his failed mutiny in Russia, which suggests he is in Africa.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BBC has not been able to verify where the video was filmed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The video posted on Telegram channels linked to the Wagner mercenary group shows Prigozhin in combat gear, saying the group is making Africa \"more free\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wagner is believed to have thousands of fighters on the continent, where it has lucrative business interests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prigozhin\'s soldiers are embedded in countries including Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR) - where rights groups and the UN accuse them of committing war crimes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UK last month imposed sanctions on the two heads of Wagner\'s operations in CAR, accusing them of torture and killing civilians.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wagner fighters have also been accused by the US of enriching themselves with illicit gold deals on the continent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the video, Prigozhin says Wagner is exploring for minerals as well as fighting Islamist militants and other criminals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are working. The temperature is +50 - everything as we like. Wagner PMC conducts reconnaissance and search actions, makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free,\" Prigozhin can be heard saying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Justice and happiness - for the African people, we\'re making life a nightmare for ISIS (Islamic State) and Al-Qaeda and other bandits.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He says Wagner is recruiting and the group will \"continue fulfilling the tasks that were set - we made promises we would succeed\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prigozhin was photographed in St Petersburg during last month\'s Africa-Russia summit, shaking hands with Ambassador Freddy Mapouka, a presidential advisor in the CAR.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prigozhin has been keeping a low public profile since heading his short-lived mutiny in June, which lasted only 24 hours.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About 5,000 Wagner troops seized control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and moved towards Moscow, with the stated aim of removing the military leadership.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Prigozhin stopped the advance after negotiations with the Kremlin, which were mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under a deal to end the mutiny, charges against Prigozhin were dropped and he was offered a move to Belarus.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There had been very public infighting between Wagner and Russia\'s ministry of defence over the conduct of the war. Prigozhin repeatedly accused the ministry of failing to supply his group with ammunition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prigozhin says he founded the Wagner group in 2014. A wealthy businessman with a criminal record, Prigozhin is known as \"Putin\'s chef\" because he provided catering for the Kremlin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2014, Wagner started backing pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, and is thought to have helped Russia annex Crimea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Before the war in Ukraine, Wagner had an estimated 5,000 fighters - mostly veterans of Russia\'s elite regiments and special forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Prigozhin said last June that its numbers had grown since the start of the Ukraine war to 25,000 fighters. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 14:22:29', '2023-08-22 14:22:29'),
(8639, 8639, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A flagship Russian long-range bomber has been destroyed in a Ukrainian drone strike, according to reports.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Images posted on social media and analysed by BBC Verify show a Tupolev Tu-22 on fire at Soltsy-2 airbase, south of St Petersburg.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow said that a drone was hit by small-arms fire but managed to \"damage\" a plane. Ukraine has not commented.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, Russian air defence downed two attack drones over the Moscow region, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Defence officials said two other drones were intercepted over the Bryansk region, north-east of the Ukrainian border.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Flights were suspended at Moscow\'s three biggest airports, according to state media - but the two main international airports at Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo later reopened.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Russian Tu-22 bomber that was destroyed can travel at twice the speed of sound and has been used extensively by Russia to attack cities in Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow\'s defence ministry said in a statement that an attack by a \"copter-type UAV\" took place at around 10:00 Moscow time (08:00 BST) on Saturday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It stated the location as \"a military airfield in the Novgorod region\", where Soltsy-2 is situated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The UAV was detected by the airfield\'s observation outpost and was hit with small-arms fire,\" the ministry said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"One airplane was damaged; there were no casualties as a result of the terrorist act.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The statement also said a fire which broke out in the airfield parking lot was quickly extinguished.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, images posted on the social media platform Telegram showed a large fire engulfing a jet with the distinctive nose cone of the Tu-22. BBC Verify analysed the images and believes them to be credible.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While the destruction of a single aircraft will have little effect on the potency of Moscow\'s current 60-strong fleet, the operation highlights Kyiv\'s growing ability to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kyiv has over recent months launched dozens of fixed-wing unmanned aircraft to attack Moscow, a journey of several hundred miles. Soltsy-2 is around 400 miles (650km) from the Ukraine border.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the Russian MoD\'s description of the drone as a \"copter-type UAV\" suggests a cheap, commercially available device launched at short range.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Tu-22 is a Cold War-era, swing-wing supersonic bomber, codenamed \"Backfire\" by Nato, which has been used extensively in attacks on Ukrainian cities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Modern versions such as the Tu-22M3 can reach speeds of Mach 2 (2,300km/h or 1,430mp/h) and can carry up to 24,000kg of weapons, including \"dumb bombs\" and homing missiles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They have been used in conflicts in Syria, Chechnya, and Georgia and most recently in Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to prosecutors in Kyiv, 30 people were killed when a Tu-22-launched missile hit a block of flats in Dnipro in January.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They said Russia\'s 52nd Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment carried out the attack. The regiment is based at Soltsy-2.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">BBC Verify confirmed the location of the Ukrainian drone attack on Soltsy-2 by comparing visual clues - such as the appearance of aircraft and bays - to historical satellite images of the airbase.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The weather conditions at the time - wet and overcast - also matched the weather in the images, as well as other witness photos of the incident.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The remnants of the aircraft visible in the footage are consistent with that of a Tu-22M3.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Historical satellite imagery analysed by BBC Verify shows that aircraft of this kind were stationed at the base.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Monday, a spokesperson for Ukraine\'s defence intelligence service said another military aircraft had been damaged in a drone attack in Russia\'s Kaluga region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russian media also reported the attack, but denied there had been any damage. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 14:29:14', '2023-08-22 14:29:14'),
(8640, 8640, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two players who made their international debut within a year of each other quickly became India\'s most exciting cricketers.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With his fearless strokeplay, Rishabh Pant became the darling of spectators around the world. With his unorthodox action, pace and control, Jasprit Bumrah quickly became the spearhead of India\'s bowling attack. Now both are on the comeback trail.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pant, 25, was involved in a horrific car accident in December last year. His rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy - where he recently batted and kept wickets - is, according to those who have been monitoring him, \"ahead of the curve\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bumrah, 29, whose back injury kept him out of cricket for nearly a year, returned as captain and spearhead in the series against Ireland. He seemed to extend his run-up slightly and bowled well within his limits, yet held out hope for a return to white ball cricket - which currently is the focus of the Indian team with the Asia Cup, to be followed by the World Cup in October.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">You can\'t rush these things. Former chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma in a moment of indiscretion revealed that Bumrah might have been played too early following his injury when he bowled in the T20 against Australia. It cost Sharma his job. But it also emphasised the need for proper rest and rehabilitation, and the importance of listening to your body. Often senior cricketers are allowed to ignore medical advice, and it can prove costly.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bumrah\'s return against Ireland was dramatic, with two wickets in his first over. It began with a boundary to Andrew Balbirnie. Bumrah walked back with a wry smile, and then delivered one that seamed back in and knocked back the stumps. It clocked in at 129kmph (80mph), but when you can bowl with that kind of control, pace doesn\'t matter. The 140kmph mark was breached only rarely.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When he had Lorcan Tucker caught behind, he had done enough to claim the Person of the Match award on his return. No one asked him, \"Who writes your scripts?\", but it was a question hanging in the air.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bumrah\'s premature return against Australia which ruled him out of the T20 World Cup last year is fresh in everybody\'s mind. Top players often tend to be risk-takers because they would rather be playing than resting. Performances at less than optimum fitness make for some of the sport\'s most romantic stories.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">VVS Laxman\'s 281 was made despite him injuring his back days before the Kolkata Test of 2001. Sunil Gavaskar\'s double century in the West Indies was made while he suffered from a painful toothache.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bumrah, with his unorthodox bowling action which invites strain on the back, might have to compromise as his career progresses, cutting down his pace and working on his bag of tricks which is well stocked with yorkers, slower deliveries, seamers, cutters and the odd blinder.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A wicket-taking Bumrah is probably more valuable to the Indian team - as bowlers tend to be - than a run-scoring batsman. India has a clutch of batsmen who can walk in to one another\'s shoes, but Bumrah is unique as a bowler.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Given the background of his injury - and the encouraging signs in Ireland - Bumrah looks ready to trouble better batters. But there are some ifs and buts. He will need to be handled with care, both at the level of selection and by the captain on the field (even if he is captain himself).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He cannot be expected to bowl full throttle over a long period (Indian captains have tended to overbowl their main bowlers), nor can he be forced to play too many matches in a row. Precious talents require sensitive handling.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bumrah\'s workload was gradually increased during rehab. It wasn\'t just a T20 game he was preparing for, but as he said: \"I was preparing to bowl 10 overs for the World Cup. I have been bowling 10, 12, even 15 overs. I\'ve bowled more overs, so it becomes easier when you bowl fewer than is required.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahead of the Ireland game, Bumrah said: \"I don\'t want to carry any baggage or pressure of expectation.\" This attitude probably led to his relaxed demeanour where his characteristic smile was never too far away. It is an attitude important both to the bowler and to Indian cricket. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 14:57:57', '2023-08-22 14:57:57'),
(8641, 8641, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Joe Biden arrived in Hawaii on Monday to view the widespread damage from recent Maui wildfires, meet with survivors and fend off criticism that his government was too slow to respond to the disaster.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were greeted in Maui by Hawaii\'s governor Josh Green, nearly two weeks after ferocious, wind-whipped blazes ripped through the historic town of Lahaina, claiming at least 114 lives.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The flames moved so quickly that residents and visitors were caught off guard, trapped in the streets or jumping into the ocean to escape the worst wildfire disaster in the United States in over a century.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After a helicopter tour of the damage, Biden is due to announce further relief funding and the appointment of a federal response coordinator.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Critics, including disgruntled survivors in Hawaii and some Republicans hoping to face Biden in next year\'s presidential election, say aid has been inadequate and poorly organized.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Former president Donald Trump said it was \"disgraceful\" that his successor had not responded more quickly, though the White House has said Biden delayed his trip so as not to distract officials and rescuers working on the ground.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Biden\'s spokeswoman, Olivia Dalton, earlier told reporters aboard Air Force One that the president was expecting it to be \"an emotional day\" as he met with survivors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The president certainly intends to stand with them and make sure that he communicates to them that not only have we been there since day one, he intends for his administration to be there for as long as it takes,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By visiting Hawaii, Biden will \"experience the complete and utter devastation that this town had experienced,\" Deanne Criswell, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator, said Sunday on ABC\'s \"This Week.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He\'s also going to be able to talk with people and hear their stories and provide a sense of hope and assurance that the federal government is going to be with them.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Biden, who took off from Nevada where he was vacationing, said in a statement that \"I know nothing can replace the loss of life. I will do everything in my power to help Maui recover and rebuild from this tragedy.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Agonizingly slow -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Criswell, defending the government\'s response, said Biden\'s one-day visit should underscore his commitment to ensuring Hawaii\'s recovery.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said more than 1,000 federal responders were now in Hawaii -- and added that none of them would have to be moved to the US Southwest, which is contending with the effects of Tropical Storm Hilary.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Maui residents say the process of recovering lost loved ones -- and identifying bodies -- has been agonizingly slow, criticizing the government for a sluggish response.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result, \"a warm welcome may not be assured for Biden in some circles on Maui,\" the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper concluded.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While search teams have covered 85 percent of the search zone, the remaining 15 percent could take weeks, Governor Josh Green said on CBS\'s \"Face the Nation.\" The fire\'s extreme heat meant it might be impossible to recover some remains.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Criswell acknowledged that the process could be slow but said the federal government had sent experts from the FBI, the Defense Department and the Department of Health and Human Services to help with the painstaking identification process.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Presidential visits to major disaster zones, while viewed as almost politically mandatory, can carry risks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">When President George W. Bush traveled to Louisiana in 2005 to witness the historic devastation of Hurricane Katrina, critics seized on pictures of him looking out the window of Air Force One while flying over New Orleans to say his arms-length visit lacked empathy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And when then-president Donald Trump casually tossed rolls of paper towels into a crowd in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico in 2017, critics called his gesture cavalier and insensitive. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 15:11:18', '2023-08-22 15:11:18'),
(8642, 8642, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today left here for Johannesburg to attend the 15th BRICS Summit to be held on August 22-25 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"A regular flight of the Emirates Airlines carrying the prime minister and her entourage members took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 10:30am today,\" Prime Minister\'s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told BSS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The flight is scheduled to land at the OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa, at 8:50pm (local time) after making over one hour stopover at the Dubai International Airport in UAE.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Africa is hosting the historic 15th Summit of BRICS nations –- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It will be the first BRICS Summit to be hosted in person since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global restrictions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil\'s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to attend the summit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On August 23, the prime minister is expected to deliver a speech as the chief guest at the “Bangladesh Trade and Business Summit”, jointly organized by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, she will attend the “Bangladesh Envoys Conference” organized by Bangladesh ambassadors stationed in African countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the afternoon, she is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President XI Jinping at the Hotel Hilton Sandton.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the evening, the prime minister will join a cultural programme and “State Banquet” hosted by the current chair of BRICS and the South African president.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On August 24, she will address on behalf of Bangladesh as a member of the “New Development Bank of BRICS” – Friends of BRICS Leaders Dialogue (BRICS-Africa Outreach and the BRICS Plus Dialogues) comprising representatives from 70 countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier will also hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the evening, she will meet the Bangladeshi expatriates living in South Africa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told a news briefing on Sunday that so far nearly 22 countries have shown interest to become members of BRICS and the five original members are trying to reach consensus among them to take new members.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We don\'t know when the new members will join,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister is scheduled to leave Johannesburg for Dhaka on August 26 and expected to arrive at home in the morning of August 27 after a brief stopover at the Dubai International Airport. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 16:34:54', '2023-08-22 16:34:54'),
(8643, 8643, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Greece on Tuesday was battling a growing wildfire front that killed two and forced widespread evacuations in the second deadly wave of fires in a month.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Blazes burned unchecked in northeastern Greece, the islands of Evia and Kythnos and the region of Boeotia north of Athens, amid a dangerous mix of gale-force winds and temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius (106 Fahrenheit).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There are nine active fronts... it\'s a similar situation to July,\" a fire department spokeswoman told AFP, referring to a wave that left five dead.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Late Monday an evacuation was ordered at the hospital of Alexandroupolis, a northeastern Greek port city in an area where fires are raging for a fourth day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The coastguard said it had moved 65 patients to a waiting ferry at the city harbour.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the island of Evia, near the capital, officials late Monday evacuated the industrial town of Nea Artaki, where the fire has damaged poultry and pork farms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The flames were also threatening the national park of Dadia, where the body of a man believed to be an undocumented migrant was found late Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An elderly shepherd had also been found dead in the Boeotia region earlier Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dadia is one of the most important protected areas in Europe, offers an ideal habitat for rare birds and is home to the only breeding population of black vultures in the Balkans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The European Union announced it was deploying two Cyprus-based firefighting aircraft and a Romanian firefighting team via the bloc\'s civil protection mechanism.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The very hot and dry conditions which increase the fire risk will persist until Friday, according to meteorologists.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amid a heatwave, a fire that started on July 18 and was fanned by strong winds ravaged almost 17,770 hectares (more than 43,000 acres) in 10 days in the south of Rhodes, a popular tourist island in the southeastern Aegean Sea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Around 20,000 people, mostly tourists, had to be evacuated. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 16:39:18', '2023-08-22 16:39:18'),
(8644, 8644, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BRICS leaders meet in South Africa on Tuesday as the loose association of major emerging economies seeks to assert its voice as a counterweight to Western dominance in global affairs.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The so-called BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- represent a quarter of the global economy, and interest in joining the club has surged ahead of its three-day summit in Johannesburg.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Security has been bolstered across the city where South Africa\'s President Cyril Ramaphosa will host China\'s President Xi Jinping, India\'s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazil\'s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and some 50 other leaders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russian President Vladimir Putin is the target of an international arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Ukraine and will not attend in person, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sent on his behalf.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Representing 40 percent of the world\'s population across three continents, with economies at different levels of growth, the BRICS share a common desire for a global order they see as better reflecting their interests and rising clout.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The theme of its 15th summit is \"BRICS and Africa\" and comes as the continent emerges as a renewed diplomatic battleground with the United States, Russia and China jostling for economic and diplomatic influence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the eve of the summit, Ramaphosa said his country would \"not be drawn into a contest between global powers\" and strongly reaffirmed South Africa\'s long-standing policy of non-alignment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We will urge the international community to refocus on development issues, promote a greater role by the BRICS cooperation mechanism in global governance, and make the voice of BRICS stronger,\" China\'s Xi said in an editorial published in South African media on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Division and demand -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is growing interest in the bloc, which began as four nations in 2009 but expanded the following year with the addition of South Africa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahead of this summit, at least 40 countries have expressed interest in joining including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Argentina, officials say.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Africa will present BRICS leaders with a proposal to expand its membership and a decision on the matter is expected at the summit\'s close.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But analysts are more cautious.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The issue of BRICS expansion is divisive, particularly among its two most powerful members, China and India.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China is keen to rapidly grow the bloc and widen its influence but observers say India is wary of the intentions of its regional rival.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"In my view, possible further extension will be considered during the course of this year and not decided at the summit to allow for more time,\" said Jannie Rossouw, a professor of global political economy at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BRICS operate on consensus and that presents \"a major obstacle\" to decision making, said Jakkie Cilliers, founder of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) think tank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"In the long term, my view is that the inevitability of China-India rivalry is probably the major challenge that BRICS will eventually be confronted with,\" he told AFP.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 16:44:38', '2023-08-22 16:44:38'),
(8645, 8645, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Indonesia and US aircraft manufacturer Boeing have agreed a deal for the sale of two dozen F-15EX fighter jets as Southeast Asia\'s biggest economy moves to modernise its fleet, Jakarta\'s defence minister said Tuesday.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing to the sale on Monday between Indonesian airforce and Boeing officials at the company\'s St Louis facility.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"MoU signing commitment to purchase 24 F-15EX Fighter Aircraft Units,\" Subianto wrote on Instagram under an image of him witnessing the deal\'s signing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Boeing said in a statement Monday the deal would \"put Indonesia at the top of air dominance capabilities\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The F-15EX is the most advanced version of the fighter jet and the F-15 is only used by more than half a dozen countries globally.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jakarta currently owns US-made F-16 jets and ageing Russian Sukhoi jets. Last year it agreed to buy 42 French-made Rafale fighter jets in an $8.1 billion deal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latest F-15 sale -- of which neither side has disclosed the value -- is still subject to US government approval.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It comes after Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin visited Jakarta in November for negotiations over the deal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Austin said he hoped Indonesia would proceed with the sale, saying it would increase interoperability with American forces and complement Jakarta\'s contingent of F-16 jets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last year thousands of Indonesian and US troops held joint military drills as Washington and its allies expressed growing concern about China\'s increasing assertiveness in the Pacific.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The exercise in Indonesia known as \"Super Garuda Shield\" came after Beijing staged unprecedented war games around Taiwan, which it claims as part of its territory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 4,000 American and Indonesian soldiers were joined in the two-week exercise by forces from Australia and Singapore -- as well as Japan, which participated in the drills for the first time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Washington said the drills were not aimed at any particular country. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 16:48:40', '2023-08-22 16:48:40'),
(8646, 8646, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The 21 August Grenade Attack is a tragic event in Bangladesh\'s history. It occurred during an anti-terrorism rally organized by the Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue,Dhaka.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On August 21, 2004, as Awami League (AL) president Sheikh Hasina concluded her speech to a crowd of 20,000 people, 13 grenades were hurled into the crowd from nearby rooftops. According to AL supporters, the motive behind the attack was to eliminate the opposition leader and destabilize the Awami League party.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina told told the BBC Bangla Service on the night August 21, \"When the bombs were hurled, my leaders and workers shielded me in such a way that I could escape the attacks.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They have also claimed that the attack was meticulously designed to assassinate Sheikh Hasina and was allegedly orchestrated by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the ruling coalition\'s leader at the time. This conspiracy raised concerns about government involvement in impeding the investigation to protect the masterminds.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2020, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir dismissed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina\'s claim that the BNP was involved in the attack. But two years later, Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud said that the August 21 grenade attack was a horrifying example of the BNP\'s vindictive politics.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amidst the cascade of grenades on that fateful afternoon of August 21, 2004, Sheikh Hasina whispered to those forming a protective human barrier around her, \"Remain still and silent. Recite Doa Yunus... In this moment, if our destiny is to survive, it shall be by our stillness; if it\'s to meet our end, then here shall it be.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tragically, the attack resulted in 24 fatalities and over 500 injuries. It stands as one of Bangladesh\'s worst terrorist incidents, leaving a scar on the nation\'s history and underscoring the violence that political rivalries can breed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amidst others, AL Presidium Members Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Suranjit Sengupta, Kazi Zafarullah, Mohammad Nasim, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Sahara Khatun, the then Dhaka City Mayor Mohammad Hanif, and Hasina\'s security personnel Salim and Nazrul Islam Babu, suffered grave injuries during the attack.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While evidence of foreign involvement is not definitive, some sources hint at the participation of foreign groups, including Kashmir-based separatist organizations like Hizb-ul Mujahideen and Tehrik Jihad-e Islam. However, the extent of their involvement remains unclear.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to a confessional statement by Abdul Majed Bhat alias Yusuf Bhat, a member of HuJI, the grenades used in the attack were provided by Muzaffar Ahmad Shah of Tehrik-e-Jihad Islami (TEJI) with the intention of sending them to Indian militant groups</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Tajuddin, who was entrusted with the grenades, kept them instead of sending them to India. The grenades were later handed over to Mufti Hannan, another member of HuJI, to carry out the attack</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Multiple individuals linked to the attack, including Iqbal Hossain, have been apprehended and sentenced, but questions linger about the depth of accountability, especially concerning those potentially higher up in the chain of command.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to bdnews24, George was arrested in 2005 from Comilla in connection with the attack. According to The Financial Express, Tanvir Ahmed Robin, the acting secretary of the Dhaka South Metropolitan BNP, was arrested in connection with the attack.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The trial of the August 21 grenade attack took place over several years. The cases related to the attack were brought to court, and after 14 years, the trial was completed. The verdict was set for October 10, although the specific outcome of the trial is not mentioned. Currently, 49 people stand indicted and are being tried in two cases related to the murder and blasts from the grenade attack.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 21 August Grenade Attack remains a tragic chapter in Bangladesh\'s history, symbolizing political conflict, state-sponsored violence, and the complexity of unraveling conspiracy. While details continue to emerge, the event serves as a somber reminder of the need for justice, transparency, and efforts to prevent such acts in the future.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Nirodh Kumar Barman', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 17:28:50', '2023-08-22 17:28:50'),
(8647, 8647, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed deep sadness over the devastation and loss of lives in a deadly wildfire in the Hawaiian island of Maui in the United States.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;“I am deeply saddened by the news of devastation and loss of lives caused by one of the deadliest wildfires across the Hawaiian island of Maui,” she said in a letter sent to US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr, said the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister said, “On behalf of the government and the people of Bangladesh, I convey our deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and all those affected by this natural catastrophe.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said Bangladesh stands by with the government and people of America in this challenging time and expressed its solidarity with all the frontline responders engaged in the rescue operations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said their thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost their loved ones in this tragic incident.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, expressing his deep sadness over the loss of lives and destruction in the catastrophic wildfire in the Maui Island. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd24/kh</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 17:54:42', '2023-08-22 17:54:42'),
(8648, 8648, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Israeli security forces stormed into a town the northern West Bank on Tuesday, leading to fighting that killed a 17-year-old Palestinian, according to Palestinian health officials, the latest violence to grip the occupied territory.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Israeli military conducted an arrest raid before dawn in the town of Zababdeh south of Jenin, local medics said. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 17-year-old Othman Abu Kharj was fatally shot in the head. The raid came as Israeli security forces were still searching for the Palestinian gunman that carried out a shooting in the northern Palestinian city of Hawara that killed an Israeli father and son on Saturday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the raid in Zababdeh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the southern West Bank, the Israeli army captured two Palestinians who were suspected in a shooting the day before that killed an Israeli woman and seriously wounded a man. The Israeli military said the two suspects confessed during interrogation to involvement in the attack near the Palestinian city of Hebron. Israeli security forces said they also confiscated the rifle used to shoot at the car on Monday. A car without a license plate that was allegedly used to carry out the attack was found burned north of Hebron, said mayor of the town of Halhoul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Palestinian media identified the two suspects arrested near Hebron as Saqer and Muhamad al-Shantir.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nearly 180 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of this year, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Israel says most of the Palestinians killed were militants. But stone throwing youths protesting the incursions and those not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some 30 people have been killed by Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israel says the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. Palestinians say the raids undermine their security forces, inspire more militancy and entrench Israeli control over lands they seek for a hoped-for future state. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. AP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 18:00:14', '2023-08-22 18:00:14');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(8649, 8649, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">North Korean leader Kim Jong Un slammed his cabinet\'s \"irresponsible\" handling of flooding, blaming them for recent storm damage in the isolated country, state media reported Tuesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tropical Storm Khanun made landfall earlier this month in the North, a country where natural disasters can be devastating due to weak infrastructure and widespread deforestation, which increases vulnerability to flooding.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A damaged embankment and inadequate drainage system resulted in seawater flooding more than 560 hectares (about 1,400 acres) of land, including key rice paddies, according to Pyongyang\'s state media.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Images in state media showed Kim standing knee-deep in a flooded paddy field in the area in Nampho, with a report in the official Korean Central News Agency saying he \"seriously blamed\" top officials for their \"very irresponsible neglect of duties.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kim said the recent damage was \"not a calamity caused by natural disasters but a human disaster by irresponsibility ... of the loafers,\" KCNA said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The leader particularly singled out Premier Kim Tok Hun for failing to prevent the damage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The premier looked round the site once or twice with the attitude of an onlooker,\" the report said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In recent years, KCNA added, \"the administrative and economic discipline of the Kim Tok Hun Cabinet has got out of order more seriously\", and that they were \"spoiling all the state economic work\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kim also gave orders \"to ferret out the responsible organs and the persons concerned and ... sternly punish them,\" KCNA said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the state media images, Kim can be seen giving instructions to officials who were also standing in the flooded field.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The officials looked sombre as some of them appeared to be dutifully taking notes of his orders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Kim last week praised his military for their patriotism as they helped salvage the crops in typhoon-stricken farms in Kangwon Province.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier \"left the recovery work almost to the army, organising it in a poor way,\" leader Kim said, according to KCNA.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Given Pyongyang\'s strong rhetoric, a \"significant overhaul of the North\'s cabinet appears inevitable,\" Cheong Seong-chang of the Center for North Korea Studies at the Sejong Institute told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Scapegoat\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UN Security Council last week accused Pyongyang of spending heavily on its nuclear arms programme while its people go hungry and lack basic necessities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The impoverished North has periodically been hit by famine, with hundreds of thousands of people dying -- estimates range into the millions -- in the mid-1990s.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Seoul\'s spy agency said last week people were starving in the North, with the country\'s economy trapped in a \"vicious cycle\" with negative growth for three years from 2020 to 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The North\'s domestic product experienced a significant drop of 12 percent in 2022 compared to 2016, the agency told lawmakers during a briefing, according to lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pyongyang held a high-level party meeting in February to specifically address food shortages and agricultural problems.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latest KCNA report on premier Kim shows signs that North Korea\'s food shortage has worsened, said An Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is necessary to make someone a scapegoat to quell the wrath of the starving people,\" An told AFP, adding the premier is likely to be sacked from his position soon, or even face punishment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The North on Tuesday informed Japan it plans to launch a satellite in the coming days, prompting condemnation from Tokyo and Seoul and demands to call it off. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 19:02:35', '2023-08-22 19:02:35'),
(8650, 8650, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A court here today fixed September 12 for recording deposition of prosecution witnesses in Niko graft case against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and seven others.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As Begum Zia\'s lawyer earlier filed an appeal in the High Court challenging the validity of the charge sheet and sought time to adjourn taking of evidence, Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of the (temporary) Special Judge Court of Dhaka No. 9 allowed the time plea and fixed the date afresh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The anti-graft body filed the case against five, including Begum Khaleda Zia, with Tejgaon police station on 9 December, 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ACC submitted the charge-sheet against 11 people, including Khaleda Zia on 5 May 2008. The ACC accused them of incurring loss of more than Tk 130 billion (13,000 crore) of state exchequer by signing that deal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The other accused in the case include barrister Moudud Ahmed, AKM Mosharraf Hossain, Kamal Uddin Siddiqui and Gias Uddin Al Mamun. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 20:29:00', '2023-08-22 20:29:00'),
(8651, 8651, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">It has been 35 years of Salman Khan and he\'s still going strong. The actor recently had Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, and will strike back again this Diwali with Tiger 3, the third instalment of his YRF Spy Universe franchise.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His first film, Biwi Ho Toh Aisi, released on this day, August 22, 35 years ago. Let\'s look at some of the more sincere performances of the actor over the years:</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Saajan</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\'s no easy feat to hold your own in front of the eternal chemistry of Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit. In Lawrence D\'Souza\'s 1991 romantic film, Salman managed to not only do that, but also channel a soft vulnerability in the emotional moments of the film.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>Love</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Suresh Krissna\'s 1991 romantic film saw Salman take his Saajan act to the next level. As the solo male lead, he carried the film on his shoulders with unparalleled elan. Watch out for his tender moments with Revathi in the song Saathiya Tune Kya Kiya.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>Hum Aapke Hain Koun!</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Salman got his breakthrough with Sooraj Barjatya\'s 1989 directorial debut Maine Pyar Kiya. But he truly matured as a performer in their 1994 follow-up, the blockbuster romantic comedy Hum Aapke Hain Koun! From his meet-cute with Madhuri Dixit to his jamming with all the family members in this wedding musical was an assured actor\'s command over his craft and space.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>Khamoshi: The Musical</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Salman\'s 1996 maiden collaboration with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in the latter\'s directorial debut was a force of nature. From his tender chemistry with Manisha Koirala to him owning the signature theatrical moments of a Bhansali film, Salman announced his arrival all over again. Given Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) was also a great show, someone please get Inshallah back on track!</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>Sultan</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While many may consider Dabangg or even Wanted as the start of Salman\'s latest innings of supremacy, his most sincere act in recent memory remains Ali Abbas Zafar\'s 2016 sports film Sultan. Having already proved his mettle as an invincible force at the box office, Salman managed to bring a sensitive vulnerability to his character of a Haryanvi wrestler. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 20:37:35', '2023-08-22 20:37:35'),
(8652, 8652, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Jatiya Party Chief Patron Raushan Ershad on Tuesday declared herself the chairman of the party by relieving its current chairman GM Quader, now staying in India, from the post.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The announcement was given through a press release signed by Raushan, also the Opposition leader in parliament.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I Begum Raushan Ershad, MP, the founding co-chairman of Jatiya Party, hereby declare that I have taken charge of the party chairman on the advice and decision of the senior leaders of the party in the interest of maintaining its dynamism,” the press release reads.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Sunday last, GM Quader went to&nbsp; New Delhi, India on a three-day visit to hold meetings with the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and he is scheduled to return home today (Tuesday).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amid the party’s ambiguous position on joining the next polls under the current government, Raushan met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official Ganabhaban residence on Saturday night.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Party insiders said Jatiya Party\'s four co-chairmen-- Ruhul Amin Hawlader, Kazi Firoz Rashid, Salma Islam, and Abu Hossain Babla--in a letter to Raushan in December last requested to take charge of the party chairperson expressing their lack of confidence in GM Quader.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They said Raushan decided to remove GM Quader from the post of party chairman due to his incompetence to run the party and his unconstitutional attitude.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Jatiya Party Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu in a video message claimed that relieving GM Quader from his post is fake news.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said he talked to the co-chairmen whose names were used and they assured him that they did not take any such decision and they did not sign any such letter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the party charter, Chunnu said no one can become its chairman and remove anyone as per his/her wish. “It has to be done as per the rules.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He claimed that Jatiya Party remains united under the leadership of GM Quader.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chunnu thinks some people who were expelled from the party earlier spread the fake news using the name of Raushon. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'news desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 20:54:59', '2023-08-22 20:54:59'),
(8653, 8653, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Six years after the Rohingya influx in Bangladesh, the government continues its efforts focusing on their safe repatriation, though some countries and international organisations are pushing for their integration in Bangladesh.&nbsp;</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“Our priority is that they (Rohingyas) will return to their homeland. Myanmar is also willing to take them back,” said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, noting that Myanmar needs to ensure safety and security of the Rohingyas after their return to their place of origin.</div><div><br></div><div>On August 25, 2017, Myanmar’s military began carrying out violent operations against the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine state, which resulted in grave crimes under international law. Entire villages were burnt, and hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas were forced to flee into Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>The Foreign Minister said the government remains in a firm position regarding their repatriation to Myanmar.</div><div><br></div><div>“So, discussion is underway. We are always hopeful,” he said, adding that some countries and international organisations recommended the Bangladesh government to give Rohingyas training and skills, and keep them here.</div><div><br></div><div>Momen said Bangladesh already has a huge population and it does not need a large number of people from other countries.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister said Rohingyas came to Bangladesh in the 1970s, \'80s and \'90s but every time they returned, even during military rule in the past.</div><div><br></div><div>UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, has called for renewed commitment from the international community for financial support to sustain the humanitarian response and political support to find solutions for over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>This week marks six years since over 700,000 Rohingya men, women and children from Myanmar fled to Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>They joined hundreds of thousands of other Rohingyas who had previously sought refuge in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>As the humanitarian condition in the world’s largest refugee settlement worsens, the challenges surrounding this protracted crisis continue to increase.</div><div><br></div><div>Steep decline in funds is forcing humanitarian actors to focus on the most critical and life-saving needs, UNHCR said.</div><div><br></div><div>It has for the first time led to the reduction of refugees’ food assistance, raising concerns about cascading dramatic consequences: rising malnutrition, school dropout, child marriage, child labour and gender-based violence.</div><div><br></div><div>With their strength and resilience, the Rohingya refugees have, over the past six years, formed the backbone of the humanitarian response and supported the communities hosting them in turn.</div><div><br></div><div>UNHCR urged support to enable Rohingya refugees to benefit from education and skills development, through vocational training and other forms of capacity-building.</div><div><br></div><div>This will not only equip the refugees for their eventual return but also ensure their dignity, safety and productivity during their time in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>This can empower them to address some of their own needs, as the refugees do not wish to be totally reliant on diminishing humanitarian aid, said the UN refugee agency on Tuesday.</div><div><br></div><div>A dignified and sustainable return to Myanmar remains the primary solution to this crisis, said the UNHCR, adding that “Rohingya refugees continue to tell us they want to return to Myanmar when it is safe for them to do so voluntarily.”</div><div><br></div><div>The UN agency said the international community must renew its efforts to make that possible. “As the United Nations remains ready to support efforts to create the conditions that would be conducive to sustainable return, it is crucial that UNHCR and its partners are provided unimpeded, meaningful and predictable access in Rakhine State in Myanmar, including to assist and monitor the return of refugees.”</div><div><br></div><div>The collective goal should be to ensure Rohingyas’ voluntary return to Myanmar — to their places of origin or choice, being able to move freely and access documentation, citizenship pathways, services and income-generation opportunities to rebuild their lives, UNHCR said.</div><div><br></div><div>Until they can return, they remain in refugee camps located in an area off the coast of the Bay of Bengal, which is extremely vulnerable to cyclones, flooding, landslides, fire outbreaks, and the impacts of climate change.</div><div><br></div><div>These have a devastating impact on the congested camps, and their frequency barely leaves time to rebuild shelters made of bamboo and tarpaulin before the next disaster strikes.</div><div><br></div><div>UNHCR continues to prioritise a climate action strategy, advocating for weather-and fire-resistant refugee shelter materials which can save millions of dollars in maintenance and rebuilding costs.</div><div><br></div><div>Hosting over one million Rohingya refugees, Bangladesh has demonstrated humanitarian commitments and a generosity which must be acknowledged through continued investment in both Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi host communities.</div><div><br></div><div>“The international community must step up to share responsibility for the response. Stakeholders are encouraged to expand their support and commitments through pledges in support of the Rohingya situation at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in December 2023,” UNHCR said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Humanitarian agencies have appealed for $876 million this year to assist around 1.47 million people, including Rohingya refugees and local Bangladeshis.</div><div><br></div><div>However, as of mid-August 2023, funds for the Joint Response Plan only reached 28.9 percent of this appeal, dismally highlighting the need for consistent and predictable financial backing to prevent a broader humanitarian crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>The Rohingyas in Bangladesh face little prospect of safely returning home, six years since the Myanmar military launched a campaign of mass atrocities in Rakhine State on August 25, 2017, said the Human Rights Watch, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>The United Nations Security Council has failed to hold Myanmar’s generals accountable for crimes against humanity and acts of genocide against the Rohingya, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 21:31:03', '2023-08-22 21:31:03'),
(8654, 8654, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday alleged that the government is picking up innocent people and branding them as militants to get the attention of the Western world and India.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;“You have seen a few days ago that some ordinary and&nbsp; innocent people were picked up from a locality, which they mentioned as a deep jungle and labeled them as militants,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking at a discussion meeting, the BNP leader said the government did it to show that there are militancy and fanatics in Bangladesh. “And only they (AL govt) are needed to suppress the militants. This is their main purpose, this is what they want to show to the Western world and India.</div><div><br></div><div>In fact, he said the current regime and Awami League are militants as they are killing and destroying the common people and taking away all their rights by imposing the tag of terrorism and militancy on them.</div><div><br></div><div>“Yes the people of this country are religious… it is neither&nbsp; a sin nor a crime. The government is trying to make (political) political gains by branding people who practice religion as militants,” he observed.</div><div><br></div><div>A faction of Jatiya Party (Zafar) arranged the discussion at the Institution of the Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh, marking the 8th death anniversary of its founder Kazi Zafar Ahmed.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul said the current government has strongly established the rule of a one-person and one-party by snatching all rights of people and ruining all the institutions. “The existence of our nation now depends on whether we can remove the fascism. “</div><div><br></div><div>He said it is encouraging that people are protesting and waking up against the current fascist regime and 22 people have sacrificed their lives on the streets over the one year.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader said that the democratic forces must suppress the fascists to establish democracy and a democratic state system.</div><div><br></div><div>He alleged that the government picked up six Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leaders from a house and showed them arrested with three arms after 48 hours.</div><div><br></div><div>“Those weapons appear to have been hidden under the earth 20/25 years and brought from there that day.&nbsp; This false propaganda is an attempt to fool people. They think people of all countries are fools, but everyone understands that they (govt) want to stay in power by resorting to deception like this,” the BNP leader said.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul also slammed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her Monday\'s remarks against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and the Zia family. “The prime minister who usurped power called Ziaur Rahman\'s family a killer. I strongly condemn and protest it.”</div><div><br></div><div>He said most opposition political parties are now decided not to join any election under the current Awami League government.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader said the Prime Minister must quit and hand over power to a non-party neutral government by dissolving parliament to pave the way for holding a credible national election and ensuring a democratic process in the country. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-22 23:23:36', '2023-08-22 23:23:36'),
(8655, 8655, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Eighteen bodies have been found in a forested area of northern Greece hit by wildfires for the past four days, the Greek fire service says.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Initial reports suggest those who died may have been migrants. A coroner and investigation team are heading to the scene in the Dadia forest.</div><div><br></div><div>The Evros region of north-eastern Greece, not far from the Turkish border, has been ravaged by fires.</div><div><br></div><div>A hospital in the city of Alexandroupolis had to be evacuated.</div><div><br></div><div>Newborn babies and intensive care patients were among patients moved overnight to a ferry berthed at the port.</div><div><br></div><div>An earlier death, also believed to have been a migrant, had been reported in a village close to the coastal city and emergency services had sent mobile text messages to the surrounding areas asking people to leave.</div><div><br></div><div>The Dadia national park is a large wooded area to the north of Alexandroupolis, and fires are thought to have spread rapidly there since Monday.</div><div><br></div><div>The 18 bodies were found on Tuesday near a hut outside the village of Avantas, reports said, when the fire brigade inspected the charred remains of a building.</div><div><br></div><div>Fire service spokesman Yiannis Artopios said the possibility was being investigated that the victims had entered Greece illegally, given that there had been no reports of missing residents.</div><div><br></div><div>The Evros region has become one of the most popular routes for Syrian and Asian migrants crossing the River Evros from Turkey into the European Union. The Dadia forest is also known to be a route favoured by migrants.</div><div><br></div><div>The fire service spokesman stressed that emergency messages had been sent to all mobile phones in the area, including foreign networks.</div><div><br></div><div>Fires are raging elsewhere in Greece, whipped up by high winds and temperatures which were set to reach 39C (102F) on Tuesday.</div><div><br></div><div>Several villages have been evacuated on the island of Evia and in Boeotia in central Greece. Dozens of nuns were reported trapped when a fire broke out near a monastery to the north-west of Athens.</div><div><br></div><div>A fiery, red glow was visible on the fringe of Alexandroupolis in the early hours of Tuesday and satellite images showed several regions of Greece covered in thick smoke.</div><div><br></div><div>During the night residents in eight nearby villages were told to leave their homes and head for safety in the city. Later on Tuesday a stream of cars could be seen heading for the city as vegetation along the coast burned.</div><div><br></div><div>Flames were seen entering the grounds of the university hospital while the operation was taking place to evacuate the site on the north-east fringe of the city. Greek officials ordered a fleet of ambulances and buses to take some 115 patients away.</div><div><br></div><div>While some of the patients were moved to other hospitals in the city, as many as 90 were taken to a ferry, the Adamantios Korais, which has been requisitioned to look after intensive care and new-born babies.</div><div><br></div><div>Fires have also been burning dozens of kilometres to the north-west of the city, in Rhodope and further west along the coast in Kavala.</div><div><br></div><div>West of the capital, several warehouses became engulfed in flames in an industrial area in Aspropyrgos and close to the Attica Highway the sky darkened with acrid smoke.</div><div><br></div><div>Two Albanian workers told the BBC that if helicopters had arrived in time they would have been able to put the fire out.</div><div><br></div><div>Around midday on Tuesday a second large fire broke out on the opposite side of the highway in the village of Fyli. Half an hour later residents received a mobile phone message from the 112 emergency number to evacuate the area.</div><div><br></div><div>The fire also spread close to the historic Kleiston monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, a few kilometres north of Fyli in the foothills of Mount Parnitha. Fire service officials say 50 nuns live at the monastery and a disaster response team has been sent to lead them to safety.</div><div><br></div><div>Greece is one of several European countries currently at extreme risk of wildfires, according to the EU\'s climate monitoring service, Copernicus.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, France endured its hottest ever day on Monday after the mid-August holiday, according to weather service Météo-France.</div><div><br></div><div>Temperatures on Monday soared as high as 42.4C in the Drôme area of south-eastern France but the record refers to Monday\'s daily average temperature of 26.63C, recorded in 30 weather stations across France.</div><div><br></div><div>In Switzerland, the high temperatures have pushed the \"zero-degree isotherm\" - the height where temperatures fall below freezing point - to a record altitude. MeteoSwiss said the limit had now increased to 5,298m (17,381ft).</div><div><br></div><div>The point is shifting steadily higher, mainly because of global warming induced by humans, the Swiss met office says. The increased height of the zero-degree isotherm has been accelerating since the 1970s, especially in spring and summer, it says. Source: BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 02:30:59', '2023-08-23 02:30:59'),
(8656, 8656, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Information and Broadcasting Minister and Awami League Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud today said it is hard to believe that a party\'s (BNP) secretary general could tell so hideous, despicable and horrible lies over the August 21 gruesome grenade attacks.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"The BNP secretary general is the spokesman of the killers of August 21 as Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir claimed that it was a drama arranged by Awami League. But it is clear like daylight that they (BNP) carried out the attacks. It is hard to believe for me how a secretary general of party could tell such terrible lies,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister made the comments while exchanging views with reporters at the meeting room of the ministry at secretariat.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Hasan said the August 21 grenade attacks were carried out at the directives of Tarique Zia and with the knowledge of Khaleda Zia to kill the then opposition leader, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on August 21 in 2004. But, BNP leader Mirza Fakrul has made a shameless statement over the incident yesterday (Monday), he continued.</div><div><br></div><div>He said, \"In fact, we had sought approval to hold the rally at Muktangaon before a few days of the fixed date (August 21). But, at the last moment they gave a verbal approval to hold the rally in front of our office as there is no much scope of throwing grenades at Muktangaon. There are many buildings around our party office and it is easy to throw grenades from those buildings. That is why they gave the approval.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The information minister said there was no police security on that day. The then BNP government and Tarique Rahman had ensured the position of militants instead of police force and they had thrown grenades from buildings, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>In fact, he said, BNP does the politics of killings and Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is the secretary general of the party. He has always lied and now it (lying) has increased, the minister added.</div><div><br></div><div>He said he gave testify for two times as an injured person and special assistant of the then Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina. \"Everything is clear in the witness-evidence and the accused had contested in the case. After contesting everything it became clear as daylight and they were punished in the court. The accused had appealed. The punishment will come into effect after the process is completed and many accused are under arrest,\" said Dr Hasan.</div><div><br></div><div>Criticizing another comment of the BNP secretary general, the information minister said they want to carry out sabotage and it has been clear through his speech to foil the elections and obstacle the democratic process.</div><div><br></div><div>Replying to a query over an article published in Indian mass media, Dr Hasan said the country has moved ahead in the last 14 and a half years under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and it has been praised by the global community.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, he said, the persons who want to come to power are the main patrons of militants, fundamentalists and terrorists. - BBS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 02:33:19', '2023-08-23 02:33:19'),
(8657, 8657, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has called for unity among the leaders and activists of Bangladesh Awami League amid the ongoing political turmoil the county</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“Our enemies will take advantage if there is division among us,” he said while exchanging views with the central leaders of Dhaka district Awami League at Tejgaon district Awami League building on Tuesday afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>Quader said two names in the history of this country are immortal: Bangabandhu and Sheikh Hasina.</div><div><br></div><div>“The battle we fought after 1975 was a fight for survival,” he said, adding: “Sheikh Hasina is the biggest achievement of this country since 1975. All development has been achieved under her leadership.”</div><div><br></div><div>Criticising BNP’ tenure, Quader said Awami League leaders and activists were unable to find solace even within the confines of their own homes due to BNP\'s atrocities.</div><div><br></div><div>“They killed 22,000 leaders and activists of Awami League,” AL general secretary said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"What lessons will Awami League learn from those who created fake voters, stole votes, terrorised people and seized power?\" he asked.</div><div><br></div><div>Quader said Awami League leaders and workers are ready to fight communalism and militancy with iron fist.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We will burn the hands that bring fire in the name of movement,\" he said. “We\'ll break the hands that bring chaos with sticks.”&nbsp; According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 03:52:34', '2023-08-23 03:52:34'),
(8658, 8658, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit China next week, Beijing and Washington said Tuesday, adding to a slew of US officials dispatched in recent months to ease tensions between the world\'s largest economies.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Washington says it is seeking to better manage its frosty relations with China, with the two powers at loggerheads over everything from trade to human rights and Taiwan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Secretary Raimondo looks forward to constructive discussions on issues relating to the US-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by US businesses, and areas for potential cooperation,\" the US Department of Commerce said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She will travel to both Beijing and Shanghai during the August 27-30 trip, Washington said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Beijing also confirmed the visit, adding that Raimondo has been invited by her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Her visit will build on an agreement between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in Bali last year \"to deepen communication between the US and the PRC on a range of issues,\" Washington said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Relations between Washington and Beijing have plummeted to some of their worst levels in decades, with Washington\'s trade curbs among the top of the laundry list of disagreements.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Washington says its restrictions are crucial to safeguarding national security, while Beijing sees them as hampering its economic rise.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a briefing on Tuesday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said: \"Contrary to claims by some voices in China that we are seeking to slow down China\'s economy or weaken China\'s economic growth, that\'s just not the case.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"A stable Chinese economy is a good thing for the world,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added that Raimondo will carry the message that Washington is not seeking to decouple from China but rather to \"de-risk\", which means protecting its national security.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This month, Biden issued an executive order aimed at restricting certain American investments in sensitive high-tech areas in China -- a move Beijing blasted as being \"anti-globalization\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The long-anticipated rules, expected to be implemented next year, target sectors like semiconductors and artificial intelligence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had sought to reassure Chinese officials about the expected curbs during a visit to Beijing last month, promising any new moves would be implemented in a transparent way.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She stressed the need for healthy economic competition and improved communication and urged cooperation on the grave threat posed by climate change.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But she also said she had raised serious concerns over what she called unfair economic practices by Beijing as well as issues around the protection of intellectual property.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Steadying ties -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Beijing, where he met Xi and said progress had been made on a number of key sources of contention.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Neither Yellen\'s nor Blinken\'s visit led to major breakthroughs. A recent Camp David summit and statement between the United States, South Korea and Japan aimed in part at countering Beijing sparked condemnation from China.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following that summit, President Biden said he still expects to meet Chinese leader Xi again this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Biden is inviting Xi in November to San Francisco when the United States holds a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which includes China.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The two leaders could potentially also meet next month in New Delhi on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 major economies. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 14:25:23', '2023-08-23 14:25:23'),
(8659, 8659, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">India readied Wednesday for its latest attempted Moon landing, a historic moment for the world\'s most populous nation as it rapidly closes in on milestones set by global space powers.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chandrayaan-3, which means \"Mooncraft\" in Sanskrit, is scheduled to touch down shortly after 6:00 pm India time (1230 GMT) near the little-explored lunar south pole, in what would be a world first for any space programme.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A previous Indian effort failed in 2019, and the latest mission comes just days after Russia\'s first Moon mission in almost 50 years, destined for the same region, crashed on the lunar surface.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But former Indian space chief K. Sivan said the latest photos transmitted back home by the lander gave every indication that the final leg of the voyage would succeed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is giving some encouragement that we will be able to achieve the landing mission without any problem,\" he told AFP on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sivan added that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had made corrections after the failure of four years ago, when scientists lost contact with the previous lunar module moments before its slated landing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Chandrayaan-3 is going to go with more ruggedness,\" he said. \"We have confidence, and we expect that everything will go smoothly.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The mission launched nearly six weeks ago in front of thousands of cheering spectators, but took much longer to reach the Moon than those of the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s, which arrived in a matter of days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India is using rockets much less powerful than those the United States used back then, and instead the probe orbited Earth several times to gain speed before embarking on its month-long lunar trajectory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Smooth sailing is continuing\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The spacecraft\'s lander Vikram, which means \"valour\" in Sanskrit, detached from its propulsion module last week and has been sending back images of the moon\'s surface since entering lunar orbit on August 5.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A day ahead of the landing, the ISRO said on social media the landing was proceeding on schedule and that its mission control complex was \"buzzed with energy &amp; excitement\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Smooth sailing is continuing,\" the agency posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India has a comparatively low-budget aerospace programme, but one that has grown considerably in size and momentum since it first sent a probe to orbit the Moon in 2008.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latest mission comes with a price tag of $74.6 million -- far lower than those of other countries, and a testament to India\'s frugal space engineering.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Experts say India can keep costs low by copying and adapting existing space technology, and thanks to an abundance of highly skilled engineers who earn a fraction of their foreign counterparts\' wages.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to put a satellite into orbit around Mars and is slated to launch a three-day manned mission into Earth\'s orbit by next year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Very, very important\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sivan, the former ISRO chief, said India\'s efforts to explore the relatively unmapped lunar south pole would make a \"very, very important\" contribution to scientific knowledge.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Only Russia, the United States and China have previously achieved a controlled landing on the lunar surface.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia launched its own lunar probe earlier in August -- its first in nearly half a century.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If successful it would have beaten Chandrayaan-3 by a matter of days to become the first mission of any nation to make a controlled landing around the lunar south pole.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the Luna-25 probe crash-landed on Saturday after an unspecified incident as it was preparing for descent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Punishing sanctions since the outset of the Ukraine war have affected Russia\'s space industry, which has also been beleaguered by corruption and a lack of innovation and partnerships. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 14:29:30', '2023-08-23 14:29:30'),
(8660, 8660, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russian air defences downed one drone over the Moscow region and another in the city, its mayor said on Wednesday, in the sixth night of attacks on the capital region.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Tonight, air defence shot down a drone in Mozhaisky district of Moscow region. The second UAV hit a building under construction in the City,\" Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to preliminary information there were no casualties he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow and Kyiv have reported regular drone incursions during the conflict, with strikes on Russian territory increasing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An \"explosion\" was heard in the Moscow City business district, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"A little later, smoke rose from the buildings in the same area,\" it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One building under construction in the business district had received \"minor damage\" the TASS state news agency quoted emergency services as saying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air traffic at Moscow\'s Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo airports had been halted, TASS citing the aviation services. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 14:32:07', '2023-08-23 14:32:07');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(8661, 8661, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived here tonight to attend the 15th BRICS Summit to be held on August 22-24 at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A regular flight (EK-765) of the Emirates Airlines carrying the prime minister and her entourage members landed at the OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa, at 8:35pm (local time).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs of Republic of South Africa Parks Tau and Bangladesh High Commissioner to South Africa Noor-E Helal Saifur Rahman received the Prime Minister at the airport.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Upon arrival, the Prime Minister was given guard of honour there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">From the airport, she was escorted to her Palace of Residence, the Radission Blu Hotel Sandton here. Sheikh Rehana, the younger daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister’s daughter Saima Wazed were accompanying the premier.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, the flight took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 10:30am (BD time) on August 22.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Africa is hosting the historic 15th summit of BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It will be the first BRICS summit to be hosted in person since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global restrictions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil\'s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to attend the summit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On August 23, the prime minister is expected to deliver a speech as the chief guest at the \"Bangladesh Trade and Business Summit\", jointly organized by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She will also attend the \"Bangladesh Envoys Conference\" organized by Bangladesh ambassadors stationed in African countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, she is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President XI Jinping at the Hotel Hilton Sandton.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the evening, the premier will join a cultural programme and \"State Banquet\" hosted by the current chair of BRICS and the South African president.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On August 24, she will deliver a speech on behalf of Bangladesh as a member of the \"New Development Bank of BRICS\" at Friends of BRICS Leaders Dialogue (BRICS-Africa Outreach and the BRICS Plus Dialogues) comprising representatives from 70 countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister will also hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the evening, she will meet the Bangladeshi expatriates living in South Africa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told a news briefing on Sunday that so far nearly 22 countries have shown interest to become members of BRICS and the five original members are trying to reach consensus among them to take new members.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We don\'t know when the new members will join,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister is scheduled to leave Johannesburg for Dhaka on August 26 and expected to arrive at home in the morning of August 27 after a brief stopover in the Dubai International Airport. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 14:35:09', '2023-08-23 14:35:09'),
(8662, 8662, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">India readied Wednesday to become the first nation to land a spacecraft on the Moon\'s south pole, days after a Russian probe crashed in the same region.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latest attempted Moon landing is a historic moment for the world\'s most populous nation, as it rapidly closes in on milestones set by global space powers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chandrayaan-3, which means \"Mooncraft\" in Sanskrit, is scheduled to touch down shortly after 6:00 pm India time (1230 GMT) near the little-explored lunar south pole.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"India reaches for the Moon\", The Times of India front-page headline read Wednesday, with the hoped-for lunar landing dominating local news. \"It\'s D-Day for Moon Mission\", The Hindustan Times said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A previous Indian effort failed in 2019, and the latest attempt comes just days after Russia\'s first Moon mission in almost 50 years, destined for the same region, crashed on the lunar surface.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But former Indian space chief K. Sivan said the latest photos transmitted back home by the lander gave every indication the final leg of the voyage would succeed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is giving some encouragement that we will be able to achieve the landing mission without any problem,\" he told AFP on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Confidence\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sivan added that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had made corrections after the failure of four years ago, when scientists lost contact with the previous lunar module moments before its slated landing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Chandrayaan-3 is going to go with more ruggedness,\" he said. \"We have confidence, and we expect that everything will go smoothly.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The mission was launched nearly six weeks ago in front of thousands of cheering spectators, but took much longer to reach the Moon than those of the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s, which arrived in a matter of days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India is using rockets much less powerful than those the United States used back then, meaning the probe must orbit Earth several times to gain speed before embarking on its month-long lunar trajectory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The spacecraft\'s lander, Vikram, which means \"valour\" in Sanskrit, detached from its propulsion module last week and has been sending back images of the moon\'s surface since entering lunar orbit on August 5.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A day ahead of the landing, the ISRO said on social media the landing was proceeding on schedule and that its mission control complex was \"buzzed with energy and excitement\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Smooth sailing is continuing,\" the agency posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India has a comparatively low-budget aerospace programme, but one that has grown considerably in size and momentum since it first sent a probe to orbit the Moon in 2008.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latest mission comes with a price tag of $74.6 million -- far lower than those of other countries, and a testament to India\'s frugal space engineering.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Experts say India can keep costs low by copying and adapting existing space technology, and thanks to an abundance of highly skilled engineers who earn a fraction of their foreign counterparts\' wages.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to put a satellite into orbit around Mars and is slated to launch a three-day manned mission into Earth\'s orbit by next year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Very, very important\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sivan, the former ISRO chief, said India\'s efforts to explore the relatively unmapped lunar south pole would make a \"very, very important\" contribution to scientific knowledge.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Only Russia, the United States and China have previously achieved a controlled landing on the lunar surface.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia launched its own lunar probe earlier in August -- its first in nearly half a century.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If successful, it would have beaten Chandrayaan-3 by a matter of days to become the first mission of any nation to make a controlled landing around the lunar south pole.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the Luna-25 probe crash-landed on Saturday after an unspecified incident as it was preparing for descent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Punishing sanctions since the outset of the Ukraine war have affected Russia\'s space industry, which has also been beleaguered by corruption and a lack of innovation and partnerships. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 15:46:07', '2023-08-23 15:46:07'),
(8663, 8663, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Thailand\'s former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was moved from prison to a police hospital on Wednesday, officials said, a day after he was jailed on his return from 15 years in exile.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 74-year-old, twice Thai prime minister and ousted in a 2006 coup, is suffering from multiple health complaints, officials said, and was moved from prison quarantine to a police hospital shortly after midnight.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thaksin\'s homecoming on Tuesday came on the same day his Pheu Thai party returned to government in a power-sharing agreement with pro-military parties, prompting widespread speculation of a deal to cut his jail time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sitthi Sutivong, a corrections department spokesman, said in a statement that late on Wednesday night, prison medical officers reported Thaksin was suffering from sleeplessness, high blood pressure and low blood oxygen.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He has several diseases that need to be taken care of -- in particular heart diseases, and the prison hospital does not have the right equipment,\" Sitthi said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The doctor said that to avoid the risk that could endanger his life, he should be sent to the Police hospital.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Immediately after landing in Bangkok by private jet, the billionaire ex-PM was taken to court and ordered to serve jail sentences passed during his absence from the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He had long argued the cases were politically motivated but said he was willing to face justice in order to return home and see his grandchildren in his old age.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Loved by millions of rural Thais for his populist policies in the early 2000s, Thaksin is reviled by the country\'s royalist and pro-military establishment, which has spent much of the past two decades trying to keep him and his allies out of power.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pheu Thai\'s Srettha Thavisin was approved as prime minister yesterday -- the party\'s first premier since Thaksin\'s sister Yingluck was thrown out in a coup in 2014.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Property mogul Srettha heads a controversial coalition that includes the parties linked to the coup-maker generals who ousted Thaksin and Yingluck.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new coalition shuts out the upstart progressive Move Forward Party (MFP), which rode a wave of youth and urban discontent at nearly a decade of military-backed rule to score a shock victory in the May election.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But MFP\'s reformist push to amend royal defamation laws and tackle business monopolies spooked the kingdom\'s powerful elite, and the party\'s leader Pita Limjaroenrat was blocked from becoming prime minister. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 15:50:43', '2023-08-23 15:50:43'),
(8664, 8664, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Brazil\'s Congress passed new fiscal rules Tuesday ending the government\'s spending cap, a win for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in his bid to free up money for social and infrastructure spending.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Veteran leftist Lula, who returned to office in January after leading Brazil through a boom in the 2000s, needed Congress to pass the bill to allow his administration to keep its promises of expanded social programs and an ambitious 1.7 trillion reais ($340 billion) infrastructure investment program unveiled earlier this month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The lower house of Congress, which had passed a first version of the bill in May, adopted the final text by a vote of 379 to 64, after an amended version passed the Senate in June.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new rules end the rigid government spending cap put in place in 2016 under the center-right administration of then-president Michel Temer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lula\'s administration says the government needs to be able to spend more to address pressing social needs and reboot growth in Latin America\'s biggest economy, and argued the spending cap had been breached so often it had lost credibility.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new rules allow government spending to increase at 70 percent the rate of increase in government revenues, as a tool to chip away at the deficit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The legislation \"is important, because it indicates greater fiscal discipline, or at least a plan, on the part of the government,\" said economist Andre Perfeito of consulting firm Necton.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"But there\'s a lot of doubt about the capacity to stick to the plan, because it will depend a lot on capturing tax revenue. There will still be a lot of discussion over whether or not they\'ll meet the targets they themselves set,\" he told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since returning to power in January, Lula has revived and expanded popular social programs launched during his first presidency (2003-2010), many of which were slashed under Temer (2016-2018) and far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Brazil\'s economic outlook is far less favorable than in the 77-year-old ex-metalworker\'s first two terms, when booming Chinese demand for Latin American commodities exports fueled breakneck growth.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lula has sought to reassure markets he will not let government spending balloon out of control, promising a balance of \"fiscal, social and environmental responsibility.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Brazil\'s economy grew a stronger-than-expected 1.9 percent in the first quarter, Lula\'s first three months in office.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ratings agency Fitch upgraded Brazil\'s debt rating in July, from BB- to BB, citing \"better-than-expected macroeconomic and fiscal performance\" and an \"expectation that the new government will work toward further improvements.\" AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 16:26:55', '2023-08-23 16:26:55'),
(8665, 8665, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 1,100 people are still missing two weeks after deadly wildfires ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui, authorities said Tuesday, with the FBI seeking family members\' help in identifying the remains of the dead.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fires were the deadliest to hit the United States in a century, claiming at least 115 lives, according to the latest provisional death toll.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The tourist town of Lahaina, home to 12,000 people, was all but wiped off the map, with thousands of missing persons appearing on lists maintained by various organizations, including the police, Red Cross and shelters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now working to collate and verify the data, Special Agent Steven Merrill told reporters on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'re cross-referencing all the lists so that we can determine who in fact truly is still unaccounted for,\" Merrill said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As of Tuesday, the FBI had counted 1,100 missing persons, he added, with the number likely to rise.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The FBI has set up a dedicated telephone hotline and has encouraged relatives of the missing to contact them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We really need the public\'s help\", said Merrill, particularly in terms of getting additional information to verify details for some of the missing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Maui police chief John Pelletier said authorities were refining the data and were hoping to publish a verified list of missing persons \"in the next few days\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">FBI agents have also been collecting DNA samples from the families of the missing who are unable to travel to Maui, wherever in the world they may be.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Identifying the unrecognizable bodies found in the ashes of Lahaina is a laborious task.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">So far, only 27 of the 115 victims have been identified.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Having the DNA of the families of the missing \"is a critical step in order to make an identification\" of the victims, said Julie French, vice president of ANDE, the company in charge of these operations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Nearly three-quarters of remains that have been tested for DNA thus far have generated searchable DNA results,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But without DNA from relatives against which to compare this data, the process is futile.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Only 104 DNA samples from family members of the missing or dead have been collected so far, and the authorities were keen to dispel any distrust of the process.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The DNA profiles are not being retained by the FBI\" or the police, said Maui County District Attorney Andrew Martin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The only purpose for which it will be used is helping identify the unaccounted for.\" AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 17:44:42', '2023-08-23 17:44:42'),
(8666, 8666, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Dhaka\'s air quality was in the ‘moderate’ zone this morning. With an air quality index (AQI) score of 87 at 9:05 am, Dhaka ranked 15th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iraq’s Baghdad, the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai and Kuwait’s Kuwait City occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 187, 177 and 170, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’ with an acceptable air quality. However, there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants — Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 17:47:51', '2023-08-23 17:47:51'),
(8667, 8667, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The price of hilsa, a treat Bengalis look forward to during the monsoon, is still high despite ample supply in the wholesale markets of Chandpur district.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The national fish of Bangladesh is still out of reach of the average buyer.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During a recent visit to Chandpur Boro Station fisheries ghat, this correspondent found people busy loading and unloading hilsa as 2,000-2,500 maunds of the fish are coming from the southern districts of the country every day on average.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Read more: Hilsa Ilisha: The National Fish and Silver Pride of Bangladesh</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Transportation of hilsa starts from 10 am till afternoon through trucks, pick-up vans and trawlers at the wholesale markets and some 500 workers in the ghat area are involved in loading and unloading the fish.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hilsa, weighing 700-900 grams each, are of decent sizes too.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">People from Dhaka’s Karwanbazar, Azampur, Abdullahpur, Uttara; Gazipur’s Tongi; Tangail; Kishoreganj; Jamalpur, Mymensingh; Sreemangal; and Sylhet come to the wholesale market in Chandpur and take hilsa via trucks and train.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One kg hilsa is being sold at Tk 1,500 while in the retail market it is being sold at Tk 1,800-2,000 and hilsa weighing 500-700 grams is being sold at Tk 900-1,100. The silver fish weighing 900 grams is being sold at Tk 1,400-1,500.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Retail price of 1.5 kg hilsa is Tk 2,000-2,100.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some traders said they are selling hilsa at minimum profit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Many daily wage earners, who spend their entire day carrying hilsa from the ghat to the market, fail to purchase the fish due to soaring prices though supply during monsoon has increased.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hilsa has the highest contribution in the country\'s fish production as the single fish species.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Every year, the government imposes a two-month ban on catching, selling, storing and transporting hilsa to boost its production.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Abdul Bari Manik Jamadar, president of Fish Traders Association, Chandpur, said the supply of hilsa has increased over the last three days but not as much as in the previous year, and that’s why the price of hilsa is beyond the reach of the low-income people. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 18:37:06', '2023-08-23 18:37:06'),
(8668, 8668, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Russian drone attack hit grain infrastructure in Ukraine\'s southern Odesa region on Wednesday, the local governor said, the latest strike since the collapse of a deal allowing safe shipments from the Black Sea.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There are hits on production and transshipment complexes... Granaries were among the damaged objects,\" Oleg Kiper wrote on Telegram, adding there were no civilian casualties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air defence forces had destroyed nine Iranian-made Shahed attack drones during the strike, Ukraine\'s southern military command said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The enemy targeted granaries and a production and transshipment complex in the Danube,\" it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"A fire broke out in the warehouse, the fire was promptly contained. Firefighters continue their work.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since exiting the United Nations-brokered deal Moscow has pounded Ukraine\'s southern Odesa and Mykolaiv regions that are home to ports and infrastructure vital for shipment of grain.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last week the first civilian cargo ship sailing through the Black Sea from Ukraine arrived in Istanbul in defiance of the Russian blockade. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 18:44:19', '2023-08-23 18:44:19'),
(8669, 8669, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 17 workers were killed, and several others are feared trapped, after an under-construction railway bridge collapsed near Sairang area of Mizoram on Wednesday around 11 am, about 21km from state capital Aizawl.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There were 40 construction workers on the bridge at the time of the incident.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Seventeen bodies have been recovered from the debris so far...many others are still missing,” a police officer said, according to PTI.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Sairang branch of Young Mizo Association is currently carrying out rescue operations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The bridge that collapsed was part of an Indian Railways project to connect all state capitals in the northeast region. It has been under construction for some years now. The incident happened around 11am. We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the accident and how many people actually were on it when it occurred,” Sabyasachi De, chief public relations officer of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced ₹10 lakh compensation for the kin of the deceased, and ₹2 lakh for those who are critically injured.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Grieved by the unfortunate incident in Mizoram. NDRF, state administration and railway officials are at the site. Rescue operation on war footing.Ex-gratia compensation: ₹10 lakh in case of death, ₹2 lakh towards grievous and ₹50,000 for minor injuries,” he announced on social media.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The bridge was being constructed over Kurung river and is located between Bairabi and Sairang railway stations. The height of the pier of the bridge is 104mts. Sairang railway station is set to be the last railhead before reaching Mizoram’s capital. Once completed, the project will connect Aizawl with the national railway network.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga expressed grief over the incident on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), and said, “Under construction railway over bridge at Sairang, near Aizawl collapsed today; atleast 15 workers died: Rescue under progress. Deeply saddened and affected by this tragedy. I extend my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. Sending gratitude to the people who have come out in large numbers to help with rescue operations.” HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 19:19:52', '2023-08-23 19:19:52'),
(8670, 8670, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Alia Bhatt is basking in the rave reviews for her performance in her first Hollywood project Heart of Stone. In a new interview with Harper\'s Bazaar, Alia opened up about the time Ranbir Kapoor had surprised her for her birthday while he was still her boyfriend.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the interview with Harper\'s Bazaar, Alia opened up about being a foodie, and candidly shared an anecdote involving Ranbir Kapoor. She said, “He was my boyfriend at the time, and we were shooting a movie together in Bulgaria. There’s a particular milk cake from L’Eto in London that I’m obsessed with, and he flew the cake from London to Bulgaria so that I could cut it on my birthday. I literally did not share it, even with him!”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Alia\'s lipstick remark</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This confession arrives a week after mixed reactions to Alia\'s recent makeup video where she confessed that she likes to wipe the lipstick off because she wants the faded look. She also explained that the reason she started to do this is because how her then-boyfriend Ranbir would tell her to wipe the lipstick because he liked the natural colour of her lips. The video went viral where many slammed Ranbir and called him a \'walking, talking red flag.\'</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Alia and Ranbir tied the knot in April 2022. They started seeing each other while working together on the sets of Brahmastra and dated for years before finally taking the plunge. Alia gave birth to daughter Raha on November 6, 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, Heart of Stone on Netflix, Alia\'s most recent release was Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani, which is still running successfully in cinemas. The film, directed by Karan Johar, released last month to rave reviews and commercial success. It also stars Ranveer Singh, Shabana Azmi, Churni Ganguly, Dharmendra, and Jaya Bachchan. Alia is scheduled to star in Farhan Akhtar\'s next Jee Le Zaraa, also starring Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra. However, the film has been delayed for some reasons, as director Farhan Akhtar has started work on Don 3, with Ranveer Singh in the lead 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, '2023-08-23 19:25:18', '2023-08-23 19:25:18'),
(8671, 8671, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The first co-defendants in the election racketeering case targeting former US president Donald Trump surrendered to the authorities in Georgia on Tuesday.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">John Eastman, a former campaign attorney for Trump, and Scott Hall, a bail bondsman, were booked at the Fulton County Jail, according to jail records.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump is expected to turn himself in at the same Atlanta jail on Thursday to face charges of seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee set bond for the 77-year-old former president at $200,000 on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and the 18 other co-defendants in the landmark case have until noon (1600 GMT) on Friday to turn themselves in to the authorities in Georgia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eastman, a conservative constitutional law scholar, is accused of drawing up a scheme to submit a false slate of Trump electors to Congress from Georgia instead of the legitimate Biden electors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking to reporters after being booked, Eastman said: \"I am confident that when the law is faithfully applied in this proceeding, all of my co-defendants and I will be fully vindicated.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Asked if he continued to believe, as Trump falsely claims, that the election was stolen, Eastman replied, \"Absolutely.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added: \"No question in my mind.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hall is charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit election fraud in connection with tampering with voting machines in Georgia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eastman\'s bond was set at $100,000 and Hall\'s at $10,000.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bond has also been set for seven other co-defendants including Jenna Ellis, a former Trump campaign attorney. Her bond was set at $100,000. A public crowdfunding appeal for Ellis had raised nearly $95,000 as of Tuesday to help defray her legal expenses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump was indicted in Georgia last week on charges of racketeering and a string of election crimes after a sprawling, two-year probe into his efforts to overturn his election defeat to Biden in the Peach State.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In his previous indictments, Trump has not been required to take a mugshot.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But that may change in Georgia, with Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat telling reporters this month that when it comes to a booking at his jail, \"it doesn\'t matter your status.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, has asked the judge to set a trial date of March 4 next year for Trump and the other co-defendants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump is facing four criminal trials as he bids for a return to the White House.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Others facing charges in the alleged Georgia conspiracy include Trump\'s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 19:40:49', '2023-08-23 19:40:49'),
(8672, 8672, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladeshi passengers on stopovers will be able to perform Umrah with transit visa, said Saudi Arabia\'s Minister of Hajj and Umrah Affairs Dr Tawfiq bin Fawzan Ar-Rabiah on Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He disclosed the information while talking to reporters after a meeting with State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan at the Secretariat in the afternoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Minister Md Faridul Haque said Bangladeshis will be allowed to perform Umrah even in transit. “Passengers will avail this benefit only if they use Saudi carriers. The transit visa will be valid for four days.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, the validity of Umrah visa has been extended from 1 month to 3 months. Bangladeshi passengers can also travel the country on this visa, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The state minister also said that discussions were held on increasing the Hajj quota and reducing the Hajj cost for Bangladeshis. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"7\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 19:52:36', '2023-08-23 19:52:36');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(8673, 8673, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday invited South African entrepreneurs to make investments in Bangladesh that seeks to become a trillion-dollar economy and a fully developed smart nation by 2041.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">“Bangladesh progresses toward prosperity. We want you to join our journey of development. Do invest in Bangladesh; we are confident that your investment will be primed for success, and we are fully prepared for a sustainable partnership,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister was speaking at the Bangladesh Trade &amp; Business Summit in South Africa jointly organised by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Convention Center.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I have a dream; the 170 million people of Bangladesh have a dream. And that is to become a trillion-dollar economy and a fully developed smart nation by 2041,” she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina assured that investment in Bangladesh is secure due to consistently high returns.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Moreover, our government ensures a business-friendly and stable atmosphere that guarantees your investment’s success,\" said the PM.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She confidently stated that Bangladesh promises a secure and prosperous future for global investors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Currently, she mentioned, Bangladesh has the most open Foreign Direct Investment policies in South Asia which include a liberalised industrial policy, one-stop service, an allowance for 100 per cent foreign ownership, an easy exit policy, a 15-year tax exemption, a VAT exemption for imported machinery, streamlined services, and more.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We welcome investors worldwide, particularly from South Africa, to explore the numerous investment prospects within Bangladesh. This is the perfect time to acquaint yourselves with what Bangladesh offers. This is the time to know Bangladesh better and to invest in its future,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said that over the last five decades, Bangladesh and South Africa have built a strong and friendly relationship based on mutual respect, shared values, cultural ties, and common beliefs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that this bond has been strengthened by growing trade connections. Both countries have similar paths of development, making collaboration and growth feasible.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But, she mentioned that despite the significant potentials, the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and South Africa was only USD 316.83 million last year, falling short of its full potentials.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This presents a promising opportunity for collaboration, given the export and import potential of both nations,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM Hasina said that she is confident that ample collaboration opportunities exist for both nations, involving business communities and trade organisations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Beyond existing bilateral mechanisms, we\'re enthusiastic about establishing a \'Joint Committee on Trade and Investment\' and negotiating a \'Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with South Africa\'.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that Bangladesh offers opportunities across sectors like ICT, electronics, infrastructure, textiles, tourism, heavy industry, and small industries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our government is committed to facilitating smooth business operations. Bangladesh is ready to welcome prospective South African investors,\" she told the conference.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that organisations like the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority, Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority, Bangladesh High Tech Park Authority, and Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, all support foreign investors for optimal returns.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that as the growing economy, Bangladesh is poised for substantial long-term financing. Amid the 4th Industrial Revolution, AI, and Venture Capital, Bangladesh is pursuing \"Financial Connectivity\" globally, prioritizing \"Investment Banking\" over traditional Consumer Banking.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this connection, she said that the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) is elevating the capital market for essential long-term financing. In 2020, the stock markets outperformed regional peers, with USD 61 billion in market capitalisation, or 16.8 per cent of GDP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For financial progress, Sheikh Hasina said, we have expanded our bond market, introducing Sukuk, Green Bonds, ETFs, Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Impact Funds, diversifying investment opportunities. Soon, we are going to include derivative products in our capital markets, which will help minimize investment risks through hedging.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Portfolio investments have also been made flawless through enhanced facilities for repatriation of the principal and returns without any kind of approval, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that the significant Bangladeshi population in South Africa forms a strong base.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Thanks to expatriates for contributing to our economy. We urge you to invest more in our growth,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also said that a joint business forum between the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the South African Chamber is also planned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said that the robust private sector of Bangladesh will keep providing a great range of opportunities for those who invest in country’s economy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are confident that we are heading full speed forward on the path of the 4th industrial revolution.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Terming people of the country as the heart of strength, she said that about 55 million youth with the requisite skills are committed to accomplishing the task ahead.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our fortunate position is enhanced by connections on both regional and global levels. Additionally, a growing domestic market and an expanding consumer class further strengthen this demographic benefit,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said, with a population exceeding 1.5 billion, South Africa is currently experiencing rapid urbanisation and economic growth.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This provides favorable opportunities for Bangladesh to expand its exports, particularly in sectors like textiles, ready-made garments (RMG), pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She mentioned that in the past decade, Bangladesh has shifted its focus towards untapped markets in Africa. Both government officials and business leaders in Bangladesh recognise the potential of African economies and the benefits of stronger trade relationships.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“With a growing middle class, an increasing population, and rising consumer demands, Africa becomes an attractive market for Bangladeshi exports,\" she stated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said that to fortify its diplomatic connections and pave the way for future economic openings, Bangladesh has formally adopted the \'Look Africa\' policy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Simultaneously, Bangladesh is actively exploring avenues to procure essential natural resources and raw materials from African nations,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This category includes the requisite raw materials for Bangladesh\'s growing industries, spanning minerals, petroleum products, cotton, agricultural products, and more, she said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-23 21:17:39', '2023-08-23 21:17:39'),
(8674, 8674, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>India on Wednesday became the first nation to land a craft near the Moon\'s south pole, a historic triumph for the world\'s most populous nation and its ambitious, cut-price space programme.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The unmanned Chandrayaan-3, which means \"Mooncraft\" in Sanskrit, touched down at 6:04 pm India time (1234 GMT) as mission control technicians cheered wildly and embraced their colleagues.</div><div><br></div><div>Its landing comes days after a Russian probe crashed in the same region and four years since the previous Indian attempt failed at the last moment.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Prime Minister Narendra Modi smiled broadly and waved an Indian flag on a live broadcast to announce the mission\'s success as a triumph that extended beyond his country\'s borders.</div><div><br></div><div>\"On this joyous occasion I would like to address the people of the world,\" said Modi from the sidelines of the BRICS diplomatic summit in South Africa.</div><div><br></div><div>\"India\'s successful moon mission is not just India\'s alone,\" he added. \"This success belongs to all of humanity.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The Chandrayaan-3 mission has captivated public attention since launching nearly six weeks ago in front of thousands of cheering spectators.</div><div><br></div><div>Politicians staged Hindu prayer rituals to wish for the mission\'s success and schoolchildren followed the final moments of the landing from live broadcasts in classrooms.</div><div><br></div><div>Chandrayaan-3 took much longer to reach the Moon than the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s, which arrived in a matter of days.</div><div><br></div><div>India used rockets much less powerful than the ones the United States used back then, meaning the probe had to orbit the Earth several times to gain speed before embarking on its month-long journey.</div><div><br></div><div>The lander, Vikram, which means \"valour\" in Sanskrit, detached from its propulsion module last week and has been sending images of the Moon\'s surface since entering lunar orbit on August 5.</div><div><br></div><div>Now that Vikram has landed, a solar-powered rover will explore the surface and transmit data to Earth over its two-week lifespan.</div><div><br></div><div>- Ambitious programme -</div><div><br></div><div>India is closing in on milestones set by global space powers such as the United States and Russia, conducting many of its missions at much lower price tags.</div><div><br></div><div>The South Asian nation has a comparatively low-budget space programme, but one that has grown considerably in size and momentum since it first sent a probe to orbit the Moon in 2008.</div><div><br></div><div>The latest mission has a cost of $74.6 million -- far lower than those of other countries, and a testament to India\'s frugal space engineering.</div><div><br></div><div>Experts say India can keep costs low by copying and adapting existing technology, and thanks to an abundance of highly skilled engineers who earn a fraction of their foreign counterparts\' wages.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to put a craft into orbit around Mars and is slated to launch a three-day crewed mission into Earth\'s orbit by next year.</div><div><br></div><div>Wednesday\'s landing had been eagerly awaited by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after the frustrating failure of its previous mission at the last hurdle in 2019.</div><div><br></div><div>Back then, mission control lost contact with the Chandrayaan-2 lunar module moments before its slated landing.</div><div><br></div><div>- \'Very, very important\' -</div><div><br></div><div>Former ISRO chief K. Sivan told AFP that India\'s efforts to explore the relatively unmapped lunar south pole would make a \"very, very important\" contribution to scientific knowledge.</div><div><br></div><div>Only Russia, the United States and China have previously achieved controlled landings on the Moon.</div><div><br></div><div>Russia launched a lunar probe in August -- its first in nearly half a century.</div><div><br></div><div>If successful, it would have beaten Chandrayaan-3 by a matter of days to become the first mission from any nation to make a controlled landing around the south pole.</div><div><br></div><div>But Luna-25 crashed on Saturday after an unspecified incident as it prepared to descend. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 01:54:03', '2023-08-24 01:54:03'),
(8675, 8675, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>While Salman Khan made his debut as a leading actor in Sooraj Barjatya\'s Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), he had already appeared in Biwi Ho Toh Aisi (1988).</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>It has been 35 years of Salman Khan and he\'s still going strong. The actor recently had Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, and will strike back again this Diwali with Tiger 3, the third instalment of his YRF Spy Universe franchise.</div><div><br></div><div>His first film, Biwi Ho Toh Aisi, released on August 22, 35 years ago. Let\'s look at some of the more sincere performances of the actor over the years:</div><div>Saajan</div><div><br></div><div>It\'s no easy feat to hold your own in front of the eternal chemistry of Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit. In Lawrence D\'Souza\'s 1991 romantic film, Salman managed to not only do that, but also channel a soft vulnerability in the emotional moments of the film.</div><div><br></div><div>Love</div><div><br></div><div>Suresh Krissna\'s 1991 romantic film saw Salman take his Saajan act to the next level. As the solo male lead, he carried the film on his shoulders with unparalleled elan. Watch out for his tender moments with Revathi in the song Saathiya Tune Kya Kiya.</div><div><br></div><div>Hum Aapke Hain Koun!</div><div><br></div><div>Salman got his breakthrough with Sooraj Barjatya\'s 1989 directorial debut Maine Pyar Kiya. But he truly matured as a performer in their 1994 follow-up, the blockbuster romantic comedy Hum Aapke Hain Koun! From his meet-cute with Madhuri Dixit to his jamming with all the family members in this wedding musical was an assured actor\'s command over his craft and space.</div><div>Khamoshi: The Musical</div><div><br></div><div>Salman\'s 1996 maiden collaboration with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in the latter\'s directorial debut was a force of nature. From his tender chemistry with Manisha Koirala to him owning the signature theatrical moments of a Bhansali film, Salman announced his arrival all over again. Given Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) was also a great show, someone please get Inshallah back on track!</div><div><br></div><div>Sultan</div><div><br></div><div>While many may consider Dabangg or even Wanted as the start of Salman\'s latest innings of supremacy, his most sincere act in recent memory remains Ali Abbas Zafar\'s 2016 sports film Sultan. Having already proved his mettle as an invincible force at the box office, Salman managed to bring a sensitive vulnerability to his character of a Haryanvi wrestler. Source: Hindustan Times</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 02:46:44', '2023-08-24 02:46:44'),
(8676, 8676, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday put emphasis on the unhindered democratic process in the country for the sake of non-stop development spree.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Development is only possible through the democratic trend. That should be continued so none can hinder the advancement of Bangladesh,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier said this while delivering her introductory speech at the \"Bangladesh Envoys Conference \'\' organised by Bangladesh ambassadors stationed in African countries at Radisson Blu Hotel Sandton.</div><div><br></div><div>She said that Bangladesh has registered unprecedented development in the last 14 years and a half due to the uninterrupted democratic system in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>“The development spree since 2008 is because there has been continuous democracy in the country, there is stability in the government, and we were able to do the right thing with the right decision. That\'s why we could attain this achievement,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina mentioned that for 21 years since the August 15 carnage in 1975 Bangladesh could not make any progress.</div><div><br></div><div>“Whenever Awami League came to power (after 21 years) it successfully ensured the country’s development,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She also said that Bangladesh now has the capability and capacity to face any sort of calamities - manmade and natural.</div><div><br></div><div>“For this sanction ( due to Ukraine-Russia war) prices of everything shot up causing&nbsp; inflation. This is a great problem. We all have to face this problem unitedly,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She asked the Bangladeshi envoys stationed in African countries to give special attention to remittance inflows in the coming days.</div><div><br></div><div>She also asked them to expand the country’s trade and commerce in new markets and destinations across the globe.</div><div><br></div><div>She put emphasis on enhancing bilateral relations and business with the African countries.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM also asked the Bangladeshi envoys to work for sending more Bangladeshi skilled manpower to African countries, taking measures to increase remittances and giving special care of the Bangladeshi peacekeepers working in the UN mission in the African countries as they have brightened Bangladesh image globally.</div><div><br></div><div>She directed the envoys to take required measures to make sure Bangladesh can march ahead on the world stage keeping its head high.</div><div><br></div><div>Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah were present on the dais while Foreign Secretary Masusd Bin Momen moderated the conference.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladeshi High Commissioner in South Africa, Noor-E-Helal Saifur Rahman, Ambassador to Morocco,Mohammad Shahadat Hossain, Ambassador to Egypt Md. Monirul Islam, High Commission&nbsp; to Mauritius, Rezina Ahmed, High&nbsp; Commission to Nigeria Masudur Rahman, Ambassador to Algiers, Muhammad Zulqar Nain, High Commissioner to Kenya, Tareque Muhammad, Ambassador to, Libya Major General Abul Hasnat Mohammad Khairul Bashar, and Ambassador to Sudan, Tareq Ahmed, were also present in the conference. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 03:06:28', '2023-08-24 03:06:28'),
(8677, 8677, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Russia\'s Roscosmos space agency on Wednesday congratulated India for successfully landing a spacecraft on the Moon\'s south pole, days after Moscow\'s own mission crashed.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Roscosmos congratulates Indian colleagues on the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3,\" Roscosmos said in a statement. \"Exploration of the Moon is important for the whole of humanity, in the future it may become a platform for the deeper mastering of space.\" - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 03:31:31', '2023-08-24 03:31:31'),
(8678, 8678, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Wednesday said the biggest problem of Awami League leaders and workers is that they think they are the sole owners of the country, not the people.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Awami League considers itself the owner of this country. Nurul Haque Nur was saying by showing the constitution that people are the owners of this country. But they think that this country is owned by only the Awami League, if I say more precisely a person or his (Sheikh Mujib’s) family. This is the reality,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader also said a big shake is needed through a strong struggle to get out of this reality.&nbsp; “We’ve been on this struggle… what I want to say again and again is that it won’t be possible to remove this monstrous regime without a tsunami-like mass upheaval.”</div><div><br></div><div>A faction of Gono Odhikar Parishad led by Nurul Haque Nur organised the discussion titled “Protection of Constitutional, Fundamental and Human Rights of Citizens” at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU).</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul said they united most opposition parties to carry out the movement for the restoration of democracy and people’s rights. “It won’t work if only political parties get united. People should also get united to topple the government through the movement. There’s no alternative to it.”</div><div><br></div><div>He said their party’s only goal is to establish a people\'s government and parliament by ousting the Awami League government.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader called upon the youth to come forward to intensify the ongoing movement and make it a success.</div><div><br></div><div>Recalling the role of the youth and the students in different democratic movements in the past, he deplored that the youth and the students are now not that much vocal against injustice and misdeeds of the government.</div><div><br></div><div>“It hurts me a lot when I see the youths and students of the universities do not take to the streets and raise their voice when&nbsp; their fellow female student has been harassed…the constitutional and human rights of the people in the state are being taken away, but we don’t see a protest against it at Dhaka University or at other universities and they’re not taking to the streets,\" Fakhrul observed.</div><div><br></div><div>Even in the 90s, he said the students played the key role in creating the mass uprising and they led the movement against HM Ershad. “Unfortunately, we now don’t see such young people and students on the frontline in that way.”</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader accused the ruling party leaders of spearing lies relentlessly to mislead people. \"Their (Awami League government) has been in power fully based on lies.”</div><div><br></div><div>Slamming the ruling party leaders for calling him a big liar, Fakhrul said those who belong to the Awami League do not know the political etiquette as their body language is like that of a terrorist. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 03:40:24', '2023-08-24 03:40:24'),
(8679, 8679, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">North Korea\'s second attempt to put a spy satellite into space has failed, three months after its first launch crashed into the sea.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The attempt on Thursday morning failed during the third stage of its flight, state media said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a spy satellite is a coveted prize, as it would let him monitor incoming attacks and plot his own more accurately.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pyongyang\'s space agency has said it will try again in October.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Korea said it detected the launch of the rocket at around 03:50 local time (18:50 GMT), and that it had flown through international airspace over the Yellow Sea between mainland China and the Korean peninsula.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The launch prompted an emergency warning in Japan\'s southernmost Okinawa prefecture minutes later, urging residents to take cover indoors. The alert was lifted after about 20 minutes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Condemning the launch, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said: \"Behaviour like this goes against the UN resolutions and we\'re already firmly protesting.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US urged North Korea to refrain from \"further threatening activity\" and called on Pyongyang to engage in serious diplomacy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But although Thursday\'s failure will have been disappointing for Pyongyang, it appears they\'ve made progress.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A news report in state-run KCNA blamed the failure on \"an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight\", and said the problem was \"not a big issue\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It seems the rocket carrying the satellite flew further than during the previous attempt. Officials in Pyongyang had described the botched attempt in May as their \"gravest failure\" while vowing to try again.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And Mr Kim will most likely continue, until he succeeds. Already he is forging ahead with his weapons programme, while refusing all offers to talk to the US.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It comes days after leaders from the US, Japan and South Korea met at a historic summit in Washington. It also follows the start of annual military exercises between Washington and Seoul. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 14:33:11', '2023-08-24 14:33:11'),
(8680, 8680, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">When Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner troops launched their insurrection two months ago, Vladimir Putin made his feelings more than clear. He called it \"treachery\" and a \"stab in the back\" of Russia. He promised that the perpetrators would be punished.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">So there was incredulity in Russia when they were not. When a deal was cut between Mr Prigozhin and the Kremlin to end the mutiny; when all the charges against the Wagner founder and his fighters were dropped, despite the fact that Russian servicemen had been killed during the murky but brief insurrection.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It made President Putin look weak.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Commenting on the agreed compromise (ending the mutiny in exchange for immunity from prosecution) one Russian newspaper commented: \"This kind of compromise is normally made with political opponents. Never with criminals and terrorists. Does that mean we should view Mr Prigozhin now as a political figure?\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Suddenly things look rather different.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Exactly two months on, Mr Prigozhin is presumed dead after his private jet crashed and exploded in a field. Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin was on the same jet.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Russian elite will shed few tears over Mr Prigozhin\'s reported demise. That goes for Russia\'s military leadership, whom Mr Prigozhin had publicly and vocally condemned and whom he demanded be sacked. The Wagner boss claimed that the so-called \"March of Justice\" (his euphemism for the insurrection) had not targeted the Kremlin but had instead been directed at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In reality, the Wagner mutiny had been a direct challenge to President Putin\'s authority and a humiliating 24 hours for the Kremlin. Mr Putin himself pointed out that the Russian state had been financing Wagner. Money had clearly not bought loyalty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If this was an act of revenge by those in power, that sends two clear messages to Mr Prigozhin\'s loyalists and to anyone else in Russia who may have been contemplating armed resistance:</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That means that President Putin could emerge from these dramatic events stronger domestically.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But what if Mr Prigozhin becomes a martyr? What if those who had pledged loyalty to him - and who are well-trained fighters - call for their own acts of revenge?</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Grey Zone, a Telegram channel linked to Wagner, blamed Mr Prigozhin\'s reported death on \"Russian traitors\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It did not clarify who it believed those traitors were and what Wagner\'s response would be.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If this crash was foul play, that will come as little surprise to many in Russia. Ever since the mutiny there has been feverish speculation about Mr Prigozhin\'s fate, about whether his actions really would be forgiven.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He must have known that. Yet, in recent weeks, as he jetted around on his private plane he clearly did not view air travel as a danger. Perhaps he believed that he was too powerful, too crucial a figure in today\'s Russia to be taken out? BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 14:38:56', '2023-08-24 14:38:56'),
(8681, 8681, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">In 1997, a lone wolf crossed an ice bridge that briefly connected Canada with the remote Isle Royale, which lies off the coast of Michigan in Lake Superior and is renowned for its rich biodiversity.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His arrival revived the flagging fortunes of the wider wolf population, which had been hit by disease and inbreeding, and triggered cascading effects that improved the health of the overall forest ecosystem, a study in Science Advances showed Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Issues like inbreeding and low genetic diversity are an important concern for scientists,\" first author Sarah Hoy, an ecologist at Michigan Technological University told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"But this is the first study that shows when you have these genetic issues, they don\'t just impact the particular population and increase the risk that they will go extinct: they also have these really big knock on effects on all the other species.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Old Gray Guy\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first wolves arrived on the island in the late 1940s, and their main prey are moose -- giving rise to the longest running study of a predator-prey system anywhere in the world.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But by the 1980s, the wolves were in trouble due to the arrival of canine parvovirus which drove their numbers down from a high of 50 to around 12.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though the disease eventually disappeared, the population didn\'t recover right away. The reason was severe inbreeding, which caused lower reproductive success, as well as poorer health outcomes such as spinal deformities of the kind often seen in purebred dogs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If you\'re a wild wolf and you\'re having to take down prey like a moose that\'s eight times your size, that can make life in the wild really tough for you,\" Hoy said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Enter the immigrant, identified as \"M93\" by scientists, but affectionately nicknamed \"The Old Gray Guy.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">M93 was unrelated to the existing population, and also had the advantage of being unusually large -- a big benefit when defending turf from rivals or taking down 800 pound ungulates.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He quickly became the breeding male in one of the island\'s three wolf packs and went on to sire 34 pups, greatly improving the genetic health of the population and the kill rate of its prey.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Restoring balance -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moose are voracious herbivores, consuming up to 30 pounds (14 kilograms) of vegetation a day. By reducing their numbers, the wolves helped bring the forest back into balance, which was most notable in the effects on balsam firs -- the species commonly used as Christmas trees.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With fewer moose, the trees began growing at rates not seen in decades, which is vital for the renewal of the forest and the myriad plant and animal species that depend on it.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The benefits brought by M93\'s arrival lasted around a decade, then the situation deteriorated once more -- ironically as a result of his extreme reproductive success.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By 2008, two years after his death, 60 percent of the wolf population\'s gene pool was inherited from M93, which led to a return of genetic deterioration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">M93 himself began breeding with his daughter after his mate died, and simultaneous inbreeding by other members triggered a rapid population decline until 2015, when there were just two wolves left: a father-daughter pair who were also half siblings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fortunately, a restoration program beginning in 2018 has once more brought balance to the system, and there are currently around 30 wolves and just under a thousand moose on the island.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For Hoy, a key takeaway is that the same principle of inserting just a small number of individuals could be applied to other imperiled predator populations that suffer from the harmful effects of inbreeding, such as lions or cheetahs, to similarly improve their ecosystems.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">William Ripple, a professor of ecology at Oregon State University who was not part of the research, told AFP it was an \"important study\" that advances understanding \"by showing that genetic processes may limit the ecological effects of a keystone species, the gray wolf.\" AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 14:43:28', '2023-08-24 14:43:28'),
(8682, 8682, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The latest meeting between Hollywood\'s striking screenwriters and top executives from Disney, Universal, Warner Bros. and Netflix ended in an impasse, the writers\' union has said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After more than three months of silence from studios since the strike kicked off in May, negotiations with the Writers Guild of America resumed earlier this month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But talks remain deadlocked after an offer from studios to raise wages, improve work conditions and curb -- to an extent -- the use of artificial intelligence was rebuffed in the meeting late Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We were met with a lecture about how good their single and only counteroffer was,\" the WGA negotiating committee said in a statement about the talks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This wasn\'t a meeting to make a deal. This was a meeting to get us to cave,\" the committee said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The writers\' strike, which since mid-July has been accompanied by an actors\' strike, has brought much of the film and television industry to a standstill, costing Hollywood millions of dollars a day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The presence at Tuesday\'s meeting of top CEOs including Disney\'s Bob Iger and Netflix\'s Ted Sarandos, along with Donna Langley, chairman of Universal and Warner Bros.\'s David Zaslav, wasn\'t enough to make a deal happen.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have come to the table with an offer that meets the priority concerns the writers have expressed,\" said Carol Lombardini, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lombardini said that the studios and streaming platforms proposed a reasonable offer, including a 13 percent increase in the minimum wage for writers over three years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They also promised to share with the WGA the number of hours shows are being watched on streaming platforms -- figures that are currently confidential.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Studios have said they will be more transparent on streaming\'s audience numbers, but are not making a concrete offer to revise residual payments.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As streaming has become more popular, residuals for shows on those platforms have lagged behind traditional television residuals -- a key sticking point in negotiations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The offer on AI consisted of allowing writers to rework scripts originally created by AI, while being credited as the sole author -- and thus eligible to be paid as such.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But studios have remained silent on the possibility of training AI on existing scripts -- a red line for the WGA.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The WGA countered that the studios\' offer contained \"limitations and loopholes and omissions\" that \"failed to sufficiently protect writers from the existential threats that caused us to strike in the first place.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We will see you all out on the picket lines and let the companies continue to see what labor power looks like,\" the writers said. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 14:47:22', '2023-08-24 14:47:22'),
(8683, 8683, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Donald Trump attacked his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and Democrat Joe Biden in an interview aired on Wednesday as counter-programming to his party\'s first primary debate.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump skipped the debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and opted instead to do an interview with Tucker Carlson, a conservative former Fox News talk show host.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the rambling pre-recorded interview, which aired on X, formerly known as Twitter, at the same time as the debate, Trump said it did not make sense for him to take part while he was leading his rivals by \"50 to 60 points\" in the polls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Do I sit there for an hour or two hours, whatever it\'s going to be, and get harassed by people that shouldn\'t even be running for president?\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump dismissed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as a \"lost cause,\" said he was \"very disappointed\" by his former vice president Mike Pence and called former New Jersey governor Chris Christie a \"lunatic.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump touched on a wide range of subjects during the 45-minute interview which took place in a wood-paneled room at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, including being asked whether he thought Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier arrested for sex crimes, had killed himself.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I think he probably committed suicide,\" Trump said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump called Biden the \"worst president in the history of our country\" and suggested that the 80-year-old may not be the Democratic candidate come election day in November 2024.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I don\'t think he\'s going to make it to the gate but you never know,\" Trump said. \"I think he\'s worse mentally than he is physically and physically he\'s not exactly a triathlete.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"In many ways I\'d love to run against him because his record\'s so bad.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump also dismissed his four criminal indictments calling them \"trivia, nonsense, bullshit.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump has been indicted in New York on charges of paying hush money to a porn star, in Florida for mishandling top secret government documents and in Washington on charges of conspiring to upend his 2020 election loss.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 77-year-old Trump is set to surrender to the authorities in Atlanta on Thursday to face racketeering charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the southern state.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Asked by Carlson what his priority would be if he wins re-election, Trump said \"the first thing I would do is I would seal up the border good and tight except for people that want to come in legally.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump was also asked by Carlson bout the possibility of civil war or open conflict in the United States.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I don\'t know,\" he said. \"I can say this. There\'s a level of passion that I\'ve never seen. There\'s a level of hatred that I\'ve never seen, and that\'s probably a bad combination.\" nAFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 14:50:05', '2023-08-24 14:50:05'),
(8684, 8684, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russian air defences downed three Ukrainian drones, Moscow\'s defence ministry said on Thursday, without giving details of damage or casualties.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two drones sent by Kyiv \"were destroyed by air defence over the territory of the Bryansk region\" which borders Ukraine, the defence ministry wrote on Telegram.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another drone \"was detected and destroyed by air defence over the territory of Kaluga region\" southwest of Moscow, it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It gave no details on damage or casualties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow and other Russian regions have been targeted by a barrage of Ukrainian drone attacks in recent days after Kyiv vowed earlier this summer to \"return\" the conflict to Russia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone strike killed three people in the Russian border region of Belgorod, the local governor said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The same day, a drone crashed into a skyscraper in a Moscow business district and smashed a window, without causing any casualties, authorities said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was the sixth consecutive night the Moscow region had been targeted by drone strikes. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 15:29:20', '2023-08-24 15:29:20');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(8685, 8685, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka\'s air quality continued to be in the ‘moderate’ zone this morning.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 103 at 8:56 am, Dhaka ranked 9th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United Arab Emirates\' Dubai, Indonesia’s Jakarta and Uganda’s Kampala occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 161, 156 and 141, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’ with acceptable air quality. However, there may be a health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.</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 grappled with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in the winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 15:42:55', '2023-08-24 15:42:55'),
(8686, 8686, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Spain\'s women\'s football league on Wednesday demanded Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales be sacked for kissing star player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after the country\'s World Cup victory, describing his behaviour as \"disgusting\".</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Spanish football federation (RFEF) chief Rubiales, 46, has been heavily criticised for planting a kiss on the lips of Hermoso following her team\'s 1-0 triumph over England in the Women\'s World Cup final in Sydney on Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rubiales initially attacked his critics before eventually apologising but the criticism of his behaviour has not abated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">La Liga F said in a statement: \"The Professional Women\'s Football League has lodged a complaint with the President of the Superior Sports Council (CSD) after the very serious actions and behaviour of the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, at the final of the Women\'s World Cup, and is calling for his dismissal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"One of the greatest feats in the history of Spanish sport has been tainted by the embarrassing behaviour of the highest representative of Spanish football who, once again, and guided by his continuous and habitual desire for leadership, has revealed to not be up to the position he occupies,\" the women\'s league added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"A boss grabbing his employee by the head and kissing her on the mouth simply cannot be tolerated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s not just about the kiss. Celebrating the triumph on the presidential balcony while holding his genitals next to the queen is unacceptable and disgusting.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That criticism was a reference to another incident on Sunday evening, broadcast around the world, which appeared to show Rubiales grab his genitals with both hands to celebrate Spain\'s victory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Less than two metres away from his seat were Spanish Queen Letizia and her daughter, Infanta Sofia, who were also watching the match.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s an incident which has entered the history of world sport and, more seriously still, will forever be linked to our national women\'s team,\" said La Liga F who described it as a moment of \"unprecedented international disgrace for the \'Spain brand\', for Spanish sport and for women\'s football in the world\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Government demands \'urgent\' investigation -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on Wednesday, the Spanish government demanded transparency and urgent action from the football federation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The RFEF on Tuesday called an emergency meeting for Friday and activated an internal investigation into the incident.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Victor Francos, Spain\'s secretary of sport and president of the country\'s sports council (CSD), said the council would take action if the RFEF did not -- they can raise the case to Spain\'s Administrative Court for Sports.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I imagine that what the responsible people will do is talk to the two parties involved and issue a report,\" Francos told radio station Cadena Ser.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I have personally told the federation this report has to be transparent and urgent, because, if it is not, obviously we are obliged to take the corresponding additional measures.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday that Rubiales\' apology for the kiss was insufficient.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The government has said what it has said -- it is an unacceptable act, more steps (are happening) and we will use our instruments to prove transparency in the process and the corresponding resolution, if the time comes,\" added Francos.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">American forward Megan Rapinoe, the world\'s highest-profile women\'s player, was similarly scathing in an interview with The Atlantic on Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"What kind of upside-down world are we in? On the biggest stage, where you should be celebrating, Jenni has to be physically assaulted by this guy,\" said Rapinoe.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She referred to Rubiales\' behaviour at the final as portraying \"a deep level of misogyny and sexism\". AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 15:49:39', '2023-08-24 15:49:39'),
(8687, 8687, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Wednesday said that some people are taking advantage of Raushan Ershad’s illness to make her sign papers.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Responding to a question regarding Raushan Ershad’s take-over as the party’s chairman, GM Quader said: “Raushan Ershad is our sister-in-law, she is the wife of our elder brother. We used to consider our elder brother as a fatherly figure, and likewise we considered Raushan Ershad as a motherly figure since childhood.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I\'ve never had conflict with her and we still don\'t have any conflict. Some people are taking advantage of Raushan Ershad\'s illness to make her sign papers. A lot of statements are being made, and to my knowledge, she is not making any of those statements at will,” he told reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after returning home from a visit to India.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He alleged that some people are trying to weaken Jatiya Party.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“There is a conspiracy to destroy our image so that Jatiya Party cannot stand strong. They want to prove that Jatiya Party does not have strength, there is no unity in the party. The conspirators are spreading confusion about the party among the leaders and activists and the countrymen,” the party chairman said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We strongly condemn this conspiracy. I think disciplinary action should be taken against those who are doing this,” GM Quader said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, addressing Jatiya Party leaders and activists, he said, \"The conspirators are not our friends. They want to weaken us.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, responding to a question regarding his India trip the JaPa chairman said India wants to see a fair election in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We went there at the invitation of the Indian government,\" he told reporters following his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. “We\'ve had conversations with a number of important people.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Various bilateral issues involving the two countries were discussed during meetings, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">GM Quader said: \"India wants to see a fair election in Bangladesh. They will be happy if there is no violence before and after the election. India has significant investment in this country, so they are hoping for a peaceful election here.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In response to a query regarding India\'s perspective on the political stand-off between the major parties in Bangladesh, GM Quader said India considers it as an internal affair of Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“But they want us to resolve the crisis through dialogue,” he said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 15:55:21', '2023-08-24 15:55:21'),
(8688, 8688, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Three people were killed in a shooting Wednesday at a Southern California biker bar and the shooter also died, Orange County Sheriff\'s officials said.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The shooting was reported at around 7 p.m. at Cook\'s Corner in rural Trabuco Canyon in Orange County.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another six people were transported to hospitals, five of them with gunshot wounds, the sheriff\'s department posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Incident scene at Cooks Corner is static,\" the department posted just after 9 p.m.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cooks Corner is a popular, longtime watering hole for the biker community in Southern California. Many motorcycle riders and enthusiasts gather there weeknights and during the weekend for live music, open-mic nights or just a cold beer after a long ride.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hours before the shooting, several patrons were stopping by for an afternoon drink and meal. Rows of motorcycles and bikes framed the gravel entrance where plaques describe the storied history of the bar built in 1884.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dozens of patrol cars and ambulances converged on the scene Wednesday evening.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom was monitoring the shooting \"and coordinating with local officials as more details become available,\" his office tweeted. AP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 16:01:48', '2023-08-24 16:01:48'),
(8689, 8689, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Chinese President Xi Jinping assured that his country will always stay beside Bangladesh in its needs including providing support in joining the BRICS and ensuring permanent solution to the Rohingya issue.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I will always support you (Sheikh Hasina) as you can join the BRICS,\" Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen quoted Xi as telling Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Chinese president also said, \"China will help Bangladesh bring a permanent solution to the Rohingya issue---we don\'t want instability in the region\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the meeting at the Hotel Hilton Sandton here last (Wednesday) evening, Momen said in a media briefing that Xi wants to resolve the Rohingya issue through tripartite engagement of China, Bangladesh and Myanmar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Momen, the Bangladesh premier said her government wants to repatriate Rohingyas to their homeland citing that the displaced Myanmar nationals are becoming threats for the regional peace as many of them are engaged in illegal drugs and arms trading.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Peace is imperative for development,\" Sheikh Hasina said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Chinese president assured that they will always support Bangladesh in solving Rohingya issue, expressing his country\'s keenness to help Dhaka in the development of energy, renewable energy and infrastructure.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Xi also gave assurance of cooperation in making Bangladesh a developed and prosperous Sonar Bangla.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He continued: \"China will help you to materialise your dream to build a developed and prosperous \'Sonar Bangla\' at the quickest possible time.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina has sought Xi\'s help in quick implementation of some Chinese funded projects which are now being stuck for fund crisis while the Chinese president assured of looking into the matter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the talks, the prime minister stressed the need for reducing the trade gap between Bangladesh and China citing that Bangladesh imports Chinese goods worth about 20 billion US dollars every year while China imports Bangladeshi goods worth only 700 million US dollars.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Chinese president then assured of taking initiative to reduce the imbalance in China-Bangladesh trade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said his country has given duty and quota free access of 98 percent Bangladeshi products to the Chinese market.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The trade gap between Bangladesh and China will be reduced if some Chinese investments come into Bangladesh,\" Sheikh Hasina said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also stressed the need for signing the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In reply, the Chinese preside said, \"We will take measures to quicken the signing of the Preferential Trade Agreement between the two countries.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Momen also said Bangladesh in the bilateral meeting has expressed its eagerness to export fresh fruits such as mango, jackfruit, guava, fresh vegetables, cattle and poultry feeds to China.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Chinese president assured Bangladesh of considering the issue prominently, the Bangladesh foreign minister said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bangladesh premier also invited the Chinese president to visit Bangladesh to witness the opening of the Padma Rail Bridge to be held in October next.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In reply, the Chinese president said, \"I will definitely come to your country. But the time of visit will be fixed through talks between foreign ministers of both the countries\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Xi also invited the Bangladesh premier to visit China while Sheikh Hasina said she will visit China, but it may take time as she will be busy with the polls campaign as the national election is knocking at the door, Momen said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bangladesh premier as well urged the Chinese president to widen the scope for Bangladeshi students to study in China while Xi assured of looking into the matter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina arrived in Johannesburg on August 22 to attend the BRICS summit being held on August 22-24.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She will deliver a speech today on behalf of Bangladesh as a member of the \"New Development Bank of BRICS\" at Friends of BRICS Leaders Dialogue (BRICS-Africa Outreach and the BRICS Plus Dialogues) comprising representatives from 70 countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in South Africa at midnight on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Prime Minister\'s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, PM\'s daughter and Thematic Ambassador of Climate Vulnerable Forum and Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Saima Wazed, PM\'s Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah and Senior Secretary of Foreign Affairs Masud Bin Momen, were present at the meeting. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 16:57:39', '2023-08-24 16:57:39'),
(8690, 8690, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Algeria has underlined the need to engage in more efforts to scale up bilateral collaboration with Bangladesh.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh stressed the need for expanding cooperation in new and emerging areas through a time-bound and target-oriented roadmap and expediting pending agreements, MOUs, and new areas of collaboration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Algeria agreed to conclude those agreements as soon as possible, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Minister of Finance and Head of Algerian delegation to BRICS Outreach Forum, Laaziz Faid, had a courtesy meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday in Johannesburg, South Africa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While reflecting on the current energy crisis, given the growing demand in Bangladesh due to the expansion of the economy, the Foreign Minister stated that Bangladesh needs support from Algeria to meet its energy needs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He expressed Bangladesh\'s keen interest in buying LNG from Algeria.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Foreign Minister and the Algerian Finance Minister exchanged views on various bilateral issues of mutual interests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Foreign Minister informed the long historical relations between both countries, which was pioneered by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He expressed satisfaction at the state of excellent bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Algeria, which is growing in various fields including political, economic, business, trade, and investment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Momen informed him about Bangladesh’s earnest interest in joining BRICS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Algerian Finance Minister referred to the NAM Summit of 1973 and defined BRICS as a fruit of NAM.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both parties agreed that despite excellent relations there are still huge untapped prospects between the countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Momen requested the Algerian Finance Minister to expedite the process of completing the agreement on ‘Reciprocal bilateral promotion and protection of investment’ and ‘Avoidance of double taxation’.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also informed the Algerian Finance Minister about the socio-economic development and economic prospects.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Highlighting that Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals export to more than 100 countries, the Foreign Minister suggested that Algeria can import the best quality pharmaceutical products from Bangladesh at a reasonably low price.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both countries may also start a joint venture on pharmaceuticals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also proposed cooperation in IT and ICT sectors, defence, construction sectors, edible oil, and agriculture.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both countries also agreed to hold high-level visits in the next year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the meeting, the Algerian Finance Minister said he would take up the issue with the concerned stakeholders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Ambassador to Algeria and Foreign Ministry officials were also present during the meeting. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 17:22:41', '2023-08-24 17:22:41'),
(8691, 8691, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dinajpur Municipality Mayor Syed Jahangir Alam appeared before the court on Thursday and offered an unconditional apology to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for making derogatory remarks against a judge of the division.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mayor Jahangir appeared before the five-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique and apologised.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The court also exempted him from appearing before the court in person and set October 12 for the next hearing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on August 17 summoned the mayor and asked him to appear before the court on August 24 in person for making derogatory remarks against a judge.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The court also asked the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to remove the video containing the mayor\'s remarks from the internet.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Four lawyers of the Supreme Court filed a contempt of court petition over the mayor making derogatory comments against Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division M Enayetur Rahim centring the verdict against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. The four lawyers are advocates Harun-or-Rashid, Mahfuzur Rahman Roman, Md Moniruzzaman Rana and Shafique Raihan Shaon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The SC also issued a rule asking the government to explain why Mayor Jahangir should not be punished under the contempt of court rule and why directives should not be given to issue a show cause notice against him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Advocate Shaha Manjurul Haque stood for the petitioners, while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin and Barrister Ruhul Kuddus represented the state and Mayor Jahangir, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jahangir Alam was elected mayor of Dinajpur municipality in 2011. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 17:52:28', '2023-08-24 17:52:28'),
(8692, 8692, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has gone to Singapore on Thursday morning for medical treatment.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fakhrul, along with his wife Rahat Ara Begum and daughter Mirza Safaruh, left Dhaka\'s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport via a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight around 8:30 am, his personal secretary M Yunus Ali told UNB.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Fakhrul will receive treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for various health issues, including a blockage in the nerve in his neck.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, Yunus said the BNP leader’s wife has an appointment with a doctor at the National University Hospital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He, however, could not say when the BNP secretary general would return to Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After being released from jail in 2015, Fakhrul went to Singapore for treatment, where the issue in his internal carotid artery was detected.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since then, he has gone to Singapore every year for follow-up treatment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier this year, in February, the 76-year-old BNP secretary general went to Singapore for a medical checkup. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"4\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 17:59:40', '2023-08-24 17:59:40'),
(8693, 8693, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Lionel Messi had two assists and converted a penalty kick as Inter Miami rallied from a two-goal deficit and beat MLS-leading Cincinnati 5-4 in penalties in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal on Wednesday night.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cincinnati jumped to a 2-0 lead before Messi set up a pair of goals by Leonardo Campana, tying the game at 2. Miami moved ahead when Josef Martínez scored three minutes into the first extra period, but Cincinnati tied the game at 3 when Yuya Kubo scored in the 114th minute, forcing penalty kicks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi made Miami\'s first attempt in the shootout, and both teams were perfect through four rounds. Herons goalkeeper Drake Callender saved Nick Hagglund\'s kick in the fifth round, and Benjamin Cremaschi made his PK to send Miami to another tournament final.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Miami advanced to face the winner of Wednesday\'s late semifinal between Houston and Salt Lake in the final in Sept. 27.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi was held scoreless for the first time since joining Inter Miami in late July. His first assist of the game was on a free kick in the 68th minute to cut Miami\'s deficit to 2-1. He delivered a long cross into the box to set up Campana\'s second goal on a header that sent the game to overtime.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The seven-time Ballon d\'Or winner who led Argentina to the World Cup crown last year, had scored 10 goals in his first seven games with Miami, leading the team to the Leagues Cup title. He is set to make his Major League Soccer debut Saturday at the New York Red Bulls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Luciano Acosta and Brandon Vazquez scored the first two goals for Cincinnati.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead early in the first half on a nifty flick from Acosta, its Argentine No. 10 and captain, who scored his 14th goal across all competition this season off a header from Aaron Boupendza.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vazquez, a U.S. national team forward, doubled Cincinnati\'s lead in the 53rd minute on a laser from outside the box, off a low cross from former Atletico Madrid and Colombia international defender Santiago Arias. AP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 18:31:57', '2023-08-24 18:31:57'),
(8694, 8694, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Iran and Saudi Arabia are among six nations invited Thursday to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia are also set to join the bloc from 2024.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The announcement was made at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose country is the current BRICS chair.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">BRICS is currently made up of the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Those five members agreed at this week\'s summit to expand the bloc.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\'s the second time that BRICS has decided to expand. The bloc was formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was added in 2010. The BRICS bloc represents around 40% of the world\'s population and contributes more than a quarter of global GDP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Three of the group\'s other leaders are attending the summit and were present alongside Ramaphosa for the announcement, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russian President Vladimir Putin did not travel to the summit after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March for the abduction of children from Ukraine. He has participated in the summit virtually, while Russia was represented at the announcement in Johannesburg by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. AP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 19:24:47', '2023-08-24 19:24:47'),
(8695, 8695, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has walked to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to exchange pleasantries at a dinner here hosted by current Chair of the BRICS and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was few yards away from the Bangladesh premier, walked to Sheikh Hasina and exchanged pleasantries,\" Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told a news briefing about the premier\'s Wednesday\'s engagements.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The two prime ministers also inquired about each other’s wellbeing for a while,” Momen said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The South African president hosted the dinner at Gallagher Estate, Midrand in Johannesburg on Wednesday night in honour of head of the states and governments arrived in Johannesburg to join the 15th BRICS Summit at his invitation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the dinner, Sheikh Hasina also exchanged pleasantries with several other head of the states and governments including Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The pleasantries were exchanged with a very cordial manner,\" Momen said. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 19:50:00', '2023-08-24 19:50:00'),
(8696, 8696, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a jet which crashed in Russia killing all 10 people on board, Russia\'s civil aviation authority says.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Social media linked to the Wagner mercenary group say his private plane was shot down by Russian air defences.</div><div><br></div><div>Prigozhin died \"as a result of actions of traitors to Russia\", the Grey Zone Telegram channel posted.</div><div><br></div><div>Prigozhin led an aborted mutiny against Russia\'s armed forces in June.</div><div><br></div><div>However, some experts in Russia and abroad suggest the revolt was staged, and Prigozhin abandoned his \"justice march\" on Moscow after direct orders from President Vladimir Putin.</div><div><br></div><div>Wednesday\'s crash in the Tver region, north-west of the capital Moscow, comes on the same day that senior Russian general Sergei Surovikin was reportedly sacked as air force chief.</div><div><br></div><div>Gen Surovikin was known to have good relations with Prigozhin and had not been seen in public since the mutiny.</div><div><br></div><div>Prigozhin\'s aircraft - an Embraer-135 (EBM-135BJ) - was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg on Wednesday with seven passengers and three crew, Russia\'s Rosaviatsia aviation authority said.</div><div><br></div><div>Senior Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin - who founded the group in 2014 - was also on the passenger list, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>The plane is reported to have come down near the village of Kuzhenkino, about half-way between Moscow and St Petersburg.</div><div><br></div><div>One report said the body of Prigozhin, 62, had been found and identified - this has not been officially confirmed.</div><div><br></div><div>All 10 bodies have been recovered, Russia\'s state-run news agency Interfax said.</div><div><br></div><div>Grey Zone said local residents had heard two bangs before the crash and had seen two vapour trails.</div><div><br></div><div>Tass news agency said the plane had caught fire on hitting the ground.</div><div><br></div><div>The aircraft had been in the air for less than half-an-hour, it added.</div><div><br></div><div>An investigation has been launched into the crash and emergency services are searching the scene.</div><div><br></div><div>At the same time, Grey Zone reported that a second business jet owned by Prigozhin had landed safely in the Moscow region.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The mercenary group has about 25,000 fighters.</div><div><br></div><div>The group has been active in Ukraine, Syria and west Africa, and has gained a reputation for brutality.</div><div><br></div><div>Prigozhin headed the mutiny on 23-24 June, moving his troops from Ukraine, seizing the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, and threatening to march on Moscow.</div><div><br></div><div>The move came after months of tension with Russian military commanders over the invasion of Ukraine launched by President Putin in 2014.</div><div><br></div><div>The stand-off seemed to have been settled by a deal which allowed Wagner troops to move to Belarus or join the Russian army. According to BBC reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 21:35:05', '2023-08-24 21:35:05'),
(8697, 8697, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Iran and Saudi Arabia are among six nations invited Thursday (August 24, 2023) to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia are also set to join the bloc from 2024.</div><div><br></div><div>The announcement was made at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose country is the current BRICS chair.</div><div><br></div><div>BRICS is currently made up of the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Those five members agreed at this week\'s summit to expand the bloc.</div><div><br></div><div>It\'s the second time that BRICS has decided to expand. The bloc was formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was added in 2010. The BRICS bloc represents around 40% of the world\'s population and contributes more than a quarter of global GDP.</div><div><br></div><div>Three of the group\'s other leaders are attending the summit and were present alongside Ramaphosa for the announcement, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.</div><div><br></div><div>Russian President Vladimir Putin did not travel to the summit after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March for the abduction of children from Ukraine. He has participated in the summit virtually, while Russia was represented at the announcement in Johannesburg by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. According to AP reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 21:44:01', '2023-08-24 21:44:01'),
(8698, 8698, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Professor Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman said on Wednesday the teachers, students, officials and employees of Dhaka University will always be vocal against and resistant to all kind of undemocratic and unconstitutional forces.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“The rise of unconstitutional and undemocratic forces is severely harmful to the country\'s democracy, growth and development”, Akhtaruzzaman told a discussion marking the Black Day of the university at TSC auditorium of the university.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Akhtaruzzaman urged everyone to speed up the practice of constitutional and democratic values ??as well as to remain vigilant against any kind of inhumane, undemocratic, unconstitutional and communal activities.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Akhtaruzzaman said on this day in 2007, some wrongdoers of a national institution wanted to misuse their power in an undemocratic way through intimidation and terrorist activities.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"However, the students of the university have always been active against any kind of inhuman, undemocratic, communal activities and extremism,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>\"In the face of the collective protests of the teachers and students of Dhaka University, the power-hungry evil force was forced to retreat and democracy was re-established in the country,\" he added.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>DU Pro-VC (Administration) Dr Mohammad Samad, DU Pro-VC (Academic) Dr ASM Maksud Kamal, Treasurer Md Mamtaj Uddin Ahmed, DU Teachers Association President Dr Nizamul Hoque Bhuiyan, General Secretary Dr Zeenat Huda, DU Registrar Probir Kumar Sarker, tortured teacher Professor Dr Anwar Hossen, DU BCL General Secretary Tanbir Hasan Shaikat were present at the discussion.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>On August 20, 2007 army personnel assaulted three students and insulted a teacher of DU at the gymnasium playground during a football match, triggering clashes between police and students at DU and other educational institutions across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>On the night of August 23, the military arrested four teachers and eight students of the university, and reportedly tortured them.</div><div><br></div><div>One person was killed in Rajshahi and several hundred injured during the clashes across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Since then, the university has been observing August 23 as Black Day every year. According to BSS reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-08-24 22:04:19', '2023-08-24 22:04:19');
