Feature

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

MNA Feature Desk: Firdausi Qadri, a Bangladeshi researcher, has been named for the 22nd L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards. The UNESCO announced the names of the five winners of the awards, with Firdausi as the winner from the Asia-Pacific region, on Tuesday Firdausi is the head of the Mucosal Immunology and Vaccinology Unit of the Infectious Diseases Division at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research, Bangladesh or icddr, b. The UNESCO said it awarded her for her outstanding work to understand and prevent infectious diseases affecting children in developing countries, and promote early diagnosis and vaccination with ...

MNA Feature Desk: State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Fazilatun Nessa Indira on Wednesday said that media and people from all corners need to work together to turn the existing culture into women friendly. “Prevention of violence and other forms of discriminations against women is possible if media launch massive awareness and people work together,” she said as chief guest at a roundtable in the capital. The Daily Observer organised the roundtable titled “ Role of Government and Media in Empowering women-SDG5” at Jatiya Press Club. In his welcome speech, the Daily Observer Editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said that ...

MNA Feature Desk: The month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2020 will begin on Bangla Academy premises and at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital on Sunday. This year Bangla Academy has set the theme of the fair as “Birth Centenary of Bangabandhu” and the book fair will be dedicated to the iconic leader, marking his birth centenary. Focusing on Bangabandhu, architect Enamul Karim Nirjhar has prepared the overall plan of the book fair. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the book fair as the chief guest at 3pm on the day where State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid will ...

MNA Feature Desk: Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is looking for a female “life partner” to accompany him on Space X’s maiden tourist voyage to the Moon. The fashion mogul, 44, is set to be the first civilian passenger to fly around the moon on the Starship rocket. Planned for 2023, the mission will be the first lunar journey by humans since 1972. In an online appeal, Mr Maezawa says he wants to share the experience with a “special” woman. The entrepreneur, who recently split up from actress girlfriend Ayame Goriki, 27, has asked women to apply for a “planned match-making ...

MNA Feature Desk: Some 84 children were violated in every month in the just-concluded year, according to a report of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF). It said some 1,383 children were sexually assaulted in 2019. The BSAF revealed the report at a press briefing at Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital on Wednesday. The report is the compilation of reports published in 15 daily newspapers. As per the report, 4,381 children were the victims of various kinds of torture. Of them, 2,088 children were the victims of unnatural death and 1,383 were sexually assaulted. The rate of rape is increased ...

MNA Feature Desk: At least 50 people have died in Bangladesh from November 1 to December 28 due to cold-related diseases as cold weather continues to sweep across the country. The country’s lowest temperature this year was recorded at 4.5 degrees Celsius (40.1° Fahrenheit) early on Sunday in Tetulia, a border town in Panchagarh, the weather office said. Ayesha Akhter, a senior official of the government’s health directorate, said at least 17 people died of acute respiratory infection and 33 from diarrhea and other diseases during the period. Hospitals were crowded with people suffering from cold-related illnesses, such as influenza, ...

MNA Feature Desk: Some 320 children and adolescents died every day from AIDS-related causes in 2018, or 13 every hour, according to a global snapshot on children, HIV and AIDS released by the UNICEF on Tuesday. Low access to antiretroviral treatment, in addition to limited prevention efforts, is a leading cause for these deaths, with only 54 per cent of children aged 0-14 living with HIV in 2018– or 790,000 children – receiving lifesaving antiretroviral therapy, according to the release. “The world is on the cusp of making great gains in the battle against HIV and AIDS, but we must ...

MNA Feature Desk: A child prodigy from Belgium is on course to gain a bachelor’s degree at the tender age of 9. Laurent Simons is studying electrical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE) — a tough course even for students of an average graduate age. Described by staff as “simply extraordinary,” Laurent is on course to finish his degree in December. He then plans to embark on a PhD program in electrical engineering while also studying for a medicine degree, his father told CNN. His parents, Lydia and Alexander Simons, said they thought Laurent’s grandparents were exaggerating when ...

MNA Feature Desk: The nation is observing the Jail Killing Day today (Sunday) with due solemnity, marking the brutal killing of four national leaders inside the jail. On November 3, 1975, four national leaders and heroes of the country’s Liberation War — Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, Captain Mansur Ali and AHM Quamruzzaman — were assassinated inside the Dhaka Central Jail. The four leaders played a key role in forming the Mujibnagar government in exile that led the Liberation War in 1971 with Syed Nazrul Islam as the acting president, Tajuddin Ahmad as the prime minister, Mansur Ali as the ...

MNA Feature Desk: Many of us who fall ill due to viral infections as the season changes and in fact there are some, more than others who fall prey to these. It happens because some of us have lower immunity than others which makes us more susceptible to illnesses. Seasonal Vegetables The solution to most of our ailments lies in the season itself. According to celebrity nutritionist Kavita Devgan, “There’s a reason why we get an array of saags (greens) in the winter season; they are naturally warming and are loaded with nutrition that helps the body fight against seasonal ...

MNA Feature Desk: Over two years have been passed since an enormous Rohingya influx had hit Bangladesh. More than 1.1 million Rohingya people, rightful citizens of Myanmar, are now sheltering on Bangladeshi soil. Our government has provided all sorts of support to them to ensure their shelter, food, water and sanitization even at the cost of our environment, ecology and economy. The global community also extended their support by providing aid for these refugees from all corners of the world. But unfortunately their repatriation is still under doubt as the Myanmar government has portrayed serious lack of intent in creating ...

MNA Feature Desk: Around 200 public officials have so far visited Russia in connection with the capital-intensive Rooppur nuclear power plant project. Spending a substantial amount from the project fund, insiders said on Saturday, some officials went to Russia for inspecting nuclear power facilities and some others either for training or for other purposes. A number of ministers, directors of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), personal and administrative officials of science and technology ministry were among the visitors. For an official visit, the government pays between $178 and $328 in “comprehensive allowance” daily to a policymaker or a public servant ...

MNA Feature Desk: The West Bengal government is planning to introduce a Bill in the Assembly to check incidents of mob assault and lynching. Mamata Banerjee government is planning to table West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019 in the House on August 30, sources said. The legislation will seek a jail term, which may vary from three years to life, for those involved in assaulting and injuring a victim, according to media reports. a) In case of death due to mob lynching, the accused would be punished with rigorous life imprisonment and fine up to Rs 0.50 million. b) ...

MNA Feature Desk: Nepalese authorities have banned single-use plastics in the Everest region in a bid to cut down on waste left by climbers. The ban will take effect in the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu municipality from January 2020. Authorities recently cleared 11 tonnes of rubbish from Mount Everest. All plastic drinking bottles and plastics of less than 30 microns in width will be banned in the province. No penalty has yet been announced for violators. Trekking companies, airlines and the Nepal Mountaineering Association will work with local officials to enforce the ban. Khumbu Pasang Lhamu receives tens of thousands of ...

MNA Feature Desk: Pingyao, an ancient town in north China’s Shanxi Province, will enter the 5G technology era before October, local authorities said. The 5G technologies are scheduled to be first applied in two demonstration zones — one in a diesel engine plant and another in the new campus of the People’s Hospital of Pingyao County, according to Chen Hongjin, director of the information centre with Pingyao’s culture and tourism bureau. Covering an area of around 70,000 square metres, the diesel engine plant is a venue for many key events, such as the Pingyao International Film Festival and the Pingyao ...