MNA National Desk: Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar will arrive in Dhaka on Monday night on a three-day official visit, aiming to strengthen the relations between Bangladesh and India further. Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen will receive Jaishankar at the VIP Lounge of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 9.20pm on Monday, ministry sources said. According to the foreign ministry, the Indian External Affairs Minister will visit the Bangabandhu Museum at Dhanmondi in the morning of August 20 to pay respect to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. According to BSS, both Dr A K Abdul Momen ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has announced a so-called ‘combing operation’ aiming to terminate the dengue-inducing Aedes mosquitoes. The programme is set to begin on Tuesday at Dhaka North ward No. 19, said DNCC spokesman ASM Mamun. The authorities divided each ward into 10 sections for the programme, Mamun said. Each section will be assigned 10 cleaners and an officer will oversee the activities., says a bdnews24 report. “The DNCC staff will visit every house in every area during the combing operation. They will check for Aedes mosquito larvae in these houses or establishments. Action will ...

MNA Career & Education Desk: The Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of the National School Meal Policy 2019, aiming to bring all the government primary schools under the midday-meal programme by 2023. The approval came at a cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her office, reports UNB. “Initially, the midday-meal programme will be introduced at schools in char, coastal and haor and other backward areas of the country,” said Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam while briefing reporters at the Secretariat after the cabinet meeting. The school meal is expected to ensure minimum 30 ...

MNA International Desk: US President Donald Trump and top White House officials dismissed concerns that economic growth may be faltering, saying on Sunday (local time) they saw little risk of recession despite a volatile week on global bond markets, and insisting their trade war with China was doing no damage to the United States. “We’re doing tremendously well, our consumers are rich, I gave a tremendous tax cut, and they’re loaded up with money,” Trump said on Sunday. But he was less optimistic than his aides on striking a trade deal with China, saying that while he believed China was ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Disney’s live-action remake of the animated film Mulan is facing calls for a boycott, after its star voiced support for Hong Kong’s police force. Chinese actress Liu Yifei, a naturalised US citizen, reposted a viral pro-police comment on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The territory has been convulsed by sometimes violent pro-democracy protests over the past 10 weeks. Rights groups and the UN have accused the police of a heavy handed response, according to a BBC report. Ms Liu had shared a Weibo post from the government-run Beijing newspaper People’s Daily that read (in Chinese): ...

MNA Business Desk: India’s Reliance Industries Ltd Monday announced a partnership with Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, in a move that deepens the offerings of its Jio telecoms unit while posing a direct challenge to rival cloud services providers such as Amazon.com and Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O), reports Reuters. As part of the 10-year alliance, Jio will build data centers across India that will be hosted on Microsoft’s Azure cloud, Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani told shareholders at the company annual shareholders’ meeting. “We now have the capability to develop truly India-native solutions, including speech recognition and natural language understanding for all major ...

MNA Business Desk: Tannery owners have prepared to buy rawhide at the request of the government to keep the market calm, but a decision of the hide and skin merchants to refrain from selling to the tanners has added a new twist to the crisis. Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association took the decision in a meeting in Dhaka on Saturday, saying they will not resume trade with the tanners until they pay dues. The association’s President Mohammad Delwar Hossain could not specify the dues but said it was more than Tk 4 billion accumulated since 2012. “Everyone in today’s ...

MNA National Desk: Two Bangladeshis have been killed and another injured after being crushed by a car in Kolkata. The dead are Kazi Md Mainul Alam, 36, and Farhana Islam Tania, 30, Anandabazar newspaper reported citing police. Mainul, hailing from Jhenaidah, was working as retail support manager of Grameenphone. Tania, a resident of the capital’s Mohammadpur, was a Citibank official working at its Dhanmondi branch. The injured, Kazi Md Shafi Rahmatullah, is Mainul’s cousin. Rahmatullah’s injuries were not serious, according to the Indian media. They took shelter under a shed outside a traffic police outpost near Shakespeare Sarani Police Station ...

MNA National Desk: The National Mourning Day was observed on Thursday across the country, marking the 44th martyrdom anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members, and with a fresh vow to bring back the fugitive killers home aiming to implement the verdict of the Bangabandhu killing case. The killing of Bangabandhu and most of his family members on the fateful night of August 15, 1975 is the ugliest chapter of the nation’s history. The self-confessed killers of August 15 not only assassinated Bangabandhu, but also killed 16 other members of his family, friends ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The nation is observing the National Mourning Day today, marking the 44th martyrdom anniversary of father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members. The killing of Bangabandhu and most of his family members on the fateful night of August 15, 1975 is the ugliest chapter of the nation’s history. The self-confessed killers of August 15 did not assassinate Bangabandhu alone, but also killed 16 other members of his family, friends and relatives. They include his wife Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russell, daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal, ...

MNA National Desk: Muslims throughout the country celebrated Eid-ul-Azha, their second-largest religious festival, on Monday. In the morning, devotees thronged Eidgahs (large open spaces) to offer prayers. They sought divine blessings and prayed for peace and prosperity of the country. Well-off Muslims then sacrificed animals in commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim’s devotion to Allah as illustrated by his readiness to give up his beloved son Ismail. Gor-e-Shaheed Baro Maidan in Dinajpur and Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj hosted two of the country’s largest Eid congregations like previous years. In Dhaka, the biggest congregation was held at the National Eidgah where President Abdul ...

MNA International Desk: Eid al-Adha, also known as Bakri Eid, is marked by by sacrificing an animal that is close to the devotees as they prove their devotion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning greeted the nation on the occasion of Eid-Al-Adha as people from the Muslim community gathered at mosques across the country to offer prayers. “My best wishes on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. I hope it furthers the spirit of peace and happiness in our society. Eid Mubarak!” PM Modi tweeted. Eid al-Adha, also known as Bakri Eid, is marked by by sacrificing an animal that is ...

MNA National Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the people to espouse the virtue of sacrifice signified by Eid-ul-Azha and work for the welfare of the country. She made the remarks during an Eid get-together at Ganabhaban on Monday. In a short address, Hasina said, “Eid brings a perspective of sacrifice before us. I hope the people are inspired by the spirit of sacrifice that Eid represents and work towards the welfare of fellow citizens and the country can develop further.” Extending her Eid greetings to all, the prime minister said, “I would like to extend my Eid greetings, ...

MNA National Desk: “Boss,” a Brahman bull born in the USA but raised in Bangladesh, has been sold for a record price as Bangladesh prepares to sacrifice over 10 million animals to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Azha next week, officials said on Thursday. Tens of millions of Bangladeshis travel back to their homes across the country to celebrate the annual three-day religious holiday, which is known as the festival of sacrifice. Muslims slaughter an animal — a goat, sheep, cow, or camel — during the festivities in a ritual stemming from the story of Prophet Abraham, commanded by God ...

MNA National Desk: Bangladesh and India are holding secretary-level talks in Dhaka city to discuss water-related issues between the two neighbours. The meeting began at the state guesthouse Meghna at 11:00am today (Thursday) and a media briefing is scheduled for 5:45pm. Indian water resources secretary Upendra Prasad Singh and his Bangladesh counterpart Kabir Bin Anwar are leading the delegations, an official was quoted by UNB as saying. Both sides are likely to discuss ways to go for a joint study to ensure the best use of Ganges water. Bangladesh and India share 54 trans-boundary rivers. On Tuesday, Indian high commissioner ...

MNA International Desk: India on Thursday urged Pakistan to review its decision to downgrade diplomatic ties over the withdrawal of special status to Kashmir, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Pakistan said it would expel India’s ambassador in Islamabad and that its envoy who was to start his assignment soon will not move to Delhi after India revoked the special privileges to Kashmir, Reuters reported. “The Government of India regrets the steps announced by Pakistan yesterday and would urge that country to review them so that normal channels for diplomatic communications are preserved,” the Indian foreign ministry said.

MNA Editorial Desk: A petition was filed Thursday in India’s top court challenging the communications blackout and security clampdown in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where people remained holed up in their homes for a fourth day. State-run All India Radio said security agencies have arrested more than 500 people in the region apparently to prevent any outbreak of violence. It also reported cross-border firing by Indian and Pakistani troops in the Rajouri sector of the Indian-controlled Kashmir late Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the nation on Thursday to discuss Kashmir. India’s government this week revoked the special status ...

MNA Science & Technology Desk: The government approved the procurement of another vehicle-mounted data interceptor for the ministry of home affairs under the direct purchase method. The cabinet committee on economic affairs gave the approval for the purchase in its meeting on Wednesday at the secretariat, chaired by finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal. The procurement will cost the exchequer around Tk 2.0 billion. The National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre will use the data interceptor for the interest of national security. After the meeting, the minister said the way rumours are spread proves to be “very risky” for the country. “Such rumours ...

MNA National Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned home from London on Thursday morning, wrapping up her official visit to the United Kingdom (UK). A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the prime minister and her entourage members landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport here at around 10:45am. Earlier, the flight departed from Heathrow International Airport in London for Dhaka at 6:55pm (London time) on Wednesday. Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem saw the premier off at the airport, reports BSS. Sheikh Hasina went to London on July 19. During her stay there, the prime minister ...

MNA Business Desk: Asian stocks rebounded Thursday after Wall Street eked out a gain following volatility fueled by concern fallout from the US-Chinese trade war will spread. Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong all advanced, recovering some of their losses following three days of anxiety over the decline of China’s yuan against the dollar. Investors were rattled Wednesday by a wave of interest rate cuts by central banks in India, Thailand and New Zealand. That adds to rate cuts since May in Australia, South Korea and the Philippines in response to fear U.S.-Chinese trade tension will dent global ...

MNA Sports Desk: Striker Gabriel Jesus has been suspended from international matches with Brazil for two months because of bad behavior in the latest Copa América final. The governing body of South American soccer, CONMEBOL, also announced Wednesday that it fined the 22-year-old Jesus $30,000 for actions it considers insulting and defamatory during Brazil’s 3-1 win over Peru in the July 7 decider. Jesus was sent off after a second yellow card at the 70-minute mark in the South American cup final, reports the Associated Press. He protested the decision with hand gestures suggesting the referee had been paid off ...

MNA Career & Education Desk: The annual mechanical festival “Mecceleration” at the Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Gazipur returned for the sixth time after experiencing tremendous success consecutively, with the tagline “Crank your brain, shift your ideas, accelerate your aptitudes” this year. The daylong fest was organised by the Department of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering of the university on July 26, 2019 (Friday). Amir Farid Abu Hasan, acting high commissioner – Office of the High Commission of Malaysia was present as the chief guest while the acting Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Dr Omar Jah presided over the event. The fest ...

MNA Lifestyle Desk: Baby foods are high in sugar and inappropriately marked as suitably for infants under the age of six months, according to recent studies. Two new studies by WHO/Europe also recommend that that children should be breastfed, exclusively, for the first 6 months. In its 2016 global ‘Guidance on Ending the Inappropriate Promotion of Foods for Infants and Young Children’, the organization explicitly states that commercial complementary foods should not be advertised for infants under 6 months of age. “Good nutrition in infancy and early childhood remains key to ensuring optimal child growth and development, and to better ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Sonakshi Sinha has been neck deep in promotions of her latest release ‘Khandaani Shafakhana’. The actress, who plays the character of Baby Bedi in her latest offering, is pretty guarded about her love life and prefers to keep it private. Sonakshi doesn’t speak much about her personal life even during her interactions with the media. In the past couple of months, a number of her colleagues like Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor and Anushka Sharma have taken the leap and tied the knot. When Sonakshi was quizzed if she’s looking for her Mr Right ...

MNA Feature Desk: The 78th death anniversary of the Bard of Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore, was observed on Tuesday. Tagore, who enriched the Bengali language and literature with his astounding talent and merit, died on this day in 1941 at the age of 80. Different organizations held many programs while television channels are airing special productions based on Rabindranath Tagore’s works. Bangla Academy, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Shishu Academy and different government and non-government institutions and cultural organizations chalked out elaborate programs on the occasion. Tagore was a poet, visual artist, playwright, novelist, as well as a composer whose works reshaped Bangla ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The government has allocated Tk 515.0 million to help the city corporations and municipalities fight mosquitoes. LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Md Tazul Islam came up with the information at a views exchanging meeting with Bangladesh Climate Change Journalist Forum (BCJF) at the secretariat on Wednesday. Of the amount, the two Dhaka city corporations were given Tk 75.0 million each. Tk 10 million each was allocated for Gazipur, Narayanganj, and Chattogram city corporations. The other city corporations received Tk 5.0 million each while Tk 300 million was allocated for all the municipalities. Minister Islam said they are conducting ...

MNA National Desk: The number of railway passengers leaving the city almost doubles during the Eid vacation, but that has little impact on the overall annual income of the Bangladesh Railway (BR), people familiar with the situation said. They said the transport of a large number of passengers does not impact BR’s total revenue as the increase in the sale of tickets before and after the festivals is usually insignificant. The BR launches a five-day special train service from Dhaka and other major stations before and after the Eid festival. During this period, the BR also allows standing tickets in ...