Month: April 2022

The gala round of DPS STS Chef Minister, the biggest cooking competition for mothers in the country, was held in the capital Thursday with the first 50 participant mothers.

The event sponsored by Maggi Noodles crowned Tamanna Rifat Khan as the champion. She won Tk1 lakh, a professional certificate and a trophy.

Tasnima Akter and Ehmerin Rubaba became the first and second runners-up respectively.

DPS STS Chef Minister had organised three workshops which were conducted as part of the competition by topmost chefs from Dhaka city.

Around 1,500 mothers registered for the workshops, and the first online workshop was held at Le Meridien Dhaka.

The second online workshop was held at the Great Kabab Factory, and the third at the DPS STS Senior section cafeteria in Uttara.

After these workshops and several rounds, the gala round (in-person) was finally held today.

Dr Shivananda CS, principal of DPS STS School Dhaka, said: “We are overwhelmed by the response the organisers have received since the beginning of this competition.”

“It is so heartening to see that so many mothers have taken part in this competition, sparing some time from their busy schedule to showcase their culinary skills.”

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The 2021-22 admission test for the country’s medical colleges was held on Friday.

The test was held at a total of 57 venues in 19 centers across the country, including the capital from 10 am to 11 am.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque inspected the examination centre at Arts Building of Dhaka University at 10 am.

After the inspection, the minister said that enough preparations were taken to prevent any leakage of question. The high alert will remain until publication of results.

Some people tried to spread rumors through social media about the leakage of question papers by creating fake question papers. Two people were also arrested earlier in this connection, he added.

This year, a total of 1,43,915 students sat for the exam, against 4,350 seats available. Among them, 61,678 candidates participated in Dhaka city only.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The World Autism Awareness Day will be observed in Bangladesh on Saturday with a pledge to bring the people suffering from autism and other physical disabilities into the mainstream of development.

The theme of this year’s day is: ‘Make such a world: explore the talents of people with autism’.

The United Nations General Assembly declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day to highlight the needs for enhanced initiatives of all to improve the lives of children and adults who suffer from the disorder.

The Ministry of Social Welfare will organise a programme at the capital’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the morning on this occasion, according to a notification of the ministry issued on Thursday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to join the programme virtually.

This year, the day will be celebrated across the country through colorful programmes. Special supplements will be published in daily newspapers on this occasion.

In honor of people with autism, the Ministry of Social Welfare and its affiliated departments, various institutions and important government buildings will be decorated with blue lights.

In addition, road-branding, special memorabilia and leaflets have been printed to create awareness about autism.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages wishing the overall success of all the programmes taken on the occasion of the 15th World Autism Awareness Day.

In his message, Hamid said People with autism are not a burden to society and it is possible to turn them into skilled human resources through proper education, training, guidance and inspiration.

“In order to build a prosperous ‘Sonar Bangla’, everyone has to work hard for the children and individuals who are at risk of Autism,” he said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her message, said the government has already provided many services both using technology and in-person for the welfare of people with autism such as forming the Neuro-Developmental Disability (NDD) Protection Trust.

Two applications called ‘Bolte Chai’ and ‘Autism Barta’ have been created to provide assistance to autistic people, she added.

The prime minister hoped that children and adolescents with autism will be grown up through the right care, education, training, and affection, so that they could be an asset to the family, society, and the state.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday categorically said their party is not facing any leadership crisis or division as it remains united under the leadership of Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman.

‘It’s as clear as daylight that Khaleda Zia is BNP’s leader… Tarique Rahman is our leader in her absence due to her illness. In the same way, Tarique Rahman is also the leader of our movement,” he said.

As Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader raised a question about BNP’s leadership, Fakhrul came up with the comments at a programme of the party’s committee on celebrating the golden jubilee of independence at the Jatiya Press Club.

While virtually speaking at the triennial conference of the AL’s Naogaon district unit on Thursday, Quader said the BNP is now divided into different factions for lack of leadership.

“They (BNP leaders) are now divided into different factions. Who is the leader of BNP? Who is the leader of their movement?” Quader questioned.

Fakhrul alleged that his ruling party counterpart made such remarks only to mislead people about the leadership of BNP.

“We would like to make it clear that the BNP is not divided. BNP, under the leadership of our acting chairman Tareq Rahman, is much more united than before. BNP will free Khaleda Zia through a mass uprising and bring Tareq Rahman back to the country,” he said.

The BNP leader alleged that Awami League has been presenting the wrong history of the Liberation War to the young generation.

“An impression has been given that no one, except an individual and a party, can claim credit for the Liberation War. But the truth is that the people of Bangladesh had been fighting for independence since the British rule,” he said.

Fakhrul alleged that the government is trying to erase the names of all other organisers of the Liberation War and the name of Ziaur Rahman who initiated the war through the “proclamation” of independence from history.

He said Awami League never recalls the contributions of Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Moulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, Tajuddin Ahmad, MAG Osmani and the sector commanders to the Liberation War.

“It now seems that only one person fought in the war alone and brought freedom to us,” Fakhrul said.

He said it is now necessary to reach the true history of the Liberation War to the new generation.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

A 30-year-old imam allegedly ended his life by hanging from the ceiling of his room at a mosque in Manikganj’s Singair upazila on Thursday.

The deceased was identified as Md Ferdous Islam, the imam of Nayapara Jame Mosjid and son of Siddiqur Rahman of Barishal’s Muladi upazila. His body was recovered by the police around 10.30pm.

Ferdous left behind a purported suicide note. “No one is responsible for my death,” read the note found in his room.

Local union parishad member Rezaul Karim said the imam even led devotees at Esha prayers in the mosque just before he killed himself around 9.30pm. “Locals spotted his body and informed police.”

A headphone attached to his mobile phone was found near his body, he said.

Officer-in-charge of Singair police station Shafiqul Islam Mollah said, “It seems to be a case of suicide. But an autopsy can only confirm that. A case of unnatural death has been filed in this regard.”

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The National Moon Sighting Committee will sit on Saturday to ascertain the commencement of holy Ramadan, the lunar month of self-purification through fasting and abstinence.

The meeting will be held in the conference room of the Islamic Foundation’s Baitul Mukarram office in the capital around 6:30 pm after Maghrib prayers.

State Minister for Religious Affairs Faridul Haque will preside over the meeting.

People, if they see the moon anywhere in the country, have been requested to inform the committee by dialing telephone numbers 02-223381725, 02-41050912, 02-41050916, and 02-41050917 or faxing – 02-223383397 and 02-9555951.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Oscars producer Will Packer said Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage.

“They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment,” Packer said in a clip released by ABC News Thursday night of an interview he gave to “Good Morning America.” “They said we will go get him. We are prepared. We’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him. They were laying out the options.”

But Packer said Rock was “very dismissive” of the idea.

“He was like, ‘No, no, no, I’m fine,” Packer said. “And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no.”

The LAPD said in a statement after Sunday night’s ceremony that they were aware of the incident, and that Rock had declined to file a police report. The department declined comment Thursday on Packer’s interview, a longer version of which will air on Friday morning.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Smith could be suspended, expelled or otherwise sanctioned.

The academy said in a statement that “Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television.”

Without giving specifics, the academy said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre, but refused to do so.

Smith strode from his front row seat on to the stage and slapped Rock after a joke Rock made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, when he was on stage to present the Oscar for best documentary.

On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”

The academy said Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again on April 18.

Rock publicly addressed the incident for the first time, but only briefly, at the beginning of a standup show Wednesday night in Boston, where he was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation. He said “I’m still kind of processing what happened.”

Source: United News of Bangladesh