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(4721, 4721, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The nominations for the 95th annual Academy Awards were announced Tuesday morning.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “The Fabelmans” were among the big leaders. “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the biggest blockbusters released in 2022, were among the best picture nominees.</div><div><br></div><div>The Oscars ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with Jimmy Kimmel as host and will be televised live on ABC. This year’s ceremony is sure to draw extra attention after Will Smith smacked Chris Rock during last year’s show.</div><div>Here are the nominees of major categories:</div><div><br></div><div>Best Picture</div><div><br></div><div>All Quiet on the Western Front</div><div><br></div><div>Avatar: The Way of Water</div><div><br></div><div>The Banshees of Inisherin</div><div><br></div><div>Elvis</div><div>Everything Everywhere All At Once</div><div><br></div><div>The Fabelmans</div><div><br></div><div>Tar</div><div><br></div><div>Top Gun: Maverick</div><div><br></div><div>Triangle of Sadness</div><div><br></div><div>Women Talking</div><div><br></div><div>Best Director</div><div><br></div><div>Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin</div><div><br></div><div>Daniels, Everything Everywhere All At Once</div><div><br></div><div>Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans</div><div><br></div><div>Todd Field, Tar</div><div><br></div><div>Ruben Ostlund, Triangle of Sadness</div><div><br></div><div>Best Actress</div><div><br></div><div>Cate Blanchett, Tar</div><div><br></div><div>Ana De Armas, Blonde</div><div><br></div><div>Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie</div><div><br></div><div>Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans</div><div><br></div><div>Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once</div><div><br></div><div>Best Actor</div><div><br></div><div>Austin Butler, Elvis</div><div><br></div><div>Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin</div><div><br></div><div>Brendan Fraser, The Whale</div><div><br></div><div>Paul Mescal, Aftersun</div><div><br></div><div>Bill Nighy, Living</div><div><br></div><div>Best Supporting Actress</div><div><br></div><div>Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever</div><div><br></div><div>Hong Chau, The Whale</div><div><br></div><div>Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin</div><div><br></div><div>Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once</div><div><br></div><div>Stepanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once</div><div><br></div><div>Best Supporting Actor</div><div><br></div><div>Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin</div><div><br></div><div>Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway</div><div><br></div><div>Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans</div><div><br></div><div>Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin</div><div><br></div><div>Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once</div><div><br></div><div>Best Adapted Screenplay</div><div><br></div><div>All Quiet on the Western Front</div><div><br></div><div>Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery</div><div><br></div><div>Living</div><div><br></div><div>Top Gun: Maverick</div><div><br></div><div>Women Talking</div><div><br></div><div>Best Original Screenplay</div><div><br></div><div>The Banshees of Inisherin</div><div><br></div><div>Everything Everywhere All At Once</div><div><br></div><div>The Fabelmans</div><div><br></div><div>Tar</div><div><br></div><div>Triangle of Sadness</div><div><br></div><div>Best International Feature</div><div><br></div><div>All Quiet on the Western Front</div><div><br></div><div>Argentina, 1985</div><div><br></div><div>Close</div><div><br></div><div>EO</div><div><br></div><div>The Quiet Girl</div><div><br></div><div>Best Song</div><div><br></div><div>Applause, Tell it Like a Woman</div><div><br></div><div>Hold My Hand, Top Gun: Maverick</div><div><br></div><div>Lift Me Up, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever</div><div><br></div><div>Naatu Naatu, RRR</div><div><br></div><div>This is a Life, Everything Everywhere All At Once</div><div><br></div><div>Best Animated Feature</div><div><br></div><div>Marcel the Shell with Shoes On</div><div><br></div><div>Puss in Boots: The Last Wish</div><div><br></div><div>The Sea Beast</div><div><br></div><div>Turning Red</div><div><br></div><div>Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio</div><div><br></div><div>Best Film Editing</div><div><br></div><div>The Banshees of Inisherin</div><div><br></div><div>Elvis</div><div><br></div><div>Everything Everywhere All At Once</div><div><br></div><div>Tar</div><div><br></div><div>Top Gun: Maverick</div><div><br></div><div>Best Cinematography</div><div><br></div><div>All Quiet on the Western Front</div><div><br></div><div>Bardo</div><div><br></div><div>Elvis</div><div><br></div><div>Empire of Light</div><div><br></div><div>Tar</div><div><br></div><div>Best Visual Effects</div><div><br></div><div>All Quiet on the Western Front</div><div><br></div><div>Avatar: The Way of Water</div><div><br></div><div>The Batman</div><div><br></div><div>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever</div><div><br></div><div>Top Gun: Maverick Source: BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-24 14:30:39', '2023-01-24 14:30:39'),
(4722, 4722, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The total amount of debt to the top 20 defaulters is Tk 19,283.93 crore while the amount of defaulted loan is Tk 16,587. 92 crore.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal divulged the amount in parliament on Tuesday responding to a tabled question from ruling Awami League MP Shahiduzzaman Sarker.</div><div><br></div><div>The finance minister placed the list the names of top 20 loan defaulters, amount of total debt and the amount of defaulted loans to them.</div><div><br></div><div>He also informed the House that the total number of defaulters in the country is 7,86,065.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the list, among the top 20 loan defaulters, the debt status of CLC Power Company Limited is Tk 1,732.92 crore while their defaulted debt is 1,649.44 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The debt status and amount of defaulted loan of 19 others are: Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, Tk 1,855.39 crore, defaulted debt, 1529.74 crore; Remex Footwear Ltd, Tk 1,077.63 crore, all those amount are defaulted loans; Rising Steel Company Ltd, 1,142.76 crore, defaulted debt, Tk 990.28 crore; Mohammad Elias Brothers (Pvt.) Ltd, Tk 965.60 crore, all those amount are defaulted loans.</div><div><br></div><div>Rupali Composite Leather Wire Ltd.\'s status and amount of defaulted loans are the same. Their defaulted debt is Tk 873. 29 lakh.</div><div><br></div><div>Crescent Leathers Products Ltd.\'s status and amount of defaulted loans is Tk 855.22 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The status and amount of defaulted loans of Quantum Power Systems Ltd. is Tk 811.33 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The debt status of Saad Musa Fabrics Ltd. is Tk 1,131.83 crore, the amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 776.63 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The status of amount of BR Spinning Mills Ltd. and the amount of defaulted loans is Tk 721 Crore 43 Lakh.</div><div><br></div><div>The debt status of SA Oil Refinery Ltd. is Tk 1,172.69 crore. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 703.53 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Debt status of Maisha Property Development Ltd. is Tk 686.14 crore. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 663.18 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Debt status of Radium Composite Textile Ltd. is Tk 770.48 crore. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 660.42 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Debt status of Samannaz Super Oil Ltd. is Tk 1,130.68 crore. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 651.7 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Manha Precast Technology Ltd.\'s debt status and defaulted debt amount is Tk 647.16 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Asian Education Ltd.\'s debt status is Tk. 653 Crores. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 635.94 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Debt status of SM Steel Re-Rolling Mills Ltd. is Tk 888.71 crore. Their defaulted loan amount is 630.26 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The debt status of Apollo Steel Complex Ltd. is Tk 872.72 crore. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 623.34 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Debt Status of Ehsan Steel Re-Rolling Ltd. is Tk 624.27 crore. Their defaulted loans amount is Tk 590.23 crore and the debt status of Siddiqui Traders is Tk 670.68 crore while the amount of their defaulted loans is 541.20 crore. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-24 14:34:03', '2023-01-24 14:34:03'),
(4723, 4723, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Three people, including an Awami League leader, were killed in an attack by a buffalo at Delduar upazila in Tangail district on Sunday and Monday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The deceased were identified as Hasmat Ali Khan, President of Lauhati union unit Awami League, one Kitab Ali, and Hazera Begum, wife of Azgar Ali of Tarutia village in the upazila.</div><div><br></div><div>Nasir Uddin Mridha, officer-in-charge of Delduar Police Station, said Sharif Mia of Baropakhia village of the upazila purchased two buffaloes for farming on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>Of these, one buffalo managed to tear off its noose.</div><div><br></div><div>At one stage, the buffalo started to attack people, leaving 25 injured. They were taken to different hospitals.</div><div><br></div><div>Among the injured, Hazera succumbed to her injuries at Mirzapur Kumudini Hospital around 3 pm on Sunday while Hasmat died at Savar Enam Medical College and Hospital and and Kitab Ali on the way to Dhaka, both on Monday night. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-24 14:48:13', '2023-01-24 14:48:13'),
(4724, 4724, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli soldiers last week posed no threat or danger and should not have lost his life, the Israeli army admitted on Monday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Ahmed Kahla, 46, from Ramon, near Silwad in the occupied West Bank, was shot in the neck from close range at a military checkpoint on Jan. 15.</div><div><br></div><div>The Israeli army initially claimed that Kahla had been shot because he got out of his car with a knife in his hand and ran toward soldiers with the intention of stabbing them.</div><div><br></div><div>Kahla’s son Qusai, 20, who was with his father at the time, said their car was stopped at the checkpoint and a soldier fired a stun grenade that hit the roof of the vehicle. When Kahla asked why they were being attacked, an officer used pepper spray on him and pulled him from the vehicle before the soldier shot him dead.</div><div><br></div><div>An army investigation found that Kahla had no intention of carrying out a stabbing attack and “the incident should not have ended in death.”</div><div><br></div><div>The victim’s brother Zayed, 45, told Arab News: “They killed him for no reason. We will take all measures to prosecute them.”&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The family intends to seek financial compensation from the army in the Israeli courts, and will also go to the International Criminal Court.</div><div><br></div><div>“We realize that their trial will not bring our brother Ahmed back to life, but we want them to pay the price for their crime,” Zayed said. “We want to deter them from killing more Palestinians in cold blood and without reason.” Source: Arab News</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-24 15:03:26', '2023-01-24 15:03:26'),
(4725, 4725, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A top Indian university has threatened strict disciplinary action if its students’ union carries out plans today to screen a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the move might disturb peace and harmony on campus.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Modi’s government has dismissed the documentary, which questioned his leadership during deadly riots in his home state of Gujarat in 2002, as “propaganda”, blocked its airing and also barred sharing of any clips via social media in India.</div><div><br></div><div>Modi was chief minister of the western state during the violence that killed more than 2,000 people, most of them Muslims.</div><div><br></div><div>The students’ union of New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, long seen as a bastion of left-wing politics, said on Twitter it would screen the documentary, “India: The Modi Question”, at a cafeteria at 9pm.</div><div><br></div><div>On its website, the university administration said it had not given permission for the showing.</div><div><br></div><div>“This is to emphasise that such an unauthorised activity may disturb peace and harmony of the university campus,” it added.</div><div><br></div><div>“The concerned students/individuals are firmly advised to cancel the proposed programme immediately, failing which a strict disciplinary action may be initiated as per the university rules.”</div><div><br></div><div>On Twitter, the union president, Aishe Ghosh, had asked students to attend the screening of the documentary, describing it as having been “‘banned’ by an ‘elected government’ of the largest ‘democracy\'”.</div><div><br></div><div>Asked by Reuters if the union planned to go ahead with the screening, Ghosh responded, “Yes, we are.”</div><div><br></div><div>She declined to comment on the university’s threat of disciplinary action, however.</div><div><br></div><div>Police are closely watching the situation, said a Delhi police officer monitoring the area around JNU.</div><div><br></div><div>But police in the capital declined to make any official comment.</div><div><br></div><div>The documentary is also set to be screened at some campuses in the Communist-ruled southern state of Kerala.</div><div><br></div><div>India’s home ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the government’s plans if the film is shown at JNU and in Kerala.</div><div><br></div><div>The 2002 Gujarat violence erupted after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims caught fire, killing 59.</div><div><br></div><div>Crowds later rampaged through Muslim neighbourhoods.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2017, 11 men were jailed for life for setting the train ablaze.</div><div><br></div><div>Modi has denied accusations that he did not do enough to stop the riots and was exonerated in 2012 following an inquiry overseen by the Supreme Court.</div><div><br></div><div>Another petition questioning his exoneration was dismissed last year.</div><div><br></div><div>Last week, the BBC said the documentary was “rigorously researched” and involved a “wide range” of voices and opinions, including responses from people in Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.</div><div><br></div><div>The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the threat of disciplinary action. Source: Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-24 15:28:27', '2023-01-24 15:28:27'),
(4726, 4726, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Blazing centuries from skipper Rohit Sharma and fellow opener Shubman Gill took India to a formidable 385-9, despite a middle-order wobble in Tuesday\'s third and final one-day international against New Zealand.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Rohit (101) and Gill (112) put on 212 for the opening wicket in Indore to lay a solid foundation for the innings, with the hosts already holding an unassailable 2-0 series lead.</div><div><br></div><div>New Zealand\'s bowlers hit back after the pair\'s departure on a batting-friendly pitch, where at one stage the hosts looked set to go well past 400.</div><div><br></div><div>India slipped to 293-5 before Hardik Pandya took charge, boosting the total with a 38-ball 54, including three fours and three sixes.</div><div><br></div><div>Rohit and Gill, who hit a match-winning 208 in the series opener, started cautiously with India reaching 17-0 in the first four overs before the pair exploded with boundaries.</div><div><br></div><div>Gill smashed Lockie Ferguson for four fours and a six in a 22-run eighth over and Rohit joined the party with a few big hits over the fence.</div><div><br></div><div>It was the highest opening partnership by any team against the Kiwis in the 50-over format, surpassing the 201-run stand of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in 2009.</div><div><br></div><div>Gill recorded his third 100-plus score in his last four ODI innings, taking off his helmet and basking in applause from the stands when he crossed the milestone. Rohit made his first ODI century since January 2019.</div><div><br></div><div>Michael Bracewell bowled Rohit and Blair Tickner sent back Gill in the next over and India soon lost regular wickets, despite a brisk 36 from Virat Kohli.</div><div><br></div><div>The left-handed Ishan Kishan was run out after a mix-up with Kohli, who soon fell to Jacob Duffy, before Pandya hit back.</div><div><br></div><div>Pandya put on 54 runs for the seventh wicket with Shardul Thakur, who hit 25, the hosts hitting 60 runs in the final five overs. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-24 15:35:30', '2023-01-24 15:35:30'),
(4727, 4727, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Two hundred asylum-seeking children, including some aged under 16, are missing from temporary hotel accommodation in Britain, the government said today, raising new questions over ministers’ handling of migrant arrivals.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is under pressure on two fronts over immigration: from those who say he is failing to protect Britain’s borders from migrants arriving in small boats and others who say the government is not treating those who arrive properly.</div><div><br></div><div>Immigration minister Robert Jenrick was called to parliament today by a member of the Green Party to explain media reports of missing children.</div><div><br></div><div>Jenrick said 13 of the 200 missing children were under 16 years old and one was female, with around 88% of all those missing coming from Albania.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the government was fulfilling its obligations to protect the children.</div><div><br></div><div>“The movements of under 18s in and out of hotels are monitored and reported and they’re accompanied by social workers when attending organised activities,” Jenrick told parliament.</div><div><br></div><div>“We have no power to detain unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in these settings.”</div><div><br></div><div>The number of people arriving in England across the Channel has more than doubled in the last two years, with government figures showing Albanians account for the highest number of people arriving by this route.</div><div><br></div><div>Last year ministers came under pressure over poor living conditions and overcrowding at a migrant holding facility, and faced threats of legal action from rights groups and a public sector workers’ union.</div><div><br></div><div>The site was subsequently cleared of migrants.</div><div><br></div><div>In response to Jenrick, Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas said the children were at risk of being snatched, abducted and coerced by criminals.</div><div><br></div><div>“This is horrific,” Lucas said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Vulnerable children are being dumped by the home office. Scores of them are going missing … we are asking the home office to apply some basic safeguarding so we can keep them safe.” ‍Source: Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-24 16:04:58', '2023-01-24 16:04:58'),
(4728, 4728, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The premier said the government cancelled the proposed EVM project as the government now attaches priority to maintaining food security and healthcare services and welfare of the people right now in this situation.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday directed the deputy commissioners (DCs) to make all-out efforts to increase food production and exercise austerity in using electricity and public funds.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>She also asked them avoid less-important projects to face the current situation as well as to be devoted to building a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ by 2041.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier issued a 25-point directive while opening the three-day conference of deputy commissioners (DCs) at Shapla Hall of her office here in the city.</div><div><br></div><div>PM Hasina said she saw in today\'s (Tuesday) paper that one leader of opposition remarked that Tk 8,000 crore would be required for the EVM project and so, the project was excluded from the Planning Commission as Bangladesh is in a financial crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>“The financial crisis definitely prevails all over the world. We’ve it also. But it (the crisis) is not so here that we can’t run. Now our priority is to maintain people\'s food security and medical care, and consider the people\'s welfare first. I will spend the money no matter how much is required to boost agricultural production to ensure the medical treatment of the people,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Why will we go to implement the projects which are not needed now?” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier said sincerity for standing beside the people and serving them was created among the government officials and employees after she came in power.</div><div><br></div><div>“I’ve seen a change in you now. The sincerity for standing beside the people and serving the people has been witnessed among the government officials and employees after I came to power. Otherwise, we could not have possible for us to gain so much success in the development of Bangladesh,” she said adding that she renamed the establishment ministry as the public administration ministry.</div><div><br></div><div>The directives include exercising austerity in using government funds; stepping up endeavors to attain the targets set under SDG localization; ensure accesses of actual destitute and disadvantaged people to all social safety net programmes and creating employments; improving the teaching quality in educational institutions; ensuring the functioning of community clinics and union health and family welfare centres; ensuring creative practices, cultural activities and sports facilities for children and adolescents in every area; taking initiative to protect and create parks and playgrounds for the healthy lifestyle of citizens; developing a skilled workforce to take the optimum advantage of the fourth industrial revolution; keeping the websites of the government offices updated regularly and raising the progress and successes of the government’s development works for respective districts there; working to ensure safe use of IT and internet as well as taking initiative to prevent misuse of social media and rumours; strengthening vigilance to ensure that the law and order situation no way deteriorates; and paying attention so that none can hamper the communal harmony by spreading rumours.</div><div><br></div><div>The remaining directives are: raising awareness against drugs, militancy and terrorism; conducting mobile courts to prevent crimes like child marriage, eve-teasing, food adulteration, and counterfeit goods; strengthening monitoring to maintain uninterrupted supply of essential commodities in the market, prevent artificial crisis and keep commodity prices normal; taking strict measures to protect government lands, rivers, forests, mountains and natural water bodies; increasing the navigability of river through regular dredging works; planting palm trees in lightning-prone areas; taking special initiatives to develop and maintain the tourism industry, and develop new tourist spots; conserving the heritage and culture of a district; strengthening monitoring to ensure that government offices are run in a spirit of service and putting public interest above everything else; and becoming devoted to build developed, prosperous golden and Smart Bangladesh by 2041 through proper coordination of the activities of all the district-level government offices.</div><div><br></div><div>This time there are a total of 26 sessions, including 20 working sessions, with various ministries in the DC Conference-2023 that will end on Thursday (January 26, 2023).</div><div><br></div><div>In the conference, the DCs meet the President, the Chief Justice and the Speaker, and exchange views with the relevant ministries for the implementation of various policies, strategies and instructions of the government.</div><div><br></div><div>They come up with various reform proposals based on the challenges they face, the experience they accumulate at the field level while implementing the government\'s various directives and policies. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-24 16:15:06', '2023-01-24 16:15:06'),
(4729, 4729, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Chris Hipkins was sworn in Wednesday as New Zealand\'s 41st prime minister, following the unexpected resignation last week of Jacinda Ardern.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hipkins, 44, has promised a back-to-basics approach focusing on the economy and what he described as the “pandemic of inflation.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He will have less than nine months before contesting a tough general election, with opinion polls indicating his Labour Party is trailing its conservative opposition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New Zealand Governor-General Cindy Kiro officiated the brief swearing in ceremony in front of his friends and colleagues after she earlier accepted Ardern\'s resignation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This is the biggest privilege and responsibility of my life,” Hipkins said at the ceremony. “I\'m energized and excited by the challenges that lie ahead.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Carmel Sepuloni was also sworn in as deputy prime minister, the first time a person with Pacific Island heritage has taken on the role. She congratulated Hipkins and thanked him for the trust he\'d placed in her.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the ceremony, Hipkins said as an aside to reporters: “It feels pretty real now.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hipkins is known to many by the nickname “Chippy,\" which fits with his upbeat demeanor and skills as an amateur handyman.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He served as education and police minister under Ardern. He rose to public prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he took on a kind of crisis management role. But he and other liberals have long been in the shadow of Ardern, who became a global icon of the left and exemplified a new style of leadership.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ardern last week said she was resigning after more than five years in the role because she no longer had “enough in the tank” to do the job justice. “It\'s that simple,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Tuesday she made her final official appearance as prime minister, saying the thing she would miss most was the people because they had been the “joy of the job.” On Wednesday morning, she was greeted with hugs and farewells by dozens of former staff and admirers on Parliament\'s forecourt as she left the building.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ardern plans to stay on as a backbench lawmaker until April to avoid triggering a special election ahead of the nation’s general election in October.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New Zealand’s head-of-state is Britain’s King Charles III, and Kiro is his representative in New Zealand, although these days the nation’s relationship with the monarchy is largely symbolic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Britain\'s Prince William and wife, Kate, thanked Ardern on Twitter “for your friendship, leadership and support over the years, not least at the time of my grandmother’s death. Sending you, Clarke and Neve our best wishes. W & C”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Clarke Gayford is Ardern\'s fiance and Neve is their 4-year-old daughter. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 03:12:01', '2023-01-25 12:40:53'),
(4730, 4730, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">University of Wisconsin System officials said Tuesday that they will ban the use of TikTok on system devices.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">System spokesman Mark Pitsch told The Associated Press about the move in email statements.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nearly half of the states nationwide have blocked the popular social media app owned by a Chinese company. Earlier this month, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers banned the use of TikTok on Wisconsin state phones and other devices, citing potential risks to privacy, safety and security.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The order didn\'t apply to the UW System, which employs 40,000 faculty and staff, because it isn’t an executive branch agency. UW-Madison, the system\'s flagship school, has multiple TikTok accounts, including one for the women\'s volleyball team. Universities often use TikTok accounts as a recruiting tool to connect with high school students.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A number of other universities across the country have banned TikTok in recent weeks, including Auburn, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa and Texas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. It has been targeted by critics who say the Chinese government could access user data, such as browsing history and location. U.S. armed forces also have prohibited the app on military devices.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">TikTok is consumed by two-thirds of American teens and has become the second-most popular domain in the world. But there has long been bipartisan concern in Washington that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize American user data or try to push pro-China narratives or misinformation. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"5\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 03:15:38', '2023-01-25 03:15:38'),
(4731, 4731, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Microsoft on Tuesday reported a 12% drop in profit for the October-December quarter, reflecting the economic uncertainty it said led to its decision to cut 10,000 workers.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The company reported quarterly profit of $16.43 billion, or $2.20 per share.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Excluding one-time items such as $800 million to pay severance to laid-off employees, the company based in Redmond, Washington, said it earned $2.32 a share, which topped Wall Street expectation for adjusted earnings of $2.29 a share. Microsoft’s stock was up more than 4% in extended trading following the release of its earnings report.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The software maker posted revenue of $52.75 billion in the October-December period, its second fiscal quarter, up 2% from the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Microsoft to post revenue of $52.99 billion for the quarter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Microsoft last week blamed “macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities” for its decision to cut nearly 5% of its global workforce. It’s one of a number of tech companies, including Google, Amazon, Salesforce and Facebook parent Meta, to announce mass layoffs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Microsoft\'s personal computing business, centered on its Windows software, was widely expected to continue a deterioration that began earlier last year due to economic uncertainties and crimped demand. Quarterly sales from that segment dropped 19% to $14.24 billion, the company said Tuesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The company gets licensing revenue from PC manufacturers who install its Windows operating system on their products.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Market research firm Gartner reported that worldwide PC shipments in the October-December quarter declined 28.5% from the same period of 2021, the steepest quarterly decline since Gartner began tracking the market in the 1990s.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among the factors reducing consumer demand for PCs were increased inflation, higher interest rates, the expectation of a global recession and the fact that many people already bought new computers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gartner said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With a weak PC market, analysts were closely watching for results from Microsoft\'s other big business segments — namely, its cloud-computing division, where sales grew 18% to $21.51 billion. Revenue also grew from the company\'s workplace software segment — which includes the Office suite of products — by 7% to $17 billion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a bid to further integrate the latest advances in artificial technology into its products, Microsoft on Monday announced a “multiyear, multibillion dollar investment” in the artificial intelligence startup OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT and other tools that can write readable text and computer code and generate new images. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"18\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 03:19:14', '2023-01-25 03:19:14'),
(4732, 4732, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Elon Musk returned to federal court to defend himself against a class-action lawsuit that alleges he misled Tesla shareholders with a tweet about an aborted buyout that the billionaire defiantly insisted Tuesday he could have pulled off, had he wanted.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk spent roughly three more hours on the stand during his third day of testimony before being excused by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen. It’s unlikely Musk, 51, will be summoned back to the witness stand during a civil trial expected to be turned over to a nine-person jury in early February.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk, who also owns Twitter while continuing to run Tesla, spent much of Tuesday depicting himself, while being questioned by his own attorney, Alex Spiro, as an impeccably trustworthy business leader capable of raising as much money as he needs to pursue his visions. He testily sparred with a shareholder lawyer, Nicholas Porritt, who had raised his ire earlier in the trial.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At two separate junctures Tuesday under Spiro’s gentle prodding, Musk left no doubt about his contempt for Porritt with a remark expressing doubt that the lawyer was looking out for the best interests of Tesla shareholders. The remarks drew a quick rebuke from the judge and were stricken from the record. “It\'s inappropriate,\" Chen at one point admonished Musk.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When he was being challenged by Porritt, Musk purposefully diverted his gaze from the lawyer and delivered his explanations while looking directly at the jurors sitting a few feet to his right. In another instance, Musk asserted, without elaborating, that a question from Porritt wondering if he had ever caused investors to suffer losses contained “falsehoods.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the flip side, Spiro at one point mistakenly addressed Musk as “your honor\" while asking the billionaire how much money he had made for investors during his career. The slipup elicited a moment of levity in the San Francisco courtroom filled with media and other spectators in attendance to listen to Musk, who has become even more famous since completing his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in October.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The current trial hinges on whether a pair of tweets Musk posted on Aug. 7, 2018, damaged Tesla shareholders during a 10-day period leading up to his admission that the buyout he had envisioned wasn’t going to happen. The statements resulted in Musk and Tesla to reach the $40 million settlement without acknowledging any wrongdoing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the first of the 2018 tweets, Musk stated “funding secured” for what would have been a $72 billion — or $420 per share — buyout of Tesla at a time when the electric automaker was still grappling with production problems and was worth far less than it is now. Musk followed up a few hours later with another tweet suggesting a deal was imminent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After those tweets, Musk declared Tesla would remain publicly a few weeks later. A month after that, Musk and Tesla reached a $40 million settlement with securities regulators who had alleged the tweets were misleading.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk has previously contended he entered into the settlement under duress and maintained he never wavered in his belief that he had the money for a deal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk spent most of Tuesday trying to persuade the jurors that there was nothing devious about the two tweets indicating he had lined up the money to take Tesla private as the electric automaker was struggling with production problems and was worth far less than it is now. The judge has already declared the jurors can consider those two tweets to be false, leaving them to decide whether Musk deliberately deceived investors and whether his statements saddled them with losses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While being steered by Spiro, Musk told jurors he had stated only that he was “considering” a Tesla buyout but never promised a deal would get done. But, Musk said, he thought it important to get the word out to investors that Tesla might be poised to end its eight-year run as a publicly held company.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I had no ill motive,” Musk said. “My intent was to do the right thing for all shareholders.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While being grilled the day before by Porritt, Musk at times was combative, indignant and exasperated. Through it all, Musk has insisted he locked up financial backing for what would have been a $72 billion buyout of Tesla during 2018 meetings with representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, although no specific funding amount or price was discussed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When presented with texts and email indicating that a representative for the Saudi fund had never pledged the money for a full buyout of Tesla, Musk contended it was nothing more than the words of someone trying to backpedal from a previous pledge made in private conversations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Not long after Porritt resumed his questioning Tuesday, Musk once again scoffed at the notion that his belief that he had the Saudi funding\'s financial backing wasn\'t enough for him to tweet about a potential Tesla buyout.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are talking about the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,\" Musk testified. “They can buy Tesla several times over. This was not a large amount of money for them.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Musk also reiterated earlier testimony that he could finance a Tesla buyout by sharing some of his holdings in SpaceX, a privately held maker of rocket ships that he also started. That would be similar to what he did in the Twitter purchase, which led him to sell about $23 billion of his Tesla stock.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That\'s something that Musk said Tuesday that he didn\'t want to do, but that it showed he had the wherewithal to pull together purchases for expensive deals. Musk\'s ownership of Twitter also has proved unpopular with Tesla shareholders who worry about him being distracted as the automaker faces more competition. Tesla\'s stock has lost about one-third of its value since Musk took over Twitter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite that downturn, the stock is still worth about seven times more than at the time of Musk\'s 2018 tweets, after adjusting for two splits that have since occurred. That opened the door for Musk to remind jurors Tuesday that any investor who held Tesla shares in August 2018 would have done “extremely well,\" had they just held on to the stock.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It would have been the best investment in the stock market,\" Musk said. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"5\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 03:23:11', '2023-01-25 03:23:11');
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(4733, 4733, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Asian Americans were reeling Tuesday after two mass shootings in California targeting members of their community left 18 people dead -- with the alleged gunmen in both cases being older men of Asian descent.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The killings came in a span of just 48 hours -- so close together that California Governor Gavin Newsom was at a hospital meeting with victims of the first attack when he was pulled away to be briefed about the second.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is said all the time: only in America,\" a clearly exasperated Newsom told reporters Tuesday in Half Moon Bay.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Only in America. Number one in gun ownership. Number one in gun deaths. It\'s not even complicated,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"What the hell is wrong with us, that we allow these weapons of war and large capacity clips out on the streets and sidewalks?\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another shooting occurred overnight in Washington state, where a gunman killed three people at a convenience store, in an act police said appeared to be random.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The carnage prompted President Joe Biden to renew calls for Congress to act quickly on an assault weapons ban. A group of senators on Monday reintroduced a federal assault weapons ban and legislation that would raise the minimum purchase age for assault weapons to 21.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Biden also said he would be dispatching Vice President Kamala Harris to California in the wake of the shootings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our hearts are with the people of California,\" he said, calling the massacres \"devastating.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Investigators were still probing the motives behind the two incidents, which stood out among the scourge of mass shootings in America both for the community impacted -- gun violence is usually seen as rare among Asians and Asian Americans -- and for the age of the suspects, 67 and 72.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The nonpartisan Violence Project says 79 percent of mass shooters from 1966 to 2020 were under age 45. It says a mere 6.4 percent of mass shooters in that time were Asian.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Monday bloodshed occurred at two farms around Half Moon Bay, a rural coastal community south of San Francisco.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said Tuesday that five men and two woman -- a mixture of Hispanic and Asian -- were killed, and that 67-year-old Half Moon Bay resident Chunli Zhao had been taken into custody.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A semi-automatic handgun had been recovered.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The only known connection between the victims and suspect is that they may have been co-workers,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"All the evidence we have points to this being an instance of workplace violence.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The San Francisco Chronicle reported a former co-worker had been granted a restraining order against Zhao over violent behaviour.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Mr. Zhao said to me, today I am going to kill you,\" Jingjiu Wang wrote in 2013 when the two worked at a San Jose restaurant together.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He then took a pillow and started to cover my face and suffocate me.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The small community of Half Moon Bay was on Tuesday struggling to come to terms with the mass shooting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This is tragedy, and to happen on the New Year,\" Aily Li, whose family owns the China House restaurant, told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sophie Li, who works at Shiki Japanese Cuisine in the town, said guns were terrifying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Without a gun, we just argue. But if you have a gun, it gives you more power and then something will happen,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"You deal with people who carry a gun and you never know what will happen. People got shot, right?\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Vengeful -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That tragedy unfolded as detectives in southern California were still probing what drove 72-year-old Huu Can Tran to shoot dead 11 people gathered for Lunar New Year on Saturday night at a suburban dance hall.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Tran, who had been arrested decades earlier for unlawful possession of a firearm, fired 42 rounds in the attack in Monterey Park.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"What drove a madman to do this?\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Luna confirmed officers had been told Tran may have been known to some of his victims.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Information about Tran remained unclear. CNN reported that, according to his marriage license, he had immigrated from China; the New York Times cited immigration documents saying he was a naturalized US citizen of Vietnamese origin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A former friend described Tran as a vengeful loner.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Two simple words that cover the whole thing: He\'s a person of distrust. He distrusts people around him. Second word is hate. He hates people around him, especially if he thought someone was doing bad on him,\" the friend said, according to the Los Angeles Times.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He would say, \'Someday I will get back at you, get even, get revenge.\'</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I think his life was so miserable and desperate that he chose that day to end his life and meanwhile he wanted to get people he didn\'t like or hated to go with him,\" the man said. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 04:01:58', '2023-01-25 04:01:58'),
(4734, 4734, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Mentioning that the work on Chattogram-Dohazari-Cox\'s Bazar train route is going on in full swing, Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujon says the rail line will open within this year.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Talking to UNB the minister says they are working to complete the project between June and July of this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Hopefully, we can finish the work by this time. And if the work is not completed in June for any reason, it may take one or two more months. Even then we will be able to travel to Cox\'s Bazar by train within this year,” he says.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister says that 80 percent of the construction work of Dohazari-Cox\'s Bazar project has been completed, and the remaining 20 percent will be finished by this time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When completed, the 100-km new railway line from Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar will ensure a \'pleasant and comfortable\' journey, the minister says.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, it will bring a revolutionary change in overall economy and boost tourism in Cox\'s Bazar, he says.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The railway minister says that the services will run with high-quality coaches for tourists in Cox\'s Bazar. A new project has been taken to implement this, and 54 coaches will be purchased under this project, which is designed with wide windows.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Travelers will get a chance to enjoy the natural scenario very easily,” he says.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the project, there are eight stations along the 100-km railway including at Satkania, Lohagara, Chakaria, Dulahazara, Eidgaon, Ramu and Cox\'s Bazar Sadar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To facilitate this, three big bridges have been constructed on Sangu, Matamuhuri and Bakkhali rivers. Besides, 43 small bridges, 201 culverts and 144 level crossings have been constructed on the railway. A flyover is being constructed in Keochia area of Satkania, and two highway crossings in Ramu and Cox\'s Bazar areas. An overpass of 50 metres and three underpasses are being constructed for the movement of elephants and other wildlife.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mofizur Rahman, director of the project, said that more than 50-km of the railway line is now visible. Most of the construction of bridges and culverts has been completed. The remaining ones will be finished in the next few months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As of last December, the progress of the project is 80 percent. The project deadline is June 2024.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“However, we are trying to complete the work by June-October 2023,” the official added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said that a spectacular iconic railway station is being constructed on 29 acres of land in the Hajipara area of Jhelongja Union, seven kilometers east-north of Cox\'s Bazar Sadar. The station is being modeled after a beach oyster. The area of the six-storey station building is 1,82,000 square feet. Three platforms of 650 metres in length and 12 meters in width are being constructed near the iconic building.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, a railway residential area has been built next to it. Eight buildings are nearing completion. Apart from residential hotels, the station also has facilities like canteen, lockers and car parking. Tourists can leave their luggage in the station lockers and spend the day at the beach. At least 46,000 people can travel through this station a day, the project director added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“A direct railway connection with Cox’s Bazar will change fortunes in the beach town as tourists always want to reach their destinations without hazards for their perfect vacation,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On April 3, 2011, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone for the construction of the railway between Dohazari-Ramu-Cox\'s Bazar and Ramu-Ghumdhum. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 04:13:32', '2023-01-25 04:13:32'),
(4735, 4735, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Kyiv on Tuesday announced the dismissal of a dozen top officials in its biggest political shakeup following the country\'s first major corruption scandal linked to the Russian invasion.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine has long suffered endemic corruption, but Moscow\'s nearly year-long full-scale war has overshadowed government efforts to stamp out graft.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Western allies have allocated billions of dollars in financial and military aid to Kyiv to counter Russian troops, often preconditioning the support on anti-corruption reforms.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Tuesday that the clean-up was necessary and that additional measures would be taken.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is fair, it is needed for our defence, and it helps our rapprochement with European institutions,\" he said. \"We need a strong state, and Ukraine will be just that.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said Zelensky had focused on \"key priorities of the state\" in dismissing the officials, who include governors of regions that have seen heavy fighting and deputy cabinet ministers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"During the war, everyone should understand their responsibility,\" Podolyak tweeted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The shakeup came after a Ukrainian deputy minister of development of communities and territories, Vasyl Lozynskiy, was sacked at the weekend following his arrest on suspicion of embezzlement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Photographs released by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau showed stashes of cash seized at Lozynskiy\'s office.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 36-year-old was accused of receiving a $400,000 bribe to \"facilitate\" the purchase of generators at inflated prices, as Ukraine struggles with electricity shortages following Russian strikes on its energy grid.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Good deeds\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Tuesday, key presidential aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko, who has worked with Zelensky since his 2019 election, announced his resignation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 33-year-old posted a picture of himself holding a handwritten resignation letter, thanking the president for the \"opportunity to do good deeds every day and every minute\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tymoshenko was implicated in several scandals, including over the alleged personal use last October of an SUV donated to Ukraine for humanitarian purposes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was replaced by Oleksii Kuleba, the former head of Kyiv region\'s military administration.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Oleg Nemchinov, a senior government official, also announced the departure of five regional governors and four deputy ministers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They include the heads of the central Dnipropetrovsk region, the northeastern Sumy region, the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, as well as the region surrounding the capital Kyiv.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nemchinov additionally announced the dismissal of two deputy ministers of development of communities and territories, and a deputy minister of social policy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The defence ministry separately announced the resignation of deputy minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who worked on providing logistical support for the army.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It came after the ministry was accused of signing food contracts at prices two to three times higher than current rates for basic foodstuffs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Spain holiday -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ministry insisted the accusations were \"unfounded and baseless\" but said Shapovalov\'s departure would \"preserve the trust of society and international partners\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko also resigned, following media reports that he had holidayed in Spain, reportedly using a car belonging to a Ukrainian business.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United States welcomed the dismissals and said that none of the billions of dollars in US war assistance was known to have been involved.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The Ukrainian people have been very clear about their desire for good governance and transparency,\" said State Department spokesman Ned Price.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite being vocal about fighting corruption, Zelensky himself has been embroiled in corruption scandals in the past.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2021, the so-called Pandora Papers obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists said Zelensky used a network of offshore companies to buy three upmarket properties in London.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His office said at the time that Zelensky, who is a former actor and comedian, created the offshore companies to protect himself against the \"aggressive actions\" of the \"corrupt\" regime of pro-Russian former president Viktor Yanukovych.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Transparency International ranked Ukraine 122 out of 180 in its corruption ranking for 2021. 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, '2023-01-25 04:18:04', '2023-01-25 04:18:04'),
(4736, 4736, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Germany will provide Ukraine with Leopard tanks, national media reported Tuesday, following months of intense pressure on Berlin to supply the armaments much sought after by Kyiv to repel Russian troops.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>&nbsp;</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Berlin will also allow allies with stocks of the powerful German-made tanks to send them on to Ukraine, the German media said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The reports came as the Wall Street Journal cited US officials saying that Washington is now leaning towards sending a significant number of Abrams M1 tanks to Ukraine, with an announcement possibly coming this week.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Citing unnamed government sources, rolling news channel NTV said Germany would hand over a company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the German armed forces, a company comprises 14 tanks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Separately, Spiegel Online said the tanks would come from the Bundeswehr\'s own stocks, while other deliveries further down the line may stem from industry stocks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Contacted by AFP, a spokesman for Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to comment on the reports.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier Tuesday, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he encouraged allies to start training Ukrainian forces on using the tanks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He had said a decision was still out on greenlighting their deliveries, but promised a verdict imminently.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine and several of its allies have been urging Germany for weeks to allow the delivery of the Leopards, but a US-led meeting of Kyiv\'s allies in Germany last week failed to yield a decision.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Over the last weeks, Chancellor Olaf Scholz had repeatedly stressed that Germany would not go it alone on sending tanks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A senior US lawmaker told AFP last week that Scholz had told US congressmen that Germany will supply the battle tanks to Ukraine if the United States also sent tanks. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 04:32:55', '2023-01-25 04:32:55'),
(4737, 4737, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka once again topped the list of cities around the world with the worst air quality this morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 319 at 9 am today (January 25, 2023), Dhaka ranked first in the list of cities with the worst air.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 151 and 200 is said to be ‘unhealthy’ while 201 and 300 is considered ‘very unhealthy’, and 301 to 400 is considered \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Uzbekistan’ Tashkent and Myanmar’ Yangon occupied the second and third spots in the list, with AQI scores of 211 and 177, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 05:01:52', '2023-01-25 05:01:52'),
(4738, 4738, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Nearly one month after the inauguration of the metro rail service in Dhaka, Mirpur’s Pallabi Station has opened to commuters today.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">From today, commuters can travel from Uttara North Station to Pallabi, Pallabi to Uttara, and Agargaon to Pallabi, said Managing Director (MD) of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) MAN Siddique.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, a new timing has been set for metro rail as it will run from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm instead of 8am-12 pm, considering the demand of the passengers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The gates were opened at 8 am for purchasing tickets, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The government has fixed Tk 30 for Uttara North Station to Pallabi, Pallabi to Uttara and Agargaon to Pallabi, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the government started the operation of metro rail service on December 28 last year on a limited scale, there was no stoppage from Uttara North Station to Agargaon station. But now, metro rail will also stop at Pallabi station..</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the rail operation till Motijheel may start by the end of 2024, and Kamalapur by 2025.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By December 2024, metro rail will start operation from Agargaon to Kamalapur route with 24 trains. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 05:12:20', '2023-01-25 05:12:20'),
(4739, 4739, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">US President Joe Biden will make a formal announcement about the deliveries of Abrams tanks to the Kiev government on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported citing an unnamed US administration official.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"President Biden will announce his decision to supply Abrams tanks to Ukraine tomorrow, on Wednesday,\" the TV channel reported on Tuesday night.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the channel\'s source, the tanks will be contracted, not taken from the Pentagon\'s arsenals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday citing US officials that the US Administration is inclined to ship a significant number of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, adding that the announcement of these shipments could be made this week already. According to the WSJ, this step would become a part of the agreement with Germany, which includes shipment of a small number of Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev by Berlin itself, as well as Germany\'s approval of shipment of these German-made tanks by Poland and other countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later in the day, the Politico newspaper reported citing US administration sources that the United States may send at least 30 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as military aid. Two sources told the paper that an announcement on the subject may be made later this week. The report says the equipment will be purchased from contractors rather than drawn from existing US stockpiles. TASS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 06:05:28', '2023-01-25 06:05:28'),
(4740, 4740, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Rajshahi city has become green, beautiful and enlightened at present amid massive infrastructural developments fully supported by the present government during the last couple of years.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Broaden streets, eye-catching street lighting at night, cleaned atmosphere, road dividers with green trees, plants and crafts as well as improved civic amenities have made the city attractive enormously.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) AHM Khairuzzaman Liton told BSS that an east-west connecting road has been constructed from Biman crossing to Choddopaya crossing via Chhotobangram, Meherchandi, Budhpara and Mohanpur at a cost of around Taka 189.35 crore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition to construction of footpaths on both sides of the 6.793-kilometer road, various need-based modern infrastructures, including a flyover on railway crossing, a bridge, eight culverts and median, were constructed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The newly constructed four-lane road has been playing a significant role towards mitigating the gradually mounting traffic jams in the metropolis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mayor Liton said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given a project worth around Taka 3,000 crore and its implementation works are progressing fast in the city for its cherished development at present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two potential roads are being elevated to four lanes as part of the Taka 2,993-crore project aimed at making the movement of both vehicles and people quick and smooth.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">RCC is turning the Bilsimla Railway crossing to City Hat road to 80-feet wide along with a four-foot-wide road divider with an outlay of around Taka 44.92 crore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On both sides of the 3.532-kilometer road, a 44-feet road, 12-feet wide drain and footpath and 20-feet road for the slow-moving vehicles are also being constructed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another dilapidated 4.17-kilometer road from Naodapara bus terminal to Bhadra Railway crossing is being elevated to a smart street.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Liton said a 2.5-kilometer road from Alupatty crossing to Talaimary crossing has been elevated to four-lane. Decorated and pedestrian-friendly footpaths have been constructed on both sides of the road with setting up colourful road lights.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Island has been beautified through transplanting decorative and ornamental flower plants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two midtown roads from Upashahar to Sonadighi crossing and Malopara crossing to Sagarpara crossing have been widened, costing around Taka 126.40 crore bringing an epoch-making change in terms of the city\'s communication.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another road from Bilsimla railway crossing to Kasiadanga crossing has been elevated to four-lane under the city\'s important roads development project. Side by side with the four-lane, drain, footpath and bicycle lane were constructed along the road.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Erection of butterfly road light draws the attention of the passerby in the night amazingly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The city corporation has so far installed 1,654 decorated and eye-catching lights on 695 poles in five separate roads and streets with length of around 21 kilometers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a whole, the modern road lighting has brought happiness to the city dwellers and other beneficiaries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mayor Liton said the energy saving lights at Drishtinandan are being turned on and off automatically by the auto-logic controller, adding they also have plans for bringing the newly constructed and other widened roads under the modern lighting system in the days to come.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">53.29-kilometer roads were also concretized together with construction of 36.72-kilometer drains. Carpeting on the 4.32-kilometer new road and renovation of the 1.42-kilometer road were done.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The city corporation has implemented drainage and approach road construction projects contributing a lot towards freeing the city from water-logging besides making pedestrian movement easy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Problems related to unfit and narrow sections of the present drains and its low-sewerage capacity were removed. All the culverts were widened besides removing the silts from the base of the drains to enhance the sewerage capacity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chief Engineer Nur Islam said the physical infrastructure development were implemented for developing the overall environmental health system through building an effective and permanent water sewerage system in the city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Professor Bidhan Chandra Das, a retired teacher at Rajshahi University, expressed his gratitude to the government, particularly Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for extending support towards making the Rajshahi city beautiful. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 06:31:20', '2023-01-25 15:07:30'),
(4741, 4741, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Election Commission (EC) today announced the schedule for the country’s 22nd presidential election.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal came up with the announcement in a press conference held at the election building in Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the schedule, the presidential election will be held on February 19 as the tenure of incumbent President Abdul Hamid nears an end.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The final date for submitting nomination papers is February 12 and those will be reviewed on February 13, as per the EC.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The commission has set February 14 as the final date for withdrawing nominations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Voting will be held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban from 2 pm to 5 pm on February 19.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on Tuesday, CEC Kazi Habibul Awal met with Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury to have a discussion over the polls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the constitution, a new president has to be elected within 90 to 60 days prior to the end of the incumbent president\'s tenure.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The previous presidential election schedule was announced on January 25, 2018.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Abdul Hamid was elected president unopposed for the second term on February 6 though the election was slated for February 18.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Abdul Hamid is set to complete his tenure on April 23 this 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, '2023-01-25 06:53:09', '2023-01-25 06:53:09'),
(4742, 4742, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ships searching in wind-whipped waters between South Korea and Japan have picked up at least 12 of the 22 crew members from a cargo ship that sank early Wednesday. Officials said only one of them remained conscious, but they did not immediately confirm any deaths.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Korean and Japanese coast guard vessels and aircraft as well as two commercial cargo ships were continuing to search for the 10 missing crew members but the efforts were being slowed by strong winds and waves, South Korean officials said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 6,551-ton Jin Tian sank about three and a half hours after it sent a distress call at around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday in Japan\'s exclusive economic zone, Japanese coast guard spokesperson Shinya Kitahara said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The vessel, which was Hong Kong registered and carrying lumber, sank about 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of Nagasaki, Japan, and about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of South Korea’s Jeju island.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The captain last communicated with the coast guard through a satellite phone around 2:41 a.m., saying crew members would abandon the ship, minutes before it sank, Jeju island coast guard officials said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Six crew members were picked up by South Korean coast guard vessels, while a cargo ship picked up five and a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel picked up one, according to Jeju’s coast guard.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to South Korean and Japanese officials, 14 crew members are Chinese and eight are from Myanmar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Korean officials didn’t immediately confirm where the rescued crew members would be taken for treatment or whether the 11 who were unconscious were likely to survive their injuries if they weren’t already dead.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed the rescue of at least five crew members, who he said were all Chinese nationals, but didn’t provide details about their health conditions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kitahara said the cause of the ship’s sinking was not immediately known and there were no signs that it collided with another vessel. He said the arrivals of Japanese patrol boats and aircraft were delayed by rough weather following the sinking.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials at Jeju’s coast guard say a strong wind warning was issued for the area earlier on Wednesday but was later lifted. Winds were blowing at around 16 meters (yards) per second in the area as of 7 a.m., creating waves that were 3 to 4 meters (yards) high. The area’s water temperature was then around 18.5 degrees Celsius, the South Korean officials said. AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 07:13:49', '2023-01-25 07:13:49'),
(4743, 4743, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan teaser featuring Salman Khan in a rugged avatar was leaked after it was shown during Pathaan, which was released in theatres on January 25. Earlier, it was reported that the teaser would be shown in theatres during the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer. In the teaser, Salman Khan flaunts two distinct looks – one with long hair and a rugged outfit, and the other clean-shaven one, where he looks suave in formal clothes.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The almost one-minute-40-second teaser opens with Salman Khan riding a bike in a desert. Next, he is seen breaking into a moving Metro train and kicking the bad guys in a crowded coach. This is followed by a series of fight scenes, where Salman jumps from buildings, and beats up the bad guys. In between, Salman is seen romancing Pooja Hegde in beautiful locations. Towards the end of the teaser, Salman, looks cool in a formal white shirt even after he was beaten to a bloody pulp.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After stopping an enemy\'s car by jumping feet first, a shirtless Salman said after a fight, \"Jab shareer, dil aur dimag mujhse kehte hain \'bas bhai, no more\', main kehta hoon \'bring it on\' (when my body, heart and mind tell me to stop, I tell them \'bring it on\').\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The almost one-minute-40-second teaser opens with Salman Khan riding a bike in a desert. Next, he is seen breaking into a moving Metro train and kicking the bad guys in a crowded coach. This is followed by a series of fight scenes, where Salman jumps from buildings, and beats up the bad guys. In between, Salman is seen romancing Pooja Hegde in beautiful locations. Towards the end of the teaser, Salman, looks cool in a formal white shirt even after he was beaten to a bloody pulp.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After stopping an enemy\'s car by jumping feet first, a shirtless Salman said after a fight, \"Jab shareer, dil aur dimag mujhse kehte hain \'bas bhai, no more\', main kehta hoon \'bring it on\' (when my body, heart and mind tell me to stop, I tell them \'bring it on\').\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ever since the beginning of the shoot last year, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan has been in news due to speculations over its title and cast. It was earlier titled Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali and then later Bhaijaan, as per reports. Directed by Farhad Samji, the film also stars Pooja Hegde and Venkatesh in the lead roles. It also features actors like Shehnaaz Gill. The film is slated to hit the theatres by the end of this year, around Eid 2023.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apart from Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, Salman also has Maneesh Sharma\'s Tiger 3, which also stars Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi. Apart from this, he has reportedly also been roped in for Kick 2 with Jacqueline Fernandez. Salman is reportedly also making a cameo appearance in Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan, which released on January 25, 2023. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 07:31:25', '2023-01-25 07:31:25');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4744, 4744, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Blazing centuries from skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill powered India to a 3-0 series sweep of New Zealand and go top of the one-day international rankings on Tuesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The hosts hammered the Kiwis by 90 runs in the third match in Indore after Rohit (101) and Gill (112) put on 212 for the opening wicket to guide the hosts to 385-9 in Indore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">In reply, Devon Conway\'s 138 was in vain as India bowled out New Zealand for 295 in 41.2 overs for their second successive whitewash.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The victory takes India to the top of the ODI rankings ahead of World Cup holders England and New Zealand who slip from second to fourth behind Australia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Qualification for the World Cup in India later in the year is unaffected, however, as the Kiwis have already qualified.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Rohit, who recorded his first ODI century since January 2020, and Gill stood out in the highest opening partnership by any team against the Kiwis in the 50-over format, surpassing the 201-run stand of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in 2009.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"In the last six games we\'ve done most things right in ODIs,\" said Rohit, whose side whitewashed Sri Lanka in three matches before this.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'re consistent in our approach with the bat and ball.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Fast bowler Shardul Thakur was named man of the match for his three wickets and crucial 25 runs batting down the order.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Shardul has been doing it for a while,\" said Rohit. People call him magician in the squad and he came and delivered.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New Zealand\'s bowlers hit back after the pair\'s departure as India slipped to 293-5 before Hardik Pandya took charge, boosting the total with a 38-ball 54.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It all started with Gill smashing Lockie Ferguson for four fours and a six in a 22-run eighth over and Rohit joined the party with a few big hits over the fence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gill recorded his third 100-plus score in his last four ODI innings, taking off his helmet and basking in applause from the stands when he reached the milestone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Michael Bracewell bowled Rohit and Blair Tickner sent back Gill in the next over and India soon lost regular wickets, despite a brisk 36 from Virat Kohli.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The left-handed Ishan Kishan was run out after a mix-up with Kohli, who soon fell to Jacob Duffy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pandya put on 54 for the seventh wicket with Thakur.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Eye on World Cup -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In reply, New Zealand lost Finn Allen on the second delivery of their chase after Pandya bowled the opener for nought.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Conway stood firm to add 106 for the second wicket with Henry Nicholls, who hit 42, and 78 for the third with Daryl Mitchell (24).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The left-handed Conway fought hard as wickets fell at the other end as he raised his third ODI hundred with a six off leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thakur dented New Zealand\'s chase when he struck twice with successive deliveries, Mitchell caught behind and then skipper Tom Latham caught at mid-off.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Conway, who smashed 12 fours and eight sixes in his 100-ball blitz, looked unstoppable until tearaway quick Umran Malik got the batsman caught at mid-wicket.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bracewell, who hit 26, and Mitchell Santner, who made 34, attempted to keep up the fight but Bracewell\'s wicket off Kuldeep Yadav, who picked three wickets, spelt the end for the Black Caps.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Latham, a wicketkeeper-batsman, said the experience would help them in the World Cup.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s our last experience in India before the World Cup so the guys are exposed to these conditions in the three games and hopefully it\'ll be helpful in October,\" said Latham.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The two teams will now play three Twenty20 internationals starting Friday in Ranchi. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 07:59:57', '2023-01-25 07:59:57'),
(4745, 4745, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday asked the authorities concerned to take steps for imparting scout training to students in the country’s educational institutions to develop them as worthy citizens for building Smart Bangladesh.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">&nbsp;“You will have to take steps so that every student of all educational institutes would obtain scouting training. If so, I believe the worthy citizens would be developed in our country for building Sonar Bangla (golden Bengal) or smart Bangladesh,” she said pointing at Bangladesh Scouts and the ministries related to education.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said this while inaugurating the 32nd Asia-Pacific and 11th National Scout Jamboree at National Scout Training Center, Mouchak, Gazipur.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh Scouts is hosting the 9-day regional and national scout jamboree on 19-27 January 2023.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Noting that&nbsp; there are now 22 lakh scouts in Bangladesh and a target to raise it to 30 lakh by 2030,&nbsp; Hasina said she wants every student to get scout training not only a&nbsp; select group.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the event, the PM unveiled a commemorative postage stamp marking the regional and national jamboree.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM’s former principal secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad, who is also President of Bangladesh Scouts, also spoke at the event, while Dr Mozammel Haque Khan, Chairman of Jamboree Organizing Committee and also Chief National Commissioner of Bangladesh Scouts, delivered the welcome speech.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">About 11,000 scouts including 8,000 scout members, 1,000 unit leaders and international service team (IST) members from Asia Pacific region particularly from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, the Maldives, the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, USA, Canada and Germany participated in this jamboree. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 08:21:14', '2023-01-25 08:21:14'),
(4746, 4746, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Tourists revelled in wintry scenes across Japan on Wednesday, as much of the country was blanketed by snow in a cold snap that has killed at least one person and disrupted travel.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“These temperatures are some of the coldest we’ve seen in a decade,” Japan Meteorological Agency official Takafumi Umeda said.</div><div><br></div><div>Record lows were logged in several locations, including one area of southern Kumamoto, where the mercury hit -9 degrees Celsius, the coldest logged there since 1977 when that observation site began keeping track.</div><div><br></div><div>Top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said one person had died in the cold snap, while meteorologists warned of blizzards, high waves and traffic snarl-ups due to icy roads.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities were also investigating whether two other deaths were related to the freezing weather across much of the archipelago, Matsuno told reporters.</div><div><br></div><div>Hundreds of flights were canceled due to the snowstorm, while delays and cancelations disrupted both local trains and long-distance Shinkansen services. Vehicles on major roads in several locations were left stranded, local media said.</div><div><br></div><div>At the seventh-century Zenkoji Temple in the mountainous region of Nagano, north of Tokyo, a chilly calm descended with trees, old-fashioned lamp posts and the place of worship itself covered in layers of powdery snow.</div><div><br></div><div>Visitors included some who were there for skiing but had been forced off the slopes by blizzard conditions.</div><div><br></div><div>“I came to ski, but the snow was incredibly heavy so I cut my plan short and instead decided to do a bit of sightseeing,” 30-year-old Akiko Sotobori said.</div><div>“The blizzard (at the ski resort) was such that I couldn’t see anything three meters ahead.”</div><div><br></div><div>There were picturesque scenes in the former capital, tourist favorite Kyoto, where the shining walls of the famous Golden Pavilion contrasted with the temporary bright-white brilliance of its tiered roofs.</div><div><br></div><div>The country’s Sea of Japan coast was hit hardest by the overnight blizzard, with Tokyo and its surrounding regions spared the snow but seeing unseasonably low temperatures. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 09:27:22', '2023-01-25 09:27:22'),
(4747, 4747, '<div><b>Paris Hilton<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">&nbsp;personality and hotel heiress Paris Hilton announced Tuesday that she and husband Carter Reum had welcomed their first child.</span></b><br></div><div><br></div><div>Hilton posted a photo on Instagram of what appeared to be her newborn baby grasping her thumb.</div><div><br></div><div>\"You are already loved beyond words,\" Hilton wrote with a blue heart emoji.</div><div><br></div><div>US entertainment media reported that the baby boy had been born via surrogate.</div><div><br></div><div>The former reality TV star, 41, had opened up in an interview last month about beginning an IVF process during the pandemic with her husband, an investor whom she married in 2021.</div><div><br></div><div>She told People Magazine that \"because the world was shut down\" early in the Covid-19 pandemic, it was the \"perfect timing\" to \"get all of the eggs stocked and ready.\"</div><div><br></div><div>In a statement published Tuesday by People, Hilton said that her family\'s \"hearts are exploding with love for our baby boy.\" - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 09:39:52', '2023-01-25 10:10:15'),
(4748, 4748, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The government has taken a decision to provide bank loans on easy terms to those involved in producing environment-friendly bricks, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shahab Uddin said today (Wednesday).</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The environment minister said this while talking to reporters after a meeting with deputy commissioners at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka.</div><div><br></div><div>The meeting also discussed protecting forests and actions of DCs to combat climate change impacts, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>He also sought assistance from the DCs in stopping hill cutting, deforestation, establishment of illegal brick fields and soil cutting. The DCs were asked to take legal steps in this regard.</div><div><br></div><div>Replying to a question on any proposal coming from DCs, the minister said there are only 50 offices under the Department of Environment (DoE) in the 50 districts while the ministry has no office in the rest 14 districts.</div><div><br></div><div>He also assured of establishing offices in the 14 districts.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the DCs have been asked to stop operation of illegal brick kilns as the government has taken an initiative to use environment-friendly bricks for government structures by 2025, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>“The more we can provide eco-friendly bricks, the more we can stop production of illegal brick kilns. If we are able to meet the demand with eco-friendly block bricks, the old illegal brick kilns can be stopped,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 10:42:24', '2023-01-25 10:42:24'),
(4749, 4749, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday condemned Russian nuclear threats in the wake of remarks by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev who warned the western military alliance that Moscow’s defeat in Ukraine could trigger a nuclear war.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“The risk of using nuclear weapons is low. But Russian nuclear rhetoric is utterly irresponsible. It is dangerous. Russia should know that a nuclear war can never be won and therefore should never be fought,” Stoltenberg said in an interview with the daily WELT newspaper.</div><div><br></div><div>“Of course, we are watching what Russia is doing very closely. If that were the case, we would of course react. But even if we allow Russia to blackmail us with this rhetoric, then the world will become more dangerous. Then Russia would keep coming up with this nuclear threat when it wants to achieve something,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago on Feb. 24, Medvedev has repeatedly raised the threat of a nuclear attack.</div><div><br></div><div>“The defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war,” Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Putin’s powerful security council, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.</div><div><br></div><div>“Nuclear powers have never lost major conflicts on which their fate depends,” said Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012.</div><div><br></div><div>The Kremlin was quick to endorse Medvedev’s remarks, saying they were in full accordance with Moscow’s principles.</div><div><br></div><div>Moscow’s doctrine allows for a nuclear attack after “aggression against the Russian Federation with conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is threatened.” - Anadolu Agency</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 11:13:58', '2023-01-25 11:13:58'),
(4750, 4750, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>As part of the ongoing simultaneous movement against the current government, a rally of BNP began in front of its Nayapaltan central office with the participation of a huge number of leaders and activists of the party and its associated bodies.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The rally formally began around 2:30 pm with recitation from the holy Quran.</div><div><br></div><div>The organisers said the programme is meant for registering a protest against the introduction of one-party Baksal rule by Awami League on this day in 1975, rise in the prices of power and gas and mounting pressure on the government to accept their 10-point demand, including holding the next polls under a non-party caretaker government.</div><div><br></div><div>Hundreds of party leaders and activists started gathering at the venue in small processions since noon, halting traffic in the area that caused public suffering.</div><div><br></div><div>An adequate number of law enforcers have been deployed in and around the rally venue to fend off any untoward incident.</div><div><br></div><div>BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will announce the next course of action from the rally.</div><div><br></div><div>Apart from BNP, other like-minded opposition parties, alliances and organisations are also observing a similar programme in Dhaka and other divisional cities and district towns on Wednesday as part of the simultaneous movement to oust the current government.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Ganatantra Mancha and Ganatantrik Bam Oikya held separate rallies in front of the Jatiya Press Club and announced a countrywide demonstration programme for February 4. BNP is likely to announce a similar programme for the same day from its rally.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the 12-Party Alliance is holding a rally near Bijoy Nagar Water Tank while Jatiyatabadi Samamona Jote in front of the Jatiya Press at and LDP at FDC Crossing.</div><div><br></div><div>It is the fourth programme of the simultaneous movement after the mass procession in December 30, sit-in on January 11 and rally and procession on January 16. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 12:32:53', '2023-01-25 12:32:53'),
(4751, 4751, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>At least 157 people have died in Afghanistan’s harsh winter, a Taliban official said Tuesday, with the death toll doubling in less than a week as millions face bitter temperatures with minimal humanitarian aid.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The country is suffering one of its coldest winters, with temperatures plummeting to as low as minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 Fahrenheit) in early January – far below the nationwide average of between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius for this time of year.</div><div><br></div><div>The impact has been made worse by the limited amount of humanitarian aid being distributed in the country, following the Taliban’s ban on female NGO workers.</div><div><br></div><div>The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said on Twitter Sunday it was delivering aid such as blankets, heating and shelter to some 565,700 people.</div><div><br></div><div>“But much more is needed amid one of the coldest spells in years,” it added.</div><div><br></div><div>Around 70,000 livestock have also frozen to death across the country, Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Disaster Management told CNN Tuesday.</div><div><br></div><div>Since the hardline Islamist group took over in August 2021, Afghanistan has plunged into an economic and humanitarian crisis.</div><div><br></div><div>It has been battered by natural disasters and is entering its third consecutive year of drought-like conditions.</div><div><br></div><div>An estimated 28.3 million people – roughly two thirds of Afghanistan’s population – are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance to survive, according to a recent UNOCHA report.</div><div><br></div><div>At least half a dozen major foreign aid groups have suspended their operations in Afghanistan since December, when the Taliban ordered all local and international non-governmental organizations to stop their female employees from coming to work, or risk having their licenses revoked.</div><div><br></div><div>Last week, some of the UN’s most senior female officials took a four-day trip to Afghanistan and met with Taliban leaders in Kabul, asking them to lift the ban and “put the good of the country first.”</div><div><br></div><div>Amina Mohammed, the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General, described the recent policies as a violation of women’s basic human rights.</div><div><br></div><div>“Afghanistan is isolating itself, in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis and one of the most vulnerable nations on earth to climate change,” Mohammed said in a statement. “We must do everything we can to bridge this gap.” Source: CNN</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 13:36:53', '2023-01-25 13:36:53'),
(4752, 4752, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bijoy keyboard software installation in all android phones not mandatory, said Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Wednesday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Amid criticism over the matter, the minister clarified this while talking to reporters on the 2nd day of Deputy Commissioners Conference 2023 at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>“I have an explanation that Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has used a word – ‘Mandatory’. This term is misleading,” said the minister.</div><div><br></div><div>One can install, uninstall, remove and reinstall any software on any Android phone. So there is no need to use the word ‘mandatory’, he&nbsp; said.</div><div><br></div><div>Jabbar said, “What we said that the mobile phone set manufacturers or importers will provide software to facilitate Bangla writing. Whether a user uses the software or not is entirely up to him/her.”</div><div><br></div><div>Regarding the internet service, he said the 4G service has been provided in more than 98 percent area of the country. “Now we are working with 5G which is 10 times more powerful than 4G.”</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, there are more than 10 crore mobile internet subscribers and some fixed internet subscribers too, he said. “We should give more importance to mobile internet.”</div><div><br></div><div>“But we are not able to install towers for network in different parts of the country. Some people spread propaganda that towers are emitting radiation. We have tested and found that these are propaganda. People should not obstruct the towers installation work.” - Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 14:31:23', '2023-01-25 14:31:23'),
(4753, 4753, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Quader&nbsp; has said the government&nbsp; will not undertake any new road construction projects until the next national election and maintenance of the existing roads will get priority.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“We have completed numerous development projects, now is the time to restore discipline on roads,” he told reporters after his meeting with the DCs at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital on Wednesday, the 2nd day of the 3-day DC Conference.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Deputy commissioners (DCs) have been instructed to prioritize work to restore order on the roads,&nbsp; said the minister.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;“I told them I don’t want to construct more roads right now. Our main priority right now is road maintenance,” Quader, also the Awami League general secretary,&nbsp; said.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister said he instructed the DCs to focus on controlling movement of small vehicles like motorcycles on roads and highways.</div><div><br></div><div>Motorcycle movement in Dhaka city is under control now but people rarely wear helmets outside the capital, he said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Quader asked that the secretaries to formulate&nbsp; policy to regulate the movement of these vehicles instead of obstructing the sources of income of the poor.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It is DC\'s responsibility to control traffic jams and accidents involving these small vehicles,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I am prioritizing restoring order in road transport,\" he said adding that small vehicles like motorcycles, easybikes, Nosimons, and Karimons should be brought under control, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>“We have built many roads and bridges. But if we cannot restore discipline, it will be all in vain. I asked for their cooperation in this regard,” he said.&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 14:59:07', '2023-01-25 14:59:07'),
(4754, 4754, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the Parliament that the countrymen will judge the success or failure of the government.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"It\'s not my job to evaluate (success or failure),\" she said while replying to a query of Jatiya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam from Mymensingh-8 constituency during her question-answer session in parliament.</div><div><br></div><div>The Leader of the House said, \"If I work with honesty for specific goals considering welfare of the people, why will I fail? Why do I have to fail if I work with integrity? People will judge where the success or failure is\".</div><div>She said: \"When questioner (Fakhrul Imam) is so interested, find out my failures, I will correct those.\"</div><div><br></div><div>She also asked the opposition parties to find out if there is any failure of her and she will correct herself accordingly.</div><div><br></div><div>Referring to her return to the country in 1981, the Prime Minister said that which is a success or failure, that is not much important rather it\'s more important that Bangladesh has to be made a developed and prosperous country.</div><div><br></div><div>Mentioning that the fates of the countrymen have to be changed, she said, \"I returned home with the conviction to establish the ideals of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I have traveled across Bangladesh. I knew Bangladesh,\" reports BSS.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>She also said, \"After formation of the government, I\'ve worked with the desire that the people at the grassroots should lead a better life. Now, people are getting benefits of it.\"</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-25 16:08:39', '2023-01-25 16:08:39'),
(4755, 4755, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The US will send 31 powerful battle tanks to Ukraine, joining Germany in sending the vehicles to support the fight against Russia\'s invasion.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The decision to deliver the M1 Abrams tanks was announced just hours after Germany said it would send 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks to the battlefield.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Berlin also cleared the way for other European countries to send German-made tanks from their own stocks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine has lobbied Western allies to send the military equipment for months.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It hailed the twin announcements as a turning point that would allow its military to regain momentum and take back occupied territory almost a year after Moscow invaded. It also said the tanks could help deter a potential Russian offensive in the spring.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"An important step on the path to victory,\" Ukraine\'s President Volodymyr Zelensky said. \"Today the free world is united as never before for a common goal - liberation of Ukraine.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia, meanwhile, condemned the moves as a \"blatant provocation\" and said any supplied tanks would be destroyed. \"These tanks burn like all the rest. They are just very expensive,\" President Vladimir Putin\'s spokesman said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Putin expected Europe and the United States to weaken our resolve,\" President Joe Biden said while announcing the decision at the White House on Wednesday. \"He was wrong from the beginning and he continues to be wrong.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'re also giving Ukraine the parts and equipment necessary to effectively sustain these tanks in battle,\" he said. \"This is about helping Ukraine defend and protect Ukrainian land. It is not an offensive threat to Russia.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Ukrainian tank battalion typically consists of 31 tanks, which is why that number has been agreed upon, Mr Biden said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US decision, however, marks a reversal in their position as the Biden administration has insisted for some time that the heavy M1 Abrams tanks would be difficult to deliver, expensive to maintain and challenging for Ukrainian troops to operate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US-made military vehicle is one of the most modern battle tanks in the world and requires extensive training to operate. The $400m (£323m) American package also includes eight recovery vehicles that can tow the tanks if they become stuck.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But it is likely to be many months before the tanks reach the battlefield, experts say, as they will be purchased from private contractors and not sent from an existing stockpile.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The German-made Leopard 2 tanks, however, will be drawn from existing stock and are expected to arrive in two to three months. They are widely seen as one of the most effective battle tanks available.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The decision to send the heavy weapons follows weeks of diplomatic wrangling. Germany faced mounting international pressure to send the tanks, and there are reports that the eventual decision to do so was conditional on the US doing the same.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both sides participated in \"good diplomatic conversations\" that made the difference and contributed to the \"extraordinary shift in Germany\'s security policy\", a senior US official said on condition of anonymity earlier on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When asked if the US decision was designed to give Germany cover to send tanks, national security spokesman John Kirby said: \"I wouldn\'t use the word cover. What this decision does do is show how unified we are with our allies.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He attributed the change in Washington\'s position to the conditions on the ground as well as Russia\'s tactics, without giving further details.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Kirby also said the decision was based on the \"kinds of fighting... that we believe the Ukrainians are going to need to be capable of in the weeks and months ahead\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukrainian crews would soon be trained to use the Leopard tanks in Germany, officials in Berlin said. Mr Biden said troops would be trained to use the American-made tanks \"as soon as possible\" but added that delivering them would take time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While the acquisition of tanks from the West will be considered a diplomatic coup for President Volodymyr Zelensky, he said on Tuesday that his country required at least 300 of them to defeat Russia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Several European countries have Leopard 2 tanks in their stocks, and the German decision means some of these can also be sent to Ukraine. Germany hopes around 90 will ultimately be delivered to the battlefield.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Norway announced later on Wednesday that it would send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, but did not specify how many it would deliver. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 02:44:33', '2023-01-26 02:44:33'),
(4756, 4756, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Donald Trump will be allowed back on to Facebook and Instagram, after Meta announced it would be ending its two-year suspension of his accounts.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The suspension will end \"inthe coming weeks\", the social media giant said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement, Nick Clegg, Meta\'s president of global affairs, said the public \"should be able to hear what their politicians are saying\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The then-US president was indefinitely suspended from Facebook and Instagram after the Capitol riot in 2021.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The firm had taken action following Mr Trump\'s \"praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol\", Mr Clegg said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said a review found that Mr Trump\'s accounts no longer represented a serious risk to public safety.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But because of Mr Trump\'s past \"violations\" he would now face heightened penalties for repeat offences.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Republicans have been pressing for Mr Trump to be allowed back on Facebook as he prepares to run for the presidency again next year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Trump posted on his own social media company, Truth Social, in response on Wednesday, saying that Facebook had \"lost Billions\" after banning \"your favorite President, me\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution!\" he wrote.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Donald Trump now has a decision to make.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Truth Social, a social media platform he set up in 2021, has vastly fewer users than Facebook. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Facebook has three billion users. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Truth Social may have as many as five million accounts - though it\'s likely it has far fewer active users.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Mr Trump has an exclusivity agreement with Truth Social - that means he is legally required to post first on the platform - six hours before any other platform. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It means if he posts on Facebook or Twitter -  there is a chance he could get sued. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Analysts also warn that if Mr Trump were to stop using Truth Social, or post content elsewhere, the platform would struggle to survive. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He could simply ignore that exclusivity agreement - and start posting content straight away. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, that could open him up to legal problems. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">What is also possible is that he simply waits until June, when the agreement times out. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Or, he could take the decision never to go back to platforms that he has criticised consistently. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, if he is going to have a tilt at the White House, being on Facebook - the world\'s biggest social media platform - would make a lot of sense. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Whatever happens next, the ball is firmly in Mr Trump\'s court now. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If he does decide to come back, though, he will have to follow Meta\'s rules. The company has left the door open for another suspension if he flouts them. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It means Mr Tump will have to hold his tongue (to a certain extent) on Facebook, in a way that he doesn\'t currently have to on Truth Social. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">News of Mr Trump\'s re-instatement was quickly criticised by Democrats and some activist organisations who expressed concern that the former president could again use the platform to repeat false claims that he won the 2020 election.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Trump incited an insurrection,\" California Democratic Representative Adam Schiff wrote on Twitter. \"Giving him back access to a social media platform to spread his lies and demagoguery is dangerous.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP, a civil rights organisation, told the Associated Press that he sees the move as a \"grave mistake\" that is a \"a prime example of putting profits above people\'s safety\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s quite astonishing that one can spew hatred, fuel conspiracies, and incite a violent insurrection at our nation\'s Capitol building, and Mark Zuckerberg still believes that is not enough to remove someone from his platforms,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Twitter had also banned the former president following the 6 January 2021 US Capitol riot, saying he had broken its rules on the glorification of violence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But in November, Twitter\'s owner Elon Musk said Mr Trump\'s account ban had been lifted, after running a poll in which users narrowly backed the move.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Trump has not yet returned to Twitter, having earlier said: \"I don\'t see any reason for it.\" BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"5\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 02:49:32', '2023-01-26 11:17:40'),
(4757, 4757, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Taliban ministers have told a senior UN official they plan to draw up new guidelines to allow Afghan women to work in some humanitarian operations.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Martin Griffiths told the BBC he had received \"encouraging responses\" from a wide range of Taliban ministers during talks in Kabul, even if last month\'s edict banning Afghan women working for NGOs is not reversed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With Afghan women playing a crucial role in delivering aid, there is concern the ban is endangering urgent life-saving humanitarian operations in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"It\'s worth remembering that, this year, Afghanistan is the biggest humanitarian aid programme in the world ever,\" Mr Griffiths, the UN\'s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told me in Kabul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The aid arithmetic is staggering. This year, agencies will try to reach 28 million Afghans, more than half the population, including six million who are, Mr Griffiths says, \"knocking on famine\'s door\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This year is Afghanistan\'s coldest winter in a decade, and it\'s been cruel. In the past two weeks, more than 126 Afghans have perished in freezing temperatures, collapsing from hypothermia, or overcome by toxic fumes from gas heaters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And winter\'s icy blast strikes a people already living, perilously, on the edge. Providing aid to Afghanistan is of epic proportions too.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a mud-and-straw home perched perilously on a steeply-sloped hill blanketed in snow in Parwan province north of Kabul, we met one family whose complaints were as bitter as the cold.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"No aid agencies visit us here,\" lamented mother Qamar Gul, as the family huddled around a \"sandali\" - a traditional charcoal heater Afghans have relied on for centuries to keep warm. \"No one came from the last government, no one from the Taliban government.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This week, as the government\'s military helicopters struggled to reach the most isolated communities completely cut off by colossal snowbanks and blinding storms, Mr Griffiths was holding back-to-back meetings in Kabul with senior Taliban government leaders about the new edict banning Afghan women from working with aid organisations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If women do not work in humanitarian operations, we do not reach, we do not count, the women and girls we need to listen to,\" Mr Griffiths underlines when we meet at the UN\'s sprawling compound at the end of his mission. \"In all humanitarian operations around the world, women and girls are the most vulnerable.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An aid official with decades of experience in tough environments, including Afghanistan, he was cautious, but clear, about the results of his high-stakes mission.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I think they\'re listening,\" he said of the Taliban ministers he had met, \"and they told me they will be issuing new guidelines in due course which I hope will help us reinforce the role of women.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Griffiths\'s visit comes on the heels of last week\'s flying visit by the UN\'s second-in-command Amina Mohammed, a British-Nigerian Muslim woman whose presence underlined the UN\'s growing alarm over a raft of Taliban edicts threatening to \"erase women from public life\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She told us her conversations were \"very tough\". Some meetings were so candid, they were almost cut short. But she told us she was encouraged by a willingness to engage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Griffiths\'s mission - representing the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the UN\'s highest-level forum to co-ordinate humanitarian aid - has been to delve into very specific details across a range of vital sectors from agriculture to sanitation and food deliveries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">No one realistically expects the ban, announced last month, to be reversed. But it seems to have many loopholes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Griffiths highlighted \"a consistent pattern of Taliban leaders presenting us with exceptions, exemptions, and authorisations for women to work\". So far, a green light has been given to crucial areas like health and community education where women\'s participation is essential.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But it\'s also clear the most conservative of Taliban leaders are not for turning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Men are already working with us in the rescue efforts and there is no need for women to work with us,\" insists the white-bearded cleric who heads the State Ministry for Disaster Management. When we sat down with him in his office, the acting minister Mullah Mohammad Abbas Akhund accused the UN and other aid agencies of speaking \"against our religious beliefs\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I\'m sorry, I don\'t agree,\" was Mr Griffith\'s firm reply, emphasising that the UN and other aid agencies had been working in Afghanistan for decades. \"We respect the customs and norms of Afghanistan, as we do in every country that we work.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The race to deliver urgently-needed relief has been slowed by this painstaking process of dealing with an authority ruled by the most senior, most strict Taliban leaders. Other senior figures question edicts but cannot quash them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Mr Griffiths pointed out that humanitarian access was significantly better now since the Taliban swept to power in 2021. Areas previously cut off by threats of Taliban attacks or US-led military operations were now much easier to reach. Last winter, 11th-hour humanitarian interventions in remote regions, including the central highlands of Ghor, pulled families back from the brink of famine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\'s a point Taliban officials constantly stress. The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi urged Mr Griffiths to share their \"achievements and opportunities... instead of complaints and shortcomings\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But as the worst of winter closes in, the window is closing for an urgent relief effort. Several aid agencies, who rely enormously on their Afghan female staff have already suspended their operations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I cannot think of an international priority as high as this one to keep this extraordinarily important massive programme alive,\" is how the UN\'s top aid official summed up this moment. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 02:54:48', '2023-01-26 02:54:48');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4758, 4758, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh’s shrimp export industry was already facing major declines, as 72 percent of the world’s shrimp market is occupied by vannamei shrimp, also known as white leg shrimp, while the country mainly exports black tiger shrimp, or ‘bagda’, and scampi shrimp, or ‘galda’.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to industry sources, Bangladesh\'s shrimp export business suffered another major setback as the current global economic slump also took a heavy toll on the world\'s food market.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result, one of the major export items of Bangladesh, shrimp, has lost 80 percent of its previous demand on the world market. On top of that, export prices decreased by 40 percent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Exporters and traders urged the government to approve commercial vannamei farming promptly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Due to the high demand for vannamei shrimp in the world market, bagda and golda shrimp are gradually losing market share in the western market. Against the backdrop of the ongoing global economic recession, demand for bagda and galda shrimp from Bangladesh dropped by 80% in the previous year,” said S. Humayun Kabir, vice president of the Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters’ Association.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also mentioned that the prices of bagda and galda had dropped by 40% on the international market. One pound of bagda shrimp costs $6, down from $10 last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“In the first eight months of 2021, 4000 containers of frozen shrimp were exported. However, in the same time period the following year, the export quantity dropped to only 1000 containers,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Only 14 out of 61 frozen food exporting companies buy shrimp from local markets in shrimp-producing districts as a result of the sharp decline in demand over the past year, said the exporter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result, shrimp farmers and local traders are incurring huge losses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Syed Zakir Hossain, president of Bagerhat’s Barakpur Fish Market Traders\' Association, said they sold shrimp worth TK 1.5 crores regularly last year around this time. However, their earnings have dropped by half this year, to TK 70–80 lakhs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Traders are selling bagda for TK 700–1100 per kg and galda for TK 900 per kg at different local markets in Bagerhat district.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For the farmer, the price dropped by half. Due to the setback, farmers are losing interest in shrimp farming.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Aswad Ali, a shrimp farmer in Bagerhat’s Barakpur area, said that he has been in this occupation for the last 25 years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He spent TK 1 lakh on this year\'s production, but his total income was only TK 70–80,000.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The price of shrimp has dropped by 50 percent this year. I don\'t want to do this job anymore,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fakir Mahitul Islam Suman, president of the Bagerhat district shrimp farmers’ association, said that exporters are not buying shrimp for a number of reasons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Prices of bagda and galda fell by TK 500 per KG,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He urged the government to give shrimp farmers 5% subsidy, as well as incentives and easy bank loans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Currently, vannamei is cultivated in three regions of the country on trial basis under a government pilot project.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As vannamei shrimp farming requires a lesser production cost and area, can compete well with the cheap varieties in the western market, traders are urging the government to allow commercial farming of vannamei as soon as possible.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Around 55,000 farmers in the district are currently involved in shrimp farming.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the district’s fisheries department, there are around 77,000 enclosures (“gher”, as called by locals) on 72,724 hectares of land. Among them, there are 52,000 enclosures on 52,000 hectares of land for black tiger shrimp, or “Bagda” farming, and a total of 25,000 enclosures on 20,000 hectares of land for scampi shrimp, or “Galda” farming.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 35,000 metric tons of shrimp were produced in Bagerhat in the last fiscal (2021-22) and 35,672 metric tons in 2020–21.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 24,104 metric tons of shrimp were exported from Khulna division in FY 2021-22, and the country earned TK 4000 crore that fiscal year. In FY 2020–21, 35,672 metric tons of shrimp were exported from Khulna, and the export earnings were TK 3,700 crore. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 03:24:03', '2023-01-26 03:24:03'),
(4759, 4759, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The \"Safe Back to School\" campaign alliance, which was formed following the Covid situation to bring back students to school, has started a new journey to ensure inclusive quality education for all in the country, under a new name: \"Education Alliance Bangladesh – EAB.\"</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The declaration of this new name came at the Education Summit 2023 Wednesday in Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Let\'s Work Together to Ensure Inclusive Quality Education in Bangladesh,\" is the new slogan of the alliance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the opening ceremony, Onno van Manen, Save the Children Country Director said: \"This alliance aims to continue working together so that we can reach a larger number of children who require our assistance. We need to elevate the voices of the children through this platform.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The alliance will support the government to mitigate challenges related to quality and inclusive education. It will work with the government to strengthen the education system by taking initiatives to popularise technical/vocational education and fostering partnerships among education actors for accelerating a joyful learning environment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The closure of educational institutions from March 17, 2020, to February 14, 2021, required the launch of mass awareness campaigns as it triggered children dropout rates from schools in both urban and rural areas, causing an increase in child labour and child marriage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Against this backdrop, national and international NGOs working for the education sector in Bangladesh united themselves under the Safe Back to School.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Safe Back to School\'s awareness campaign, research study, and advocacy-related discussions with government officials and stakeholders underlined the need for long-term activities to ensure the scope for education for all children in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The alliance members are Brac, British Council Bangladesh, CAMPE, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Educo Bangladesh, FIVDB, Friendship, Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh, Humanity and Inclusion, Jagorani Chakra Foundation, Leonard Cheshire, Plan International Bangladesh, Room to Read, Save the Children, Sesame Workshop Bangladesh, Sight Savers Bangladesh, Stromme Foundation, Teach for Bangladesh, Voluntary Service Overseas, World Vision Bangladesh, and Young Power in Social Action. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 03:34:53', '2023-01-26 03:34:53'),
(4760, 4760, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><div><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said that she stands ready for correction if the opposition parties can find out any failure of her government.</b><br></div><div><br></div><div>She said this while responding to a question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam during PM’s question hour in Parliament.</div><div><br></div><div>“People will judge the successes and failures. It is not my responsibility to judge that. Why should I fail if I work with honesty and specific goals for the welfare of the people?&nbsp; Whether I\'ve success or success, the people will decide,” she said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Since you are so interested, please find out my failures, I will correct those,\" she told the JP lawmaker.</div><div><br></div><div>She said that after the formation of the government, she has worked with the desire that the grassroots people will stay well.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“People are getting the benefits now. Elderly people will understand the radical changes that happebed in Bangladesh in the last 14 years,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>But, she said that today\'s generation will not realise that.</div><div><br></div><div>In response to a question from ruling party MP AKM Rahmatullah, the prime minister said that after killing Bangabandhu, late Gen. Ziaur Rahman seized power illegally and freed the war criminals and rehabilitated them.</div><div><br></div><div>By changing two clauses of the constitution, Zia allowed them to do politics and gave the right to vote.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Many war criminals including Ghulam Azam were brought back from Pakistan and given citizenship.&nbsp; Zia made war criminals as advisors and ministers,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She said Zia’s wife Khaleda Zia also gave war criminals place in her cabinet after she came to power.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is disgraceful for a nation to patronise war criminals like this. Genuine freedom fighters who did not agree to join hands with Zia were omitted from the list of freedom fighters. They were humiliated as Zia included the non-freedom fighters in the list of freedom fighters. They did not want to honour the real freedom fighters.”</div><div><br></div><div>In response to ruling party MP Benazir Ahmed\'s question, Sheikh Hasina said that the corona pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have affected the global economy.</div><div><br></div><div>“Bangladesh is no exception. Along with other overall economic and social negative effects, this has affected the market prices of daily necessities,\" she admitted.</div><div><br></div><div>In reply to a supplementary question of ruling party MP Mozaffar Hossain, the PM said that Bangladesh\'s garment industry has expanded widely, but there is difficulties finding technical persons in there.</div><div><br></div><div>“Many people are brought from abroad and given jobs,\" she said.</div><div><br></div><div>In this connection, she said, her government has established textile universities and colleges In order to create skilled manpower in this sector.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said that at the moment the government has no plan to create any new cadre in the BCS. “But may consider it in future.” UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/kh</div></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 03:41:04', '2023-01-26 03:41:04'),
(4761, 4761, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Most Asian markets rose Thursday as the majority returned from the Lunar New Year break on an optimistic note, with inflation slowing and central banks hinting at a lighter approach to tackling prices.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hong Kong led the way again, helped by hopes that China\'s reopening will fuel a strong recovery this year, while Bloomberg News said travel and box office numbers for the holidays were encouraging.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But uneven earnings from tech giants largely kept sentiment in check and saw Wall Street end on a soft note, with the Nasdaq in the red.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Traders are now awaiting the release of US growth data on Thursday and the Federal Reserve\'s preferred gauge of inflation Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Still, Asia continued to outperform after a strong start to the year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Next week, the Federal Reserve will make its latest policy decision since slowing its pace of rate hikes in December after four straight 75 basis-point increases.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speculation has been building in recent weeks that the bank could take its foot off the pedal as data points to inflation coming down quicker than expected and other indicators suggest last year\'s tightening was taking hold in the economy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And while there remains some concern that the world\'s top economy could tip into recession, there is growing hope it can achieve a so-called soft landing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hong Kong jumped more than one percent Thursday -- having already piled on more than 10 percent in 2023 -- while Singapore, Wellington and Manila were also up, though Tokyo dipped.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Seoul edged up as data showed South Korea\'s economy shrank in October-December -- for the first time since the second quarter of 2020 -- giving the central bank room to tone down its pace of rate hikes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And SPI Asset Management\'s Stephen Innes was upbeat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Once we chop through the cudgel of earnings reports, one can reasonably expect the buyback tailwind to resume in force come February,\" he said in a commentary.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The opportunity set in non-US markets continues to look more attractive. And while China remains the faster horse in the race, still after a run of resilient activity data, lower gas prices, easier financial conditions and earlier China reopening, investors should take note of the solid non-recessionary vibes emanating from Europe.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Oil prices edged up and have consolidated around their November highs on China demand expectations, with officials saying the number of daily Covid deaths had fallen nearly 80 percent since the start of the month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The figures will come as some relief to investors who feared that a wave of infections across the country would offset the benefits of dispatching the zero-Covid strategy that hammered the economy for three years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Key figures around 0230 GMT -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN AT 0.1 percent at 27,361.10 (break)</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.6 percent at 22,394.63</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0919 from $1.0921 on Wednesday</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2409 from $1.2403</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.00 pence from 88.02 pence</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dollar/yen: DOWN at 129.21 yen from 129.57 yen</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $80.46 per barrel</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.1 percent at $86.21 per barrel</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New York - Dow: FLAT at 33,743.84 (close)</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,744.87 (close). 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, '2023-01-26 03:57:55', '2023-01-26 03:57:55'),
(4762, 4762, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka\'s air quality continued to be in the \'hazardous\' zone this morning, posing serious health risks to residents of the densely populated capital of Bangladesh.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 372 at 8:50 am today (January 26, 2023), Dhaka ranked first in the list of cities with the worst air.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 151 and 200 is said to be ‘unhealthy’ while 201 and 300 is considered ‘very unhealthy’, and 301 to 400 is considered \'hazardous\'.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Read more: Govt may provide loans for producing eco-friendly bricks: Environment Minister</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Uzbekistan’s Tashkent and Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar occupied the second and third spots in the list, with AQI scores of 288 and 219, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants — Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 04:15:43', '2023-01-26 04:15:43'),
(4763, 4763, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ousmane Dembele\'s strike, capping a brilliant individual display, helped Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 on Wednesday, and reach the Copa del Rey semi-finals.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The French forward struck in the 52nd minute to power the record 31-time cup-winners through against 10-man La Real, who had Brais Mendez sent off late in the first half.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barcelona have enjoyed a strong start to 2023, winning the Spanish Super Cup and moving three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, and continued it in a pulsating cup clash.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Imanol Alguacil\'s Real Sociedad have thrilled in the league, sitting third, but were missing veteran playmaker David Silva and Mikel Merino through injury.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez, on his 43rd birthday, guided his team to a nervy victory, thanks to Dembele.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The coach defended Dembele when taking over at Barcelona in November 2021, saying that with hard work he could be the best winger in the world.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The most important thing is having the mentality that you will make the difference at Barcelona,\" Xavi told reporters on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"For me, Dembele is still one of the best in the world in his position. I am happy for him because he\'s a good guy and a good professional.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He has turned things around and that is not easy at Barca.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Catalans came out of the blocks quickly and Robert Lewandowski had an effort blocked after the electric Dembele found him.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the other end Takefusa Kubo crashed a shot against the crossbar, as the game ebbed and flowed in entertaining fashion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barcelona fans frequently showed their ire towards referee Jesus Gil Manzano in the first half -- he was the official who sent off Lewandowski against Osasuna in November, resulting in a ban which the Pole is still serving in La Liga.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However it was Real Sociedad midfielder Mendez who was sent off at Camp Nou on Wednesday, just before half-time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Spaniard lunged in on Sergio Busquets, catching his compatriot with his studs above the ankle.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Decisive Dembele -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Early in the second half, Barcelona broke the deadlock when Jules Kounde slid Dembele in down the right wing and he drove into the box and lashed the ball past Alex Remiro at the near post.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was the French forward\'s third goal in six games and another sign of his superb form under Xavi.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s hard to stop a player at such a level, in form and having a day like this,\" said Alguacil.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We made things too easy for him in the first half ... I think we were afraid. If you give half a metre to Dembele, you\'re screwed.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Now that Dembele has found a coach who believes in him -- and signed a new deal last summer -- he has become vital at Barcelona.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"(Dembele) had a great game, we know what a great player he is,\" Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo told Movistar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He helps us with goals, he\'s taking good decisions, that\'s the most important thing, something that maybe was tricky for him at the beginning.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Real Sociedad, despite their numerical disadvantage, battled well and should have levelled when Alexander Sorloth fired over from only a couple of yards out.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Norwegian striker had netted five goals in his previous six games and looked aghast at his miss.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gavi struck the bar after more good work by Dembele as Barcelona tried and failed to seal the win with a second goal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There are a lot of games that we can put to bed earlier, we will try to work on that,\" said Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are in very good form and we just have to kill off these situations.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barcelona survived two late scares after Marc-Andre ter Stegen gave the ball away but then saved from Robert Navarro and produced another fine stop to deny Jon Ander Olasagasti.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Elsewhere Osasuna earned a 2-1 win over Sevilla in extra-time to reach the semis for the first time since 2005, when they finished as runners-up to Real Betis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Thursday Real Madrid host Atletico Madrid and Valencia welcome Athletic Club in the other quarter-finals. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 04:55:40', '2023-01-26 04:55:40'),
(4764, 4764, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Saraswati Puja, a major religious festival of the Hindu community, is being celebrated across Bangladesh today with much enthusiasm, festivity and religious fervor.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Saraswati Puja is celebrated on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the Bangla month of Magh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The day is called \'Vasant Panchami\'.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hindu devotees, especially students, worship Goddess Saraswati and celebrate the puja at educational institutions and temples.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday greeted the Hindu community on the occasion of Saraswati Puja.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jagannath University central Puja Udjapan Committee is organizing Saraswati Puja on the campus.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, in the capital, Saraswati Puja will also be arranged at different places. 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, '2023-01-26 05:56:41', '2023-01-26 05:56:41'),
(4765, 4765, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said digital connectivity would be the key equipment to transform the country into a Smart Bangladesh.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Digital connectivity will be the key tool to build Smart Bangladesh. Smart citizens, smart economy, smart government and smart society will be built on the basis of digital connectivity,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said this in a video message aired at the inaugural ceremony of the Digital Bangladesh Fair-2023 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) here this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications arranged the three-day fair aimed at showcasing the IT and ITES products and services in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In her message, the prime minister also hoped that the digital goods would play a significant role in investments and exports.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Digital Bangladesh is now a reality. Our next target is to build Smart Bangladesh and Smart Nation. There is no alternative to using ultra modern technology to achieve the target of building Smart Bangladesh,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said her government wants Bangladesh to become economically prosperous, ensuring maximum use of digital technology including official intelligence, internet of things, virtual reality, augmented reality, robotics and big-data.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this connection, she went on saying, \"Five-G services will be ensured at the industrial regions.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mentioning that Bangladesh saw a revolution in digitisation, she said young generation is now dreaming of building Smart Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had set up the country\'s first Satellite Earth Station at Betbunia in Rangamati district on June 14 in 1975, through which, the information technology use here started, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier said they had announced Vision-2021 in the electoral pledge of 2008 whose main aspect was to ensure socio-economic development of Bangladeshi people by establishing Digital Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said her government had launched Bangabandhu Satellite-1 to the orbit in 2018 which has brought a revolutionary change in the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said her government had been able to resume the telecommunication system that was snapped in Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrokona districts during the cyclone Sitrang last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, she said Bangladesh is earning huge foreign currency by using unused frequencies from satellites.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Bangladesh is now a proud 57th member of the satellite family in the world,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister also said steps have been taken to install Bangabandhu Satellite-2 into orbit with multifaceted working capacity aiming to materialise the target of establishing Smart Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said her government is going to set up a third submarine cable by 2024 as they have already installed the first and second submarine cables, adding that Bangladesh has so far achieved a bandwidth capacity of 3400 GBPS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier continued that the bandwidth capacity will be increased to 7200 GBPS in the middle of this year, while it will be 13200 GBPS after installation of the third submarine cable.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She mentioned that Bangladesh is earning 4.81 million US dollars every year through giving bandwidth leases to Saudi Arabia, France, Malaysia and India.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister said Bangladesh doesn\'t need to depend on foreign satellites any more.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She noted that nearly 956298 kilometers optical fibre cables have been set up till union levels across the country while 10 Gigabyte capacity has been ensured in every union, helping provide high speed internet to the people and the government offices.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 8600 post offices across the country have been turned into digital ones using the infrastructure, she said, adding that nowadays 18 crore mobile SIMs are being used while the number of internet-using people is 12 crore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The digital inequality and prices of broadband internet between the rural and urban areas has been erased due to it,\" she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Highlighting her government\'s successes in reaching telecommunications networks up to remote and inaccessible areas, she said a common tariff of \"One country one rate\" has been introduced across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this context, the prime minister said Bangladesh was honoured with ASOCIO-2022 Award in recognition of introducing non-discriminatory \"One Country One Rate\" tariff system across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar, Posts Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry\'s Parliamentary Standing Committee President AKM Rahmatullah and Secretary of Posts and Telecommunications Division Abu Hena Morshed Zaman spoke at the function.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the programme, the firstly introduced Posts and Telecommunications Award was distributed among 22 organisations and persons in 14 categories in recognition of their praiseworthy works in the telecom sector to build Digital Bangladesh. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 06:48:08', '2023-01-26 06:48:08'),
(4766, 4766, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Some private sector banks are in deep crisis because of lack of adequate liquidity and are being forced to borrow money from state-owned Sonali Bank at a 9 percent interest rate to stay afloat.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Islami Bank, Al-Arafah Islami Bank and National Bank are borrowing money from Sonali Bank at a 9 percent interest rate, which is the highest commercial lending rate at present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Economists and banking sector insiders say that it means the sector is passing through a hard time due to higher non-performing loans, lack of good governance and serious corruption in the management of the respective banks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They say at present the call money rate is between 6-7 percent while banks are borrowing at 9 percent rate, which proves the crisis has mounted in these banks. They also say the troubled banks have no other options, but to borrow money.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Both such borrowing and lending are very risky considering the ability of investment of these banks, they say.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also read: 5 held for spreading rumors on social media about Islami Bank, S Alam group</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">BRAC Bank Chairman Dr Ahsan H Mansur told UNB that some banks have lost their customers’ trust due to their mismanagement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“As a result, people have withdrawn money from those banks,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Giving an example he said that the deposit of BRAC Bank increased by 33 percent in the last quarter while the deposit volumes of many banks decreased.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Usually, banks charge a higher interest rate to lend to other banks while considering it risky, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On 13 December 2022, the Sonali Bank’s Board of Directors approved the investment of Tk200 crore in fund placement in favour of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited and Tk75 crore in favour of Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited at a 9 percent lending rate for a period of 90 days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also read: Scam-hit Islami Bank earns operational profit in 2022, Basic Bank reports loss</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the same day, the bank\'s Board also agreed to the proposal to extend the term of the Tk150 crore loans to National Bank for another six months at 9 percent interest subject to payment of the previous interest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is a normal practice that when a bank faces a liquidity crisis it borrows from another bank via the interbank money market.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the liquidity situation in three private sector banks is so critical that they are forced to borrow from another bank at the highest commercial lending rate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Bangladesh Bank\'s guidelines, banks can charge a maximum of 9 percent interest on all types of loans other than consumer loans such as auto loans and personal loans, in which case the highest lending rate ceiling is 12 percent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Professor Dr Abul Barakat told UNB that any short-term borrowing at such a rate is not harmful, but it could create trouble while getting such loans will be lingering.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said banks sometimes face a liquidity crisis, then it is required to borrow to meet the instant crisis. But a 9 percent lending rate for banks is high.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Then how much a bank would have to charge against any commercial loans,” he asked.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sector insiders say corruption and lack of good governance are the main reasons behind such a crisis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some questioned the role and the ability of the central bank to regulate commercial banks that fail to check corruption. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 07:17:40', '2023-01-26 07:17:40'),
(4767, 4767, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Despite an estimated ₹50 crore opening and sold out shows across the country, some are still sceptical of how Pathaan is being received by the audience. Shah Rukh Khan\'s spy-action film also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham and heard calls for boycott and saw a big controversy about one of its songs before the release. However, looks like nothing has really affected the footfall at theatres on opening day.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But even with stellar box office reports coming in, tweets showing empty cinema halls have surfaced. “Is #Pathaan flop or hit? Got this clip from someone,” read a tweet that showed a largely empty theatre. However, Pathaan was not playing on the big screen.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In reply to him, many shared videos of people leaving their seats and dancing in theatres to Jhoome Jo Pathaan or Besharam Rang during the show. Check out a few:</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Twitter user also compiled a string of videos that showed people dancing and hooting in theatres. “Compare the reaction of audience in theatres on Pathan with that of a recent state-promoted film; where the latter not only led to vile hate speech in the theatres but was also later used to provoke violence,” read a tweet attached to a video.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Audience started dancing on #JhoomeJoPathaan song in cinema hall. People celebrating @iamsrk movie after four years,” wrote another. “Saw some tweets claiming theaters are empty and no one is watching #Pathaan,” read another tweet with a similar video.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Given the huge response to the film, which opened in 5,000 screens with big cities, including Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, beginning shows at 6 am and 7 am, Yash Raj Films said it had added a post midnight 12.30 am show across the country beginning Wednesday.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, 300 more screens were added due to high demand, according to trade analyst Taran Adarsh. The film\'s screen count now stands at 8,500 worldwide, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The film, directed by Siddharth Anand, has been battling calls for a boycott over the song Besharam Rang, which features Deepika Padukone in several costume changes, including a saffron bikini.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The success of the film, which is set for the biggest opening for any Hindi film ever, played out in a montage of fan adoration. In Kolkata, the SRK brigade feted the star by feeding chocolate cake to the movie\'s poster. In Guwahati, some poured milk over Pathaan\" billboards, recalling the frenzy that normally meets a Rajinikanth film.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As security was beefed up in halls in anticipation of protests, there were many clicking selfies with giant posters and cutouts of the 56-year-old star. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 07:27:07', '2023-01-26 07:27:07'),
(4768, 4768, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">BNP will hold a four-day march programme in the capital to press home their 10-point demand, including holding the next general election under a non-party caretaker government.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the fresh programme for Dhaka at a press conference the party’s Nayapaltan central office on Thursday, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>Mirza Fakhrul said that the leaders and activists of their party’s Dhaka north and south city units will observe the march programme on January 28, 31, 30 and February 1 respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the party’s plan, Dhaka North City unit BNP will march from Shahjadpur to Malibagh Abul Hotel on January 28 and from Gabtoli to Mirpur 10 intersection on January 31.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, Dhaka South City unit BNP will march from Jatrabari to Shyampur on January 30 and from Mugda to Malibagh on February 1.</div><div><br></div><div>He also hoped that their march programmes will be held peacefully&nbsp; with the spontaneously participation of people from all walks of life.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 09:58:27', '2023-01-26 09:58:27'),
(4769, 4769, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Several demonstrators who were apprehended for publicly protesting China’s then-ongoing zero-Covid policy remain in detention, face charges or have not been heard from, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report today.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>In late November, protests broke out in numerous cities across China calling for an end to the country’s nearly three years of strict enforcement of the zero-Covid policy.</div><div><br></div><div>Many demonstrators held up blank sheets of white paper, which became a symbol of their discontent.</div><div><br></div><div>Some protesters also shouted slogans calling for the ouster of President Xi Jinping or the ruling Communist Party.</div><div><br></div><div>The protests, unprecedented in Xi’s decade in power, which has seen an increasingly heavy crackdown on dissent, petered out within days amid a heavy police presence.</div><div><br></div><div>Numerous individuals were apprehended and subsequently released, protesters, lawyers and academics told Reuters at the time, adding that they were concerned that some could face consequences later.</div><div><br></div><div>HRW researchers cited four protesters in Beijing – editor Cao Zhixin, accountant Li Yuanjing, teacher Zhai Dengrui, and journalist Li Siqi – as having been formally arrested for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, which can carry a sentence of up to five years.</div><div><br></div><div>In Shanghai, the whereabouts of two protesters who demonstrated on Wulumuqi Road, Li Yi and Chen Jialin, are unknown, HRW said.</div><div><br></div><div>The group called on authorities to release all of the individuals immediately.</div><div><br></div><div>Reuters could not independently verify the status of the individuals named in the report.</div><div><br></div><div>Calls by Reuters to China’s ministry of public security for a comment were not answered.</div><div><br></div><div>HRW said “a few” protesters were released on bail.</div><div><br></div><div>“More protesters are believed to have been detained or forcibly disappeared, though their cases are not publicly known, given the Chinese authorities’ practice of threatening detainees’ families to keep silent,” it said.</div><div><br></div><div>In early December, soon after the protests, China abruptly dropped most of its zero-Covid curbs, and the coronavirus has spread rapidly across the country. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 10:05:23', '2023-01-26 10:05:23');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4770, 4770, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>An Israeli raid on the occupied West Bank\'s Jenin refugee camp on Thursday killed nine Palestinians including an elderly woman, Palestinian officials said, also accusing the forces of using tear gas inside a hospital children\'s ward.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The death toll rose to \"nine martyrs including an elderly woman,\" the health ministry said, with multiple wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>In a separate statement, Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila charged that \"occupation forces stormed Jenin Government Hospital and intentionally fired tear gas canisters at the paediatric department in the hospital\".</div><div><br></div><div>She described the situation in the refugee camp as \"critical\" and said Israeli forces were preventing ambulances from reaching the wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>Israel\'s army declined to comment when asked by AFP about the health minister\'s tear gas allegation.</div><div><br></div><div>The military has said only that its \"forces are operating in Jenin\".</div><div><br></div><div>Thursday\'s fatalities bring the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank so far this year to 29, including fighters and civilians, most of whom were shot by Israeli forces.</div><div><br></div><div>Jenin deputy governor Kamal Abu al-Rub told AFP that residents were living in a \"real state of war\".&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>\"The Israeli army is destroying everything and shooting at everything that moves,\" he told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>The mounting toll follows the deadliest year in the Palestinian territory since United Nations records began in 2005. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 10:28:00', '2023-01-26 10:28:00'),
(4771, 4771, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh Sugar Refiners Association (BSRA) has increased the prices of loose refined sugar and packaged refined sugar. Per kg loose sugar has increased by Tk 5 while one kg packaged sugar hiked by Tk 4.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The latest prices will come into effect from February 1. The notification signed by BSRA executive secretary made this disclosure at a press statement on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>The notice stated that the sugar prices- per kg loose at Tk 107 and packaged sugar at Tk112- were fixed after discussing with the Ministry of Commerce and considering the price hike of unrefined sugar at international market and higher exchange rate of dollar and its production cost.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, last year (November 17), the price of per kg loose sugar was set at Tk 102 and packaged sugar was determined at Tk 108.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 11:14:35', '2023-01-26 11:14:35'),
(4772, 4772, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman on Thursday said that the work of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) project will not be delayed for turning away sanctioned Russian vessel ‘Ursa Major’.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The incident involving Russian vessel ‘Ursa Major’ is not good for anyone, he told reporters after the Deputy Commissioners’ Conference, 2023 at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>However, the work of the project will not be delayed due to the incident, he said. “It will be completed within the stipulated time, they (Russia) assured us.”</div><div><br></div><div>Russia’s contract with Bangladesh is that there will be no relationship with them (Russia) until the consignments reache the river port of Ruppoor, Yeafesh Osman said.</div><div><br></div><div>He said, “We are informed only when those reach our river port. Still, I will say that the incident that happened is not good for anyone. We have told them (Russia) that such incidents should not happen in future.”</div><div><br></div><div>Sanctioned Russian ship Sparta III (Ursa Major) was scheduled to dock at Mongla port in the southwestern part of the country at the end of December last year and unload cargo destined for the Rooppur NPP in Pabna.</div><div><br></div><div>But the authorities denied the ship permission to dock at the port after officials got a letter from the US Embassy in Dhaka saying that the ship was on a list of Russian ships sanctioned by the US.</div><div><br></div><div>On January 22, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh will not accept those Russian ships which are under sanctions, noting that Bangladesh has developed a good relationship with the United States of America (USA).</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh has conveyed to the Russian side that they can send any ship except the sanctioned 69 ships carrying equipment for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. Momen hoped that Russia would now send non-sanctioned ships carrying required materials. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 11:33:05', '2023-01-26 11:33:05'),
(4773, 4773, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Sate Minister for Water Resources Ministry Zahid Faruk on Thursday directed the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to remain&nbsp; vigilant to stop illegal sand extraction from rivers.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The dams which are built on the rivers collapse due to the illegal sand extraction, he said while talking to reporters after the Deputy Commissioners’ Conference 2023 at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>Sand can be extracted only from those places which the Water Development Board declares as ‘Balu Mahals’ (sand quarries) as sand is needed for the development of the country, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>“In this way we will be able to meet the need for sand as well as prevent river erosion.”</div><div><br></div><div>Due to climate change, river erosion and flood has increased in Bangladesh, said the state minister.</div><div><br></div><div>“Last year we saw early flooding in rural areas. Even then we didn\'t let the crops get damaged. I have taken precautions.”</div><div><br></div><div>Stating that a few DCs spoke about the problem of river erosion in their areas, he said, \"We are working, but the pace is slow due to the global recession.\"</div><div><br></div><div>“When a problem is raised from an area, we take action after conducting a survey,” he said urging the engineers to talk to local public representatives and solve their problems. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 12:21:00', '2023-01-26 12:21:00'),
(4774, 4774, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The rotation of Earth’s inner core may have paused and it could even go into reverse, new research suggests.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Earth is formed of the crust, the mantle and the inner and outer cores. The solid inner core is situated about 3,200 miles below the Earth’s crust and is separated from the semi-solid mantle by the liquid outer core, which allows the inner core to rotate at a different speed from the rotation of the Earth itself.</div><div><br></div><div>With a radius of almost 2,200 miles, Earth’s core is about the size of Mars. It consists mostly of iron and nickel, and contains about about one-third of Earth’s mass.</div><div><br></div><div>In research published in the journal Nature Geoscience on Monday, Yi Yang, associate research scientist at Peking University, and Xiaodong Song, Peking University chair professor, studied seismic waves from earthquakes that have passed through the Earth’s inner core along similar paths since the 1960s to infer how fast the inner core is spinning.</div><div><br></div><div>What they found was unexpected, they said. Since 2009, seismic records, which previously changed over time, showed little difference. This, they said, suggested that the inner core rotation had paused.</div><div><br></div><div>“We show surprising observations that indicate the inner core has nearly ceased its rotation in the recent decade and may be experiencing a turning-back,” they wrote in the study.</div><div><br></div><div>“When you look at the decade between 1980 and 1990 you see clear change but when you see 2010 to 2020 you don’t see much change,” added Song.</div><div><br></div><div>The spin of the inner core is driven by the magnetic field generated in the outer core and balanced by the gravitational effects of the mantle. Knowing how the inner core rotates could shed light on how these layers interact and other processes deep in the Earth.</div><div><br></div><div>However, the speed of this rotation, and whether it varies, is debated, said Hrvoje Tkalcic, a geophysicist at the Australian National University, who was not involved in the study,</div><div><br></div><div>“The inner core doesn’t come to a full stop,” he said. The study’s finding, he said, “means that the inner core is now more in sync with the rest of the planet than a decade ago when it was spinning a bit faster.”</div><div><br></div><div>“Nothing cataclysmic is happening,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Song and Yang argue that, based on their calculations, a small imbalance in the electromagnetic and gravitational forces could slow and even reverse the inner core’s rotation. They believe this is part of a seven-decade cycle, and that the turning point prior to the one they detected in their data around 2009/2010 occurred in the early 1970s.</div><div><br></div><div>Tkalcic, who is the author of “The Earth’s Inner Core: Revealed by Observational Seismology,” said the study’s “data analysis is sound.” However, the study’s findings “should be taken cautiously” as “more data and innovative methods are needed to shed light on this interesting problem.”</div><div><br></div><div>Song and Yang agreed that more research was needed.</div><div>Studying the Earth’s core</div><div>Tkalcic, who dedicates an entire chapter of his book to the inner core rotation, suggested the inner core’s cycle is every 20 to 30 years, rather than the 70 proposed in the latest study. He explained why such variations occur and why it was so difficult to understand what happens in the innermost reaches of the planet.</div><div><br></div><div>“The objects of our studies are buried thousands of kilometers beneath our feet,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>“We use geophysical inference methods to infer the Earth’s internal properties, and caution must be exercised until multi-disciplinary findings confirm our hypotheses and conceptual frameworks,” he explained, reports CNN</div><div><br></div><div>“You can think of seismologists like medical doctors who study the internal organs of patients’ bodies using imperfect or limited equipment. So, despite progress, our image of the inner Earth is still blurry, and we are still in the discovery stage.”</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 12:36:12', '2023-01-26 12:36:12'),
(4775, 4775, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Thursday asked the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to get ready to ensure a fair and acceptable national election expected to be held by early next year.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He came up with the remark while talking to journalists after the meeting with the DCs in the last session of the three-day ‘DC Conference-2023’ at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>“We said our security agencies are now capable of facing any challenges, they will be able to tackle any situation with their patriotism, experiences and abilities during the elections”, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Indeed, we will not have anything to do at that time (election time). The ministry will only do its routine work. The main responsibilities will remain on the Election Commission (EC) and security agencies will also be under them (EC),” the home minister said.</div><div><br></div><div>“You (DCs) stay ready to offer a fair election as your roles in holding the elections are crucial,” he said adding that the country\'s people have been seeking a fair and acceptable election as well as the entire world.</div><div><br></div><div>Addressing the roles of the DCs in curbing the drugs, he asked them to play an important role in handling the challenge, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>“The dreams of our 2030 and 2041 will remain incomplete unless we work on the issue (drugs),” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Replying to a question about the militancy, the home minister said the law enforcers could deal with the militants, but they cannot uproot it.</div><div><br></div><div>“The militants have gone to the Chittagong Hill Tract region from here while we uprooted their dens there too,” the minister said.</div><div><br></div><div>Replying to another question, Asaduzzaman suspected that the militants may lure the Rohingyas if they stay in the country for a long time.</div><div><br></div><div>He added that law enforcers including members of the APBN, army and intelligence agencies have remained vigilant about the smuggling of Yaba as a section of Rohingyas are involved with the illicit business.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 14:41:37', '2023-01-26 14:41:37'),
(4776, 4776, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Thursday reiterated that the Rohingyas, now staying in Bangladesh temporarily, must go back to their homeland in Myanmar and their safe repatriation will continue to remain Bangladesh\'s priority.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Myanmar said they will take back their people but they have lack of sincerity,\" he told reporters.</div><div><br></div><div>Responding to a question after a meeting with the deputy commissioners at the DC Conference, Momen said not a single Rohingya has been taken back by Myanmar over the last six years.</div><div><br></div><div>The Foreign Minister said he does not have any solution as the solution lies to Myanmar.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister gave instructions to the DCs on various issues including taking measures to prevent illegal hill-cutting and private land grabbing.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We need more playground,\" Momen said, seeking DCs support to that end.</div><div><br></div><div>State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen were also present at the meeting with DCs. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-26 15:26:29', '2023-01-26 15:26:29'),
(4777, 4777, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Gaza militants fired rockets and Israel carried out airstrikes early Friday as tensions soared following an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank that killed nine Palestinians, including at least seven militants and a 61-year-old woman.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>It was the deadliest single raid in the territory in over two decades. The flare-up in violence poses an early test for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\'s far-right government and casts a shadow on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s expected trip to the region next week.</div><div><br></div><div>Palestinian militants fired five rockets at Israel, the military said. Three were intercepted, one fell in an open area and another fell short inside Gaza. Israel carried out a series of airstrikes at what it said were militant targets. There were no immediate reports of casualties.</div><div><br></div><div>Thursday\'s deadly raid in the Jenin refugee camp was likely to reverberate on Friday as Palestinians gather for weekly Muslim prayers that are often followed by protests. Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, had earlier threatened revenge for the raid.</div><div><br></div><div>Raising the stakes, the Palestinian Authority said it would halt the ties that its security forces maintain with Israel in a shared effort to contain Islamic militants. Previous threats have been short-lived, in part because of the benefits the authority enjoys from the relationship and also due to U.S. and Israeli pressure to maintain it.</div><div><br></div><div>The Palestinian Authority already has limited control over scattered enclaves in the West Bank, and almost none over militant strongholds like the Jenin camp. But the announcement could pave the way for Israel to step up operations it says are needed to prevent attacks.</div><div><br></div><div>The Israeli strikes early Friday targeted training sites for Palestinian militant groups, the military said. Witnesses and local media reported that Israeli drones fired two missiles at a Hamas militant base before fighter jets struck it, causing four large explosions.</div><div><br></div><div>Air raid sirens went off in southern Israel as the initial two rockets were fired and then again after the airstrikes, when the militants fired the other three rockets.</div><div><br></div><div>On Thursday, Israeli forces went on heightened alert as Palestinians filled the streets across the West Bank, chanting in solidarity with Jenin. President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning, and in the refugee camp, residents dug a mass grave for the dead.</div><div><br></div><div>Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said Abbas had decided to cut security coordination in “light of the repeated aggression against our people.\" He also said the Palestinians planned to file complaints with the U.N. Security Council, International Criminal Court and other international bodies.</div><div><br></div><div>Barbara Leaf, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, said the Biden administration was deeply concerned about the situation and that civilian casualties reported in Jenin were “quite regrettable.” But she also said the Palestinian announcement to suspend security ties and to pursue the matter at international organizations was a mistake.</div><div><br></div><div>Thursday\'s gun battle that left nine dead and 20 wounded erupted when Israel\'s military conducted a rare daytime operation in the Jenin camp that it said was meant to prevent an imminent attack on Israelis. The camp, where the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group has a major foothold, has been a focus of near-nightly Israeli arrest raids.</div><div><br></div><div>Hamas’ armed wing claimed four of the dead as members, while Islamic Jihad claimed three others. An earlier statement from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, a militia loosely affiliated with Abbas\' secular Fatah party, claimed one of the dead was a fighter named Izz al-Din Salahat, but it was unclear if he was among those seven militants.</div><div><br></div><div>The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the 61-year-old woman killed as Magda Obaid, and the Israeli military said it was looking into reports of her death.</div><div><br></div><div>The Israeli military circulated aerial video it said was taken during the battle, showing what appeared to be Palestinians on rooftops hurling stones and firebombs on Israeli forces below. At least one Palestinian can be seen opening fire from a rooftop.</div><div><br></div><div>Later in the day, Israeli forces fatally shot a 22-year-old and wounded two others, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, as Palestinians confronted Israeli troops north of Jerusalem to protest Thursday’s raid. Israel\'s paramilitary Border Police said they opened fire on Palestinians who launched fireworks at them from close range.</div><div><br></div><div>Tensions have soared since Israel stepped up raids in the West Bank last spring, following a series of Palestinian attacks.</div><div><br></div><div>Israel’s new national security minister, far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who seeks to grant legal immunity to Israeli soldiers who shoot Palestinians, posted a video of himself beaming triumphantly and congratulating security forces.</div><div><br></div><div>The raid left a trail of destruction in Jenin. A two-story building, apparently the operation\'s target, was a charred wreck. The military said it entered the building to detonate explosives.</div><div><br></div><div>Palestinian Health Minister May Al-Kaila said paramedics struggled to reach the wounded during the fighting, while Akram Rajoub, the governor of Jenin, said the military prevented emergency workers from evacuating them.</div><div><br></div><div>Both accused the military of firing tear gas at the pediatric ward of a hospital, causing children to choke. Video at the hospital showed women carrying children into a corridor.</div><div><br></div><div>The military said forces closed roads to aid the operation, which may have complicated rescue efforts, and that tear gas had likely wafted into the hospital from nearby clashes.</div><div><br></div><div>The Israeli rights group B’Tselem said Thursday marked the single bloodiest West Bank incursion since 2002, at the height of an intense wave of violence known as the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which left scars still visible in Jenin.</div><div><br></div><div>U.N. Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said he was “deeply alarmed and saddened” by the violence. Condemnations came from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Turkey, which recently reestablished full diplomatic ties with Israel. Neighboring Jordan, as well as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries also condemned the Israeli raid.</div><div><br></div><div>The Islamic Jihad branch in Gaza has repeatedly fought against Israel, most recently in a fierce three-day clash last summer that killed dozens of Palestinians and disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis. Hamas, which seized power from the Palestinian Authority in Gaza in 2007, has fought four wars and several smaller skirmishes with Israel.</div><div><br></div><div>Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making 2022 the deadliest in those territories since 2004, according to B’Tselem. So far this year, 30 Palestinians have been killed.</div><div><br></div><div>Israel says most of the dead were militants. But youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in the confrontations also have been killed. So far this year, not including Thursday, one-third of the Palestinians killed by Israeli troops or civilians had ties to armed groups.</div><div><br></div><div>Last year, 30 people were killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis.</div><div><br></div><div>Israel says its raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart attacks. The Palestinians say they further entrench Israel’s 55-year, open-ended occupation of the West Bank, which Israel captured along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians claim those territories for their hoped-for state.</div><div><br></div><div>Israel has established dozens of settlements in the West Bank that now house 500,000 people. The Palestinians and much of the international community view settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace, even as talks to end the conflict have been moribund for over a decade. - AP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 03:48:38', '2023-01-27 03:48:38'),
(4778, 4778, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will on Sunday inaugurate&nbsp; 25 development projects completed at a cost of Tk 1317 crore in Rajshahi City and across the district.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the event she will also lay foundation stones of six new development projects in Rajshahi City and district to be constructed at a cost of Tk 376 crore including new Tathya Bhaban Complex in the City.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Recently completed development projects include: Flyover at Mohanpur Rail Crossing,&nbsp; Rajshahi Police Headquarters Building, Rajshahi Civil Surgeon Office building, Sheikh Russel Shishu Park, two storey hostel with six storey foundation for Girl Students of Rajshahi Government Girls College, five storey academic building at Rajshahi Charghat Technical School and College, Multipurpose Bhaban at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, Padma River Protection Dam at Charghat and Bagha Upazilas in Rajshahi, Land Reclamation and Increasing Navgation through Padma River Dredging at Charghat and Bagha Upazilas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After inaugurating the projects, the prime minister will address a public rally at Rajshahi Madrasa Ground to be arranged by the district Awami League in the afternoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;PM Hasina will begin the Rajshahi tour by attending the passing out parade of the probationary Assistant Police Supers of 38th BCS Police Cadre at Sarda Police Training Academy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 97 ASPs from BCS Police Cadre 38th Batch are participating in the&nbsp; year-long training at the Sarda Police Academy. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 07:17:48', '2023-01-27 07:17:48'),
(4779, 4779, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Trading in the business empire of Asia\'s richest man Gautam Adani was halted Friday following a 15 percent plunge in its share price, days after a US investment firm claimed it had committed \"brazen\" corporate fraud.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Flagship Adani Enterprises tumbled to 508.45 rupees ($6.23) in Mumbai in the afternoon, triggering an automatic 105-minute trading halt, while subsidiary Adani Total Gas also halted after it tanked 20 percent. 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, '2023-01-27 07:49:19', '2023-01-27 07:49:19'),
(4780, 4780, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>US President Joe Biden on Thursday called for calm after five police officers were charged in the beating death of a Black man following a traffic stop and said he backed \"peaceful protest.\"</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"As Americans grieve, the Department of Justice conducts its investigation, and state authorities continue their work, I join Tyre\'s family in calling for peaceful protest,\" Biden said, referring to the slain man, Tyre Nichols.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable.\" 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, '2023-01-27 08:00:11', '2023-01-27 08:00:11'),
(4781, 4781, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A light to moderate fog may occur at places over the country from late night till morning, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said Friday.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Night and day temperatures may remain nearly unchanged, it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The lowest temperature in the country settled at 10.4 degrees Celsius in Tetulia of Panchagarh in the 24 hours to 6am today. The highest temperature was recorded at 31.2 degrees Celsius in Jashore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The weather may remain dry with a temporary partly cloudy sky, the BMD 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, '2023-01-27 09:06:56', '2023-01-27 09:06:56'),
(4782, 4782, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Israeli forces in the West Bank killed 10 Palestinians on Thursday, officials in the occupied territory said, nine of them in a raid the Israeli military described as a counterterrorism operation.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The bloodiest day in the West Bank in years erupted during a raid on the crowded refugee camp in the northern city of Jenin, where gunshots rang through the streets and smoke billowed from burning barricades.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Palestinian health officials put the death toll from the clashes at nine, adding that 20 people were wounded before Israeli forces withdrew mid-morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military said Israeli forces came under fire during a \"counterterrorism operation to apprehend an Islamic Jihad terror squad\" and shot several enemy combatants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since its records began in 2005, the United Nations has never logged such a high death toll in a single operation in the West Bank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A tenth Palestinian was subsequently shot dead by Israeli forces in Al-Ram, near Ramallah, the Palestinian health ministry said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Official Palestinian news agency Wafa said the man was shot in clashes that erupted during a protest over the Jenin killings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The violence prompted the Palestinian Authority to announce it was cutting security coordination with Israel, a move criticised by the United States.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among those confirmed dead in Jenin was Majeda Obeid, 61, who lived some metres from the house targeted by the Israeli forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Her daughter, Kefiyat Obeid, told AFP her mother was shot as she peered out her window at the clashes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"After she finished her prayers, she stopped for a moment to look and, as she stood up, she was hit in the neck by a bullet and she fell against the wall and then to the floor,\" the 26-year-old told AFP, as bloodstains soaked into the rug of their home.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'State of panic\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military said the incursion targeted Islamic Jihad militants who were allegedly behind attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians and, according to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, were planning \"to conduct a terror attack in Israel\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Three Palestinians were shot in a firefight, while Israeli forces shot a further two \"fleeing the scene\", an army statement said. Israeli forces also shot a sixth suspect inside a building, and other Palestinians were hit after firing on troops, the army said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Claims regarding additional casualties during the exchange of fire are being looked into,\" it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There were no casualties among the Israeli forces, the military said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wisam Bakr, director of the Jenin Government Hospital, said there was a \"state of panic\" in the paediatric ward, with some children suffering from tear gas inhalation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Israeli military told AFP \"the activity was not far away from the hospital, and it is possible some tear gas entered through an open window\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jenin resident Umm Youssef Al-Sawalmi said homes were hit during the raid. \"Windows, doors, walls and even the refrigerator, everything was damaged by the bullets,\" she told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Islamic Jihad spokesman Tariq Salmi vowed that \"the resistance is everywhere and ready and willing for the next confrontation\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latest deaths bring the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank so far this year to 30, including fighters and civilians, most of whom were shot by Israeli forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Saleh al-Arouri, deputy leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, vowed that Israel \"will pay the price for the Jenin massacre\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Bloody massacre\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shortly after midnight (2200 GMT), two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory, according to witnesses and local security sources.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They were intercepted by Israel\'s air defence system, an army spokesman said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Washington earlier Thursday announced US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel next week to Israel and the Palestinian territories, where he will push for an \"end to the cycle of violence\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US regional allies Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia all strongly condemned the deadly Israeli incursion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The mounting toll follows the deadliest year in the Palestinian territory recorded by the UN.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 26 Israelis and 200 Palestinians were killed across Israel and the Palestinian territories in 2022, the majority in the West Bank, according to an AFP tally from official sources.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">UN peace envoy Tor Wennesland said he was \"deeply alarmed and saddened by the continuing cycle of violence in the occupied West Bank\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thousands flocked to funerals in Jenin, as the Palestinian presidency announced three days of mourning. It charged that Thursday\'s raid was happening \"under international silence\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This is what encourages the occupation government to commit massacres against our people in full view of the world,\" said Nabil Abu Rudeinah, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. 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, '2023-01-27 09:10:13', '2023-01-27 09:10:13'),
(4783, 4783, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered clarifying the methodology for determining prices for oil and petroleum products in taxation of oil companies by March 1.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;According to the instruction published on the Kremlin\'s website on Friday, it is necessary for reducing the influence of sanctions on the country\'s budget.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"To present proposals on clarifying the methodology for determining prices for oil and petroleum products used for taxation of entities operating in the oil sector for minimizing the negative influence on federal budget revenues considering the peculiarities of the formation of indicative oil prices amid sanctions restrictions,\" one of the items on the list of requests reads.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The president expects the government to report on the issue by March 1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The instruction was given following a meeting with the cabinet on January 11. TASS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 09:55:46', '2023-01-27 09:55:46'),
(4784, 4784, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least 446 school and high school students in the country killed themselves in 2022.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among them, 340 were school students and 106 high school students, according to the latest study of Anchal Foundation revealed Friday. The study is based on the reports of more than 150 national, local newspapers and online portals.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka division saw the highest number of school and high school students, 23.77 percent, ending their lives. It was followed by Chattogram (17.27 percent) and Rajshahi (16.81 percent), Khulna (14.13 percent), Rangpur (8.74 percent), Barishal (8.53 percent), Mymensingh (6.27 percent), and Sylhet (4.48 percent).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also, 85 university and 54 madrasa students killed themselves.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On average, 37 school and high school students tried to commit suicide every month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A gender analysis of the suicide data of high school students found that girls showed more suicidal tendencies (60.15 percent) than boys.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among school students who committed suicide, 63.90 percent were girls. And 59.44 percent of the high school students who killed themselves were girls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">School and high school students, who committed suicide, faced different issues, including being emotionally hurt (27.36 percent), troubled romantic attachment (23.32 percent), family conflict (3.14 percent), depression (2.01 percent), psychological problems (1.79 percent), financial problems (1.79 percent), harassment (1.79 percent), and rape or sexual harassment (1.34 percent).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Anchal Foundation General Secretary Samira Akhter Siam said what is \"very fretful for us\" is that the suicide rate is highest among students aged 13 to 19 years. \"From an early age, mental health and emotion management techniques should be taught in the home by families, social settings, and at educational institutions.\" UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 10:21:13', '2023-01-27 10:21:13'),
(4785, 4785, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The under-construction Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-tech Park is now on the final stage of creating employment opportunities for around 14,000 youths, both male and female, in Rajshahi.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Director of the \"Establishment of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-Tech Park\" project Engineer Fazlul Haque said 88 percent work of the park has so far been completed on an average.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are two portions- Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Building and Sajeeb Wazed Joy Silicon Tower- in the park.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The construction of the Sheikh Kamal IT Incubation and Training Centre was completed around two years back, while the Joy Silicon Tower is now at the final stage, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Haque said10 companies have so far been allocated spaces in Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Building, while seven others in Joy Silicon Tower.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He mentioned that the park has started becoming an employment hub for youths creating an enthusiasm among the young generation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At present, around 400 youths are engaged in various works, including software development, site maintenance of famous companies and file works as per demand from abroad, generating working atmospheres in the park.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Afroza Arbi Tusi, who is working in Fleet Bangladesh, said she has got chances of developing her career living in Rajshahi with her family members.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I was very much anxious about developing my career during university life and always thought about going to Dhaka for career development,” she said while talking to BSS here on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She added that the Bangabandhu Hi-tech Park has become a blessing for her as it has created scopes of building careers for many youths interested in the IT sector.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">‘Tech Rajshahi’ has been working to deliver services related to mobile games and other software.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mahfuzur Rahman, Chief Executive of the organization, said they have 142 workers and 28 of them are working in the hi-tech park.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the location of the park along with its modern facilities has enhanced the brand value of his institution.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chief Executive Officer of ‘MD Info’ Monzurul Murshed said they have got spaces in Joy Silicon Tower and Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Building.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They have around 1,000 workers and 150 of them are working in the office as ninety-five percent of the workers are the residents of Rajshahi, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Project Director Engineer Fazlul Haque said that the park has been built on around 31 acres of land in Nabinagar area adjacent to Rajshahi metropolis along the bank of the River Padma with involvement of around Taka 335.51-crore aimed at establishing knowledge-based IT industries together with ensuring an area-based development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The infrastructure development works include land development, a ten-storey silicon tower in the area of 2.70 lakh square feet, a substation building, internal roads and drains, boundary wall and high-speed internet.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 62,000 square-feet IT Incubation centre with an energy-efficient state of the art office building has multipurpose training facilities, high-quality start-ups, rainwater harvesting and renewable energy sources.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, a 172-seat Star Cineplex opened at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-tech Park on January 14 last.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Side by side with showing cinema, the Cineplex will be used for the purposes of project training and audio-visual by the entities concerned.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Engineer Fazlul Haque said there is also a provision of the Cineplex for showing video documentaries to the investors from both home and abroad besides an auditorium.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the silicon tower will have multipurpose facilities including two basement parking floors, high standard training, seminar and conference rooms, rentable office spaces and a lounge and recreation area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All sorts of business environments were ensured for attracting investors from both home and abroad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a whole, the park will contribute a lot towards establishing a knowledge-based IT industry in Rajshahi side by side with creating a business environment through attracting domestic and foreign investors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It will also play a significant role in the national economy through creating opportunities for new IT entrepreneurs besides creating employment scopes, experts hoped. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 10:32:58', '2023-01-27 10:32:58');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4786, 4786, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Kangana Ranaut spoke about Shah Rukh Khan\'s Pathaan in a series of tweets on Friday. The actor, who had praised the film after it\'s release on Wednesday, took a U-turn and questioned \'all those who are claiming Pathaan is triumph of love over hate\' after the film broke box office records, grossing ₹106 crore worldwide on its opening day. Responding to a Twitter user, who said that Pathaan was the answer to all those, who keep asking \'who can lead the country, if not Prime Minister Narendra Modi?\'&nbsp;</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kangana recently returned to the social media platform after her 2020 ban was lifted. In a new tweet, Kangana said about Pathaan\'s box office performance, \"It is the love of India that has triumphed hate and petty politics of enemies. Lekin (but) all those who are having high hopes please note… Pathaan sirf ek film ho sakti hai… goonjega toh yahan sirf Jai Shri Ram… Jai Shri Ram (Pathaan is just a film, the country will only hear cries of Jai Shri Ram).\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;After Kangana Ranaut seemingly reacted to filmmaker Karan Johar\'s recent \'love trumps hate\' statement after Pathaan\'s box office day one collection broke records, the actor targeted those, who suggested PM Modi could be replaced by Shah Rukh\'s Pathaan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Friday, she responded to a Twitter user, who wrote, \"I think 2023 has finally given the answer to (the question) – \'Modi nahin toh kaun (If not Narendra Modi, then who can lead the country)???\' The answer is Pathaan.\" Kangana tweeted in response, \"Warning: If film industry doesn’t want to bear the brunt of political propaganda then they should condemn such propaganda using their films.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tum khelo toh game hai hum khelein toh shame hai, aisa nahi chalega bhai… baad mein mat rona hum toh artistes hai, abhi se aukat mein raho (if they play then it is a game, if we play then it is shame. Artistes should stay in their lane now itself and not cry later).\" HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 11:05:01', '2023-01-27 11:05:01'),
(4787, 4787, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Nearly two years after Myanmar\'s military coup, the UN rights chief warned Friday that the country had plunged into catastrophe, calling for the military to be brought under civilian oversight.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi\'s civilian government on February 1, 2021, Myanmar has \"by nearly every feasible measurement, and in every area of human rights... profoundly regressed,\" Volker Turk said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Despite clear legal obligations for the military to protect civilians in the conduct of hostilities, there has been consistent disregard for the related rules of international law,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Far from being spared, civilians have been the actual targets of attacks -- victims of targeted and indiscriminate artillery barrages and air strikes, extrajudicial executions, the use of torture, and the burning of whole villages.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UN rights office said at least 2,890 people had died at the hands of the military and its allies since the coup, pointing to credible sources.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Of those, \"at least 767 were initially taken into custody\", it said, adding that \"this is almost certainly an underestimation of the number of civilians killed as a result of military action\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The military has also imprisoned the democratically elected leadership of the country, and more than 16,000 others, the rights office said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another 1.2 million people have meanwhile become internally displaced since the coup, while more than 70,000 have left the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They have joined more than one million others who have fled persecution in Myanmar over the past decades, including most of the country\'s Rohingya Muslim population.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There must be a way out of this catastrophic situation, which sees only deepening human suffering and rights violations on a daily basis,\" Turk said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He decried that the junta had treated a plan agreed with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), aimed at quelling the bloodshed and allowing humanitarian access, \"with disdain\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Instead, \"violence has spiralled out of control and humanitarian access has been severely restricted\", he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Turk insisted that \"those responsible for the daily attacks against civilians and the human rights violations must be held accountable\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"How can a military that purports to defend the country have brought their own people -- from all parts of Myanmar\'s rich and diverse society -- to such a point of desperation?\" he asked.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The military needs to be brought under real, effective civilian oversight.\" 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, '2023-01-27 11:32:06', '2023-01-27 11:32:06'),
(4788, 4788, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ten Bangladeshi companies are going to take part in a three-day trade show, Texworld USA/ Apparel Sourcing USA 2023, to be held from January 31 to February 2 at New York.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association, led by its President Hossain, is taking part with a special Bangladesh pavilion at the trade show, said a press release here today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With a wide variety of different products, the association will be offering the buyers the entire range of products that Bangladesh is manufacturing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After a summer edition of Texworld – Apparel Sourcing USA in July, one of the largest sourcing shows on the East Coast will return to New York later this month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 324 exhibitors will participate from 22 countries. There will be country pavilions of China, Taiwan and South Korea. China will participate with 175 exhibitors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The companies which will represent Bangladesh at the fair are – Arjeans Producer Ltd, Ha-meem Denim, Pioneer Denim, Max Will BD, Pengnuo Group, Vero Style, Total Apparel, N2N Sourcing is participating under the Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association while Dhaka Fareast and Wikitex BD (Interlink Dresses) will have direct booths.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The next Texworld USA will be held on 18 – 20 July. Apparel Sourcing Paris will be held on 6 – 8 February and Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics will be held on 28 – 30 March. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 11:51:19', '2023-01-27 11:51:19'),
(4789, 4789, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">South Africa won the toss and decided to bat in the first one-day international against England at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Friday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Batsman Harry Brook was named in the England team, adding a first ODI cap to&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">those he has already earned in Tests and Twenty20 internationals.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fast bowler Jofra Archer returned from a long injury-enforced absence for his&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">first one-day international since September 2020.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The three-match series is part of the International Cricket Council\'s World&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Cup Super League, from which the top eight teams will qualify for the World&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Cup in India in October and November.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With South Africa still not assured of qualification, captain Temba Bavuma&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">said: \"It\'s a big World Cup year and we want to collect as many points as we&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">can.\"</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">England captain Jos Buttler said he probably would have chosen to bowl if he&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">had won the toss. \"We fancy a chase,\" he said.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although defending champions England are guaranteed a place in the World Cup&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">in India in October and November, Buttler said the series was important. \"We&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">don\'t have many games before the World Cup so these are crucial games for&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">us.\"</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>Teams:</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>South Africa: </b>Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock (wkt), Rassie van der&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Sisanda&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Magala, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>England:</b> Jos Buttler (capt, wkt), Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, Harry&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Olly&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Stone.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>Umpires:</b> Marais Erasmus, Bongani Jele (both RSA)</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>TV umpire</b>: Allahudien Palekar (RSA)</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>Match referee: </b>Jeff Crowe (NZL). AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 12:04:41', '2023-01-27 12:04:41'),
(4790, 4790, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two more people were hospitalised with dengue in the 24 hours to Friday morning.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new patients were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fifty dengue patients, including 32 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">So far, the DGHS has recorded 525 dengue cases, 469 recoveries, and six deaths this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The country logged 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Also, it recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 12:14:29', '2023-01-27 12:14:29'),
(4791, 4791, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Shamima Begum has spoken of the first time she talked to her mother after leaving the UK in 2015, at the age of 15, to join Daesh in Syria.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“The first time I called my mum she was just crying. I felt like she was trying to make me feel guilty,” she told journalist Joshua Baker during an interview for the second series of the BBC podcast “I’m Not A Monster,” which began this month.</div><div><br></div><div>“I don’t know, maybe it was just emotions but I just didn’t say anything to her, I let her cry. I just kept telling her I was OK.”</div><div><br></div><div>Baker asked her what she had said when her mother pleaded with her to come home, to which she replied she “just said no.”</div><div><br></div><div>Begum, now 23, added that although she had not yet fully committed to her decision to join the extremist group at that point, she did not want to give her mother false hope because she did not know whether she would be able to leave.</div><div><br></div><div>Baker then asked Begum how she felt when she heard her sister publicly beg her to leave Daesh.</div><div><br></div><div>“I couldn\'t believe it,” she said. “I couldn’t believe that my sister would travel all the way to Turkey thinking that she could save me.”</div><div><br></div><div>Begum even suggested her family were “responsible” for the media storm that erupted around her when her journey to Syria was revealed, because of their emotional pleas for her return.</div><div><br></div><div>“But I don’t think they knew how far it would go and how big it would become,” she added. “I blame the media for obsessing over my friends and I so much.”</div><div><br></div><div>The podcast series, new episodes of which are released each Wednesday, also revealed information about people smuggler Mohammed Al-Rasheed, who helped Begum travel to Syria while he was also working as an agent for Canadian intelligence services.</div><div><br></div><div>The BBC has faced a public outcry this month over the podcast series, which focuses on Begum’s case and in which she defends her actions. The UK’s public service broadcaster responded by saying the series is “not a platform for Shamima Begum to give her unchallenged story” but rather a “robust, public-interest investigation” into her case.</div><div><br></div><div>Begum was born in the UK to parents of Bangladeshi origin and citizenship. She was living with her family in the Bethnal Green area of London when she left for Syria. Shortly after arriving in the war-torn country she married Dutch-born Yago Riedijk. In the years that followed, she gave birth to three children, all of whom died young. In 2019, she was discovered living in a refugee camp in northern Syria. The UK government revoked her British citizenship and said she would not be allowed to return to the country. - Arab News&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 12:15:45', '2023-01-27 12:15:45'),
(4792, 4792, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Advocate Anisul Haque, MP, today said the next general election will be held as per constitution.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Bangladesh has a constitution in which a complete guideline for holding national election has been written. Next parliament election would be held as per the existing constitution,\" he said while replying to a question of journalists at Akhaura railway station of the district this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said that any political party can do political activities in a democratic country. Awami League and Sheikh Hasina\'s government have no objection to that. Awami League (AL) believes in democracy and AL established democracy in Bangladesh. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 13:16:10', '2023-01-27 13:16:10'),
(4793, 4793, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">\"No onion toppings. Every restaurant is facing a shortage of onions. You see the signs everywhere.\"</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">According to official statistics, the price of onions surged in the Philippines to around 700 pesos ($12.80; £10.40) per kg last month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That is more than the cost of meat, and the Southeast Asian country\'s daily minimum wage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although prices have eased in recent weeks, onions are still a luxury for many consumers, says Rizalda Maunes, who runs a pizzeria in the central Cebu city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We used to buy three to four kilogrammes of onions a day. Now we buy half a kilo which is all we can afford,\" Ms Maunes told the BBC.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our customers understand because it is not just restaurants... households are having a hard time as many dishes are sweetened with onions,\" she adds.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The staple ingredient in Filipino cuisine has become a symbol of the rising cost of living.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It comes as inflation, which measures the rise in prices of everything from food to fuel, reached a new 14-year-high in the tropical country last month.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who is also the agriculture secretary, has called rising food prices an \"emergency situation\". Earlier this month Mr Marcos approved the import of red and yellow onions in an attempt to boost supply.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Experts say that the reopening of the Philippines economy is driving demand, while harsh weather has affected the production of food, including onions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Back in August, the Department of Agriculture had forecast a potential shortage of the root crop. A few months later, the Philippines was hit by two powerful storms that caused substantial crop damage,\" says Nicholas Mapa, a senior economist at ING Bank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have also seen a stark pickup in demand as the economy recovers sharply,\" Mr Mapa said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Widespread impact</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rising prices have also hit street food stalls in Cebu, which are popular with locals and tourists.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fried vegetables, meat and seafood, are typically served with an onion and vinegar dipping sauce.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Onions are a big part of our dishes. It adds a flavourful crunch [and] sweetness to contrast the saltiness of our food,\" says Alex Chua, who has cut back on onions at his stall.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are thankful that the government is implementing measures to stop the increase of prices. We hope that they continue to implement such measures to bring prices down further,\" he adds.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Onions have been so sought after that April Lyka Biorrey chose to carry a bouquet of the crop at her wedding in Iloilo City.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I asked my groom if we could use onions instead of flowers, since after the wedding the flowers would wilt and end up being thrown away,\" Ms Biorrey told a local newspaper.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"So why not onions? It\'s practical in a way that it could still be used after the wedding,\" she quipped.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Others have gotten in trouble for smuggling onions into the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier this month, 10 crew members from Philippine Airlines were investigated for attempting to smuggle nearly 40kg of onions and fruits into luggage bags.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Customs officials later said they will not face charges but warned travellers against carrying produce without permits.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Growing crisis</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The crisis has put pressure on Mr Marcos, who had promised to boost food production as agriculture secretary. Some lawmakers have called for him to appoint a replacement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking at a hearing on the country\'s rising food prices, Philippines Senator Grace Poe said, \"Before it was sugar, now, it\'s onions. We\'ll end up having a hearing for everything in the kitchen.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Marie-Anne Lezoraine from the Kantar Worldpanel consultancy says climate change is also a major threat to the country\'s food security.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Purchasing power is tight for most consumers who already afford only the essentials. If climate change causes shortages and therefore prices to soar, it will cause a very damaging impact on a large proportion of consumers in the Philippines,\" Ms Lezoraine says.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Mr Mapa believes that the price of onions could stabilise as the government imports more of the crop.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"However the timing may be unfortunate as it coincides with the February harvest season for locally produced onions,\" he says. \"Prices may actually drop dramatically once both harvest and imports hit the market almost simultaneously.\" BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 13:32:24', '2023-01-27 13:32:24'),
(4794, 4794, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said that the government is working to build a \'Smart Bangladesh\' announced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Smart Bangladesh will be built on the strong foundation of Digital Bangladesh. Therefore, the smart citizen is very important for that,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister said these while addressing as the chief guest a discussion on the fifth industrial revolution and 5G infrastructures: Bangladesh\'s Preparation\' on the second day of the Digital Bangladesh Fair organised by the Posts and Telecommunications Division at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) here, said a press release.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Referring to the new generation of the country as very talented, Jabbar urged them to be efficient in making 5G-based tools.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The new generation will build machines or instruments and establish their control over those machines or instruments,\" the minister said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"> </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Secretary General of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) Brigadier General SM Farhad (Retd) conducted the programme while Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Digital University Prof Dr Mohammad Mahfuzul Islam presented keynote paper there, the release added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Additional Secretary of Posts and Telecommunications Division Md Mahbub-ul-Alam and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Director General Brigadier General Mohammad Moniruzzaman Jewel also spoke on the occasion, among others. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 14:26:57', '2023-01-27 14:27:17'),
(4795, 4795, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The 18th death anniversary of Shah AMS Kibria, a former finance minister and senior Awami League leader, was observed Friday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the trial of the murder case is yet to make significant progress. Due to the non-appearance of regular witnesses, the date of recording depositions is being deferred repeatedly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Two cases – one for murder and another under the Explosive Substances Act – filed in this incident are currently pending in the Sylhet Speedy Trial Tribunal. On January 21, the trial was deferred to February 19 as there was no witness present before the court.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sarwar Ahmad Chowdhury Abdal, the official counsel of the case, said there are 171 witnesses in the chargesheet, of which the depositions of 47 witnesses have been recorded so far.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even a warrant has been issued against the witnesses, but no witness appeared before the court on the last fixed date, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On January 27, 2005, Kibria and four others were killed in a grenade attack on an Awami League rally in the Baidderbazar area of Habiganj. Around 70 people, including incumbent Habiganj-3 constituency parliamentarian Abu Jahir and others were injured.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After three rounds of the probe, the investigation officer, Sylhet’s ASP (CID) Meherun Nesa Parul filed a supplementary chargesheet against 32 persons by including 11 new names on Dec 21, 2014.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She accused 35 persons including Khaleda Zia’s former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, the then Sylhet Mayor Ariful and Habiganj Mayor Gaus.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The trial of the murder case began in September 2015.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A total of 32 people, including former State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar, were indicted in the murder case in 2015.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The investigation was delayed by 10 years. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police investigated the case thrice. The depositions of 43 witnesses among 171 have been recorded while charges were framed on October 22, 2020, in the case filed under The Explosives Act. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-27 15:59:28', '2023-01-27 15:59:28'),
(4796, 4796, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A ship carrying material for Bangabandhu Rail Bridge has arrived at Mongla port from Vietnam, authorities said on Saturday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Panama flag carrier, ‘MV Mauritius’, carrying 1519 metric tonnes of material for the bridge arrived at the No. 7 jetty of the port on Friday afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>Unloading has already started.</div><div>Shawkat&nbsp; Ali, operation manager of Haque and Sons Limited, said the ship carrying material for Bangabandhu Rail Bridge left for Mongla port on January 16 from Haiphong port in Vietnam and reached on Friday afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>After unloading, the machinery will be sent to Sirajganj Bangabandhu Railway Bridge Jetty.</div><div><br></div><div>It is for the 5th time, the ship, carrying material for Bangabandhu Rail Bridge, arrived at the port.</div><div><br></div><div>On November 29 2020, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of a 4.8km double-line dual-gauge Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge aimed at boosting rail communication between the capital and western zones of Bangladesh Railway.</div><div><br></div><div>The main bridge will be constructed in two phases. Two separate agreements have already been signed with Obayashi-TOA-JFE, Japan and IHI-SMCC JV, Japan for eastern and western parts of civil works respectively. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 09:00:08', '2023-01-28 09:00:08'),
(4797, 4797, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two people died and three others fell sick after ‘drinking spurious ‘liquor in Sadar upazila of Jashore district.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The deceased were identified as Islam, 45, son of Abdul Hamid and Zakir Hossain, 29, son of Shahjahan Ali of Kachua village in Sadar upazila.</div><div><br></div><div>Quoting local people, police said, five people including Islam and Zakir drank liquor on January 25 and fell sick.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Abdur Rashid, in-charge of Jashore 250-bed hospital, said Islam and Zakir were admitted to the hospital on January 25.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, Islam died on Thursday afternoon while Zakir died on Friday morning.</div><div><br></div><div>Three others people got admitted to the hospital and received treatment, reprots UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>Nazmul Hasan, sub-inspector of Narendrapur Police Camp, said the relatives of the deceased took the bodies to their respective home and buried those. “Police are investigating the matter,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 09:37:19', '2023-01-28 09:37:19'),
(4798, 4798, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The government of India has announced the Padma Awards for this year on January 2, ahead of 74th Republic Day. Actress Raveena Tandon is the lone actor to be conferred with Padma Shri this year. She is one among the 106 recipients of this the third-highest civilian award in India this year, The Statesman reported.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The news came a day after Raveena was chosen as a delegate at the W20, which is the Women’s Empowerment engagement wing at G20 India’s Presidency. The actress responded to the news by declaring that she would dedicate the award to her late father Ravi Tandon.</div><div><br></div><div>Ravi Tandon was an Indian film director and producer. He also worked as an assistant director and story writer. Ravi passed away on February 11, 2022.</div><div>Padma Awards are the highest civilian honour of the country. They are divided in three categories, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given for contribution in various fields of activities like social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and arts. Raveena Tandon has been selected for Padma Shri in the field of art.</div><div><br></div><div>RRR’s music composer MM Keeravaani and singers Suman Kalyanpur and Vani Jairam are also among this year’s Padma Shri awardees.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and singer Vani Jairam have been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan, respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 09:45:01', '2023-01-28 09:45:01'),
(4799, 4799, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate seven development projects during her daylong visit to Rajshahi tomorrow (Sunday).</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) has implemented the projects with an estimated cost of around Taka 295.60 crore aimed at enhancing civic facilities during the last couple of years.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier is also likely to open 18 other projects implemented by different other organizations with involvement of around Taka 1,612.57 crore besides laying foundation stones of six projects with an estimated cost of around Taka 376.28 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The RCC has constructed the country\'s ever-largest mural of the Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at C&B Crossing area in Rajshahi city at a cost of around Taka 5.02 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Height of the mural is 58 feet having a 50-feet height and 40-feet wide Bangabandhu photo in the main part of the mural.</div><div><br></div><div>Terracotta works were done on 700-feet space on both sides of the boundary wall. Gallery and landscaping were well-decorated with super granite. The mural has night vision with decorative electric bulbs.</div><div><br></div><div>Rajshahi City Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton said the mural inspires people to know about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with his life, works and laudable contribution and sacrifice to the country\'s independence.</div><div><br></div><div>Construction work of Sheikh Russel Shishu Park is on the final stage in Rajshahi city aimed at opening up a new horizon in recreation of people, particularly the children.</div><div><br></div><div>The park was established on 2.14 acres of land in Chhotobangram area through a time-fitting design to give an eye-catching and attractive look with an estimated cost of around Taka 4.43 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>There are various modern rides including bridge, open stage, walk ways, artificial hill and full-proof security in the park.</div><div><br></div><div>Rajshahi people will get a new architectural view in the park and that will contribute a lot towards physical and mental development of children, benefiting people of all ages.</div><div><br></div><div>The city corporation has been elevating the Bilsimla Railway crossing to City Hat road to four-lane aimed at making the movement of both vehicles and people quick and smooth.</div><div><br></div><div>It\'s turning the road to 80-feet wide along with a four-foot-wide road divider with an outlay of around Taka 44.92 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>On both sides of the 3.532-kilometer road, a 44-feet road, 12-feet wide drain and footpath and 20-feet road for the slow-moving vehicles are also being constructed.</div><div><br></div><div>It has also been elevating another dilapidated road to a smart one at a cost of around Taka 55.78 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The 4.17-kilometer potential road from Naodapara bus terminal to Bhadra Railway crossing is being elevated to four-lanes from double lane with additional two other lanes for slow-moving vehicles, road divider and drain and footpaths on both sides.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition to the elevation works the north-south connecting road will be beautified and greened through transplanting decorative trees and plants.</div><div><br></div><div>As a whole, the road will bring an epoch-making change to people residing adjacent to the road in terms of uplifting their socio-economic situation.</div><div><br></div><div>A flyover has been constructed on Mohanpur railway crossing at a cost of around Taka 40.80 crore. In all perspectives, the road area, particularly the flyover, is seen as a tourist spot as scores of people are humming to the area generating income for many of the locals.</div><div><br></div><div>City Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton said an east-west connecting road has been constructed from Alif Lam Meem Bhata crossing on Rajshahi-Naogaon highway to Choddopaya crossing on Rajshahi-Natore highway via Chhotobangram, Meherchandi, Budhpara and Mohanpur at a cost of around Taka 189.35 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition to construction of footpaths on both sides of the 6.793-kilometer road, various need-based modern infrastructures, including a flyover on railway crossing, a bridge, eight culverts and median, were constructed.</div><div><br></div><div>The newly constructed four-lane road has been playing a significant role towards mitigating the gradually mounting traffic jams in the metropolis.</div><div><br></div><div>Mayor Liton said a 2.5-kilometer road from Kalpana Cinema Hall Crossing to Talaimary crossing has been elevated to four-lane, costing around Taka 131.36 crore. Decorated and pedestrian-friendly footpaths have been constructed on both sides of the road with setting up colourful road lights.</div><div><br></div><div>Island has been beautified through transplanting decorative and ornamental flower plants.</div><div><br></div><div>Carpeting road, drain and footpath construction from Rentur Kharir Arat to Dhalur More via Hi-tech Park and carpeting road construction from Court to Shahartali Club has also been implemented at a cost of around Taka 13.30 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Two midtown roads from Upashahar to Sonadighi crossing and Malopara crossing to Sagarpara crossing have been widened, costing around Taka 126.40 crore bringing an epoch-making change in terms of the city\'s communication.</div><div><br></div><div>The city corporation has so far installed 1,654 decorated and eye-catching lights on 695 poles in five separate roads and streets with a length of around 21 kilometers. Apart from this, 15 important road crossings were also brought under the modern lighting system.</div><div><br></div><div>As a whole, Rajshahi city has got a new look amid massive infrastructural development works and the modern road lighting has brought happiness to the city dwellers and other beneficiaries. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 09:52:10', '2023-01-28 09:52:36'),
(4800, 4800, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Over a few hours under grey skies, dozens of combat planes and helicopters roar on and off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Nimitz, in a demonstration of US military power in some of the world\'s most hotly contested waters.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>MH-60 Seahawk helicopters and F/A-18 Hornet jets bearing pilot call signs like \"Fozzie Bear\", \"Pig Sweat\" and \"Bongoo\" emit deafening screams as they land in the drizzle on the Nimitz, which is leading a carrier strike group that entered the South China Sea two weeks ago.</div><div><br></div><div>The group\'s commander, Rear Admiral Christopher Sweeney, said the tour was part of a US commitment to uphold freedom of passage in the waters and airspace of a region vital to global trade.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We are going to sail, fly and operate wherever international norms and rules allow. We\'re going to do that safely and we\'re going to be resolute about that,\" Sweeney said on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It\'s really just about sailing and operating obviously with our allies and partners in the area and assuring them of free and open commerce and trade in the Indo-Pacific.\"</div><div><br></div><div>A US presence in the South China Sea, a conduit for about $3.4 trillion of annual trade, has been welcomed by allies like Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia, but it continues to rile rival China, which sees the exercises as provocations in its backyard.</div><div><br></div><div>China claims historic jurisdiction over almost the entire South China Sea, which includes the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.</div><div><br></div><div>Beijing has been conducting regular exercises too and maintains a large presence of coast guard and fishing vessels far off its mainland - a source of frequent tension with its neighbours.</div><div><br></div><div>The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group 11 includes the guided-missile cruiser Bunker Hill and the guided-missile destroyers Decatur, Wayne E Meyer and Chung-Hoon. The Chung-Hoon on Jan 5 sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, irking China.</div><div><br></div><div>That came two weeks after a Chinese navy J-11 fighter jet caused alarm when it came within 10 feet (3 metres) of a US Air Force plane over the South China Sea.</div><div><br></div><div>Sweeney said it was crucial for international rules to be followed and said the US presence in the South China Sea demonstrated its commitment to its regional allies.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We\'ve operated in the same body of water as the Chinese or the Singaporean navy or the Filipino navy since we\'ve arrived and it\'s all been safe and professional,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We\'re going to sail, fly and operate wherever international waters allow us to, so we\'re not going anywhere.\" According to Reuters reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 09:59:36', '2023-01-28 09:59:36'),
(4801, 4801, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two Indian Air Force fighter jets - a Sukhoi Su-30 and a Mirage 2000 - crashed during a training exercise earlier today, officials said on Saturday, resulting in the death of one pilot. While one aircraft crashed in Morena in Madhya Pradesh, the other is believed to have gone down 100 km away in Rajasthan\'s Bharatpur.&nbsp;</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The Sukhoi had two pilots, while the Mirage had one pilot, defence sources said. Both aircraft are used on the frontlines by the Indian Air Force. The two pilots on the Sukhoi managed to eject and were taken to the hospital in a helicopter.</div><div><br></div><div>Both the fighter jets had taken off from the Gwalior Air Force base which has squadrons of both the Russian-designed Sukhoi and the French Mirage 2000.</div><div>Videos from the scene, shot by locals in Morena, showed smouldering debris of the aircraft strewn on the ground.</div><div><br></div><div>The Air Force has launched a probe to examine if a mid-air collision led to the crash, defence sources told.</div><div><br></div><div>\"IAF court of inquiry has been launched to establish whether there was a mid-air collision or not. The Su-30 had two pilots while Mirage 2000 had one pilot during the crash. Initial reports suggest two pilots are safe while an IAF chopper reaching the location of the third pilot soon,\" sources said.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been briefed by the Indian Air Force chief on the crash of two aircraft, PTI report.</div><div><br></div><div>Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that in a tweet, \"The news of the crash of Sukhoi-30 and Mirage-2000 aircraft of the Air Force near Kolaras in Morena is very sad. I have instructed the local administration to cooperate with the Air Force in quick rescue and relief work. I pray to God that the pilots of the planes are safe.\"</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 10:06:34', '2023-01-28 10:06:34'),
(4802, 4802, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Record levels of torrential rain in Auckland left three dead with a fourth person missing, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Saturday after flooding devastated the country\'s largest city.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>During a press conference after visiting some of the waterlogged communities, Hipkins said flash flooding had led to \"three fatalities with one person still missing as a result of the weather\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"The level of devastation in some areas is considerable,\" he added.</div><div>Hipkins said Auckland experienced \"its wettest day on record\" on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>\"This is an unprecedented event in recent memory.\"</div><div><br></div><div>It is his first major incident since Hipkins took office on Wednesday following Jacinda Ardern\'s shock resignation. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 10:25:42', '2023-01-28 10:25:42');
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(4803, 4803, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing five people and wounding five others in one of the deadliest attacks on Israelis in years, medical officials said. The attack was halted when the gunman was shot by police.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The killings took place a day after Israeli troops killed nine Palestinians in a raid in the West Bank and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed.</div><div><br></div><div>The violence posed a challenge for Israel’s new hard-line government and cast a cloud over a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region Sunday. He is likely to discuss the underlying causes of the conflict that continue to fester, the agenda of Israel’s new far-right government and the Palestinian Authority’s decision to halt security coordination with Israel in retaliation for the deadly raid.</div><div><br></div><div>The Israeli rescue service MADA confirmed five deaths and said that five people were wounded, including a 70-year-old woman in critical condition and a 14-year-old boy in serious condition.</div><div><br></div><div>Police said the gunman was “neutralized,” a term that typically means he was killed. There was no official confirmation, however.</div><div><br></div><div>At several locations across the Gaza Strip, dozens of Palestinians gathered in spontaneous demonstrations to celebrate the Jerusalem attack, with some coming out of dessert shops with large trays of sweets to distribute. Similar celebrations were reported in the West Bank town of Ramallah.</div><div><br></div><div>The attack came amid heightened tensions. Palestinians marched in anger Friday as they buried the last of 10 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire a day earlier.</div><div><br></div><div>Scuffles between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters erupted after the funeral for a 22-year-old Palestinian north of Jerusalem and elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, but calm prevailed in the contested capital and in the blockaded Gaza Strip for most of the day.</div><div><br></div><div>Thursday’s raid in the flashpoint Jenin refugee camp descended into a gunbattle that killed at least nine Palestinians, while clashes elsewhere left a 10th dead. Gaza militants then fired rockets and Israel carried out airstrikes overnight — but the exchange was limited.</div><div><br></div><div>The Biden administration has been deeply engaged with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in recent days, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, underscoring the “urgent need here for all parties to deescalate to prevent the further loss of civilian life and to work together to improve the security situation in the West Bank.”</div><div><br></div><div>“We’re certainly deeply concerned by this escalating cycle of violence in the West Bank as well as the rockets that have been apparently fired from Gaza,” Kirby said. “And of course, we condemn all acts that only further escalate tensions.”</div><div><br></div><div>Israel’s defense minister, meanwhile, instructed the military to prepare for new strikes in the Gaza Strip “if necessary” - also appearing to leave open the possibility that violence would subside.</div><div><br></div><div>While residents of Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank remained on edge earlier Friday, midday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, often a catalyst for clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police, passed in relative calm.</div><div><br></div><div>At the funeral of the 22-year-old, crowds of Palestinians waved the flags of both Fatah, the party that controls the Palestinian Authority, and militant Hamas, which rules Gaza. In the streets of the town called al-Ram, masked Palestinians threw stones and set off fireworks at Israeli police, who responded with tear gas.</div><div><br></div><div>But both the Palestinian rockets and Israeli airstrikes seemed limited so as to prevent growing into a full-blown war. Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and several smaller skirmishes since the militant group seized power in Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.</div><div><br></div><div>Friday night’s shooting, come on the Jewish sabbath, immediately changed the equation.</div><div><br></div><div>Israel’s opposition leader, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, called it “horrific and heartbreaking.” - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 10:41:08', '2023-01-28 10:41:08'),
(4804, 4804, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Dan Izzett has lived with leprosy\'s effects on his body for 70 years, and has lost much to what he calls an \"ancient, fascinating, very unkind disease\".</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Zimbabwean former civil engineering technician and pastor was diagnosed at the age of 25 in 1972, but first contracted the disease when he was just five.</div><div><br></div><div>That long incubation period gave the bacteria that causes leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae, lots of time to spread through his body.</div><div><br></div><div>His right leg was amputated in 1980 in Zimbabwe\'s capital Harare. Now 75, Izzett has no feeling above his elbows, below his knees or in 70 percent of his face.</div><div><br></div><div>That lack of feeling poses a \"constant danger,\" Izzett told AFP in a phone call from his home in southwest England.</div><div><br></div><div>In October 2020, \"I put my hands on a hot plate and hadn\'t noticed it until I could smell my flesh burning,\" he said, leading to the amputation of the middle finger of his right hand.</div><div><br></div><div>The following year, the little toe on his left foot was amputated. Last month, he lost another toe.</div><div><br></div><div>Izzett said he chose to speak out about his experience because millions of survivors who were less well off were unable to, partly because of the stigma and discrimination that still surrounds the disease.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;The \'forgotten\' patients&nbsp;</div><div>Leprosy, also known as Hansen\'s disease, has been haunting humanity for at least 4,000 years, often affecting the poorest communities.</div><div><br></div><div>It is a considered a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization, and remains under researched and little discussed compared to many other illnesses.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2021, more than 140,500 new cases were detected worldwide, nearly three quarters of them in Brazil, India and Indonesia, according to the WHO.</div><div><br></div><div>However pandemic-related disruptions have led to nearly 40 percent fewer cases being detected a year, with fears that tens of thousands have gone undiagnosed.</div><div><br></div><div>Even before the pandemic, the official numbers likely did not reflect reality.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We know the number of patients who have been tested, but we do not count the forgotten, undetected patients,\" said Bertrand Cauchoix, a leprosy specialist at the Raoul Follereau Foundation in France.</div><div><br></div><div>This is in part because the disease\'s incubation period can last up to 20 years. Testing and diagnosis also takes time, during which patients could potentially infect their family members.</div><div><br></div><div>Before he received his diagnosis, said Izzett, \"my wife got the disease from me\".</div><div><br></div><div>Back in the 1970s, Izzett was given the antibiotic Dapsone, which was then a lifetime treatment.</div><div><br></div><div>In the mid-80s, a combination of drugs including Dapsone known as multidrug therapy (MDT) became available. It can cure leprosy over a 12-month course -- though nerve damage and other remnants of the disease remain.</div><div><br></div><div>Mathias Duck, a former chaplain in Paraguay\'s capital Asuncion, only needed six-months of MDT after being diagnosed with leprosy in 2010.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I consider myself the luckiest person affected by leprosy because I was diagnosed and treated in time and so I have no impairments whatsoever,\" the 44-year-old told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>The WHO provides MDT to patients worldwide for free, with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis donating doses since 2000.</div><div><br></div><div>However there has been little progress for new treatments.</div><div>\"There is no money for leprosy, only charitable donations,\" Cauchoix said.</div><div><br></div><div>Don\'t use the \'L word\'</div><div><br></div><div>Alexandra Aubry, a specialist at the Centre for Immunology and Infectious Diseases in France, evaluates whether every new antibiotic developed for other illnesses could also be used for leprosy.</div><div><br></div><div>Her laboratory is one of the few in the world able to carry out tests on the leprosy bacteria, which does not survive in a petri dish.</div><div><br></div><div>They are trying to find a way to \"simplify\" treatment so it can take less than six months, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>There are also a couple of vaccines being developed, though they remain in early phases of human testing.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It is very complex to get funding for this,\" Aubry said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"To assess the effectiveness of a vaccine, you have to follow the vaccinated population for 10 to 15 years,\" with the timeframe extended further by the disease\'s long incubation period, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>In comparison to how swiftly the world responded to Covid, leprosy efforts are \"a drop in the bucket,\" Duck said, calling for far more research and political action.</div><div><br></div><div>But he added that there is something everyone can do for World Leprosy Day on Sunday -- stop using the word \"leper\".</div><div><br></div><div>\"We call it the \'L word\',\" Duck said, describing it as discriminatory.</div><div>\"It\'s a little step that most people can do,\" he added, \"to give people affected by leprosy \"the dignity they deserve\". Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 11:35:22', '2023-01-28 11:35:22'),
(4805, 4805, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The stock market has passed the 4th week of the current month with a capital gain of Tk 10,185 crore in four days, data analysis of the capital market has revealed.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The capital of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) was Tk 7.56 lakh crore at the beginning of trading on the first working day of last week. On the last day, after transaction on Thursday, the capital stood at Tk 7.67 lakh crores.</div><div><br></div><div>In other words, the capital has increased by Tk 10185 crore. It increased by Tk 2149 crore in the previous week. The investors\' capital increased in the market for two consecutive weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>In the past week (January 22 to 26), trading was done on five working days. The first trading day marked a fall in the index, followed by four consecutive trading days during which the index rose from Monday to Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>During this period, a total of 387 shares and units were traded in DSE. Among them, 63 companies\' share prices increased, those of 119 decreased and 205 unchanged.</div><div><br></div><div>Among the companies traded in the previous week, 114 rose, 68 fell and 205 remained unchanged. The number of companies reducing prices has increased compared to the previous week.</div><div><br></div><div>However, the main index of DSE increased by 30 points from the previous week to 6,296 points in the outgoing week as the share prices of several companies increased.</div><div><br></div><div>Among the other two indexes of DSE, the DSES index increased by 6 points to 1,374 points and the DS-30 index increased by 22 points to 2,230 points from the previous week.</div><div><br></div><div>Although the index has increased, the volume of transactions has decreased. In the last week, the total transaction in DSE was Tk 3050 crores, which was traded in the previous week for Tk 3850 crore. That is, Tk 800 crore worth of transactions have decreased; as a percentage it has decreased by 20.78 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), another capital market of the country, was also traded in the same condition.</div><div><br></div><div>In the last week, the overall index of CSE increased by 89 points to 18565 points. Tk 63.19 crores were traded during this time, which was traded in the previous week for Tk 104.55 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Among the traded companies, the share prices of 61 companies increased, 83 decreased and 134 remained unchanged. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 11:47:39', '2023-01-28 11:47:39'),
(4806, 4806, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The financial loss of the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) is likely to cross Tk 54,000 crore in the current fiscal after the hike in the price of gas increased their input cost. In 2021-22 its losses were Tk 29,915 crore.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“We have to count Tk 10,000 crore extra cost to pay the gas bills following the new gas price enhancement,” a top official of the BPDB told UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the new cost of gas purchase was already communicated to the Power Division which had already raised the issue at a high level meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) seeking further instruction.</div><div><br></div><div>The government on January 18 raised the retail gas prices for public, private and captive power plants and also for industries and commercial users with effect from February 1.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the new government announcement, the gas prices have been increased by almost three times for public and private power plants while almost double for captive power plants and industries, and significantly hiked for commercial users.</div><div><br></div><div>However, prices for household consumers, CNG-run for motor vehicles and tea estates were kept unchanged.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Energy and Mineral Resources Division set the prices through a gazette notification issued on Wednesday applying the new amendment to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Act, which empowered the government to set all kinds of energy prices bypassing the regulator’s jurisdictions at any time.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the gazette notification, the public and private power plants including the IPP and rental power plants will pay gas price at Tk 14 per unit (each cubic metre) instead of previous price of Tk 5.02. The rise is 179 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>The captive power plants, small power plants and commercial power plants will pay Tk 30 per unit instead of the previous price of Tk 16 which is an 88 percent rise.</div><div><br></div><div>It means after the current enhancement in gas price, the loss in the space of one fiscal will go up by over Tk 24,000 crore, said the sources at the BPDB - an almost 80 percent jump.</div><div><br></div><div>According to BPDB’s own latest estimates, the financial loss was supposed to cross Tk 48,000 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal from Tk 29,915 crore in the fiscal year 2021-22. But after the hike in bulk power tariff, the loss was calculated to come down by about Tk 4000 to Tk 44,000 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>“But now the loss will go up by Tk 10,000 crore due to the gas price hike effective from February 1,” said the official referring to their latest calculation.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The directorate of finance of BPDB prepared this calculation on the basis of an audited report, official sources said.</div><div><br></div><div>On November 21, the bulk power tariff was raised by about 19.92 percent - to Tk 6.20 per kilowatt hour (each unit) from the previous Tk 5.17 - with effect from December 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the calculation, the loss has shot up excessively mainly for the two reasons - primary fuel price escalation and devaluation of the local currency.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Among the two, the devaluation of local currency emerged as the major reason,\" a top official of the BPDB told UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>He informed that the BPDB was going to incur a loss of about Tk 10,000 crore solely due to the high rate of dollar. Earlier, the US dollar exchange rate was calculated at Tk 85 which is now at Tk 107 which means the cost increased by Tk 22 per dollar.</div><div><br></div><div>The BPDB has to pay about $9 billion annually to buy electricity from private sector plants, to pay capacity charges and also to import other materials from abroad for its own purposes.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The BPDB has a power purchase agreement with a huge number of private power generation companies to buy their electricity.</div><div><br></div><div>Available statistics reveal, currently, the country’s installed power generation capacity is over 25,500 MW and more than 50 percent of electricity is generated by the private sector through independent power producers, rental and quick rental power plants.</div><div><br></div><div>Import of electricity from India is also counted as private sector generation.</div><div><br></div><div>The private sector operators mainly use furnace oil, natural gas and diesel. Of these, 4,700 MW is generated by using furnace oil. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 13:39:20', '2023-01-28 13:39:20'),
(4807, 4807, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy skies over the country in the next 24 hours, the Met office said.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Light to moderate fog may occur at places over the country from late night till morning, said the latest weather bulletin from Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).</div><div><br></div><div>Night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country while day temperature may fall slightly over the northern part and it may remain nearly unchanged elsewhere over the country, as per the bulletin.</div><div><br></div><div>The lowest temperature was recorded in Tetulia at 12.2 degree Celsius, while the highest temperature was 31 degrees in Sitakunda and Teknaf of the Chattogram division.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, a low-pressure area has formed over southeast Bay and adjoining areas. Its associated trough extends up to North Bay. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 14:19:38', '2023-01-28 14:19:38'),
(4808, 4808, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Terming their march programme a new form of anti-government movement, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday called upon the government to quit power immediately to avert a shocking ouster.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“We started a new movement today (Saturday) through this silent protest in Dhaka city. Through the silent march together with people we’ll force this terrible, monstrous government to quit power,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>In a brief address prior to launching the march programme in the city’s Badda area, the BNP leader also said they want to send out a message to the government through the fresh programme to hand over power to a caretaker government with immediate resignation and empower the people to exercise their right to vote under a new Election Commission.</div><div><br></div><div>“Otherwise you will have to face a very shocking ouster and you won’t find a way to escape,” he warned.</div><div><br></div><div>As part of the party’s four-day programme, BNP leaders and activists marched towards the capital\'s Abul Hotel area in Malibagh from Badda’s&nbsp; Suvastu Nazar Valley market to press home their 10-point demand, including holding the next general election under a non-party caretaker government.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul formally inaugurated the programme around 2:30 pm which ended peacefully around 4pm after parading over a four-kilometre stretch of the road.</div><div><br></div><div>He asked the party leaders and activists to hold the programme peacefully without responding to any provocation. \"We\'ve so far held our all programmes peacefully and we\'ll ensure their (govt\'s) fall through the peaceful agitations.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Accusing the government of snatching people\'s voting rights, the BNP leader said they will restore the voting rights of people by ousting the Awami League government.</div><div><br></div><div>\"No fair election will be held as long as Awami League is in power. So, the Awami League government must hand over power to a caretaker government by quitting power and dissolving parliament so that people can cast their votes under a new Election&nbsp; Commission,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul said people will elect their representatives and the government with their votes through a credible election under a non-party administration. “That elected government will run the country.”</div><div><br></div><div>He bemoaned that people are struggling to get by as the prices of all essential commodities, including rice, oil, salt and eggs, have gone up unusually.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader alleged that people now cannot raise their voices against the government due to repressive acts. “The opposition leaders and activists are being arrested and sent to jail by implicating them in false cases and fictitious cases. They (govt) have turned entire Bangladesh into a prison.”</div><div><br></div><div>Claiming that their party’s around 35 lakh people have been facing political cases, he said all these cases must be withdrawn and all the arrested leaders and activists will have to be released for a fair and inclusive election in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier on Thursday, BNP announced the four-day march programme in the capital for January 28, 30, 31 and February 1.</div><div><br></div><div>Dhaka North City unit BNP will also march from Gabtoli to Mirpur-10 intersection on January 31, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, Dhaka South City unit BNP will march from Jatrabari to Shyampur on January 30 and from Mugda to Malibagh on February 1.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 14:50:54', '2023-01-28 14:50:54'),
(4809, 4809, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">An emotional Aryna Sabalenka battled back from a set down to beat Elena Rybakina and win the Australian Open on Saturday for her first Grand Slam title.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The hard-hitting Belarusian collapsed to the court in tears after winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 against the Wimbledon champion in a 2hr 28min arm-wrestle on Rod Laver Arena.</div><div><br></div><div>The 24-year-old Sabalenka wiped away tears before getting a warm hug from Moscow-born Rybakina, who played a full part in a thrilling match between two of the most powerful hitters in the women\'s game.</div><div><br></div><div>Sabalenka, the fifth seed, then ran to her player\'s box to celebrate with her team.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Thank you, my team, the craziest team on the tour. We\'ve been through a lot of I would say downs last year,\" Sabalenka said, addressing her team after receiving the trophy.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Thank you so much for what you are doing for me. I love you guys.\"</div><div><br></div><div>She added: \"I want to congratulate Elena for an incredible two weeks. You\'re such a great player and of course we are going to have many more battles, hopefully in finals of the Grand Slams.\"</div><div><br></div><div>It was a fitting finale to two weeks of drama at Melbourne Park, highlighted by brutal groundstrokes, precision serving and wonderful rallies from two players at the top of their game.</div><div><br></div><div>- Nerve-shredding -</div><div>Rybakina cruised through the first set in 34 minutes but Sabalenka scrapped her way back in a 57-minute second set to take it to a nervy decider.</div><div><br></div><div>It was then a case of which of the big servers would blink first in a toe-to-toe battle.</div><div><br></div><div>At 3-3 Rybakina -- who represents Kazakhstan-- could not find enough first serves and though she saved two break points, a third was too much and Sabalenka had the finish line in sight.</div><div><br></div><div>An ace took her to 5-3 and Rybakina held to force Sabalenka to test her nerves and serve for the championship.</div><div><br></div><div>She was up to the challenge, but needed four nerve-shredding match points after a display where she hit an astonishing 51 winners and 17 aces to edge past the big-serving Rybakina.</div><div><br></div><div>Sabalenka will now rise to second in the world, equalling her career high.</div><div><br></div><div>Rybakina will have the consolation of breaking into the top 10 for the first time, after reaching her second Grand Slam final in seven months.</div><div><br></div><div>She was awarded no ranking points for her Wimbledon win because of the ban on Russian and Belarusian players there.</div><div><br></div><div>- New ground -</div><div><br></div><div>Both players broke new ground in Melbourne this year.</div><div><br></div><div>Rybakina\'s previous Australian Open best was a third-round appearance in 2020, while Sabalenka had exited in the fourth round in 2021 and 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>Sabalenka served first in the final and let out a nervous laugh as she immediately double-faulted.</div><div><br></div><div>It was the sort of start that might have induced a bout of nerves in the Sabalenka of 2022, when she dished up 428 double faults, 151 more than any other player on the women\'s tour.</div><div><br></div><div>But not this year. Her new-found confidence enabled her to respond immediately with an ace and roll through to hold.</div><div><br></div><div>Rybakina had served more aces than any other player, 45, in her run to the final and she rattled off three more in a row to level at 1-1.</div><div><br></div><div>Rybakina fought back from 0-40 to deuce in the next when a second Sabalenka double fault opened the door.</div><div><br></div><div>She stepped through when Sabalenka went wide and consolidated to lead 3-1, then served out with ease to take the first set</div><div><br></div><div>It was the first set that Sabalenka had dropped in 2023.</div><div><br></div><div>The second set started in similar fashion, Sabalenka holding but under pressure on her serve.</div><div><br></div><div>She showed guts at 1-1 to hold with two aces before forcing a break of her own with her heavy groundstrokes to lead 3-1.</div><div><br></div><div>Another double fault gave Rybakina an immediate break back point which Sabalenka saved with a power-packed backhand winner and a scream of \"Come on!\" before getting to 4-1.</div><div><br></div><div>Sabalenka, having visibly picked up the pace, took the set.</div><div><br></div><div>The third set was heart-thumpingly tight, both players creating chances only to see their opponent fight back, until Sabalenka finally secured her dream. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 16:07:38', '2023-01-28 16:07:38'),
(4810, 4810, '<div><b><br></b></div><div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Russia’s defense ministry on Saturday accused the Ukrainian army of striking a hospital in the eastern Lugansk region, leaving 14 dead and injuring 24 others.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>On Saturday morning in the town of Novoaidar, “the Ukrainian armed forces deliberately attacked the building of a district hospital” with a US-made HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system, the ministry said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>The ministry added that 14 were killed and 24 wounded among the “hospital patients and medical staff.”</div><div><br></div><div>It said that the hospital has been providing “necessary medical assistance to the local population and military personnel for many months,” reports AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“A deliberate missile strike on a known active civilian medical facility is, without doubt, a grave war crime by the Kyiv regime,” the ministry said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-28 16:20:39', '2023-01-28 16:20:39'),
(4811, 4811, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Memphis Police Department has disbanded the so-called Scorpion special unit, whose officers are accused of murdering Tyre Nichols.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scorpion stands for \"Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The unit is a 50-person unit with the mission of bringing down crime levels in particular areas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But now it is being abolished after its officers were seen beating Mr Nichols, 29, in the videos from 7 January.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement, the department said \"it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate\" the unit.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"While the heinous actions of a few casts a cloud of dishonour on the title Scorpion, it is imperative that we, the Memphis Police Department, take proactive steps in the healing process for all impacted,\" it added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Nichols\' family welcomed the decision in a statement from their lawyers, calling it \"both appropriate and proportional to the tragic death of Tyre Nichols, and also a decent and just decision for all citizens of Memphis\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The unit was launched in October 2021 with a focus on high-impact crimes, such as car thefts and gang-related offences.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The five officers - Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith - were fired last week.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They were taken into custody on Thursday and each faces charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Four of the five posted bail and were released from custody by Friday morning, according to jail records.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lawyers for Mr Martin and Mr Mills have said their clients will plead not guilty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The unit that murdered Tyre has been permanently disbanded,\" a protester shouted into a megaphone in Memphis and the crowd erupted into cheers. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite the rain, the group of fewer than 100 protesters had gathered in the square in front of the Memphis Police headquarters to demand change to a system of policing that they said makes a habit of brutalising black people in Memphis and across the country.  </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Memphis is taking a stand,\" said Casio Montez, one of the protest organisers. \"This means we\'re doing something right.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Montez vowed that he and other community organisers would continue to pressure Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis and city officials until \"the community\'s demands are met\", including reforming the department\'s organised crime unit.  </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In an interview with BBC News on Friday, Chief Davis said the Scorpion unit was created to be \"more responsive\" and \"more proactive\" to gun violence in the city. But she acknowledged that the officers who brutally beat Tyre Nichols \"decided to go off the rails\".  </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are doing an individual evaluation of all units,\" she said. \"This is a necessary step. We want to be fully transparent to the community.\"  </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But for some, the problem of police violence is more deeply rooted than any reform can address.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the rally Saturday, Memphis native Allie Watkins held a sign that proclaimed, \"All cops uphold white supremacy.\"  </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The sign is historically accurate, she said, because the history of policing in America began with slave patrols.  </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This is not an issue of corruption in the United States, this is an issue of the fact that the system has been built against black bodies,\" she said.  If the system is broken, she added, the only way to fix it is to start again. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 02:39:29', '2023-01-29 15:58:25'),
(4812, 4812, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Donald Trump\'s announcement that he\'s running for US president in 2024 wasn\'t a lark, or a ploy to avoid prosecution, as some have speculated. He\'s hitting the road and laying the kind of groundwork necessary for a serious bid to recapture the White House.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nearly three months after announcing his campaign, the former president made his first campaign foray out of his adopted home state of Florida on Saturday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In New Hampshire, he addressed a meeting of the Republican Party and announced the outgoing state party chair would be a senior adviser to his campaign. And at the state capitol in Columbia, South Carolina, he received the endorsements of the state\'s governor, Henry McMaster, and Senator Lindsey Graham.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The latter, a Trump confidante who expressed some disillusionment after the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021, is now back firmly in the fold.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"How many times have you heard, \'We like Trump policies, but we want somebody new?\" Mr Graham asked the crowd. \"There are no Trump policies without Donald Trump. I was there.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Trump once again denied his 2020 defeat and told supporters that he - unlike any possible Republican alternatives - would be the most effective nominee in 2024.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"To change the whole system, you need a president who can take on the whole system and a president who can win,\" he said from the state capitol\'s main hall.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In both stops, Mr Trump touted what he said was his record of success during his presidency and attacked President Joe Biden\'s record on crime, immigration and the economy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Across the street, Todd Gerhardt, a Republican district executive committee member from nearby Charleston, sold honey in Trump-shaped plastic bottles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Gerhardt was an early supporter of Mr Trump\'s first presidential campaign, organised a 2016 rally for him on South Carolina\'s posh Kiawah Island, and recently visited the former president\'s Mar-a-Lago estate for a fundraiser and to provide his honey for the campaign\'s gift bags.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said Mar-a-Lago had a festive atmosphere as the Trump team geared up for the coming fight and he dismissed concerns that Republican voters, in South Carolina and across the US, might be looking for a different nominee this time around.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"When people talk about other candidates running and they say I\'m going to do this, or I\'m going to do that, Trump has actually done it,\" Gerhardt says. \"He has all the oxygen in the room.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier in the day, at a street market a few blocks away from the capitol, however, Mr Trump\'s visit to Columbia seemed hardly to register. A patron at a local coffee shop groused about it being inappropriate for the former president to hold a campaign event on state property, but most did not even know he was in town.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There doesn\'t seem to be the same enthusiasm for Trump this time around,\" said another local.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\'s no coincidence that the first two stops of Mr Trump\'s third presidential campaign were South Carolina and New Hampshire. The two states could prove to be central to Mr Trump\'s strategy to retake the White House.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While Iowa is the first state to hold a Republican presidential nomination contest in 2024, Mr Trump finished third there in 2016 and the evangelical Christians who dominate the state\'s Republican electorate could be eying other possible candidates, like former Vice-President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New Hampshire and South Carolina, however, provided Mr Trump with a one-two punch that catapulted him to the front in 2016 - a lead he never relinquished.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They could do the same in 2024. In fact, every Republican presidential nominee since 1980 has won the South Carolina primary, making it unique among the traditional early-voting states.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Carolina could prove to be a unique challenge for Mr Trump this time around, however. He faces potential challenges from Senator Tim Scott as well as the state\'s former governor, Nikki Haley.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If this is a pivotal moment for Mr Trump, it comes at a time when public opinion polls are starting to stabilise for him after his support dropped in the aftermath of Republicans\' disappointing results in November\'s midterm congressional elections.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An Emerson Poll conducted earlier this week found 55% of Republican voters supporting Mr Trump, well ahead of the 29% for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not announced a presidential bid but is viewed to be the former president\'s most formidable rival. A Monmouth poll in December had Mr DeSantis ahead by double-digits.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier this week, Meta announced that it was lifting the suspension it had placed on Mr Trump\'s accounts in the aftermath of the attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. Although the former president has yet to resume posting to his accounts, his return could provide yet another opportunity for voter outreach - and fundraising - as his still minimally staffed campaign gears up for its 2024 run.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If rallies and Facebook donations were the fuel for Mr Trump\'s past White House bids, his South Carolina stop was a different kind of operation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With only 300 announced attendees, it was a decidedly low-key event compared to his typical arena gatherings, with their carnival atmosphere. Attire tended toward sport coats and dresses, not Make America Great Again hats and Let\'s Go Brandon t-shirts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To win a third Republican presidential nomination, however, Mr Trump will need the support of the political rank-and-file in states like New Hampshire and South Carolina, as well as his rally-going loyalists. And while Mr Trump\'s national polls show continued strength, a recent South Carolina survey had nearly half of Republican voters expressing a preference for \"someone else\" besides Mr Trump.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Someone else\" will not appear on primary ballots, however. And with just over a year until voting begins, while he is still the only announced candidate, Donald Trump is testing out new ways to make that pitch.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"They said he\'s not doing rallies and he\'s not campaigning, maybe he\'s lost his step,\" Mr Trump said in New Hampshire. \"I\'m more angry now and I\'m more committed now than I ever was.\" BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 02:53:37', '2023-01-29 02:53:37');

INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4828, 4828, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">South Africa won the toss and decided to bowl in the second one-day international against England at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Sunday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"It\'s a morning game so the wicket might be a bit on the sticky side, there might be a little bit in it for the seamers,\" said South Africa captain Temba Bavuma.</div><div><br></div><div>South Africa won the first match by 27 runs at the same venue in a day-night game on Friday after choosing to bat first.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It looks a good wicket. We\'re happy to have first use of it,\" said England captain Jos Buttler.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We played some really good cricket (on Friday) but we didn\'t quite do it for long enough.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Both teams made changes. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, and seamers Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen came in for South Africa in place of Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada and Sisanda Magala.</div><div><br></div><div>Chris Woakes and Reece Topley replaced fellow seam bowlers Jofra Archer and David Willey in what Buttler described as \"rotation\" of their bowling resources.</div><div><br></div><div>The third and final game of the series takes place at Kimberley on Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock (wkt), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi.</div><div><br></div><div>England: Jos Buttler (captain, wkt), Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Olly Stone, Reece Topley.</div><div><br></div><div>Umpires: Marais Erasmus, Adrian Holdstock (both RSA)</div><div><br></div><div>TV umpire: Bongani Jele (RSA)</div><div><br></div><div>Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL) - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 10:12:44', '2023-01-29 10:12:44'),
(4829, 4829, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Odisha Health Minister Naba Kisore Das was today shot at by an assistant sub-inspector near Gandhi Chowk near Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district on Sunday around 1 pm. He was on his way to attend a programme when he was shot at, and sustained bullet injuries to his chest. The police officer shot two rounds, critically injuring the minister, who was rushed to a hospital. He was later airlifted to Bhubaneswar, witnesses said.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Assistant Sub-inspector of Police (ASI) Gopal Das opened fire at the minister. The minister is injured and rushed to hospital,\" Brajrajnagar Sub-Divisional Police Officer Gupteswar Bhoi told reporters. Gopal Das was caught by locals, and has been taken into custody, the police said</div><div><br></div><div>Witnesses claim he was shot at just as he stepped out of his vehicle. The motives behind the attack are still unclear.</div><div><br></div><div>Videos from the spot showed Mr Das bleeding from the chest with people trying to lift the injured minister, who seemed unconscious, and place him on the front seat of a car.</div><div><br></div><div>At a public grievance office opening, Naba Das was the chief guest. When he arrived, a crowd gathered to welcome him. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. We saw a police personnel running away after shooting from close range,\" a witness said.</div><div><br></div><div>Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condemned the attack, and directed the crime branch to investigate it, reports NDTV.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I am shocked at the unfortunate incident of attack. I strongly condemn this and pray for his early recovery. Crime Branch is directed to take up investigation. Senior officers of Crime Branch are asked to go to the spot,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 10:42:57', '2023-01-29 10:42:57'),
(4830, 4830, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>At least 10 children were killed on Sunday when a boat carrying religious school students capsized in the Tanda dam in northwest Pakistan, officials said, as rescue efforts continued.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Another six were injured and had been taken to hospital, according to Furqan Khan, the deputy commissioner of Kohat district in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the accident took place.</div><div><br></div><div>The victims were young students at a nearby religious school, Khan said. More students were missing, said the officials who did not provide details on how many.</div><div><br></div><div>The students who had died were aged between seven and 12 years, according to a list shared with Reuters by the district\'s commissioner.</div><div><br></div><div>Khan said there had been incidents in the past and police had closed the dam for recreational trips.</div><div><br></div><div>Video footage by local broadcasters and on social media showed rescuers in the water.</div><div><br></div><div>The accident came the same day as a bus accident in southern Pakistan that killed more than 40 people. - zawya</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 11:03:19', '2023-01-29 11:03:19'),
(4831, 4831, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>“BNP now asks the government to run away. They (BNP leaders) said the government will not find any escape route,” said Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader. “This is ridiculous.”</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Quader said on Sunday that the party’s leaders will never run away from the country in any hostile situation.</div><div><br></div><div>He was addressing at a huge public meeting organized by the Rajshahi district and metropolitan Awami League at historic Rajshahi Madrasa ground with Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the chief guest.</div><div><br></div><div>“I will not run away, If necessary, I will go to Mr. Fakhrul\'s house.&nbsp; Will you not give us shelter? If not, he has a house Thakurgaon and we will go to that house,” he said amid laughter and cheers from the audience.</div><div><br></div><div>Quader said the BNP leaders have a history of fleeing from the country to save their skin from public wrath.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Before fleeing to London Tariq Rahman signed a bond that he will not do politics again,” the AL leader said adding that the convicted fugitive is now the leader of the opposition BNP.</div><div><br></div><div>Obaidul Quader said that he was born in this country and will die in this country.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 12:11:09', '2023-01-29 12:11:09'),
(4832, 4832, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Results of 2022 HSC and equivalent exams will be published on February 8.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Tapan Kumar Sarker, convener of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee and Dhaka Education Board Chairman, confirmed the information to UNB today.</div><div><br></div><div>“A proposal was sent to the Ministry of Education to publish the results between February 7 and 9. The prime minister set February 8 as the date,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>HSC and equivalent exams were held from November 6 to December 13 last year.</div><div><br></div><div>A total of 1,203,407 examinees completed their registration to sit for the exams. Of them, 6,22,769 were boys and 5,80,611 were girls. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 13:05:08', '2023-01-29 13:05:08'),
(4833, 4833, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Abdul Hamid on Sunday called upon the parents to engage their children in different creative activities alongside their regular education.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"The influence of literature and culture is immense to create a creative generation. Apart from education, it is very urgent to facilitate the path of children’s mental growth by involving them in various extra-curricular activities, including arts, literature and sports,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The President was addressing the award distribution ceremony of “National Children Award Competition 2020 and 2021\" at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>“Every child has a personality… Let us create opportunity for them to express it in a proper manner,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The President said Shishu Academy has a great role in creating creative mind and mental development of children.</div><div><br></div><div>Noting that Bangabandhu loved children very much, President Hamid said he used to mingle with children whenever he got time and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is also very sincere regarding the overall development of children.</div><div><br></div><div>Describing children as the future leaders of the nation, he said children must be groomed to be good citizens as they would bear the country’s responsibility in future.</div><div><br></div><div>President Hamid urged all to work together for overall development of the children and help their inner potentialities flourish, irrespective of religion, caste and financial condition.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is everyone’s responsibility to develop children as enlightened citizens . . . Children need the suitable atmosphere, care and inspiration to develop their talents,” the President added.</div><div><br></div><div>Abdul Hamid said talented children scattered all over the country should be found out and given proper training to become quality artistes, painters or athletes so that they can compete in the global competitions.</div><div><br></div><div>Referring to the various activities of the government, he said Sheikh Hasina’s government is conducting multi-dimensional activities to ensure the overall rights of children.</div><div><br></div><div>\"In the national action plan, children\'s health-nutrition, education-science technology etc. are being prioritized . . . There are also various programmes and plans for the development of children with physical and mental disabilities,\" the President said.</div><div><br></div><div>The President advised the guardians to provide proper education to children, including learning on justice, difference between truth and falsehood, honesty, kindness, patriotism and love for life.</div><div><br></div><div>Hamid also put emphasis on providing ethical education to children in the era of globalization and information technology (IT).</div><div><br></div><div>He said, \"Nowadays, children in every house have mobile phones, laptops and other sophisticated devices many are addicted to mobile phones. They don\'t go to playground much, they don\'t practice art and literature and they even don\'t know nature and environment.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Around 6.50 lakh children from all districts took part in the ‘National Children\'s Award Competition-2020 and 2021’ in 30 categories. The aim of this event is to flourish the inner potentials of children and adolescents.</div><div><br></div><div>Among the participants, some 474 children received the awards at this event. Of the awardees, the President handed over six for 2020 and six others for 2021.</div><div><br></div><div>A video documentary on \"The children\'s development, their flourishing and safety\" was screened at the function. A memorial book entitled \"Alor Ful (flower of light)\" was launched on the occasion.</div><div><br></div><div>State Minister of Women and Children Affairs Fazilatunnesa Nesa Indira presided over the function. Chairman of Bangladesh Shishu Academy Lucky Enam and Secretary to Ministry of Women and Children Affairs Md Hasanuzzaman Kallol, among others, spoke on the occasion. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 14:49:25', '2023-01-29 14:49:25'),
(4834, 4834, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Memphis Police Department has disbanded the so-called Scorpion special unit, whose officers are accused of murdering Tyre Nichols.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Scorpion stands for \"Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods\".</div><div><br></div><div>The unit is a 50-person team tasked with bringing down crime levels in particular areas.</div><div><br></div><div>But now it is being abolished after its officers were seen beating Mr Nichols, 29, in the videos from 7 January.</div><div><br></div><div>In a statement, the department said \"it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate\" the unit.</div><div><br></div><div>\"While the heinous actions of a few casts a cloud of dishonour on the title Scorpion, it is imperative that we, the Memphis Police Department, take proactive steps in the healing process for all impacted,\" it added.</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Nichols\' family welcomed the decision in a statement from their lawyers, calling it \"both appropriate and proportional to the tragic death of Tyre Nichols, and also a decent and just decision for all citizens of Memphis\".</div><div><br></div><div>The unit was launched in October 2021 with a focus on high-impact crimes, such as car thefts and gang-related offences.</div><div><br></div><div>The five officers - Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith - were fired last week.</div><div><br></div><div>They were taken into custody on Thursday and each faces charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.</div><div><br></div><div>Four of the five posted bail and were released from custody by Friday morning, according to jail records.</div><div><br></div><div>Lawyers for Mr Martin and Mr Mills have said their clients will plead not guilty.</div><div><br></div><div>Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr said two deputy sheriffs who \"appeared on the scene following\" the confrontation have also been suspending pending an internal investigation.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The unit that murdered Tyre has been permanently disbanded,\" a protester shouted into a megaphone in Memphis and the crowd erupted into cheers. </div><div><br></div><div>Despite the rain, the group of fewer than 100 protesters had gathered in the square in front of the Memphis Police headquarters to demand change to a system of policing that they said makes a habit of brutalising black people in Memphis and across the country.  </div><div><br></div><div>\"Memphis is taking a stand,\" said Casio Montez, one of the protest organisers. \"This means we\'re doing something right.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Montez vowed that he and other community organisers would continue to pressure Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis and city officials until \"the community\'s demands are met\", including reforming the department\'s organised crime unit.  </div><div><br></div><div>In an interview with BBC News on Friday, Chief Davis said the Scorpion unit was created to be \"more responsive\" and \"more proactive\" to gun violence in the city. But she acknowledged that the officers who brutally beat Tyre Nichols \"decided to go off the rails\".  </div><div><br></div><div>\"We are doing an individual evaluation of all units,\" she said. \"This is a necessary step. We want to be fully transparent to the community.\"  </div><div><br></div><div>But for some, the problem of police violence is more deeply rooted than any reform can address.</div><div><br></div><div>At the rally Saturday, Memphis native Allie Watkins held a sign that proclaimed, \"All cops uphold white supremacy.\"  </div><div><br></div><div>The sign is historically accurate, she said, because the history of policing in America began with slave patrols.  </div><div><br></div><div>\"This is not an issue of corruption in the United States, this is an issue of the fact that the system has been built against black bodies,\" she said.  If the system is broken, she added, the only way to fix it is to start again.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We need to have national criminal justice reform\", Gloria Browne-Marshall, a professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told the BBC. She said units like the Scorpion unit exist \"across the country\" so piecemeal reform was not going to be a solution.</div><div><br></div><div>Police initially said Mr Nichols had been stopped on suspicion of reckless driving, which has not been substantiated. He died in hospital three days later, on 10 January.</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Nichols was black, as are all five officers charged in the case.</div><div><br></div><div>Memphis Police Department released four graphic videos of the traffic stop and its violent aftermath on Friday, totalling more than an hour of footage.</div><div><br></div><div>Peaceful protests took place in Memphis on Friday night after the video was released, with some demonstrators blocking a major highway in the city, while small-scale demonstrations were held elsewhere in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Many protesters held banners demanding justice for Mr Nichols and an end to \"police terror\".</div><div><br></div><div>Lawyers for Mr Nichols\' family likened the assault to the 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.</div><div><br></div><div>The Scorpion programme was touted by Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland in a speech a year ago. He said the city used crime data \"to determine where the unit will conduct its enforcement activities within the city\".</div><div><br></div><div>From October 2021 until January 2022, the unit made 566 arrests, he said. They also seized more than $100,000 in cash, 270 vehicles and 253 weapons.</div><div><br></div><div>In the wake of Mr Nichols\' death, one local man, Cornell McKinney, told a Memphis-area TV network that he had a tense encounter with the unit on 3 January, just days before the incident involving Mr Nichols.</div><div><br></div><div>Mr McKinney alleges that the officers - who were travelling in unmarked vehicles - threatened to \"blow his head off\", pointed a weapon at his head and accused him of carrying drugs.</div><div><br></div><div>He complained to the Memphis Police Department after the incident, but says he has not heard anything back.</div><div><br></div><div>One of the officers that arrested Mr Nichols had previously been sued by a man who accused him of beating him when he was a prisoner eight years ago. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 15:41:55', '2023-01-29 15:42:23'),
(4835, 4835, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>At least three people have died and more than 800 injured in a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that struck northwestern Iran\'s West Azerbaijan province on Saturday, officials said.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Jafar Miadfar, the head of Iran\'s National Medical Emergency Organization, told state TV that so far three deaths and 816 injuries had been confirmed.</div><div><br></div><div>Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, the governor of West Azerbaijan, confirmed the casualty toll during his visit to worst-hit areas in the province.</div><div><br></div><div>He said residential properties in at least 70 villages were partially damaged by the high-intensity earthquake.</div><div><br></div><div>The quake was reported at around 9:44 pm local time (1814 GMT) on Saturday at a shallow depth of 7 kilometers with an epicenter near the city of Khoy, located 807 km northwest of the capital Tehran.</div><div><br></div><div>It was felt in multiple cities, including the provincial capital and largest city Urmia, officials and residents said.</div><div><br></div><div>Soon after the quake, multiple teams of the Red Crescent Society in West Azerbaijan were dispatched to the worst-affected areas to assess the damage, officials said.</div><div><br></div><div>Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi visited the city of Khoy on Sunday and chaired a crisis management meeting there, his office said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>According to locals in Khoy, Saturday\'s quake was followed by at least 30 after-shocks throughout the night, causing panic and forcing people to spend the night outdoors in intense cold.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, according to officials, more than 800 primary and secondary schools have been partially damaged in the city of Khoy, with at least 88 schools incurring heavy damage.</div><div><br></div><div>West Azerbaijan, the mountainous province that borders Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Iraq, was jolted by a 5.4 magnitude earthquake earlier this month, which shook Khoy city and caused extensive damage.</div><div><br></div><div>In October, another 5.4 magnitude earthquake in Khoy injured nearly 400 people and damaged hundreds of urban and rural residential properties.</div><div><br></div><div>Iran is located in a seismically active zone and has witnessed many catastrophic earthquakes in the past.</div><div><br></div><div>The most devastating earthquake to hit the country came in 2013 when at least 34,000 people died in the city of Bam in southeastern Kerman province. The quake measured 6.7 on the Richter scale.</div><div><br></div><div>In recent months, a string of high and medium-intensity earthquakes has hit provinces in southern and northern Iran.</div><div><br></div><div>Last month, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake rocked northeastern Iran\'s South Khorasan province, weeks after a 5.4 magnitude quake was reported in the same province, with its epicenter in the Ersk region.</div><div><br></div><div>In July, at least five people were killed and more than 80 injured after a 6.1 magnitude quake struck the southern province of Hormozgan situated along the coast of the Persian Gulf. - Anadolu Agency</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 15:47:10', '2023-01-29 15:47:10'),
(4836, 4836, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Sunday said that the business environment in the country deteriorated in 2022 compared with 2021.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>A new survey by the CPD said that inadequate infrastructure, bureaucratic barriers to access to credit, and inefficient administration are the major barriers to entrepreneurship development.</div><div><br></div><div>It said high inflation, foreign exchange crisis and makeshift policies have further complicated the business environment.</div><div><br></div><div>The think tank shared the findings of the survey titled ‘Bangladesh Business Environment 2022: Entrepreneurship Survey’ on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>Khandkar Golam Moazzem, Research Director of the organisation, presented the survey data at a media briefing at the CPD office in Dhanmondi in the capital. CPD’s Executive Director Fahmida Khatun was present during the briefing.</div><div><br></div><div>Moazzem said that corruption is a major obstacle to growing a sustainable business in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The survey revealed that the business environment deteriorated in 2022 compared with 2021. About 74 percent of officials of various institutions in the agriculture, production, and service sectors of Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj and Gazipur took part in this survey conducted from April to July last year. However, it says this was not a nation-wide survey.</div><div><br></div><div>Around 64.6 percent of the executives surveyed cited corruption as a major obstacle to doing business.</div><div><br></div><div>About 64 percent of the officials mentioned that corruption is taking place in paying tax, 54 percent said they face graft in getting a business licence, 49 percent said bribe is a norm for getting gas-electricity-water connection, and 75 percent said corruption is rampant in the import-export sector, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>Fahmida Khatun told that the production cost of products is increasing due to corruption.</div><div><br></div><div>“The cost of services is also increasing. Common people must bear the brunt of this additional cost. Various levels of corruption are damaging the business environment and the economy,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 16:18:40', '2023-01-29 16:18:40'),
(4837, 4837, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister and Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina has said her party never flees, rather it works with the people for their betterment, calling upon the countrymen to vote the party to build a developed, prosperous and “Smart Bangladesh” by 2041.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div> “They (BNP leaders) who are saying that the Awami League will not get the chance of fleeing, I want to clear them one thing that the Awami League never flees, but their (BNP) leaders flee,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She said this while addressing as the chief guest a grand rally that turned into a human sea with participation of tens of thousands of people organised by Rajshahi city and district units of the AL at the historic Madrasha ground here.</div><div><br></div><div>At the rally, the premier also inaugurated 26 projects including seven of the Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC), worth over Tk1,333 crore and laid foundation stones of six other projects involving over Tk375 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister said the BNP-Jamaat clique is saying many things and giving an ultimatum to her party saying that the Awami League would not get the scope to flee.</div><div><br></div><div>Referring to her return to the country twice ignoring the red eyes of the then governments in 1981 and 2007, she asked the BNP-Jamaat clique who wants to flee and said the AL never flees and it looks behind.</div><div><br></div><div>“I returned to the country thinking about the people of the country,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>The AL president said her party is working with the people for their wellbeing as the organisation was formed at the hands of the Father of the Nation.</div><div><br></div><div>“This organisation (AL) whenever comes to power, the fate of the people is changed.”</div><div><br></div><div>AL General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, AL Presidium Members Advocate Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman and Rajshahi City Corporation Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, AL Joint General Secretaries Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shariar Alam, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, AL organising secretary SM Kamal, AL central working committee member Nurul Islam Thandu and BCL president Saddam Hossain also spoke.</div><div><br></div><div>Acting President of Rajshahi City Awami League Mohammad Ali Kamal and General Secretary Dablu Sarker respectively presided over and moderated the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina came down heavily on the BNP leaders as they’re vowing to wage a war against corruption. “With whom you want to struggle against the graft as two of your top leaders, Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman, were sentenced in graft cases,” she asked.  </div><div><br></div><div>“BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman was sentenced in a corruption case and fled the country giving bond to the caretaker government in 2007 that he will never do politics,” she said and asked whether the BNP leaders had forgotten it.   </div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister said then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia had siphoned off huge amounts of money abroad through her two sons ,Tarique Rahman and Koko, and her government has so far returned Tk 40 crore of the laundered money. </div><div><br></div><div>“Are BNP leaders able to answer it?” she questioned.       </div><div><br></div><div>She said AL comes to power to give something to the people and the reality is that the masses get something if the party assumes power while the BNP comes to power to do every sort of crime that include carrying out murder, arson attacks, patronizing the killers alongside making their own fortunes.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister said the BNP-Jamaat clique burned people to death, torched public transports such as buses, trains and launches, and government offices in the name of movement.</div><div><br></div><div>“You (countrymen) have to think whether any human being can burn any person to death alive. ---they have such inhuman characters. It is the reality that they can’t tolerate any wellbeing of the Bangladeshi people,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP-Jamaat alliance is now in hot pursuit to carry out propaganda at home and abroad, cashing in on the opportunity of being a Digital Bangladesh, she said, adding, “We have built “Digital Bangladesh’’ and they’re carrying out propaganda against our government using it.”</div><div><br></div><div>On the contrary, she said, the AL government has transformed Bangladesh into a developing nation from the least developed country by implementing the “Vision 2021”, and is now out to build a developed, prosperous and Smart Bangladesh by 2041.</div><div><br></div><div>The AL government always keeps its words, the Prime Minister said, referring to achieving the target of Vision-2041.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina thanked the people of Rajshahi for voting her party time and again and requested them to promise to vote for the AL again by raising their hands in the next general election to be held at the end of this year or the beginning of the next year.</div><div><br></div><div>The mammoth gathering in reply raised their hands and shouted that they will cast their votes in favour of the party’s election symbol ‘Boat’.</div><div><br></div><div>‘’Please cast your vote for the Boat to continue the journey towards development that will lead to building a developed, prosperous and Smart Bangladesh by 2041,’’ she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Briefly describing her government’s development schemes, the Prime Minister said the people are now getting a developing nation, food sufficient country, free vaccine, cash and other assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic and a country well-connected through road, rail, water and air ways.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister reminded the inhabitants of Rajshahi that her government has conducted huge development in Rajshahi in the last 14 years.</div><div><br></div><div>“Rajshahi was always neglected. My government has done massive development works in Rajshahi involving Tk 10,660 crore including Tk 4000 crore for the development of Rajshahi city till date since 2009,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister said today she inaugurated 26 projects worth over Tk1,333 crore and laid foundation stones of six other projects involving over Tk375 crore.</div><div><br></div><div> “I have given the development schemes as my gift to the people of Rajshahi,” she added. </div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister once again vowed to bring all the landless and homeless people under the government’s housing schemes free of cost so that none remains homeless and devoid of address.</div><div><br></div><div>She once again asked the countrymen to grow their own food bringing every inch of fallow land under cultivation to meet their own demand as the world is going through economic recession and food crisis. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-29 16:30:24', '2023-01-29 16:30:36'),
(4838, 4838, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The lawyer representing Tyre Nichols\' family has called on the US Congress to pass urgent police reform legislation in the wake of his death.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Nichols, 29, was fatally beaten by five police officers in January.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Speaking to US media, Ben Crump urged President Joe Biden to use Mr Nichols\'s death to gain support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And he said Mr Nichols\'s mother was coping with her son\'s loss by hoping that his death could lead to change.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"She believes in her heart Tyre was sent here for an assignment and that there is going to be greater good that comes from this tragedy,\" Mr Crump said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was introduced in 2021 after Mr Floyd was killed by a white police officer kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. His death sparked international protests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The bill would see a federal ban on the use of chokeholds by police and make it easier to bring charges against offending officers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lawmakers in the House of Representatives - which was then controlled by the Democratic Party - passed the bill in March 2021, but it was later held up by opposition in the Senate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Shame on us if we don\'t use his tragic death to finally get the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed,\" Mr Crump told CNN. The lawyer said if the law did not change, deaths at the hands of police would continue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP civil rights group - also called on legislators to take action.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"By failing to write a piece of legislation, you\'re writing another obituary,\" Mr Johnson said in a statement. \"We can name all the victims of police violence, but we can\'t name a single law you have passed to address it.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the Republican House of Representatives Judiciary chair Jim Jordan warned politicians to not rush legislation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"These five individuals did not have any respect for life... I don\'t know if there\'s anything you can do to stop the kind of evil we saw in that video,\" he told NBC\'s Meet the Press programme. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A childhood friend of Mr Nichols told the BBC his legacy would be preserved through legal reform. Angelina Paxton said he \"always wanted to change the world\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ms Paxton said Mr Nichols was \"very passionate about Black Lives Matter\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He always wanted to make a difference,\" she said. \"If it gives anyone any comfort out of all those pain that we\'re all going through right now, just know that I can guarantee you he\'s up there right now smiling, because he finally did what he always wanted to do.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Saturday, the Memphis Police Department disbanded the so-called Scorpion special unit of which the police officers now charged with murder were members.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The unit was a 50-person team that was tasked with bringing down crime levels - particularly car thefts and gang-related offences.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scorpion stood for \"Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The five officers - Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith - were fired from the Memphis police force last week.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Four of the five posted bail and were released from custody by Friday morning, according to jail records.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lawyers for Mr Martin and Mr Mills have said their clients will plead not guilty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In an interview with BBC News on Friday, Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said the Scorpion unit was created to be \"more responsive\" and \"more proactive\" to gun violence in the city. But she acknowledged that the officers who brutally beat Tyre Nichols \"decided to go off the rails\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are doing an individual evaluation of all units,\" she said. \"This is a necessary step. We want to be fully transparent to the community.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr said two deputy sheriffs who \"appeared on the scene following\" the confrontation have also been suspending pending an internal investigation. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 02:55:12', '2023-01-30 15:22:12'),
(4839, 4839, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Boris Johnson has said Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile strike in an \"extraordinary\" phone call in the run-up to Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The then-prime minister said Mr Putin told him it \"would only take a minute\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Johnson said the comment was made after he warned the war would be an \"utter catastrophe\" during a \"very long\" call in February 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Details of the exchange are revealed in a BBC documentary, examining Mr Putin\'s interactions with world leaders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Johnson warned Mr Putin that invading Ukraine would lead to Western sanctions and more Nato troops on Russia\'s borders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also tried to deter Russian military action by telling Mr Putin that Ukraine would not join Nato \"for the foreseeable future\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Mr Johnson said: \"He threatened me at one point, and he said, \'Boris, I don\'t want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute\' or something like that. Jolly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"But I think from the very relaxed tone that he was taking, the sort of air of detachment that he seemed to have, he was just playing along with my attempts to get him to negotiate.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Putin had been \"very familiar\" during the \"most extraordinary call\", Mr Johnson said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is impossible to know if Mr Putin\'s threat was genuine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, given previous Russian attacks on the UK - most recently in Salisbury in 2018 - any threat from the Russian leader, however lightly delivered, is probably one Mr Johnson would have had no choice but to take seriously.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nine days later, on 11 February, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace flew to Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BBC documentary Putin Vs the West reveals Mr Wallace left with assurances that Russia would not invade Ukraine, but he said both sides knew it was a lie.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He described it as a \"demonstration of bullying or strength, which is: I\'m going to lie to you, you know I\'m lying and I know you know I\'m lying and I\'m still going to lie to you.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I think it was about saying \'I\'m powerful\',\" Mr Wallace said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said the \"fairly chilling, but direct lie\" had confirmed his belief that Russia would invade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As he left the meeting, he said Gen Valery Gerasimov - Russia\'s chief of general staff - told him \"never again will we be humiliated\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Less than a fortnight later, as tanks rolled over the border on 24 February, Mr Johnson received a phone call in the middle of the night from President Zelensky.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Zelensky\'s very, very calm,\" Mr Johnson recalled. \"But, he tells me, you know, they\'re attacking everywhere.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Johnson says he offered to help move the president to safety.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"He doesn\'t take me up on that offer. He heroically stayed where he was.\" BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 02:58:37', '2023-01-30 02:58:37'),
(4840, 4840, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that allowing Russia to compete at the 2024 Olympics in Paris would amount to showing that \"terror is somehow acceptable\".</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">He said he had raised the issue with French President Emmanuel Macron.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow must not be allowed to use the Olympics for propaganda, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete as neutrals at the Olympics.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">But Ukraine has threatened to boycott Paris 2024 if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Attempts by the IOC \"to bring Russian athletes back into the Olympic Games are attempts to tell the whole world that terror is somehow acceptable\", Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia must not be allowed to use the Games \"or any other sport event as propaganda for its aggression or its state chauvinism\", he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The IOC said this week that Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete as \"neutral athletes\", stating that \"no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Mr Zelensky says there can be no neutrality in sport while his country\'s athletes are dying on the battlefield.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also drew comparison with the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin when the Nazis were in power.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There was a major Olympic mistake,\" he said. \"The Olympic movement and terrorist states definitely should not cross paths.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UK government has also condemned the plan to allow athletes to compete neutrally as a \"world away from the reality of war\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Zelensky\'s comments came as Russian forces continued to bombard the Ukrainian region of Kherson into the night, after a day of attacks which left at least three people dead.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Six others were wounded, two of them when a hospital was hit, local officials say.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Kherson regional administration said the region was shelled almost 40 times on Saturday and was pounded continually on Sunday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kherson was the only regional capital to have fallen to Russian forces since the February 2022 invasion, but they were forced into a humiliating retreat in November.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Zelensky said Russia had also stepped up its attacks in the eastern Donetsk region. He said his forces needed new weapons to confront a \"very tough\" situation of constant attacks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Russia wants the war to drag on and exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon. We have to speed up events, speed up supplies and open up new weapons options for Ukraine,\" he said. BBC</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 03:03:40', '2023-01-30 03:03:40');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(4841, 4841, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">When police fire tear gas at protesters demanding the resignation of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, most run away.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A few, though, run toward the gas canisters as quickly as possible — to neutralize them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">These are the “deactivators.” Donning gas masks, safety goggles and thick gloves, these volunteers grab the hot canisters and toss them inside large plastic bottles filled with a mixture of water, baking soda and vinegar.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The deactivators made their debut in Peru street protests in 2020, inspired by protesters in Hong Kong who in 2019 unveiled new strategies to counteract the eye-stinging, breath-stealing effects of tear gas. With protesters in Lima facing a nearly daily fusillade of tear gas, more people have joined the ranks of deactivators trying to shield them and keep the demonstrations going.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Peruvians have been protesting since early December, when former President Pedro Castillo was impeached after a failed attempt to dissolve Congress. His vice president, Boluarte, immediately took over — and has faced strong opposition ever since.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fifty-eight people have died in connection with the unrest, including one police officer. Forty-six of the deaths occurred during direct clashes between protesters and police.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The protests have exposed deep divisions in the country between the urban elites and the rural poor. Demonstrations were first largely concentrated in the south, a long-neglected region of Peru that felt a particular kinship to Castillo’s humble background as a rural teacher from the Andean highlands. But earlier this month, thousands descended on Peru\'s capital, and police met them with tear gas. Lots and lots of tear gas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Thursday, as protesters gathered in downtown Lima, Alexander Gutiérrez Padilla, 45, was giving a brief course to anyone who would listen around Plaza San Martín about how to mix vinegar and baking soda into the water and how to grab the tear gas canisters most efficiently.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“If we don’t deactivate, people disperse and the protest breaks,” Gutiérrez said. “That’s why we’re pillars of this demonstration.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Next to him was Wilfredo Huertas Vidal, 25, who has taken it upon himself to collect donations to buy gloves and other protective equipment and hand them out to those who want to help.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Who wants gloves? Who wants gloves?” he yelled as he stood next to several large bottles of water, gas masks and eye goggles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When protesters descended on Lima earlier this month, old networks were reactivated. A tactic first seen in Peru in late 2020 during protests against then-President Manuel Merino resurfaced.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vladimir Molina, 34, who participated in the 2020 protests, now runs what he calls a “brigade.” It consists of around 60 people, including paramedics, deactivators and “front-line” activists who stand in the middle of protesters and police with shields, in an effort to block any pellets or tear gas police may fire into the crowd.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Every day more and more people are joining,” Molina said. Interest in his group is so great that he’s made it a requirement for anyone who wants to join to have their own equipment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By tossing the hot tear gas cartridges into the water solution, “what they do is extinguish the pyrotechnical charge so the tear gas cannot come out anymore,” said Sven Eric Jordt, a professor of anesthesiology at Duke University.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Water alone should achieve what the protesters want, although the carbon dioxide created by mixing vinegar and baking soda could “form a foam bath that suffocates the charge” further, Jordt speculated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It may be only a matter of time before authorities deploy methods to blunt the deactivators\' effectiveness. Manufacturers are now developing tear gas with plastic cartridges that stick to the road so it “can’t be lifted up anymore,” Jordt said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fearful of being targeted by police and prosecutors, many of the deactivators prefer to remain anonymous, keeping their faces covered even when there’s no tear gas around.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Boluarte has given strong backing to law enforcement, and the government recently announced a bonus for police officers. Boluarte has characterized the work of police controlling the Lima protests as “immaculate,” despite their often indiscriminate firing of tear gas and pellets. In contrast, she says the demonstrations are violent and financed by drug-trafficking rings and illegal miners.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Andrea Fernández, 22, is new to deactivating tear gas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The truth is I love the adrenaline,” Fernández said shortly after grabbing a pair of gloves from Huertas and listening to the instructions closely.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said she hadn’t been really interested in the country’s political crisis at first. Then the deaths started piling up.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“There are a lot of farmers who’ve come from lots of parts of Peru and they come here to march, face-to-face, but don’t have the necessary protection,” Fernández said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Felix Davillo, 37, also says the casualties pushed him to become a deactivator.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I made this decision for all the death that is going on in Puno right now,” Davillo said, referring to a region in Peru that has experienced some of the deadliest protests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A general lack of protective equipment has also meant protesters have been injured by the widespread use of less lethal weapons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">From January 19 to 24, Doctors Without Borders treated 73 patients at the Lima protests suffering from exposure to tear gas, pellet wounds, contusions or psychological distress, the non-profit organization said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The deactivators\' increased chance of injury doesn’t scare Julio Incarocas Beliz, who grabbed one of the big water bottles in the plaza for his first day trying to diffuse tear gas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I served in the military and I’ve never been afraid,“ Incarocas, 28, said. “I’m fighting for my homeland.” AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 03:43:13', '2023-01-30 03:43:13'),
(4842, 4842, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The air quality of densely populated Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka continued to be in the \'very unhealthy\' zone this morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 267 at 8:30 am today (January 30, 2023), Dhaka ranked first in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">India’s Delhi and Vietnam’s Hanoi occupied the second and third spots on the list, with AQI scores of 190 and 188, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants — Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 03:46:45', '2023-01-30 03:46:45'),
(4843, 4843, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">An alarming spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence and sharp responses by both sides are testing the Biden administration as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plunges into a cauldron of deepening mistrust and anger on visits to Israel and the West Bank this week.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">What had already been expected to be a trip fraught with tension over differences between the administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new far-right government has grown significantly more complicated over the past four days with a spate of deadly incidents. Blinken’s high-wire diplomatic act begins on Monday after he completes a brief visit to Egypt that has been almost entirely overshadowed by the deteriorating security situation in Israel and the West Bank.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">U.S. officials say the main theme of Blinken’s conversations with Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will be “de-escalation.” Yet Blinken will arrive in Israel just a day after Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet announced a series of punitive measures against Palestinians in response to a weekend of deadly shootings in which Palestinian attackers killed seven Israelis and wounded five others in Jerusalem. Those shootings followed a deadly Israeli raid in the West Bank on Thursday that killed 10 Palestinians, most of them militants.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The violence has made January one of the bloodiest months in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem in several years. While Blinken’s trip has been planned for several weeks and will follow visits by President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA Director Willian Burns, it will be the highest-level U.S. engagement with Netanyahu since he retook power last month and the first since the surge in violence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Already contending with the new Israeli government’s far-right policies and its opposition to a two-state resolution to the long-running conflict, U.S. officials have yet to weigh in on the retaliatory steps that include sealing and demolishing the homes of Palestinian attackers, canceling social security benefits for their families and handing out more weapons to Israeli civilians.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Perhaps most alarming was Netanyahu\'s vague promise to “strengthen” Israel\'s West Bank settlements, built on occupied land the Palestinians claim as the heartland of a future state. Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist Cabinet minister whom Netanyahu has placed in charge of settlement policy, said he would seek new construction in a strategic section of the West Bank called E1. The U.S. has repeatedly blocked previous attempts by Israel to develop the area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">U.S. officials have, however, criticized Abbas’ decision to suspend Palestinian security cooperation with Israel in the wake of the West Bank raid.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We want to get the parties to not cease security cooperation but to really enhance the security coordination,” said Barbara Leaf, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East. “We are urging de-escalation and a calming of the situation.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahead of his meeting with Blinken, Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel’s response is not intended to exacerbate tensions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are not seeking an escalation, but we are prepared for any scenario,” Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting. “Our answer to terrorism is a heavy hand and a strong, swift and precise response.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Palestinians and some human rights groups believe the Israeli retaliation, including the demolition of homes of attackers\' families, amounts to collective punishment and is illegal under international law. The turmoil has added yet another item to Blinken’s lengthy diplomatic agenda that was already set to include Russia’s war on Ukraine, tensions with Iran and crises in Lebanon and Syria; all of which weigh heavily in the U.S.-Israel relationship.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Easing strains on those issues, or at least averting new ones, are central to Blinken’s mission despite Netanyahu\'s opposition to two of Biden’s main Mideast priorities: reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. But, with both of those matters stalled and little hope of any resumption in negotiations, the administration is attempting just to keep the concepts on life support.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the meantime, the administration has resolved to improve ties with the Palestinians that former President Donald Trump had severed. Although it has resumed suspended U.S. assistance, its goal of re-opening the American consulate in Jerusalem to deal with Palestinian issues and the possibility of allowing the Palestinians to re-open their diplomatic mission in Washington have been blocked by a combination of Israeli opposition and U.S. legal hurdles. Blinken is unlikely to be able to offer the Palestinians any sign of progress on either of those matters, while pressing the case for further political reform in the Palestinian Authority.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The U.S. has also remained silent on Netanyahu’s proposed sweeping changes to Israel’s judicial system, which would allow lawmakers to overrule decisions by the Supreme Court. Recent weeks have seen mass protests in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv over the proposals that critics say would badly damage Israel’s democratic standing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It’s clear that this issue of the judicial legislation packages is one that’s sparked intense, intense discussion, debate within Israeli society,” said Leaf. “It’s clearly a measure of the vibrancy of the democracy that this is being contested so clearly up and down across segments of Israeli society.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While she and other U.S. officials have spoken of the importance of “shared values” with Israel, they have steered clear of commenting on what they regard as a purely domestic issue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“But now it became an issue” because of its proposed speed and scope, the public outcry, and growing concern among American Jewish leaders and members of Congress, said Eytan Gilboa, a U.S.-Israel expert at Bar-Ilan University.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“There is much confusion about what the Israeli government is up to,” he said. “If for Netanyahu Iran is the major issue, by pushing the judicial reform, he is diverting the attention from the number one, more critical issue of Iran’s nuclear program.” AP/UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 03:54:24', '2023-01-30 03:54:24'),
(4844, 4844, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg asked South Korea on Monday to \"step up\" military support for Ukraine, suggesting it reconsider its policy of not exporting weapons to countries in conflict.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stoltenberg is in Seoul on the first leg of his Asia trip, which will also take in Japan, as part of a drive to boost ties with the region\'s democratic allies in the face of the Ukraine conflict and growing competition from China.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He met top South Korean officials Sunday, and on Monday urged Seoul to do more to help Kyiv, saying there was an \"urgent need for more ammunition\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He pointed to countries like Germany and Norway that had \"long standing policies not to export weapons to countries in conflict\" which they revised after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"If we believe in freedom, democracy, if we don\'t want autocracy and totalitarian to win then they need weapons,\" he said, speaking at the Chey Institute in Seoul.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Korea is an increasingly important arms exporter globally and has recently signed deals to sell hundreds of tanks to European countries, including NATO-member Poland.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But South Korean law bans the export of weapons to countries in active conflict, which Seoul has said makes it difficult to provide arms directly to Kyiv, although it has provided non-lethal and humanitarian assistance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Korea opened its first diplomatic mission to NATO last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stoltenberg said it was unclear when the conflict in Ukraine would end, saying Putin was preparing for \"more war\" and actively acquiring weapons from countries including North Korea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pyongyang has denied sending weapons to Moscow, and said Sunday that the US would face a \"really undesirable result\" if it persisted in spreading the \"self-made rumour\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Trying to tarnish the image of (North Korea) by fabricating a non-existent thing is a grave provocation that can never be allowed and that cannot but trigger its reaction,\" said Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the North\'s Department of US Affairs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also called it \"a foolish attempt to justify its offer of weapons to Ukraine\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden promised 31 Abrams tanks, one of the most powerful and sophisticated weapons in the US army, to help Kyiv fight off Moscow\'s invasion. 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, '2023-01-30 04:25:14', '2023-01-30 04:25:14'),
(4846, 4846, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two of the world\'s greatest fast bowlers at the moment - Shaheen Shah Afridi and Jasprit Bumrah - will hopefully make a comeback soon to competitive cricket after being sidelined for several months. Afridi has been troubled with knee issues, while a back injury has kept Bumrah at bay as both India and Pakistan hope their respective candidates regain complete fitness at the earliest.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Afridi\'s knee problems forced him out of the Asia Cup 2022, where Pakistan finished as the runners-up. However, he made a comeback during the T20 World Cup in Australia, where Pakistan once again finished as the runners-up. It was during the event, where Afridi once again hurt his already injured knee while fielding in the finals, thus aggravating the injury and forcing him to miss the rest of the season.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Bumrah\'s back forced him out of the Asia Cup, where India certainly missed his services. With the T20 World Cup approaching the Indian pacer was then rushed in by the management, but the move backfired. Bumrah was declared unfit for the T20 World Cup and he instead spent the time rehabilitating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Comparing the two pacers, former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, who is also a part of Pakistan selection panel, made an atrocious statement, slamming the Indian. \"Shaheen Afridi is way better than Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah is nowhere close to Shaheen\'s level,\" the ex-cricketer told a local news channel on the sidelines of an event.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is not the first time when the former Pakistan all-rounder has made such claim about Bumrah. Earlier in 2019, Razzaq had called Bumrah a “baby bowler” and claimed that he would have dominated the Indian pacer had he been still playing. \"I have played against great bowlers like Glenn Mcgrath and Wasim Akram, so Bumrah is a baby bowler in front of me and I could have easily dominated and attacked him,\" Razzaq had then said to Cricket Pakistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Coming back to Afridi and Bumrah, the Pakistan pacer has been seen bowling in the nets and is expected to make a comeback during the upcoming edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL), which starts from February 13.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bumrah, on the other hand, has not been risked by the BCCI, and has not been considered for the first two Tests of the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which starts from February 9 in Nagpur. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 05:07:06', '2023-01-30 05:07:06'),
(4847, 4847, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Yoga comes with multiple health benefits. From strengthening the muscles of the body to boosting digestion and inducing better blood circulation – yoga\'s benefits are manifold. </b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yoga asanas target several muscle groups of the body and are known for improving the mental health as well. Regular practice of yoga helps in inducing better sleep, alleviating tension and reducing the risk of chronic illnesses. Yoga is recommended by health experts to keep the body and the mind healthy and fit. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Anshuka Parwani, yoga trainer to several Bollywood celebrities such as Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor, is known for sharing yoga-related insights and information on her Instagram profile on a regular basis. From sharing benefits of a particular yoga routine to sharing tips on the asanas to perform to alleviate risk of a particular illness, Anshuka’s Instagram profile is replete with such helpful information.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Anshuka, a day back, shared a yoga routine and demonstrated asanas on how to improve ankle mobility. “Ankle mobility is as important as mobilising and exercising your core, legs, hips, etc. It is very important to include exercises that target the ankle muscles and here’s how this mobility drill will help you,” Anshuka wrote why ankle mobility is important for the body. HT</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"6\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 05:30:13', '2023-01-30 15:21:03'),
(4848, 4848, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Asian stocks were mixed Monday as traders struggled to maintain momentum from last week\'s rally, though Shanghai advanced as mainland Chinese markets reopened after a week-long Lunar New Year break.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even a strong performance on Wall Street was not enough to lift sentiment across the region as data showed the Federal Reserve\'s preferred gauge of inflation rose in December at its slowest pace in more than a year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The reading saw dealers ramp up bets on the central bank lifting interest rates this week by just 25 basis points, down from the half-point hike last month, which followed four straight 75-point increases.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The European Central Bank and Bank of England are also due to announce decisions this week.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The meetings come as a string of recent data suggests that last year\'s monetary tightening campaign by policymakers was beginning to kick in as price rises begin to slow from their mutli-decade highs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But there remains a lot of trepidation on trading floors that economies could still slip into recession, while a mixed earnings season so far has also caused concern about company profits.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that while she was pleased to see inflation coming down, she remained wary about the economic outlook.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I\'m reasonably satisfied by the data that I\'ve seen so far, but I don\'t want to minimise the risk of recession\" owing to the Fed\'s rate hikes \"slowing down the economy\", she told Bloomberg News.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That worry was offsetting optimism in Asia about a strong recovery in China this year as it emerges from its painful period of zero-Covid.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Signs of strong travel and spending over last week\'s break added to the upbeat mood, coupled with data showing there was no explosion in Covid cases over that time, suggesting the disease could be under control now.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shanghai rallied as it resumed trading, while Tokyo, Taipei, Jakarta and Wellington also rose, though Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore and Manila slipped.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chinese markets are \"catching up with the performance of Hong Kong and US markets during the Chinese New Year\", said Willer Chen, at Forsyth Barr Asia.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The market is very excited about the holiday data.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Oil prices rose on increased demand expectations as China emerges from years of strict Covid controls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There was little impact on the commodity market from news of a drone strike on an Iranian defence ministry site.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"While oil prices opened higher on the headlines, the risk to global supply seems relatively limited at present,\" said SPI Asset Management\'s Stephen Innes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Iran\'s oil production facilities are located primarily in the southwest of the country and were not targeted in the current strikes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Iran is a marginal global crude exporter, and any significant disruption could be offset by newly-created OPEC spare capacity.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added that traders were keeping an eye on developments as any escalation could see disruptions in the key transit point in the Strait of Hormuz. However, he added that observers saw such an issue as being unlikely for now.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Key figures around 0230 GMT -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 27,473.75 (break)</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 22,533.08</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3285.65</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dollar/yen: UP at 130.14 yen from 129.80 yen on Friday</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0871 from $1.0874</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2391 from $1.2395</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Euro/pound: UP at 87.75 pence from 87.65 pence</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $79.87 per barrel</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.2 percent at $86.60 per barrel</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 33,978.08 (close)</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,765.15 (close). 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, '2023-01-30 06:34:01', '2023-01-30 06:34:01'),
(4849, 4849, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said Bangladesh has witnessed incredible progress solely because of the continuation of democratic trends and elected governments.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Bangladesh couldn’t have achieved this level of development without continued democratic trends,” she said while inaugurating 11 newly-completed projects under the Housing and Public Works Ministry.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The premier joined a programme at Ramna Batamul (Ramna Park) through a virtual platform from her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The projects were implemented in the 2021-2022 fiscal year by the Public Works Department, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and the National Housing Authority.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina said her government took Bangladesh forward as per its plans and the country gained the status of a developing country by 2021. “It has been possible only because democracy remained established continuously and elected public representatives were in power since 2009,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Focusing on her government’s steps for the development of Bangladesh, the PM said, “We’ve been working for the overall development of the country and the people. It is possible (to accomplish such development work) only because today, a government elected by the people is in power.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said the people voted Awami League to power in the 2014 and 2018 elections as the AL government worked for development. If there is a continuation of democratic trends, people will witness development, she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I hope you all notice the change Bangladesh witnessed in the last 14 years (2009-2023) and it has been possible only as AL is in power,” she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Public Works Ministry Eng. Mosharraf Hossain, State Minister for Housing and Public Works Sharif Ahmed spoke at the event, while Housing and Public Works Secretary Kazi Wasi Uddin delivered the welcome speech. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 06:37:52', '2023-01-30 06:37:52'),
(4850, 4850, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A 45-year-old man was shot dead allegedly by some miscreants in Fultola upazila of Khulna on Monday morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The deceased was identified as Milon Fakir, a resident of the upazila.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Three miscreants coming in a motorcycle shot Milon in Jamira area near Ideal School around 8am, said Khulna Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sushanta Sarker.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">When wounded Milon took shelter in a nearby shop, the miscreants shot him again entering the shop and fled the scene, leaving Milon dead on spot, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The body was sent to Khulna Medical College and Hospital morgue for an autopsy, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The motive behind the killing is yet to be known but efforts are on to arrest the killers, said the officer. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 07:00:26', '2023-01-30 07:00:26'),
(4851, 4851, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman has said that the expansion and modernization works of all 8 airports – international and domestic – in the country, involving Tk 35,850 crore, will be completed by the end of the current year.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Once the work is completed, there will be major changes in infrastructures of the airports. All the airports will be equipped with modern amenities, and they will get an attractive look,” the CAAB chief told UNB in an exclusive interview recently.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Work is going on in full swing to implement the projects as per the instructions of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said, adding that the engineers of CAAB worked round the clock even during the Covid-19 pandemic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have ensured the quality of the work and maintained European standard in terms of equipment and safety materials,” he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“More than 70 percent work of the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka has been completed and the operational activities of the new terminal will be inaugurated in October this year. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the third terminal,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“After completion of the third terminal, passenger handling capacity at Dhaka airport will increase from 10 million to 22 million. Besides, cargo handling capacity will rise from 2.20 lakh ton to 7 lakh ton,” the CAAB chairman added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said that passengers will be able to avail international standard services once the third terminal opens.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Construction work of 73,548 square meter cargo apron of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is now underway.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eighty-five percent of the project has been completed and after implementation, the apron will be able to park additional 4 long-range cargo aircraft.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, the construction of general aviation hangar, hangar apron and fire station expansion project at Dhaka airport, at a cost of Tk 430 crore, is on.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 3rd Terminal of Dhaka airport under construction. Photo taken from the verified Facebook page of the Japanese Embassy in Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This project includes construction of 23,589 square meter general aviation hangar, 65,068 square meter hangar apron, 29,988 squar meters new parking area and a 5-storey building with 5,000 square meter floor space.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sixty-five percent of the work has been done so far.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Construction work of the country’s first-ever heliport, a dedicated landing facility for helicopters, is also underway.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The main objective of this project is to ensure the safe take-off and landing of helicopters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under the existing runway and taxiway power enhancement project of Sylhet’s Osmani Airport, the power of the runway and taxiway is being increased from 41 PCN (pavement classification number) to 90 PCN at a cost of Tk 451 crore, project authorities said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ninety-nine percent of the work has been completed. When it will be completed, Boeing-777 aircraft will be able to land at this airport at full speed, they said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the project source, the length of Cox’s Bazar airport runway has been increased to 9,000 feet from 6,775 feet under the development project (1st phase-3rd revised).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The runway of Barishal airport is also being increased from 6,000 to 7500 feet at a cost of Tk 370 crore. The width of the runway is being increased from 100 to 150 feet, project authorities said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thirty percent work of runway and taxiway capacity enhancement and expansion of Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram has been completed. Once implemented, Boeing 777 aircraft will be able to take off and land on the runway.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The terminal building of Syedpur Airport is being turned into an international standard one. The project is nearing completion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Once implemented, the accommodation capacity of the building will increase from 310 to 670 people. Besides, a new passenger terminal building, cargo building with automation, operational building with apron, taxiway, control tower will be constructed for this airport.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rajshahi Terminal Building Expansion Project is going on at a cost of Tk 76 crore. The project includes construction of terminal building, installation of electro-mechanical and control tower along with communication and security equipment. This will increase the passenger accommodation capacity of the current terminal from 260 to 850.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Jashore Terminal Building Expansion Project will increase passenger accommodation capacity from 300 to 600 people. Ninety-nine percent work of the project has been completed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apart from this, another project has been undertaken to ease take-off and landing of aircraft at Jashore, Syedpur, and Rajshahi airports at a cost of Tk 566 crore. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 07:16:17', '2023-01-30 07:16:17'),
(4852, 4852, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has reached Moscow. He is currently on a two-day official visit, on invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was received by senior officials of the Russian foreign ministry, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan and other embassy officials on Sunday upon his arrival in Moscow, reports Pakistani newspaper Dawn.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The two foreign ministers are scheduled to meet today for official talks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Pakistani foreign minister was quoted by Dawn as saying: “I’ve been invited to speak at the international luncheon of the annual National Prayer Breakfast and will make an in-and-out trip for that.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, as part of Pakistan’s effort to re-engage with the US, the foreign minister and Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar are expected to visit Washington soon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is expected to visit New York to attend a UN-sponsored conference on Muslim women, being held on Pakistan’s initiative on March 8. He is also likely to attend another UN event in New York on March 15 to commemorate the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, as per Pakistani media report. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 07:48:59', '2023-01-30 07:48:59'),
(4853, 4853, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two vessels with consignments for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Pabna have arrived at Mongla port.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The ships-- ‘MV Anka Sun’ and ‘MV Sapodilla’ carrying goods weighing 1400.42 MT and 518.42 MT respectively docked at the port’s jetty no 7 and 8 on Sunday evening, Mongla Port Authority (MPA) Harbor Master Captain Shaheen Majid said.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The unloading of goods from the ships started on Sunday night, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Liberian flag carrier MV Sapodilla left St. Petersburg Port of Russia for Mongla Port and docked at the jetty no 8 of the port on Sunday evening.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another ship, MV Anka Sun left Russian Novorossiysk Sea Port on December 26 docked at the jetty no-7 of Mongla port at the same time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The goods will be taken to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant by road, said Sadhan Kumar Chakraborty, local shipping agent of MV Anka Sun.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on January 22, Panama flag carrier Liberty Harvest and Russian flag carrier MV Kamilia carrying goods for the nuke plant docked at the port.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sanctioned Russian ship Sparta III (Ursa Major) was scheduled to dock at Mongla port in the southwestern part of the country at the end of December last year and unload cargo destined for the Rooppur NPP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the authorities denied the ship permission to dock at the port after officials got a letter from the US Embassy in Dhaka saying that the ship was on a list of Russian ships sanctioned by the US.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On January 22, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh will not accept those Russian ships which are under sanctions. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-01-30 08:29:11', '2023-01-30 08:29:11');
