MNA Tech Desk: Apple Inc is rebuilding the widely used mapping application on its iPhones from the ground up with its own dataset, but Amsterdam-based TomTom NV will continue to be a data provider for Apple’s maps app, Cupertino, reported enws agency. Apple did not say how its use of TomTom would compare to its previous use, but TomTom shares fell after the news. Apple said it is completely rebuilding its Maps app – the most frequently used app on its iPhones – with data gathered by its own fleet of sensor-equipped vans and with anonymous data from iPhone users ...

MNA International Desk: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said on Wednesday he plans to retire after three decades as a pivotal vote on the highest US judicial body, giving President Donald Trump an opportunity to make the court more firmly conservative, reported news agency. Kennedy, who turns 82 in July and is the second-oldest justice on the nine-member court, has become one of the most consequential American jurists since joining the court in 1988 as an appointee of Republican President Ronald Reagan. A traditional conservative, he advanced gay rights, buttressed abortion rights and erased political spending limits. His retirement, which ...

MNA Feature Desk: More than 10,000 children were killed or maimed amid armed conflicts worldwide last year, while others were raped, forced to serve as armed soldiers or caught in attacks on schools and hospitals, a United Nations report said Wednesday. A total of more than 21,000 violations of children’s right were reported in 2017 – a sharp increase from the previous year, according to the annual “Children and Armed Conflict” report. The U.N. blames a U.S.-backed Arab coalition fighting in Yemen for at least half of the more than 1,300 child deaths or injuries recorded in that poor nation. ...

MNA Science Desk: The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century is just a month away. The total phase of the “blood moon” eclipse of July 27 will last 1 hour and 43 minutes, during which Earth’s natural satellite will turn a spectacular red or ruddy-brown color. From start to finish, the entire celestial event will last nearly 4 hours. The eclipse won’t be visible to viewers in North America, except via webcasts. But observers in much of Africa, the Middle East, southern Asia and the Indian Ocean region will get an eyeful, given cooperative weather, according to lunar ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit Nene along with 18 other Indian personalities, have been invited to be members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. While Shah Rukh has been identified as the star of Devdas and Chennai Express, the two films appearing before Madhuri’s name include her Marathi debut film Bucket List and Devdas. Anil Kapoor, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, Ali Faizal, and Soumitra Chatterjee, apart from producers Aditya Chopra and Guneet Monga, as well as music artistes Usha Khanna and Sneha Khanwalkar have also been sent invitation to be a part ...

MNA International Desk: The US Supreme Court on Tuesday handed Donald Trump one of the biggest victories of his presidency, upholding his travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries and rejecting the argument that it represented unconstitutional religious discrimination, reported news agency. The 5-4 ruling, with the court’s five conservatives in the majority, ended a fierce fight in the courts over whether the policy amounted to an unlawful Muslim ban. Trump can now claim vindication after lower courts had blocked his travel ban announced in September, as well as two prior versions, in legal challenges brought by the state of Hawaii ...

MNA Exclusive Desk: Myanmar’s military chief and other top brass have been accused by Amnesty International of crimes against humanity for overseeing a “systematic” attack against Rohingya Muslims, according to a report by the rights group Wednesday calling for prosecution at the International Criminal Court, reported news agency. A new report from Amnesty said army commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing and 12 other senior military and security officials oversaw an orchestrated campaign of violence in the restive state where the Rohingya have been historically marginalized. “The ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population was achieved by a relentless and systematic campaign in ...

MNA Sports Desk: Marcus Rojo’s stunning finish four minutes from time kept Lionel Messi and Argentina’s World Cup hopes alive to see off Nigeria 2-1 on Tuesday and set up a last 16 meeting with France. Messi’s first goal of the tournament got the two-time winners off to a perfect start in Saint Petersburg, but Victor Moses’s 51st minute penalty had Jorge Sampaoli’s men headed for a humiliating group stage exit until Rojo’s late intervention. The Manchester United defender, who had escaped conceding a second Nigerian penalty moments earlier after a controversial VAR review, thundered home Gabriel Mercado’s cross to ...

MNA Tech Desk: PayPal Holdings Inc said it is launching a debit card for users of its mobile app Venmo in a bid to broaden its reach with younger users, reported news agency. Venmo, which has been part of PayPal since 2013, is one of the more popular mobile applications for person-to-person payments in the United States. Users of Venmo’s Mastercard debit card can pay in stores using the balance on their app rather than having to transfer funds to their bank account, it said. The San Jose, California based company in October rolled out the ability for Venmo users ...

MNA Life Style Desk: Monsoon is here again. Though we all love the rains and wait for them eagerly, we should be aware that during this time of the year, our body requires more care. We take care of our body and skin but, often neglect our hair. With proper hair care we can always manage to keep our hair safe and glossy even when the rains come. Hair masks can work as wonders on hair, especially in weather condition like monsoon. Coconut oil and honey is the odd combination, but provides wonderful nutrients to the hair. Keep your feet ...

MNA National Desk: Newly-appointed Chief of Army Staff Aziz Ahmed was adorned with the rank badge of General in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban in Dhaka on Tuesday. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nizamuddin Ahmed and Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat adorned the new army chief with the rank badge of General. PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said that after the function, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated the new army chief by presenting a bouquet, reported news agency. Prime Minister’s Political Affairs Advisor HT Imam, Security Affairs Advisor Major General (retd) Tarique Ahmed ...

MNA National Desk: Voting has begun in the Gazipur City Corporation elections on Tuesday morning amid tight security, reported news agency. The voting started from 8:00am and will continue until 4:00pm uninterruptedly. Candidates of the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL) and main opposition the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are competing with their party symbols first time ever in this city polls. AL’s Jahangir Alam  and BNP’s Hasan Uddin Sarkar, the main candidates for the mayoral polls, said they were optimistic about winning. Members of law enforcement agencies including Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) were seen patrolling in and around the city.

MNA Editorial Desk: The national budget of Bangladesh for the fiscal year 2018-19 was presented by the finance minister AMA Muhith just a few days ago. Still there are many discussions going on regarding the size of the budget and several changes or provisions of it. One of the most important targets to accumulate the earnings for the expenditures in the proposed budget is by collecting tax revenue from the citizens, a job National Board of Revenue (NBR) is doing with immense precision. It was said that, the government targets to have 10 million registered taxpayers by the fiscal year ...

MNA International Desk: India is the world’s most dangerous country for women due to the high risk of sexual violence and being forced into slave labour, according to a poll of global experts released on Tuesday, reported news agency. War-torn Afghanistan and Syria ranked second and third in the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts on women’s issues, followed by Somalia and Saudi Arabia. The only Western nation in the top 10 was the United States, which ranked joint third when respondents were asked where women were most at risk of sexual violence, harassment and being coerced into ...

MNA Exclusive Desk: Myanmar’s military said it sacked a top general who was named in fresh EU sanctions against security officials accused of serious rights violations in the Rohingya crisis, including killings and sexual violence. Myanmar is accused of waging a crackdown in Rakhine state that forced 700,000 to flee that the UN and major western powers have said amounts to “ethnic cleansing”. Its leaders have come under fire for taking little punitive action against the military, which has maintained its troops were responding to attacks by Rohingya militants. But the military said late Monday in a Facebook post that ...

MNA Sports Desk: A foul on Cristiano Ronaldo during Portugal’s Group B clash against Iran on Monday resulted in a record 19th penalty at the World Cup before the knockout rounds, reported news agency. The Portugal forward was brought down in the box shortly into the second half in Saransk, with the penalty awarded by use of the video assistant referee (VAR). Although Ronaldo’s spot kick was saved by Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, the decision eclipsed the previous record tally of 18 penalties awarded set at the 2002 World Cup hosted by Japan and South Korea. In Brazil four years ...

MNA Business Desk: The European Union and China pledged on Monday to uphold a rules-based global trade system, making an oblique criticism of growing protectionism in Washington despite their own disagreements, reported news agency. The two sides held high-level economic meetings in Beijing as both face rising trade tensions with the United States. Brussels and Beijing recently announced new tariffs on US goods in retaliation for moves by the Trump administration. “Both sides agreed to resolutely oppose unilateralism and protectionism and prevent such practices from impacting the world economy and even dragging the world economy into recession,” said Chinese Vice ...

MNA Feature Desk: The 24th death anniversary of Shaheed Janani Jahanara Imam, who spearheaded the movement for trial of the war criminals, will be observed in the country today. Jahanara Imam, the mother of martyred freedom fighter Shafi Imam Rumi, along with pro-liberation politicians, prominent cultural personalities and intellectuals floated the Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee (the committee for annihilation of the killers and collaborators of 1971) on January 19, 1992. The nirmul committee held symbolic trial of Ghulam Azam in a Gono Adalat (mass court) at the historic Suhrawardy Udyan on March 26, 1992 awarding the Jamaate-e-Islami supremo with ...

MNA National Desk: General Aziz Ahmed on Monday has taken over the command of Bangladesh army as the Chief of Army Staff, reported news agency. He took over the charge from the outgoing chief General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq at Army headquarters, according to an ISPR press release. According to the Bangladesh Army website, before assuming his latest assignment, he had been serving as the ‘Quarter Master General’ of the Army. Born on Jan 1, 1961 in Chandpur, Aziz was commissioned in the Corps of Artillery on Jun 10, 1983 with 8th BMA long course. The general is a ...

MNA International Desk: Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was proclaimed the winner early Monday of a landmark election that ushers in a government system granting the president sweeping new powers and which critics say will cement what they call a one-man rule, reported news agency. The presidential vote and a parliamentary election, both held more than a year early, completed NATO-member Turkey’s transition from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, a process started with a voter referendum last year. “The nation has entrusted to me the responsibility of the presidency and the executive duty,” Erdogan said in televised remarks ...

MNA Science & Tech Desk: Researchers at the University of Michigan (UM) in the US have come out with the world’s smallest ‘computer’ — a device measuring just 0.3 mm to a side, completely dwarfed by a grain of rice. Unlike traditional desktops that retain their program and data with or without a power back-up, these new microdevices lose all prior programming and data as soon as they are switched off, news agency reported. In addition to the RAM and photovoltaics, the new micro-computing device — Michigan Micro Mote — has processors and wireless transmitters and receivers. As the Motes ...

MNA Sports Desk: Jos Buttler hit an unbeaten 110 as England completed its first-ever 5-0 cricket sweep of Australia in any format with a one-wicket win in the fifth ODI on Sunday, reported news agency. England reached 208-9 in 48.3 overs at Old Trafford in reply to Australia’s 205 all out. At 114-8, England looked finished before Buttler and Adil Rashid shared a ninth-wicket partnership of 81. England had bowled Australia out in just 34.4 overs but collapsed to 50-5 against the pace and bounce of Billy Stanlake (3-35) before the scheduled lunch break. After his partnership with Adil Rashid, ...

MNA Feature Desk: The United Nations Public Service Day is celebrated on June 23 of every year. The prestigious UN Public Service Awards are given away on this day. The UN Public Service Day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution A/RES/57/277 of 2003, to “celebrate the value and virtue of public service to the community”. The United Nations Economic and Social Council established that the United Nations Public Service Awards be bestowed on Public Service Day for contributions made to the cause of enhancing the role, prestige, and visibility of public service. The day also marks the ...

MNA Science & Tech Desk: Tales of a giant creature lurking beneath the murky waves of Loch Ness have been around for more than 1,500 years — and one academic hopes the marvels of modern science can finally unravel the mystery. Neil Gemmell has travelled from the University of Otago in New Zealand to collect water samples in the Scottish lake, in the hope of finding out more about the creatures that inhabit its depths. “Over 1,000 people claim that they have seen a monster. Maybe there is something extraordinary out there,” he told news agency, as he dropped a ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: Beyonce and Jay-Z brought their surprise joint album to all platforms including Spotify after a wait of little more than a day, relenting on keeping an exclusive for their fledgling Tidal service. The music world’s most famous couple late Saturday released “Everything is Love,” a soulful collaborative album on which the pair celebrate their marital bliss after rocky patches. Since Jay-Z launched the Tidal streaming service in 2015, the couple has sought to draw subscribers by releasing their music on Tidal. Beyonce’s 2016 album “Lemonade” and Jay-Z’s “4:44” from last year remain absent from Spotify, although they ...

MNA National Desk: Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said yoga can be a way to bring the misguided youth back to normal life from drug addiction, reported news agency. “Yoga can be a powerful and effective way to protect the young generation distracted by the vicious claws of drug addiction,” Quader said at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka to mark International Yoga Day on Thursday. “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has added a new dimension to yoga. Now it has spread to Bangladesh thanks to the Indian High Commission.  When illegal drug is spreading across the country ...

MNA Feature Desk: Commemorating International Day of Yoga 2018, Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Thursday organised an event at Bangabandhu National Stadium in the capital where thousands of people from all walks of life wearing blue and yellow T-shirts joined. The programme included yoga demonstration, a mass yoga session and a lucky draw. Entry to the event was free. This year, over 10,000 yoga enthusiasts attended it, reports news agency. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, State Minister for Sports and Youth Dr Biren Sikder, Deputy Sports and Youth Minister Arif Khan Joy and Indian High Commissioner in ...