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MNA Life Style Desk: An Airbus jetliner arrived in Newark on Friday after a nearly 18-hour trip from Singapore, completing the world’s longest commercial flight. It marked the revival of a route that had been eliminated in 2013. Singapore Airlines Flight SQ22 arrived at 5:29 am (0929 GMT), having left Singapore’s Changi airport at 11:23 pm, the Newark Liberty International Airport website said. That made for a flight of 17 hours and 52 minutes. The flight had been scheduled to take 18 hours and 25 minutes. The plane was carrying 150 passengers and 17 crew members as it traveled 10,250 ...

MNA Feature Desk: On 15 October, the United Nations commemorates the International Day for Rural Women. This year’s theme, “Sustainable infrastructure, services and social protection for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls”, places empowerment of rural women at the heart of fulfilling the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite progress on some fronts, gender inequalities remain pervasive in every dimension of sustainable development; and in many areas, progress is too slow to achieve the SDGs by 2030. These women make up over a quarter the world population and majority of the 43 per cent ...

MNA Education Desk: The ‘5th Math Olympiad-2018’ organised by Jahangirnagar University Science Club (JUSC) was held on the campus, reported news agency. Director of Wazed Miah Science Research Centre and also the adviser of JUSC, professor Khabir Uddin inaugurated the contest with the slogan, ‘Ganit Niye Bhabbe Joto, Shanito Hobe Buddhi Toto’ on the premises of JU School and College in the morning. Addressing the inaugural session, professor Khabir Uddin said that “Mathematics is the mother of all sciences. One’s mental ability and creativity increase with the practice of mathematics.” The prize-giving ceremony of the contest will be held on ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: India’s growing #MeToo storm halted production of a Bollywood blockbuster, with the film’s lead calling for harassment claims against its director and his co-star to be “stringently” investigated. Star Akshay Kumar said he had requested that the making of “Housefull 4” be stopped following allegations against director Sajid Khan and one of the film’s actors, Nana Patekar. Accusations that Patekar behaved inappropriately on a film set 10 years ago sparked India’s #MeToo movement, which has since engulfed Bollywood figures, a government minister and several comedians and top journalists. Patekar denies the allegations. “I’ve requested the producers (of ...

MNA Tech Desk: Internet users across the globe may experience widespread network failures as the key domain servers are slated to undergo routine maintenance over the next 48 hours. Russia Today reported that global internet users might experience network connection failures as the main domain servers and its related network infrastructure will be down for some time. The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will carry out maintenance work during this time period by changing the cryptographic key that helps protect the internet’s address book or the Domain Name System (DNS). This has been necessitated to counter the ...

MNA Feature Desk: Awareness programmes on mental health and mental disorders marked the World Mental Health Day observance on Wednesday. This year’s theme of the day is ‘Young people and mental health in a changing world’. Marking the day, DU educational and counseling psychology department, and students counseling and guidance service office jointly set up a stall in front of Teacher-Student Center (TSC) to provide free counseling over mental diseases to the people. Different organisations and professional bodies have chalked out elaborate programmes to observe the day. A recent World Health Organisation (WHO)-led study estimates that depression and anxiety disorders ...

MNA Tech Desk: The youth-focused social network Snapchat announced Wednesday it was launching a new slate of original video shows under its own brand in the latest move to spark growth, reported news agency. The shows unveiled under the Snap Originals brand include a new comedy, a mystery thriller and a “docuseries” following rising stars in Laguna Beach, California. Snapchat parent firm Snap Inc. joins internet rivals Facebook, Apple and Google-owned YouTube in developing its own original videos which may be watched on a variety of devices. Last year, Snap announced plans to release original scripted shows under a partnership ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: Writer Vinta Nanda accused actor Alok Nath of sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions 19 years ago when they worked together on the sets of the 1993 TV show Tara, reported news agency. Nanda detailed the account on Facebook in which she referred to her attacker as “the most sanskaari (cultured) person,” before naming Nath the next day. Nanda alleged that Nath sexually assaulted her on more than one occasion after he was fired from the 1993 show for misbehaving with its lead actor, Navneet Nishan. Recounting her ordeal, Nanda said Nath’s wife was her best friend ...

MNA Life Style Desk: We all want to hit the gym at some point in our lives in an attempt to get the perfect beach body or simply to tone our muscles and stay in shape. Building muscles might be our goal, but how often do we think about building our brain? Chances are that most of the people don’t even realize what a great impact exercise has on our brain and how greatly it helps to boost brain power. Studies show that long-term regular physical activity such as walking helps boost cognitive function in the elderly, including improved verbal ...

MNA Education Desk: The government has nationalized 13 more secondary schools of the country. The Education Ministry’s Secondary and Higher Education Department issued a notification to this effect. Government is nationalizing a secondary school and a college in the upazilas that do not have government secondary schools and colleges, the notification also said. Rangamati Naniarchar Model High School and Barkal Model High School, Khagrachari Guimara Model High School, TA Faruk School and College of Bagerhat and Kaunia Mofazzal Hossain Model High School of Rangpur have been nationalized. Keshabpur Pilot Model Secondary School in Jessore, Sanghati Pilot Model Secondary School in ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: Rihanna wants Americans to work, work, work, work, work — on getting registered to vote, reported news agency. The 30-year-old Barbados-born pop singer — who has residency in America but cannot vote herself — took to Instagram to urge her fans to sign up before deadline for November’s midterm elections. “GOOD MORNING AMERICA. Who is awake this morning? And who’s woke?” she asked her 65 million followers. “You have 1 job today and that is to properly register to vote,” RiRi wrote, alongside a chart of the voter registration deadlines in each of the 50 states. She ...

MNA Feature Desk: Thousands of Cubans paid tribute to Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader, on the 51st anniversary of his death. An estimated 70,000 people thronged the streets outside a mausoleum in this town 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of the capital Havana which houses the remains of Guevara and of some of his former comrades. The 39-year-old was captured and executed by a CIA-trained unit of the Bolivian army on October 9, 1967. The anniversary comes amid the dying gasps of other Latin American guerrilla movements such as the FARC in Colombia, which last ...

MNA Tech Desk: Facebook has unveiled a pair of artificial intelligence-powered smart video chat devices, Portal and Portal +, which are designed to connect people and feel like being in the same room. Facebook on Monday said the new video communication speakers with tablet-size screens for the home can dramatically change the way people keep in touch and their built-in AI technology makes video calling easier and more like hanging out, reported news agency. The debut of the Facebook-brand-bearing electronic gadgets represents the social network’s first bold entry into the fray in a competition of consumer hardware with other internet ...

MNA Life Style Desk: There are many negative effects of persistent junk food eating habits, not just the obvious and inevitable weight gain. Junk food can be a good way to save time, but it is not the proper way for nutrition. Junk food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. Junk food can also be defined as any food that contributes little or no nutrient value to the diet, but instead provides excess calories and fat. Cause diabetes One of major contributing factors for the emerging diabetes epidemic is unhealthy diet full ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: Taylor Swift’s decision to break her silence on politics triggered a storm on Monday, with even US president Donald Trump weighing in on the pop music star’s remarks in support of Democrats, reported news agency. Swift, 28, has notably stayed out of the US political fray in contrast to her more vocal peers, like Democratic supporters Katy Perry and Beyonce and Republican backer Kid Rock. But Swift on Sunday told her 112 million Instagram followers that she would vote for two Democrats running in Tennessee in the US congressional midterm elections on 6 Nov. “In the past ...

MNA Tech Desk: Bangladesh’s telecom regulator has seized over 10,000 SIM cards during September for illegal international call (VoIP) business from all over the country, reported news agency. These included seized 5,075 Teletalk, 3,897 Robi, 1,414 Grameenphone and 426 Banglalink connections in raids at 10 different places, they said today. “The commission will take actions against these mobile phone operators,” said Md Jahurul Haque, acting chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Bangladesh approximately receives 4 crore minutes of incoming calls from abroad every day on an average through legal channels, he informed the media. The other approximately 2.5 crore ...

MNA Feature Desk: The auspicious occasion of Mahalaya, where Goddess Durga is invoked, is being observed across the country among Hindus. It marks the end of Pitri-paksha (fortnight of Shradh or mourning) and beginning of Devi-paksha (fortnight of the Goddess). It is said that Goddess Durga starts her journey towards Earth on the day of Mahalaya i.e. the first day of Devi-paksha. Since she is traditionally worshipped during spring, this Sharodiya (autumnal) festival is also known as Akaalbodhan (untimely invoking of the Goddess). Durga Puja will begin on October 15 with different rituals on the day of Maha Shashthi. Mahanagar ...

MNA Education Desk: The entry test result of ‘Cha’ unit under the fine arts faculty of Dhaka University for the academic session 2018-19 has been published with only 19.45 percent pass rate. DU Vice-Chancellor Professor Akhtaruzzaman formally published the result from university’s central admission office at 1:00 pm on Monday noon. The admission test was held on September 15 and the drawing test was held on Sep 22. A total of 13,681 students appeared for the examination. Of them, 1,566 students passed the test. Later only 269 of them passed the drawing test against 135 seats. Details of the result ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: Turongomi Repertory Dance Theatre has performed a unique feat. The dance troupe led by Puja Sengupta has performed a ‘Waterdance’ at Hatirjheel in the capital. It was staged at Hatirjheel’s Amphitheatre on October 5. They presented their celebrated production Waterness which is basically a dance recital. The forty-five minute long production was presented by Puja Sengupta, Atik Rahman, Abu Nayeem, Yasna Rahman, Sreyoshi Troyi, Sushmita Lopa, Joyoti Rai, Md Farhad Ahmed. About the presentation Puja said that her team wants to prove that the popular conception that Dhaka is no more a liveable city is wrong. Together ...

MNA Education Desk: A total of 21,111 graduates attended the 51st convocation of Dhaka University (DU) on Saturday, reported news agency. President Abdul Hamid, also the chancellor of the university, presided over the event at the central playground on the campus. National professor Anisuzzaman addressed as the convocation speaker. Registered graduates of the seven affiliated colleges of Dhaka University also participated in the convocation for the first time. In the convocation, a total of 96 gold medals was distributed among students and teachers for their outstanding academic results and contributions. A total of 81 researchers were conferred with Doctor of ...

MNA Tech Desk: Accelerance, US-based software outsourcing company, has signed an agreement to provide assistance in boosting the sales of Bangladeshi made software in foreign markets, reported news agency. Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) and Accelerance signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the office of ICT minister Mustafa Jabbar in city’s Agargaon area. Accelerance president Andy Hilliard and BCC’s Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment and Governance project acting director Tarek M Barkatullah singed the deal for respective organizations. Post, Telecommunication and ICT Minister Mustafa Jabbar, BCC executive director Partha Pratim Dev, LICT project component team leader Sami Ahmed, Accelerance vice-president ...

MNA Life Style Desk: Possessive Husbands can create havoc in relationships because they cannot deal with the fact that their wife is interacting with other men in society. This happens due to jealousy and their extra possessive attitude. Here are some tips for you to deal with possessiveness of your husband Handling your over possessive husband is only possible when he is not physically threatening or physically abusive. Make sure that you are safe when you come in his trigger of possessiveness. Not down the instances when he is in the possessive mode and try to analyze his behavior. Your ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: If rumour mills are to be believed, after Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Bhumi Pednekar, Hichki actress Rani Mukerji will star opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Salute. Though SRK has not made any official statement till date about him being in the film, producer Siddharth Roy Kapur did make a statement on SRK coming on board for the film. “We should be starting it quite soon. It’s all on track but I will prefer to make an official announcement,” was all Kapur had to say when asked about the film going on the floor. Apparently, Rani ...

MNA Feature Desk: The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. The award was announced Friday at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo. The recipient is chosen by a committee of five people elected by the Norwegian Parliament. There were 331 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 — the second highest number ever. Of those, 216 were individuals and 115 were organizations, according to Nobel organizers. The names of the nominees cannot be revealed until 50 years have ...

MNA Tech Desk: Twitter still remains a hotbed for accounts spreading fake news, suggests a new study that looked into how fake and conspiracy news flourished on the microblogging site both before and after the 2016 US presidential election. More than 80 per cent of the Twitter accounts linked to spread of disinformation during the 2016 election are still active, said the study by the Knight Foundation on Thursday. These accounts continue to publish more than a million tweets in a typical day, the study said. Using tools and mapping methods from Graphika, a social media intelligence firm, the researchers ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: An Indian actress who alleges she was sexually harassed on two film sets said she had received legal notices and threats of violence over her claims. Former Miss Universe contestant Tanushree Dutta said she was sexually harassed by multi-award-winning Bollywood star Nana Patekar during the filming of the romantic comedy “Horn Ok Pleassss” in 2008. Dutta first made the allegations ten years ago after walking off the set. She repeated the claim during a recent interview, also alleging that filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri had behaved inappropriately towards her during the shooting of the 2005 movie “Chocolate: Deep Dark ...

MNA Education Desk: Children of freedom fighters on Wednesday night blocked Shahbagh intersection in the city demanding that the government retain the 30 per cent quota privileges for them in government jobs. Muktijoddhar Sontan Command’s central president Sheikh Atiqur Rahman informed media that a grand rally will be held at Shahbagh at 3pm on Saturday to press home for their demand. Protests have created severe gridlocks in and around the area, according to the traffic police control room. Traffic came to a complete halt from Karwan Bazar to Shahbagh and Elephant Road to Shahbagh on Thursday. Police diverted vehicles near ...