MNA National Desk: The government has decided to set up a 12-member panel to review the wage of garment workers and take steps within a month amid labor protests in Dhaka. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi made the announcement after a meeting between garment factory owners and labor leaders on Tuesday. The new minister urged the workers to “refrain from causing disorder in the street”. Earlier hundreds of garment workers have taken to the streets for a third successive day to demand a minimum wage hike and to press a series of other demands. Workers have been blocking the streets in ...

MNA Feature Desk: Today is the 83th birth anniversary of Children’s Literature writer Rafiqul Haque. He is known as ‘DaduBhai’ to all. He was born on 8th January in 1937. He is the son of late Yeasin Uddin Ahamed and late Rahima Khatun, said a press release on Monday. He wrote the first poem on Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He is a dramatist too. He has been playing a vital role as a litterateur since the Liberation War. He is well acclaimed for his contribution in the field of children’s literature. Meah Monsaf, President of Bangabandhu ...

MNA Editorial Desk: We have just started a terrific new year with a new government in Bangladesh after a much awaited national election. The people have given their verdict in favour of the ruling party of 2008 onwards–Bangladesh Awami League or to be more specific in favour of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s leadership as they are going to form government for the consecutive third term. PM Hasina prior to the national election expressed her commitment on zero tolerance to corruption among many other commitments. It was even given highest priority in her party’s manifesto. After getting elected also, she again ...

MNA International Desk: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is visiting China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, only days after warning he may take an alternative path if the United States does not ease sanctions and pressure on his isolated country. The visit, confirmed by North Korean and Chinese state media, will likely lead to Kim’s fourth summit with Xi in the last year and comes amid plans for a second summit with Trump aimed at denuclearising the Korean peninsula. Kim held three summits last year with Xi, his most important ally, before and after summits with ...

MNA National Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing a wreath at his portrait in front of Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi in Dhaka city on Tuesday morning. After laying the wreath, she stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memory of Bangabandhu, the architect of independence. Flanked by the new cabinet colleagues, Hasina, also the Awami League (AL) president, placed another wreath at Bangabandhu’s portrait as the party chief. Advisers to the prime minister, Jatiya Sangsad chief whip, whips, AL parliament ...

MNA Business Desk: Bproperty, a real estate marketplace, announced that it has acquired Lamudi, another online marketplace for property in Bangladesh. Under the deal, the current services of lamudi.com.bd will be wound down with Lamudi’s consumers and real estate developers being serviced through bproperty.com, according to a statement issued on Tuesday. Mark Nosworthy, CEO of bproperty, said: “This deal represents a milestone within real estate in Bangladesh.” “Bangladesh requires an independent real estate company whose sole objective is to ensure that a secure and complete real estate transaction is finalised.”

MNA Editorial Desk: World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim unexpectedly resigned on Monday, more than three years before his term ends in 2022, amid differences with the Trump administration over climate change and the need for more development resources. Kim, appointed twice by former US President Barack Obama for five-year terms, had pushed financing for green energy projects and largely dropped support for coal power investments, but had avoided public clashes with the Trump administration, which has made reviving the US coal sector a priority. Just last month, the World Bank announced it would double its investments to fight ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The body of Public Administration Minister and former Awami League (AL) general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, who died at a hospital in Bangkok on Thursday, reached home on Saturday evening. A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying his body reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 6.00 pm. After receiving the body by his relatives at the airport, it will be taken to his official residence on Bailey road at 7pm. Later, the body will be kept at the mortuary of Combined Military Hospital (CMH) at 9pm, BSS reports. On Sunday, the veteran politician’s first namaj-e-janaza will be ...

MNA National Desk: Gano Forum President Dr Kamal Hossain on Saturday hinted that newly elected two parliament member (MPs) of his party Gono Forum may take oath and join parliament. “We’ve rejected the election, but the way our two candidates came out successful in such an election through competition is their big achievement. So, we’re thinking positively about sending them to Parliament,” he said. Jatiya Oikyafront convener Dr Kamal said this at a press conference at Bangladesh Shishu Kalyan Parishad after an extended meeting of the party, reports UNB. He thinks that it will not create any problem with its ...

MNA National Desk: Moshiur Rahman Ranga, Secretary General of Jatiya Party, has been made the opposition chief whip of the 11the parliament. JaPa Chairman HM Ershad confirmed this on Saturday. Earlier on Friday Ershad sent a letter to Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Choudhury in this regard. Contradicting his party’s parliamentary body’s decision, JaPa chairman HM Ershad on Friday said his party will be the main opposition in Parliament while he will act as the Leader of the Opposition, reports UNB. In a statement, he came up with the announcement contradicting the Jatiya Party Parliamentary Party’s decision to join the Awami ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The ruling Awami League (AL) led alliance has secured a landslide victory in the 11th parliamentary elections held across the country on Sunday. They are going to form the government for the consecutive third term under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Unofficial results show that Awami League led alliance secured 289 seats with Awami League itself winning 266 seats while its main opponent Jatiyo Oikyo Front which includes BNP and Jamaat leaders winning only 7 seats out of 299 constituencies, according to a private Television. Through this result Sheikh Hasina and her government successfully retained people’s ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Padmabhushan awardee, Mrinal Sen has died in Kolkata. He was 95. He breathed his last at his home in Bhawanipur, Kolkata on Sunday. His body will not be cremated until Sen’s son, Kunal Sen who lives in Chicago, arrives in Kolkata. Mrinal Sen told his family that after his death people should not place flowers and wreaths on his body and it should not be kept in a public place for people to pay their respects. Eminent actors such as Saumitra Chatterjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee and Aparna Sen, director Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Anjana Dutta, all of ...

MNA National Desk: At least 12 people, mostly activists of the Awami League, have been killed in violence during the 11th national election, which ended amid reports of clashes and attacks on Sunday. Several more are injured, but their total figure is yet to be confirmed. Few incidents are stated below: – 40-year-old Jubo League leader Liakat Hossain hacked to death outside a voting centre at Gazipur’s Harinal. – Jubo League leader Nur Nabi Henru hacked to death by attackers at Noakhali’s Begumganj. – 40-year-old Modasser Ali, an Awami League Leader, is beaten dead in violence at Pachandar Union at Rajshahi. ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Expressing her confidence about her party’s win in the 11th parliamentary election, Prime Minister and Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said victory will surely come in favor of ‘boat’. She expressed her hope after casting vote at Dhaka City College Centre at Dhanmondi in Dhaka as voting in the 11th national polls began on Sunday morning. The premier said the Awami League was ready to accept whatever the verdict comes. “I’m always confident about our victory in the elections … I trust my people and I know that they will choose us so that they ...

MNA National Desk: The government has blocked all mobile phone internet services on the eve of voting in a bid to stop rumors being fanned across social media. The telecom operators halted faster 3G and 4G services on Saturday afternoon on instructions from the regulators BTRC. Later in the night, the operators received orders to stop 2G internet services as well and started disconnecting users of mobile phone internet. The outage will continue until Monday midnight, an official at an operator told media after it started at 11pm. Voters will cast ballots for 299 parliamentary seats between 8am and 4pm ...

MNA National Desk: Jatiya Oikyafron convener Dr kamal Hossain cast his vote at the Viqarunnisa Noon School and College in Dhaka as voting in the 11th parliamentary elections began on Sunday morning. Dr Kamal along with his two daughters- Sara Hossain and Dina Hossain came to the center and cast his vote at 8:35am. BNP general secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also cast his vote at the Thakurgaon Government Girls’ School as voting in the 11th parliamentary elections began on Sunday morning. The BNP leader cast his vote at the centre around 8:30 am.  Today voting in the 11th parliamentary ...

MNA National Desk: Voters began to cast their votes across the country on Sunday morning to choose the next members of parliament (MPs) for the next term amid tight security.  The voting in the 11th national election began at 8:00am and will continue till 4:00pm without any break. A total of 1,861 candidates are contesting in the polls. Among them, 1,733 are from political parties and 128 independents. A total of 10, 42, 38,677 voters, including 5, 25, 72,365 male and 5,16,66,312 female, will cast their votes at 206,477 polling booths of the 40,183 voting centers in 299 constituencies across ...

MNA National Desk: Noted photographer Shahidul Alam was freed from jail on bail on Tuesday night. He walked out of Dhaka Central Jail at Keraniganj around 8:25pm after his bail paper reached the prison, said jailer Mahbub Islam On November 15, the High Court granted bail to Shahidul Alam in a case filed under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act for spreading ‘propaganda’ through his Facebook account during the student movement demanding safe roads. Earlier on October 7, the High Court issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain within seven days as to why Shahidul Alam, also ...

MNA National Desk: The Armed Forces Day will be observed across the country today with due solemnity and enthusiasm marking the establishment of Bangladesh military during the Liberation War. On this day in 1971, Bangladesh Armed Forces comprising army, navy and air force came into being and launched an all-out attack on the Pakistani occupation forces. Since the country’s independence, the day has been observed as the Armed Forces Day every year. The day’s programmes to start with the offering of special prayers in mosques of all cantonments, naval outposts and establishments and air force outposts after Fazr prayers seeking ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Hopefully Dec 30 is going to be another landmark in the political history of Bangladesh as the 11th national election is scheduled to be held on that day. Heavy movements and showdowns centering this important political event are going on. Awami League has started its nomination process immediately after election schedule declaration. Jatiyo Oikya Front and other parties followed soon. Aspirant nomination seekers, who started campaign in their respective areas even few months back, of two major alliances turned very active to portray their popularity which even resulted in violation of several rules and regulations of electoral ...

MNA International Desk: Pakistan reacted angrily Monday to criticism by President Donald Trump that the country had not done enough in return for years of US military aid and that the government had harboured Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida. In an interview with “Fox News Sunday” this weekend, Trump defended his decision early this year to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars in security aid to Pakistan. “I ended it because they don’t do anything for us, they don’t do a damn thing for us,” he said. Trump also alleged that the Pakistani government had known bin Laden ...

MNA Science & Technology Desk: NASA is considering selling seats on the spacecraft that will ferry its astronauts to the International Space Station, offering rides to the public while opening another line of revenue as the agency attempts to broaden its appeal. On several occasions, Russia has flown wealthy individuals who paid millions for the ride to space. And a trio of private companies backed by billionaires, is also looking to fly tourists out of the atmosphere. But except for a couple of rare exceptions, such as Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who was killed when the space Shuttle Challenger exploded ...

MNA National Desk: BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s participation in the upcoming election is yet to be confirmed but the Election Commission has no objection to the use of her photo in the election posters of her party candidates. According to the election rules, only the election symbol, photos of the candidate and the party chief are allowed to be used in the campaign posters for parliamentary election. There is no restriction on the use of Khaleda’s photo in the campaign posters of her party candidates although she has been convicted in a case under the Penal Code, said Election Commission ...

MNA National Desk: New US Ambassador-designate Earl Miller has arrived in Dhaka on Sunday. Miller earlier served as ambassador to Botswana from 2014 to 2018. He is a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service and joined the Department of State in 1987, the embassy said. He served previously as consul general at the US Consulate General in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 2011 to 2014. Ambassador Miller also served in Washington, San Francisco, Miami and Boston and at US embassies in El Salvador, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iraq, and India. The US senate confirmed his appointment on Oct 11.

MNA Editorial Desk: Election Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed on Tuesday said the election observers should follow the Election Commission’s policy during the 11 parliamentary elections He also urged the election observers not to make any comment to the media on the day of the 11th parliamentary elections. “The election observers must stay at polling stations like statues, even if there’re irregularities,” said the secretary while briefing election observers about the rules and regulations while performing duties during the election, reports UNB. Besides, Helaluddin said, they will not be allowed to enter the polling stations with mobile phones and restricted polling ...

MNA National Desk: Police have arrested six people with alleged ties to vandalism and arson attacks on law-enforcement agencies’ vehicles in Naya Paltan. All of them are linked to Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the opposition BNP, police said on Tuesday. A helmeted man seen on a police car with his arms stretched in a show of defiance during violent clashes on Nov 14 was among the arrestees. The picture of the young man trended on the social media. Police identified him as Md HK Hossain Ali, an adherent to BNP leader Mirza Abbas. Hossain, a resident of ...

MNA Sports Desk: Nic Pothas has been appointed West Indies’ interim head coach for the tour of Bangladesh following the end of Stuart Law’s stint. Law was named Middlesex coach in September and the recently concluded India tour was his final assignment having originally joined West Indies in early 2017. West Indies hoped Pothas, who become fielding coach earlier this year, would bring some continuity for the Bangladesh series before a full-time appointment is made. “Having Nic lead the team at this juncture is important for continuity and we look forward to strong and positive performances from the squad under ...