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Sanayee Mahbob at ICU due to coronavirus

Sanayee Mahbob

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Sanayee Mahbob was admitted to the ICU on Friday afternoon as her condition worsened due to coronavirus. She was diagnosed with the deadly virus on Thursday and undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chattogram Shahina Afroz Mishti, Sanayee’s elder sister-in-law, confirmed the information, saying, “Sanayee was tested coronavirus positive. She was later admitted to the hospital as her condition deteriorated. But this morning, when her condition started getting worse, she was taken to ICU.” Earlier, Sanayee herself confirmed the news of being infected with coronavirus on Thursday. “I had corona symptoms two weeks ago. ...

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Rabindranath Tagore’s 79th death anniversary today

Rabindranath Tagore

MNA Feature Desk: Thursday marks the 79th death anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European and Bengali poet to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Different socio-cultural organisations used to chalk out elaborate programmes to observe the day in a befitting manner as a tradition in both Bangladesh and India. However, this year the day is being observed with limited programmes due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation, reports UNB. According to the Gregorian calendar, Tagore died at the age of 80 on August 7 in 1941, but his death anniversary is traditionally observed on 22th Srabon according to the ...

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71st birth anniversary of Sheikh Kamal today

Sheikh Kamal

MNA Feature Desk: The 71st birth anniversary of Sheikh Kamal, the eldest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, will be observed today (August 05). Born on August 5, 1949 at Tungipara in Gopalganj, Sheikh Kamal was a former executive member of the central committee of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL). To mark the day, Awami League, its associate bodies and different political, socio-cultural and sports organisations will observe the birth anniversary maintaining government’s health guidelines. Leaders and workers of Awami League and its associate bodies are expected to pay tribute to Sheikh Kamal by placing wreaths at ...

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The month of mourning August begins

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

MNA Feature Desk: Today is the first day of mourning August. On 15 August 1975, the Bengali nation lost Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation, the best son of the millennium. On the night of 15th August, the assassins not only killed Bangabandhu, but also Bangabandhu’s wife Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, Bangabandhu’s children Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal, Sheikh Russell and daughter-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosi Jamal. Bangabandhu’s brother Sheikh Nasser, brother-in-law Abdur Rob Serniabat, nephew youth leader and journalist Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni, his wife Arju Moni and 17 family members and relatives including Colonel Jamil could ...

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Sajeeb Wazed Joy’s 50th birthday today

Sajeeb Wazed Joy

MNA Feature Desk: The 50th birthday of Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the architect of Digital Bangladesh, grandson of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is today. On this day in 1975 (July 27), he enlightened the family of nuclear scientist MA Wazed Mia and Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman named his grandson Joy as he was born in the year of war of independence. At present, Joy is serving as the Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Adviser of the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh was lagging behind in ...

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College admission to begin from August 9

colleges

MNA Career & Education Desk: The government is set to start the process of enrolment to grade 11 in colleges on August 9 after deferring its plans to do so in June due to a worsening coronavirus epidemic. Students who have passed the SSC and equivalent examinations can apply for college admission online until September 15, the education ministry said in a statement on Sunday. Details about the admission process will be published on Dhaka Education Board’s website, it added. Schools and educational institutions across the country have been closed from March 17 amid the outbreak of the coronavirus, reports ...

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Humayun Ahmed’s 8th death anniversary being observed today

Humayun Ahmed

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: The 8th death anniversary of celebrated playwright, writer and filmmaker Humayun Ahmed is being observed today (Sunday). Family members of the prominent writer and his fans are observing the day through scaled-out programmes this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, including offering special prayers at the writer’s graveyard at Nuhash Palli in Gazipur. Different television channels are airing various programmes highlighting the life and works of the wordsmith. Humayun Ahmed was born in Netrakona’s Mohanganj on November 13, 1948. The writer died of cancer at a hospital in New York on July 19, 2012. He ...

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BTRC bans free social media internet packages

BTRC

MNA Science & Technology Desk: Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has imposed a ban on free internet packages for the use of Facebook and other social media. The BTRC sent a letter to the internet providers on Tuesday directing them to take effective measures from Wednesday. The letter, signed by Sabina Islam, deputy director of BTRC, in response to a letter from the information ministry, said it was recently noticed that telecom service providers were creating unhealthy competition in the market to provide social media-related services partially or in some cases completely free to attract their customers. By taking these ...

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HC orders removal of objectionable contents from web series in a week

contents

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: A High Court bench passed an order on Wednesday asking all concerned to remove objectionable contents and scenes from web series on the internet within a week. The High Court of Justice M Enayetur Rahim directed removal of objectionable scenes from web series on the internet within a week after hearing a writ petition. Advocate Tanvir Ahmed appeared for the writ petition in the court. “I saw a report on a Bangladeshi web series on a private TV channel on June 6. Angered and dissatisfied after watching it, a legal notice was sent to the ...

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Educational institutions to remain closed until May 5

educational

MNA Career & Educational Desk: All educational institutions will remain closed until May 5 in parallel with the government’s announcement of general holidays, aiming to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease. “All the educational institutions will remain closed until May 5 considering the situation,” said Mohammad Abul Khayer, public relations officer of the Education Ministry on Thursday, reports UNB. Earlier in the day, the government extended general holidays until May 5, aiming to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. Seven more people died from coronavirus in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours until Thursday, taking the death toll in ...

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Facebook launches third-party fact-checking programme in Bangladesh

Facebook

MNA Science & Technology Desk: Facebook authorities on Sunday launched a third-party fact-checking programme in Bangladesh to reduce the spread of misinformation and improve the quality of the news people find online. Facebook will partner with BOOM, which has been certified by the Poynter Institute’s non-partisan International Fact Checking Network, UNB reported citing a press release from Facebook. BOOM will review and rate the accuracy of stories including photos and videos in Bangladesh on Facebook from Sunday, it said. Usually, when a third-party fact-checker rates a story as false, it will appear lower in News Feed, significantly reducing its distribution. ...

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Shah Rukh Khan offers office space for quarantine facility

Shah Rukh Khan

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri Khan have offered their personal office space as a quarantine facility to Mumbai’s civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The BMC took to social media to thank the Khans. Earlier this week, Shah Rukh Khan’s companies announced several initiatives to support the Indian government’s bid to contain Covid-19, including donating to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation (PM-CARES), and Maharashtra chief minister’s Relief Fund. The amount being pledged by the actor and his companies has not been disclosed. From the beginning of ...

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Over 200 doctors infected with coronavirus, DAB says

Doctors

MNA Lifestyle Desk: The Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), a pro-BNP forum, on Monday alleged that over 200 physicians in the country were infected with coronavirus while providing healthcare services to such patients. In a statement on Monday, it said doctors in the country have relentlessly been fighting against coronavirus as the frontline worriers without proper personal protection, reports UNB. “Over 200 doctors have already been infected with the virus while treating patients,” the association said. Besides, DAB said, many physicians have been kept in isolation and quarantine. DAB praised the Prime Minister’s incentive package for the doctors saying it ...

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Pahela Baishakh today

Pahela Baishakh

MNA Feature Desk: Bangladesh is celebrating Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year and one of the biggest festivals of the nation, today (Tuesday). Unlike other years, the Bangladeshis are celebrating this year on virtual media and using digital method staying at their respective homes amid coronavirus (C0VID-19) outbreak. Pahela Baishakh is one of the most colourful festivals through which the Bangalis bid farewell to the old year and welcome the New Year, as per agency reports. The government gave directives to all to celebrate the festival in digital method to avoid public gatherings. As per the government ...

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Independence Day today

Independence Day

MNA Feature Desk: The Independence and National Day of Bangladesh is today (Thursday). In the wake of the deadly novel coronavirus, the government has suspended all programmes of the day. On the eve of the day, President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave separate messages extending heartfelt greetings and warm felicitations to the countrymen living both at home and abroad. Paying tributes to the martyrs and veterans of the War of Liberation at the national mausoleum at Savar has been suspended. Usually on that day, President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina place wreaths early ...

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The Daily Observer & Kishore Bangla celebrates Bangabandhu’s birth centenary

birth centenary

MNA Feature Desk: The Daily Observer and Kishore Bangla jointly celebrated the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through offering a special munajat and cutting a cake on Tuesday evening (March 17). The celebration was organized at the office of the Daily Observer at Motijheel in the capital. Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Editor of the Daily Observer and Mir Mosharref Hossain, Director of the Observer Limited, Publisher and Editor of the Monthly Kishore Bangla, jointly cut the cake with the present colleagues. Later, a special prayer (munajat) was offered seeking eternal peace of the departed soul ...

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Birth centenary of Father of the Nation today

centenary

MNA Feature Desk: The nation celebrates the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman today. The mega celebration programme earlier taken has been restructured in the wake of coronavirus outbreak in the country. However, the year long celebration programmes will continue during the ‘Mujib Year’ that ends on March 17, 2021. President and Prime Minister have issued messages on the occasion. The countdown for the celebration that started on January 10 concludes today. The newspapers came up with special supplements to mark the day. The electronic media will also air special programmes on the day. ...

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Govt shuts down all educational institutions amid virus fears

coronavirus

MNA Career & Education Desk: Government is temporarily shutting down all educational institutions across the country from March 17 amid a global coronavirus outbreak. “The official order will be published on Monday afternoon,” Deputy Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury said, reports UNB. The death toll from coronavirus or COVID-19 reached 6,518 globally as of Monday. It has so far infected 169,719 people around the world, according to worldometer. COVID-19 is affecting 157 countries and territories around the world and one international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harboured in Yokohama, Japan). The World Health Organization on March 11 declared the ...

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International Women’s Day being celebrated

Women's Day

MNA Feature Desk: The International Women’s Day is being celebrated in the country, as elsewhere across the globe, on Sunday highlighting women’s rights and equality. The theme for International Women’s Day 2020 is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”. The International Women’s Day is observed every year on March 8 to celebrate the women’s movement and struggle for equality. Different organisations have chalked out various programmes on the occasion in the capital as elsewhere across the country. On the eve of the day, President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages, greeting all women across ...

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Nation observing historic March 7

March 7

MNA Feature Desk: The nation is observing the historic March 7 today commemorating the landmark speech of Bangabandhu which was touted as indirect declaration of the country’s independence in 1971. This year the observance of the day is more significant as the nation is getting ready to celebrate the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 17. The landmark fiery speech of Bangabandhu inspired the Bangalees to prepare for the War of Liberation. The war began 18 days later, when the Pakistan Army launched “Operation Searchlight” against unarmed Bangalee civilians, intellectuals, students, politicians, and ...

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5 Tourist Spots near Dhaka to enjoy quick weekend

Dhaka

MNA Lifestyle Desk: Vacations relieve stress and relax our mind. But our busy schedule hardly allows us to go for long vacations. However, we can still plan day trips on the weekend. Many of us avoid visiting tourist resorts due to their exorbitant prices. Don’t worry! Still there are some inexpensive tourist places near Dhaka. In this article, we are going to introduce you with 5 affordable tourist spots for quick day trips on weekends from Dhaka. Moinot Ghat – Mini Cox’s Bazaar Moinot Ghat located on the bank of Padma River is popular as “Mini Cox’s Bazar’’. This place ...

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Monica Bellucci confronts stage fright

Monica Bellucci

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: It seems hard to believe, but Monica Bellucci — who has spent four decades in the limelight as a model and actress — says she suffers from stage fight. Now appearing on stage in Paris, incarnating opera singer Maria Callas, the Italian diva confesses experiencing pure ‘terror’. ‘It is not that I was afraid of theatre, I am still afraid of theatre. I tremble,’ the 55-year-old told AFP. ‘Going on stage is almost a kind of violence that I put myself through.’ Bellucci is playing the 20th-century opera star in a month-long show entitled: ‘Maria ...

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Global defence spending on the rise

defence

MNA Feature Desk: In 2019 global defence spending rose by some 4 per cent over 2018 – the highest year-on-year increase in a decade. The figures are included in this year’s Military Balance – the annual publication of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which is to be launched later this morning at the Munich Security Conference. Appropriately, defence spending in Europe is also on the up, reaching levels not seen since before the financial crisis – an increase of some 4.2 per cent when compared to 2018. This is all a reflection of a changing world and the ...

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Friends to reunite for one-off special on HBO Max

Friends

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: The cast of Friends is to reunite for a one-off special, more than 15 years since the show ended. The episode will air on the HBO Max streaming service, which launches in May. A date is yet to be announced. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer will all appear. Perry posted on Instagram: “It’s happening” with a photo of the cast from the 1990s. The rest of the cast then started sharing the same post. Friends aired from 1994 until 2004. The final show was watched by 52.5 ...

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Australia scientists detect largest explosion since Big Bang

Australia

MNA Science & Technology Desk: Scientists in Australia have detected the largest explosion seen in the Universe since the Big Bang, which emitted five times the energy of the previous record holder, they revealed on Friday. The explosion came from a supermassive black hole, at the centre of a galaxy hundreds of millions of light years away. Researchers at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Western Australia still don’t know exactly what caused the blast, but observed that it created a massive cavity in the the cluster plasma, or super-hot gas, surrounding the black hole. “You could ...

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PM Sheikh Hasina handed over Ekushey Padak

Ekushey

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday distributed the prestigious Ekushey Padak-2020 among 20 eminent personalities and an organization in recognition of their contributions to various fields. The Prime Minister handed over the Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, to the awardees or their family members at a function organized by the Cultural Affairs Ministry at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the city. Aminul Islam Badsha (posthumous) was given the award for his role in the Language Movement. Begum Dalia Nowshin, Shankar Roy and Mita Haque were recognised for their contributions to music ...

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Nation to pay homage to language martyrs on Friday

Amar Ekushey

MNA Feature Desk: The nation is set to observe ‘Amar Ekushey’, the Language Martyrs’ Day (Shaheed Day) and the International Mother Language Day on Friday, marking the supreme of sacrifice of the language heroes for upholding the right to speak mother tongue Bangla . The day will also be observed around the world as the UNESCO recognised the Ekushey February as the International Mother Language Day on November 17, 1999. The theme of International Mother Language Day 2020 is “Languages without borders”. The theme focuses on cross-border languages and helps to preserve indigenous heritage. Walking barefoot to Dhaka’s Central Shaheed ...

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