In the past year, more than 100 child marriages have happened in one union of the Bhola Sadar upazila. These marriages have touched 59 girls from a single school. This information was gained by talking to teachers, students, parents, and family members at four schools in the Bheduria Union. It has been said that these marriages were performed by a Qazi (marriage registrar) called Sana Ullah and nine people who worked for him. Sana Ullah is the Joint Secretary of the Krishak League in the Bheduria Union.

It was learned from talking to people in the area, teachers, students, and parents that more than 100 girls from three secondary schools and one madrasah in Bheduria Union were married off as children between January and November.

All of the 59 students from Bankerhat Cooperative Girls’ School who were married were underage. There were 8 students from the sixth class, 10 students from the seventh class, 12 students from the eighth class, 14 students from the ninth class, and 15 students from the tenth class. Also, 20 girls from North Char Bheduria Secondary School and about 25 girls from Bankerhat Islamia Alim Madrasah and Bankerhat Secondary School have been married off even though they are too young.

Hadisur Rahman, headmaster of Bankhat Cooperative Girls’ School, said, “Parents who live below the poverty line marry off their daughters if they can find a good match. But we can’t know this ahead of time. They don’t care about the law, and the kids don’t tell us either.”

A local man named Khairul Islam and an imam from a nearby mosque sent written complaints about Sana Ullah to the Senior Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Law in April and to the Senior Secretary (Public Security Department) of the Ministry of Home Affairs on October 10. The complaints were about multiple issues.

Touhidul Islam, a Bhola Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), told Prothom Alo that he would look into the charge sheet sent to the Ministry of Law and take action if he got it. But it hasn’t reached him yet.

Source: https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/r19o4awmbj

পররাষ্ট্রমন্ত্রী এ কে আব্দুল মোমেন বলেছেন, বাংলাদেশ ও যুক্তরাষ্ট্র উভয়ই গণতন্ত্রে বিশ্বাস করে এবং বাংলাদেশে অবাধ ও সুষ্ঠু নির্বাচন চায়। তিনি বলেন, ‘যুক্তরাষ্ট্র গণতন্ত্রে বিশ্বাস করে। তারা (মার্কিন) আমাদের সাথে আছে। আমরাও তাদের সাথে আছি।’ সোমবার (২৭ নভেম্বর) পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রণালয়ে সাংবাদিকদের এসব কথা বলেন তিনি।

তিনি বলেন, যুক্তরাষ্ট্র বেশি কিছু চায় না এবং তারা শুধু বাংলাদেশে অবাধ ও সুষ্ঠু নির্বাচন চায়। ‘আমরাও চাই অবাধ ও সুষ্ঠু নির্বাচন। বরং আমি তাদের বলব, যারা ভোট বানচালের চেষ্টা করছেন তাদের মার্কিন ভিসা নীতির আওতায় আনতে।’

মোমেন বলেন, যুক্তরাষ্ট্র সবসময়ই একটি বাস্তববাদী দেশ। এটি বাস্তবতায় বিশ্বাস করে এবং যখন বাস্তব কিছু করা হয়, তখন যুক্তরাষ্ট্র তাতে সমর্থন দেয়। উদাহরণ স্বরূপ তিনি বলেন, আমেরিকা সব আন্তর্জাতিক আইন লঙ্ঘন করে ১৯৭১ সালে গণহত্যাকারী পাকিস্তানি বাহিনীর পাশে ছিল। কিন্তু ১৬ ডিসেম্বর যখন বাংলাদেশ তার বিজয় দিবস পালন করে, তখন যুক্তরাষ্ট্র বাংলাদেশকে সমর্থন করে। ‘আমাদের স্বাধীনতার পর থেকে মার্কিন যুক্তরাষ্ট্র কখনোই আমাদের বিরুদ্ধে যায়নি। এর মানে কী? যেহেতু একটি দেশ গড়ে উঠেছে, আমরা তাদের সাথে আছি।’

মোমেন বলেন, বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগ গণতান্ত্রিক যাত্রায় বাধা সৃষ্টি করতে চায় না। ‘আমরা গণতন্ত্রে বিশ্বাস করি। আমরা গণতান্ত্রিক প্রক্রিয়াকে বাধাগ্রস্ত করতে চাই না।’ তিনি জানান, তাদের অধীনে অবাধ, সুষ্ঠু ও সহিংসতামুক্ত নির্বাচন হতে পারে, তা বিশ্বকে দেখাতে চান তারা।

পররাষ্ট্রমন্ত্রী বলেন, আমরা আশা করি সব দল নির্বাচনে অংশ নেবে এবং দেশজুড়ে উৎসবের আমেজ বিরাজ করবে।

এক প্রশ্নের জবাবে মোমেন বলেন, জনগণের কল্যাণের সাথে সঙ্গতিপূর্ণ গঠনমূলক পরামর্শকে স্বাগত জানায় বাংলাদেশ।

তিনি বলেন, ‘আমাদের বন্ধুত্বপূর্ণ দেশগুলো আমাদের সুপারিশ করে এবং যদি তারা সহায়ক ভূমিকা পালন করে তবে আমরা সেগুলোকে স্বাগত জানাই।’

সহিংসতামুক্ত নির্বাচনের বিষয়ে তিনি বলেন, এর জন্য প্রয়োজন সবার আন্তরিকতা ও সদিচ্ছা। মোমেন জানান, তারা উন্নত দেশগুলোকে অগ্রাহ্য করতে পারেন না।

তিনি বলেন, ‘আমরা তাদের অনেক শ্রদ্ধা ও সম্মানের সাথে বিবেচনা করি।’

মন্ত্রী বলেন, ‘যুক্তরাষ্ট্র একটি পরাশক্তি। আমরা তাদের অগ্রাহ্য করতে পারি না।’

তিনি বলেন, জনগণ ভোট দিলে আগামী নির্বাচন অংশগ্রহণমূলক হবে। বাংলাদেশে সাধারণত ৫০ শতাংশ ভোটার তাদের ভোট দেন।

মোমেন বলেন, ১৯৯৬ সালে বিএনপি-জামায়াতের আমলে বাংলাদেশে একটি মাত্র নির্বাচন হয়েছিল, যা ভোটারবিহীন ছিল।

র‌্যাব সম্পর্কে এক প্রশ্নের জবাবে মোমেন বলেন, র‌্যাব অত্যন্ত মর্যাদাপূর্ণ একটি প্রতিষ্ঠান এবং দুর্নীতিমুক্ত হওয়ায় জনগণ একে সম্মান করে। তিনি বলেন, ‘এটি একটি অত্যন্ত কার্যকর সংগঠন। র‌্যাব থাকাতে আমরা সন্ত্রাসবাদ সমূলে উৎপাটন করেছি এবং মাদক ও মানব পাচারও অনেক কমেছে।’

তিনি আরো বলেন, যুক্তরাষ্ট্র ও ব্রিটেনের দ্বারা প্রশিক্ষিত হওয়ায় তারা খুবই স্মার্ট। ‘তাদের আবার প্রশিক্ষণ দেয়া হলে তারা আরো ভালো করবে।’

তিনি বলেন, ‘মার্কিন সরকার পরিণত এবং আমরা সবসময় আশাবাদী এই এলিট ফোর্সের ওপর থেকে নিষেধাজ্ঞা প্রত্যাহার করা হবে।’

এক প্রশ্নের জবাবে মোমেন জানান, আগামী নির্বাচনকে সামনে রেখে তারা কোনো চাপ অনুভব করছেন না।

পররাষ্ট্রমন্ত্রী বলেন, ‘রাজনীতি মানে অগ্নিসংযোগ করা নয়, মানুষ হত্যা নয়, দেশের উন্নয়নে বাধা দেয়া এবং অবরোধের মাধ্যমে শিক্ষার্থীদের শিক্ষাজীবনকে বাধাগ্রস্ত করা নয়। রাজনীতি হতে হবে জনগণের কল্যাণের লক্ষ্যে। তাহলে জনগণ তাদের গ্রহণ করবে।’

Source: Naya Diganta

According to a report from the country’s central bank, Bangladesh’s net foreign exchange reserves have dropped from $19.52 billion on November 23 to $15.82 billion now.

The total amount of reserves was $19.52 billion, according to the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6). The net reserves are $3.7 billion less than that amount.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released the BPM6 handbook in 2012. However, the central bank did not fully follow it, which caused forex reserves to rise. Because of the war in Ukraine, the cost of energy, consumer items, and transportation has gone up, which has made imports more expensive. But the amount of money sent back to the country hasn’t gone up, which is putting pressure on the savings.

Source: https://en.prothomalo.com/business/local/66mxmf8dz7

Seven university students were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir for using pro-Pakistan slogans and celebrating India’s loss in the cricket World Cup finals. They were charged under the strict anti-terror law. They were all students at the Sher-e-Kashmir Agriculture University and were charged with violating the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

A police report was made after another student said the accused made threats against a student from outside the area and yelled pro-Pakistan chants.

They are also said to have celebrated India’s loss at their dorm in the university’s Shuhama campus at Ganderbal.

Australia beat India by six wickets in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad on November 19.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/7-students-arrested-for-celebrating-indias-world-cup-defeat-in-jammu-and-kashmir-4611117

In a new interview with singer Dua Lipa, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, provided some insights into the qualities he believes are needed for prospective Apple employees. Aside from the conventional requirements of degrees and coding skills, Cook highlighted the importance of collaboration, curiosity, and creativity in forming Apple’s different work culture.

Cook stressed that college degrees and knowing how to code aren’t always necessary when asked what kind of skills someone would need to work at Apple. He said, “We hire people from all walks of life. Some have college degrees, some don’t. We have people that code, people that don’t.”

Even though Apple hires a lot of employees who don’t know how to code or don’t code regularly, Cook suggested that everyone should still get to know how to code. “I think coding is a form of expressing yourself. It’s the only global language we share.”

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/tech-startup/news/degree-or-coding-skills-not-must-get-hired-apple-tim-cook-3480101

Monday morning, Sri Lanka’s sports minister was fired after he said that president Ranil Wickremesinghe was trying to kill him because he was trying to clean up crime at the cricket board.

Authorities say Roshan Ranasinghe was fired before Monday’s cabinet meeting because he told parliament that Wickremesinghe should be held responsible if he was killed. “I fear I could be killed over my work to clean up the cricket board,” Ranasinghe told parliament, escalating a conflict with Wickremesinghe who had been at odds with the minister over the operation of Sri Lanka Cricket. Early this month, Ranasinghe fired the elected cricket board after accusing its leaders of widespread corruption. The leaders have rejected the charge and are now fighting it in court.

In the otherwise poor island country, the cricket board is the biggest sports group.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/cricket/news/sri-lanka-sports-minister-sacked-over-cricket-crisis-3480271

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has filed a GD (General Diary) with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station regarding the case of his lost phone. Shakib lost his phone in the Ganabhaban area on November 26 (Sunday).

Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Utpal Barua confirmed the matter and said that they are working on the case. Previously, Shakib Al Hasan got Awami League’s nomination from Magura-1 to compete in the upcoming 12th national parliamentary elections.

Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader announced his name in a press conference at the party’s Bangabandhu Avenue office.

Source: https://www.dhakapost.com/national/240818

A person shared that their files which were saved on their Google Drive went missing, and they could only access the data from before May 2023. An absolute nightmare for anyone, the person took to Google support complaining about this, but has not received a solution so far.

They wrote, “Hi, my Google Drive files suddenly disappeared. The Drive literally went back to condition in May 2023. data from May until today disappeared, and the folder structure went back to status in May.
Google Drive activity doesn’t show any changes (only show activity that was in May)
No files was deleted manually, so no files in Trash. I never sync or shared my files and drive to anyone, I used the drive locally.”

“I followed recovery process that Google support team ask me to (South Korea team). They put a recovery program and failed. ask me to backup and restore DriveFS folder, nothing changed. I reported the issue to the Google support team probably in States and they ask me to report the issue to their engineer. But no answer from the engineer and cannot know whether they are reviewing my issue. I used the drive few days ago and last morning this horrible problem happened. very devastating and the files are very important to me. needs any help to fix the problem.
thanks in advance for any helps.”

Source: https://x.com/killedbygoogle/status/1729012540859179111?s=46&t=sH579ttThbuWH5z3zGNAww

There is a Street Fighter 6 tournament on the main stage at the Global Esports Games Riyadh 2023, and Bangladeshi player Farid Islam has just earned a spot there. There are 31 other players from around the world in this international event, but he is the only player from Bangladesh who will be there.

Farid says that he won a local qualifier event put on by BYDESA (Bangladesh Youth Development & Electronic Sports Association). This earned him a spot as Bangladesh’s representative in the South Asia regional qualifier. There, Farid beat players from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the Maldives to become the first player from South Asia to make it to the main stage of the global game in Riyadh. When Street Fighter V Arcade Edition came out in 2018, Farid began playing fighting games for real money. “I really started to level up my gameplay during COVID-19 and onwards,” he told me. When asked if he was fighting by himself or with a team, Farid said, “Right now I’m not in any teams.” Fighting games are played one-on-one, so I will have to battle by myself in the main stage of the Global Esports Games 2023. Farid has played and won fighting games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Tekken in local events in the past. He is in charge of the local Facebook group “Fighting Games Community Bangladesh,” and there he holds events for fans and gamers from the area. He has also taken part in foreign online tournaments held in Southeast Asia. Right now he is a student in the Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) school at Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST).

Source: The Daily Star

The minimum wage board today finalised Tk 12,500 as the minimum monthly salary for garment workers. The board also reduced the number of grades of the wage structure to four from the existing five grades.

Wage Board Chairman Liaquat Ali Mollah announced the final wage structure at a press conference held at the labour ministry’s secretariat office in Dhaka.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/tk-12500-finalised-minimum-rmg-wage-3479291

North Korea has closed down its embassy in Bangladesh, mentioning that it would maintain relations with Bangladesh through the New Delhi embassy.

“The decision of the North Korean embassy being closed down was communicated to the foreign ministry through a note verbal recently. The embassy closed down since November 20,” an official in the foreign ministry told The Daily Star today. The note verbal said that they are closing the embassies in Bangladesh and Nepal to more easily manage and operate their activities in the region from their New Delhi branch. Bangladesh does not have an embassy in North Korea, but it does have favorable relations with China through its embassy there.

A foreign ministry official was asked if the closing of the embassy would have any effect on Bangladesh. They said, “We don’t have any important trade relations.” Most of the time, we work together with foreign groups like the UN. It wouldn’t have any effect on us, then.”

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/diplomacy/news/north-korea-closes-embassy-bangladesh-3479566

2023 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exam results have been released. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the results at Ganobhaban on Sunday (November 26) around 11 am.

This year, the average pass rate in the country’s 11 education boards this year is 78.64 percent. Last year i.e. 2022 HSC and equivalent exam average pass rate was 85.95 percent. So the pass rate has decreased by 7.31 percent this time. At the same time, the number of students getting GPA-5 has also decreased. This year the number of students who got GPA-5 has reduced to half compared to the previous year.

This time, 92,365 out of more than 1.5 lakh students achieved GPA5 in the 11 education boards of the country. Last year the number of students who got GPA-5 was 176,282. So the number of students who got GPA-5 decreased by 83,917 this year.

On Sunday (November 26) at 11 am, the results were published on the website and respective educational institutions. This time the pass rate has also decreased a bit. Last time the pass rate was 85.95 percent. This time the pass rate for HSC and equivalent boards is 78.64 percent.

Source: Jugantor

On Friday, 9 goats that had been in custody for roughly a year due to eating a bunch of grass and leaves from a cemetery in the city of Barishal were released. Abul Khair Abdullah, the recently elected Mayor of Barishal City Corporation (BCC), issued the order for their release.

The animals had been captured on December 6 of the previous year due to their involvement in the cemetery of the city, as verified by Swapon Kumar Das, an administrative official of the BCC at the time. The proprietor of the goats, Shahriar Sachib Rajib, recently petitioned Mayor Abul Khair Abdullah for their release; on Friday, the goats were released.

Road Inspectors Reazul Karim and Imran Hossain Khan, in addition to the present BCC administrative official Alamgir Hossain, witnessed the cattle being returned to their owner. The owner’s appeal resulted in the goats’ release, which signified the conclusion of their confined grazing in the city’s cemetery.

Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/country/nine-goats-freed-after-one-year-in-jail-for-eating-grass-in-barishal-graveyard

In Dhaka, beef prices have dropped to approximately Tk 600 per kilogramme after a year of meat vendors charging customers Tk 800 or more. Some butchers are using in competitive prices, offering beef for as little as Tk 590 or Tk 580 per kilogram, even on social media platforms. While certain retailers persist in increasing prices, others continue to seek additional revenue from their customers.

Customers assert that despite the vendors developing a propensity for generating substantial profits, they were compelled to reduce prices due to a decline in demand. In Bangladesh, beef has historically been in high demand; however, consumers ceased purchasing it when prices increased beyond their financial means. The vendors, who had been dealing in four cows per day prior to the price increase, encountered considerable difficulty in selling even one.

In 2014, beef cost Tk 275 per kilogram, as reported by the Department of Agricultural Marketing, whereas broiler poultry cost Tk 137 per kilogram. Prices for beef increased to Tk 430 in 2018, while chicken prices decreased to Tk 131. Even in 2020, beef was accessible for Tk 550 per kilogram. In that year, the municipal corporations of Dhaka failed to establish a price for beef, resulting in an increase in price from Tk 600 to Tk 650. It was subsequently increased to Tk 700 the subsequent year, and it has now climbed to Tk 800.

Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/beef-sellers-of-dhaka-making-profit-even-after-drastic-price-fall

At least 2,575 women and girls were subjected to violence during January-October this year, said a Bangladesh Mahila Parishad report today. According to the report based on 13 national dailies, 397 women were raped while 115 were gangraped during this period. Thirty-one victims were killed after the incident while 12 died by suicide.

Besides, 221 females were physically abused while 443 were killed for various reasons. At least 231 females died mysteriously during this period. The report documented 21 child marriages, 142 cases of sexual violence and 61 cases of torture for dowry. Among the dowry victims, 45 were killed. Meanwhile, 207 women died by suicide during the stipulated timeframe.

Additionally, 38 females fell prey to cybercrime.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/397-women-raped-last-10-months-3478496

The largest iceberg on Earth is moving for the 1st time in more than 30 years, scientists said on Friday.

The Antarctic glacier A23a, spanning an area of nearly 4,000 square kilometers (1,500 square miles), is approximately three times the size of New York City. Arctic icebergs of this magnitude are uncommon in motion, according to glaciologist Oliver Marsh of the British Antarctic Survey; therefore, its trajectory will be closely monitored by scientists. The colossal berg will likely be propelled into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current as it gathers steam. As a result, it will be directed along “iceberg alley” toward the Southern Ocean, where similar objects are observed floating in murky waters. The motive behind the berg’s current flight is yet to be determined.

“An iceberg this large has the potential to survive for quite a long time in the Southern Ocean, even though it’s much warmer, and it could make its way further north up toward South Africa where it can disrupt shipping,” said Marsh.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/world/news/worlds-largest-iceberg-breaks-free-heads-toward-southern-ocean-3478346

In the World Cup final, India was defeated by Australia by a significant margin of six wickets. The occurrence sparked extensive festivity in Bangladesh, with individuals flooding the streets in exuberance. The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) was subject to considerable censure following this defeat. A hotel in Darjeeling has ceased accepting reservations from Bangladeshi vacationers in response.

Recently, tensions have arisen between India and Bangladesh regarding cricket. The Indian team’s loss in the World Cup final elicited profound elation among a vast number of cricket devotees in Bangladesh, whereas it caused anguish among millions of Indian supporters, particularly in light of the historic significance of this championship match.

Intense tensions have arisen between India and Bangladesh as a result of the response of Bangladeshi cricket supporters to India’s humiliating defeat in the World Cup final. The Indian populace has expressed significant disapproval towards the bohemian festivities being observed. In light of the tense relations at hand, a Darjeeling hotel has made the decision to permanently suspend the acceptance of reservations from travelers from Bangladesh.

One of the hotels in Darjeeling, a popular tourist destination among individuals from Bangladesh, received a significant number of visitors. The hotel administration declared on Facebook that, for an unspecified period, it would no longer take reservations from Bangladeshi guests. This action is a direct reaction to the tremendous support Bangladeshis showed India after the country’s elimination in the World Cup final.

Source: https://www.anandabazar.com/west-bengal/some-hotels-have-called-for-a-boycott-of-bangladeshi-tourists-in-darjeeling-dgtld/cid/1476771

Unnamed sources told the New York Times that Derek Chauvin, the American police officer whose murder of George Floyd in 2020 sparked significant racial justice demonstrations, was stabbed in prison on Friday. Despite the dying man’s pleas, Chauvin, who is Caucasian, knelt on the neck of the 46-year-old black man on a Minneapolis street for more than nine minutes. Floyd’s cries, “I am unable to breathe,” subsequently served as a rallying cry for the protestors who flooded the streets in the aftermath of the killing.

Chauvin was charged and found guilty of 2nd degree murder, 3rd degree murder and 2nd degree manslaughter in 2021, and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. The incident was caught on video, helping organize huge protests and a condemnation of racism and policing in the United States and internationally.

A subsequent Justice Dept. probe into the Minneapolis police, the findings of which were published in June 2023, said that officers in the department routinely took to violent and racist practices, “including unjustified deadly force.” The department “unlawfully discriminates against Black and Native American people when enforcing the law,” the report said.

The city of Minneapolis also settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Floyd family, agreeing to pay his relatives $27 million.

Chauvin appealed his 2nd degree murder conviction, which was rejected by the US Supreme Court earlier this month.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/world/usa/news/derek-chauvin-us-police-officer-who-killed-george-floyd-stabbed-jail-3478231

In a shocking tragedy, a 36-year-old man died after he was punched on the nose by his wife after he refused to take her to Dubai for her birthday. The incident went down on Friday at the couple’s apartment, located in an affluent residential society in Pune’s Wanavdi area. The victim was Nikhil Khanna, a businessman in the construction industry, who had a love marriage with his wife, Renuka (38), 6 years ago.

According to a police officer at the Wanavdi Police station, the incident occurred on Friday afternoon. As per the primary investigation, it has been disclosed that the couple had a fight because Nikhil did not take Renuka to Dubai to celebrate her birthday and did not give her pricey gifts on her birthday and anniversary. Renuka was also upset with Nikhil for not giving a positive response to her wish to go to Delhi to celebrate the birthdays of some relatives.” The police further informed that during the fight, Renuka punched Nikhil in the nose. The impact was so hard that Nikhil’s nose and some teeth were broken. After bleeding heavily, Nikhil lost consciousness. Meanwhile, the police have registered a case against Renuka under IPC Section 302 and arrested her for more investigation.

Source: NDTV

The court fined a person named Amjad Hossain Kiron (44) for ordering lungi from Facebook and not making the payment afterwards. The court sentenced the accused to 2 years imprisonment and fined Tk 10 lakh.

Rajshahi Divisional Cyber Tribunal Government Advocate Ismat Ara Begum said the accused contacted a lungi factory on Facebook in June 2022. Later he asked to order some samples of lungi through Facebook. After getting the sample lungi, he paid the money through mobile phone. Then he ordered a lungi worth Tk 3 lakh 32 thousand 280 through Facebook. After that the lungi was sent from that factory.

She also said that the accused kept the phone and contact off on Facebook with the sellers. On July 24 of the same year, Bulbul Hossain filed a case at Belkuchi police station as the plaintiff. In the judgment of this case, the court sentenced the accused Kiron to two years in prison. At the same time, the court imposed a fine of Tk 10 lakh and another six months imprisonment if he fails to make the payment.

Source: https://www.risingbd.com/bangladesh/news/530205?fbclid=IwAR0V-oaeGwUrGBEiofEEU0SYl3KvaVOrQeAcePFMWMXS9PBkBgOHXo7DJko

Banks in Bangladesh had 1,824 accounts with deposits over Tk 50 crore by the end of June 2023, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.

Approximately 145,973,192 bank accounts held a cumulative deposit of Tk 1,687,024.61 crore as of the conclusion of June.

Nonetheless, as of March’s conclusion this year, a sum of Tk 235,131.26 crore was deposited in 1,758 accounts with deposits exceeding Tk 50 crore, representing 14.58 percent of the overall bank deposits in the nation. As of March 31, data from the central bank indicates that a cumulative sum of Tk 1613,062.64 crore was deposited into 141,137,256 bank accounts in Bangladesh.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/1824-accounts-have-over-tk-50-crore-bank-deposit-3477091

Globo, a Brazilian news outlet, reported on Wednesday that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee is scheduled to initiate an inquiry into the violent incident that occurred between supporters of Brazil and Argentina during their World Cup qualifying match at Maracana Stadium on Wednesday. In its 2023 edition, Article 17 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code explicitly designates the host team and its governing body, the CBF, as the exclusive entities accountable for ensuring the safety of the game.

“Home clubs and federations are responsible for order and security in and around the stadium before, during and after games. […] They are responsible for incidents of any type,” the article reads. Fines, playing one or more matches with a limited audience, a prohibition from playing at a specific stadium, a requirement to play on a neutral field, point deductions, or even expulsion from competitions may be imposed as penalties. “You think about the families, the people who are there, who don’t know what’s going on and we were more concerned about that than playing a match that, at that point, was of secondary importance.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemned the incident on Wednesday.

“Without exception, all players, fans, staff and managers need to be safe and protected to play and enjoy football and I urge the competent authorities to ensure this is respected at all levels,” Infantino said in his statement.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/football/news/brazil-be-sanctioned-maracana-violence-argentina-clash-3477171

Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce, and Larry Summers, former US Treasury Secretary and President of Harvard University, have been added to the reorganized board. The new board will retain Adam D’Angelo, the CEO of Quora and a current member of the preceding board.

After assuming leadership of OpenAI since 2020, Altman, 38, made a temporary transition to a new role at Microsoft, where he oversaw the formation of an AI research team. Greg Brockman, a former president and co-founder of OpenAI, accompanied Altman on this endeavor. In the aftermath of Altman’s termination, nevertheless, a considerable proportion of OpenAI personnel voiced their dissatisfaction. The employees demanded Altman and Brockman’s reinstatement in an open letter, with the majority threatening to resign and join the pair at Microsoft. Kevin Scott, chief technology officer of Microsoft, extended an invitation to OpenAI employees contemplating resignation in light of this potential departure. Altman coming back to OpenAI signals a new era for the company, which has been at the forefront of AI research. The changes in the board, along with the return of Altman, suggest a possible realignment of the company’s leadership and strategic goals.

As part of his return, Altman has repeated his commitment to OpenAI’s mission, stating on X, “I love OpenAI, and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together.”

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/tech-startup/news/sam-altman-fires-board-fired-him-3476846

YouTube issued the following statement to Business Insider: “Users are encouraged to avoid ad blockers and either allow advertisements or subscribe to YouTube Premium to have advertisements removed entirely.” Additionally, people who use ad blockers may experience a subpar viewing experience. “Advertising is an essential lifeline for our creators, allowing them to run and grow their businesses.” “Therefore, using ad blockers is in violation of YouTube’s Terms of Service,” a representative from YouTube explained to Business Insider.

It appeared that YouTube confirmed reports that people using ad-blockers encountered delays of several seconds before they could view a video. According to the Android-based news website Android Authority, people who didn’t use Google Chrome encountered the delays, as seen on Reddit where users reported not facing the issue while using browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge. Google informed Insider, however, that the delays were observed in all browsers that had ad-blockers enabled.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-warns-worse-viewing-experience-ad-blocker-2023-11?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tech-sf&utm_source=twitter

Bangladesh has gone through a decrease in ranking in terms of fixed broadband output on the global stage, having the 108th position out of 182 countries, according to the Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index for the month of October. In the July report, Bangladesh came 106th out of 182 countries in regards to this.

In contrast, the median download speed for fixed broadband in October was documented as 38.65Mbps, reflecting a growth from the previous month’s median download speed of 37.92Mbps. In the fixed broadband sector, Singapore exhibited the highest median download speed of 264.15Mbps. Regarding the speed of broadband internet, Nepal is rated 87th and India is ranked 89th among South Asian nations.

Afghanistan occupied the 181st position, while Sri Lanka was positioned 139th, Pakistan 149th, and the Maldives 151st.

In terms of mobile internet performance, Bangladesh has exhibited progress, as evidenced by its current ranking of 111th out of 142 countries in the October edition of Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index.

According to the July edition of Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, the nation was positioned 120th out of 143 countries. The most recent report indicates that the median download speed in Bangladesh has increased from 17.18Mbps in July to 20.66Mbps at present. The United Arab Emirates secured the highest position in the ranking, boasting a median download speed of 269.41Mbps.

Source: https://www.newagebd.net/article/218276/bangladesh-goes-down-to-108th-in-broadband-speed-ookla?fbclid=IwAR2GVomgU2T2xWEp8BBWr7IsX8ggQ5AP2xrJ14bqd0ytVxe1LD98Iophs4c

The government will construct a power plant where each unit will cost Tk 21.16 and electricity will be generated from waste materials. The 13 megawatt (MW) electricity-generating facility will be constructed by the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).

If electricity is bought at tariff rates, the government will need to pay around Tk 4,068 crore to the plant at a rate of Tk 21.105 a kilowatt hour for 25 years. Purchasing for the establishment of the plant in the Brahmanbaria municipality was approved by the Bangladesh Power Development Board, according to Cabinet Division Additional Secretary Sayeed Mahbub Khan’s statement following the meeting.

Furthermore, tariff sanction was granted by the cabinet committee to the BPDB for the establishment of a 100-MW (AC) solar power plant in Sonagazi upazila, Feni. The government will be obligated to pay the plant with Tk 3,566.4 crore over a 20-year period, or Tk 11.0058 per kilowatt hour, if electricity is bought at tariff rates.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/govt-set-plant-produce-power-waste-3476171

Sam Altman will be back as CEO of OpenAI, after navigating an attempted boardroom coup that struck panic into the company over the last few days. Former OpenAI President Greg Brockman, who quit after Altman’s firing, will return too.

The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it has an “agreement in principle” with Altman to return alongside a new board made up of Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo. D’Angelo is a holdover from the prior board that initially sacked Altman on Friday. He stays on this new board to give the prior board a voice, we’re told.

People who know the negotiations say that the real job of the initial board is to check and place an expanded board of up to 9 people that will change the governance of OpenAI. Microsoft, which has invested over $10 billion into the company, wants to take a seat on that expanded board, as does Altman himself. During a press tour, CEO Satya Nadella said the company didn’t want more “surprises.”

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/22/23967223/sam-altman-returns-ceo-open-ai

To prevent the dissemination of false propaganda, several secretaries have proposed shutting down Facebook on the day of the National Parliament election. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal presided over an inter-ministerial meeting on the 12th national parliament election on November 1 in the conference chamber of the election building in Agargaon, Dhaka, where the subject was discussed.

During the meeting, senior government officials voiced their viewpoints, wherein a number of them advocated for a halt of Facebook operations on election day, citing the substantial harm that could result from the dissemination of misleading data. Under the condition of anonymity, a secretary in attendance at the meeting emphasized the danger that rumor mongers could use to mislead electors and the critical nature of preventing such misinformation. He stated that the Election Commission has the ultimate authority regarding this issue. Election Commission Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath confirmed the talks of halting Facebook on election day but mentioned that no decision has been made till now.

Source: https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/zqdfv70bg5

A significant portion of the OpenAI workforce has expressed intentions to resign and join Microsoft, which has appointed former OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to oversee a new “advanced AI research team.” Over 500 current OpenAI employees state in a letter to the board of directors, as reported by Wired and journalist Kara Swisher this morning, that “Microsoft has assured us that there are positions available for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we decide to join.”

The OpenAI staff will resign, according to the letter, if the board fails to reinstate Altman and Brockman and subsequently resign. However, considering that the board has already reached a decision to retain Altman and Brockman while appointing a new CEO, it appears that Microsoft may have just hired several hundred of Altman’s employees, assuming the company fulfills its promise to hire them all. OpenAI employees who signed the letter accuse the company’s board of sabotaging their work and having “undermined our mission and company.” They are also against the idea that OpenAI was pushing ahead too quickly without concern for safety. “Our work on AI safety and governance shapes global norms,” they write.

Source: The Verge

Sotheby’s announced on Monday that a collection of six jerseys worn by Lionel Messi during Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory will be auctioned off in December. The estimated value of the jerseys is $10 million. In addition to the final match against France, the football sensation wore these shirts during the first halves of the group-stage matches against Saudi Arabia and Mexico, as well as subsequent matches against Australia, the Netherlands, and Croatia.

Basketball legend Michael Jordan donned the most expensive individual jersey ever sold at auction in 1998, during his run to the NBA finals with the Chicago Bulls. A year ago, it was sold for $10.1 million. In recent years, auction houses have become more cognizant of sports memorabilia, which is regarded as a market that is expanding. American technology startup AC Momento, which assists athletes in managing memorabilia collections, is auctioning off the shirts.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the UNICAS Project, an initiative that assists children with rare maladies and is a collaboration with a children’s hospital in Barcelona.

The jerseys will be accessible to the public for no cost during the auction period of November 30 to December 14.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/football/news/messis-2022-world-cup-jerseys-go-auction-3474491

Former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman are being hired by Microsoft. On Friday, OpenAI terminated Altman’s employment after the board stated it “no longer has confidence in his capability to continue leading OpenAI.” Following an extended weekend of deliberations regarding the possibility of Altman rejoining OpenAI, Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, declared that Greg Brockman and Sam Altman would be joining the organization to assume leadership roles on its novel advanced AI research team.

“We’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team,” says Nadella. “We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success.” In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman acknowledged he was joining Microsoft by reposting Nadella with the message “the mission continues.” Nadella responded by providing some hints at how he sees Altman’s role at Microsoft. “We’ve learned a lot over the years about how to give founders and innovators space to build independent identities and cultures within Microsoft, including GitHub, Mojang Studios, and LinkedIn, and I’m looking forward to having you do the same.” A new advanced AI research team has been established by Microsoft, under the leadership of Altman and Brockman. It follows Microsoft’s announcement a week ago that it has developed a custom AI processor capable of training large language models and potentially eliminating the need for an expensive reliance on Nvidia. Also designed for cloud applications is an Arm-based CPU developed by Microsoft. The purpose of both custom silicon processors is to supply power to the Azure data centers.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/20/23968829/microsoft-hires-sam-altman-greg-brockman-employees-openai

The results of this year’s HSC and equivalent examinations would be released on November 26. Professor Tapan Kumar Sarkar, chairman of the Dhaka Education Board and director of the inter-education board coordination committee, confirmed the information to Prothom Alo on Monday.

According to him, the education ministry has confirmed orally that the results will be made public on November 26.

The education authorities had previously submitted to the government a proposal to release the results from November 26th to the 28th. In addition, the boards requested that the ministry of education make the required preparations to publish the results on any of these three days. The HSC and equivalent examinations for this year commenced on August 17th. However, as a result of the natural disaster, the examination for the Chattogram, madrasa, and technical boards commenced several days later. With the exception of a single subject, all other examinations were full-time and administered in accordance with the revised curriculum. At the last minute, it was decided that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) examination would be worth 75 points as opposed to 100.

Source: Prothom Alo

A protestor got into the crease while India was facing Australia in the final of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 at Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday.

The match was halted after the person wearing a mask and a t-shirt saying ‘Stop Bombing Palestine’ approached Virat Kohli and tried to hug him. The security hurried to the spot and took the person off the crease.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/sports/ind-vs-aus-cwc-2023-final-pitch-invader-breaches-security-to-interrupt-summit-clash-at-narendra-modi-stadium-watch

The jewellery makers of the country hiked 22-carat gold prices by Tk 1,750 and so the new price will be Tk 106,376 a bhori, an all-time high. The new price is 1.67% more than the previous all-time high of Tk 104,626 per bhori (11.664 grammes), which was recorded on November 5 this year.

The gold price crossed the Tk 100,000-mark for the very 1st time in Bangladesh in July. Gold prices have increased for over a year due to fluctuations in the domestic market and increases in the international market.

Despite the fact that Bangladesh does not engage in substantial gold imports, its gold prices are virtually correlated with global trends. The annual gold demand in Bangladesh varied between 20 and 40 tonnes. Approximately 80% of the global demand is fulfilled by means of illicitly transported gold.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/gold-hits-record-tk-106376-bhori-3472756

Right now MrBeast is in a subscriber battle with T-Series to reach the top position. They have only 41K subscribers between them, so the YouTuber is pulling all the stops to surpass the music label. However, his newest attempt to surpass them had him risk a lot.

He tried to stay buried alive for 7 straight days. This idea may trigger some people, so reader discretion is suggested. Most of his fans are already loving this video as it has surpassed 8 million views in just 2 hours! On the night of day 4, MrBeast said, “I hope tomorrow’s easier. It’s a weird feeling. I am very tired, but for some reason I can’t sleep. I don’t know. I’ve never had this happen before. Why am I crying? I don’t know.” This clearly brought up the fact that solitude and being buried alive did a number on his mental health. After the 7th day of being buried alive, his friends started to dig him out. After lying down in that position for 7 straight days, if MrBeast stood up suddenly, he would risk fatal blood clots forming in his body. So they first brought in a medic to check how his vitals were.

Source: MrBeast YT

A large majority of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza say that they don’t see a future where they can coexist peacefully with Israel, according to the results of a survey.

The densely-populated Gaza enclave has been bombarded for more than 5 weeks as part of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge to “eliminate Hamas” in response to the militant group’s cross-border attack on October 7. 90% of Palestinian respondents to a survey conducted by the Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) believe that “coexistence [with Israel] is becoming increasingly impossible” in light of the Israeli military operation in Gaza. Additionally, 98% of respondents to the survey, which was conducted from October 31 to November 7, stated they would “never forget and never forgive” Israel. In contrast, Israel’s offensive is perceived by 65% of respondents as a “war against all Palestinians” and not just Hamas, according to another AWRAD survey in which 100% of respondents stated that there is no “safe space” in Gaza. Additionally, nearly half of respondents (48 percent) reported that their homes had been partially or completely devastated, and ninety percent supported a ceasefire. In-person interviews were utilized to gather data for the survey from 688 Palestinians. AWRAD stated that its sample was composed of individuals from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, with men and women being represented equally.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/world/israel-hamas-war/news/90pc-palestinians-say-they-cant-coexist-israel-poll-3472581

Study has shown that 55 percent of Bangladeshis that responded believe Bangladesh is not a peaceful country, and 57 percent think the state of justice has worsened here over the last 5 years. The findings came up in the “Youth Matters Survey 2023.” It was conducted by Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) in collaboration with Brac University’s Center for Peace and Justice (CPJ). They surveyed 5,609 participants between the ages 16 and 35 through Facebook.

Lead researcher on the study, Hossain Mohammed Omar Khayum, delivered the report at a Dhaka press conference yesterday. 71.5 percent of those who were surveyed said they feel afraid when expressing their views on public platforms like Facebook etc.

Despite concerns, a surprising 72 percent of them showed interest in general elections and voting. The study displayed that, due to these challenges, 42.4 percent of young Bangladeshis plan on moving abroad. BYLC’s founder and executive chairperson Ejaj Ahmad said, “We should not see the young people as future leaders. We should see them as current leaders.” BYLC conducts a survey every 5 years, especially before elections, to give Bangladeshi youths a space to share their ambitions and issues about the country’s present and future state.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/youth/news/72pc-the-youth-feel-unsafe-express-opinions-survey-3471441

Bangladeshi students from United International University (UIU) have achieved a historic victory at the International Blockchain Olympiad in Amsterdam, Netherlands, showing a glimpse of the country’s imminent talent in blockchain related tech.

Team Apocalypse from UIU consists of Sadia Ahmmed, Sahid Hossain Ratul, Jishanul Islam, and Aadiba Tasneem Anam. They achieved the gold medal under the event’s slogan “A Digital Journey to our Sustainable Future.” Their project, IPBlockchainPro, is an inventive ecosystem for intellectual resource management, matching up with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8, 9, 16, and 17. In addition to that, another team from UIU Team Unchained achieved 6th place (Merit Award) at the same program. The team members Anika Khaer Aurpy, Shoaib Hasan, and Farhee Aalina Ahmad were congratulated for their amazing performance. 9 teams in total from Bangladesh participated in the event, with 4 teams getting the Award of Merit. Among them were GreyDevs from Sylhet Cadet College, Beecrypt, Cuet Anonymous from CUET, and Team Blockbit from SUST & IUT, and Team Unchained. The International Blockchain Olympiad is an annual global platform that enables students to solve real-world problems using emerging technologies like Blockchain and Web3.

This year’s event was part of Digiquest Amsterdam, sponsored by Inholland University of Applied Sciences. The event seeks to unite young talents worldwide to address global challenges, collaborating across industry, academia, and non-profit sectors.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/tech-startup/news/uiu-team-wins-gold-international-blockchain-olympiad-2023-3472626

Bangladesh cricket team skipper Shakib Al Hasan has bought 3 nomination forms of Bangladesh Awami League to compete in the upcoming 12th parliamentary election.

A representative of his bought the nomination forms for Magura-1, 2 and Dhaka-10 constituencies from Awami League’s central office located at 23 Bangabandhu Avenue, Dhaka on Saturday.

Source: https://en.somoynews.tv/news/2023-11-18/shakib-al-hasan-buys-al-nomination-paper