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MNA Career & Education Desk: Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday claimed to have brought two gangs engaged in question leak to book. Law enforcers have, so far, arrested 46 members of the rackets, including masterminds Hafizur Rahman Hafiz and Masud Rahman Tajul. The information was given at a press conference of the Organised Crime, CID, Bangladesh at noon. CID chief Additional IGP Sheikh Himayet Hossain spoke at the briefing held the CID headquarters in the city. CID officials said those who engaged in question leak from the press are: Rakibul Hasan Esami, Khan Bahadur, Saiful Islam, Sajib Islam, Bani ...

MNA Lifestyle Desk: Margot Robbie took everyone’s breath away with her gritty, eccentric role as Harle Quinn in ‘Suicide Squad’. She did it yet again with her rendition of Queen Elizabeth I in her latest historical drama ‘Mary Queen of Scots’. She’s not only talented, but she looks gorgeous as well. Recently, her personal trainer, David Higgins, revealed the secret to her svelte figure. And surprise, he claims that breakfast is overrated. Higgins believes intermittent fasting–where you only eat for an eight-hour window every day–is the secret to losing weight, reports dailymail.co.uk. “Sometimes you don’t need to have breakfast,” the ...

MNA Science & Technology Desk: Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Wednesday it disabled an iPhone app that it had paid some users to install to study their digital habits, following a similar move late on Tuesday by social media network Facebook Inc. Google and Facebook had faced criticism from privacy experts for distributing their research apps through a program iPhone maker Apple Inc had created for companies to distribute apps to employees, according to Reuters. “The Screenwise Meter iOS app should not have operated under Apple’s developer enterprise program — this was a mistake, and we apologise,” Google said in ...

MNA Feature Desk: Suman Kumari has become the first Hindu woman to be appointed as a civil judge in Pakistan. Ms. Kumari, who hails from Qambar-Shahdadkot in Sindh province, will serve in her native district. She passed her LLB examination from Hyderabad and did her Masters in Law from Karachi’s Szabist University. “I have entered the field of law because I know that in the backward areas of Sindh, poor people need a lot of advice and assistance in legal matters,” she said. “My father and my family supported me a lot, as in our community it is not easy ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Fatima Sana Shaikh who was recently shooting in Bhopal for her next with Anurag Basu shared a picture praising Anurag Basu and his art of direction on her social media. Sharing her experience of working with the Director, Fatima Sana Shaikh said, “Unreal! Life Changing! Shooting with Anurag Basu is like being backstage with a magician. Magical….. #anuragbasu.” The actress also shared two working stills from the sets wherein Anurag Basu is busy in his direction. Fatima is also a huge fan of Anurag Basu’s films and out of all his films ‘Life in a ...

MNA Career & Education Desk: Rapid Action Battalion director general Benazir Ahmed has warned that people involved in SSC question paper leak would not be spared. The RAB DG came up with the warning at a press briefing on Wednesday ahead of the SSC examination scheduled to begin on February 2. The briefing held at RAB media centre this morning to prevent the question scripts leak. “Teachers, students and guardians should be conscious about this. If anyone try to violate law, RAB will take action immediately, said Benazir Ahmed. He said “Last year, the elite force arrested at least 128 ...

MNA Science & Technology Desk: Apple plans to cut the price of some of its flagship iPhones for only the second time in the device’s 12-year history, pegging its retail value to past prices in local currencies outside the United States instead of the rising US dollar. The move is an attempt to stem weak sales of the iPhone, particularly in overseas markets such as China, where a 10 per cent rise in the US dollar over the past year or so has made Apple’s products – which already compete at the top end of the market – much pricier ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Her role as a victim of sex trafficking was so harrowing that Mrunal Thakur almost backed out. To research the experiences of women and girls sold into the sex trade, like the title character she plays in the film “Love Sonia”, Thakur met survivors in red light districts in Mumbai and Kolkata. In one brothel, she was shown beds that had been placed up on bricks. When she asked why, she was told it was so that children could be hidden underneath the bed while their mother was forced to serve clients. “There were a ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Kiara Advani is back in the bay after wrapping up the schedule of her upcoming film Kabir Singh with Shahid Kapoor. Taking her journey to new heights every day, the diva is now all set to debut in the 2019 calendar of Dabboo Ratnani! Interestingly, this is not the first time that Kiara is making for a debut with Dabboo, she almost had all of her ‘firsts’ with the latter. Her first ever portfolio was shot by Dabboo. Adding another layer to the cake is the fact that Kiara’s first shoot for her debut film ...

MNA Lifestyle Desk: One might have probably thought about what one should do to get ahead in career. But as it turns out, it’s just as important to consider what you should not do, too. We all make mistakes in the workplace at one point or another. However, repeatedly making the same professional mistakes will decrease your happiness on the job and your quality of life. The good news is that many of these mistakes are easy to dodge in the first place. Here are six common professional mistakes and how to avoid them: Not asking for enough money I ...

MNA Career & Education Desk: The Daffodil International University (DIU) has celebrated its 17th founding anniversary with gala events at Ashulia permanent campus. The university took two day programme, which ended on Monday, To mark the founding anniversary. The celebration programme included a week-long Inter department sports competition, Math Olympiad, Inter University Cultural competition, IT Quiz, Project Showcasing and exhibition have been arranged. The two day programs included Bus Rally, Pitha Utshab, Blood Donation Program, Discussion, Picnic, Tree Plantation, Games & Sports, Fun Events & Raffle Draw and gala musical soiree by the participation of the students. Dr. Jonathan Ortman, ...

MNA Science & Technology Desk: Apple Inc said on Monday it will issue a software patch later this week for a bug that lets iPhone users hear audio from users who have not yet accepted a video call. The bug, which Reuters news agency was able to replicate, allows an iPhone user placing a call using Apple’s FaceTime video-calling feature to hear audio from the recipient’s phone even if the recipient has not yet picked up the call. The bug appears to rely on Apple’s group video-calling feature. In certain situations, the bug also broadcast both video and audio from ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Four eminent personalities have been honored with Bangla Academy Awards 2018 for their outstanding contribution in Bangla literature. The award recipients are: Kazi Rosy (Poetry), Mohit Kamal (Fiction), Syed Mohammad Shahed (Essay and Research), and journalist Afsan Chowdhury (Writings on liberation war). Bangla Academy director general poet Habibullah Sirazi announced the names of awardees at a press conference on the academy premises on Monday afternoon. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hand over the awards to the winners at the inaugural ceremony of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair on February 1.

MNA Career & Education Desk: The education ministry has relaxed the rule for SSC test-takers to enter the examination centers at least half an hour before the start of the tests. The students who will fail to secure entry before the stipulated time will be allowed to sit the exams after showing valid reasons behind the delay. The students will have to write down their names, roll numbers and the reasons in a registrar in case of delay, the government said in a circular on Monday. The exam center secretaries will hand the lists of late students over to the ...

MNA Feature Desk: The Cyber Crime Awareness Foundation (CCA Foundation) observed ‘International Data Protection and Privacy Day’ on Monday across the country. Hundreds of organisations and individuals also observed the day across the globe to create awareness about the importance of respecting privacy, safeguarding data and enabling trust. The CCA Foundation called on all public and private institutions to take awareness programme on occasion of the day. On this occasion, chapter committees of the foundation are arranging various programmes in different districts and universities of the country. Kazi Mustafiz, president of the foundation, said protecting personal data is highly relevant ...

MNA Science & Technology Desk: NASA’s Mars Opportunity rover that went into hibernation last June after a massive dust storm blocked sunlight from reaching its solar panels to generate power, might have “died”, fear scientists. Opportunity’s last communication with Earth was received 10 June, 2018, as a planet-wide dust storm blanketed the solar-powered rover’s location on the western rim of Perseverance Valley, eventually blocking out so much sunlight that the rover could no longer charge its batteries. Although the storm eventually abated and the skies over Perseverance cleared, the 15-year-old rover has not communicated with Earth since then. “I haven’t ...

MNA Lifestyle Desk: A Chinese hospital on Thursday launched free consultations featuring artificial-intelligence (AI) cameras to detect ocular fundus diseases, which are a major cause of blindness. Deqing county hospital in Guangdong Province became the first to use the device, co-developed by China’s search engine Baidu and Sun Yat-sen University, to serve the general public. The instrument is capable of diagnosing three types of fundus disorders — diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration. It scans the eyes and generates a report in 10 seconds, all done without the need for an ophthalmologist to be present. With an accuracy rate of ...

MNA Lifestyle Desk: Omar Ali is a Bangladeshi-born entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Piickme, a mobile application based transportation service provider in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was born on August 25, 1983 at Compnaygonj of Noakhali district in Bangladesh. He studied at Rutger University in USA. Previously, he was an IT Consultant at an international firm and the owner of NRB Consultancy Inc. A conversation with Omar Ali (Raj), Founder & CEO of Piickme. Do you think ride sharing is a sustainable solution for transportation sector? Sure. It maximizes the utilization of a non-commercial vehicle usually getting used ...

MNA Lifestyle Desk: The Chinese government has taken aim at the wedding industrial complex, calling for a “comprehensive reform” of the country’s increasingly expensive weddings. The ministry of civil affairs has called for an end to “extravagant wedding practices” like expensive wedding gifts, lavish ceremonies, and demands for increasingly high bride prices — money paid by the groom’s family to the bride’s parents. At a conference on wedding reform, officials from the ministry said weddings should “better reflect” the country’s values and goals and implement “Xi Jinping Thought,” the president’s much touted political ideology. Officials called current wedding practices a ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: The pretty actor Anangsha Biswas who was last seen in the bold and beautiful Ascharyachakit on Netflix is lined up with multiple projects. She will next be seen in Fraud Saiyyan. ‘Fraud Saiyaan’ has got an ensemble cast which has seasoned actors such as Arshad Warsi and Saurabh Shukla. The remake of the song Chamma Chamma has made the film a hot topic in town. We quizzed her about this and this is what she has to say, ‘Fraud Saiyyan’ is a very intelligent and funny film. I was overwhelmed to know that I would ...

MNA Career & Education Desk: A two-day international seminar on ‘Global peace and Harmony’ will be held at Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia on January 28. The seminar will be continued till January 29, sources at IU Vice-chancellor’s office said on Thursday. IU and Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture will jointly organise the seminar at Birshrestha Hamidur Rahman Auditorium on the campus, reports UNB. Chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) Professor Abdul Mannan will attend the seminar as the chief guest while Islamic Foundation Director General Shamim Mohammad Afzal will appear as the special guest and IU Vice-chancellor will ...

MNA Science & Technology Desk: China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd said on Thursday its consumer business sales exceeded a record $52 billion in 2018, on strong demand for its premium smartphones, even as it continued to face heightened global scrutiny of its activities. The jump of around 50 percent in the technology giant’s consumer business revenue saw that unit replace its carrier business as its largest segment by sales, Richard Yu, the head of the consumer division, said in Beijing. Huawei last month flagged that total revenue in 2018 rose 21 percent to $109 billion without providing a breakdown of ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are expecting a fourth child – again using a surrogate, according to multiple media reports on Wednesday. Celebrity magazines Us Weekly and People quoted sources close to the couple as saying the surrogate was pregnant and expected to give birth in May. Representatives of the reality TV star and her rapper husband did not respond to a request for comment. Kardashian and West’s third child, Chicago, was born via a surrogate in January 2018. The couple has two other children North, 5, and Saint, 3. They turned to surrogacy after ...

MNA Science & Technology Desk: Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has launched a database of information on mobile phones with services like checking legal status of handsets via text message. Post, Telecommunication and IT Minister Mustafa Jabbar inaugurated the database at a ceremony at the BTRC offices in Dhaka on Tuesday. Anyone can check whether the information on their handsets are on the database by writing “KYD<space>the 15-digit IMEI number” and sending SMS to 16002. The BTRC will let the users know about the status of their handsets in a return SMS. No registration will be needed to get NOC ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Leading musician Ahmed Imtiaz Bulbul, who was also a freedom fighter, has died at the age of 63. Bulbul suffered a heart attack at his residence at Aftabnagar in the capital on Tuesday and was taken to Aysha Memorial Hospital where doctors declared him dead, said lyricist Kabir Bakul. The musician was honoured with the prestigious Ekushey Padak in 2010. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Abdul Hamid have mourned his death. He suffered from heart diseases for long and went through a surgery at the National Heart Institute for artery blockage last year. Bulbul ...

MNA Culture & Entertainment Desk: Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker is one of those women who never shy away from talking their minds. The actress recalled her #MeToo experience when she revealed how a director harassed her at a workplace. Swara was present at a panel discussion on the life of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein at &PriveHD’s Prive Soiree where actors Dia Mirza and Anand Patwardhan were also part of the discussion. The ‘Veere Di Wedding’ actor is known for her outspoken nature and taking a stand against society’s stereotypes like discrimination, gender pay gap, racism, and #MeToo. She revealed that ...

MNA Career & Education Desk: Anti-Corruption Commission issued show-cause notices against 30 teachers of the city’s Willes Little Flower School and College on Sunday, in relation to their involvement in ‘coaching business’. The drive was carried out by a team comprising assistant director Mohammad Javed Habib and deputy assistant director Afnan Jannat Keya, acting on the directions of Director General (Administration) Mohammad Munir Chowdhury, was deployed to probe a complaint received over 106 hotline. They found that although the teachers in question made a pledge in 2017 not to continue their coaching activities – i.e. private tuition – they were ...