INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6078, 6078, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The chief of the UN atomic watchdog said on Wednesday he was working on a compromise security plan for the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and warned of increased military activity around it.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are persistent fears over the safety of the plant in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia, where there has been frequent shelling since Russian troops invaded last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During a rare visit to the facility, Europe\'s largest, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said he was working to find a compromise that would suit both Moscow and Kyiv.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I am trying to prepare and propose realistic measures that will be approved by all parties,\" Grossi told reporters during a press tour organised by Moscow at the plant, which is controlled by Russian forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We must avoid catastrophe. I am an optimist and I believe that this is possible,\" said Grossi, who arrived at the plant in a Russian armoured vehicle, surrounded by soldiers in full combat gear.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But he also warned of increasing military activity around the nuclear plant and expressed hope that Russia and Ukraine would agree on safety principles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added that the visit to the plant was \"extremely useful.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The idea is to agree on certain principles, certain commitments, including not to attack the plant,\" he separately told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of shelling the plant, increasing fears of a disaster. Russian soldiers stationed at the plant told AFP during Grossi\'s visit Wednesday that they have been preparing for a possible attack from Kyiv.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Their main task is \"to prevent an armed takeover\" of the site by Ukrainian \"saboteurs\", one soldier told reporters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ukraine denies any such plans.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United Nations has called for a demilitarised zone around the site.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Anything can happen\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Grossi said his team had previously focused on the possibility of establishing a security zone around the plant.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Now the concept is evolving,\" he said, with his team focusing on the protection of the plant itself rather than \"on territorial aspects which pose certain problems.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the visit Grossi took a guided tour through the huge facility, which had been fortified. He was followed by around 30 journalists. The Moscow-installed director of the plant, Yury Chernichuk, showed Grossi damage the plant sustained during the hostilities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Ukrainian nuclear power operator Energoatom earlier in the day distributed footage of a convoy of civilian and military vehicles marked with the letter Z, a symbol emblazoned on Russian military hardware in Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This was Grossi\'s second visit to Zaporizhzhia since Russia invaded Ukraine last February.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The agency has had a team of experts inside the plant since September 2022, but Grossi has said the situation \"is still precarious\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier this week, Grossi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said it was not possible to restore safety at the plant with Russia in control.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Renat Karchaa, an advisor to Russia\'s nuclear power operator Rosenergoatom said Wednesday ahead of the visit that it was unlikely to bring about major breakthroughs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are far from having any illusions that Grossi\'s visit will dramatically change anything. For us, this is an ordinary working event,\" he was cited as saying by Russian news agencies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Complete withdrawal -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The plant needs a reliable electricity supply to ensure essential nuclear safety and security functions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But it has suffered repeated electricity outages during the war, causing alarm in the IAEA and the international community.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Russian invasion has caused devastation across swathes of the country, and despite more than 13 months of gruelling battles, Ukraine\'s top diplomat on Tuesday struck a defiant tone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Russia has to withdraw from every square meter of Ukrainian territory,\" Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a virtual session ahead of the Summit for Democracy, which US President Joe Biden kicked off on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There should be no misinterpretation of what the word withdrawal implies.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Ukraine\'s eastern Donetsk region, fighting in recent months has concentrated on the eastern city of Bakhmut, with Kyiv saying it is holding out in the urban hub to exhaust Russian troops.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference in Washington that Russia has not made \"any progress whatsoever\" around Bakhmut in the last roughly three weeks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s a slaughter-fest for the Russians,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The key military objective of Russia\'s invasion is the complete capture of Donetsk, which it already claimed to have annexed last year, even as fighting there is ongoing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russian authorities said Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had used US-supplied HIMARS systems to strike Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The city controlled by Moscow lies around 65 kilometres from the front line and analysts have said it could be a target for a highly-anticipated Ukrainian counter offensive. 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, '2023-03-30 03:39:32', '2023-03-30 03:39:32'),
(6079, 6079, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The possible indictment of former president Donald Trump in New York could take several more weeks as a grand jury breaks from the case through most of April, US media reported Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On March 18 Trump declared he was three days away from being charged over a hush-money payment to a porn star.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But since then the panel convened by Manhattan\'s chief local prosecutor has continued to hear witnesses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Now, with other cases to deal with, holidays including Easter, Passover and Eid al-Fitr ahead, and a scheduled two-week break from April 10, the grand jury might not consider the case again before the end of the month, according to the Washington Post and Politico, citing sources close to the matter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Post said the earliest date for resuming the grand jury -- a citizens\' panel tasked with deciding whether there is a case to answer -- would be April 24.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The probe centers on $130,000 paid weeks before the 2016 election to adult film star Stormy Daniels to stop her from going public about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump a decade earlier.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump\'s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen, who has testified before the grand jury, told Congress in 2019 that he made the payment on Trump\'s behalf and was later reimbursed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prosecutors say the checks were not properly registered, which might normally result in a misdemeanor charge of falsifying business records.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But that could be upgraded to a felony if the district attorney can persuade the grand jury that the payment and the suspect accounting were part of a cover-up, intended to benefit Trump\'s election campaign by burying the scandal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Expectations were that the New York investigation could be the first to reach a charging decision out of three major probes into the former president.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">No US president, in or out of office, has ever been indicted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump also faces felony investigations in Georgia relating to the 2020 election and in Washington over the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by the ex-president\'s supporters, who hoped to keep him in office after his election loss.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump, who is seeking to be the Republican Party\'s presidential nominee again in 2024, has branded all of the investigations \"witch hunts\" and political persecutions. 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, '2023-03-30 03:43:56', '2023-03-30 03:43:56'),
(6080, 6080, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The first crewed flight of Boeing\'s Starliner space capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) will take place in July, Boeing and NASA officials said Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The CST-100 Starliner mission, which had previously been planned for April, will take place no earlier than July 21, the officials said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'ve deliberated and decided that the best launch attempt is no earlier than July 21 for CFT,\" the crew flight test, Steve Stich, the manager of NASA\'s Commercial Crew Program, told reporters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We feel pretty confident with that date,\" added Mark Nappi, the Starliner program manager at Boeing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stich said more time was needed to certify the parachute system designed to bring the astronauts and the spacecraft safely back to Earth, and a ground test of the parachutes will be conducted in May.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Starliner will carry two NASA astronauts, Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams to the ISS, where they are expected to stay for at least eight days.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The spacecraft is to launch into space on an Atlas V rocket made by United Launch Alliance from Cape Canaveral in Florida.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If the mission is successful, the Boeing capsule will finally be certified and begin operational flights, at a date yet to be determined.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Boeing had hoped to make its first manned flight of the CST-100 Starliner in 2022 but has experienced a number of delays.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The company finally succeeded in May 2022 in reaching the ISS for the first time -- without a crew on board.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">NASA awarded fixed-price contracts of $4.2 billion to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX in 2014, shortly after the end of the Space Shuttle program, during a time when the United States was left reliant on Russian Soyuz rockets for rides to the ISS.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">NASA is looking to certify Starliner as a second \"taxi\" service for its astronauts to the space station -- a role that Elon Musk\'s SpaceX has provided since succeeding in a test mission of its Dragon capsule in 2020. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"18\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-30 03:58:41', '2023-03-30 03:58:41'),
(6081, 6081, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was informed with updates on the preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games and the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games on the second day of the Executive Board (EB) meeting at Lausanne, Switzerland, on Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After achieving a 3.25-million record ticket sales in France\'s individual sporting event, the Paris 2024 celebrated 500 days to go by starting registration for the draw for phase 2 of ticket sales. Registration for volunteers was also opened, with plans to recruit 45,000.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Test events will start this summer and several operational training exercises will take place as well for the Paris 2024.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Milan Cortina 2026 presented a new governance structure, including a new Executive Board of Directors and the Government\'s Interministerial Committee, which oversees the infrastructure development and organizational plan for the Games.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zhang Hong, Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Youth Olympics, provided updates on Gangwon 2024, including the unveiling of the official mascot at the one-year-to-go milestone, the six new ambassadors and the appointment of two Olympic gold medallists as Co-Presidents. XINHUA</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-30 04:03:08', '2023-03-30 04:03:08'),
(6082, 6082, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A ferry carrying more than 200 people caught fire in southern Philippines late Wednesday night, killing at least 10 passengers, a local official said on Thursday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Citing an initial report, Nixon Alonzo, the chief of disaster reduction and management office in Basilan province, told a local radio that seven passengers who jumped into the sea remained missing. At least 195 passengers and 35 crew have been rescued.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said rescuers found four bodies on the vessel, while six were brought to the shore.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The passengers died from drowning after jumping into the water. Some suffered burns,\" Alonzo said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Alonzo said the ferry, M/V Lady Mary Joy, was headed to Zamboanga City from Jolo when it caught fire in the waters off Baluk-Baluk Island in Hadji Muhammad town of Basilan province past 10 p.m. local time on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Philippine Coast Guard confirmed the incident, saying it deployed personnel and its vessel to help in the search and rescue operations but did not give details about the casualties. XINHUA</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-30 04:21:24', '2023-03-30 04:21:24'),
(6083, 6083, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 171 at 8:50 am today (March 30, 2023), Dhaka ranked 4th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thailand’s Chiang Mai, India’s Delhi and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 245, 197, and 173 respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy’ while between 201–300 is ‘very unhealthy’, and 301–400 is \'hazardous\', posing severe health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-30 04:25:28', '2023-03-30 04:25:28'),
(6084, 6084, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Ukraine\'s president invited his powerful Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to visit his nation, saying they haven\'t been in contact since the war began and he is \"ready to see him here.\"</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I want to speak with him,\" Volodymyr Zelenskyy told The Associated Press on Tuesday, the week after Xi visited Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. China had no immediate response about whether a Xi visit to Ukraine would happen.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">China has been economically aligned and politically favorable toward neighboring Russia across many decades and Beijing has provided Putin diplomatic cover by staking out an official position of neutrality in the war. Xi, a powerful leader who commands the resources of the world\'s most populous nation, is an important player in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and even China\'s lack of involvement is a potent statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelenskyy spoke to the AP aboard a train shuttling him across Ukraine, to cities near some of the fiercest fighting and others where his country\'s forces have successfully repelled Russia\'s invasion. Zelenskyy rarely travels with journalists, and the president\'s office said AP\'s two night train trip with him was the most extensive since the war began.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelenskyy has extended invitations to Xi before in recent months, but this explicit call to visit comes days after the Chinese leader visited Putin in Russia last week. But the Ukrainian leader said he hasn\'t communicated with Xi for the duration of the conflict.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We are ready to see him here,\" Zelenskyy said. \"I had contact with him before full-scale war. But during all this year, more than one year, I didn\'t have.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning was asked whether Xi would accept an invitation from Zelenskyy — or whether one had been officially extended. She told reporters she had no information to give. She did say that Beijing maintains \"communication with all parties concerned, including Ukraine.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked whether a meeting between Xi and Zelenskyy would be useful to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, said Russian authorities \"highly appreciate\" China\'s balanced position on the issue and \"have no right to come up with any advice\" on whether the two should meet. \"The Chinese leader himself decides the appropriateness of certain contacts,\" Peskov said during his daily conference call with reporters Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States supports talks between Xi and Zelenskyy, \"and my goodness, we\'ve been saying that for weeks.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Xi\'s Russia visit last week raised the prospect that Beijing might be ready to provide Moscow with the weapons and ammunition it needs to refill its depleted stockpile. But Xi\'s trip ended without any such announcement. Days later, Putin announced that he would be deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, which neighbors Russia and pushes the Kremlin\'s nuclear stockpile closer to NATO territory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelenskyy suggested Putin\'s move was intended to distract from the lack of guarantees he received from China.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"What does it mean? It means that the visit was not good for Russia,\" Zelenskyy speculated. 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, '2023-03-30 04:30:02', '2023-03-30 04:30:02'),
(6085, 6085, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The editor of the country’s leading newspaper, Prothom Alo, has been sued alongside other staff members under the Digital Security Act.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prothom Alo itself reported the development at 3.19am (Thursday) on its website.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said the case was filed at 1.30am at Ramna police station by a lawyer named Abdul Malek (Mashiur Malek), accusing the paper’s editor and publisher Matiur Rahman, reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, an unnamed ‘assistant cameraman’, and unnamed others of ‘using print, online, and electronic media to tarnish the image and reputation of the state’.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The case was filed under sections 25, 31 and 35 of the DSA.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is worth mentioning that Shams, the paper’s Savar correspondent, was sued in a separate case under the DSA just a day earlier on Wednesday afternoon, around 10 hours after being picked up from his house near Jahangirnagar University by members of the Criminal Investigation Department of police.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That case was filed at Tejgaon police station by one Golam Kibria, a resident of Mirpur in the capital, accusing Shams of publishing a fake and fabricated news on the country’s Independence Day, as reported by UNB yesterday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prothom Alo managed to speak to the plaintiff in the latest case, Abdul Malek, who said, “I filed a first information report (FIR). Don’t know if it (case) has been filed. They (police) have contacted different places. You know how it is with the police.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However Ramna police was unwilling to provide the daily with any information, it reports, adding that two of its reporters went to the police station at around 12:30am, but failed to enter the station despite trying for one-and-a-half hours.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The paper was asked to go back in the morning to collect a copy of the FIR.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Ramna Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) could not be reached for a comment on the matter. </div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Section 25 of the DSA criminalizes publishing or propagating “any information with the</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">intention of tarnishing the image of the nation,” as well as knowingly publishing false or distorted information.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Section 31 refers to publishing or propagating in digital format any file that creates “hostility, hatred or adversity among people or destroys communal harmony or creates unrest or disorder or deteriorates or threatens to deteriorate law and order” in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Section 35 covers aiding or abetting any of the offences listed under the 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, '2023-03-30 04:41:23', '2023-03-30 05:02:21'),
(6086, 6086, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams was taken to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court today, in connection with a case filed against him under Digital Security Act.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A team of police took him to the court around 10:10 am.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Criminal Investigation Department (CID) men in plainclothes picked up Shams from his residence in Ambagan area, adjacent to Jahangirnagar University, around 4:30 am on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The same day, a Jubo League leader filed a case under the Digital Security Act against Shams, accusing him of publishing a \"false and fabricated report\" in the daily Prothom Alo.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan yesterday said that members of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the Prothom Alo reporter in a case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, opposition party BNP has denounced Shams\' arrest, saying it is a \"dreadful incident\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rights body Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation also condemned the arrest of the Prothom Alo journalist.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, editor of the leading daily Prothom Alo, Matiur Rahman, has been sued alongside other staff members under the Digital Security Act. Prothom Alo reported the development at 3:19 am today on its website. 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, '2023-03-30 05:31:56', '2023-03-30 05:31:56'),
(6087, 6087, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Left leaning student organisations held a rally, protesting the arrest of Prothom Alo journalist Samsuzzaman Shams.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The rally was held at the base of Anti-terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture of Dhaka University where activists from different units of Chhatra Union and other left leaning student organisations joined in around 5:30 pm on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a symbolic protest, demonstrators covered their mouths with black cloth.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On behalf of the protesters, vice president of Chhatra Union, Meghmollar Bosu, said, \"It is too late to protest. You know that a journalist of Prothom Alo, Samsuzzaman Shams, has been arrested by law enforcers.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Journalism is not a crime. Then why did they arrest Shams? We are living in a country where we can\'t call a spade a spade. When someone raises his voice against people\'s misery, against corruption, he becomes a target. Some other media then starts trying to prove the fallacy of such reports, but they do not report crimes like money laundering, corruption and mismanagement in different sectors,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Demanding release of Shams, the protestors said, irrespective of political background it is now time to fight against this. Later, they formed a procession which marched around TSC area to National Museum. 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, '2023-03-30 06:41:24', '2023-03-30 06:41:24'),
(6088, 6088, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The actress had previously declined to clarify her reasons for leaving Bollywood, but recently told Dax Shepard on the podcast “Armchair Expert” that she was “tired of the politics and certain cliques” that needed to be “grovelled” to.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Priyanka described how “dark skinned” actresses, such as her, were treated in Bollywood.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I was lightened up in many movies. Through makeup and then blasting lighting. There was a song which I still remember. It was called Chitti Dudh Kudi which means a girl who is as white as milk and I ain’t that but I was playing her and I was really lightened up in the movie,” she was quoted as saying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Priyanka Chopra said that fair-skinned actresses had a higher chance of getting picked for lead roles and succeeding, and that even a celebrity like her suffered prejudice. “If you were darker – I’m not even that dark – for darker girls it was: ‘Let’s lighten you up’.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Priyanka, who is married to American musician and actor Nick Jonas, expressed guilt for appearing in an early advertisement for a fairness cream, said the Guardian report.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She now believes that such advertisements are harmful to the self-esteem of Indians with dark complexion. She said she then agreed to the ad because big cosmetic companies give prominence and revenue for female celebrities. “A beauty brand is a really big part of an actress’s trajectory,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moving to Hollywood is risky for Indian actors, but Priyanka has had success – appearing in US TV shows such as “Quantico” and starring in the film “The White Tiger”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Priyanka has maintained a large fan base in India, and her comments have gained widespread attention. They are unlikely to alter much, either in the Bollywood film industry or in wider society, where light skin is still regarded as more attractive, the report said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-30 06:48:08', '2023-03-30 06:48:08'),
(6089, 6089, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The globally famed Bloomberg news agency has praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her “timely reform steps” to negate impacts of the worldwide economic crisis in Bangladesh, predicting the initiatives to elect her government for fourth straight term in next general elections.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“She is expected to win a fourth straight term in the elections,” the international finance biased news service wrote in an article, simultaneously suggesting Sheikh Hasina “needs to push more reforms to receive all funds”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Sheikh Hasina is widely expected to win a fourth straight term in national polls expected by January 2024 — not least because many of her opponents are behind bars or ensnared in legal cases”.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Bloomberg published the article against the backdrop of Bangladesh’s receipt of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans which it attributed to the South Asian country’s timely reforms to maintain economic stability ahead of the next national election.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The article commented that Sheikh Hasina’s victory was expected not merely “because many of her opponents are behind bars or ensnared in legal cases” but due to her success in ensuring economic stability.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following is the full Bloomberg article headlined “Bangladesh Leader Bets IMF-Mandated Rigor Will Pay Off in Polls” with two sub-heads:</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sheikh Hasina needs to push more reforms to receive all funds</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She is expected to win a fourth straight term in the elections</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Government leaders across the world have often balked at implementing reforms agreed with the International Monetary Fund for fear of being penalized at the ballot box. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina isn’t one of them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Her quick execution of IMF mandates have stood out in South Asia where Pakistan is still fiddling with fuel subsidies just as it inches closer to reviving a bailout. Sri Lanka has delayed local municipal polls as it raised taxes and interest rates to clinch IMF funds last week.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh, which in July became the last of the three countries to ask for IMF support, was the first to get loans approved after swiftly raising energy prices. Hasina, 75, made no apologies for the move.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Gas and electricity supply can be provided if all agree to pay the purchasing costs,” she said a week $4.7 billion in IMF loans were secured on Jan. 31. “How much subsidy can be given? And why should we continue subsidies?”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Such comments are typically unheard of as elections approach: All three nations face key votes over the next 18 months. But unlike leaders in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Hasina is widely expected to win a fourth straight term in national polls expected by January 2024 — not least because many of her opponents are behind bars or ensnared in legal cases.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“If the ruling party manages to maintain economic stability, that could preempt anger or public sentiment that works against the government,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute. “Hasina certainly has the credibility to pull this off.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In contrast, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif polled low in a survey ahead of elections later this year and has been blamed by voters for the economic crisis. While Sri Lankan leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has pushed through reforms, he depends on the support of a party run by a powerful clan and will need to seek a new mandate in presidential elections due September 2024.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina is banking on her government’s move to go to the IMF to show to markets and voters that she has prevented the $460 billion Bangladeshi economy from going the way Sri Lanka has with a default. Pakistan is also facing the prospect of a default.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh went to the IMF as it grappled with an energy crisis with commodity prices soaring last year due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, while the rising costs of imports widened the trade deficit. The local currency depreciated by a fifth and reserves fell to the lowest in three years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By winning access to IMF funds, Hasina’s government is gaining some time to fix the economy before the elections. Signs of a weakening economy could well trigger public anger against the premier who has overseen growth of more than 6% on average for the past 14 years though it slowed to about 3.5% during the pandemic.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The first review of the IMF program is set for the second half of 2023, and Bangladesh Mission Chief Rahul Anand sees the authorities “taking comprehensive steps” to unwind subsidies and move to a market-driven exchange rate.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh has received $476 million under the facility so far. Further disbursements depend on the government ensuring reforms for the financial sector, ranging from the central bank pursuing an independent monetary policy to reducing non-performing loans and spurring climate change funding. 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, '2023-03-30 07:17:11', '2023-03-30 07:17:11'),
(6090, 6090, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday emphasised enhancing economic cooperation between Bangladesh and Vietnam for the mutual benefit of the two countries.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She made the observation while outgoing Ambassador of Vietnam Pham Viet Chien called on her at her official residence Ganabhaban, PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim told reporters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said during the meeting they expressed satisfaction the growing bilateral relations between the two countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh and Vietnam have many common issues like victorious struggle for the liberation of their countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The people of the country admired the Vietnamese struggle for independence, the PM said adding, during their Liberation War against Pakistani military junta, people of Bangladesh used to chant slogans ‘Bangla will be Vietnam’.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Talking about the agricultural sector, she said that Bangladesh is a densely populated country and it has a huge population, so researchers have been engaged for boosting agro production.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM put emphasis on improving connectivity with South Asian countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She thanked the Vietnamese envoy for completing his tenure successfully.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She congratulated the Vietnamese envoy on the success of his country in the socioeconomic arena.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Viet Chien termed himself as the friend of Bangladesh.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said apart from the Vietnam government the Vietnam Communist Party has relation with Bangladesh Awami League.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On behalf of Vietnamese leader the ambassador invited the prime minister to visit Vietnam to mark the 50 years of the diplomatic relation of the two countries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said that the trade between Bangladesh and Vietnam was USD 1.5 billion while Bangladesh’s export to Vietnam increased by 30 percent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PMO secretary Mohammad Salahuddin was present during the meeting. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-30 08:12:44', '2023-03-30 08:12:44');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6091, 6091, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The UN General Assembly has adopted a consensus resolution requesting the International Court of Justice to provide advisory opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The resolution, tabled by a core group of countries including Bangladesh, is a landmark achievement for countries advocating for climate justice and equity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Introduced by the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, the resolution requests the ICJ to provide its opinion based on existing international law including international human rights law and the recognized principles, the legal obligations of the States to ensure the protection of climate system and the rights of the present and future generations to be protected from the effects of climate change.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ICJ is also requested to advise on the legal consequences of the acts or omissions that have caused significant harm to the climate system with respect to the States that are, due to their geographical circumstances and level of development, are injured or specially affected by or are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Secretary Ambassador Masud Bin Momen represented the Bangladesh delegation to the session.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In his statement Foreign Secretary Momen stated that, “despite clear warnings on the devastating and irreversible threats of climate change, global response to climate change is nowhere close to what is needed for the survival of humanity.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This resolution and the subsequent advisory opinion will provide better understanding of the legal obligations of States in respect of climate change and rights of affected States and the people to be protected from climate change.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Noting that the Court’s advisory opinions have tremendous importance, the Secretary General in his remarks stated that such an opinion, if and when given, would assist the General Assembly, the UN and Member States, to take the bolder and stronger climate action that our world so desperately needs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The resolution has received overwhelming support from the member States as well as international civil society organizations, including climate activists and the youth.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The core group, founded by Vanuatu, led an intense campaign throughout the process which included multiple negotiations with the broader UN membership in an open and transparent manner.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh, as a member of the core group, remained actively engaged in the drafting and negotiations process as well as in the outreach efforts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“This is a defining moment for climate justice. We are thankful to the member States for their interest and engagement throughout the process, which testifies their deep commitment towards addressing the climate crisis”, said the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh Ambassador Muhith, who played an instrumental role in securing support from a number of key member States.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later in the evening the Foreign Secretary participated in a reception organized by Vanuatu to celebrate the adoption of the resolution. 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, '2023-03-30 08:43:39', '2023-03-30 08:43:39'),
(6092, 6092, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Law Minister Anisul Huq on Thursday said that the Digital Security Act was misused in the case of Naogaon’s Jasmine Sultana, who died in Rab custody on March 24.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“I want to make it clear that when the woman was detained from Naogaon; there was no case against her under the Digital Security Act. The case was filed after a day later. So, in this case the Digital Security Act was misused,” the minister said.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister made these remarks while speaking with reporters after a meeting with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on the premises of the Law Ministry.</div><div><br></div><div>But, my point is that the woman wasn’t caught under the Digital Security Act, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Digital Security Act is being misused in one or two cases, said the minister, adding, “Wherever we see that this law is being misused, we are taking steps.”</div><div><br></div><div>Sultana, 38, an office assistant of Naogaon Municipality-Chandipur Union Land Office, was picked up by a RAB-5 patrol team on March 22.</div><div><br></div><div>Later she was taken to Naogaon Sadar Hospital and then to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, where she died on March 24, according to hospital authorities.</div><div><br></div><div>Regarding the arrest of Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams the Law Minister said, “The cases which were filed or are being filed are not against journalists, but against injustice. I admit that you are fearless journalists. If you publish the truth to people, the government will never obstruct”, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, On March 29, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) men in plainclothes picked up Shams from his residence in Ambagan area, adjacent to Jahangirnagar University, around 4:30 am.</div><div><br></div><div>The same day, a Jubo League leader filed a case under the Digital Security Act against Shams, accusing him of publishing a \"false and fabricated report\" in the daily Prothom Alo.</div><div><br></div><div>On Thursday, he was sent to jail by a Dhaka court. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-30 16:00:01', '2023-03-30 16:00:01'),
(6093, 6093, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Left leaning student organisations held a rally, protesting the arrest of Prothom Alo journalist Samsuzzaman Shams.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The rally was held at the base of Anti-terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture of Dhaka University where activists from different units of Chhatra Union and other left leaning student organisations joined in around 5:30 pm on Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>As a symbolic protest, demonstrators covered their mouths with black cloth.</div><div><br></div><div>On behalf of the protesters, vice president of Chhatra Union, Meghmollar Bosu, said, \"It is too late to protest. You know that a journalist of Prothom Alo, Samsuzzaman Shams, has been arrested by law enforcers.\"</div><div><br></div><div>\"Journalism is not a crime. Then why did they arrest Shams? We are living in a country where we can\'t call a spade a spade. When someone raises his voice against people\'s misery, against corruption, he becomes a target. Some other media then starts trying to prove the fallacy of such reports, but they do not report crimes like money laundering, corruption and mismanagement in different sectors,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Demanding release of Shams, the protestors said, irrespective of political background it is now time to fight against this. Later, they formed a procession which marched around TSC area to National Museum. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-30 16:05:26', '2023-03-30 16:05:26'),
(6094, 6094, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Neymar lost €1 million while playing online casino on Tuesday night. The Brazilian was live when he lost money in a two-hour session and reacted hilariously.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The PSG star has been ruled out for the season with an ankle injury and has been spending time online to keep himself occupied. He has been spotted at McDonald\'s, playing in poker competitions, and more this season, even before he got injured.</div><div><br></div><div>On Tuesday night, Neymar lost €1 million while gambling in an online casino. The PSG star was not upset at the loss and instead reacted hilariously and mimicked the sad flute. Source:  Sportskeeda</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-30 16:15:19', '2023-03-30 16:18:48'),
(6095, 6095, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The UN General Assembly has adopted a consensus resolution urging the International Court of Justice to provide advisory opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The resolution, tabled on March 29 by a core group of countries including Bangladesh, is a landmark achievement for countries advocating for climate justice and equity, said a release of the UN\'s Permanent Mission of Bangladesh today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Introduced by the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, the resolution requested the ICJ to provide its opinion based on existing international law, including international human rights law and the recognized principles, the legal obligations of the states to ensure the protection of climate system and the rights of the present and future generations to be protected from the effects of climate change, it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ICJ is also requested to advise on the legal consequences of the acts or omissions that have caused significant harm to the climate system with respect to the States, due to their geographical circumstances and level of development.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Foreign Secretary Ambassador Masud Bin Momen represented the Bangladesh delegation to the session. 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, '2023-03-31 13:13:22', '2023-03-31 13:13:22'),
(6096, 6096, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka dwellers have experienced a slight improvement in the city’s air quality this morning after last night’s rain.&nbsp;</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The capital’s air quality has turned ‘moderate’ today with an air quality index (AQI) score of 82 at 9 am, ranking 29th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thailand’s Chiang Mai, Nepal’s Kathmandu and South Korea\'s Incheon occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 316, 184, and 164, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 101 and 150 is considered \'unhealthy\', AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be \'very unhealthy\', while a reading of 301+ is considered \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 13:16:02', '2023-03-31 13:16:02'),
(6097, 6097, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A New York grand jury on Thursday indicted Donald Trump over hush money payments made to a porn star during his 2016 campaign, making him the first former US president to face criminal charges.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The historic indictment of the 76-year-old Republican -- who denies all wrongdoing in connection with the payments made ahead of the election that sent him to the White House -- is certain to upend the current presidential race in which Trump hopes to regain office.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">And it will forever mark the legacy of the former leader, who survived two impeachments and kept prosecutors at bay over everything from the US Capitol riot to missing classified files -- only to land in court over a sex scandal involving Stormy Daniels, a 44-year-old adult movie actress.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump\'s lawyer Susan Necheles told AFP she expects he will be arraigned on Tuesday next week.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg\'s office confirmed that it had contacted Trump\'s lawyers Thursday evening to \"coordinate his surrender\" in New York -- with the felony charges against him to be revealed at that point.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump slammed the indictment as \"political persecution and election interference,\" raging against prosecutors and his Democratic opponents and vowing that it would backfire on his successor, President Joe Biden.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Surrendering for arraignment over what CNN has reported could be as many as 30 counts related to business fraud would normally involve being fingerprinted and photographed, potentially even handcuffed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the Republican camp, Trump\'s allies and sons denounced what they say is a vendetta aimed at derailing his 2024 campaign -- while his expected challenger for the party nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, slammed the indictment as \"un-American.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, said the indictment had \"irreparably damaged\" the country. Trump\'s former vice president and possible 2024 challenger Mike Pence called it an \"outrage\" that would only \"further serve to divide\" the United States.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the top Democrat Adam Schiff -- lead prosecutor of Trump\'s first impeachment in 2019 -- called it \"a sobering and unprecedented development.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The indictment and arrest of a former president is unique throughout all of American history,\" Schiff said in a statement. \"But so too is the unlawful conduct for which Trump has been charged.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Daniels welcomed the development with her characteristic aplomb.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I have so many messages coming in that I can\'t respond...also don\'t want to spill my champagne,\" she tweeted while also plugging her #TeamStormy merchandise.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Possible protests –</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On March 18, Trump had declared he expected to be arrested within days over the payment to Daniels -- who received $130,000 weeks before the election that brought Trump to power, to stop her from going public about a tryst she claims they had a decade earlier.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In predicting his indictment, Trump also issued a call for demonstrations and dark warnings that it could lead to \"potential death &amp; destruction\" that \"could be catastrophic for our Country.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His statement set New York on edge for possible protests but the prospect of a quick indictment appeared to recede as the grand jury panel continued to hear witnesses -- until Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A media scrum quickly gathered outside the district attorney\'s office, along with a handful of anti-Trump protesters -- but the situation was calm overall.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump\'s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen, who has testified before the grand jury, told Congress in 2019 that he made the payment to Daniels on Trump\'s behalf and was later reimbursed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prosecutors argued the checks were not properly registered, and the jury was asked to consider if there had been a cover-up, intended to benefit Trump\'s campaign by burying the scandal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The New York investigation is the first to reach a decision on charges out of three major probes into the former president.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump also faces felony investigations in Georgia relating to the 2020 election and in Washington over the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by the ex-president\'s supporters, who hoped to keep him in office after his election loss to Joe Biden.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Republican frontrunner -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump, who is seen to be the frontrunner to be the Republican nominee in the 2024 election, has branded all of the investigations political persecution.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The impact of an indictment on his election chances is unpredictable, with critics and adversaries alike voicing concerns about the legal merits of the hush money case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Detractors worry that if Trump were cleared, it could make it easier to dismiss as a \"witch hunt\" any future indictment in arguably more serious affairs -- such as Trump\'s efforts to overturn Georgia\'s election results.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Manhattan charges will also likely juice turnout among Trump\'s base, boosting his chances in the party primary.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump staged his first presidential campaign rally in Texas on Saturday, addressing several thousand supporters -- far fewer than the 15,000 he had expected -- in the city of Waco, Texas.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The innocence of people makes no difference whatsoever to these radical left maniacs,\" he told the fired-up crowd. 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, '2023-03-31 13:20:31', '2023-03-31 13:20:31'),
(6098, 6098, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Metro rail’s Shewrapara and Uttara South stations opened to the public on Friday.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the opening of the two stations, all 9 stations on the Uttara-Agargaon route are now operational.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, MAN Siddique, the managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) said metro rail will run from 8 am to 2 pm instead of 8:30 am to 12:30 pm from April 5.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Considering the passengers\' demand and aiming to provide more services, the timing has been changed,” he said in a press conference on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said the metro rail will start in full swing from July this year and people can enjoy the metro service from dawn to midnight.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to DMTCL, the&nbsp; operation from Uttara to&nbsp; Motijheel may start by the end of 2024, and Kamalapur by 2025. By December 2024, the metro rail will start operation from Agargaon to Kamalapur route with 24 trains.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 28, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the country\'s first-ever elevated metro rail, setting a communication milestone in the country. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 15:41:21', '2023-03-31 15:41:21'),
(6099, 6099, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh has recommended that the policymakers, and development partners collaborate to ensure greater inclusion of diasporas in policy debates in their host countries, including on issues of official development assistance (ODA).</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Referring to the contribution of skilled diasporas to the economic development of host and home countries, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen urged the development partners to nurture the innovative ideas and business models of diasporas and invest more in skills development in developing countries, especially in ICT education.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was speaking at the panel discussion \"Empowering Diaspora, Migrants and Displaced Persons as Development Agents\" organised by International Organization for Migration (IOM) during its 2023 International Dialogue on Migration held at the United Nations Headquarters on Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh\'s journey from a war-ravaged LDC to a \"robust development model\" has been marked by the significant contribution of migrants and diasporas, said Masud.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Highlighting the whole-of-society approach to migration management adopted by the government, Masud shared the experience of Bangladesh in engaging diasporas in mobilising financial flow, especially through remittance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the consumer of the home country\'s products, diasporas represent a major export market, he added. \"They contribute to developing business models and support their country by sending money to the family and businesses they run in Bangladesh.\" UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 15:44:11', '2023-03-31 15:44:11'),
(6100, 6100, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Canadian House of Commons has passed Bill S-214 on International Mother Language Day (IMLD) Act.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By adopting this bill, Canada will now officially honour IMLD on February 21 every year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is a historic moment for Bangladeshi Canadians and the proponents of mother tongues globally, said the Bangladesh High Commission in Canada on Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the occasion, the high commission acknowledged the contribution of late Rafiqul Islam, Abdus Salam and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for getting IMLD adopted by UNESCO in 1999 and later by the UN.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We also recognise the contribution of Aminul Islam to take the initiative to get Bill S-214 passed by the Canadian parliament,\" said the mission.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh to Canada Khalilur Rahman was present at the House of Commons during the discussion and passing of the bill.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;Ken Hardie MP, who introduced the bill to the House, and Mobina S Jaffer, a senator, who led the passing of the Bill earlier by the Canadian Senate, were also present.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The high commission acknowledged the initiative and contribution of the Mother Language Lovers of the World Society and its President Aminul for persisting with Bill S-214 with the MPs and senators for almost a decade.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Adoption of Bill S-214 highlights Canada\'s commitment to linguistic diversity and cultural heritage. The bill recognises that language is an essential aspect of one\'s identity and cultural heritage, and linguistic diversity should be celebrated, promoted, and preserved,\" the Bangladesh mission said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 15:47:39', '2023-03-31 15:47:39'),
(6101, 6101, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two US Army helicopters crashed during a nighttime training mission in Kentucky, killing all nine soldiers on board, a general said Thursday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The crash -- which involved variants of the Black Hawk designed for medical evacuation -- was the deadliest such incident in more than eight years.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The aircraft were flying in formation with pilots using night vision goggles during a routine training exercise, and were steered to land in an open field across from a residential area, avoiding deaths or injuries on the ground, Brigadier General John Lubas told a news conference.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The crash \"resulted in the death of all nine service members aboard the aircraft,\" all of them members of the 101st Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, Lubas said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Five soldiers were on one helicopter and four on another, with the military still working to notify all the families of those killed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">With an investigative team heading to Fort Campbell from the base where US Army Aviation is headquartered in Alabama, it was still unknown whether the two helicopters collided.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement he is \"saddened by this tragic loss,\" while White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told journalists that \"we stand with all who are grieving in the wake of this terrible, truly terrible, accident.\" AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 16:03:11', '2023-03-31 16:03:11'),
(6102, 6102, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that Finland would formally become a member within days, as he congratulated its president on clearing the final obstacle to joining.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I look forward to raising Finland\'s flag at NATO HQ in the coming days. Together we are stronger and safer,\" Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">After months of delays, Turkey\'s parliament on Thursday removed the last hurdle for Finland by becoming the last member of the US-led military alliance to ratify its application.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stoltenberg said in separate statement that \"Finland has highly capable forces, advanced capabilities, and strong democratic institutions.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"So Finland will bring a lot to our alliance,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">NATO foreign ministers are meeting at the alliance\'s headquarters in Brussels next week, when it is expected the membership could be formalised.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine last year upended European security and pushed Finland and its neighbour Sweden to drop decades of non-alignment and seek to join NATO\'s protective umbrella.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stockholm application remains stuck, however, because of ongoing resistance from both Turkey and Hungary.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Stoltenberg insisted that \"all allies agree that a rapid conclusion of the ratification process for Sweden will be in everyone\'s interest,\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as a full member of the NATO family as soon as possible,\" he said. AFP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 16:09:28', '2023-03-31 16:09:28'),
(6103, 6103, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A total of 2,400 small and marginal farmers in Zanjira upazila of the district were given seeds and fertilizers free of cost as agro incentive for the cultivation of Aush paddy in the current Kharif-1 season.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The amount of incentive support and the number of farmers have been increased significantly in the current financial year 2022-23 in the district, Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zanjira Upazila Parishad Chairman Mobarak Ali Sikdar handed over the incentive among the farmers as the chief guest yesterday afternoon at a function at the upazila parishad premises with Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md. Kamrul Hasan Sohel in the chair.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zanjira Municipality Mayor Md. Idris Madbar, Upazila Women Vice-Chairman Parveen Akhter, Upazila Awami League President GM Nurul Haque and its General Secretary Abu Taleb Chowkidar, among others, were present as special guests.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bilaspur Union Parishad Chairman Abdul Quddus Bepari, Additional Agriculture Officer Md. Nazmul Huda and members of various Union Parishads and hundreds of farmers were also present on the occasion.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under the programme, each farmer was given five kilograms of Ufsi Aush paddy seed, 10-kg of Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizers and 10-kg of Muriate of potash (MOP) fertilizers free of cost for cultivating one bigha of land, upazila agriculture officer agriculturist Md. Jamal Hossain said. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 17:03:24', '2023-03-31 17:03:24'),
(6104, 6104, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The broiler chicken was selling at a slightly higher price of Tk220-210,&nbsp; up from the recent price of Tk200- 210 a kilo in the kitchen markets of Dhaka city.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After a recent meeting with broiler suppliers and the Director General of Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection (DNCRP) on March 23, its price was lowered to Tk200 per kg from Tk 260-270 per kg.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The retailers said the price of broiler chicken has increased at wholesale and middlemen level, which impacted on retail prices.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Sonali (cock) was selling at Tk 350-360 per kg, while Pakistani Sonali chicken below 1 kg weight was sold at Tk 330-340 per kg on Friday in Dhaka.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Layer (mother) broiler chicken price was also stable at Tk 330-340 per kg, while the domestic rearing (indigenous) chicken was sold at Tk 580 to Tk640 per kg.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Egg price decreased slightly and it was selling at Tk 130 per dozen on Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Beef was selling at Tk750 to 800 per kg based on quality in the city’s kitchen market on Friday while mutton was selling at Tk1000-1100 per kg.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fish prices were also stable at higher prices but the presence of customers in the fish was thin on Friday compared to other times.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This correspondent found this scenery of chicken items visiting different areas including Karwan Bazar, Khilgaon, Malibag, Shantinagar, Rampura, Basabo and Fakirapol of Dhaka City.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prices of different types of vegetable and fruits items are still stable at higher prices.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ratan Hawlader, a vegetable trader of Karwan Bazar told UNB that the price of vegetables is slightly higher as the production of all kinds of vegetables has fallen in this season.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the arrival of new vegetables, the price will fall gradually, but not below Tk 40 per due to higher transportation and production cost, he said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 17:08:31', '2023-03-31 17:08:31'),
(6105, 6105, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The Broadcast Journalist Center (BJC) has protested the Digital Security Act (DSA) case filed against Prothom Alo journalist Shamsuzzaman Shams and his arrest over a report published on March 26.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If someone is aggrieved by any report published in the newspaper, redress can be sought from Bangladesh Press Council, a press release from BJC said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But going beyond that process, a case under the much contested DSA was filed against Shams despite the government making a clear commitment towards not misusing the law, the press release signed by BJC Chairman Rezwanul Haque and Member Secretary Shakil Ahmed said Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Demanding immediate release of the arrested journalist, BJC said it was not \"lawful to pick Shams up from his residence in the dead of the night and later show him arrested.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, BJC also pointed to the questions raised regarding the Prothom Alo report and stressed the need for \"responsible journalism.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On March 29, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) men picked up Shams from his residence in the Ambagan area, adjacent to Jahangirnagar University, around 4:30 am. The same day, a Jubo League leader filed a case under the DSA against Shams, accusing him of publishing a \"false and fabricated report\" in Prothom Alo.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Dhaka court on Thursday sent the Prothom Alo reporter to jail in the case filed under Digital Security Act after rejecting his bail petition. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 17:58:26', '2023-03-31 17:58:26'),
(6106, 6106, '<p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Awami League (AL) Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif today said if anyone hits the country\'s independence, it will be the government\'s responsibility to take proper measures to this end.</b></span><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"...a quote of someone was printed in a newspaper disrespecting the Independence Day although he did not make the statement. The quote was taken by giving him money, which was a criminal offense and was a conspiracy against the state and the government,\" he told a function at Kushtia Sadar Upazila auditorium here.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The function was arranged to distribute tablet computers as gifts of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Hanif said it is the responsibility of the government to take legal action against those involved in such incidents. \"If anyone gets hurt after taking legal action, then they are also the part of this conspiracy,\" he added.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The AL joint general secretary said journalists have been enjoying optimum facilities during the tenure of the incumbent government.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Mass media has flourished significantly. None has any problem with the fact that the journalists are regularly writing and criticising the government as per their will, but it is the responsibility of the government to take action once attack comes on the country\'s independence. And the people expect that too,\" he said.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Kushtia Sadar Upazila Parishad Chairman Ataur Rahman Ata, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sadhan Kumar Biswas, Upazila Statistics Officer Sukhen Kumar Pal, Zila Awami League Joint General Secretary Advocate Sheikh Hasan Mehdi and Sadar Upazila AL General Secretary Rezaul Haque were, among others, present. BSS</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</p>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 18:01:25', '2023-03-31 18:01:25'),
(6107, 6107, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, who has been sued under the Digital Security Act (DSA), was taken to Kashimpur Central Jail from Dhaka Central Jail on Friday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A prison van carrying him reached Kashimpur Jail around 1:30pm, said Shahjahan Ahmed, superintendent of Kashimpur Jail 1.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, the journalist was presented before a Dhaka court on Thursday which ordered him to be sent to jail denying bail in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) with Ramna police</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, he was taken to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On March 29, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) men in plainclothes picked up Shams from his residence in Ambagan area, adjacent to Jahangirnagar University, around 4:30 am.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The same day, a Jubo League leader filed a case under the Digital Security Act against Shams, accusing him of publishing a \"false and fabricated report\" on the Prothom Alo website. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 19:31:40', '2023-03-31 19:31:40'),
(6108, 6108, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said ill-attempts are being made to spread confusion in the country regarding the economic prosperity.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Many people do not like the economic prosperity of Bangladesh, which has been achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the worthy daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. That is why attempts are being made to create confusion in the country,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister said this while briefing journalists on contemporary affairs at his Dewanji Pukur Par residence in the port city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasan, also Joint General Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League (AL), said Bangladesh is continuously moving towards prosperity as the poverty rate is decreasing in the country day by day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Some newspapers are publishing purpose-oriented negative news. Identified persons from abroad are trying to mislead people by spreading fabricated information against Bangladesh. But this propaganda can not restrain Bangladesh from making progress,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Noting that the diplomat\'s intervention in the internal affairs of the country is not appropriate, Hasan said they will be made aware of the Vienna Convention, if it is necessary.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister said the country is not seeking help from others for the national budget, rather they are showing interest in helping the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The AL leader also said various newspapers of the world are praising the way the country is moving forward despite the corona epidemic and the global recession.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;\"Recently, Bloomberg published a report, where it said that due to economic prosperity and maintaining economic stability despite the Corona pandemic, there is a chance of Sheikh Hasina to win the next election and she is going to be elected for the fourth consecutive term,\" the information minister added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The day before yesterday, our planning minister told a press conference that when we formed the government in 2009 the number of people living below the poverty line was 41 percent of the entire population. It has now dropped to 16 percent amid the corona-virus pandemic and global recession. Poverty rate in the United States is 17 percent,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the IMF report, the country\'s per capita income surpassed India during this Corona pandemic,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr Hasan said : \"Bangladesh\'s economy stood at the 60th position among economies in the world when we formed the government in 2009. Now we are the 35th economy in the world in terms of GDP.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have crossed 25 countries in the last 14 years. Malaysia\'s economy is one of them,\" he added. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 19:48:06', '2023-03-31 19:48:06');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6109, 6109, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan refused to give up their aggressive approach despite it backfired, resulting in their seven-wicket defeat to Ireland in the third and final T20 today at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>&nbsp;</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The defeat denied Bangladesh a second consecutive T20 series sweep but Shakib was unfazed by it, saying that there is a way that they could compromise with their current approach.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh were bowled out for 124 in 19.2 overs, paying the price of their aggressive cricket and Ireland rode on captain Paul Stirling\'s 41 ball-77 gunned it down in just 14 overs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We didn\'t bat well, kept on losing wickets. But that happens with the way we want to play our cricket,\" Shakib said here today after losing the game.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Don\'t want to change our approach. If we want to be a very good team, that\'s the way we have to play. Might fail in some games. We\'ll be playing Test match in few days time, travel to Dhaka, and see what we can do. We played very well after the England series. Today wasn\'t our day but credit to Ireland,\" he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh won the first game by 22 runs through DLS method and second game by 77 runs. On both occasions, they put up 200 plus scores despite full overs match were not possible due to rain.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In third game, they opted to bat first and tried to put the bowlers on sword from the words go but the strategy didn\'t work. Paul Stirling however credited their bowlers to curb the aggression of the Bangladeshi batters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This was set up by the bowlers. All five bowlers deserve this award. Full credit to them. To come back from what we\'ve been through in the last two weeks,\" Stirling said after playing the match-winning knock.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We showed the character. We\'ll only improve the more we play. Feel like we got better as the tour went on. It\'s been a few years since we last played a Test. Everyone\'s excited.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed however was adjudged man of the match for his eight wickets in the matches.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He expected that the Bangladeshi fast bowling group will rule the world in future.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I keep belief in myself. It doesn\'t matter if the wicket is flat or not. I was backing my strengths. End of the day I bowled well and helped the team. We\'ve been working very hard. From there we\'re getting our belief. We\'ll become the best group of fast bowlers in the world hopefully.\" BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'Newsdesk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-03-31 22:11:56', '2023-03-31 22:11:56'),
(6110, 6110, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A large tornado tore through Arkansas on Friday causing \"significant damage,\" the governor of the southern US state tweeted, as rescuers rushed to aid residents and hospitals said they were bracing for casualties.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote that police and emergency services were working to \"assist anyone injured,\" and called for residents to stay aware as the National Weather Service forecast more storms later in the afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>\"Significant damage has occurred in Central Arkansas,\" Sanders wrote.</div><div>The New York Times reported that the tornado had touched down near the state capital, Little Rock, and had torn down trees and damaged houses.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>More than 70,000 people were without power across the state, according to Poweroutage.us.</div><div><br></div><div>The city\'s mayor, Frank Scott, tweeted that the storm had been \"devastating\" and said he had asked Sanders\' office to send National Guards to help with cleanup.</div><div><br></div><div>The governor\'s office could not immediately confirm any casualties to AFP, but a local hospital told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that it had already begun to receive patients, including \"a few\" in critical condition.</div><div><br></div><div>The spokesperson for the Baptist Health hospital said it was preparing to treat injuries, the newspaper reported.</div><div><br></div><div>The University of Arkansas hospital was also on standby, a spokesperson there told AFP.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We haven\'t seen people come in quite yet but we know that emergency services have had trouble reaching people because of downed trees,\" the spokesperson said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We expect people to come throughout the night.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Tornadoes are common in the United States, especially in the center and south of the country.</div><div><br></div><div>A week ago, a tornado swept through Rolling Fork, a small town in Mississippi, killing 13 people and causing extensive property damage.</div><div><br></div><div>President Joe Biden visited the area on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>In December 2021, about 80 people were killed by tornadoes in Kentucky. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-01 14:09:37', '2023-04-01 14:09:37'),
(6111, 6111, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Mozambique is going through its worst cholera outbreak in more than a decade in the wake of Cyclone Freddy, the World Health Organization said Friday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"While cholera outbreaks regularly occur in Mozambique between October to April, with almost 21,000 cases and 95 deaths, this is the largest outbreak in more than a decade,\" said Severin von Xylander, the WHO\'s representative in the southeast African country.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The outbreak is still expanding geographically,\" he told reporters in Geneva in a briefing via video link from Maputo. Eight of the country\'s 11 provinces have been affected.</div><div><br></div><div>Quelimane is the worst-affected city and in the last 24 hours, 132 people have been admitted to cholera treatment centres and 350 people have received cholera care visits.</div><div><br></div><div>\"After the landfall of Freddy, the number of cases exploded from less than 20 a day and increased tenfold\" in the city, Von Xylander said.</div><div><br></div><div>A first cholera vaccination campaign started in late February in four provinces. More than 715,000 people were given a single shot.</div><div><br></div><div>A second campaign was launched Thursday in Quelimane, targeting 410,000 people.</div><div><br></div><div>Vaccination programmes will be extended to other provinces, with more than 1.35 million people currently being targeted.</div><div><br></div><div>WHO teams are responding to five concurrent health emergencies in Mozambique: besides cholera and the Cyclone Freddy flooding, polio, Covid-19 and an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the north are causing a situation that is \"overwhelming\" health systems, said Von Xylander.</div><div><br></div><div>Cyclone Freddy destroyed more than 132,000 homes and 184,000 people were displaced, and while the floods are now receding, access to safe water is \"challenging\", he said, while around a third of crops have been destroyed.</div><div><br></div><div>\"In the coming weeks, the number of malaria cases will drastically increase and the malnutrition rate -- already very high -- will go up,\" said Von Xylander, reports AFP</div><div><br></div><div>\"I don\'t intend this brief to be a scaremonger, but I hope to raise the alarm for a concerning situation currently lived here by millions of individuals,\" he said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-01 16:00:39', '2023-04-01 16:00:39'),
(6112, 6112, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) on Saturday predicted light to moderate rain or thundershowers in parts of country in the next 24 hours commencing 9am.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty squally wind is likely to occur at most places over Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at many places over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dhaka and Mymensingh divisions with moderately heavy to heavy falls at places over the country,\" said the BMD bulletin.</div><div><br></div><div>The Met office also predicted that day temperature may fall slightly and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The highest temperature on Friday was recorded 34.3degree Celsius at Bandarban, while today\'s minimum temperature was 18.0 degree Celsius in Nikli.</div><div><br></div><div>Highest rainfall for the last 24 hours till 6am today was recorded 77 millimeters (mm) at Madaripur.</div><div><br></div><div>The sun sets at 6:14 pm today and rises at 5:50 am tomorrow in the capital. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-01 16:21:31', '2023-04-01 16:21:31'),
(6113, 6113, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The government has approved the commercial cultivation of vannamei shrimp -- also known as king prawn -- in Bangladesh.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock approved the cultivation of vannamei shrimp in a letter to the Director General of the Fisheries Department on March 29. At the same time, guidelines for commercial shrimp cultivation in Bangladesh were provided.</div><div><br></div><div>Vannamei shrimp now accounts for 77 percent of the world\'s shrimp trade. This species of shrimp – also known as the whiteleg shrimp is now being commercially cultivated in 62 countries. Of these, 15 are in Asia.</div><div><br></div><div>The demand for vannamei shrimp in the global market is high as the price is lower than that of Bagda shrimp.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh’s shrimp export has been in decline in the past few years as the country mainly cultivates and exports freshwater shrimp species such as black tiger shrimp, or ‘bagda’, and scampi shrimp, or ‘galda’.</div><div><br></div><div>Exporters have been urging the government to allow commercial cultivation of King Prawn. The shrimp exporters of Khulna thanked the authorities for implementing their long-standing demand.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, local shrimp producers have expressed concern over the development as they’re not well equipped to produce vannamei shrimp locally.</div><div><br></div><div>Abdur Rahim, a local shrimp producer from Khulna’s Paikgacha upazila said: “If the commercial cultivation of vannamei shrimp starts locally, we will face a huge loss in terms of shrimp production as the demand will decrease in the market.”</div><div><br></div><div>Among the shrimp exporting countries of Asia, commercial cultivation of the king shrimp was banned only in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Following approval from the Fisheries Department of the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, Vannamei Shrimp has been harvested experimentally in six ponds of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) in Khulna’s Paikgacha upazila. And it has demonstrated significant commercial potential.</div><div><br></div><div>What is vannamei shrimp?</div><div><br></div><div>The vannamei species of shrimp, popularly known as the king prawn, is originally from the US state of Hawaii.</div><div><br></div><div>Neighbouring India began commercial cultivation of vannamei shrimp in 2008. Meanwhile, in 1998, Thailand and China started commercial vannamei shrimp cultivation.</div><div><br></div><div>In 1987, the Philippines initiated commercial vannamei shrimp cultivation. Myanmar and Vietnam entered the market in the year 2000.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Global Aquaculture Alliance, The global vannamei shrimp production in 2018 was 35.5 lakh metric tons, while the bagda and galda shrimp production was 5.5 lakh metric tons and 2.4 lakh metric tons respectively. Apart from this, 3 lakh metric tons of other species of shrimps have been produced.</div><div><br></div><div>Of the total global production of vannamei shrimp in 2018, 23.91 lakh metric tons were produced in China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In 2019, production in these countries increased to 31.12 lakh metric tons while Bangladesh\'s contribution to the market remained zero.</div><div><br></div><div>According to experts, commercial production and export of Vanami shrimp can earn 3 to 4 billion US dollars in revenue and it will help Bangladesh regain its position in the global shrimp market. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-01 18:44:43', '2023-04-01 18:44:43'),
(6114, 6114, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The International Farakka Committee (IFC) has welcomed the government of Bangladesh for sending a note verbale to New Delhi seeking to know about their plan to construct two new canals to divert water of the Teesta River.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Simultaneously the government should implement the Teesta Master Plan because efforts for a treaty on the river have remained fruitless and its entire dry season water is being diverted for the least two decades, said the IFC in a statement on Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>It said Dhaka should not put on hold its efforts for shared management of the Transboundary River because the greater part of its basin lies in Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Yet it cannot leave over two crore people living on its two sides helpless and suffer from severe drought in the dry season and devastating floods and river-bank erosion in the summer, IFC said in the statement.</div><div><br></div><div>The Teesta is practically a dead river in Bangladesh because of excessive siltation as it has been deprived of its natural flow for decades and the surrounding environment has been damaged adding to the suffering of the people.</div><div><br></div><div>Drought in the Teesta Basin takes a devastating turn in the dry season when people can cross the river on foot.</div><div><br></div><div>In the wet season the entire flow of the river is released through the sluice gates of the Gajal Doba Barrage in India when it cannot carry this excess load of water due to lack of depth.</div><div><br></div><div>As a result this causes devastating floods and bank erosions every year. Four waves of flood last year pauperised the people living on its two banks.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite continuous assurances the Bangladesh part of the river continues to be deprived of water in the dry season.</div><div><br></div><div>Now fresh moves have surfaced for two more canals to divert its water. As time passes the share of the river’s flow looks more and more remote.</div><div><br></div><div>Against this backdrop, the Power China Company of the People’s Republic of China at the instance of Bangladesh Water Development Board has prepared a Taka 100 billion comprehensive project not only to mitigate the annual flood and erosion damages but also to ensure the overall socio-economic development of the people of the Northwestern region.</div><div><br></div><div>The project stands for sustainable development along the 102 kilometre length of the river from the Teesta Barrage at Dalia of Nilphamari district to its outfall in the Brahmaputra via Mohipur and Kaunia. According to Bangladesh Water Development Board sources the project is likely to be implemented under a loan agreement. But a final go ahead is yet to be given.</div><div><br></div><div>IFC leaders said it’s not wise to continue to remain idle waiting for release of water as the process of desertification is getting from bad to worse in the northwestern region of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>The Teesta project is no substitute for the natural flow of the river to keep it alive. Yet the move to mitigate the annual flood and river-bank erosion and improvement of the quality of life of the people of the region through integrated development activities cannot be left to uncertainties.</div><div><br></div><div>When the compulsion of restoring the natural flow of the river will arise upstream due to the law of nature, the Bangladesh part of the Teesta will have a new lease of life.</div><div><br></div><div>IFC leaders said, the overall development of the Northwestern region of Bangladesh can be accelerated if the Teesta project is expanded to include the old and original Teesta Basin covering The Atrai, The Korotoa and The Punarbhaba rivers.</div><div><br></div><div>If this is done the command area of the project will cover 28 thousand square kilometres as against the present four thousand square kilometres.</div><div><br></div><div>The huge Chalan Beel can be used to retain water and facilitate fish and duck farming in the wet season and irrigation in the dry season. The groundwater level in the region will go up and help keep all tubewells operational throughout the year.</div><div><br></div><div>The statement has been signed by IFC New York chairman Atiqur Rahman Salu, secretary general Sayed Tipu Sultan, IFC Bangladesh president Prof. Jasim Uddin Ahmad, senior vice-president Dr. S.I. Khan, general secretary Irfanul Bari and IFC coordinator Mostafa Kamal Majumder. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-01 18:49:05', '2023-04-01 18:49:05'),
(6115, 6115, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Leaders and activists Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) of different hall units of Dhaka University demanded arrest of Prothom Alo editor Motiur Rahman blocking Shahbagh intersection for about two hours on Saturday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The BCL men under the banner of \'general students\' blocked the area around 10.20 am and continued till 12.30 pm.</div><div><br></div><div>Jaman Sami, a student of 2017-18 academic session of Law department also organisational secretary of Sir AF Rahman hall Chhatra League, said, \" Today we came here to protest yellow journalism practiced by Prothom Alo. Motiur Rahman, the editor of the daily, has been accused of child exploitation, killing a student of Dhaka Residential Model College and so more.\"</div><div><br></div><div>“We, the conscious students of Dhaka University, are protesting this heinous activities of Prothom Alo. For doing such heinous acts, Motiur Rahman have to be arrested soon,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 26, Prothom Alo published a ‘ graphic card’ with a photograph and a quotation of a day labourer Zakir Hossain for sharing a news report on Facebook. However, the national daily later removed the post from online due to a discrepancy regarding the photo that was used with the news.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, the report was republished with necessary amendments and a note below the report regarding the correction.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, Shamsuzzaman Shams, the paper’s Savar correspondent, who wrote the report was sued in a separate case under the DSA on Wednesday afternoon, around 10 hours after being picked up from his house near Jahangirnagar University by members of the Criminal Investigation Department of police.</div><div><br></div><div>Editor of the country’s leading daily Motiur Rahman was also sued under the Digital Security Act. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-01 18:53:52', '2023-04-01 18:53:52'),
(6116, 6116, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Four more people were hospitalised with dengue in the 24 hours till Saturday morning.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Of the new patients, four were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).</div><div><br></div><div>Twenty-five dengue patients, including 16 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>So far, the DGHS has recorded 847 dengue cases, 813 recoveries, and nine deaths this year.</div><div><br></div><div>The country logged 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Also, it recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-01 18:57:49', '2023-04-01 18:57:49'),
(6117, 6117, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A series of avalanches in Norway\'s far north has claimed the lives of four people, police say.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>In the most deadly incident, a house and barn were swept into the sea on the island of Reinøya.</div><div><br></div><div>Two people were confirmed killed and 140 goats were in the barn at the time, according to the authorities.</div><div><br></div><div>Two tourists were killed in two other avalanches. Both are believed to be foreigners, although their nationalities are not yet known.</div><div><br></div><div>In the first avalanche, in Lyngen, one person died and two others were hurt.</div><div><br></div><div>\"There were fiv people of foreign origin that were on an outing in the area. We can confirm that one person is deceased,\" police spokesman Morten Pettersen told journalists.</div><div><br></div><div>Two others were hurt, one critically and one with \"moderate injuries\", the spokesman added.</div><div><br></div><div>Later in the evening, police said a fourth person had been killed in another avalanche at Storslett in the Nordreisa area. According to BBC reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-01 19:04:50', '2023-04-01 19:04:50'),
(6118, 6118, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh could soon start trading with India using rupee instead of US dollar, trial for which has been done by Bangladesh Bank recently.</b></span><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The ministry of commerce has placed a written recommendation at the last cabinet meeting regarding the possibility and opportunity of using rupee instead of dollar.</div><div><br></div><div>Currently Bangladesh exports goods to India worth around USD 2 billion.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“The use of rupee will start with Bangladesh\'s $2 billion trade with India. Bangladesh Bank has almost finished all kinds of trials in this regard. Trading in rupee will be introduced in both countries only after bilateral decision on some issues,” an executive director of Bangladesh Bank told UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>Wishing anonymity, he said that banking systems in India and Bangladesh have to sign separate agreements on using rupee.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) has submitted the total trade account to the central bank in the form of a proposal. This initiative is being taken to overcome the existing dollar crisis, sources said.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Md Mezbaul Haque said that India-Bangladesh trade, using rupee instead of US dollar, is still in the experimental stage. Some issues still need to be settled.</div><div><br></div><div>“There are some bilateral issues that need to be resolved. Then the banks have to prepare. But there will be a positive decision in this regard,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>In response to a question whether there will be a fixed annual dollar quota for opening LCs, he said, LCs will be opened according to the needs of businessmen. But the only source of rupees is from the export earnings of Bangladeshi goods in India.</div><div><br></div><div>“We are importing more from India than we export. This is why there is a trade deficit. As a result, the amount of rupee is also being considered,” Mezbaul said.</div><div><br></div><div>Currently India is trading in rupees with Russia, Mauritius, Iran and Sri Lanka.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>At the Bangladesh-India ministerial meeting on trade, held in the Indian capital New Delhi on December 22-23 last year, India proposed to introduce the rupee as a medium of trade for both countries.</div><div><br></div><div>Then, on the sidelines of the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Bengaluru, India on February 24-25, there was a discussion between the two countries about moving the dollar as an exchange currency.</div><div><br></div><div>There, Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rauf Talukder and Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das discussed the possibility of such a system using rupee instead of US dollar. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fsa</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-01 19:10:56', '2023-04-01 19:10:56'),
(6119, 6119, '<p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>South Africa\'s governing ANC party said Saturday that it had sent senior officials to Russia to discuss \"recalibration of the global order\" with President Vladimir Putin\'s party.</b></span><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"The visit follows an invitation from United Russia Party, Russia\'s largest political party and a longstanding ally and friend to the ANC,\" the South African party said.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"The engagements... will include discussions on the recalibration of the global order to reverse the consequences of neo-colonialism and the previously prevailing unipolar world.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Moscow has been looking for years to bolster its political and economic ties with countries across Africa, and on Friday, Putin signed off on a new foreign policy aimed at curtailing Western \"dominance\".</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">South Africa, for its part, has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine that has largely isolated Moscow on the world stage, saying it wants to stay neutral and prefers dialogue to end the war.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The ANC delegation led by Obed Bapela, who heads the ANC\'s international relations commission, arrived on Thursday and is expected to stay until Sunday.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">South Africa is due in August to host a BRICS summit, the bloc grouping the emerging economic heavyweights Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">In February, South Africa hosted a controversial joint military exercise with Russia and China, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov paid an official visit to Pretoria in January.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">South Africa\'s ties with Russia date back decades, when the Kremlin backed the ANC in its fight against apartheid. AFP</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</p>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 09:29:49', '2023-04-02 09:29:49'),
(6120, 6120, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The death toll from a major storm system that has produced tornadoes and devastating winds across several southern and central US states has risen to 18, officials said Saturday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A spokesperson for the emergency management agency in Tennessee, one of the states hardest hit by a series of storms which have struck since Friday, confirmed seven weather-related fatalities to AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials across states including Arkansas, Mississippi, Indiana and Alabama had earlier counted a total of 11 fatalities. 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, '2023-04-02 09:33:41', '2023-04-02 09:33:41'),
(6121, 6121, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Aston Villa climbed above Chelsea and into the top half of the Premier League table with a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ollie Watkins gave Villa an early lead before a superb strike by John McGinn, fresh from starring in Scotland\'s shock Euro 2024 win over Spain, made it 2-0 in the 56th minute.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Defeat saw Chelsea drop into the bottom half of the table to increase the pressure on Blues manager Graham Potter, with the London club booed off the field by their own supporters at full-time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This was Villa\'s fifth away win since Unai Emery became manager of the Birmingham club in October and they have now won 16 points on the road, a tally equalled only by champions Manchester City in that period.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All 10 of Chelsea\'s league wins this season have come against bottom-half opponents, but this reverse meant they drop into 11th place in the table.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Villa moved up into ninth, one point off Liverpool in eighth, and just two points off a European place.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Emery\'s men almost gifted Chelsea the lead soon after kick-off when goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez rolled the ball short to Boubacar Kamara, who was dispossessed by Mykhailo Mudryk.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Ukrainian, however, was denied by Martinez when one-on-one with the Argentina World Cup-winner.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Villa responded quickly, Watkins pulling a shot wide before McGinn hit the crossbar in the 15th minute with a curling shot.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the in-form Watkins broke the deadlock in the 18th minute, capitalising on a slack header from Marc Cucurella before lobbing the ball over Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Martinez preserved Villa\'s lead by diving low to his left to deny Kai Havertz.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chelsea were on top, playing attractive and attacking football but with no goals to show for their efforts.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the match as a whole, Villa only had five shots on target to Chelsea\'s 27 but, significantly, they made two of them count.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Villa captain McGinn doubled the lead in style with a well-struck curling effort from 25 yards out.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chelsea worked hard but rarely threatened a goal, with the one consolation for the Blues the sight of defender N\'Golo Kante, a 2018 World Cup winner with France, coming off the bench in the 57th minute as he made his first senior appearance for the Blues under Potter, having been sidelined since August. 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, '2023-04-02 09:36:41', '2023-04-02 09:36:41'),
(6122, 6122, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Kusal Perera returned from a long-term injury in style with a half-century as Sri Lanka posted 196-5 in the first T20 against New Zealand in Auckland on Sunday.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Perera scored 53 not out off 45 balls while Charith Asalanka top-scored with a lively 67 off 41 as the tourists peppered the Eden Park boundary after being asked to bat.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The pair dominated the middle stages of the innings, combining for 103 runs after some early fireworks from opener Kusal Mendis, who blasted 25 rapid-fire runs off just nine balls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The experienced Perera, a former Sri Lanka ODI captain, hasn\'t played any format for his country since the 2021 T20 World Cup nearly 18 months ago due to a long-standing shoulder problem.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 32-year-old batter underlined his return to form by hitting four fours and a six.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His role supported Asalanka, who cleared the short boundaries six times.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sri Lanka\'s innings began in disastrous fashion when Pathum Nissanka was caught behind off the first ball, from paceman Adam Milne.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mendis got the innings under way with two sixes and two fours off Milne\'s next over.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The tourists are chasing the first victory of their month-long visit to New Zealand after losing the Test and one-day international series by the same 2-0 scoreline.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Opening batter Chad Bowes and pace bowler Henry Shipley are making their New Zealand debuts in the format. 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, '2023-04-02 09:56:34', '2023-04-02 09:56:34'),
(6123, 6123, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Dhaka\'s air quality is ‘unhealthy’ this morning (April 2, 2023).</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 125 at 9 am, Dhaka ranked 10th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thailand’s Chiang Mai, China’s Beijing and India’s Delhi occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 254, 166 and 160, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 101 and 150 is considered \'unhealthy\', AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be \'very unhealthy\', while a reading of 301+ is considered \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 10:02:52', '2023-04-02 10:02:52'),
(6124, 6124, '<p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Scaffolding and green pipes envelop a refinery in the port of Rotterdam where Finnish giant Neste is preparing to significantly boost production of sustainable aviation fuel.</span><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Switching to non-fossil aviation fuels that produce less net greenhouse gas emissions is key to plans to decarbonise air transport, a significant contributor to global warming.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Neste, the largest global producer of SAF, uses cooking oil and animal fat at this Dutch refinery.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sustainable aviation fuels are being made from different sources such as municipal waste, leftovers from the agricultural and forestry industry, crops and plants, and even hydrogen.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">These technologies are still developing and the end product is more expensive.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">But these fuels will help airlines reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent, according to the International Air Transport Association.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Global output of SAF was 250,000 tonnes last year, less than 0.1 percent of the more than 300 million tonnes of aviation fuel used during that period.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"It\'s a drop in the ocean but a significant drop,\" said Matti Lehmus, CEO of Neste.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"We\'ll be growing drastically our production from 100,000 tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes next year,\" he added.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">There clearly is demand.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The European Union plans to impose the use of a minimum amount of sustainable aviation fuel by airlines, rising from two percent in 2025 to six percent in 2030 and at least 63 percent in 2050.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Neste has another site for SAF in Singapore which will start production in April.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">With the production facilities of Neste in Rotterdam and Singapore, we can meet the mandate for EU in 2025,\" said Jonathan Wood, the company\'s vice president for renewable aviation.</span><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Vincent Etchebehere, director for sustainable development at Air France, said that \"between now and 2030, there will be more demand than supply of SAF\".</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">- \'Need to mature technologies\' -</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Air France-KLM has reached a deal with Neste for the supply of one million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel between 2023 and 2030.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">It has also lined up 10 year-agreements with US firm DG Fuels for 600,000 tonnes and with TotalEnergies for 800,000 tonnes.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">At the Rotterdam site, two giant storage tanks of 15,000 cubic metres are yet to be painted.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">They lie near a quay where the fuel will be transported by boat to feed Amsterdam\'s Schiphol airport and airports in Paris.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The Franco-Dutch group has already taken steps to cut its carbon footprint, using 15 percent of the global SAF output last year -- or 0.6 percent of its fuel needs.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Neste\'s Lehmus said there was a great need to \"mature the technologies\" to make sustainable aviation fuel from diverse sources such as algae, nitrocellulose and synthetic fuels.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Air France CEO Anne Rigail said the prices of sustainable aviation fuel were as important as their production.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sustainable fuel costs 3,500 euros ($3,800) a tonne globally but only $2,000 in the United States thanks to government subsidies. In France, it costs 5,000 euros a tonne.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"We need backing and we really think the EU can do more,\" said Rigail. AFP</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</p>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 10:21:38', '2023-04-02 10:21:38');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6125, 6125, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">When Donald Trump steps before a judge this coming week to be arraigned in a New York courtroom, it will not only mark the first time a former U.S. president has faced criminal charges. It will also be a reckoning for a man long nicknamed “Teflon Don,” who until now has managed to skirt serious legal jeopardy despite 40 years of legal scrutiny.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump, who is the early front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, is expected to turn himself in Tuesday. He faces charges including at least one felony offense related to hush money payments to women during his 2016 campaign. Like any other person facing trial, he will be booked, fingerprinted and photographed before being given the chance to enter a plea.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The spectacle that is sure to unfold will mark an unprecedented moment in American history that will demonstrate once again how dramatically Trump — who already held the distinction of being the first president to be impeached twice — has upended democratic norms. But on a personal level, the indictment pierces the cloak of invincibility that seemed to follow Trump through his decades in business and in politics, as he faced allegations of fraud, collusion and sexual misconduct.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Boy, after all this time it’s a bit of a shock,” Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio said of the indictment. “You know I always thought of him as the Gingerbread Man, shouting, ‘You can’t catch me!’ as he ran away.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Given his track record,” he said, “I had trouble imagining he would ever be held accountable.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“These are not things that Donald Trump ever thought in his entire life, nor I, for that matter, that he would ever be confronted with,” Michael Cohen, Trump\'s longtime fixer and a key witness in the case who served jail time for the payments, told CNN.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Of course, some of the celebration by Trump\'s detractors may be premature. Trump could seek to have a judge quickly dismiss the case. Even if it moves forward, there\'s no guarantee of conviction. Intensifying investigations in Atlanta and Washington are seen as potentially more serious legal threats.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Still, Trump and his team were caught by surprise when word of the New York indictment broke Thursday evening, following news reports that the grand jury hearing the case was set for a weekslong hiatus. As the deliberations dragged on, some in Trump\'s orbit had become convinced that the case had stalled and that charges might never be brought. That included Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina, who said Friday morning he had hoped the “rule of law would prevail.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump, he said on the “Today\" show, was “initially was shocked” by news of the charges, but quickly pivoted to his usual pushback playbook.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“After he got over that,\" he said, Trump \"put a notch on his belt and he decided we have to fight now. And he got into a typical Donald Trump posture where he’s ready to be combative on something that he believes is an injustice. ... I think he’s now in the posture that he’s ready to fight this.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the meantime, Trump and his team have tried to use the news to his advantage, hoping to energize his loyal base by painting the investigation as part of a larger plot to derail his candidacy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Already, the charges have been a boon to his struggling fundraising. The campaign announced Friday evening that it had raised over $4 million in the 24 hours after the indictment became public, far smashing its previous record after the FBI search of Trump\'s Mar-a-Lago club.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 25% of donations, according to the campaign, came from first-time donors. The average contribution: $34.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His campaign also continued to blast out supportive statements from dozens of top Republicans who have rallied behind Trump, including several of his declared and likely challengers, underscoring his continued hold on the party.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in a speech Saturday to conservatives meeting in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, accused the Democratic prosecutor in New York, Alvin Bragg, of weaponizing the law “for political purposes” in bringing a case against “a former president.” DeSantis said the district attorney had indicted “a former president on misdemeanor offenses” that he was “straining to try to convert into felonies.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump has been in contact by phone with key congressional allies, including members of House leadership and top committees, according to people familiar with the conversations, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the response.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump ally Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., who formally endorsed the former president Friday, said Trump “doesn’t back down\" and was going to \"fight back,\" telling a local radio show it was \"yet another chapter where Donald Trump is going to come back on top in the end.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The media maelstrom has catapulted Trump back into the spotlight he craves, at least temporarily limiting attention being paid to his rivals, including DeSantis, who is widely expected to challenge Trump for the nomination, and has been holding events across the county to promote his book.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump aides have been discussing other ideas to maximize the situation, including the possibility of holding a press event either before or after the arraignment. Trump is expected to travel from Florida to New York on Monday and stay overnight at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan before heading to the courthouse early Tuesday. He will return to Florida after the arraignment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump has long denied that he had a sexual encounter with the porn actor known as Stormy Daniels and has blasted Bragg for pursuing the years-old case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump is also facing continued investigations in Georgia, over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and in Washington, where a special counsel is probing the events of Jan. 6, 2021, as well as Trump\'s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and potential obstruction of the investigation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Sam Nunberg, a longtime former aide who broke with Trump years ago, said that while he no longer supports Trump, he believes the Manhattan case is “a waste of time,\" given the allegations, which remain under seal. And he said he was skeptical it would ultimately matter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It doesn’t surprise me,\" he said of the indictment. “What would surprise me is if he actually ended up behind bars in prison and I don’t see that happening.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">D’Antonio said that sentiment — and a continued belief that Trump will somehow prevail and dodge the charges — continues among the many people who have reached out to him in the last 24 hours, despite the charges.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“They\'re like, he\'s going to get away with it,\" he said. \"Somehow, he’s going to get it thrown out.” AP</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh&nbsp;</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 11:08:31', '2023-04-02 11:08:31'),
(6126, 6126, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The number of people killed in a massive landslide in Ecuador has risen to 27, authorities said on Saturday, adding that rescue teams are still searching for dozens of missing people after the tragedy struck nearly a week ago.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Following torrential rain, a massive chunk of a mountainside broke loose late last Sunday and buried parts of the town of Alausi, destroying or damaging at least 163 homes, officials said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Rescuers have spent the last six days digging through the rubble in the southern town some 180 miles (300 kilometers) south of the capital Quito searching for dozens of people, with the death toll steadily climbing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">On Friday the Secretariat of Risk Management said 23 people had died, 38 were injured and 67 remained missing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">But by Saturday the toll had climbed \"27 confirmed deaths after the collapse,\" the national prosecutors\' office said on Twitter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Officials said rescue teams were still searching for missing people, though it was not immediately clear how many.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The same region was hit by an earthquake just over a week earlier in which 15 people were killed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">After months of heavy rains, the government last week declared a two-month state of emergency in 13 of the country\'s 24 provinces, allowing economic resources to be redistributed to affected areas. 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, '2023-04-02 11:23:49', '2023-04-02 11:23:49'),
(6127, 6127, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Satellite imagery has indicated a high level of activity at North Korea\'s main nuclear complex after leader Kim Jong Un ordered the production of weapons-grade nuclear material be ramped up, a US think tank said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Washington-based 38 North said Saturday that images from March 3 and 17 suggested that an experimental light water reactor (ELWR) at the country\'s Yongbyon site was \"nearing completion\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Construction had started on a new support building, while water discharges were detected from the reactor\'s cooling system, suggesting that the ELWR \"is nearing a transition to operational status\", the report said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The images also indicated that a five-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon continued to operate and new construction had started around the site\'s uranium enrichment plant, likely to expand its capabilities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"These developments seem to reflect Kim Jong Un\'s recent directive to increase the fissile material production to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal,\" the report added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Tuesday, North Korean state media unveiled photos of Kim inspecting new, smaller nuclear warheads as he ordered an expansion in \"the production of weapon-grade nuclear materials\" for an \"exponential\" increase in the North\'s arsenal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Experts said the potential tactical nuclear weapons did indeed show key signs of technical progress, and could indicate an imminent nuclear test.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials in Seoul and Washington have warned since early 2022 that North Korea may conduct its seventh nuclear test.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Seoul and Washington have ramped up joint military drills as North Korea conducts ever more provocative weapons tests while blaming the South for the deteriorating security situation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A commentary carried by the North\'s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday slammed the series of joint drills by the allies, warning of its \"nuclear attack capability\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It will be quite clear how the DPRK\'s nukes will be used if the war deterrence does not work on those who are running amuck, not being afraid of nuclear weapons,\" it said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The North Korean military has carried out multiple drills in recent weeks, including the test-firing of what state media described as an underwater nuclear-capable drone and the second launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile this year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last year, North Korea declared itself an \"irreversible\" nuclear power, while in March, Kim ordered the North Korean military to intensify drills in preparation for a \"real war\". 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, '2023-04-02 11:44:58', '2023-04-02 11:44:58'),
(6128, 6128, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A petition for anticipatory bail for Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman has been submitted to the High Court in a case filed under Digital Security Act. The case was filed with Dhaka’s Ramna Police Station on March 29.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Defendant’s Counsel Prashanta Kumar Karmakar told UNB that they submitted the petition for anticipatory bail earlier this morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the time of filing this report around 11am, hearing regarding the petition is yet to start, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On March 29, an FIR was filed by a lawyer named Abdul Malek (Mashiur Malek), accusing Matiur Rahman, Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, an unnamed “assistant cameraman”, and unnamed others of “using print, online, and electronic media to tarnish the image and reputation of the state.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the FIR, the lawyer also mentioned that the accused were “purposefully spreading misinformation to deteriorate the law and order situation of the country.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The case was filed under sections 25, 31 and 35 of the DSA.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The plaintiff said the news reported by Shamsuzzaman Shams went viral on social media which “tarnished the image of the country and triggered criticism at home and abroad.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moreover, there was a possibility of deterioration in the law and order situation in the country over the matter, the case statement said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, Shamsuzzaman Shams, the paper’s Savar correspondent who wrote the report was sued in a separate case under the DSA on March 29, around 10 hours after being picked up from his house near Jahangirnagar University by members of the Criminal Investigation Department of police.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Multiple national and international bodies including Editors’ Council, Editors’ Guild of Bangladesh, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF) and the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) have published separate statements condemning the arrest of Shams. 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, '2023-04-02 12:05:23', '2023-04-02 12:05:23'),
(6129, 6129, '<div><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A case has been filed against BNP leaders and activists in Khulna \"for attacking police and obstructing government work\", police said.</b><br></div><div><br></div><div>Ajit Kumar Das, sub-inspector at Khulna Sadar Police Station, filed the case in connection with the clash between BNP men and police on Saturday during a sit-in programme in front of the party office at Khulna’s KD Ghosh Road to protest the rising gas, electricity, and food prices. Police fired tear shells and rubber bullets during the clash.</div><div><br></div><div>SI Ajit said that a case has been filed against 800 leaders and activists, naming 59 people including its BNP\'s Central Information Affairs Secretary Azizul Bari Helal, Khulna district Unit President Amir Ejaz Khan and General Secretary Monirul Hasan Bappi for attacking police vehicles and obstructing government work on Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>Eight people have been arrested in connection with the case, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, BNP leaders claimed that 15-20 leaders and activists were injured during the clash on Saturday after the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 12:50:01', '2023-04-02 12:50:01'),
(6130, 6130, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Two buses were set on fire after a motorcyclist died in an accident in Savar’s Ashulia today, police said.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The identity of the deceased could not be known immediately.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The accident occurred at Ashulia’s Jirabo area on the Abdullapur-Bypail highway. According to witnesses, the Bypail-bound motorcyclist died after being stuck between two buses racing to overtake each other. Later, enraged people set both buses on fire and blocked teh road.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On information, fire service and police rushed to the sport and doused the fire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least five people were injured in the incident, according to the police.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kamruzzaman, officer-in-charge at Ashulia Police Station, said the body of the deceased was recovered by the police. Efforts are underway to identify the deceased, the OC said. A case was filed in this regard. 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, '2023-04-02 13:56:18', '2023-04-02 13:56:18'),
(6131, 6131, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday stressed the need for ensuring that seekers of jobs abroad must not fall prey to the frauds and middlemen.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“So we always have to consider that these people could go abroad through proper channel and get appropriate job. It is very much important for us to ensure that these people must not fall prey to the fraudulent people and middlemen,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister was delivering her introductory speech at the second meeting of the Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Affairs National Steering Committee at her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She asked the authorities concerned to find&nbsp; new destinations for sending manpower alongside making them skilled through giving appropriate training on different trades.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have manpower in different countries, but we have to find more destinations,”&nbsp; said the PM.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina said that the government has started sending manpower to some new places. “But, we have to send skilled manpower. We have taken initiatives to provide training,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She asked the authorities concerned to figure out which country needs what kinds of skilled manpower. “We will provide training to them.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM mentioned that sometimes it is seen that people are selling their&nbsp; houses and lands to pay the unscrupulous middlemen and fraudulent persons for a job&nbsp; abroad.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She put emphasis on creating public awareness against going abroad for jobs through middlemen.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the heavy pressure on economy for coronavirus pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war, the income of the expatriates contributed a lot in the country\'s reserve and overall development, said the prime minister. 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, '2023-04-02 14:00:49', '2023-04-02 14:00:49'),
(6132, 6132, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">&nbsp;Varun Dhawan is furious after the internet dubbed him embarrassing for his antics at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre on Saturday. A video from the small Bollywood concert showed him bringing supermodel Gigi Hadid on stage and spinning her around. Many thought she looked uncomfortable during the whole episode.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Varun, however, says it was all pre-planned. Replying to a person on Twitter (whose original tweet is not visible) he said, “I guess today you woke up and decided to be woke. So lemme burst ur bubble and tell u it was planned for her to be on stage so find a new Twitter cause to vent about rather than going out and doing something about things. Good morning.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His fans thanked him for the clarification. “VD, we fans have known you since years we know it was all planned and scripted. Haters just wanna get clout using your name. Stay the same we\'re there for you always,\" tweeted one. “Thank youu for clarifying, was waiting for you to do this,” wrote another.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A few people were still sold on it. “But believe me its too cheap,” wrote one. “Thinking of something like that at first place is still cringe like lifting and swirling her was okay but,” commented another. “She still looks so uncomfy lol,” wrote a person. Another asked, “Was the kiss planned too though?”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The supermodel arrived in India on Friday and also attended the grand launch of NMACC on day 1. Later on day 2, she wore an Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla saree to the event. She even posed for photos with Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Penelope Cruz.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Varun Dhawan arrived for the gala with his wife Natasha Dalal and his mother. He even performed on stage with Ranveer Singh and Shah Rukh Khan. AP Dhillon also sang a few of his most popular songs. 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, '2023-04-02 14:10:30', '2023-04-02 14:10:30'),
(6133, 6133, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Star New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the rest of the Indian Premier League season with a knee injury, his franchise Gujarat Titans said Sunday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is sad to lose Kane to injury so early in the tournament. We wish him a speedy recovery, with the hope of seeing him in action very soon,\" Gujarat director of cricket Vikram Solanki said in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Williamson will now head home to New Zealand for further assessment. The Gujarat Titans will finalise a replacement for the right-handed batter and an announcement will be made in due course,\" the statement added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Williamson jarred his knee attempting a catch in the opening game of the current IPL on Friday between Gujarat and Chennai Super Kings in front of more than 100,000 fans in Ahmedabad.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 32-year-old New Zealand captain tried to get up but couldn\'t and had to be helped off the field by two physios. 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, '2023-04-02 14:21:52', '2023-04-02 14:21:52'),
(6134, 6134, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The High Court on Sunday granted six weeks anticipatory bail to Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The HC bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Aminul Islam passed the order.</div><div><br></div><div>Senior Advocate Fida M Kamal stood for Matiur Rahman while additional attorney general Mehedi Hasan and deputy attorney general Sujit Chatarjee Bappi represented the state.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier in the day, a petition was submitted before the court seeking anticipatory bail for Matiur Rahman.</div><div><br></div><div>The case was filed with Dhaka’s Ramna Police Station on March 29.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 29, an FIR was filed by a lawyer named Abdul Malek (Mashiur Malek), accusing Matiur Rahman, Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, an unnamed “assistant cameraman”, and unnamed others of “using print, online, and electronic media to tarnish the image and reputation of the state.”</div><div><br></div><div>In the FIR, the lawyer also mentioned that the accused were “purposefully spreading misinformation to deteriorate the law and order situation of the country.”</div><div><br></div><div>The case was filed under sections 25, 31 and 35 of the DSA.</div><div><br></div><div>The plaintiff said the news reported by Shamsuzzaman Shams went viral on social media which “tarnished the image of the country and triggered criticism at home and abroad.”</div><div><br></div><div>Moreover, there was a possibility of deterioration in the law and order situation in the country over the matter, the case statement said.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, Shamsuzzaman Shams, the paper’s Savar correspondent, who wrote the report was sued in a separate case under the DSA on March 29, around 10 hours after being picked up from his house near Jahangirnagar University by members of the Criminal Investigation Department of police. Source: UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 17:16:59', '2023-04-02 17:16:59'),
(6135, 6135, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has declined by a big margin of Tk 20.37 per kg – to Tk 98.17 from the previous price of Tk 118.54 – for the month of April.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced the new price, saying that a 12kg LPG cylinder’s price has been cut substantially by Tk 244. A retail consumer will get it at Tk 1178 instead of Tk 1,422 (including VAT).</div><div><br></div><div>Prices of other sizes of LPG cylinders – from 5.5kg to 45kg – will go down rationally, said Md Nurul Amin, the newly appointed chairman of BERC, during his maiden press briefing today at the BERC office in Dhaka.</div><div><br></div><div>The new prices will be effective from 6 pm today (April 2, 2023).</div><div><br></div><div>However, on the sidelines of the same press briefing, MD Selim Khan, president of Bangladesh LP Gas Traders Cooperative Limited – a representative body of dealers and distributors in the business – complained that though the BERC set the new price, the LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (LOAB) has verbally set the price at operators’ factory gates (wholesale points) price at Tk 1,200 for a 12kg LPG cylinder.</div><div><br></div><div>“So, a retail trader has to add at least Tk 120 to sell the 12 kg cylinder of gas to accommodate his other costs including transportation and staff costs,” he added.         </div><div><br></div><div>The new BERC chairman, however, said the commission is planning to sit with all stakeholders to address the anomalies in the price fixation.</div><div><br></div><div>He also said, BERC will ask the district administration and law enforcement agencies to check discrepancies in the market and curb price manipulation.   </div><div><br></div><div>BERC officials said the LPG price witnessed a big fall in the local market due to a decline in the prices of Saudi CP (contract price).</div><div><br></div><div>Last month, as per the Saudi CP, the LPG price was $733 per metric ton while the current month’s CP was set at $548.5 per MT, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladeshi LPG operators normally import their products from the Middle-East market on the basis of Saudi CP.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the BERC decision, the price of “auto gas” (LPG used for motor vehicles) also decreased to Tk 54.90 per litre (including VAT) from the previous Tk 66.22 per litre, down by Tk 11.32 per litre.</div><div><br></div><div>The price of LPG, marketed by state-owned LP Gas Company, will remain the same as it is locally produced with a market share of less than 5 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>LPG witnessed the highest price at Tk 1,498 (per 12kg cylinder) in the local market in February this year following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February last year. According to UNB reports </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 17:22:19', '2023-04-02 17:22:41'),
(6136, 6136, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Pressure is mounting on an obscure U.N. body based in Jamaica to hit pause on plans to potentially open the world’s deep seas to mining as companies push for permission to extract metals from seabeds in international waters.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The International Seabed Authority on Friday closed two weeks’ worth of negotiations without approving rules and regulations to oversee deep sea mining amid growing calls to pause, ban or place a moratorium on the quest to extract minerals from the Earth’s watery depths that are used in green technology like electric car batteries.</div><div><br></div><div>While the first exploration licenses for deep sea mining were issued in 2001, the authority has yet to receive an application for actual mining.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Individual countries and private companies can start applying for provisional licenses on July 10 if the U.N. body does not approve a set of rules and regulations by July 9, which experts say is highly unlikely since they believe the process could take several years.</div><div><br></div><div>“We know what a crucial period…the council is in at the moment,” Deryck Lance Murray, the authority’s representative for Trinidad and Tobago, said at the closing meeting on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>Scientists worry that deep sea mining would disrupt critical ecosystems that regulate climate change, and a growing number of countries are siding with them, including France, Spain, Germany, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.</div><div><br></div><div>“When in doubt, favor nature,” Edward Aníbal Pérez, the authority’s representative from the Dominican Republic, said at the closing meeting on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>He noted that while he is aware of the importance of certain minerals given that mankind is on the brink of an energetic transition, he said deep sea mining is not the sole alternative to meet growing demand.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is clear there are doubts as to the effects that this activity might cause,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, France’s representative, Olivier Guyonvarch, said a lack of data on deep sea ecosystems and species prevents a fact-based analysis of potential damage that such mining might cause.</div><div><br></div><div>“Scientists are uncovering an extraordinary diversity of life in the largely unexplored and unstudied depths of the ocean,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Guyonvarch noted that scientists already know the deep sea plays a large role in mitigating climate change by storing large amounts of carbon.</div><div><br></div><div>Scientists have warned that deep sea mining would kill species and damage ecosystems by releasing noise, light and dust storms, while companies that support such mining argue it is cheaper and has less of an impact than land mining.</div><div><br></div><div>More than 30 exploration licenses have been issued so far, with activity mostly focused in an area called the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, which spans 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) between Hawaii and Mexico. Exploration there has been occurring at depths ranging from 13,000 to 19,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters).</div><div><br></div><div>The rush and demand for minerals come as a growing number of countries and companies turn to green energy in a bid to reduce pollution.</div><div><br></div><div>The International Energy Agency noted in a report this year that “industries that were in their infancy” in the early 2000s and 2010s such as solar photovoltaic technology and electric vehicles, “have mushroomed into vast manufacturing operations today.”</div><div><br></div><div>Demand for minerals including lithium, cobalt and nickel is expected to increase from less than 10 million metric tons to some 150 million metric tons between 2020 and 2050, according to Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.</div><div><br></div><div>More than a dozen countries have officially called for a ban, pause or moratorium on deep sea mining, although it’s unclear how many other countries support such mining. And while there are 36 members on the authority’s council that have the power to award contracts to governments and private companies, only 12 votes in favor of deep sea mining are needed for it to pass, according to Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, a Netherlands-based alliance of environmental groups.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition, the ongoing debate is how would the U.N. body approve or reject an application for a provisional license without guidance from a set of rules and regulations, Matthew Gianni, the coalition’s co-founder, told The Associated Press.</div><div><br></div><div>He added that there is no agreement yet on what a provisional license would allow.</div><div><br></div><div>And even if a provisional license is granted, it’s not yet clear whether that would be an actual green light for mining or just a provisional approval stating that the company or country cannot sign a contract with the U.N. body until a regulatory framework is created.</div><div><br></div><div>“All of that is up in the air,” Gianni said.</div><div><br></div><div>Any decision regarding a provisional license also could be appealed to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 18:03:41', '2023-04-02 18:03:41'),
(6137, 6137, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Trashing speculations about widening discord among their alliance partners, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday said there is no laxity among those carrying out the simultaneous movement against the current government.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“We would like to give you a clear idea that there’s no laxity among us and we did not lose the momentum,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul made the remarks while talking to reporters at a press briefing at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office after a meeting between the liaison committee members of BNP and Ganatantra Mancha.</div><div><br></div><div>Though BNP and its all alliance partners observed a two-hour sit-in programme in all cities and district towns on Saturday, Ganatantra Mancha refrained from holding the programme.</div><div><br></div><div>When a journalist drew this issue to Fakhrul’s attention, he said BNP’s progrrammes are observed across the country sometimes simultaneously and they have an understanding that every party can observe the programmes in their own way.</div><div><br></div><div>“But we have been carrying out the simultaneous movement agreeing on the main demands for the resignation of the government, dissolution of parliament, holding the election under the non-party caretaker government and the reforms of the state,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader said they will clearly announce which are the programmes of their simultaneous movement and which are their party\'s own programmes from now on.</div><div><br></div><div>He said the joint declaration of their movement will be mainly based on establishing a democratic and welfare state by ousting the current government.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul alleged that many opposition leaders and activists were injured in different districts across the country, especially in Khulna and&nbsp; Natore in attacks by police and ruling party ‘cadres’ during their sit-in programme on Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>He said many of the injured have been receiving treatment at different hospitals in critical conditions. “We strongly condemn the attacks and the authoritarian government’s repressive activities to suppress the current movement and dissents.”</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader alleged that the government has been attacking and killing journalists and arresting, repressing and jailing them in a planned way over the last 14 years to suppress public opinions and snatch press freedom.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“They’re regulating the independence of the media, especially by using the Digital Security Act.”</div><div><br></div><div>He said their meeting condemned the arrest of Prothom Alao reporter Samsuzzaman Shams and the filing of cases against other journalists of the newspapers, including its editor Matiur Rahman, under the Digital Security ACT (DSA).</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul said the meeting demanded the withdrawal of the cases against journalists and the annulment of the DSA.</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader said their meeting also discussed the death of government employee Sultana Jasmine in Rapid Action Battalion custody in Rajshahi on March 24.</div><div><br></div><div>He said they talked about their next course of action of the ongoing simultaneous movement and they focused on making the relations with the partners of the movement stronger further to intensify the street agitation to establish a pro-people government by holding a credible election under a non-party caretaker government.</div><div><br></div><div>Rastra Sanskar Andolan’s chief coordinator and the coordinator of Ganatantra Mancha, Hasnat Quaiyum, said they also talked about the joint declaration of the simultaneous movement, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>He said they hope they will soon be able to present the joint declaration very soon.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasnat also said they also talked about how to intensify the current movement in unison in the days to come.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 19:17:58', '2023-04-02 19:17:58'),
(6138, 6138, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A High Court (HC) division bench today issued a rule asking why the Hajj package announced by the government this year should not be declared to be against the public interest.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The HC division bench comprising Justice K. M. Kamrul Kader and Justice Mohammad Ali issued the rule.</div><div><br></div><div>The court also sought to know why other airlines besides Bangladesh Biman and Saudi Airlines would not be included in list of airlines for booking tickets for hajj, keeping the affordability of the pilgrims in mind.</div><div>Religious Affairs Secretary, Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary, Director General of the Islamic Foundation and Hajj Association of Bangladesh (HAB) have been asked to respond to the rule within the next four weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 6, a legal notice was sent to the government to review the Hajj package price and set it at Tk 4 lakh by Supreme Court lawyer and chief coordinator of Al-Quran Study Center, Advocate Ashraf Uz Zaman.</div><div><br></div><div>The notice which stated that legal action will be taken against the concerned authorities if they don\'t take necessary steps within a week, was also sent to the Religious Affairs Ministry.</div><div><br></div><div>Advocate Ashraf Uz-Zaman, petitioner of the writ, told BSS that they want the concerned party to amend, change and reschedule the Hajj Package-2023, confining it within Taka four lakh. \"We have pointed out other issues like including other airlines besides Bangladesh Biman or Saudi Airlines, to ease out the burden of the expenses for the pilgrims,\" he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The government fixed the cost of Hajj in the current year at Tk 6.83 lakh. On the other hand, the minimum cost for Hajj pilgrims under private management (without qurbani) has been set at Tk 6.72 lakh.</div><div><br></div><div>With the announced packages, a pilgrim will have to spend around 1.5 lakh taka extra this year, compared to the previous year\'s budget. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 20:06:18', '2023-04-02 20:06:18'),
(6139, 6139, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, sued under the Digital Security Act (DSA), has been taken back to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj from Kashimpur Central Jail-1.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>A prison van carrying Shams left Kashimpur Central Jail for Dhaka Central Jail around 10am and reached Keraniganj around 12.15pm on Saturday, said Shahjahan Ahmed, superintendent of Kashimpur Jail 1.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, the journalist was shifted to Kashimpur Central Jail from Keraniganj on Friday (31 March). A Dhaka court on Thursday (30 March) sent him to jail in a case filed under Digital Security Act after rejecting his bail petition.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>On March 29, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) men in plainclothes picked up Shams from his residence in Ambagan area, adjacent to Jahangirnagar University, around 4:30 am.</div><div><br></div><div>The same day, a Jubo League leader filed a case under the Digital Security Act against Shams, accusing him of publishing a \"false and fabricated report\" on the Prothom Alo website. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 20:15:49', '2023-04-02 20:15:49'),
(6140, 6140, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The FOSWAL Literary Award, conferred to Father the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was handed over to his daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Noted writers and researchers Ramendu Majumdar and Mofidul Haque handed over the award to her at the latter’s official residence Ganabhaban, said PM’s Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhawat Moon.</div><div><br></div><div>At the time, the premier was given a letter and book written by Eminent Punjabi novelist and FOSWAL Founder President Ajeet Cour as well as a centenary-old Phulkari cloth sheet (Chadar) as gifts.</div><div><br></div><div>Extending thanks to all the concerned,&nbsp; Hasina said Bangabandhu stood tall like the Himalayas as a politician. Besides, he also had left the signs of the unique talent in his writings, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Referring to the historic 7th March speech, the PM said, Bangabandhu\'s speech is today a part of the world’s documentary heritage.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>She described this speech as a political epic which inspired the whole nation on the eve of the Liberation War in 1971.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 26, the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) conferred \'Special Literary Award\' to Bangabandhu for his trilogy -- The Unfinished Memoirs, The Prison Diaries, and New China 1952.</div><div><br></div><div>FOSWAL Founder President Ajeet Cour handed over the award to Ramendu Majumder and Mofidul Haque at its 63rd Literature Festival in New Delhi.</div><div><br></div><div>In the citation, it was stated, \"Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of Independent Bangladesh, \'Bangabandhu\' to his people, is a towering figure of national liberation of oppressed people of the world. Like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther king he was brutally murdered by the forces of darkness, but no power on earth can erase him from history.\"</div><div><br></div><div>SAARC Literary Award is an annual award conferred by the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) since 2001. According to UNB&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 20:46:33', '2023-04-02 20:46:33');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6141, 6141, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Interested film producers have been asked to submit their entries for the National Film Award-2022 by 4pm on May 10.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The jury board, formed for assessing the films submitted by producers to select the awardees, disclosed this at its first meeting held at Bangladesh Film Censor Board (BFCB) office here today said a press release.</div><div><br></div><div>The interested film producers could collect the particular application form from the BFCB office or download it from its website (www.bfcb.gov.bd) from April 4 to May 10, the release added.</div><div><br></div><div>They (producers) have been asked to submit proposed film in DVD format or by pen drive (two copies) and resume (Bangla) of proposed artistes, co-artistes and individuals with four copies of passport size photo, attested photocopy of national identity cards or passports with the application.</div><div><br></div><div>For proposing child artistes, the producers have been asked to submit attested photocopy of birth registration certificate with the application.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the release, the award will be given to 28 categories only among the Bangladeshi citizens.</div><div><br></div><div>Films produced in joint production will be considered for the award, but foreign artistes will not be eligible for the award.</div><div><br></div><div>The films must have BFCB censor certificates and been released in 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>There is no requirement for theatrical release in case of short and documentary films, but those have to get censor certificate in 2022 (considered year). - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 20:55:47', '2023-04-02 20:55:47'),
(6142, 6142, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">An international arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin raises the prospect of the man whose country invaded Ukraine facing justice, but it complicates efforts to end that war in peace talks.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Both justice and peace appear to be only remote possibilities today, and the conflicting relationship between the two is a quandary at the heart of a March 17 decision by the International Criminal Court to seek the Russian leader\'s arrest.</div><div><br></div><div>Judges in The Hague found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights were responsible for war crimes, specifically the unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.</div><div><br></div><div>As unlikely as Putin sitting in a Hague courtroom seems now, other leaders have faced justice in international courts.</div><div><br></div><div>Former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, a driving force behind the Balkan wars of the 1990s, went on trial for war crimes, including genocide, at a United Nations tribunal in The Hague after he lost power. He died in his cell in 2006 before a verdict could be reached.</div><div><br></div><div>Serbia, which wants European Union membership but has maintained close ties to Russia, is one of the countries that has criticized the ICC\'s action. The warrants “will have bad political consequences” and create “a great reluctance to talk about peace (and) about truce” in Ukraine, populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.</div><div><br></div><div>Others see consequences for Putin, and for anyone judged guilty of war crimes, as the primary desired outcome of international action.</div><div><br></div><div>“There will be no escape for the perpetrator and his henchmen,\" European Union leader Ursula von der Leyen said Friday in a speech to mark the one-year anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, the Ukraine town that saw some of the worst atrocities in the war. “War criminals will be held accountable for their deeds.”</div><div><br></div><div>Hungary did not join the other 26 EU members in signing a resolution in support of the ICC warrant for Putin. The government\'s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said Hungarian authorities would not arrest Putin if he were to enter the country..</div><div><br></div><div>He called the warrants “not the most fortunate because they lead toward escalation and not toward peace.”</div><div><br></div><div>Putin appears to have a strong grip on power, and some analysts suspect the the warrant hanging over him could provide an incentive to prolong the fighting.</div><div><br></div><div>“The arrest warrant for Putin might undermine efforts to reach a peace deal in Ukraine,” Daniel Krcmaric, an associate professor of political science at Northwestern University, said in emailed comments to The Associated Press.</div><div><br></div><div>One potential way of easing the way to peace talks could be for the United Nations Security Council to call on the International Criminal Court to suspend the Ukraine investigation for a year, which is allowed under Article 16 of the Rome Statute treaty that created the court.</div><div><br></div><div>But that appears unlikely, said Krcmaric, whose book “The Justice Dilemma,” deals with the tension between seeking justice and pursuing a negotiated end to conflicts.</div><div><br></div><div>“The Western democracies would have to worry about public opinion costs if they made the morally questionable decision to trade justice for peace in such an explicit fashion,” he said, adding that Ukraine also is unlikely to support such a move.</div><div><br></div><div>Russia immediately rejected the warrants. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow doesn’t recognize the ICC and considers its decisions “legally void.” And Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, which is chaired by Putin, suggested the ICC headquarters on the Netherlands\' coastline could become a target for a Russian missile strike.</div><div><br></div><div>Alexander Baunov, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment, observed in a commentary that the arrest warrant for Putin amounted to “an invitation to the Russian elite to abandon Putin” that could erode his support.</div><div><br></div><div>While welcoming the warrants for Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, rights groups also urged the international community not to forget the pursuit of justice in other conflicts.</div><div><br></div><div>“The ICC warrant for Putin reflects an evolving and multifaceted justice effort that is needed elsewhere in the world,” Human Rights Watch associate international justice director Balkees Jarrah said in a statement.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Similar justice initiatives are needed elsewhere to ensure that the rights of victims globally — whether in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, or Palestine — are respected.” - AP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 21:17:50', '2023-04-02 21:17:50'),
(6143, 6143, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Britain’s interior minister Suella Braverman on Sunday said the UK government was “in negotiations” after three British men were detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Media reports have identified the men as charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, the unnamed manager of a hotel for aid workers and YouTube star Miles Routledge.</div><div><br></div><div>“The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure people’s safety is upheld,” Braverman told Sky News.</div><div><br></div><div>The non-profit group the Presidium Network said on Twitter on Saturday it had been “working closely with two of the families.”</div><div><br></div><div>“We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families,” the UK’s foreign ministry added in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Scott Richards of the Presidium Network told Sky News: “We believe they are in good health and being well treated.</div><div><br></div><div>“We have no reason to believe they’ve been subject to any negative treatment such as torture and we’re told that they are as good as can be expected in such circumstances.”</div><div><br></div><div>He added, however, that there had been “no meaningful contact” between authorities and the two men Presidium was assisting.</div><div><br></div><div>These two men are believed to have been held by the Taliban since January.</div><div><br></div><div>It is not known how long the third man has been held for.</div><div><br></div><div>Presidium on Twitter urged the Taliban to be “considerate of what we believe is a misunderstanding and release these men.”</div><div><br></div><div>Last year the Taliban freed a veteran television cameraman and four other British nationals it had held for six months.</div><div><br></div><div>Peter Jouvenal was one of a “number” of Britons that the government in London said had been held by the hard-line Islamists.</div><div><br></div><div>Britain’s foreign ministry said the five “had no role in the UK government’s work in Afghanistan and traveled to Afghanistan against the UK government’s travel advice.”</div><div><br></div><div>“This was a mistake,” it added.</div><div><br></div><div>At the time, Afghanistan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused the Britons of “carrying out activities against the country’s laws and traditions of the people of Afghanistan.”</div><div><br></div><div>“After consecutive meetings between the IEA (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) and Britain the said persons were released... and handed over to their home country,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>“They promised to abide by the laws of Afghanistan, its traditions and culture of the people and not to violate them again,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The Taliban returned to power in August 2021 and has since sparked global outrage with its policies in particular toward women and girls. According to AFP reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 21:23:12', '2023-04-02 21:23:12'),
(6144, 6144, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The selection test for Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) will start in colleges from May 30.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board issued a notice in this regard on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>All the educational institutions have been asked to complete the selection test within June 21.</div><div><br></div><div>The decision is applicable for Dhaka, Rajshahi, Jashore, Cumilla, Chattogram, Barishal, Sylhet, Dinajpur, Mymensingh, Bangladesh Madrasha and Technical Education Board and the controller of examinations of Bangladesh Inter-Education Board.</div><div><br></div><div>The authorities concerned have been asked to take necessary steps in this regard. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 21:36:12', '2023-04-02 21:36:12'),
(6145, 6145, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A Meherpur court on Sunday sentenced nine people to death for killing two siblings in Gangni upazila of Meherpur district in 2012.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The condemned convicts are—Abdul Halim, Atier Rahman, Jalal Uddin, Shariful Islam, Sharif Hossain, Dabir Uddin, Azizul Haque, Farid Hossain and Manirul Islam Moni.</div><div><br></div><div>Meherpur Additional District and Session Judge Ripti Kumar Biswas handed down the punishment.</div><div><br></div><div>The court also fined Tk 20,000 to each, in default, to suffer six months more in rigorous imprisonment.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the prosecution, a big consignment of phensidyl was seized at Kazipur in Gangni upazila of the district on June 5, 2012.</div><div><br></div><div>There was an allegation against two brothers—Abujel, 35 and Rafiqul Islam, 40, two sons of Kiamuddin---that they were behind the seizure.</div><div><br></div><div>In a sequel, the convicts called upon the two siblings to an unknown place saying to settle down the issue on June 15, 2012.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, the two siblings were found dead at a chili field along the bordering area at Mandal Para in Kazipur village.</div><div><br></div><div>Jarina Begum, sister of the two siblings, lodged a complaint with Gangni Police. Police later registered a case in this connection.</div><div><br></div><div>Sub-inspector Asaduzzaman of Gangni Police Station submitted chargesheet against 14 people.</div><div><br></div><div>After examining records and witnesses, Meherpur Additional District and Session Judge Ripti Kumar Biswas also acquitted five people as allegations brought against them could not be proved. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-02 21:46:00', '2023-04-02 21:46:00'),
(6146, 6146, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A Dhaka court on Sunday granted bail to Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA).</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Asaduzzaman Nur granted the bail on a bond of Tk 20,000.</div><div><br></div><div>A Dhaka court on Thursday sent him to jail rejecting his bail petition. Another petition was filed on Monday seeking bail.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, the journalist was shifted to Kashimpur Central Jail from Keraniganj on March 31. Meanwhile, he was taken back to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj from Kashimpur Central Jail on April 1.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 29, members of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in plainclothes picked up Shams from his residence in Ambagan area, adjacent to Jahangirnagar University, around 4:30 am.</div><div><br></div><div>The same day, a Jubo League leader filed a case under the Digital Security Act against Shams, accusing him of publishing a \"false and fabricated report\" on the Prothom Alo website.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 29, an FIR was filed by a lawyer named Abdul Malek (Mashiur Malek), accusing Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, an unnamed “assistant cameraman”, and unnamed others of “using print, online, and electronic media to tarnish the image and reputation of the state.”</div><div><br></div><div>In the FIR, the lawyer also mentioned that the accused were “purposefully spreading misinformation to deteriorate the law and order situation of the country.”</div><div><br></div><div>The High Court on Sunday granted six weeks anticipatory bail to Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman in a case filed under the Digital Security Act. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 15:45:37', '2023-04-03 15:45:37'),
(6147, 6147, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said Bangladesh has achieved the capacity in conducting critical medical surgeries including kidney transplantation.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"Bangladesh has gained huge progress in medical treatment. It has now become capable to carry out many critical operations including kidney transplant,\" she noted during an interaction with a Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) delegation at her official Ganabhaban residence in the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>BSMMU vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Md Sharfuddin Ahmed led the delegation which paid a courtesy call on her at Ganabhaban, the premier’s Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhawat Moon briefed newsmen after the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>According to Moon, the premier said her government has reached healthcare services to every doorstep following the footstep of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div><br></div><div>She said her government has given topmost priority on extending healthcare services to the people.</div><div><br></div><div>Concerned physicians, kidney transplanted patients Shamima Akhter and Shabnam Sultana and mother of Kidney donor Sara Islam were present, among others.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier on January 19 last, a team of physicians at BSMMU Hospital led by Prof Dr Habibur Rahman Dulal successfully transplanted kidneys collected from a clinically dead person to two patients.</div><div><br></div><div>It was the first cadaveric kidney transplant performed in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>They took the kidneys from Sara Islam, a 20-year-old patient who was at the intensive care unit and declared clinically dead on January 18 afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>The kidneys were collected after Sara\'s mother gave her consent for the operation.</div><div><br></div><div>Kidney transplantation from living donors began in Bangladesh in 1982. But taking a kidney from a clinically dead patient was restricted legally.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2018, the organ donation law was amended allowing collection of organs from the clinically dead with consent from concerned relatives. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 16:17:55', '2023-04-03 16:17:55'),
(6149, 6149, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP leaders met the mother of Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, who was arrested in a case filed under the (Digital Security Act), at her father’s house in Dhamrai.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Two BNP leaders--party’s media cell convener Zahiruddin Swapan, and its member secretary Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anne, went to the house of Shamsuzzaman’s grandfather around 11am.</div><div><br></div><div>Anee told UNB that said they talked to Shamsuzzaman’s mother Karimun Nessa and consoled her.</div><div><br></div><div>“She (Karimun Nessa) burst into tears expressing her agony over the arrest of her son,” the BNP leader said.</div><div><br></div><div>Anne said Shamsuzzaman’s mother said her son did not do bad journalism. “I don’t know for what crime my son was taken in the dark of the night. I want to get my son back.”</div><div><br></div><div>The BNP leader said he told Kamrunnesa that the entire country has turned into a jai as the government has been trying to arrest those who are raising their voice and speaking the truth. “Shamsuzzaman was arrested as he presented the truth. Thank Allah that he has not been subjected to enforced disappearance.”</div><div><br></div><div>Anne said his party colleague Zahiruddin Swapan told the journalist’s mother that the country’s people would not accept if any injustice is done to Shamsuzzaman.</div><div><br></div><div>Both BNP leaders urged the government to withdraw the case against Shamsuzzaman and revoke the Digital Security Act (DSA) to ensure press freedom.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 29, members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in plainclothes picked up Shams from his residence in the Ambagan area, adjacent to Jahangirnagar University, around 4:30 am.</div><div><br></div><div>The same day, a Jubo League leader filed a case under the Digital Security Act against Shams, accusing him of publishing a \"false and fabricated report\" on the Prothom Alo website.</div><div><br></div><div>However, a Dhaka court on Monday granted him bail in the case. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 17:32:45', '2023-04-03 17:32:45'),
(6150, 6150, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways today demanded a ban on motorbike movement on all highways for at least 9 days before, during and after Eid.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The organisation also called for taking strict action to stop the movement of three-wheelers and charging extra bus fare on all inter-district roads, including highways, during Eid travel.</div><div><br></div><div>The national committee President Haji Mohammad Shahid Mia and its general secretary Ashis Kumar Dey made this call in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, leaders of the civic organisation demanded to stop the movement of unregistered, defective and unauthorized vehicles on all roads and highways of the country.</div><div><br></div><div>They also urged Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to strengthen the operation of mobile court and law enforcement agencies, including police, to implement these demands.</div><div><br></div><div>Emphasizing safe and hassle-free Eid travel, the statement said that the number of motorcycle accidents across the country is increasing at a geometric rate. Motorcycle accidents accounted for more than 40 percent of all road crashes last year. There is a fear of more mishaps during the Eid season due to the long-distance commute on these two-wheelers.</div><div><br></div><div>Small and unsafe vehicles slow down larger vehicles like buses and trucks on highways and inter-district roads, the statement said.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>This increases the risk of accidents and traffic jams. Despite the government ban, various types of three-wheelers including battery-powered rickshaws and numerous locally made vehicles such as Nasimon, Karimon, Bhotbhoti and Alam Sadhu are plying the highways and inter-district roads across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Citing examples from the near past, the statement of the national committee alleged that on many roads, various transport companies charge commuters one-and-a-half to double the fare on every Eid trip. As a result, bus owners and workers earn extra money, but general people are suffering financial losses. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 19:28:44', '2023-04-03 19:28:44'),
(6151, 6151, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed was ruled out of the only Test against Ireland after sustaining a side strain injury.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>A BCB official confirmed Taskin needs at least two weeks to recover from the injury. He got injured during the T20 International series against Ireland in which he was adjudged man of the series for his eight wickets.</div><div><br></div><div>He also didn\'t join any practice session for the Test against Ireland. The injury has been the part of Taskin\'s life ever since he shot into the limelight.</div><div><br></div><div>He came back to cricket with a Test match against India in Mirpur after injury kept him sidelined for seven months. The injury once again forced him to miss another Test.</div><div><br></div><div>Taskin claimed 22 wickets in 14 T20 Internationals and grabbed 23 wickets in 15 ODIs in this season. He also took 19 wickets in seven Test matches. Source: BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 19:43:47', '2023-04-03 19:43:47'),
(6152, 6152, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie said on Monday the team were excited but aware of the challenges ahead of their fourth-ever Test match beginning in Bangladesh this week.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Ireland have lost all three of their previous Test matches since becoming a full member of the International Cricket Council in 2017.</div><div><br></div><div>They are also scheduled to play two more Test matches against Sri Lanka later this month.</div><div><br></div><div>\"(There is) a lot of excitement coming into this week,\" Balbirnie said ahead of the match starting on Tuesday in Dhaka.</div><div><br></div><div>Many in the squad have never played a Test before and the length of the game and the conditions would be challenging, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It\'s certainly very hot out there. It\'s a new ground for us as a team,\" Balbirnie said.</div><div><br></div><div>\"A lot of our guys have been brought up on white-ball cricket, in T20 cricket. A batter (in Tests) has to set himself to bat for as long as possible. Bowlers have to be as disciplined as possible. That\'s going to be the biggest challenge.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Ireland found the preceding 50-over and T20 series against Bangladesh tough going, losing 2-0 and 2-1 respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>The hosts will be without fast bowler Taskin Ahmed for the Test because of a side strain. He has been replaced in the squad by Rejaur Rahman Raja.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh also denied permission to skipper Shakib Al Hasan and his deputy Liton Das to join the Indian Premier League until the end of the Test match.</div><div><br></div><div>\"We are playing a full team after a long time. We have a good combination. We are all playing regularly, and in good touch,\" said all-rounder Mehidy Hasan ahead of the Test. Source: AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 19:58:57', '2023-04-03 19:58:57'),
(6153, 6153, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday Finland will become the 31st member of the world’s biggest military alliance on Tuesday, prompting a warning from Russia that it would bolster its defenses near their joint border if NATO deploys any troops in its new member.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“This is a historic week,” Stoltenberg told reporters on the eve of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. “From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance.” He said that he hopes Sweden will be able to join NATO in coming months.</div><div><br></div><div>The former Norwegian prime minister said that on Tuesday afternoon, “we will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole.”</div><div><br></div><div>Stoltenberg said that Turkey, the last country to have ratified Finland’s membership, will hand its official texts to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday. Stoltenberg said he would then invite Finland to do the same.</div><div><br></div><div>Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen will attend the ceremony, along with Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is a historic moment for us. For Finland, the most important objective at the meeting will be to emphasize NATO’s support to Ukraine as Russia continues its illegal aggression,” Haavisto said in a statement. “We seek to promote stability and security throughout the Euro-Atlantic region.”</div><div><br></div><div>Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that Moscow would respond to Finland becoming NATO’s member by bolstering its defenses if needed.</div><div><br></div><div>“We will strengthen our military potential in the west and in the northwest,” Grushko said in remarks carried by the state RIA Novosti news agency. “In case of deployment of forces of other NATO members on the territory of Finland, we will take addition steps to ensure Russia’s military security.”</div><div><br></div><div>The announcement of Finland’s entry comes just after Finnish voters gave a boost to conservative parties in a weekend election, depriving left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin of another term. Marin had championed her country’s NATO accession.</div><div><br></div><div>Fearing that they might be targeted after Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, the Nordic neighbors Finland and Sweden abandoned their traditional positions of military non-alignment to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella.</div><div><br></div><div>All 30 allies signed Finland’s and Sweden’s accession protocols. Turkey and Hungary delayed the process for months but have relented on Finland. Turkey has sought guarantees and assurances from the two, notably on tackling extremism. Hungary’s demands have never been explicit.</div><div><br></div><div>NATO must agree unanimously for new members to join. NATO officials are also keen to bring Sweden within the fold before U.S. President Joe Biden and his alliance counterparts meet in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on July 11-12, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>“Sweden is not left alone. Sweden is as close as it can come as a full-fledged member,” Stoltenberg said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 20:06:31', '2023-04-03 20:06:31'),
(6154, 6154, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A Surat court on Monday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case over his 2019 remark about the surname Modi.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The sessions court will hear the matter on April 13, an official said.</div><div><br></div><div>The 52-year-old Congress leader reached Surat in the afternoon via a scheduled commercial flight along with sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and proceeded to the sessions court.</div><div><br></div><div>He was convicted by a lower court here and sentenced to prison for two years last month for a speech in which he linked PM Modi\'s last name with two fugitive businessmen, remarking how the \"thieves\" shared the same last name.</div><div><br></div><div>The lower court had granted him bail for 30 days to appeal the verdict.</div><div><br></div><div>A day later, he was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha. - PTI</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 20:12:09', '2023-04-03 20:12:09'),
(6155, 6155, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman have been warned to avoid stigmatizing British Pakistanis and Muslims following controversial comments ahead of the unveiling of a new taskforce to tackle sexual abuse, The Independent reported on Monday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Braverman last week said high-profile cases of sexual grooming gangs, which operate across the UK, are primarily composed of “groups of men, almost all British Pakistani.”</div><div><br></div><div>The government has pledged a slew of new measures to crack down on grooming gangs, but the opposition Labour Party, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and academics have warned the home secretary to avoid singling out ethnic or religious groups.</div><div><br></div><div>When unveiling the latest measures, Sunak pledged to avoid “political correctness” regarding ethnicity while tackling grooming gangs.</div><div><br></div><div>The new taskforce aims to bring together a range of law enforcement groups to target sexual predators. Ethnic data will be used as part of police investigations into grooming gang cases.</div><div><br></div><div>However, NSPCC CEO Sir Peter Wanless told the BBC that the gangs, as well as sexual predators, “do not just come from one background.”</div><div><br></div><div>He warned the government to avoid “creating other blind spots” by “raising an issue such as race.”</div><div><br></div><div>Sabah Kaiser, the ethnic minority ambassador for the independent inquiry into child abuse, said it is “very, very dangerous for the government to turn child sexual abuse into a matter of color.”</div><div><br></div><div>On Sunday, Braverman accused Labour councillors of failing to take action on grooming gangs over fears of being branded as racist.</div><div><br></div><div>In response to her comments, Labour leader Keir Starmer said: “The vast majority of sexual abuse cases do not involve those of ethnic minorities and so I am all for clamping down on any kind of case, but if we are going to be serious, we have to be honest about what the overlook is.”</div><div><br></div><div>He added: “Ethnicity is important and nothing should get in the way of investigating and prosecuting child sexual exploitation. But if you look at the overall figure that is, you know, a relatively small element of it.”</div><div><br></div><div>Academics including Ella Cockbain, an associate professor at University College London, also condemned Braverman’s remarks.</div><div><br></div><div>Cockbain told BBC Radio 4 that Braverman “is choosing to mainstream hard-right talking points, and to push discredited stereotypes. That is really dangerous and reductive. It allows other offenders to get away with abuse.”</div><div><br></div><div>Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, accused the government of failing child sexual abuse victims.</div><div><br></div><div>She said: “Only 11 percent of child sexual abuse cases ends with a charge - down from 32 percent seven years ago - and the court delays have got far worse with victims waiting years for justice.” - Arab News&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 21:54:55', '2023-04-03 21:54:55'),
(6156, 6156, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A seminar on climate change and disaster management was held today at Bangladesh Open University (BOU) on its campus in Gazipur.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>In the seminar, Dr. Jennifer Pickering of Memphis University, USA presented the keynote paper on \"Rethinking Geomorphic Drivers in Bengal: Impacts of Megafloods on Fluvial-Deltaic System Dynamics\", said a press release.</div><div><br></div><div>BOU vice-chancellor Professor Dr Syed Humayun Akhter and Professor Dr. Mike Blum of University of Kansas, USA, BOU Pro-VC (Administration) Professor Dr Nasim Banu, Pro-VC (Academic) Professor Dr Mahbuba Nasreen, Treasurer Professor Mostafa Azad Kamal and Open School dean Professor Sabina Yeasmin addressed the seminar, among others.</div><div><br></div><div>While addressing on Megafloods on Fluvial-Deltaic System, Dr. Jennifer said, the paleo valley floor is defined by a gravel unit containing boulder-sized casts up to 30 cm in diameter, deposited after ca. 30 ka but before ca. 9 ka.</div><div><br></div><div>The current research indicates that glacial-lake outburst floods sourced from the Tibetan reaches of the Brahmaputra were routed through the low stand valley, producing mega flood-scale discharge capable of transporting gravel and cannibalizing the valley margins, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Jennifer said the timing of these glacial-lake outburst flood-driven discharge events was coincident with valley development and explains the anomalously large width of the valley and basal gravel surface, reports BSS</div><div><br></div><div>Despite the underfit scale of Brahmaputra discharge following the last glacial period, a strengthening monsoon and high sediment discharge in the early Holocene subsequently contributed to the efficient infilling of the massive paleo valley by the mid-Holocene, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 22:02:44', '2023-04-03 22:02:44'),
(6157, 6157, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Indiana Jones will be swinging back into action at the Cannes Film Festival in May, organisers confirmed on Monday, with Harrison Ford launching the world premiere of his final outing as the adventurous archaeologist.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>\"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny\", which also stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Antonio Banderas, is the fifth installment of the action franchise and will premiere at the Cote d\'Azur festival on May 18.</div><div><br></div><div>Ford has said it will be his last appearance as the whip-cracking, fedora-wearing archaeologist, who became one of Hollywood\'s most iconic characters after the movie\'s first installment, \"Raiders of the Lost Ark\", in 1981.</div><div><br></div><div>The previous entry, \"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull\", also premiered at Cannes in 2008.</div><div><br></div><div>The new film, said to be set during the 1960s space race, includes a flashback section in which the 80-year-old actor has been digitally de-aged.</div><div><br></div><div>It is the first in the series not to have been directed by Steven Spielberg. He still serves as executive producer but passes the reins to James Mangold.</div><div><br></div><div>\"In 1995, I was honoured to come to Cannes with my first film \'Heavy\' as part of the Director\'s Fortnight. Twenty-eight years later, I am proud to return with a slightly larger spectacle,\" Mangold said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>Mangold has had a steady run of Hollywood successes, including \"Logan\" (2017), \"Ford v Ferrari\" (2019) and Johnny Cash biopic \"Walk the Line\" (2005).</div><div><br></div><div>This year\'s festival runs from May 16 to 27, and the full line-up will be announced in the next couple of weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>The latest film from Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, \"Killers of the Flower Moon\", is already confirmed to get its world premiere at the festival on May 20. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 22:15:04', '2023-04-03 22:15:04'),
(6158, 6158, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said their party is least bothered about the Election Commission’s decisions to use ballot papers in all 300 seats instead of EVMs in the upcoming polls as their main concern is about the election-time government.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Mirza Fakhrul said this while speaking at an iftar party on Monday. BNP hosted the iftar party in honour of politicians at Ladies Club in the city’s Eskaton area.</div><div><br></div><div>He alleged that a suffocating situation has been prevailing in the country as the government has been increasingly trying to suppress the people’s freedom of expression by repressing democracy-loving people, including politicians and journalists, as the national election is nearing.</div><div><br></div><div>The Election Commission has said today (Monday) that ballot papers will be used in all seats in the election, he said. “We don’t have even an iota of interest in the matter. We think the main crisis is who will be there in the government during the election and it’s our main concern.”&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As a four member BNP delegation joined Jatiya Party’s iftar on Sunday unlike previous 16 years, a Jatiya delegation took party in BNP’s iftar reciprocating a good gesture, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul alleged that the government has destroyed the electoral system as it has come a long way from the Liberation War’s spirit of building a democratic state.</div><div><br></div><div>He also said the government created a situation to confuse people once again by staging various dramas and farce in the name of election.</div><div><br></div><div>Fakhrul said BNP and many other political parties agreed that no fair election can be held under the current regime which is neither elected nor illegal.</div><div><br></div><div>Accusing the current government of destroying democracy, he said it must quit, dissolve parliament and hand over power to a bon-party caretaker government, paving the way for holding a credible election.</div><div><br></div><div>“We believe that the people of this country never accepted any dictatorship and autocracy. The brave people of Bangladesh have always fought for their freedom and rights and succeeded,” the BNP leader said.</div><div><br></div><div>He hoped that people of all walks of life and all political parties will join the current movement for the restoration of democracy and voting and other lost rights.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, as the national election is getting closer, Fakhrul alleged that the democratic people, organizers, dissents, politicians, lawyers and journalists are being gradually subjected to torture and their freedom of expression is being hampered in various ways, including by filing false cases. An unbearable situation has been prevailing in the country.”</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 22:24:43', '2023-04-03 22:24:43'),
(6159, 6159, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A single admission test will be held in all universities of the country from next year, Education Minister Dipu Moni said on Monday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>National Testing Authority (NTA) will be formed to conduct the exam, the minister said at a policy-making meeting on the single admission test for the academic year 2023-2024 held at UGC.</div><div><br></div><div>Dipu Moni called upon the concerned to prepare for the single admission test from now on.</div><div>Besides, a committee headed by the UGC chairman will be formed soon regarding the solo entrance test, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>UGC Chairman Prof Dr. Kazi Shahidullah presided over the meeting while members of the commission Prof Dr. Dil Afroza Begum, Prof Dr. Md. Sajjad Hossain, Secondary and Higher Education Department Additional Secretary Md Abu Yusuf Mia and UGC Secretary Dr. Ferdous Zaman were also present.</div><div><br></div><div>The examination procedure will be discussed in detail with the dean of the university and the examination committee in this regard, the minister said, adding that the schedule of the single entrance examination will be published after HSC examination.</div><div><br></div><div>She said that the initiative is being taken for the sake of students and guardians and hoped that there will be no chance to raise any questions about its quality.</div><div><br></div><div>Teaching can be started in a short period of time if the admission test is held simultaneously in all universities, UGC Chairman Kazi Shahidullah said, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>The success of the single admission test would be a huge achievement in the higher education sector, he hoped.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-03 22:36:03', '2023-04-03 22:36:03'),
(6160, 6160, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Former US President Donald Trump has arrived at Trump Tower in New York, where he is expected to spend the night before facing criminal charges.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Trump\'s trip to Manhattan will see him indicted for his alleged role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The exact charges he faces will be disclosed in full at the hearing, at around 14:15 local time (19:15 BST).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Trump, 76, is the first US president in history to face a criminal case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He denies wrongdoing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"WITCH HUNT,\" Mr Trump, a Republican, wrote on his Truth Social platform shortly before travelling from his home in Florida on Monday, a phrase he has used to criticise other investigations he has faced.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Every moment of this 24-hour trip by the former president and 2024 White House contender is being closely watched nationwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Live trackers followed his plane - painted in red, white and blue with \"Trump\" in big letters on the side - throughout the nearly four-hour flight from West Palm Beach to LaGuardia Airport in Queens.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Anticipating his arrival, the intersection around Trump Tower - the former president\'s Manhattan residence - was buzzing with New Yorkers and tourists alike who stopped to gawk at Monday\'s scene. Dozens of media crews had set up camp on every available corner while at least five news helicopters hovered high over Fifth Avenue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Trump waved at media and a crowd of supporters and protesters before walking in to the skyscraper under tight security, just after 16:15 local time (20:15 GMT).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was expected to spend the rest of the day at home with legal advisers, a team that grew on Monday with the addition of Todd Blanche. Mr Blanche, a prominent white-collar criminal defence lawyer and former federal prosecutor, previously represented Mr Trump\'s onetime campaign chairman Paul Manafort.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Tuesday morning, police and court officers as well as Secret Service agents are expected to escort Mr Trump through New York - the city he grew up in and where he built his property empire - to the Lower Manhattan court complex.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The president is expected to first surrender at the office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg before he is arraigned in court, a process that includes being fingerprinted and possibly having a booking photo - also known as a mugshot - taken.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He will then appear before a judge who will read the indictment - the set of charges - to him. His lawyers have already said he will plead not guilty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mr Trump faces at least one felony charge in relation to allegedly falsifying business records, US media have reported. Other reports suggest there are about 30 counts in his indictment, all linked to a payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Media outlets have lobbied Judge Juan Merchan to allow cameras inside the courtroom, a motion that has been opposed by Mr Trump\'s legal team. \"We submit that the media request should be denied because it will create a circus-like atmosphere at the arraignment,\" the lawyers wrote in a letter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The former president is expected to be released on bail and return to his Florida home Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening, where he plans to deliver remarks at 20:15 local time.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Law enforcement agencies - including the FBI, New York police and court officers, and the Secret Service - were co-ordinating on security for the hearing.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At a news conference on Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that, while there were no specific threats against the city, officials were prepared.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"While there may be some rabble rousers thinking about coming to our city tomorrow, our message is clear and simple: control yourselves,\" he said. \"New York is our home and not a place for your misplaced anger.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">President Joe Biden, at an event in the state of Minnesota, told reporters he had no concerns about unrest in New York, saying: \"I have faith in the New York Police Department.\" 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, '2023-04-04 08:30:39', '2023-04-04 08:30:39'),
(6161, 6161, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A massive fire broke out at Bangabazar market in the capital this morning.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Forty-one units of fire service are working to control the fire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Confirming the matter, Rafi Al Faruk, duty officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defense control room, said the fire was reported at Bangabazar market at 6:10am.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The cause of the fire could not be known immediately, he said, adding that no casualties have been reported so far.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to eyewitnesses, owners and employees of the market\'s shops rushed to the spot after hearing the news of the fire.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Many were seen removing goods from their stores and moving them to a secure location.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 08:42:06', '2023-04-04 08:42:06');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6162, 6162, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">An Israeli air strike targeted the Syrian capital Damascus Tuesday, state media reported, the fourth such attack on government-held areas of the war-torn country since last Thursday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During more than a decade of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Our air defence intercepted hostile targets in the Damascus airspace,\" state news agency SANA said, referring to the Israeli missiles.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It had earlier reported \"an explosion heard in the vicinity of Damascus\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said that \"Israeli missiles targeted the area of the Damascus International Airport, an Iranian complex near the Sayyidah Zeinab area,\" and another location in al-Kiswah.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Syria\'s air defence intercepted at least two missiles, the Observatory said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Sunday, two Iran-affiliated fighters were killed in an Israeli air strike on targets in Syria, according to the British-based monitor with a wide network of sources inside the country, with SANA reporting five Syrian soldiers wounded.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israel struck early Sunday near the western Syrian city of Homs, after striking the Syrian capital Thursday and early Friday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A rare car bombing also rocked Damascus on Sunday, with no deaths reported and no side claiming responsibility.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While Israel rarely comments on the strikes it carries out on Syria, it has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch-foe Iran to extend its footprint in the war-torn country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Syrian war broke out in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful anti-government protests, and escalated into a deadly armed conflict that pulled in foreign powers and global jihadists.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than half a million people have been killed and around half of Syria\'s pre-war population has been forced from their homes. 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, '2023-04-04 09:51:30', '2023-04-04 09:51:30'),
(6163, 6163, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Joe Biden on Monday shrugged off a sharp output cut by Saudi-led OPEC+ oil producers, while the White House criticized the move but said it would be of limited impact on the US economy.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It\'s not going to be as bad as you think,\" Biden told reporters while traveling in Minnesota to promote his economic record.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters \"we don\'t think that production cuts are advisable at this moment, given market uncertainty.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United States \"made that clear,\" he said, but added: \"we\'re focused on moving ahead here.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A group of OPEC+ countries, led by longtime close US ally Saudi Arabia, announced a surprise cut of one million barrels a day in a bid to boost prices.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Russia, which is also part of OPEC+, said it was extending a previously announced unilateral cut of 500,000 barrels a day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kirby said the situation had improved since production cuts a year ago that angered the Biden administration, which was struggling at the time to stem a politically sensitive surge in fuel prices across the United States.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'re also just in a different place in the market than we were last year,\" he said, noting that crude prices are at around $80 a barrel, compared to as much as $120 one year ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We\'re focused on prices,\" he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Asked about the troubled relationship with Saudi Arabia, Kirby said the country \"is still a strategic partner\" but \"we don\'t always see eye to eye on everything.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kirby said that the latest production cuts were not sprung as a complete surprise to the US government. \"We were given a heads up.\" 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, '2023-04-04 10:19:19', '2023-04-04 10:19:19'),
(6164, 6164, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh has urged all to work together to come up with innovative solutions to better integrate individuals with disabilities into society and ensure that none is left behind.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that 75 million people in the world who live with autism can make the most of their talents and participate fully in our societies,\" said Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He was speaking at a high-level event, titled “World Autism Awareness Day 2023: Inclusion for health through the life course”, which was jointly organized by the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh, Qatar, World Health Organization and UNICEF at the United Nations Headquarters on Monday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of Qatar, and Ambassador Muhammad A Muhith, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh, delivered the welcome remarks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In his keynote speech, Foreign Secretary Momen said that Bangladesh has seen tremendous increase in awareness on autism in the past decade, thanks to Saima Wazed, Chairperson of Bangladesh National Advisory Committee on Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He highlighted the various initiatives of the Government of Bangladesh which includes, among others, enactment of Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act 2013; Neuro-development Trust Act 2013; establishment of more than 100 Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorder centers and introduction of capacity building trainings for caregivers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Simultaneously, with our national efforts, we had been advocating the issue at the UN, including through adopting UNGA resolution, and co-hosting the World Autism Awareness Day every year since its launching in 2007. We also made specific commitments in the Second Global Disability Summit 2022 to address the challenges persons with autism face while receiving education and healthcare,” he further added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In his welcome remarks, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh Muhammad A Muhith referred to various challenges that children with developmental disabilities face in accessing healthcare services, education and opportunities for social participation, and underscored the importance of introduction of early interventions, inclusive education, creative expressions, artificial intelligence enabled personalized assistive technology to better integrate individuals with disabilities into the community and leave no one behind.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moderated by Werner Obermeyer, Director, WHO, the event was attended by a significant number of permanent representatives, UN high officials, civil society representatives and media personalities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition to that Foreign Secretary Momen had bilateral meetings with Under Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary A. Dicarlo, Executive Director of the UN Women Sima Sami Bahous, and Mohamed Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General, Department of Political Affairs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also had a bilateral meeting with the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Björn Olof Skoog. During these meetings, the Foreign Secretary briefed them about the developments concerning the upcoming general election of Bangladesh, current situations in the Rohingya camps and Bangladesh’s partnership with the UN in various socio-economic sectors.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Foreign Secretary sought the support of the UN in the early repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland Myanmar in a voluntary, safe and dignified manner.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The counterparts assured the Foreign Secretary of their understanding and commitment for continued partnership with Bangladesh. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 10:36:44', '2023-04-04 10:36:44'),
(6165, 6165, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka\'s air quality is deemed \'unhealthy for sensitive groups\' 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 119 at 8:56 am, the capital of Bangladesh ranked eighth in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">China’s Shenyang, Thailand’s Chiang Mai, and Nepal’s Kathmandu occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 216, 207 and 153, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered \'unhealthy\', particularly for sensitive groups.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be \'poor\', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">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; \">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 11:01:35', '2023-04-04 11:01:35'),
(6166, 6166, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the global and individual country’s efforts need to be streamlined through responsive policy, planning and governance, to make the actions regarding climate change issue successful.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Since origins of the climate change are global, their solution and management would also have to be global,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prime minister came up with this view while delivering her pre-recorded speech in the two day 5th International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) is the annual conference of Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and its partners. It brings together member countries, organizations, institutions and infrastructure actors and stakeholders to strengthen the global discourse on disaster and climate resilient infrastructure.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The programme was held with the theme of ‘Delivering Resilient and Inclusive Infrastructure: Pathways for Risk Informed Systems, Practices and Investments’. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke at the programme.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hasina, however, assured that Bangladesh is ready to join any initiative at the regional and global level dealing with the impacts of climate change.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I call upon for coordinated global efforts and shared vision for climate adaptation, mitigation and resilient infrastructures,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that commitment and compliance on financing mechanisms are indispensable for addressing the unforeseen crises.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“A greater sense of solidarity among governments, international and regional organisations, private sectors are required to build a sustainable and resilient future for all of us,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the same time, she said, \"we need to bring changes in our way of thinking in this discourse by incorporating science, technology, innovation, resilient transition.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to working with the global community hand in hand to ensure a better world for all.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure 2023 brings a purposeful focus on demonstrable solutions towards a call for action to realize resilience of infrastructure.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">ICDRI 2023 will engage decision-makers, thought leaders, academia and institutions from across the world working on solutions for infrastructure resilience.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">PM Hasina said that due to the adverse impacts of climate change, all are facing unpredictable climatic events and disasters, which are damaging establishments and resources in massive scales.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Strong and resilient physical infrastructure is needed to withstand and adapt to changing conditions, and from shocks and stresses.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Recently, she said that the world has witnessed a series of catastrophes like massive earthquakes in Turkey, Syria and Afghanistan, hurricanes in the Caribbean, the US and Canada and flood in South Africa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last year, she mentioned that Bangladesh, experienced a series of natural disasters, including floods and cyclones, causing huge economic losses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It is important that all future infrastructure construction and systems must be resilient to disasters to protect our investments,\" she stated.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that as one of the most climate vulnerable countries, Bangladesh experiences frequent natural calamities like flood, tidal surge, cyclone, storm, drought and thunderbolt.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“IPCC report 2022 predicts, Bangladesh is at the risk of 2 to 9 per cent of GDP losses by the mid and end of the century due to climate change,\" she noted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that In 2009, her government established the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund with own resources where nearly 800 projects have so far been implemented at a cost of USD 480 million.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the recent Presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, Bangladesh launched Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan to build a climate resilient prosperous country, she added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She said that In 2022, the government launched the National Adaptation Plan, with a projected need for USD 230 billion by 2050.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, it formulated a long-term Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 with the aim of building a resilient and prosperous delta for our future generations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“My government now attaches importance to science-based infrastructure design and implementation. We recognise the need for involving our local communities to make the infrastructures work for them,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this regard, she said that the government has implemented a thousand flood control, drainage and irrigation schemes to cover more than 6 million hectares of land. It has conducted dredging and re-excavation of 1,400 kms of rivers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We have built nearly 22,000 km of embankments, alongside 139 coastal polders. These infrastructures are giving protection to more than 20 million flood vulnerable people. We have so far conducted 1,229 km of riverbank protection work.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">For disaster response, she mentioned that Bangladesh has 4,530 cyclone shelters, some of which also serve as schools in regular times.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are now constructing 550 Mujib Killas on raised grounds for multiple uses, including sheltering people and livestock during natural calamities.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under the flagship Ashrayan project, she said, her government has so far built over 700,000 houses and those were handed over to the landless and homeless people at free of cost.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“These houses are strong enough to endure any natural disaster. We have also built 139 five-storey buildings in Cox’s Bazar to rehabilitate climate-displaced people,\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The PM said that her government is scaling up nature-based solutions like coastal green belts, floating vegetable cultivation and millions of palm tree plantation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We are using our local-level trained volunteers as well as digital information and service centres to provide early warning. As a result of our actions, the number of deaths due to natural disasters has decreased significantly in recent years,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The global community also recognised the efforts of Bangladesh and as recognition, the country has been awarded with ‘Champion of the Earth’ and many more accolades, she said. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 11:28:45', '2023-04-04 11:28:45'),
(6167, 6167, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The massive fire, which broke out at the Bangabazar market in Dhaka this morning, is still raging as firefighters try to bring it under control.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fifty firefighting units rushed to the spot and were trying to extinguish the blaze at the time of filing this report around 9:30 am.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fire broke out at the market around 6:10 am and spread soon, said Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector of Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, what caused the fire could not be known immediately.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A team of Army personnel rushed to the spot and are trying to douse the flame, said ISPR.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, a helicopter of Bangladesh Air Force is being used to bring the fire under control.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A team of Bangladesh Navy and another team of BGB also joined in to bring the Bangabazar market fire under control.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangabazar, one of the biggest markets in the country, houses clothes stores constructed of tin and wood in its labyrinthine structure. 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, '2023-04-04 11:34:59', '2023-04-04 11:34:59'),
(6168, 6168, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu has reacted to rumours of her ex-husband, actor dating Naga Chaitanya dating actor Shobhita Dhulipala. Samantha broke her silence days after an old photo of Chaitanya and Shobhita at a restaurant emerged online.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the picture, Chaitanya posed with a chef for a picture, while Shobhita was seen sitting at a table behind them. Reportedly, the photo was taken during the couple\'s London trip.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking with The Siasat Daily, Samantha said, “I am not bothered as to who is in a relationship with whom. Those who do not know the value of love will be left in tears irrespective of the number of people they date. At least that girl should be happy. If he changes his behaviour and looks after the girl without hurting her, it will be good for everyone.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Samantha tied the knot with Naga Chaitanya in October 2017. The duo announced their separation in October 2021. They issued statements on their respective social media accounts. “To all our well-wishers. After much deliberation and thought Chay and I have decided to part ways as husband and wife to pursue our own paths,” Samantha had written.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She had also said, “We are fortunate to have a friendship of over a decade that was the very core of our relationship which we believe will always hold a special bond between us. We request our fans, well wishers and the media to support us during this difficult time and give us the privacy we need to move on. Thanking you for your support.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fans will see Samantha in the Indian version of Citadel, created by Raj and DK, along with Varun Dhawan. The series is produced by D2R Films and Amazon Studios, with AGBO\'s Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Mike Larocca, Angela Russo-Otstot, Scott Nemes, and David Weil (Hunters) overseeing production on the Indian Original and all series within the global Citadel universe.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apart from this, she will be seen in Shaakuntalam, helmed by Gunasekhar, alongside Dev Mohan. The film is scheduled to release on April 14. The film will release in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil languages. She will also be seen in an upcoming romantic film Khusi opposite actor Vijay Deverakonda. 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, '2023-04-04 12:20:28', '2023-04-04 12:20:28'),
(6169, 6169, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">At least five people fell sick while trying to extinguish the massive fire that broke out at Bangabazar Market earlier today.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among them, a firefighter identified as Didarul Islam is now undergoing treatment at Government Employee Hospital while four people identified as Rubel of Lakshmipur, Niloy (22) of Feni, Ripon (36) of Chandpur and Shaheen (38) of Munshiganj are now taking treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 48 firefighting units are still working to bring the fire under control as five hours have elapsed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All battalions of RAB in Dhaka, 18 patrolling RAB teams from Narayanganj, and six teams of plainclothes policemen joined in to bring the blaze at Bangabazar Market under control.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They joined to help the firefighters in taming the massive fire, traffic management, and to keep the law and order situation under control.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The fire broke out at the market around 6:10 am and spread soon, said Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector of Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, what caused the fire could not be known immediately.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bangabazar Market fire: 5 fall sick from inhaling smoke&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A team of Army personnel rushed to the spot and are trying to douse the flame, said ISPR.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, a helicopter of Bangladesh Air Force is being used to bring the fire under control.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A team of Bangladesh Navy also joined in to bring the Bangabazar market fire under control. 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, '2023-04-04 12:25:03', '2023-04-04 12:25:03'),
(6170, 6170, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The devastating fire that broke out at Bangabazar market in Dhaka on Tuesday morning caused an unusual traffic jam around the market area due to the closure of adjacent roads.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fire service, police, RAB, army, air force and navy are trying to extinguish the blaze that broke out around 6:10 am.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jayita Das, senior assistant police commissioner of DMP Traffic Lalbagh Zone, said that traffic movement in the adjacent areas has been stopped to ease the fire control activities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Traffic movement has been closed and limited on the roads in front of the High Court-Gulistan, Banga Bazar, Golap Shah Mazar police headquarters to Dhaka Medical, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This instruction about traffic movement will remain in force in this area until the situation turns normal, said the officer adding that general public are requested to use alternative roads. 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, '2023-04-04 13:09:38', '2023-04-04 13:09:38'),
(6172, 6172, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Body massages have been shown to provide numerous benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, relieving muscle tension and pain, improving circulation, boosting the immune system, and enhancing mental clarity and focus. Regular body massages can also promote better sleep and overall physical and mental health.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reduces Stress and Anxiety: Body massages help in reducing the levels of cortisol in the body, which is a hormone that is produced in response to stress. By reducing cortisol levels, massages can help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, resulting in a more relaxed and calm mind.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Relieves Muscle Tension and Pain: Massages can help relieve muscle tension and pain by increasing blood circulation, reducing inflammation, and releasing endorphins. Regular massages can also help improve flexibility and range of motion, leading to better overall physical health.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Improves Sleep Quality: A massage before bedtime can help promote deeper sleep and better overall sleep quality. By relaxing the body and mind, massages can help reduce feelings of restlessness, anxiety, and tension that can interfere with sleep.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Enhances Mental Clarity and Focus: Regular massages can help improve mental clarity and focus by reducing mental fatigue and increasing blood flow to the brain. This can result in improved productivity, creativity, and overall mental performance. 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, '2023-04-04 14:53:55', '2023-04-04 14:53:55'),
(6173, 6173, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The massive fire that broke out at the Bangabazar market in Dhaka on Tuesday morning has been brought under control after more than six hours of frantic efforts.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The blaze was brought under control around 12:36 pm, said Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector of Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters.</div><div><br></div><div>However, black smoke is still coming out from different places and firefighters are still working to fully douse the fire, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Brigadier General Md. Main Uddin, Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defense, said that the fire doused after more than six hours but it will take one hour more to extinguish the blaze.</div><div><br></div><div>The officer said these while talking to reporters on the premises of fire service headquarters. Representatives of police and army were also present there at that time.</div><div><br></div><div>Wind and crowd made fire extinguishing work tougher, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The market was declared risky on April 2, 2019 and a notice was issued in this regard, he said, adding a five member probe committee will be formed to find out the cause of the fire incident, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>The devastating fire broke out at the market around 6:10 am and soon spread.</div><div><br></div><div>Forty-eight firefighting units were engaged in extinguishing the blaze. At least five people fell sick while trying to extinguish the fire.</div><div><br></div><div>However, what caused the fire could not be known yet.</div><div><br></div><div>A team of army personnel also joined the efforts to to douse the devastating fire, said ISPR.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, a helicopter of Bangladesh Air Force and a team of Bangladesh Navy joined.</div><div><br></div><div>Among them, a firefighter identified as Didarul Islam has been undergoing treatment at Government Employee Hospital while four people identified as Rubel of Lakshmipur, Niloy (22) of Feni, Ripon (36) of Chandpur and Shaheen (38) of Munshiganj were given treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. According to UNB reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 15:39:39', '2023-04-04 15:39:39'),
(6174, 6174, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Bangladesh made a rapid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic supported by prudent macroeconomic policies, but the economy now faces considerable challenges with global economic uncertainty, rising inflationary pressure, energy shortages, a balance-of-payments deficit, and a revenue shortfall, said the World Bank (WB) in its twice-year-update.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Released today, the Bangladesh Development Update April 2023 entitled \'Trade Reform: An Urgent Agenda\' said that accelerating the implementation of structural reforms, including trade reforms and export diversification, will help Bangladesh face the current challenges and a sustained growth momentum in Bangladesh is expected to accelerate over the medium term. In FY24, growth is expected to pick up to 6.2 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>The government has set GDP growth target of 6.5 per cent for FY23.</div><div><br></div><div>While releasing the report at WB Dhaka office, Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine and global uncertainly have impacted countries around the globe. Bangladesh\'s post-pandemic recovery has been disrupted by elevated commodity prices, rising interest rates, and slowing global growth.</div><div><br></div><div>The World Bank stands ready to support Bangladesh with reforms to accelerate growth and strengthen resilience, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>As per the update, higher commodity prices have contributed to inflationary pressure. The balance-of-payments deficit reached $7.2 billion in the first half of FY23, up from $5.3 billion in FY22 creating considerable pressure on foreign exchange reserves.</div><div><br></div><div>A multiple exchange rate system has contributed to the balance of payments pressure disincentivizing export and remittance inflows. Moving towards a single market-based exchange rate will help restore external balance. Domestic banks faced challenges with tighter liquidity and increasing non-performing loans.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The fiscal deficit widened in FY23, with higher financing from domestic banks. However, the January 2023 joint World Bank-IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) assessed that Bangladesh remained at low risk of debt distress.</div><div><br></div><div>Improving trade competitiveness for export diversification will be critical to achieving Bangladesh\'s aspiration of upper middle-income status by 2031.</div><div><br></div><div>Bernard Haven, World Bank Senior Economist and co-author of the report, said the ready-made garments sector accounts for about 83 percent of Bangladesh\'s exports.</div><div><br></div><div>The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the risk of overreliance on a single sector, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>He said, \"Diversifying exports and improving competitiveness will help Bangladesh achieve upper middle income status by 2031. For this, it will be important for Bangladesh to reduce both tariff and non-tariff barriers. A comprehensive reform program can strengthen regional integration, particularly with South Asia and Southeast Asia\"</div><div><br></div><div>The Bangladesh Development Update is a companion piece to the South Asia Economic Focus, a twice a-year World Bank report that examines economic developments and prospects in the South Asia region and analyzes policy challenges faced by countries.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Spring 2023 edition titled \"Expanding Opportunities: Toward Inclusive Growth, launched on April 4, 2023\", shows that South Asia\'s growth prospects have weakened due to tightening financial conditions, with large downside risks in most countries given limited fiscal space and depleting reserves. It also analyzes the high level of inequality of opportunity in the region and offers recommendations to achieve more equitable and inclusive growth. - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 15:44:34', '2023-04-04 15:44:34'),
(6175, 6175, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Bangladesh made a rapid recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, supported by prudent macroeconomic policies, but the economy now faces considerable challenges with global uncertainty, rising inflationary pressure, energy shortage, a balance-of-payments deficit, and a revenue shortfall, says the World Bank in its half yearly update released today.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The Bangladesh Development Update April 2023, entitled “Trade Reform: An Urgent Agenda”, says that accelerating the implementation of structural reforms, including trade reforms and export diversification, will help Bangladesh navigate the current challenges and sustain growth momentum.</div><div><br></div><div>Growth in Bangladesh is expected to accelerate over the medium term, as inflationary pressure eases, external conditions improve, and reform implementation gains momentum. Real GDP growth is expected to decelerate to 5.2 percent in FY2023 due to rising inflation, tighter financial conditions, disruptive import restrictions, and global economic uncertainty. In FY2024, growth is expected to pick up to 6.2 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and global uncertainty have impacted countries around the globe.&nbsp; &nbsp;Bangladesh’s post-pandemic recovery has been disrupted by elevated commodity prices, rising interest rates, and slowing global growth,” said Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. “The World Bank stands ready to support Bangladesh with reforms to accelerate growth and strengthen resilience.”</div><div><br></div><div>Higher commodity prices have contributed to inflationary pressure. The balance-of-payments deficit reached $7.2 billion in the first half of FY2023, up from $5.3 billion in FY2022, creating considerable pressure on foreign exchange reserves. A multiple exchange rate system has contributed to the balance of payments pressure, disincentivizing export and remittance inflows. Moving towards a single market-based exchange rate will help restore external balance.</div><div><br></div><div>Risks to the outlook remain elevated. Domestic banks faced challenges with tighter liquidity and increasing non-performing loans. The fiscal deficit widened in FY2023, with higher financing from domestic banks. However, the January 2023 joint World Bank-IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) assessed that Bangladesh remained at low risk of debt distress.</div><div><br></div><div>Improving trade competitiveness for export diversification will be critical to achieving Bangladesh’s aspiration of upper middle-income status by 2031.</div><div><br></div><div>“The ready-made garments sector accounts for about 83 percent of Bangladesh’s exports. The Covid-19 pandemic underscored the risk of overreliance on a single sector,” said Bernard Haven, World Bank Senior Economist and co-author of the report.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“Diversifying exports and improving competitiveness will help Bangladesh achieve upper-middle income status by 2031. For this, it will be important for Bangladesh to reduce both tariff and non-tariff barriers. A comprehensive reform program can strengthen regional integration, particularly with South Asia and Southeast Asia.”</div><div><br></div><div>The Bangladesh Development Update is a companion piece to the South Asia Economic Focus, a twice-a-year World Bank report that examines economic developments and prospects in the South Asia region and analyzes policy challenges faced by countries. The Spring 2023 edition, titled “Expanding Opportunities: Toward Inclusive Growth”, launched on April 4, 2023, shows that South Asia’s growth prospects have weakened due to tightening financial conditions, with large downside risks in most countries given limited fiscal space and depleting reserves. It also analyzes the high level of inequality of opportunity in the region and offers recommendations to achieve more equitable and inclusive growth. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 19:19:08', '2023-04-04 19:19:08'),
(6176, 6176, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam claimed 5-58 for Bangladesh on Tuesday to help bowl out Ireland for 214 but two early strikes left the one-off Dhaka Test in the balance.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh took to the crease not long after drinks and were 34-2 at stumps, with Andy McBrine sending back Tamim Iqbal for 21 on the last ball of the day.</div><div><br></div><div>Mark Adair bowled Najmul Hossain for a duck in the first over of the innings. Mominul Haque was unbeaten on 12 at the end of day\'s play with Bangladesh trailing Ireland by 180 runs.</div><div><br></div><div>Harry Tector earlier top-scored with 50 for the tourists, who otherwise struggled to build partnerships after electing to bat first.</div><div><br></div><div>Shoriful Islam struck early to trap opener Murray Commins for five before Ebadot Hossain and Taijul scalped James McCollum (15) and Andy Balbirnie (16) respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>Tector, one of the six debutants for Ireland in their first Test since July 2019, put on 74 runs with Curtis Campher for the fourth wicket to steady the innings, rescuing the side from a precarious 48-3.</div><div><br></div><div>Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled Tector to break the stand before Taijul made two quick strikes to dismiss Peter Moor (1) and Campher (34), derailing Ireland again.</div><div><br></div><div>Cameos from Lorcan Tucker (37), McBrine (19) and Adair (32) took the visitors past the 200-run mark.</div><div><br></div><div>Taijul trapped Adair leg-before to complete his 11th five-wicket haul in Tests and Mehidy wrapped up Ireland\'s innings in the next over to finish with 2-43.</div><div><br></div><div>Ireland have lost all three of their previous Tests since becoming a full member of the International Cricket Council in 2017. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 19:25:07', '2023-04-04 19:25:07'),
(6177, 6177, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun on Tuesday said those who attacked&nbsp; the fire service and civil defence headquarters following the fire at Banglabazar market&nbsp; will be brought under the law.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The IGP came up with the remark in response to a question from reporters at the west gate of the police headquarters on Tuesday afternoon.</div><div><br></div><div>Regarding the attack, he said, \"You saw there were thousands of people. Getting information about attack on the fire service headquarters, we brought the law and order situation under control. Those who were involved in the attack will be identified and then brought to justice,” the IGP said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Two lakh liters of water was supplied by police. Around 2000 police members were present at the spot to maintain the law and order in the surrounding areas,” he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, members of RAB, Army, Air Force, Navy, BGB and Ansar forces also joined, the IGP said.</div><div><br></div><div>In response to another&nbsp; question he said that a barrack on the 5th floor of the police headquarters was burnt but no one was injured</div><div><br></div><div>Aggrieved traders attacked&nbsp; the Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters saying that firefighters failed to quickly douse the fire at Bangabazar market fire. Several fire fighters were injured in the attack.</div><div><br></div><div>Members of law enforcement agencies then brought the situation under control. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 20:50:23', '2023-04-04 20:50:23'),
(6178, 6178, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Brigadier General Md Main Uddin, Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence, today said Bangabazar was declared to be a risky place in 2019 by the fire service, and it was prone to fire or accident.</b></span><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>\"On April 2, 2019, we declared it to be a risky establishment. We also hanged a banner outside it to warn the people...Notices were given to the authorities concerned several times,\" he said at a press briefing held in front of the Fire Service headquarters this afternoon.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The fire service DG said that the fire fighters had to face obstacles while dousing the fire due to enthusiastic crowds, gusts of strong wind and scarcity of water.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;\"The fire originated at Adarsha market at around 6:10am and spread quickly. With the help of the Armed Forces, Navy, Air Force, BGB, Police, RAB along with our 650 workers of 48 units, we were able to bring the fire under control at around 12:36pm,\" Main Uddin said.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>While asked about the damage, the fire service head said, \"A five-member probe body has been formed to look into the incident. Everyone is putting their best efforts into probing the matter... Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself is constantly monitoring the overall situation.\"</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>According to Fire Service headquarters sources, eight fire fighters were injured during this operation. Being in critical condition, two among them were taken to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (SHNIBPS). - BSS</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 22:10:34', '2023-04-04 22:10:34');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6179, 6179, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Lionel Messi is \"much more likely\" to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season than sign a new deal, a source close to the club told AFP on Tuesday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>\"The dynamics have completely changed with PSG less pushing to renew (his contract),\" the source said, adding that there was \"no deal, no exit yet. But exit is much more likely.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Messi, who will turn 36 in June, joined in 2021 on a two-year deal which expires at the end of this campaign.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 22:14:55', '2023-04-04 22:14:55'),
(6180, 6180, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Inflation rose to 9.33 percent, the highest in 7 months, the Planning Ministry said on Tuesday citing data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Inflation jumped to 8.78 percent in February, up from 8.57 percent in January, on a point-to-point basis, according to the BBS.</div><div><br></div><div>The higher inflation forces people reduce their consumption and fixed and limited income groups of people have to return home with less in shopping basket.</div><div><br></div><div>In the month of February, 8.19 percent of inflation was recorded in food and 9.98 percent in non-food products. At that time, there was a 7.98 percent inflation in food products and 9.61 percent in non-food products in the city.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier in August last year, inflation rose to over 9 percent. That rate of inflation was the highest in the last 11.9 years (144 months). In May 2011, the highest rate of inflation was 10.20 percent. After that, inflation never exceeded 9 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>After August 2022, the inflation rate continued to decline again. In January this year, it decreased by 8.57 percent, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, inflationary pressure is still higher in rural areas than in urban areas, according to the latest estimates.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-04 22:24:19', '2023-04-04 22:24:19'),
(6181, 6181, '<p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Shortly after 14:30E, a former president of the United States walked into a Manhattan courtroom as a defendant.</b></span><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Donald Trump entered surrounded by his Secret Service detail, wearing his signature blue suit and red tie, and an electric buzz shot through the room.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">His expression was sombre and his steps seemed heavy and slow as he walked down the courtroom\'s centre aisle to take his place at the front, where his defence attorneys waited for him.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mr Trump never addressed the press, and gave little away through expressions or body language.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">I sat five rows directly behind the former president, in a group of journalists watched over by more than a dozen police officers. We were banned from using our phones or laptops in court.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">When the judge, Juan Merchan, arrived, everyone rose for him, including Mr Trump. Despite the media and political circus happening 15 stories below the courtroom, Judge Merchan presided in an even tone, never raising his voice.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The hearing mostly dealt with procedural matters, including deadlines for the lawyers and the next court date, but the weight of its significance was lost on no-one in the room.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Though Mr Trump is known for his political pageantry, he spoke on only briefly.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">When the judge read the 34 felony counts brought against him, he replied: \"Not guilty.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Then at one point, Judge Merchan addressed Mr Trump directly, reminding him that he had a right to be present at all proceedings related to his case. Asked if he understood this, Mr Trump replied: \"Yes.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The judge then added that if Mr Trump, like any defendant, behaved in an unruly or disruptive manner, he might lose the right to be present at his trial.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">As they made their arguments, prosecutors mentioned that Mr Trump had made threatening posts on social media, including one that warned of potential \"death and destruction\" if he was charged.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mr Trump\'s lawyers said their client was frustrated and upset with the case, which he believed to represent a \"great injustice\".</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The judge responded by telling the defence attorneys: \"I don\'t share your view that certain rhetoric and certain language is justified by frustration.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Judge Merchan said his warning about further inflammatory rhetoric was a request and not an order, but he would have to take \"a closer look\" if the issue arose again.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The judge brought proceedings to a close after nearly an hour.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mr Trump stood, and was immediately surrounded by his Secret Service detail. The former president spoke quietly to his lawyers, but he was inaudible to the press sitting a few rows behind him.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Then he turned and walked down the centre aisle of the courtroom, out the rear door he had first entered. He said nothing to the pack of television cameras outside. His expression was quite serious.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The first criminal case involving a US president was under way. BBC</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</p>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 08:26:58', '2023-04-05 08:26:58'),
(6182, 6182, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A stone-faced Donald Trump made a momentous courtroom appearance Tuesday when he was confronted with a 34-count felony indictment charging him in a scheme to bury allegations of extramarital affairs that arose during his first White House campaign.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The arraignment in a Manhattan courtroom was a stunning — and humbling — spectacle for the first ex-president to ever face criminal charges. With Trump watching in silence, prosecutors bluntly accused him of criminal conduct and set the stage for a possible criminal trial in the city where he became a celebrity decades ago.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The indictment centers on allegations that Trump falsified internal business records at his private company while trying to cover up an effort to illegally influence the 2016 election by arranging payments that silenced claims potentially harmful to his candidacy. It includes 34 counts of fudging records related to checks Trump sent to his personal lawyer and problem-solver to reimburse him for his role in paying off a porn actor who said she had an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The defendant, Donald J. Trump, falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other violations of election laws,\" said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump, somber and silent as he entered and exited the Manhattan courtroom, said “not guilty” in a firm voice while facing a judge who warned him to refrain from rhetoric that could inflame or cause civil unrest. All told, the ever-verbose Trump, who for weeks before Tuesday’s arraignment had assailed the case against him as political persecution, uttered only 10 words in the courtroom. He appeared to glare for a period at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor who brought the case.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As he returned to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, where he delivered a primetime address to hundreds of supporters, Trump again protested his innocence and asserted on his Truth Social platform that the “hearing was shocking to many in that they had no ‘surprises,’ and therefore, no case.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In his speech, Trump lashed out anew at the prosecution and attacked in bitter terms the prosecutor and the judge presiding over the case despite being admonished hours earlier about incendiary rhetoric. In a sign of that other probes are weighing on him, Trump also steered his speech into a broadside against a separate Justice Department investigation into the mishandling of classified documents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I never thought anything like this could happen in America,” Trump said of the New York indictment. “This fake case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and it should be dropped immediately.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The crowd at Mar-a-Lago included supporters like failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and longtime ally Roger Stone. Trump\'s wife, Melania, was absent from his side and was also not seen with him in New York.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even so, the indictment amounts to a remarkable reckoning for Trump after years of investigations into his personal, business and political dealings. It shows how even as Trump is looking to reclaim the White House in 2024, he is shadowed by investigations related to his behavior in the two prior elections, with prosecutors in Atlanta and Washington scrutinizing efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the 2020 presidential election — probes that could produce even more charges.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the New York case, each count of falsifying business records, a felony, is punishable by up to four years in prison — though it\'s not clear if a judge would impose any prison time if Trump is convicted. The next court date is Dec. 4 — two months before Republicans begin their nominating process in earnest — and Trump will again be expected to appear.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A conviction would not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The arraignment also delved into Trump\'s rhetoric on the case, with prosecutors at one point handing printouts of his social media posts to the judge and defense lawyers as Trump looked on. Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan did not impose a gag order but told Trump\'s lawyers to urge him to refrain from posts that could encourage unrest.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The broad contours of the case have long been known, focusing on a scheme that prosecutors say began months into his candidacy in 2015, as his celebrity past collided with his presidential ambitions.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though prosecutors expressed confidence in the case, a conviction is no sure thing given the legal complexities of the allegations, the application of state election laws to a federal election and prosecutors\' likely reliance on a key witness, Trump\'s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to false statements.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It centers on payoffs to two women, porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said they had extramarital sexual encounters with Trump years earlier, as well as to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about a child he alleged the former president had out of wedlock.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It’s not just about one payment. It is 34 false statements and business records that were concealing criminal conduct,” Bragg told reporters, when asked how the three separate cases were connected.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All 34 counts against Trump are linked to a series of checks that were written to Cohen to reimburse him for his role in paying off Daniels. Those payments, made over 12 months, were recorded in various internal company documents as being for a legal retainer that prosecutors say didn’t exist. Cohen testified before the grand jury and is expected to be a star prosecution witness.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nine of those monthly checks were paid out of Trump’s personal accounts, but records related to them were maintained in the Trump Organization’s data system.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prosecutors allege that the first instance of Trump directing hush money payments came in the fall of 2015, when a former Trump Tower doorman was trying to sell information about an alleged out-of-wedlock child fathered by Trump.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">David Pecker, a Trump friend and the publisher of the National Enquirer, made a $30,000 payment to the doorman to acquire the exclusive rights to the story, pursuant to an agreement to protect Trump during his presidential campaign, according to the indictment. Pecker’s company later determined the doorman’s story was false, but is alleged to have enforced the doorman’s confidentiality at Cohen’s urging until after Election Day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump denies having sexual liaisons with both Daniels and McDougal and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tuesday\'s schedule, with its striking blend of legal and political calendar items, represents the new split-screen reality for Trump as he submits to the dour demands of the American criminal justice system while projecting an aura of defiance and victimhood at celebratory campaign events.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wearing his signature dark suit and red tie, Trump turned and waved to crowds outside the building before heading inside to be fingerprinted and processed. He arrived at court in an eight-car motorcade from Trump Tower, communicating in real time his anger at the process.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse,\" he posted on his Truth Social platform. \"Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Afterward, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told reporters that it was a “sad day for the country.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“You don’t expect this to happen to somebody who was president of the United States,\" he 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, '2023-04-05 09:22:09', '2023-04-05 09:22:09'),
(6183, 6183, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka\'s air quality is ‘moderate’ this morning.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With an air quality index (AQI) score of 80 at 9 am, Dhaka ranked 15th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thailand’s Chiang Mai, China’s Shenyang, and India’s Delhi occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 292, 218 and 171, respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 150 and 200 is considered \'unhealthy\', AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be \'very unhealthy\', while a reading of 301+ is considered \'hazardous\', posing serious health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants — Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 09:56:18', '2023-04-05 09:56:18'),
(6184, 6184, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The government has taken a move to impose tolls on the regional highways at a minimum rate to develop the culture of paying money among people.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday asked the authorities concerned to take necessary measures for this purpose.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The government is constructing infrastructures spending thousands of crores of Taka. So, there is a need to make arrangement for realising tolls from the regional highways at least at a minimum rate,” she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister said this while chairing a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) held at the NEC Conference Room in the capital\'s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Planning Minister MA Mannan and State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam briefed the reporters after the meeting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Prime Minister said that by paying tolls in the regional highways&nbsp; the culture of paying tolls will be developed among people.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mannan said the PM&nbsp; expressed shock at the tragic fire incident at the Bangabazar in the capital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said there were a lot of shops in the market in a congested manner while the Prime Minister in the meeting discussed how to address the issue.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mannan said that the PM also directed the authorities concerned to ensure toilets and sanitation infrastructure in all schools across the country.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"No schools will run without sanitation system,\" he said quoting the Prime Minister as saying.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Citing the PM, he said that the work of the women still remains outside of the purview of accounting estimation. if their works are counted, then the GDP growth would have been much higher for which there is a need to give due recognition to the work of the women.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Suggesting for avoiding the arable and farmland as much as possible in implementing development projects, she also recommended building elevated roads in the haor region instead of usual roads.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also directed the Ministry of Commerce to complete the distribution of the essential items among some one crore family card holders at affordable rates under the 2nd phase before the Eid-ul-Fitr.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Responding to a question, Mannan said that they would continue efforts to increase the capacity of the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“But, the fire incident at Bangabazar has shown that there is a need to create more awareness among the common people,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Planning Minister said that point-to-point Inflation in Bangladesh climbed to 9.33 percent in March.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The food inflation was 9.09 percent in March as per point-to-point basis while non-food inflation was 9.72 percent.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the monthly consumer price Index (CPI)&nbsp; of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the general point-to-point inflation rate in March increased as it reached 9.33 percentage points up from 8.78 percentage points in February, mainly because of the slight rise in food inflation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The CPI was just behind the 10-year high of 9.52 percent seen in August last.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The general point-to-point inflation rate in January was 8.57</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">percentage points.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The point-to- point food inflation in March increased to 9.09 percentage points up from 8.13 percentage points in February.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, the point-to-point non-food inflation declined slightly to 9.72 percentage points in March down from 9.82 percentage points in February.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The BBS data showed that the national wage index rate in March was 7.18 percent, up from 7.11 percent in February. 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, '2023-04-05 09:59:24', '2023-04-05 09:59:24'),
(6185, 6185, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Adam Milne tore through Sri Lanka\'s batting order Wednesday as New Zealand bowled the tourists out for just 141 in the second Twenty20 international.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Milne took five wickets for just 26 runs as Sri Lanka\'s batters collapsed in Dunedin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">New Zealand are looking to level the series after Sri Lanka won the opening T20 match last Sunday in Auckland, sealing victory in a nail-biting Super Over.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sri Lanka made a good start Wednesday as Kusal Perera (35) and Dhananjaya de Silva (37) put on a middle-order partnership of 62 off 46 balls to steer their side to 99-4 after 12 overs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The tourists then lost their next six wickets for just 42 runs as New Zealand\'s seamers found their length to devastating effect.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Charith Asalanka was the last Sri Lankan batter to offer any resistance, chalking up 24 runs off 19 balls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Milne did the most damage for New Zealand, picking off Sri Lanka\'s tailenders Dilshan Madushanka and Pramod Madushan without a run being scored.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The three-match T20 series concludes in Queenstown on Saturday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sri Lanka have lost both the Test and one-day international series 2-0 during their tour of New Zealand. 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, '2023-04-05 10:43:47', '2023-04-05 10:43:47'),
(6186, 6186, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Starting today, commuters can avail the Dhaka Metro Rail service for six hours every day – from 8 am to 2 pm.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Considering the commuters’ demand and aiming to provide more services, the timing has been changed, said MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), in a press conference on March 30.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, the operating hours of Dhaka Metro Rail was 8:30 am to 12:30 pm.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All the stations on the Uttara-Agargaon route of Dhaka Metro Rail will be operational this month, Siddique said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dhaka Metro Rail will start operating in full swing from July this year and then the train will run non-stop from dawn to midnight, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to DMTCL, Dhaka Metro Rail operation till Motijheel may start by the end of 2024, and till Kamalapur by 2025. By December 2024, metro rail will start operation from Agargaon to Kamalapur with 24 trains.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 28, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the country’s first elevated metro rail, setting a milestone in the communication history. 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, '2023-04-05 11:11:49', '2023-04-05 11:11:49'),
(6187, 6187, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Israeli police raided Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City early Wednesday and attacked Palestinian worshippers, Palestinian media reported, raising fears of wider tensions as Islamic and Jewish holidays overlap.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The incidents sparked a wave of Palestinian protests, condemnations and violence. The Israeli military said sirens warning of incoming rockets sounded in Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tension has already been high in east Jerusalem and the West Bank for months, and fears of further violence were fueled with the convergence of the Muslim holy fast month and the Passover.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Such confrontations at the contested holy compound, the third holiest shrine in Islam that is also the most sacred site in Judaism and referred to as the Temple Mount, have sparked deadly cross-border wars between Israel and Gaza\'s Hamas rulers in the past, the last was in 2021.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Videos on social media purportedly showed Israeli police officers beating Palestinians with batons and rifle butts at the mosque in the contested hilltop site revered by both Muslims and Jews.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that dozens of worshipers, who spend all the night in Ramadan praying, were injured when the police raided the mosque.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was not immediately clear what sparked the violence. The Israeli police said it used force to evacuate worshippers who were holed up at the mosque with fireworks, rocks, and sticks. They added that an officer was injured in his leg by a stone and that dozens of “rioters” were arrested.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Talab Abu Eisha, 49, said more than 400 men, women and children were praying at Al-Aqsa when the police encircled the mosque.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The youths were afraid and started closing the doors,” he said, adding that police forces “stormed the eastern corner, beating and arresting men there.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">”It was an unprecedented scene of violence in terms of police brutality and intention to hurt the youths,\" he said, denying police claims that young men were hiding fireworks and rocks. He added that the police prevented all men under 50 years old from passing through the Old City\'s gates leading to the compound for the dawn prayers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The violence in Jerusalem triggered protests and condemnations from Palestinians. in Gaza, Hamas called for large protests and people started gathering in the streets, with calls to head for the heavily guarded Gaza-Israel frontier for more violent demonstrations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Palestinian leadership condemned the attack on the worshippers. The spokesman of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, warned Israel that such a move “exceeds all red lines and will lead to a large explosion.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Gaza, Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad also called for Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Israel to go and gather around Al-Aqsa Mosque and confront Israeli forces.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Israeli military said Gaza militants fired two barrages of rockets toward southern Israel. Five rockets were intercepted and four landed in open areas. There were no reports of casualties or damage.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier on Tuesday, a Palestinian suspect stabbed two Israelis near an army base south of Tel Aviv , police said, in the latest incident in a yearlong spate of violence that shows no sign of abating.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Magen David Adom paramedic service said first responders treated two men for serious and light stab wounds in the incident on a highway near the Tsrifin military base. The men were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment their injuries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israeli media identified the two victims as soldiers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Police said that civilians at the scene apprehended the suspected attacker, who was taken into police custody for questioning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Israeli-Palestinian violence has surged over the last year, as the Israeli military has carried out near-nightly raids on Palestinian cities, towns and villages and as Palestinians have staged numerous attacks against Israelis.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At least 88 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year, according to an Associated Press tally. Palestinian attacks against Israelis have killed 15 people in the same period. 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, '2023-04-05 11:49:26', '2023-04-05 11:49:26'),
(6188, 6188, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Turkish security forces have subjected suspects arrested on suspicion of looting in the aftermath of the devastating February earthquake to torture and other forms of ill treatment, rights groups said Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a joint report, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Turkish police and the armed forces of using the state of emergency declared by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the earthquake as a \"licence to torture\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a response before the report was published, the Turkish justice ministry said Ankara had \"zero tolerance\" for torture but dismissed the findings without responding specifically to them, Amnesty and HRW said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The report said one person died in custody after being tortured.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It said all the incidents occurred in the 10 provinces covered by the state of emergency but mostly concentrated in Antakya city, Hatay province, one of the areas worst hit by the February 6 quake.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia Director at HRW said they were a \"shocking indictment of law enforcement practices\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Law enforcement officials are treating the state of emergency for the natural disaster as a licence to torture, otherwise ill-treat and even kill with impunity,\" he added in a statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Esther Major, senior research adviser for Amnesty International\'s Europe office, told AFP: \"We recognise the size of the catastrophe that has happened, but within that context, a state of emergency must not lead to lawlessness and impunity, to torture and other ill-treatment.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Resort to prohibited means\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The groups said they had interviewed 12 victims of alleged torture and other ill treatment and reviewed video footage of 13 such cases involving 34 male victims.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">They said in four cases, the victims were Syrian refugees and the attacks bore signs of additional xenophobic motivation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The report found in the majority of cases, victims were not taken into official custody, but immediately beaten or made to lie or kneel down while being kicked, slapped and sworn at for prolonged periods. In only two cases has there been any subsequent investigation.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">One Turkish man, Ahmet Guresci, 27, died after being arrested along with his brother Sabri and then being subjected to torture including attempted anal rape with police batons.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sabri Guresci was later released pending the investigation but three gendarmes have since been suspended over his brother\'s death, the rights groups said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While emphasising Turkey\'s zero tolerance policy on torture, the justice ministry told the rights groups their findings were \"vague claims devoid of a factual basis\" and did not directly address them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Emma Sinclair-Webb, HRW associate director and Turkey director, said said the 13 cases documented by the groups represented just the \"tip of the iceberg\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"We have to admit there was security challenges, with theft and looting,\" she told AFP.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"However, the way of dealing with that is not to resort to completely prohibited means, with one case resulting in a death in custody.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 7.8-magnitude quake and aftershocks killed more than 55,000 people across southeastern Turkey and parts of war-torn Syria. 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, '2023-04-05 11:58:42', '2023-04-05 11:58:42'),
(6189, 6189, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Israeli police arrested more than 350 people early Wednesday after clashes at Jerusalem\'s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque, a police spokesperson said Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement, police said they had \"arrested and removed over 350 individuals that violently barricaded\" themselves inside the mosque in the Old City of annexed east Jerusalem.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Those arrested included \"masked individuals, stone and firework hurlers/throwers, and individuals suspected of desecrating the mosque,\" it 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, '2023-04-05 12:32:38', '2023-04-05 12:32:38'),
(6190, 6190, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Amid speculations of Kannada actor Kichcha Sudeep joining the BJP, an alleged threat letter was received by his manager, prompting the police to register a case. According to the police, Kichcha Sudeep\'s manager Jack Manju received a letter from an unknown person, threatening to release the actor\'s \"private video\" on social media.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Acting on the complaint lodged by the actor\'s manager, the Puttenahalli police registered a case under sections 504, 506 and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some senior officers are also thinking to hand over the case to Central Crime Branch (CCB), sources said. Further investigation is underway in the matter, said police.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speculations are rife that the Kannada superstar will be joining the BJP on Wednesday, ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections. The counting of votes for the Karnataka Assembly has been scheduled on May 13.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In February this year, Kichcha Sudeep met minister DK Shivakumar sparking off rumours about joining politics. \"I have met DK Shivakumar, CM Basavaraj Bommai and minister DK Sudhakar. I have a good relationship with everyone, but I have not made any decision regarding my political entry. I will make it public when I take a decision.” Sudeep was quoted in a report by India Today.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"More than political parties, I need to know what my fans think about my foray into politics, which is the most important aspect for me. I have to consult them as well. Service can be done without politics. First I need to find an answer about myself, why I need to take the political plunge or I can still contribute on individual capacity,” he had said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sudeep was last seen in Kabzaa, a Kannada-language period action film. Directed by R Chandru, the film also features Upendra, Shiva Rajkumar, Shriya Saran, Sudha, Murali Sharma, and Nawab Shah among others. 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, '2023-04-05 12:49:47', '2023-04-05 12:49:47'),
(6191, 6191, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim epitomized Bangladesh\'s aspiration of playing attacking brand of cricket to keep Ireland at bay at lunch on day two of the one-off cricket Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scoring runs almost six per over, they shared 130 runs for the undefeated fourth wicket stand after Bangladesh were left to a troublesome 40-3.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At lunch, Bangladesh reached 170-3, trailing by just 44 runs as Ireland were bowled out for 214 in its first innings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shakib was not out on 74, his run-a-ball-inning was studded by a dozen of boundaries while Mushfiqur Rahim was on 53 off 77 after hammering six fours and one six.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Resuming the day at 34-2, Bangladesh lost Mominul Haque for 17 in just third over of the day when pacer Mark Adair (2-18) clean bowled him with a delivery that moved slightly.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">That was the only success of the Irish bowlers in that session as Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim then came down heavily on them to establish a full control.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shakib started with a boundary in the first ball, driving Adair\'s half-volley through cover and didn\'t look back.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He raised his 31st fifty off just 45 balls, whipping a turning delivery of legspinner Ben White for four through long on.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mushfiqur Rahim played with caution in contrast to Shakib\'s aggressive approach but as the time progressed he also unleashed some powerful shots to start dominating the Irish bowlers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He swept offspinner Harry Tector for a boundary through backward square leg to reach his 26th half-century from 69 deliveries. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 12:57:14', '2023-04-05 12:57:14'),
(6192, 6192, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Hafez Saleh Ahmad Takrim of Bangladesh has again won the International Hifzul Quran Competition. This time, Takreem became the first to participate in the 26th Dubai International Hifzul Quran Competition.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ethiopia\'s Abbas Hadi came second in the competition and Saudi Arabia\'s Khalid Sulaiman took the third place.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Tuesday (April 4) at 12:35 p.m., the news of Takrim winning the first place was confirmed by the office of Markazu Faizil Qur\'an Al Islami Dhaka in the capital.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The news was also confirmed by Mufti Murtaza Hasan Faizi Masum, teacher of Takrim and principal of Markazu Faizil Qur\'an Al Islami.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the rules in the main part of the Qur\'an competition, Takrim answered five questions correctly during the recitation. He was not wrong in answering any question. Gifted mesmerizing recitations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, Takreem won first and third place in two international Quran competitions held in Saudi Arabia and Iran respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Takrim Markazu Faizil is a student of the book department of Quran Al Islami Dhaka. His village home is in Bhadra village of Nagarpur police station in Tangail. His father Hafeez Abdur Rahman is a madrasa teacher and mother a homemaker. EN</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"7\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 13:08:19', '2023-04-05 13:08:19');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6193, 6193, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The repayment of the loan taken for construction of Padma Bridge started with Tk 316.91 crore paid to the government in the first two installments on Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received a cheque of Tk 316,90,97,049 as the first and second installments of the loan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Quader handed over the cheque to the premier at her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The loan was taken from Bangladesh Bank at a low interest rate under an agreement signed between the Finance Division and the Bangladesh Bridge Authority.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On June 25, 2022, the prime minister opened the country’s largest bridge – 6.15-km Padma Bridge- over the mighty Padma River.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 6.15-km bridge connected directly the country’s 21 south and south-western districts with the capital, and it is expected to accelerate the GDP growth by 1.23 per cent and make an outstanding contribution to socio-economic development by alleviating poverty.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The total allocation was Tk 30,193.39 crore, but the allocation for the main bridge was Tk 12,133.39 crore (including Tk 1,000 crore for installation of 400-kv electricity transmission line and gas line).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides, the Tk 9,400 crore was allocated for river training works, Tk 1,907.68 crore for approach roads (including two toll plazas, construction of two buildings for police stations and three service areas), Tk 1,515 crore for the rehabilitation of the displaced people (caused by the project) and Tk 2698.73 crore for land acquisition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Padma Bridge is expected to last more than 100 years, but its construction cost will be recovered in the next 35 years. 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, '2023-04-05 13:48:48', '2023-04-05 13:48:48'),
(6194, 6194, '<div><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">&nbsp;Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern bowed out of parliament Wednesday, ending a career marked by empathetic leadership during times of crisis even as she faced escalating abuse online</b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Ardern shocked New Zealand earlier this year when she announced she was stepping down as prime minister and retiring from politics, saying she no longer had \"enough in the tank\".</div><div><br></div><div>The 42-year-old, once the youngest woman leader in the world, said in her final speech to parliament that she never expected to take the nation\'s top job.</div><div><br></div><div>\"It was a cross between a sense of duty to steer a moving freight train... and being hit by one,\" she quipped during her valedictory address.</div><div><br></div><div>\"And that\'s probably because my internal reluctance to lead was matched only by a huge sense of responsibility.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Ardern steered New Zealand through natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre -- in which a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers. AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 14:01:14', '2023-04-05 14:01:14'),
(6195, 6195, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has found that Bangladesh can immediately generate 1,700 MW-3,400 MW of electricity from renewable energy sources with a reduced cost between Tk 5.25 and Tk 7.6 against the existing cost Tk 8.84 per unit from the conventional fossil fuels.</b></span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), the US-based research organisation, from its analysis also showed that Bangladesh needs up to US$1.71 billion annually till 2041 to achieve its target to generate 40m percent of electricity from renewable sources.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The report, released on Wednesday, said the average electricity generation cost is likely to cross double-digits in Bangladeshi Taka (Tk) terms in FY2022-23.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Our analysis shows that the existing power system can immediately incorporate 1,700 megawatts (MW) to 3,400MW of solar during the day and, subject to the feasibility of location and availability of sufficient wind speed, 2,500MW to 4,000MW of wind power at night to reduce the use of costly furnace oil-based power generation,” said the report’s author Shafiqul Alam, energy finance analyst of IEEFA.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Such a move will also help reduce the average electricity generation cost.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the report, estimates show that the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from rooftop and utility-scale solar is around Tk5.25/kilowatt-hour (kWh) (US$0.05/kWh) and Tk7.6/kWh (US$0.072/kWh), respectively.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, the average electricity generation cost of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) was Tk 8.84/kWh (US$0.084/kWh) during the FY 2021-22. It is likely to cross double digits in Tk during FY2022-23.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">Bangladesh should aim for renewable sources to make up 40 percent of its total power generation capacity by 2041, says the new report which charts a path for the country to transition its electricity sector away from dependence on expensive imported fossil fuels and ease its growing subsidy burden.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The report estimates that a more ambitious clean energy capacity target of 40 percent by 2041 (without storage facilities) would require an annual investment of US$1.53 billion to US$1.71 billion from 2024 through to 2041, which is less than the power sector’s fiscal year (FY) 2021-22 subsidy burden.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It adds that a faster transition to renewable energy would free up financial resources that otherwise end up as subsidy payments.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;“Bangladesh’s electricity generation model appears unsustainable without a clear transition pathway. Therefore, policymakers should raise their renewable energy targets and reflect the same in the upcoming Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan (IEPMP),” said Shafiqul Alam.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The government should also translate the renewable energy policy target into a year-wise action plan backed by a monitoring mechanism to track progress,” he adds.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">The report finds that high prices of fossil fuels and resultant increased power generation costs have led to a surge in the subsidy required by the country’s power sector. For FY2021-22, the subsidy reached Tk 297 billion (US$2.82 billion), nearly 152% higher than FY2020-21 and a whopping 301 percent higher than FY2019-20.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;“Rising subsidies eventually compel the government to pass the rising cost on to the consumers. This results in a spectre of price hikes for electricity and different fuels in quick succession. Despite these price hikes, the subsidy burden of the power sector in FY2022-23 could still be higher than the previous year,” said Alam.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Instead, the report finds that accelerating the transition of the electricity sector to renewable energy can free up financial resources and enhance the country’s energy security.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The report calls on the government to ring in policy changes to promote the adoption of renewable energy. For example, the report suggests the government lift the current cap on rooftop solar installation capacity by up to 70 percent of the sanctioned load of industrial and commercial buildings.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Similarly, it also recommends waiving applicable duties on fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) walkways, imported inverters, mounting structures and direct current (DC) cable, ranging from 15.25 percent to 58.6 percent for rooftop solar projects.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;“Such moves will send the right market signals about the government’s vision for the electricity sector’s transition,” says Alam.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Finally, the report says Bangladesh needs to have a map of funding channels, including local resources and international sources. For this, Bangladesh can draw on lessons from Indonesia and Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition plans to fund its electricity sector transition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">From India’s experience, the report finds that risk mitigation measures, such as risk guarantee funds, will shield the project developers. Furthermore, competitive renewable energy procurement through auctions will help reduce renewable energy tariffs and help Bangladesh contain the rising electricity generation cost, said the IEEFA report. 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, '2023-04-05 14:28:40', '2023-04-05 14:28:40'),
(6196, 6196, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the government will assist the Bangabazar businesspeople as much as possible after estimating the damages caused by Tuesday’s fire.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“I’ve already assured that we will help them as much as we can. We’ll assess who incurred how much loss,” she said addressing an event at her official residence Ganabhaban.</div><div><br></div><div>The event was arranged to receive Tk 316.91 crore as first and second installments of the loan provided by the government for construction of Padma Bridge.</div><div><br></div><div>Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Quader handed over a cheque of Tk 316,90,97,049 to the Prime Minister as the first and second installments of the loan taken from Bangladesh Bank at a low interest rate under an agreement signed between the Finance Division and the Bangladesh Bridge Authority.</div><div><br></div><div>Terming the fire as a very tragic incident, Hasina said it is too much to bear the suffering and crying of so many businesspeople ahead of the Eid-ul Fitr.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the government undertook a project to construct a planned market there following the fire incidents in 1995 and 2018. But a good number of people obstructed it and filed a writ petition and then the High Court stayed the project.</div><div><br></div><div>“Hadn’t it (the project) been stayed at that time, we could have built a good market and then such a terrible accident would not have happened,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier, however, lambasted a number of unruly people who attacked nearby the headquarters of the fire service. Their behavior has angered her, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The firefighters rushed to the spot soon after fire broke out to extinguish the blaze, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>The PM said she asked to identify the attackers and take proper action against them. “Proper action will be taken against them. Case will be filed against them,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>She also said if anyone attacks the members or vehicles of the fire service or other public property in future, they won’t be spared.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 15:20:50', '2023-04-05 15:20:50'),
(6197, 6197, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>A Natore tribunal today sentenced six people to death and four to life imprisonment in a case filed over gang-rape of a college student in 2012.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Those sentenced to death are: Sabbir Ahmed, Rezaul alias Rabbi, Nazmul Haque, Rajibul Hasan, Ripon and Shahidul.</div><div><br></div><div>Those who got life imprisonment are: Manirul Islam, Khairul Islam, Ataul Islam and Rezaul Karim.</div><div><br></div><div>Natore Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Muhammad Abdur Rahim handed down the punishment. The court also fined them Tk one lakh each which would be provided to the rape survivor.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the prosecution, Sabbir Ahmed was in a relationship with a college student of Chandai village in Baraigram upazila of the district.</div><div><br></div><div>On October 19, 2012, Sabbir took the girl to Kalam Mirzapur village. Later, he along with his friends raped the girl near Mirzapur Eidgah field.</div><div><br></div><div>The victim lodged a complaint in this connection and police registered a case with Baraigram Police Station.</div><div><br></div><div>Police also submitted chargesheet against 11 people.</div><div><br></div><div>After examining records and witnesses, Judge of Natore Women and Children Repression Tribunal handed down the punishment and acquitted one chargesheeted accused, Nasir, as allegation brought against him could not be proven. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 16:11:26', '2023-04-05 16:11:26'),
(6198, 6198, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Donald Trump offered a full-throated defense of his conduct Tuesday in his first public remarks since being charged over hush money payments to a porn star, blasting the criminal prosecution as \"an insult to our country.\"</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Hours earlier the 76-year-old former US president pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts in a dramatic hearing in New York that transfixed the nation -- and began the countdown to the first ever criminal trial of an American president.</div><div><br></div><div>\"I never thought anything like this could happen in America -- never thought it could happen,\" Trump told an audience of several hundred donors, political allies and other supporters after returning to Mar-a-Lago, his beachfront mansion in southern Florida.</div><div><br></div><div>\"The only crime that I\'ve committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it... It\'s an insult to our country.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Trump -- the frontrunner in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination -- said from a stage festooned with American flags in an opulent gold-and-cream ballroom that \"radical left\" prosecutors were out to get him \"at any cost.\"</div><div><br></div><div>The bizarrely celebratory mood in the room seemed at odds with the gravity of the day\'s events in Manhattan, with Trump reprising the applause lines that his supporters hear regularly at his rallies -- and being rewarded with the same boisterous cheers and clapping.</div><div><br></div><div>Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is prosecuting Trump for cooking his company\'s books to hide payments he arranged for adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election, to cover up an alleged sexual encounter a decade earlier.</div><div><br></div><div>Trump\'s former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg is serving a five-month jail term for the same charge of falsifying business records.</div><div><br></div><div>- \'Darkest hours\' -</div><div>Manhattan prosecutors say Trump \"repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.\"</div><div><br></div><div>A \"statement of facts\" released alongside the indictment included details of hush money payments to Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal and a former Trump Tower doorman claiming to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock.</div><div><br></div><div>Daniels was paid $130,000 by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, while McDougal and the doorman got $150,000 and $30,000 respectively from AMI, the publishers of supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer.</div><div><br></div><div>Bragg alleges that Trump and his allies \"also took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the payments.\"</div><div><br></div><div>Trump and his lawyers have accused Bragg of over-reaching in his characterization of the alleged misconduct.</div><div><br></div><div>The one-time reality TV star had sent a fundraising email even before flying back to Florida, saying that since the news of his indictment broke, his campaign had raised over $10 million.</div><div><br></div><div>\"While we are living through the darkest hours of American history, I can say that at least for this moment right now, I am in great spirits,\" Trump said.</div><div><br></div><div>The twice-impeached Republican is the first sitting or former American president to be criminally indicted.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier in the Manhattan courtroom, he answered \"not guilty\" to all charges in a clear voice, sitting with hunched shoulders and at times looking annoyed but mostly listening cooperatively.</div><div><br></div><div>- \'Election interference\' -</div><div><br></div><div>Judge Juan Merchan said a trial could potentially start as soon as January -- a month before the presidential primaries kick off -- although Trump\'s lawyers have indicated they would want it pushed back to next spring.</div><div><br></div><div>In a spectacle that played out on live television -- with rival protesters rallying outside -- the hearing marked a watershed moment for the US criminal and political system.</div><div><br></div><div>A crowd of hundreds had gathered, with pro-Trump protesters -- sporting \"MAGA\" hats and attire emblazoned with the American flag -- yelling slurs at their opponents.</div><div><br></div><div>Trump for years rejoiced in his reputation as a playboy but has always denied the tryst with Daniels, which would have occurred just after his third wife Melania gave birth.</div><div><br></div><div>In a rambling, conspiracy theory laden tirade to his supporters, he described Merchan as a \"Trump-hating judge\" and denounced Bragg for what he called \"massive election interference at a scale never seen before in our country.\"</div><div><br></div><div>But he spent much of his speech mocking several more serious investigations he faces, repeating previously-debunked allegations about being treated differently from previous presidents.</div><div><br></div><div>They include his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state of Georgia, his alleged mishandling of classified documents taken from the White House and his involvement in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 20:07:18', '2023-04-05 20:07:18'),
(6199, 6199, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Popular singer and actor Tahsan Khan has&nbsp; bought a lungi burnt in the devastating fire at&nbsp; Bangabazar at Tk 1 lakh responding to a call from Ekushey Padak winning organisation Bidyanondo Foundation.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The foundation shared the information on Wednesday through a facebook post on their page.</div><div><br></div><div>The post reads, \"Popular artiste Tahsan has bought a burnt lungi for one lakh taka. The money is being delivered to the affected traders. Many celebrities are requesting Bidyanondo, everyone wants to keep some clothes burnt in the fire.”</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, on Tuesday, a devastating fire broke out at Bangabazar market around 6:10 am which gutted thousands of shops and injured at least 12 people. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 20:16:52', '2023-04-05 20:16:52'),
(6200, 6200, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A survey will be conducted as some markets in Dhaka including Gausia Market and Rajdhani Super Market seem risky, said Brigadier General Md. Main Uddin, Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defense on Wednesday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“We will start a survey from tomorrow to check whether these markets have entrance and exit points following Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and fire extinguishing system,” he said while talking to reporters at the main gate of the Fire Service and Civil Defense Headquarters.</div><div><br></div><div>The survey will be conducted with the owners of the markets and they will be informed about the next course of action, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking about Bangabanzar Market fire, he said 12&nbsp; firefighting units are still working to fully douse the flame at Bangabazar Market. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 20:37:29', '2023-04-05 20:37:29'),
(6201, 6201, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Wednesday said if the probe committee finds any government agency’s negligence in the Bangabazar fire incident, it will be brought under law.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“If there is any negligence from any agency behind the incident, it will be come up in the investigation committee’s assessment. Proper action will be taken against them following committee’s assessment,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The minister came up with the remarks while speaking at a press conference at the police headquarters, reports UNB</div><div><br></div><div>Responding to a question about the risky markets in capital, the minister said, “Removing risky markets is not task of home ministry, it is the responsibility of RAJUK and City Corporations. But fire service issued notices declaring different markets risky in different times, it was the one.”</div><div><br></div><div>The minister called upon the traders who run their business in different risky markets to shift their businesses to other places.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 20:59:33', '2023-04-05 20:59:33'),
(6202, 6202, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Ireland found themselves in trouble after losing four quick wickets in their second innings against Bangladesh on Wednesday in the Dhaka Test.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh had taken a commanding 155-run first-innings lead after posting 369 in reply to Ireland\'s first-innings total of 214.</div><div><br></div><div>Shakib Al Hasan struck first, removing James McCollum for a first-ball duck. Within 13 runs, he took another wicket, while Taijul Islam took two more.</div><div><br></div><div>In Bangladesh\'s first innings, Mushfiqur Rahim hit a century, while Shakib scored 87. For Ireland, Andy McBrine took six wickets, becoming the first Irish spinner to take five or more wickets in a Test innings.</div><div><br></div><div>In Ireland\'s first innings, Harry Tector hit a fifty, but they were outplayed by Taijul, who bagged five wickets, his 11th five-for in Tests. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 21:26:54', '2023-04-05 21:26:54'),
(6203, 6203, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Former Bangladesh captain and current lawmaker Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was awarded honorary life membership of London\'s Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Wednesday.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>In addition to the recognition given to players, the Club granted two honorary life memberships to individuals who made significant contributions to the sport.</div><div><br></div><div>The MCC Committee awards the membership to individuals in appreciation for their contributions to cricket and projects related to the game, often over a very long period.</div><div><br></div><div>The list of honourees for this year features prominent figures from eight out of the 12 countries that play in Test cricket, including some of the most renowned names in the contemporary game.</div><div><br></div><div>Merissa Aguilleira of West Indies (2008–2019), MS Dhoni of India (2004–2019), Jhulan Goswami of India (2002-2022), Jenny Gunn of England (2004-2019), Muhammad Hafeez of Pakistan (2003-2021), Rachael Haynes of Australia (2009-2022), Laura Marsh of England (2006–2019), Eoin Morgan of England (2006-2022), Mashrafe (2001-2020), Kevin Pietersen of England (2005-2014), Suresh Raina of India (2005-2018), Mithali Raj of India (1999-2022), Amy Satterthwaite of New Zealand (2007-2022), Yuvraj Singh of India (2000-2017), Anya Shrubsole of England (2008-2022), Dale Steyn of South Africa (2004–2020), and Ross Taylor of New Zealand (2006-2022) were awarded lifetime membership of the MCC in 2023. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'sports Desk', '[\"20\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 21:58:23', '2023-04-05 21:58:23'),
(6204, 6204, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The affected traders of the Bangabazar fire incident have sought interest-free loans to survive in the business and for repayment of their bank liabilities.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>In addition, they called on the government to develop infrastructures for business operations again at the same place.</div><div><br></div><div>The traders of Bangabazar Market made the demand while talking to reporters in front of the damaged market on Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>On Monday a devastating fire gutted around 5,000 small shops in Bangabazar and its nearby markets.</div><div><br></div><div>Standing in front of his burnt shop, businessman Daud Mia told UNB that he took a loan of Tk 15 lakh from the bank a few days ago giving his home as collateral.</div><div><br></div><div>“The goods of my three shops were burnt in the fire along with other goods, I am now destitute. There is no arrangement to pay the installments. So, I am asking the government for an interest-free loan to repay the bank loan,” he said as he sobbed.</div><div><br></div><div>The businessmen urged the government to allow setting up shops in the same place again so that the traders who have clothes in their warehouse can sell them.</div><div><br></div><div>Authorities say an assessment is being done to determine the losses from the fire, apparently to devise a way for supporting the affected businessmen.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 22:10:59', '2023-04-05 22:10:59'),
(6205, 6205, '<div><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>The Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is a site sacred to both Islam and Judaism in the Old City of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem that has long been a lightning rod in Israeli-Palestinian relations.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>On Wednesday, Israeli riot police stormed the mosque to dislodge what it called Palestinian \"agitators\" who barricaded themselves inside after the last prayers of the day with fireworks, sticks and stones.</div><div><br></div><div>The clashes at the site, which is the third-holiest in Islam and the holiest in Judaism, came after Jewish radicals called for animals to be sacrificed in the compound to mark the Jewish Passover holiday.</div><div>- Prophet\'s night journey -</div><div><br></div><div>The 14-hectare (35-acre) rectangular esplanade at the southeast corner of the Old City was seized by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 along with the rest of east Jerusalem and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.</div><div><br></div><div>Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its indivisible capital, but the Palestinians want the eastern sector, which includes the Old City and its sacred sites, as the capital of their future state.</div><div><br></div><div>Known to Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the compound houses the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, a famous golden-topped shrine.</div><div><br></div><div>Believed to be where the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven on a winged horse, it is the third-holiest site in Islam after Mecca\'s Grand Mosque and the Prophet\'s Mosque in Medina, both in Saudi Arabia.</div><div><br></div><div>- Wailing Wall -</div><div>The compound in its current form was built in the seventh century on the site of the Second Jewish Temple that was destroyed by the Romans around 70 AD.</div><div><br></div><div>The area is revered by Jews, who come from across the world to pray at the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, a remnant of the Second Temple that is situated just below the esplanade and is the holiest site where Jews can pray.</div><div><br></div><div>In Hebrew, the whole area is referred to as Har HaBayit -- the Temple Mount.</div><div><br></div><div>- Select entry -</div><div><br></div><div>Al-Aqsa mosque is administered by Jordan in coordination with the Palestinians but access to the site is controlled by the Israeli security forces.</div><div><br></div><div>Decades-old convention allows Muslims to enter the mosque compound at all times of day or night, but non-Muslims can only do so at certain times and are banned from praying inside.</div><div><br></div><div>However, in recent years Israeli police have repeatedly closed access to Al-Aqsa during times of tension and ultra-nationalist Jews, who want to begin building a new temple at the site, have been caught praying inside.</div><div><br></div><div>- Decades of tensions -</div><div><br></div><div>The site has long been a tinderbox in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, with tensions often peaking during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.</div><div><br></div><div>A controversial visit to the mosque compound in September 2000 by Israel\'s then opposition leader Ariel Sharon was one of the main triggers for the second Palestinian intifada, an uprising that lasted from 2000 to 2005.</div><div><br></div><div>The day after Sharon\'s visit, Israeli police shot dead seven Palestinian protesters in clashes.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2017, the compound was temporarily closed after three Arab Israelis opened fire at police near the mosque, killing two of them, before fleeing into the compound, where they were shot dead by security forces.</div><div><br></div><div>Two years later, clashes between police and worshippers at the compound left dozens of Palestinians wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>During Ramadan in 2021, Israeli police stormed Al-Aqsa mosque to end a sit-in by worshippers -- events that led up to an 11-day war between Israel and the Gaza Strip\'s Islamist rulers Hamas.</div><div><br></div><div>The compound saw renewed clashes during the spring of 2022 that left hundreds of Palestinians wounded.</div><div><br></div><div>In January, a visit by Israel\'s extreme-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also caused tensions. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'International Desk', '[\"29\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 22:16:18', '2023-04-05 22:16:18'),
(6206, 6206, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Nurul Alam Atique\'s “Pyara Subash” or “The Scent of Sin” has made it to the competition category in the 45th edition of the Moscow International Film Festival, according to the official website and Facebook page of the festival.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>“Pyara Subash” is one of the 12 films in the competition category. There are also films from Argentina, Russia, China, France, and Japan in this category.</div><div><br></div><div>Jaya Ahsan played the lead role in the film while Tariq Anam Khan, and Ahmed Rubel, among others, have played as other lead characters.</div><div><br></div><div>The 45th edition of the Moscow International Film Festival will take place from April 20 to 27.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladeshi film “Adim” was also on the list of competition sections in the last edition of the film festival. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'Entertainment Desk', '[\"13\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-05 22:20:41', '2023-04-05 22:20:41'),
(6207, 6207, '<p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\"><b>Kostroma is not a bad place to go looking for the effects of the Ukraine war on Russia. For this city is home to a celebrated regiment that bears its name and has been in the forefront of all the main battles in the Kremlin\'s campaign against its neighbours.</b></span><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The 331st Guards Parachute Regiment, often called the Kostroma Airborne Regiment, has been the subject of investigations by BBC\'s Newsnight since shortly after last February\'s invasion. These have revealed the price paid by the regiment and its home community. We had confirmed 39 fatalities by April last year, 62 by late July, and now the toll has reached 94.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Much of the work compiling this list has involved combing social media accounts on V\'Kontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, and local media reporting. We can then cross reference this with satellite and Google Street View imagery.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">One video discovered on V\'Kontakte showed soldiers\' graves at a cemetery north-east of Kostroma. The graves shown in the videos match the names of the soldiers we have collated.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The actual number of 331st\'s dead is probably much higher. Some of the soldiers are from towns outside Kostroma, which makes tracking down information about them much more difficult. Several soldiers have been reported missing - some of these may count among the dead.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">When one considers those seriously wounded or taken prisoner, it\'s reasonable to assume that the Ukraine war has cost the regiment several hundred soldiers.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The loss of life has caused much comment in Kostroma, which lies about 300km north-east of Moscow and has a population of around a quarter of a million. One local website noted last spring that the entire Soviet-Afghan war, lasting nine years, had cost the city 56 soldiers. Heavy losses in Ukraine have given the local authorities a difficult task of political management.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Sergey Sitnikov, Kostroma\'s Kremlin-appointed governor, has been in the forefront of attempts to convince people that the city\'s soldiers are being properly supported. Gov Sitnikov\'s visits to hospitals, barracks, and indeed to the front, have been covered on local TV.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">On a visit to the front in December, Gov Sitnikov told viewers that \"we need to help [the] guys so they have decent conditions\". He had brought with him crowd-funded care packages and commercially sold drones.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Gov Sitnikov is Vladimir Putin\'s placeman in his home region, so he\'s hardly a rebel or fearless teller of uncomfortable truths. But his willingness to visit the front and acknowledge shortcomings, even in a coded way, marks an interesting contrast with his boss.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">When local TV showed mobilised paratroopers on the 331st\'s parade ground six months ago, it also carried Gov Sitnikov\'s rather frank remarks to them: \"I\'m wishing you good health, success, completion of all tasks… and that you return home alive.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The call-up of paratroopers, part of Russia\'s wider mobilisation, underlines the degree to which the Ukraine campaign has exhausted the country\'s professional army, of which the 331st has been a showpiece. In footage of November\'s parade, 150 conscripts were shown before their dispatch to the front.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The total size of the 331st regiment could be estimated at 1,500-1,700. When it first sent into Ukraine in February 2022, it deployed two battalion groups, giving a total of 1,000-1,200 soldiers. After taking heavy casualties in the failed attempt to reach Kyiv, the regiment was withdrawn and rebuilt in the southern Russian garrison town of Belgorod last summer.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Subsequent action has seen the regiment moving around all the major flashpoints - Izyum in the early summer, Kherson later on, and now back to Donbas. By monitoring the dates given in the death announcements on Kostroma social media, it\'s possible to work out when (and often where) the unit was used to spearhead assaults, and the lulls when it was removed from the line to lick its wounds. For example, a cluster of deaths in February point to elements of the 331st being engaged in Kreminna.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">But on social media, we\'ve found more modern manifestations of remembrance, and even people seeking revenge. Soldiers are shown holding shells with messages scribbled on them from Reunov\'s former classmates, and, supposedly, his family.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">There\'s a trend seen in a few Russian garrison towns, for wives and mothers to post pictures of themselves with an absent soldier\'s uniform. One tearful mother of a dead paratrooper from the 331st remembers the Great Patriotic War, and adds, \"I hope there will be stories written about our guys\". BBC</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</p>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-06 08:54:38', '2023-04-06 08:54:38'),
(6208, 6208, '<p style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Taiwan is caught in the middle of a dangerous love triangle.</span><br></p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Last week Taiwan\'s President Tsai Ing-wen was welcomed to New York - now she\'s held a face-to-face meeting in California with the speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Supporters waved Taiwan flags; after the two politicians entered the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library a small plane flew over towing a pro-Beijing banner saying \"One China! Taiwan is part of China!\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Ms Tsai gave a short statement, saying Taiwan\'s democracy was \"facing unprecedented challenges\" and adding that the island was \"grateful to have the US by its side\".</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">China\'s foreign ministry condemned the meeting, referring to \"seriously erroneous acts of collusion\" between the US and Taiwan.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The timing of Ms Tsai\'s visit is hardly a coincidence. In the US there is deep and growing hostility to China. And this is driving ever more open displays of support for Taiwan, with Democrats and Republicans competing to out-do each other.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">It\'s a big reason former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was so keen on landing in Taipei last summer, despite the fact that it set off a furious reaction from China. The self-governed island, which Beijing claims as part of its territory, is arguably the biggest flashpoint between the US and China.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"I was personally very opposed to the Pelosi visit,\" says professor William Stanton, former director of the American Institute in Taiwan. \"For a high-level politician from the US to make a visit to the island was just poking China without much reward. And the consequences were quite scary.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Chinese missiles flew over the island as Beijing made blood-curdling threats. In capitals around the region governments began talking seriously about the timetable for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Despite that, as soon as he was elected house speaker this January, Mr McCarthy, a Republican, declared his intention to follow Ms Pelosi\'s example. But President Tsai decided that was not a good idea, Prof Stanton says.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"I think it was quite clear that Kevin McCarthy wanted to pull a Pelosi,\" he says. \"But Tsai Ing-wen said, \'no thank you, how about we have tea together in California instead\'.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">President Tsai may not want another contentious visit by a US leader to Taiwan just yet - but she also needs to show China that it will not succeed in shutting down contact between a democratically-elected government in Taipei and its most powerful ally in Washington.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">And so, the meeting in California. Mr McCarthy has far from downplayed it, calling the meeting \"bipartisan\", despite China\'s warning that the US was \"playing with fire on the Taiwan question\".</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Afterwards the White House said there was no need for Beijing to \"overreact\" to the meeting.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">This so-called \"transit diplomacy\" is crucial for Taiwan, says Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist at the Australian National University.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Over the years, China has successfully poached many of Taiwan\'s formal allies, whittling down the number of governments that recognise Taipei to just 13.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"These international visits match Taiwan society\'s needs for international recognition,\" Mr Sung says. \"When there\'s an absence of international recognition, these other proxy indicators of international support are important to [the] Taiwanese.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Meanwhile the Communist Party of China has mounted its own charm offensive, by inviting President Tsai\'s predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou, to tour the mainland.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mr Ma went on an unprecedented five-city tour, ostensibly to pay homage to his ancestors. He has indeed visited their graves in central China. But the trip is also political. In fact, it\'s the first time a former president of Taiwan has ever been invited to the People\'s Republic of China since its founding in 1949.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Beijing is trying to soften the tone towards Taiwan... winning more hearts and minds, and also avoiding a surge of Taiwanese nationalism during the [2024] presidential campaign,\" Mr Sung says.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">Mr Ma\'s visit, he adds, provided the necessary \"political cover\" to do that.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">When he landed in Nanjing last week, Mr Ma made a strikingly political speech: \"The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese. And both are descendants of the Yan and Yellow Emperors.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"Beijing is being nice to Ma Ying-jeou because he represents capitulation,\" Prof Stanton says. \"He says \'we are all Chinese\'. That\'s something he and the Chinese agree on, but it\'s not something the Taiwanese agree on.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">The risk in Mr Ma\'s strategy is that more than 60% of Taiwan\'s residents, according to surveys, describe themselves as Taiwanese, and not Chinese.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">But there could also be a reward waiting in the wings. Surveys show that more than half of Taiwan believes war with China is now likely. And Mr Ma\'s aim is to convince Taiwanese voters that only his party - the Kuomintang (KMT) - can avoid that war, Mr Sung says.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"It\'s about cementing his legacy as the bridge between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. And on a domestic political level Taiwan is starting its presidential campaign. The KMT argument is that we can bring peace with China.\"</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">But the elephant in the room is the deteriorating relationship between Taiwan\'s two suitors - Washington and Beijing. That relationship is worse today than at any time since the US and China officially recognised each other in 1979, says Bonnie Glaser, head of the Asia programme at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"They [Beijing] are not taking calls from President Biden or the Pentagon. Congress has declared China an existential threat,\" she says.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">For decades Washington has managed a rather delicate status quo, acknowledging, if not supporting, Beijing\'s position that there is only one Chinese government - the one on the mainland. It has maintained official ties with that government, and not Taiwan, since 1979. But it has also remained a steadfast ally to Taipei, guaranteeing to help the island defend itself.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">But the fear is that China now believes that the US is set on changing the status quo which has helped keep the peace in the Taiwan Strait for the last 40-odd years.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">\"President Biden told Xi Jinping he is not using Taiwan as a weapon, that he does not support the separation of Taiwan from China,\" Ms Glaser says.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">But such assurances are unlikely to amount to much in the wake of contentious state visits or official meetings with Taiwan\'s leaders, she adds.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">So while Mr Ma tours China and Ms Tsai has tea in California, what Taiwan also needs is for Mr Xi to pick up the phone. BBC</p><p style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</p>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-06 09:02:21', '2023-04-06 09:02:21'),
(6209, 6209, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Dhaka\'s air quality slipped back to the \'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 154 at 8:56 am, the capital city of Bangladesh ranked 7th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy’ while between 201–300 is ‘very unhealthy’, and 301–400 is \'hazardous\', posing severe health risks to residents.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thailand’s Chiang Mai, Pakistan’s Lahore and Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 330, 175and 165, 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.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. UNB</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"19\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-06 09:38:48', '2023-04-06 09:38:48');
INSERT INTO `news_details` (`id`, `news_id`, `details`, `ticker`, `representative`, `keyword`, `video_link`, `google_drive_link`, `audio_link`, `shoulder`, `created_at`, `updated_at`) VALUES
(6210, 6210, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The affected traders of the Bangabazar fire incident have sought interest-free loans to survive in the business and for repayment of their bank liabilities.</span><br></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition, they called on the government to develop infrastructures for business operations again at the same place.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The traders of Bangabazar Market made the demand while talking to reporters in front of the damaged market on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Monday a devastating fire gutted around 5,000 small shops in Bangabazar and its nearby markets.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Standing in front of his burnt shop, businessman Daud Mia told UNB that he took a loan of Tk 15 lakh from the bank a few days ago giving his home as collateral.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“The goods of my three shops were burnt in the fire along with other goods, I am now destitute. There is no arrangement to pay the installments. So, I am asking the government for an interest-free loan to repay the bank loan,” he said as he sobbed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The businessmen urged the government to allow setting up shops in the same place again so that the traders who have clothes in their warehouse can sell them.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorities say an assessment is being done to determine the losses from the fire, apparently to devise a way for supporting the affected businessmen. 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, '2023-04-06 09:57:30', '2023-04-06 09:57:30'),
(6211, 6211, '<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A tornado ripped through southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday, killing five people and causing widespread destruction as the third in a series of deadly massive storms over the past two weeks struck the nation\'s heartland.</b><br></p><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Forecasters are keeping a wary eye out for more extreme weather as this year\'s early severe storm season continues. The storms have spawned dozens of tornadoes, mainly in the South and Midwest, that have killed at least 63 people. Just last weekend, confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eight states laid waste to neighborhoods across a broad swath of the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Missouri tornado touched down around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday and moved through a rural area of Bollinger County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of St. Louis. Trees were uprooted, homes turned into piles of splinters, and one building was flipped on its side.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Five people were killed and five were injured, State Highway Patrol Superintendent Eric Olson said at a news conference. Residents in the village of Glen Allen said at least some of the victims were members of a family who lived in a trailer along a state highway.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Little was left of the trailer Wednesday beyond its concrete pads and an axle. A large stuffed animal was lodged in the branch of a downed tree, and furniture, clothing and kitchenware were scattered in a field.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Olson said 12 structures were destroyed and dozens more damaged.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The damage was concentrated around Glen Allen and the small rural community of Grassy, which are separated by a hunting area, said Bollinger County Sheriff Casey Graham in a Facebook post. He didn’t immediately release the victims’ names.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Charles Collier, 61, said he saw the coroner’s van drive by with its lights on in Glen Allen, where he owns a storage facility.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“That was a sad, sad sight -- knowing there was bodies in there,” said Collier. “I was just numb, thinking about all these other people, what they’re going through.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Josh Wells said that the tornado tore half of the roof off his Glen Allen home and pushed in his bedroom wall. Luckily, he fled beforehand with his son to his sister’s home because it has a basement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“We all ran down and huddled against the wall and my brother-in-law made it down just seconds before we heard the roaring sound of the wind and debris crashing around us,” he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While his sister’s home held up, the area reeked of gas because a propane unit was damaged.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Midwest tornadoes have typically occurred later in the spring, but this year’s early spate of severe weather continues a trend seen over the past few years, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Although we will likely have several relatively quiet days after the current weather system has moved east of the U.S., we are entering the time of the year where the potential for severe weather increases and much more of the U.S. becomes at risk,” Bunting said in a email.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Typically, dry air from the West going up over the Rockies and crashing into warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico are what make the U.S. so prone to tornadoes and other severe storms, experts say.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Missouri Gov. Mike Parson toured the storm damage area Wednesday and said President Joe Biden had called to assure him of federal help. Local agencies anticipate months of recovery efforts, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I will tell you, I just know because I grew up in a little small town, these small towns, these counties and these cites will come together to help one another out,” Parson said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Justin Gibbs, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Paducah, Kentucky, said the tornado remained on the ground for roughly 15 minutes, traveling an estimated 15-20 miles (24-32 kilometers).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Based on early data, the tornado received a preliminary EF-2 rating, packing wind speeds of 130 mph (228 kph).</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gibbs noted that tornadoes are especially dangerous when they touch down late at night or early in the morning, as this one did.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It’s definitely a nightmare from a warning standpoint,” Gibbs said. “It’s bad anytime, but it’s especially bad at 3:30 in the morning.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A phone weather alert awakened Bobby Masters, who said debris was slamming his Glen Allen home as he took shelter in his basement with his family. He recalled hearing a roar as the tornado passed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“I had never heard a tornado before. They say it sounds like a freight train and that is exactly what it sounds like,” he said. “The good Lord spared us, our family and our house.”</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Keith Lincoln, 56, also was awakened by a phone alert. He huddled in a bathtub with his wife and 18-year-old daughter and prayed: “Just save us and the house.” Lincoln spent the afternoon patching his roof but was thankful his prayer was mostly answered.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chris Green, 35, found a small black dog dead in the debris. “I can’t just leave it here,” he said as he and his father buried the animal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The area is rural, with residents mostly farming, cutting timber or working construction jobs, said Larry Welker, Bollinger County\'s public administrator. The county\'s population is around 10,500. The battered communities are tiny, little more than a few scattered homes and businesses.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The storms moving through the Midwest and South had threatened some areas still reeling from the deadly bout of bad weather last weekend. At one point, the Storm Prediction Center said up to 40 million people were at risk in an area that included Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Memphis, Tennessee.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In central Illinois, authorities said five people were hurt and about 300 homes were without power due to a tornado that struck in Fulton County on Tuesday evening. Chris Helle, who directs the county’s Emergency Services Disaster Agency, said one of the people injured was in critical condition.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Helle said the damage was concentrated near the town of Bryant, about 200 mile (322 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Helle said numerous homes were destroyed, but he credited people for listening to advance warnings and taking shelter.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials said another tornado touched down Tuesday morning in the western Illinois community of Colona. Local news reports showed wind damage to some businesses there. 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, '2023-04-06 10:53:50', '2023-04-06 10:53:50'),
(6212, 6212, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Top UN officials warned Wednesday that a Taliban government order banning Afghan women from working for its mission in the country would violate the world body\'s charter and demanded the ban be revoked.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United Nations also announced it had instructed all its Afghan staff, men and women, not to report to the office after the ban on its women staff was confirmed.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Taliban authorities have imposed a slew of restrictions on Afghan women since seizing power in 2021, including banning them from higher education and many government jobs.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The increasing curbs are reminiscent of the Taliban\'s first government between 1996 and 2001, when the UN said they were responsible for repeated human rights violations -- particularly against girls and women.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded the ban on the organisation\'s women staff in Afghanistan be \"immediately revoked\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This is a violation of the inalienable fundamental human rights of women,\" spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on behalf of Guterres on Wednesday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UN said on Tuesday the Taliban government had extended a ban on women working for non-governmental organisations to the world body\'s workforce of some 400 Afghan women.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said that \"the charter of the United Nations is going to be violated\" because of the ban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"It is absolutely clear that no authority can give instructions to the United Nations... on who should be employed,\" he told AFP. \"We are not going to make an exception.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While it is unclear what the effect of a charter violation would be in the long term, the UN ordered all its Afghan staff, men and women, \"not to report to the office until further notice\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UN Security Council planned to discuss the issue at a closed-door meeting Thursday morning.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- \'Assault against women\' -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told journalists in New York that the organisation\'s Afghan women staff will continue to receive their salaries.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I am terribly troubled by the fact that in the month of Ramadan, that what we get from the Taliban is a strike against the teachings and the belief of Islam,\" she said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">UN mission head in Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva also denounced the ban.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"In the history of the United Nations, no other regime has ever tried to ban women from working for the organisation just because they are women,\" Otunbayeva said in a separate statement.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"This decision represents an assault against women, the fundamental principles of the UN, and on international law.\"</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The mission called for women employees to be allowed to move freely across the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"They cannot receive instructions on the performance of their duties from any authority external to the organisation,\" the statement read.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield called the order \"repugnant\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Women are integral to humanitarian operations, including in Afghanistan where they provide lifesaving aid to the country\'s most vulnerable,\" she tweeted.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The world body\'s 400 women Afghan employees are the bulk of its 600 women staff working in Afghanistan. In total, there are about 3,300 Afghans in the 3,900-strong UN workforce there.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The UN airlifted $1.8 billion into Afghanistan between December 2021 and January 2023, funding an aid lifeline for the nation\'s 38 million citizens and shoring up the domestic economy.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Severe restrictions -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Taliban authorities ordered all NGOs in December to stop employing Afghan women after receiving \"serious complaints\" that women employees were not observing a proper Islamic dress code.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"These justifications have no basis considering what we know about Islam,\" said Alakbarov. Several conservative countries in the region still allow women to study and work, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Many NGOs suspended their entire operations in the country in protest after the ban was announced, piling further misery on Afghanistan\'s citizens, half of whom are facing hunger, according to aid agencies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was agreed after days of discussion that women working in the health aid sector would be exempt from the decree, although the UN enjoyed a general exemption.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Aid workers say female employees are crucial in delivering help to women beneficiaries in a deeply conservative and patriarchal country such as Afghanistan.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The restriction will also hamper donation-raising efforts by the UN at a time when Afghanistan is enduring one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, Alakbarov said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Taliban government has imposed an austere interpretation of Islam since surging back to power.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Authorities have barred teenage girls from secondary school, while women have been pushed out of many government jobs, prevented from travelling without a male relative and ordered to cover up outside the home, ideally with a burqa.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Women have also been banned from universities and are not allowed to enter parks or gardens. BSS</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \">bnbd24/kh</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"1\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-06 11:11:02', '2023-04-06 11:11:02'),
(6213, 6213, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">South Korea warned Thursday it will take \"necessary steps\" if Pyongyang continues its unauthorised use of a joint industrial complex in the North once seen as a symbol of reconciliation.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">More than 50,000 North Korean workers once worked at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, churning out products ranging from watches to clothes for about 125 South Korean companies that supplied the funding and equipment.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Seoul pulled out of the venture -- launched in the wake of the 2000 inter-Korean summit -- in 2016 in response to a nuclear test and missile launches by the North, saying Kaesong profits were helping fund the provocations.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the North has continued using the facility and its South Korean-owned assets without permission, Seoul\'s unification ministry said Thursday.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South Korea\'s liaison office sent a notice on Thursday demanding activity at the factory complex cease, but North Korea refused to accept it, the ministry said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The announcement came a day after North Korea\'s Rodong Sinmun newspaper released a set of photographs showing what appeared to be a South Korean bus once used to carry workers to the complex running in Pyongyang.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The continued operation of the facilities \"regardless of the will of the businessmen is a clear violation of property rights\" and the two Koreas\' agreement on investment guarantees, Seoul\'s notice said, according to the ministry.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"North Korea should stop this immediately. If there is no corresponding response from North Korea regarding our request, we will take necessary steps assuming that North Korea has admitted to operating the complex without permission,\" the notice said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">What action might be taken was not specified.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While open, the business park was virtually the last remaining form of economic cooperation between the Koreas, providing precious hard currency for the impoverished North and cheap labour and tax breaks for the involved companies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">North Korea has doubled down on the expansion of its military arsenal and nuclear programme since a 2019 Hanoi summit between leader Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump failed to yield any meaningful outcome.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In recent weeks, it has tested what state media has claimed was an underwater, nuclear-capable drone and carried out the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Officials in Seoul and Washington have warned since early 2022 that North Korea may be preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test, with some experts saying it could be imminent. 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, '2023-04-06 11:34:36', '2023-04-06 11:34:36'),
(6214, 6214, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Western security services of having helped Kyiv stage \"terror attacks\" in Russia, after giving an icy welcome to the new US and EU ambassadors.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile made a rare foreign visit to Warsaw in a show of thanks for Poland\'s support since the start of Russia\'s offensive.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Putin spoke at a meeting of the Kremlin\'s security council dedicated to ensuring law and order in four Ukrainian territories he claimed to have annexed last year.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"There are grounds to assert\" that other countries and Western intelligence services were involved \"in staging sabotage and terrorist attacks\", Putin said in televised remarks.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In what appeared to be a reference to the Ukrainian authorities, Putin said \"neo-Nazis and their accomplices were acting\" in Russia as well as the annexed territories including the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Putin\'s remarks come days after an explosion at a cafe in Russia\'s second city, Saint Petersburg, killed a high-profile military blogger and staunch supporter of Moscow\'s assault on Ukraine, Vladlen Tatarsky.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moscow said the attack had been orchestrated by Ukraine with help from supporters of jailed critic Alexei Navalny. Kyiv has blamed it on Russia\'s domestic infighting.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday the blogger\'s death would be \"one of the topics of discussion\" at the UN Security Council, where Moscow has taken over the rotating presidency.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hours earlier, Putin had received the new foreign ambassadors to Moscow at a ceremony in the Kremlin.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He told US ambassador Lynne Tracy that Washington was responsible for the \"Ukrainian crisis\", adding that ties between Russia and the United States were in \"deep crisis\".</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Putin also told the new EU envoy to Moscow, Roland Galharague, that the bloc instigated \"geopolitical confrontation\" with Moscow.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Ukraine aircraft crash -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also on Wednesday, Russian state media cited the FSB security service as saying that it detained a pilot of a Ukrainian light aircraft that crashed in the southern Bryansk region that borders Ukraine.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"The aircraft, for unknown reasons, crashed near the settlement of Butovsk in Bryansk region. The pilot (a citizen of Ukraine), who tried to escape to Ukrainian territory, was detained by a border patrol,\" the FSB was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA Novosti.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Warsaw, Zelensky expressed Ukraine\'s gratitude to Poland, one of its staunchest backers since Russia\'s offensive, providing it with weapons and welcoming refugees.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"Today we are trying to get for Ukraine... additional guarantees, security guarantees, which will strengthen Ukraine\'s military potential,\" Polish President Andrzej Duda said after talks with Zelensky.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">These guarantees are an \"introduction to Ukraine\'s full membership in NATO\", Duda added, saying Poland \"firmly\" supported Kyiv\'s bid to join the alliance.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Putin has used Ukraine\'s desire to join NATO to justify Russia\'s military operation there, though Ukraine was a long way from joining when fighting started in February 2022.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zelensky thanked Poland for supporting Kyiv\'s efforts to enter both the European Union and NATO.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I would like to convey to our partners, who are constantly looking for compromises on our way to NATO, that Ukraine will be uncompromising in this as well,\" Zelensky said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Poland, Ukraine\'s western neighbour, became the first NATO member to pledge the MiG-29 fighter jets that Ukraine had been calling for.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Warsaw said on Monday it had transferred some of its already promised fighter jets to Ukraine, after fellow NATO member Slovakia announced it had shipped an initial batch of its own.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I think that in the future we will be able to transfer our whole remaining fleet of MiG-29s to Ukraine, if there is still such a need,\" Duda said of the 28 MiG-29 jets in Poland\'s possession.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">- Agriculture talks -</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He would require NATO\'s authorisation for such a move, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Warsaw has also delivered Leopard 2A4 tanks, which Kyiv had long sought to help its efforts to dislodge Russian troops from its territory.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since the beginning of the offensive, Poland has hosted an influx of Ukrainians fleeing the conflict.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"I will never get tired of thanking the ordinary Polish people who have been helping the ordinary Ukrainian people since the beginning of the Russian invasion,\" Zelensky told journalists in Warsaw.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite its support, Poland has recently seen a wave of protests by farmers over Ukrainian grain exports, which they say are driving down market prices.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">On Wednesday, Poland\'s agriculture minister announced he was stepping down following the protests and blamed the European Union for inaction in helping the farmers.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Poland\'s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the imports of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine will be discussed during the talks with Zelensky. 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, '2023-04-06 11:57:34', '2023-04-06 11:57:34'),
(6215, 6215, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Siddharth Anand has been roped in to direct Tiger vs Pathaan, an upcoming movie in Yash Raj Films’ spy universe, as per a new report. Tiger vs Pathaan will reportedly see Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan reprise their roles as spies Pathaan and Tiger, respectively. Tiger vs Pathaan will reportedly feature a face off between the two agents.</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shah Rukh Khan was seen as an agent in the action film Pathaan (2023), the biggest commercial hit of his career, while Salman Khan played a fictional RAW agent in two YRF spy films – the first film Ek Tha Tiger (2012) directed by Kabir Khan, and its sequel Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) made by filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar. Salman had a cameo role in Pathaan, also directed by Siddharth Anand. Pathaan was the first YRF film to have a crossover as it brought characters from the YRF spy universe together.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“Aditya Chopra has immense trust in Siddharth Anand to deliver a grand visual spectacle that has never been seen before with Tiger vs Pathaan,” a trade source was quoted as saying in a new Deadline report. “Siddharth is getting a dream cast of Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan coming together for their first full fledged film since Karan Arjun and Siddharth will also be given all the support he needs to mount Tiger vs Pathaan as the biggest film that India has ever produced,\" the report further said quoting the source.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">YRF’s spy universe, apart from the first two Tiger films, includes War (2019) featuring Hrithik Roshan as a RAW agent. The film also featured Tiger Shroff. The third film in the Tiger franchise, again starring Salman Khan, is scheduled for release during Diwali this year. War 2 featuring Hrithik, directed by filmmaker Ayan Mukerji, is reportedly also in the works. Shah Rukh\'s Pathaan was the fourth film in the YRF spy universe. The film also featured Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia, and Ashutosh Rana.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the film, Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan), an exiled RAW agent, works with ISI agent Rubina Mohsin (Deepika Padukone) to take down Jim (John Abraham), a former RAW agent planning to spread a deadly lab-generated virus across India. Pathaan was released in theatres on January 25, 2023, around the Republic Day holiday, and received mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences. It is the highest-grossing Indian film of 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, '2023-04-06 12:23:00', '2023-04-06 12:23:00'),
(6216, 6216, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Morning is the best time to fuel your body in the right manner. For people with diabetes, it is especially important to have foods that promote satiety, lead to slow release of glucose and the ones that provide sustained energy throughout the day without causing sugar spikes. Eating a balanced diet with the right proportion of protein, carbs, healthy fats, fibre and are non-starchy can give your body the perfect start.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Morning is also the time when people with diabetes may experience rise in blood glucose as our liver produces extra glucose to fuel the body for the day. This may lead to hyperglycaemia in some. If you feel thirsty, urinating excessively or have blurry vision in the morning, you have a high blood sugar level. This is especially common in people with type 1 diabetes as they are at an increased risk of blood sugar fluctuations.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"People with type 2 diabetes should periodically monitor fasting blood sugar done on an empty stomach when you wake up in the morning and a post prandial sugar which is taken two hours after a big meal like lunch or dinner. It is important to keep a tab on both these readings because some persons have a high sugar in the fasted state or some others have high sugar post prandial with the fasted state being normal,\" says Clinical Nutritionist Avantii Deshpaande.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Avantii says the rise in the sugar levels is the body’s way of making sure one has enough energy to get up and start the day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\"In case of diabetes, your body may not have enough insulin to counter act these hormones and hence there could be surge in blood sugar in the morning. The opposite scenario might be true too where there is hypoglycaemia in the morning and the blood sugar levels are lower than threshold. The food that you consume first thing in the morning often depends on these levels,\" says the nutritionist.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>1. Ghee and turmeric powder</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">If you have normal blood sugar levels, you can trust this powerful combination to work wonders on your blood sugar levels. Take 1 tsp of cow ghee with turmeric powder is the best thing to be consumed first thing in the morning if your sugar readings are normal.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">People with diabetes experience sugar cravings and ghee helps them to get better satiety and help control sugar cravings throughout the day. Turmeric on the other hand aids in lowering inflammation which is commonly seen in diabetes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>2. Alkalising drinks</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar or 30 ml of amla juice or lemon juice with 100 ml of water, has an alkalising effect on the body and one can choose to have this too to keep the body alkaline, which in turn helps in healing the body better.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>3. Infused water</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cinnamon is a spice which is known to imitate the effects of insulin in lowering the blood sugar. You can prepare an herbal tea infused with cinnamon powder for helping you manage the blood sugar levels in the day.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>4. Fenugreek water</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is another remedy which will help you lower the absorption of carbohydrates in the day. So soaking 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds overnight night and consuming this water along with chewing the seeds can help to control diabetes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b>5. Protein snack</b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In case of hypoglycaemia or low blood sugar in the day, you can choose to consume a small protein snack first thing in the morning like soaked almonds, walnuts or then fruit with nut butter. Taking tea or coffee might not be a great idea in the morning on an empty stomach but have a puffed millets chivda or protein snack like moong khakra or moong jor garam and soaked sprouts with this. 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, '2023-04-06 13:12:10', '2023-04-06 13:12:10'),
(6217, 6217, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal today said that the decision to use ballot paper in the upcoming 12th National Election has not been taken under any pressure. It is the Election Commission’s own decision.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The CEC said this during a press briefing at the Election Building in Dhaka’s Agargaon.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Saying that electronic voting machine (EVM) or ballot paper is not a major challenge to the election, the CEC observed that the main challenge is participation of all political parties.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">“It will be up to the Commission to ensure that all parties participate in the election. If all the parties participate in the election, it will be acceptable to people,” he also said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The biggest challenge at the moment is to overcome the political crisis, he added.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Saying “EVMs are more secure than ballots,” the Chief Election Commissioner said stopping rigging is easy with EVMs. But hundred percent fair voting is not possible either with ballots or EVM, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rejecting the possibility of early election, CEC Habibul Awal said that preparations are being made according to the roadmap announced by the Election Commission. So, there is no question of early election. 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, '2023-04-06 13:15:54', '2023-04-06 13:15:54'),
(6218, 6218, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The 11th Jatiya Sangsad (JS) on the beginning of its 22th special session today unanimously adopted obituary reference on a number of distinguished personalities including two former ministers and seven ex-parliament members.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury moved the obituary motion separately at the beginning of the session with brief resumes of those who died after prorogation of 21th session of the current parliament.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Speaker said the House expresses deep shock at the death of two ex-ministers - former information and communication minister Barrister Nazmul Huda, also former parliament member from Dhaka-1 constituency and former information and jute minister Habib Ullah Khan, also ex-parliament member of the then Cumilla-5 constituency.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She also expressed deep shock over the deaths of former members of parliament --veteran freedom fighter Nur-E-Alam Siddiqui, Reza Ali Khan of Mymensingh-7, M Delwar Hossen of Borguna-1, Shamsul Alam Pramanik of Naogaon-4, M Mozammel Huq of Natore-4, Anwarul Hossen Khan Chowdhury of Mymensingh-9 and Enamul Huq of Mymensingh-10.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The parliament, as well, expressed deep shock on the deaths of ruling Awami League (AL) former president of Madaripur Sadar Upazila valiant freedom fighter Ali Ahmed Khan, former general secretary of Lakhipur district AL valiant freedom fighter M Abu Taher, noted photo journalist Jalal Uddin Haider, prestigious Ekhushey Padak laureate, noted sculpture and teacher Shamim Sikder and founder and Chairman of Rangs Group Abdur Rauf Chowdhury.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The JS also expressed profound shock over the deaths of others people in various incidents at home and abroad in recent past.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The parliament conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members and prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The lawmakers also observed a one-minute silence as a mark of profound respect to the departed souls.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later, a munajat was offered by State Minister for Religious Affairs Md. Faridul Haque Khan seeking eternal peace of the departed souls. 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, '2023-04-06 13:53:58', '2023-04-06 13:53:58'),
(6219, 6219, '<div style=\"text-align: justify; \"><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Thursday told parliament that Tk 603.76 crore tolls have been collected from Padma Bridge till March since its inauguration on June 25, 2022.</b><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister said this in reply to a tabled question from Awami League MP Benjir Ahmed elected from Dhaka-20.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Quader said after the launch of Bangabandhu Bridge on June 23, 1998, Tk 7697.71 crore have been collected as toll as of March.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In response to another question from Morshed Alam, a lawmaker from Noakhali-2, Quader said that about 6,000 buses of various transport companies including Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) ply Dhaka city.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also said E-ticketing is available on a number of BRTC routes.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apart from this, e-ticketing has been launched in 3,300 buses of 69 companies out of 97 private transport companies under the supervision of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, he said.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Quader informed the House that Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) is monitoring these activities.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said that soon the e-ticketing system will be introduced in the buses of rest of the companies.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In reply to another query, Quader said that currently there is no research programme to reduce road accidents in the country.</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><br></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair, the question-answer session of today’s parliament sitting was placed on the table. 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, '2023-04-06 14:06:22', '2023-04-06 14:06:22'),
(6220, 6220, '<div><b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Thursday the speeches of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman are an invaluable asset for the present and future generations.</span><br></b></div><div><b>&nbsp;</b></div><div>“In his speeches, he (Bangabandhu) had given directions on how Bangladesh will run. So, it is an invaluable resource for us,” she said, unwrapping two books on Bangabandhu and his speeches after joining the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) just before a special session that began today to mark the 50 years (golden jubilee) of the national parliament.</div><div><br></div><div>One of the two books is the compilation of the speeches of Bangabandhu delivered in parliament, while the other is the compilation of the speeches of the lawmakers delivered in the special session of parliament summoned marking the “Mujib Barsho”.</div><div><br></div><div>Regarding the book of Bangabandhu’s speeches, Sheikh Hasina said it is very important for members of parliaments (MPs), the people and the future generations to know Bangladesh and its people.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>“In 50 years, our generation or the next generation, generations after generations will know the speeches and through this they will get the opportunity to understand Bangladesh, know the condition of the people, their socio-economic development, everything,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister appreciated the compilation of the speeches of the MPs delivered in the special session of the JS, saying “It is a matter of great pride for us”.</div><div><br></div><div>She extended her sincere thanks to the Speaker, the Members of Parliament and all others concerned in this regard.</div><div><br></div><div>Talking about the constitution, Sheikh Hasina said the constitution of Bangladesh, framed by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is the best one in the world as it ensured basic rights of the people of all strata.</div><div><br></div><div>She said soon after the independence, the Father of the Nation had formed Ganaparishad (Constituent Assembly) with the members of both the National Assembly and Provincial Assembly, elected by the people of Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>The head of government said it is a rare instance in world history that Bangabandhu presented a constitution to the Bengali nation after framing it within only nine months.</div><div><br></div><div>“This is perhaps considered one of the best constitutions in the whole world,” she said, adding that the reason is the basic rights of the poor, deprived, exploited and oppressed people in every perspective were stated in the constitution.</div><div><br></div><div>“The rights of the people of all strata in society, including those who are disadvantaged, have also been ensured in the constitution,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>In line with that constitution, the first general election was held on March 7, 1973 and Awami League sealed victory in all the constituencies except seven in that election, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury chaired the business advisory meeting. According to BSS reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>', NULL, 'News Desk', '[\"30\"]', NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, '2023-04-06 16:05:08', '2023-04-06 16:05:08');
