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Tag: Bangla News

  • Bangladesh Bank to launch ‘Taka-Rupee’ debit card that can be used in both India & Bangladesh

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    Source: The Daily Star

    Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder announced today that the central bank will create the country’s own debit card by August, allowing holders to make payments both at home and in India.

    Currently, travelers must purchase US dollars prior to their trip to India and convert them into rupees once they arrive in the neighboring nation.

    As a result, they face a double exchange rate loss, which may be as high as 6%, according to the governor.

    Holders of the unique debit cards will be able to make payments in both India and Bangladesh, he said, adding that the cards will be issued by banks and other institutions.

    —

  • 3M people to leave Dhaka, adjacent districts on waterways ahead of Eid-ul-Azha

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    Source: Dhaka Tribune

    According to a report by the non-governmental organization National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads, and Railways, approximately 3 million people from Dhaka and its neighboring districts will travel home by waterways ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

    In a news release released to the media on Sunday, NCPSRR President Haji Mohammad Shahid Mia and General Secretary Ashish Kumar Dey detailed the report.

    Around 300,000 Eid visitors would travel through Narayanganj river port. The remaining 2.7 million passengers will be routed through other ports, notably the Sadarghat terminal. So Sadarghat will be under a lot of strain this time as well.

    During Eid, over 15 million people depart the greater Dhaka region, which includes Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj, according to the research. 20% (3 million) of them depart Dhaka via waterways. The coastal districts of Barisal, Pirojpur, Jhalkathi, Barguna, Bhola, Patuakhali, Chandpur, Shariatpur, and Madaripur receive nearly all of them.

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  • Bangladesh to have its own ‘The Godfather,’ says Khijir Hayat

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    Source: The Daily Star

    Khijir Hayat Khan is getting ready to start work on his dream project, which is based on Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather.”

    The director has already begun writing the script. The director of “Ora 7 Jon” shared the news on his Facebook page.

    “I’m not sure if I’ll make a film or a web series.” For many years, though, I had a goal of adapting ‘The Godfather’ in the setting of Bangladesh. I’ve finally begun writing the script, and I was inspired by ‘The Godfather’ writers Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola for this project. Please pray for us,” he wrote in his article.

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  • Dhaka’s divorce rate reaches ‘one’ in every 40 minutes

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    Source: Prothom Alo

    The number of broken families in the country is increasing, with the highest number of divorces occurring in the capital. Last year, a divorce took place every 40 minutes in Dhaka. Additionally, separation rates are increasing outside of Dhaka.

    It has been observed that women are filing for divorce more frequently. Self-respecting women seek release from torture and choose to pursue divorce. However, settlements after filing for divorce are very low, with less than 5 percent resulting in satisfactory agreements. This information regarding divorce rates was obtained through an analysis of data from the two city corporations and the district registrar’s office in Dhaka.

    In matters of divorce, the Muslim Family Act of 1961 is still in force. According to this law, divorce applications in the capital must be sent to the mayor’s office of the two city corporations in Dhaka. The applications are initially registered there and then forwarded from the wife’s original place of residence to the regional office.

    According to data from the mayor’s office of the two city corporations in Dhaka, a total of 13,288 divorce applications were received in 2022. Out of these, 7,698 applications were received by the South City Corporation, and 5,590 applications were received by the North City Corporation. Based on this data, it can be deduced that approximately 37 marriages are breaking up in the capital every day, equating to one divorce occurring every 40 minutes. Furthermore, there were 2,488 divorce applications recorded in January and February of the current year.

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  • 11y/o girl falls ill from severe heat at school, dies on the way to hospital

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    Source: Prothom Alo

    Habiba Akhter (11), a student of class 6, died due to heat illness in a school in Daudkandi Upazila of Comilla. This incident took place at Gouripur Subal Aftab High School of Upazila at around 12 noon on Tuesday.

    Habiba Akhter (11), a student of Class 6, died due to heat illness at a school in Daudkandi Upazila of Comilla. The incident occurred at Gouripur Subal Aftab High School in the Upazila around 12 noon on Tuesday.

    Habiba, the daughter of Bhuiyan and school teacher Maqsuda Akhtar, resided in Chandnagerchar village of Titas Upazila in Comilla. She fell ill at school and passed away while being transported to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Habiba has an older sister named Shahzadi Akter, who is in high school, and a younger sister named Faiza, who is in the first class.

    According to information gathered from the school’s teachers and students, Habiba fell ill due to the intense heat before the teacher arrived at the school after 12 noon. She started vomiting repeatedly during this time. The school teachers promptly poured water on her head and immediately rushed her to Daudkandi Upazila Health Complex. After receiving initial treatment there, as her condition worsened, she was advised to be taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Unfortunately, she passed away in the Baldakhal area of Daudkandi Upazila while being transported to Dhaka in an ambulance. Subsequently, when Habiba’s parents took her to a private hospital and the Upazila Health Complex in Daudkandi, the doctor declared her dead after an examination.

    Habiba’s uncle, Ariful Haque Bhuiyan, mentioned that while en route to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in the ambulance, when they reached the Baldakhal area of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, blood suddenly started coming out of Habiba’s nose, mouth, and eyes. At that point, she passed away.

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  • Ctg Environment department gives slogan against plastic using plastic banners

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    Source: The Daily Star

    The Chittagong Environment Department has faced criticism for using more plastic in its own events, despite promoting slogans against plastic and its alternatives on World Environment Day. During a special discussion and award distribution meeting held at the Chittagong Shilpakala Academy, the Department of Environment used a large number of PVC banners. The entire academy was covered with these banners for the duration of the discussion.

    When questioned about the use of PVC banners and their disposal after the meeting, the environment officials were unable to provide a satisfactory answer, despite advocating for awareness against plastic.

    Around the venue, it was observed that more than fifty PVC banners of various sizes, including banners measuring 10 to 20 feet, were hung. PVC banners with different slogans were also placed on the road dividers leading to the arts section. At the end of the meeting, Department of Environment employees were seen removing the large banners. When one of the workers was asked about the banners, he mentioned distributing some to schools and colleges while discarding the rest. However, he refused to provide his name when identified as a journalist.

    When Dr. Alok Pal, the Chittagong City Director of the Department of Environment, was questioned about the PVC banners, he told The Daily Star, “I didn’t look at it that way. I can’t say for sure.”

    Despite attempts to contact him several times, Hillol Biswas, the Director of the Chittagong City Department of Environment, did not respond to inquiries about the plastic banners.

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  • Standard Chartered bank makes record breaking TK 1,655cr in profits in a year

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    Source: The Daily Star

    Standard Chartered kept being the best bank in Bangladesh, and this time it broke all the records by becoming the first bank in Bangladesh’s history to make an annual profit of more than Tk 1,650 crore.

    The British international bank’s branch in Bangladesh made a profit of Tk 1,655 crore, while Islami Bank Bangladesh came in second with a profit of Tk 619 crore.

    Here, Brac Bank came in third with income of Tk 601 crore. After that, HSBC, Dutch-Bangla Bank, and Pubali Bank each gave Tk 588 crore, Tk 566 crore, and Tk 564 crore.

    In 2022, Eastern Bank, City Bank, Sonali Bank, and Prime Bank were also among the top ten banks that made the most money.

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  • MP says he will commit suicide if BNP returns to power

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    Source: Dhaka Tribune

    Nazim Uddin Ahmed, a freedom fighter and MP from Mymensingh-3 (Gouripur), has threatened to commit suicide by self-poisoning if the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) regains power.

    On Saturday evening, the Awami League MP addressed a gathering in the Master Bari section of Bhutiyarkona village in Mymensingh’s Gouripur upazila, where he was campaigning for his party in the next parliamentary election.

    “The BNP martyred 3 million people and violated the honor of 200,000 women,” stated the freedom fighter. If they retake control, I shall commit suicide in front of you by ingesting poison as a freedom warrior.”

    “I don’t want to live if I hear the boat (the Awami League’s electoral symbol) has lost and Khaleda Zia has won.” “There’s no reason for me to live,” he explained.

    “If you do not vote for the boat, you will be betraying the nation, the 3 million martyrs, and the honor of 200,000 women.” As a result, I encourage you to vote for the boat in the upcoming election, giving Sheikh Hasina another chance and preventing war criminals Al-Badr and Khaleda Zia from regaining power,” he implored voters.

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  • Gazipur couple sells their newborn to pay hospital bills, mobile court shuts down the hospital

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    Source: Dhaka Tribune

    A mobile court in Gazipur has told a hospital to stop working because a couple in Sreepur upazila had to sell their baby to pay their bills after they had a caesarean section.

    The thing happened at the New Asia Diagnostic Center in the Sreepur Chowrasta neighborhood. After people complained, the local government punished the hospital’s managers and told them to close the hospital on Friday.

    Priya and Rasel rent a house on the road between Sreepur and Kapasia. They also have two other girls, one who is four and the other who is five. Rasel is a day laborer and Priya is a housekeeper.

    Rasel said that he took his wife Priya to the New Asia Diagnostic Center last Sunday at 11 a.m. because she was having labor pains.

    After looking at his wife, the hospital’s head, Jahangir, suggested a caesarean section on the same day. He warned that if the surgery wasn’t done right away, complications could happen that could put both the mother and the baby in danger.

    Rasel told the hospital director that he didn’t have enough money to pay for the c-section. The director suggested that they sell their baby after the c-section was paid for, offering Tk50,000 for a boy and Tk30,000 for a girl.

    At 7 o’clock that night, Priya gave birth to a girl.

    On Monday, the hospital head sold the couple’s baby to someone she didn’t know.

    When Priya and Rasel asked Jahangir about the person, he didn’t tell them who they were.

    Later, he gave the couple Tk14,000, saying that he had sold their baby for Tk30,000 and that Tk16,000 had been taken out to pay for the hospital bills.

    Wednesday, word got out that the baby was for sale, which created a stir in the area.

    When local reporters went to the hospital to find out more, they tried to lie and avoid answering questions.

    Jahangir said that the surgery was done with the couple’s permission and that they sold their baby to pay for the hospital bills.

    When Sreepur Assistant Commissioner (Land) Al Mamun heard about what happened, he said he held a mobile court at the New Asia Diagnostic Centre on Friday and fined the hospital Tk5,000.

    He also said that because of the hospital’s wrongdoing, the mobile court told all of its operations to stop.

    Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Abdul Bari at the Sreepur police station said they found out about the event on Wednesday night and started looking into it right away.

    Even though this hasn’t been turned into a case yet, the OC said that police are looking into it carefully and have already gathered some information.

    Once a case is made, he said, the right steps will be taken.

    —

  • Nike, Adidas, Puma materials set to be manufactured in Bangladeshi factories

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    Source: Prothom Alo

    Join Win (Bangladesh) Limited, which is owned by China, will make shoe parts or extras in Bangladesh. The company will make materials for well-known shoe names like Nike, Adidas, Puma, Caterpillar, etc.

    The Join Win plant will be built in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpanagar in the Bepza Economic Zone. At an exchange rate of 105 taka per dollar, the company will put in 1 million US dollars, which is about 105 crore taka. About 900 Bangladeshi people will be able to get jobs because of it.

    Yesterday, a deal was made about this at the capital’s executive office of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA). Ali Reza Majid, a member of Bepza (Investment Development), and Xu Taihui, the Managing Director of Join Win (Bangladesh), signed the agreement on behalf of their groups.

    A news release from Bepza says that the fully modern and automated factory will make 7 million pairs of shoe accessories every year. There are PU insoles, PU midsoles, PU outsoles, TPU outsoles, rubber outsoles, and PU insoles with open cells.

    Bepza also said that Join Win has been in this business for 30 years and has plants in six different countries around the world.

    So far, 18 local and international companies have signed contracts to set up businesses in the Bepza Economic Zone. This zone is part of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial Park in Mirsrai and has an area of 1,138 acres. The total amount they want to spend is about $41 million USD. Bepza plans to start sending goods out of the Bepza Economic Zone by the end of this year.

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  • Pakistan needs to learn from Bangladesh, says Imran Khan

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    Source: The Financial Express

    Imran Khan, who used to be Pakistan’s prime minister, said that Bangladesh has come a long way from Pakistan and that the country can teach us something.

    “When a country stands up for freedom and its rights, when justice settles in people’s hearts, it doesn’t matter what you do, not even military actions. He said, “Because the seed of justice and freedom is in us.”

    In a live talk that was streamed on YouTube on Friday, Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, asked for talks with all state institutions right away to find a way to put Pakistan on the path to growth.

    “Pakistan is on the verge of a disaster because hyperinflation is just around the corner. But the current masters don’t seem to care much because they have hidden the stolen money abroad,” he said from his home in Lahore’s Zaman Park.

    Reuters says that Imran Khan, who says that corruption charges are made up, is in a fight with Pakistan’s powerful military. Throughout Pakistan’s past, the military has either ruled directly or supervised civilian governments.

    Khan was arrested and put in jail on May 9. This led to a lot of protests by his followers and made people worry about the stability of the country, which has nuclear weapons and is going through its worst economic crisis in decades.

    In the end, he was let out on bail.

    In the video speech, Mr. Khan said that his call for dialogue shouldn’t be seen as a sign of weakness. He also said that hurting the people of Pakistan physically and financially was not the answer. “The problems of the country will be solved when state institutions do what they are supposed to do,” he said.

    “Every time I ask for a conversation, the people in power think I’m getting weaker, so they start to do more bad things to PTI leaders and workers in an attempt to destroy the party,” he said. He said that no government could get rid of an idea that had been taught to the young people of the land.

    He also told the people in charge to be careful because if they try to crush the PTI, they could end up destroying the country. “No political party has ever seen its leaders do something so cruel,” he said.

    Mr. Khan said that the country had already turned into a banana republic, which is a poor country with a weak government that lives on money from other countries. He said this because the leaders did not even follow court orders to hold elections.

    —

  • Irfan Sajjad and wife devastated after losing twin children

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    Source: The Daily Star

    Sharmin Sajjad, a newscaster and the wife of actor Irfan Sajjad, was expecting their first children, twins, in July. So, they were getting ready to meet their children.

    One twin was supposed to be a boy and the other was supposed to be a girl. The boy and girl were named Priyo and Maya. Sharmin Sajjad had to have surgery in Chennai in 2021 because of some health problems. After getting better, they talked to a doctor and made plans for their family.

    They went to India for a checkup, and that’s when her health got worse. She had to be taken to the hospital, and her premature babies, who were six months old at the time, were born through an emergency caesarean section. They were in serious condition.

    Irfan told the news reporters that not only their children but also his wife were in danger. In fact, the doctors told him that the fact that his wife is still alive is “a miracle.”

    Sharmin’s health was very bad, so they had to stay at the hospital. This meant that their children had to be buried in Chennai. The star was told that the couple will soon go home, and that his wife will get more care in Bangladesh.

    Due to his wife’s health problems, Irfan Sajjad has spent all of his time with her for the past year and a half. He was also not in front of a screen. Irfan, who was crying, told the media, “No one is closer to you in this world than your own kid. We were lucky to have two children, but God took them both away at the same time.

    —

  • Police constable commits suicide at Banani check post, shoots himself in the chest

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    Source: Dhaka Tribune

    Police say that a police officer killed himself while on duty in a bathroom at a police checkpoint in Banani in the city.

    Ashrafuzzaman Roni, who was a police officer, was found dead. He worked for the ASTF Company in the Public Order Management (POM) South Division. He lived in Mirpur Police Lines before.

    Since the morning, he had been working at the Banani 11 police checkpoint.

    The police said that he killed himself by shooting himself in the chest with the gun that was given to him.

    As soon as Roni went into the bathroom at the checkpoint, his friends heard a gunshot.

    When they opened the door, Roni was laying on the floor, covered in blood.

    Roni was brought to the emergency room of Dhaka Medical College (DMCH) Hospital around 8 a.m., where he was in a very bad way. The duty doctor examined him and pronounced him dead.

    Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Banani police station Md Mostafizur Rahman said that Roni, a constable, killed himself by shooting himself in the chest with the gun he was given around 6:50 a.m. when he went to the bathroom at Banani check post no. 11.

    But no one knows for sure why he killed himself yet.

    Ashrafuzzaman Roni lived in the village of Chandrapara in the upazila of Dhamrai in the district of Dhaka until he died.

    In 2020, he became a constable in the police force.

    —

  • India uses image of ‘Patuakhali Park’ to showcase their development in Kashmir

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    Source: Dhaka Tribune

    In a surprising turn of events, a picture that was widely shared before the G20 Summit as a sign of progress in Indian-controlled Kashmir has been shown to be fake.

    The picture was said to be of a changed Boulevard Road in Srinagar, but it turned out to be a picture of the Jhautola area of Patuakhali.

    Several people and government agencies in India, such as the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) in Budgam and Jammu and Kashmir, shared the photo and praised it as proof of the city’s growth. Even India’s Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi, liked the tweet.

    Wajahat Farooq Bhat, the head of a local NGO, also shared the picture with the same claim, but he has since taken it down. Aquib Mir and others shared the picture on social media, saying that it was from Boulevard Road in Srinagar and that it had been fixed up to welcome G20 delegates.

    But when a reverse image search was done, it was found that the picture had been used as the display picture on a Facebook page for the growth of Jhautola Park in Patuakhali.

    Jhautola Park is a place for fun and relaxation in the town of Patuakhali. The park is meant to be a place for people to have fun and help the area grow.

    Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who is in charge of planning the G20 event, praised how Srinagar has changed, pointing out how awareness efforts and the arrival of guests have helped.

    He said that he thought the meeting would help Jammu and Kashmir’s economy get back on its feet, especially in terms of ecotourism, adventure tourism, and sustainable tourism.

    As the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting gets closer, the incident with the misleading picture has made people question whether or not Indian officials’ claims about progress in Kashmir are true.

    —

  • Bangladesh, a happier nation than Canada, Pakistan, India

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    Source: The Daily Star

    A well-known economist from the United States’ Johns Hopkins University has found that Bangladesh is the happiest country in Asia. It is happier than Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, and even India.

    The professor of applied economics looked at how happy or unhappy people were in 157 countries around the world. He found that Bangladesh is even better than Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Finland, Bahrain, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and Sweden.

    Steve H. Hanke used figures on the country’s unemployment rate at the end of the year (multiplied by two), inflation, and bank lending rates, minus the annual percentage change in real gross domestic product per capita, to create the Hanke’s Annual Misery Index (HAMI).

    In the most recent report for 2022, Bangladesh was ranked 115th, while India was ranked 103rd, Nepal 63rd, Myanmar 39th, Pakistan 35th, and Sri Lanka 11th.

    The Hanke’s Annual Misery Index (HAMI) says that a country is happy the higher it ranks and more miserable the lower it ranks.

    Bangladesh got a score of 20.107 on the misery index, and Hanke said that unemployment is the main reason why the country can’t be the best country in the world.

    India got a score of 22.58, and unemployment is also a big cause of the country’s problems.

    With a score of 414.7, Zimbabwe won the index and became the worst country in the world. The HAMI says that triple-digit inflation is the biggest problem for the Zimbabwean economy.

    Professor Hanke says that Venezuela, which was once thought to be one of the richest countries in the world, is now mostly suffering from hyperinflation and is the second worst place to live in the world.

    Vietnam and China, two major players in the global clothing business, have done much better than Bangladesh.

    Vietnam was ranked 139th with a score of 14.839, while China was 142nd with a score of 13.1.

    Switzerland is the happiest country in the world and has the lowest HAMI score.

    Hanke said, “The Swiss debt brake is one reason for that.” The debt brake has been very effective. Switzerland is not like most countries in that its debt-to-GDP ratio has been going down over the last 20 years.

    The second, third, fourth, and fifth happiest countries in the world are Kuwait, Ireland, Japan, and Malaysia, respectively.

    Hanke said that Arthur Okun, a well-known economist who was head of the Council of Economic Advisers when President Johnson was in office, came up with the idea for the misery index.

    Okun made the first version of the suffering index for the US. Okun’s measure is the same as the sum of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate.

    Robert Barro, a professor at Harvard, later changed Okun’s index. He added the 30-year government bond rate and the output gap for real GDP to the misery index. Barro’s index was a way to measure how bad things got during a president’s time in office.

    Hanke changed Barro’s version of the misery index even more by changing the output gap with the growth rate of real GDP per capita and the 30-year government bond yield with lending rates.

    —

  • From ‘Happily Married’ to ‘Happily Taxed’: Dhaka dwellers might have to pay taxes to get married

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    Source: The Daily Star

    People who want to get married in the southern part of Dhaka city are about to have a little more trouble than normal. Those who are getting married for the first time can relax, but those who are getting married for the second, third, or fourth time should be worried.

    In order to raise more money, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) wants to put a tax on weddings. The tax will be collected according to the Municipal Corporations (Taxation) Rules of 1986.

    Ariful Haque, the chief revenue officer of DSCC, said that the tax is expected to be put in place at the start of the next financial year.

    “This will be done in line with the 1986 Act. Even though the act gives the city corporation the right to charge this tax, it couldn’t be done for a number of reasons. “We are now moving toward putting it into place,” he said.

    Rule 50 of the Municipal Corporations (Taxation) Rules of 1986 says, “When it has been decided with the prior approval of the Government that a tax on marriage should be imposed, the City Corporation shall, at a meeting, determine the rate of tax not to exceed the amount specified in the Model Tax Schedules.”

    The 2016 City Corporation Model Tax Schedule has different tax rates for a person’s first, second, third, and fourth marriages.

    In Section 152 of the Schedule, it says, “For the first marriage or marriage after the death of the first wife, the groom will pay Tk 100.”

    The husband will pay Tk 5,000 for the second marriage during the first wife’s life, and Tk 20,000 for the third marriage during the lives of the first two wives.

    The Schedule says that the man will pay Tk 50,000 for the fourth marriage.

    If the wife is emotionally unstable or doesn’t have any children, these rules don’t apply. Instead, the groom will have to pay Tk 200.

    The DSCC initiative has been accepted by the law ministry, which is in charge of marriage registration right now. It has already sent a letter to the office of the Registrar General, Birth and Death Registration of both city companies.

    Mokbul Hossain, who is in charge of public relations for the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), said that there is no plan to charge people a marriage tax.

    —

  • Construction of Bangladesh’s first underground metro line begins in July

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    Source: Dhaka Tribune

    A bilateral deal has been made with the contractor to start contract package-1 (land development of depot area) of Bangladesh’s first underground metro line, MRT line-5, on the Uttara route. The work is likely to start in July.

    On Tuesday, the deal was signed by Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), TOA Corporation (Japan), and Spectra Engineers Limited (Bangladesh) at DMTCL Bhaban in the capital’s Uttara.

    In order to finish MRT Line-5 from Hemayetpur to Bhatara by 2028, 10 contract deals have been set up. As part of this, a land development work deal for the depot area was signed on Tuesday as part of contract package-1.

    This package will be worked on by TOA Corporation (Japan) and Spectra Engineers Limited (Bangladesh), as per the deal. Also, actions related to processing bids for other packages are being done at different stages.

    From Hemayetpur to Bhatara, this project will build a metro train line that is 13.50 km underground and 6.50 km above ground. In between, there will be 14 stops for people to get on and off (nine underground and five above ground).

    MRT Line 5 goes from Hemayetpur to Boliarpur to Bilamalia to Amin Bazar and Gabtoli. From there, it will go through Darus Salam-Mirpur 1-Mirpur 10-Mirpur 14, Kachukhet, and Banani to get to Banani.

    The line will then go through Gulshan 2 and Natun Bazar on its way to Bhatara. From Hemayetpur to Amin Bazar and Bhatara, this part of the metro train will be above ground. From Gabtoli to Natun Bazar, there will be underground metro train.

    The Road Transport and Highways Division has projected that the MRT Line-5 project will cost Tk41,238.55 crore. Out of this, Tk12,121.50 crore will come from the Government of Bangladesh (GOB), and Tk29,117.5 crore will come from project aid.

    The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will pay for the project.

    —

  • AI reimagines Bangladeshi actors as superheroes

    Source: The Daily Star

    In recent years, the world has been amazed by how quickly Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been making progress. Deepfakes, DALL-E 2, ChatGPT, and other related developments have sparked a lot of debate about the ethics of AI, its possible uses, and where it’s headed in the future.

    Now, a creative Facebook user named Kazi Shahriar Ahmed used AI methods while he was traveling to make pictures of the biggest stars in Dhallywood dressed as superheroes. People on social media are interested in what he comes up with.

    The ad showed four pictures of Jaya Ahsan, Arifin Shuvoo, Bidya Sinha Saha Mim, and Shakib Khan that were very beautiful. He also asked his followers a question that made them think: “If Bangladesh had a Superhero Cinematic Universe, what superpowers would you want them to have?”

    In the pictures, Jaya Ahsan’s short purple hair gave her a fierce look, while Bidya Sinha Mim’s short blue pixie cut gave her a foreign look.

    The creative use of AI technology in these images has brought the idea of Bangladeshi superheroes to life, opening up a world of possibilities and fueling fans’ imaginations.

    —

  • Digital Security Act set to be amended, says Law Minister

    Source: Prothom Alo

    Sunday, the law minister, Anisul Huq, said that the Digital Security Act will be changed in order to stop people from misusing it. This was reported by UNB.

    “The Digital Security Act was not passed or is not being used to control freedom of speech or the media. Several things have already been done to stop people from abusing the rule. As part of these answers, the Digital Security Act will be changed in a few ways,” he said.

    The minister said these things at a meeting in the Mohakhali neighborhood of the city called “Digital Security Law in Bangladesh and Freedom of Expression.” The program was put together by the UN’s Coordinating Office in Bangladesh and Brac University.

    The government talked with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Office for a long time about the DSA and got some ideas, which are now being looked at, the minister said.

    “Women are often abused online, and this is something that needs to be fixed. “The digital space will not be used in a way that hurts the reputation of the country, the government, or any individual,” Anisul Huq said.

    The minister also said, “We need to protect our national interests and those who are targeted by digital threats and are most likely to be hurt by them. We need a DSA because of this.”

    So, there is no chance that this law will be changed, the law minister said. “However, changes to the law are being looked at.” It needs to be thought about.”

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  • US Embassy in Dhaka warns citizens to exercise caution ahead of general election

    Source: Prothom Alo

    Before the next general election, which will happen before or in January 2024, the US embassy in Dhaka told all US people living in the country to be careful.

    Sunday, the embassy sent out a news release called “Demonstration Alert” with an important message.

    In the release, the embassy asked US citizens to be careful because peaceful protests can turn violent if they turn confrontational.

    So, they are asked to stay away from protests and be careful around big gatherings. They are also asked to review their personal security plans, stay aware of their surroundings, including local events, and listen to local news stations for updates.

    It also said that political rallies and other events connected to the election had already started. As the general election gets closer, political gatherings and protests may happen more often or with more force.

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  • Spain set to launch app to track men’s contribution to household work

    Source: NDTV

    In order to get men to help out more at home, Spain plans to release an app that will keep track of how much time each person of a household or family spends doing housework. Angela Rodriguez, Spain’s Secretary of State for Equality, told The Guardian about the change, which is seen as a way to improve gender equality.
    She says that the goal is to bring attention to the hidden “mental load” that women carry when it comes to doing housework.The plan was announced Tuesday in Geneva at a meeting of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

    She told the UN Committee, “We’ll soon be releasing an app that lets people keep track of the chores that different family members do around the house. This way, we can see how many hours each of us spends doing housework and change the way we do it.”

    She said that the new software, which cost a total of 2,11,750 euros to make, was made to make sure that every family member did their part. She also said, “We think this is an activity that could be used at home to figure out how to divide up chores between sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, flatmates, or life partners, since these tasks aren’t always split up evenly.” The app will work like Splitwise, which lets people split the cost of going out to eat or other costs.

    Ms. Rodriguez said that the app will “bring to light all the invisible jobs that are necessary for a house to run well.” She gave the example that it could take 20 minutes to clean the kitchen, but it all depended on whether someone had made a shopping list or remembered to get dish soap.

    Later, she wrote on Twitter, “All of those who are offended by the housework app are really offended by the idea that they might have to start helping out around the house.”

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  • Ex-Nepalese soldier with artificial legs conquers Everest, creates history

    Source: NDTV

    An official said on Saturday that an ex-British Gurkha soldier with two prosthetic legs climbed Mt. Everest. He made history by being the first person in his group to climb the world’s highest peak with prosthetic legs.
    Hari Budhamagar, who is 43 years old, reached the top of the 8848.86-meter peak late Friday afternoon.

    “Ex-soldier Hari Budhamagar made history on Friday when he became the first person with his condition to reach the top of Mt. Everest,” a Department of Tourism official said. Budhamagar, who lost both of his legs in the war in Afghanistan while fighting for the UK government as a British Gorkha soldier in 2010, climbed Mt. Everest with prosthetic legs.

    He had planned to climb Mt. Everest in 2018, but he had to change his plans after the government made a rule that blind, double-amputee, and solo hikers couldn’t climb mountains, including Everest, in 2017.

    A petition was brought against the ban, and in response, the Supreme Court issued an order in 2018 that cancelled the rule. This made it possible for Budhamagar to make history.

    On Sunday, five people from outside of Nepal reached the top of Mount Everest.

    This spring, Nepal gave out a high number of permits to climb Mount Everest: 466.

    Nepal has eight of the ten highest mountains in the world.

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  • ‘Deora’ breaks YouTube records, goes international

    Source: The Daily Star

    The fifth song of the second season of Coke Studio Bangla, “Deora,” came out on May 7 and has been the most popular thing on YouTube ever since. Incredibly, the song got over 21 million views in just 11 days, which was a new record for the site.

    Before, “Bhaber Pagal” by Nigar Sumi and Jalali Set had 24 million views, making it the most watched song on Coke Studio Bangla.

    But it’s important to remember that this song came out a year ago, while “Deora” got a crazy 21 million views in just 11 days. It is rare for any Bengali song, not just Coke Studio Bangla, to become so popular so quickly.

    When “Deora” came out, it quickly went to the top of YouTube’s popular list and stayed there for a few days. As of right now, it is still a strong rival. It is currently the third most popular video on YouTube. The crowd doesn’t seem to be getting tired of the song.

    “Deora” is popular outside of Bangladesh, which is an interesting fact. The song has gotten a lot of interest in India, and it’s even been heard in Tanzania, which is in Africa.

    Kili Paul, a popular African content maker, used the song in a TikTok video that got over 1.2 million views in just one day. Also, social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are still full of reels, videos, and other artistic works that were inspired by the song. This huge number of responses shows how much of an impact the song has had on the internet.

    “Deora” is a great mix of modern and traditional music. It was written by Fazlu Majhi and played by Pritom Hasan, Islam Uddin Palakar, and the Ghaashphoring Choir.

    A few new lines have been added to the original song, and Pritom himself wrote the new parts.

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