MNA International Desk: Four climbers have died on Mt. Everest in a busy and tragic weekend on the world’s highest mountain, officials and expedition organizers said Monday. Sherpa rescuers spotted a body of Indian climber Ravi Kumar, but it was impossible to retrieve the body, said Thupden Sherpa of Arun Treks and Expedition. It appeared that Kumar had fallen some 200 meters (650 feet) below the route, he said. Climbers from the United States, Slovakia and Australia also died on the mountain over the weekend. Kumar fell sick on his way down from the summit on Saturday and did not ...

MNA Business Desk: Six new ships will be added with Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) by 2018, said an official release in Dhaka on Sunday. The ships would be bought from China National Import and Export Machineries Corporation (CMC) at a cost of Taka 1,843 crore (Tk 18.43 billion). “Each ship will have 39,000 tonnes capacity. The six ships – three oil tankers and three bulk carriers – will be added with Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) by 2018,” the release added quoting shipping minister Shajahan Khan as he confirmed this after returning home from China last night. Bangladesh Shipping Corporation has ...

MNA Feature Desk: The 2017 International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) will be celebrated on 22 May under the theme, ‘Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism’. The theme, indicated by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), coincides with the designation of 2017 by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. Biodiversity, at the level of species and ecosystems, provides an important foundation for many aspects of tourism. Recognition of the great importance to tourism economies of attractive landscapes and a rich biodiversity underpins the political and economic case for biodiversity conservation. Many ...

MNA National Desk: Shafiul Alam Prodhan, the president of Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (JAGPA) died of a cardiac arrest early on Sunday. He was 67 years old. The party’s General Secretary Khandaker Lutfur Rahman informed to media that Shafiul Alam Prodhan died in his house located at Dhaka’s Asad Gate on Sunday at 7:30am. Jatiya Ganatantrik Party is an ally of BNP‐led 20‐Party Alliance. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed deep shock at the death of Shafiul and conveyed sympathy to bereaved family member. In early political life, Shafiul was involved with Bangladesh Chhatra League, ...

MNA National Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received warm reception in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night as the PM on a four-day official visit to attend the Arab Islamic-American (AIA) Summit. A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage landed at King Khalid International Airport at 11.15 pm (local time). Saudi State Minister for Sura Affairs Mohamed Faisal Bin Abu Saad and Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Moshi received the Prime Minister at the airport. During her visit, Hasina will also perform holy Umrah in Makkah and offer ziarat at the Rawza Mubarak of Prophet ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Ekushey Padak winning sculptor Syed Abdullah Khalid breathed his last at BIRDEM Hospital in Dhaka around 11:45pm on Saturday. He was 75. The septuagenarian’s works include ‘Aparajeyo Bangla’ at Dhaka University campus. His ‘Abahaman Bangla’ mural in front of the Bangladesh Television Center and the terracotta in front of the Bangladesh Bank building earned applause from the public and the critics alike. His body will be taken to Charukala at 11:00am on Sunday and at the foot of his monumental creation, Aparajeyo Bangla on Dhaka University campus, at 12 noon for people to pay their last respects, ...

MNA International Desk: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has won re-election with a resounding 57 percent of the vote, the interior minister announced on Saturday. With 99.7 percent of ballots counted, Rouhani had 23.5 million votes compared to 15.8 million for hardline challenger Ebrahim Raisi, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said on state television, adding that the results were final. “I humbly bow my head down to you,” Rouhani said to his people in a tweet translated from Farsi. “I will remain loyal to my promise to you.” Rouhani, a moderate, was a key architect of the 2015 nuclear deal with the United ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Donald Trump along with other male White House officials participated in a ceremonial sword dance in Saudi Arabia outside the Murabba Palace, reported news agency. Trump arrived here accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump on Saturday on a two-day trip, beginning his first foreign trip as President that includes visits to Israel, the Vatican City, Belgium and Italy where he is to take part in NATO and G7 summits. Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were also travelling as part of the presidential entourage. Video of the dance shows Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the dream project of 80km Cox’s Bazar – Teknaf Marine Drive on May 6, 2017. This project was much in the news due to its implication in transforming the whole zone into a tourist attraction. It has significantly improved the communication from Cox’s Bazar to Teknaf and will create several small tourist spots alongside this road. Cox’s Bazar, being the longest sea beach of the world, has already been one of the greatest tourist spots of the world. This marine drive will drastically change the lives around this new road in the ...

MNA Science & Technology Desk: Facebook, the proud parent of Instagram and Messenger, wants to bring together its various apps into a more cohesive experience. The social networking site is rolling out a new feature that consolidates Facebook, Messenger and Instagram notifications on the Facebook app. While this aims to encourage users to stay on Facebook’s services longer, it will also make it a tad easier to check your notifications and get rid of those annoying red badges at the same place. Facebook said it’s “conducting a very small test” to make it easier for people to switch between their ...

MNA National Desk: Police on Saturday conducted a raid on the Gulshan office of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia in search of search of “anti-state documents.” Nothing, however, was found during the two-hour long search. BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged that the raid was aimed at “harassing Khaleda Zia mentally and keeping her under pressure.” Police said that they had received information that “anti-state materials” were kept at the Gulshan office. And they had a search warrant issued by the court to carry out a raid to find out whether there is any anti-state ...

MNA Sports Desk: An all-round performance from Bangladesh enabled them to overwhelm Ireland by eight wickets in the fourth match of the Tri-Nation Series at Dublin. Chasing 182, Bangladesh rode on the opening partnership of 95 between Soumya Sarkar and Tamim Iqbal followed by the 76-run stand to win the match quite comfortably in the end. Soumya was 87 not out. He faced only 68 balls and struck 11 fours and two sixes during his match-winning knock. Tamim made 47. Winning the toss, Tigers skipper Mashrafe Mortaza opted to bowl first and his bowlers made sure his decision gets proven ...

MNA National Desk: Students of Medical Assistance Training School (MATS) clashed with police in Dhaka’s Shahbagh area on Thursday as police obstructed them while staging demonstrations. When the MATS students took position in the area around 11:00am to press home their four-point demand police obstructed them. Police fired tear shells water and used water cannon to disperse the students and the students also threw brick chips towards police. The MATS students vandalized two vehicles at that time. Several injured in the clash and police arrested 11 people from the spot. Later, fighting resumed in the area when police blocked a ...

MNA International Desk: A former FBI chief was tasked Wednesday with leading a beefed-up investigation into whether Donald Trump’s team colluded with Russia to tilt the 2016 election in the president’s favor. Trump responded by once again denying any links to Moscow, but the appointment of a special counsel with sweeping powers dramatically raises the stakes in a crisis threatening to paralyze his presidency. The Republican leader, who has struggled to shake off suspicions that Russia helped put him in the White House, has been accused of seeking to block the investigation by sacking FBI chief James Comey. Under pressure ...

MNA Sports Desk: Dani Alves and Leonardo Bonucci struck one apiece as treble-chasing Juventus secured a record third successive Italian Cup with a 2-0 victory over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday. Juventus, who won a league and Cup double the past two seasons, can clinch a record sixth consecutive Serie A title—and a record third double—with victory at home to Crotone on Sunday. Massimiliano Allegri’s men also face Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Cardiff on June—and on this showing the Spanish giants will have cause for concern. Lazio were competing in their third final in ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Bollywood actress Reema Lagoo died of a cardiac arrest in Mumbai on Thursday morning. She was 59. Reema Lagoo was a veteran of the Marathi stage and appeared in several high profile Bollywood films, working with top stars like Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. She was born Nayan Khadbade in 1958. She was the daughter of a well-known Marathi actress and began acting herself after finishing school in Pune. She took the name Reema Lagoo after her marriage – she and her husband later separated but Ms Lagoo retained the name. Reema was also known ...

MNA Science & Technology Desk: Social media app WhatsApp on Wednesday encountered an outage with users worldwide reporting problems accessing the service. Issues with the Facebook-owned app, which is used by 1 billion people worldwide, included sending and receiving messages and logging in. According to monitoring website Down Detector, hundreds of people complained about the outage from Malaysia to Spain, which appeared to have started on late Wednesday evening. Some users took to Twitter, threatening they would migrate to rival messaging services because of the second outage in as many weeks. Users in Germany and some other European countries also ...

MNA Business Desk: M Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin has been elected new president and Sheikh Fazle Fahim as first vice-president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) for the 2017-19 term. Besides, M Muntakim Ashraf has been elected vice-president of the FBCCI as seven other vice-president candidates withdrew their nominations. FBCCI election conducting committee chairman Ali Ashraf announced the names of three winners at the conference room of the federation building in the city on Tuesday. However, the official result will be announced on May 21. The biennial election to the apex trade body was held at ...

MNA National Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated her firm determination to take Bangladesh to its desired goal, saying that she doesn’t care any conspiracies to this end. “I have perceiving the conspiracies from my childhood … I don’t care it. I believe that as long as the almighty Allah, the people and the blessings of my parents remain with me, we could reach our desired goal,” she said. The prime minister said this while addressing the leaders of Bangladesh Awami League and its associate bodies at Ganobhaban, this morning to greet her on the occasion of Sheikh Hasina’s ...

MNA Sports Desk: Half centuries from Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah led Bangladesh to 257 for 9 against New Zealand in the third match of the ODI Tri-Series at Clontarf Cricket Club Ground in Dublin. Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and decided to bowl first. Captain Mortaza returns, and Taskin Ahmed drops out to get Mashrafe back in the team. Bangladesh, which never beat New Zealand in an away or neutral venue in 15 matches, are very much keen to set that record straight. The Tigers’ first game against Ireland was washed out in rain, while the Kiwis ...

MNA National Desk: A Narayanganj court has awarded death penalty to twenty three persons for the 2002 brutal murder of four Awami League activists. The verdict was announced by Narayanganj Additional District and Sessions Judge Quamrunnahar on Wednesday. Nineteen of the death row convicts were present when the judgement was pronounced, while four are absconding. The four Awami League supporters were enticed away from their homes in Araihazar Upazila’s Jalakandi village on March 12, 2002 and hacked and burned to death, said Additional Public Prosecutor Jafrin Ahmed to the reporters. After the delivery of the verdict, Additional Public Prosecutor has ...

MNA Feature Desk: Today is the 37th homecoming day of Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Marking the day, AL has chalked out a seven-day programme, including hoisting of national and party flags atop party offices across the country. On May 17, 1981, Sheikh Hasina returned home from India after nearly six years in exile following the assassination of her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Hasina was elected the president of Awami League in her absence in the party’s national council held on February 14-16, 1981. The party members will hoist national and party flags atop party offices ...

MNA National Desk: Former Foreign Secretary Ambassador Faruq Ahmed Choudhury has passed away at 83. He had been suffering from multiple diseases of heart, liver and kidney. Choudhury died at around 4:30 am at Square Hospitals in Dhaka. His first namaz-e-janaza will be held at the Foreign Ministry for holding and later his body will be taken to Baitul Aman Mosque in Dhanmondi-7 for another namaz-e-janaza after Asr prayers. President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have expressed their deep sorrow at Choudhury’s death. Born in 1934, Choudhury entered the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1956. He served in ...

MNA Editorial Desk: United States President Donald Trump will give a major speech on the Islamic faith during his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, home to the religion’s holiest shrines, the White House said on Tuesday. “He will meet and have lunch with leaders of more than 50 Muslim countries, where he will deliver an inspiring, direct speech on the need to confront radical ideology and the president’s hopes for a peaceful vision of Islam,” National Security Advisor HR McMaster told reporters. Trump is set to visit Riyadh next week and meet with Saudi officials, as well as 56 Arab ...

MNA International Desk: Gunmen attacked a building of Afghan state television in the eastern city of Jalalabad on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces, reported news agency. “We can confirm that a number of insurgents have entered the building,” said Attaullah Khughyani. “Who they are, and what their target is, is still not clear.” He said there appeared to have been at least three attackers, two of whom had blown themselves up while at least one was still fighting. Heavy gunfire could be heard from around the building of RTA, Afghanistan’s national broadcaster, located close to ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who has always stressed on the importance of technology in taking Indian cinema to greater heights, says the success of a movie like “Baahubali” is an example of how there’s no glory without guts. The actor, who has produced films under the Red Chillies Entertainments banner, is yet to see “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion”, which has taken the Indian box office by storm. “I saw ‘Baahubali’ part one. Unfortunately, I have not seen part two yet. It’s an extremely inspiring film and I think it holds true for part two as ...

MNA National Desk: The inauguration program 2017 of the new executive committee of Dhaka Sub-editors Council (DSEC) was held today at national press club at 11.00am. Minister of Information Hasanul Haq Inu, MP was present as the chief guest of the program. Abdul Wadud Dara, MP and Chairman of Food related Parliamentary Committee; Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman, President of National Press Club; Shamim Mohammad Afzal, Director General of Islamic Foundation Bangladesh was present as special guests. K.M. Shahidul Huq, President of DSEC chaired the program. At the beginning of program Tarun Tapon Chakrobarti, former executive committee member of DSEC in his ...