Los Angeles, May 11 (AP/UNB) -After listening to Britney Spears and both of her parents speak in an unusual court appearance, a judge has ordered an expert evaluation of the 37-year-old singer’s situation. The courtroom was cleared of members of…
Month: May 2019
Space-tourism enters ‘home stretch’ toward commercial flight
Santa Fe, May 11 (AP/UNB) — Billionaire Richard Branson is moving Virgin Galactic’s winged passenger rocket and more than 100 employees from California to a remote commercial launch and landing facility in southern New Mexico, bringing his space-tourism dream a…
Sylhet Women’s Medical College interns go on strike
Sylhet, May 11 (UNB)- Interns at Sylhet Women’s Medical College (SWMC) went on an indefinite strike from Saturday protesting against rape threat and assault by a local Chhatra League leader. They abstained from their regular activities and held a human chain…
Rape culture growing for impunity: BNP
Dhaka, May 11 (UNB) – BNP on Saturday alleged that the incidents of repression on women and children are growing in the country as the offenders are going unpunished on political ground. “Though both the Prime Minister and the Speaker…
Uber shifts into lower gear, prices IPO at $45
San Francisco, May 10 (AP/UNB) — Uber is about to embark on a wild ride on Wall Street with the biggest and most hotly debated IPO in years. The world’s leading ride-hailing service set the stage for its long-awaited arrival…
Plastic waste pact approved with US among few holdouts
Geneva, May 11 (AP/UNB) — Almost every country in the world has agreed on a legally binding framework for reducing polluting plastic waste, with the United States a notable exception, United Nations environmental officials said Friday. An agreement on tracking…
An urgent need to advance peace
STOCKHOLM, May 10 2019 (IPS) – Let us be blunt: the world is in crisis. Peace, human rights, our planetary ecosystem, and our systems of conflict management and global governance are under enormous strain. Global military expenditures reached 1.8 trillion in 2018,…
The age of the Internet calls for younger leaders
ACCRA, May 10 2019 (IPS) – Days before Algeria’s 82-year-old strongman president Abdelaziz Bouteflika was ousted from power, the country made one last ditch attempt to keep control: it shut down the internet. A few weeks later, 75-year-old Sudanese president Omar Hassan…
Rise of right-wing nationalism hurts human rights worldwide
UNITED NATIONS, May 10 2019 (IPS) – The rise of right-wing nationalism and the proliferation of authoritarian governments have undermined human rights in several countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. As a result, some of the…
900 child soldiers taken away from Nigeria vigilante group
Maiduguri, May 10 (AP/UNB) — Authorities say nearly 900 children who were enlisted in a civilian defense militia in northeastern Nigeria have been officially separated from the group in accordance with a U.N. accord. The children had been part of…
PM Sheikh Hasina returns to Dhaka from London
Dhaka, May 11 – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned home from London on Saturday morning wrapping up her 10-day official visit to the United Kingdom (UK). A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage…
Woman hacked dead by ‘drug addict’ man in Chattogram
Chattogram, May 11 – An elderly woman was hacked to death and four other people were injured in an attack by a ‘drug addict’ man in Uttar Kattoli area under Akbar Shah thana on Friday night. The deceased was identified…
Huawei unveils Y Max phablet in BD on the occasion of Eid
Dhaka, May 8 – Huawei has unveiled its new attraction Y Max phablet in Bangladesh with extra facility for gaming and watching features. The hybrid fabulous device, combining the size format of smartphone and tablet, is equipped with super large…
Grameenphone launches Tonic Booths in eight centres
Dhaka, May 8 – Grameenphone recently launched Tonic Booth in eight Grameenphone Centers (GPC) in Dhaka and Chattogram. Tonic Booth services are available in 6 GPCs in Dhaka which are GPC Gulshan, GPC Mirpur, GPC Dhanmondi, GPC Motijheel, GPC Farmgate…
US moving Patriot missile battery to Mideast to counter Iran
Washington, May 11 (AP/UNB) — The U.S. will move a Patriot missile battery into the Middle East to counter threats from Iran, the Pentagon said Friday, reflecting ongoing concerns that Tehran may be planning to attack America forces or interests…
Mustafizur will come back, believes Steve Rhodes
Dhaka – Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes said Mustafizur Rahman will return to his best form soon if he gets his pace back. In his last two ODIs, Mustafizur conceded 93 and 84 runs against New Zealand and West Indies…
Shana, Beauty disappoint in recurve mixed team event
Dhaka – Bangladesh team comprised of Roman Shana and Beauty Ray put up a disappointing show in the recurve mixed team event in Shanghai on Friday. They lost to Tan Ya-Ting and Tang Chih-Chun of Chinese Taipei by 6-0 sets…
Decisive victory for the persecuted Christians in India
In 2016, Pastor Balu, his wife, his son, and members of his congregation were violently attacked, later detained by the police and falsely accused of forcing conversions to Christianity. It brings me great joy to announce that, after a long…
Denial after arrests by cops a serious inhuman act: BNP
Dhaka, May 10 – BNP on Friday said the denial of facts by law enforcers after picking many opposition leaders and activists up is a serious inhuman act. In a statement, party senior joint secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also alleged…
BD govt sets higher revenue collection goal for next FY
Dhaka, May 10 – The revenue collection target for the 2019-20 fiscal has been set at Tk 3.97 lakh crore to reduce dependency on foreign aid and grants. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been tasked with collecting Tk…
BPL Football: Saif SC start with 2-1win over Rahmatganj MFS
Dhaka- Saif Sporting Club started their 2nd phase matches of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football beating Rahmatganj MFS by 2-1 goals at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Friday.Despite the day’s win, Saif SC remained at 4th place with 26…
BD minorities say attacks on them went up following election
Dhaka, May 10 — Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCOP) on Friday expressed deep concern over the increased violence and oppression of minorities in the last four months after the national election. The BHBCOP, a non-profit aiming to protect rights of…
Women’s Cricket: Abahani Ltd beat Bangladesh Ansar by 4 wkts
Dhaka – Dhaka Abahani Limited earned four-wicket victory over Bangladesh Ansar in the Dhaka Premier Division Women’s Cricket League at the BKSP ground-3 in Savar on Friday.In the day’s other league match, Rupali Bank Club defeated Dhaka Mohammedan SC by…
Stay alert against govt propaganda, Fakhrul to BNP workers
Dhaka, May 10 (UNB) – Stating that they are trying to pursue the fair politics based on reality, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday urged his party colleagues not to get confused with the government‘s ‘propaganda’ against…
Myanmar asked to give humanitarian access to conflict zones
Dhaka, May 10 (UNB) – The UN human rights body has called on the government of Myanmar to immediately grant humanitarian access to all conflict zones, including northern Rakhine State where restrictions on humanitarian access is exacerbating the suffering of…
30 UN entities seek more action to deal with climate change
Dhaka, May 10 (UNB) – The leaders of more than 30 UN agencies and entities have issued a formal joint appeal for governments everywhere to “step up ambition and take concrete actions” to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above…
Bangladesh Biman suspends 3 flights for aircraft shortage
Dhaka, May 10 (UNB)– The shortage of aircrafts has forced Biman Bangladesh Airlines to suspended three flights on domestic routes until Monday. One flight on Saidpur, and two on Sylhet routes will remain suspend for now, said Shakil Meraj, Biman’s…
India’s growing solar energy could leave a trail of wastes
Solar power may promise a bright future for India’s energy requirements, but behind the sheen is a growing mountain of waste. While the national government is pushing an ambitious solar power programme for India, it has, so far, failed to…
From sanctioning Iran to war?
DENVER, May 8 2019 (IPS) – With the recent military moves announced uncharacteristically by the White House first, the world is witnessing with grim fascination what could turn out to be the early moves towards a war against Iran. How plausible…
Is UAE leading the way for concentrated solar power in GCC?
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 9 2019 (IPS) – In April 2019, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) published a report on a “roadmap to 2050” in terms of renewable energy. The report highlighted the possibility that by 2050, about 86 percent of…