Category: General

Tuesday marks the 97th birth anniversary of renowned artist SM Sultan.

He was born at Machimdia village in Narail sadar upazila on this day in 1924.

Celebrating the birth of the eminent art genius, the Narail district administration and SM Sultan Foundation are jointly observing the day with a handful of events.

Due to the ongoing pandemic situation of Covid-19, the birth anniversary of this great artist is being celebrated on a limited scale with due dignity through various programs initiated by the district administration and SM Sultan Foundation, Narail, according to the media cell of the Narail district administration.

The programmes included recitation from the holy Qur’an, placing floral wreaths at the grave of the artist, a prayer session and a discussion on the life of the artist, organized at the SM Sultan Complex on Tuesday morning.

Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of Narail, laid a floral wreath at the legendary artist’s grave, on behalf of district administration and Artist SM Sultan Foundation, Narail. Tributes were also paid by various governmental and non-governmental social and cultural organizations including District Police, Narail Press Club, District Shilpakala Academy, Sammilita Sangskritik Jote and more.

SM Sultan’s 97th birth anniversary today

Widely revered as one of the pioneer artists in South Asia, SM Sultan received many prestigious awards including Ekushey Padak, Bangladesh’s highest civilian award for contribution in the field of arts, in 1982, Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad Award in 1986 and Independence Award in 1993, to name a few.

Born as Sheikh Mohammed Sultan, he began drawing and painting during his childhood. He received five years of primary education at Victoria Collegiate School in Narail but was unable to continue school due to poverty and began working for his father, who was a mason.

He then went to study art at the Government College of Art in Kolkata in 1938 after Dhirendra Nath Roy, the then art-enthusiast zamindar of the Machimdia village, became his patron.

He met poet and art critic Hasan Shahid Suhrawardy, the brother of former Prime Minister of Bengal (1946-1947) and Pakistan (1956-1957) Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, who restyled him SM Sultan and offered him accommodation in his home and the use of his library. Sultan did not meet the admissions requirements of the Government School of Arts, however, managed to get in with the help of Suhrawardy in 1941.

However, academic life failed to attract him and he finally decided to leave the college in 1943, halfway through the six-year course. He then travelled around India and earned his living by drawing portraits. His first exhibition was a solo one in Shimla, India, in 1946.

He then went on travelling to the United States, England and Pakistan, participated in several art exhibitions and taught as an art teacher in Karachi. After living for a while in Kashmir, he returned to his native Narail in 1953.

He settled down in an abandoned building overlooking the Chitra River, where he lived with an eclectic collection of pets and far from the outside art world for the next 23 years, developing a lasting reputation as a bohemian.

Sultan is widely considered as one of the four pioneers of Bangladeshi modernism, along with art maestro Zainul Abedin, Safiuddin Ahmed, and Quamrul Hassan. According to the art critics, Sultan’s drawings, such as his self-portrait, are characterized by their economy and compactness.

Many of his paintings are themed on nature and the rural landscape, and he is well known for his canvases populated with robust male and female peasants. His watercolour paintings, predominantly landscapes, are bright and lively, with vivid descriptions of Bengali rural culture and lifestyle. His paintings never included urban elements or anything produced by modern technology, according to art historians.

SM Sultan’s 97th birth anniversary today

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) organized Sultan’s first solo exhibition in 1976, which was his first major exhibition in Dhaka. He established the Kurigram Fine Arts Institute at Narail in 1969 and another art school, now named Charupeeth, in Jessore in 1973.

In 1989, late filmmaker Tareque Masud directed a 54-minute documentary film on Sultan’s life, titled ‘Adam Surat’ (The Inner Strength). Masud started filming it in 1982 with the help of the painter and travelled with him all around Bangladesh.

Renowned photographer Nasir Ali Mamun published a book titled ‘Guru’ in 2005, with 68 photographs of Sultan. These were selected from thousands of photographs taken by Mamun in the period from 1978, when he first met with Sultan, until his death.

SM Sultan passed away at the Combined Military Hospital in Jashore on October 10, 1994. He was then buried at the yard of his own house in Narail.

In honour of the great artist, BSA introduced the ‘SM Sultan Gold Medal’ after his death, an award for honouring excellence in art and painting.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has written to US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller drawing attention to a movie recently released on Netflix that contains “derogatory comments” about ‘Made in Bangladesh’.

“We also request your steps to stop streaming the movie “Last Mercenary” on Netflix until the dialogue or the scene is removed from the movie,” mentioned Hassan in his letter.

As Netflix is a US company and run from the USA; BGMEA, on behalf of all apparel manufacturers and workers of Bangladesh, requested the Ambassador to convey their vehement protest to Netflix for releasing the movie without censoring the derogatory remarks about ‘Made in Bangladesh’.

The significant progress Bangladesh RMG industry made over last few years in the areas of workplace safety, improved workers’ health, sustainable manufacturing and green revolution also largely owes to the support of the Embassy of the US in Dhaka, he mentioned.

While Bangladesh RMG industry has achieved so much progress; when this contributed to rank Bangladesh the second in ‘Ethical Manufacturing’, only after Taiwan, in a survey recently conducted by Hong Kong based supply chain compliance solutions provider QIMA, said the BGMEA chief.

“At a moment when Bangladesh’s RMG industry after addressing the safety concerns is leading green garment manufacturing in the world by examples; derogatory comments about ‘Made in Bangladesh’ in a newly released French movie “Last Mercenary” directed by David Charon has appalled us and shocked us all by surprise,” he said.

The comments in the movie say “Yes, Bulletproof Tuxedo, Made in France. I’d be dead if it were Bangladesh”.

These comments are tantamount to belittling the hard work, dedication, quality and on time manufacturing commitment of the 4 million garment workers of Bangladesh who are delivering ‘Made in Bangladesh’ apparel to about 160 countries of the world, including the US, said the BGMEA chief.

“We think these disrespectful remarks not only undermined the joint efforts made by Bangladesh RMG industry along with their development partners like the US which ensured progress and development that are being recognized internationally and receiving worldwide appreciations; but also dishonored the emotion of thousands of US consumers whose wardrobes are full with ‘Made in Bangladesh’ attires and many of which are their favorites,” he said.

The apparel manufacturers and workers of Bangladesh put all their dedications and commitments to supply apparel for the top global as well as US brands; and they take lot of pride in what they make, Hassan said.

“This hard work and pride should be respected by all,” said the BGMEA chief.

He said the remarks have been also irrelevantly and irrationally juxtaposed in the movie as Bangladesh does not produce any ‘bullet-proof apparel’.

“So, since its release on Netflix on July 30, 2021, the movie “Last Mercenary” has been hurting every lover and maker of the Made in Bangladesh,” said the BGMEA chief.

The BGMEA President also wrote a separate letter to Netflix CEO Theodore Anthony Sarandos Jr. with the same request.

He drew attention to French movie “Last Mercenary” directed by David Charon and released on Netflix on 30th July 2021; which BGMEA thinks contains “disrespectful and derogatory” comments about ‘Made in Bangladesh’ garments.

“We think these disrespectful remarks not only undermined the joint efforts made by Bangladesh RMG industry along with its international development partners which ensured progress and development that are being recognized internationally and receiving worldwide appreciations; but also dishonored the emotion of millions of consumers worldwide whose wardrobes are full with ‘Made in Bangladesh’ attires and many of which are their favorites,” he said.

The apparel manufacturers and workers of Bangladesh put all their dedications and commitments to supply apparel for the top global as well as US brands; and they take lot of pride in what they make, Hassan said.

“This hard work and pride should be respected by all,” said the BGMEA chief.

He said the remarks have been also irrelevantly and irrationally juxtaposed in the movie as Bangladesh does not produce any ‘bullet-proof apparel’.

“So, since its release on Netflix on July 30, 2021, the movie “Last Mercenary” has been hurting every lover and maker of the Made in Bangladesh,” said the BGMEA chief.

The BGMEA President also wrote a separate letter to Netflix CEO Theodore Anthony Sarandos Jr. with the same request.

He drew attention to French movie “Last Mercenary” directed by David Charon and released on Netflix on 30th July 2021; which BGMEA thinks contains “disrespectful and derogatory” comments about ‘Made in Bangladesh’ garments.

“We think these disrespectful remarks not only undermined the joint efforts made by Bangladesh RMG industry along with its international development partners which ensured progress and development that are being recognized internationally and receiving worldwide appreciations; but also dishonored the emotion of millions of consumers worldwide whose wardrobes are full with ‘Made in Bangladesh’ attires and many of which are their favorites,” he said.

The BGMEA President demanded that the dialogue from the scene of the movie that degrade garments ‘Made in Bangladesh’ to be expunged.

“We are also requesting you being a responsible and reputable company to stop streaming “Last Mercenary” on Netflix until the dialogue or the scene is removed from the movie,” the letter reads.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Released in June this year, V21 is a flagship smartphone of Chinese technology company vivo.

Even though the major focus of the smartphone is its supreme camera technology, V21 made great leaps in other areas as well.

V21’s camera comes with a 44MP OIS Night Selfie system that includes a 44MP OIS Super Night Selfie, Selfie Spotlight and AI Night Portrait supported by AI Night Algorithm for the ultimate night selfie experience.

44MP OIS Super Night Selfie

OIS, known as Optical Image Stabilisation, is capable of capturing intrinsic details in every shot, producing clear images and videos even if the user’s hand is not steady. OIS in rear cameras have become common these days, however, implementing it in the front camera is the first move by vivo.

Selfie spotlight

The new addition balances the light source by innovatively adding two OLED spotlights under the front panel, which can be turned on when taking photos and recording videos. Also, the spotlight can also be used along with vivo’s self-developed Aura Screen Light.

Rear camera features

V21’s 64MP OIS Night camera, with the support of a set of 8MP and 2MP secondary cameras, captures wide-angle and more complex shots and macro photography with ease. It also features a slew of innovative features like OIS Super Night Mode, OIS Ultra Stable Video, Double Exposure, Super Wide Angle, Super Macro and Dual View Video.

Charging technology

V21’s 33W FlashCharge allows users to power up the smartphone in no time, making the process very convenient for consumers, even when making high bandwidth video calls.

Storage

Also, vivo has put emphasis on storage capabilities to ensure a seamless and holistic smartphone experience for consumers. V21 comes with a storage of 8GB RAM and 128GB ROM.

The phone retails for Tk32,990 in Bangladesh and is available across all offline vivo stores.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

There are different types of motorbikes available in the market. It can be varied in different ways from different points of view. But have we ever wondered how many types of motorcycles can actually be? Yes, that’s a thought. In fact, all the bikes have been divided into several parts in terms of performance, speed, comfort, etc. Today, let’s get to know those classifications.

Types of Motorbikes in 2021

Adventure or Touring Bikes

These types of bikes are made to carry a lot of equipment during long rides and rides. Adventure bikes have suspensions that are very good and comfortable for long drives. Touring bikes are primarily designed for comfortable travel over long distances. These engines are quite powerful, and these bikes have beautiful back seats, many large fronts, integrated radio, and a navigation system.

For example, the Yamaha Super Tenere is an adventure bike that will give you a very comfortable seat and provide you with the necessary suspensions to carry a lot of things. Touring or adventure bikes are very suitable for riding on highways in rural and urban areas.

Choppers

Choppers are considered the most iconic motorcycle in American history. It got attention in numerous movies, television shows since late 1950. The Captain America movie is the perfect example of using choppers. The bike used in this movie is called a chopper.

This bike features reclined seats, raked forks, and nice suspensions that make the bikes attractive. Another feature of the bike is that the bike is very long and has a huge front.

Cruisers

These types of bikes are quite long and look a lot like choppers. Usually, the engine of cruiser bikes tends to be very powerful. The bikes are best for sitting on the back and lying down. When this model of the bike came on the market in the 1930s, these bikes caused a stir in the market, and its acceptance is still extreme.

After the 1930s, they became popular in the subsequent decades and have held popularity ever since. Usually, cruisers are built by Harley Davidson. But Indian and Excelsior are also contributing to the industry.

Enduro Bikes

These bikes are mainly used for long-distance driving and off-road. As a result, the headlight and taillight are so powerful that bikers can easily drive at night. These types of bikes are basically equipped with timers and separate equipment for measuring road charts.

However, the common purpose of Enduro bikes is to use for sports. These bikes are normally built for the world Enduro championship. As they have timers installed in it, so the number of stages is counted as a bike run against the clock.

Sport Bikes

Basic sports bikes are very available in our country. These bikes are made mainly for a lot of speed, fast acceleration, and good controlling racing. Sports bikes are mainly used for racing or other purposes. For example, the Yamaha YZF R15 V2.0 is a sports bike. Usually, the young generation like a sports bike, in fact, they love it because its performance and fuel efficiency are perfect from all sides.

Dirt Bikes

These bikes are primarily designed for off-road driving. The main features of the bike are its most powerful engine, narrow-body, and small slim wheels, and a long suspension. There are many types of dirt bikes available worldwide, and the functions of bikes depend mainly on their nature and riding.

Because of the extremely powerful engines, dirt bikes are mainly used for racing and are suitable for riding on high and low roads or hilly roads. The bikes are used for long jumping, and the suspension is made this way.

Naked Bikes

Naked bikes were first made in England in the ’60s. The outside equipment of the bikes is arranged in such a way that the inside engine or anything else is not easily visible.

Naked bikes are basically covered with durable plastic body parts and Naked bikes from companies like Ducati, Harley Davidson, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Triumph are currently available on the market.

Scooters

Currently, almost all motorcycle companies are paying more attention to the scooter segment as these two-wheelers are easy to use, making our busy lives much easier. Scooters are a type of motorcycle, but there are some differences between scooters and motorbikes. The feature of scooters is that they are very comfortable and consume less fuel. That is why its speed is less than any ordinary bike.

Further, another type of scooter, which is called power scooter, is also available in the American and European markets. These bikes look a lot like wheelchairs but have a powerful motorcycle engine. A power scooter can also have 3, 4, or 5 wheel seats. The engine of this type of bike is very powerful, and the bikes are comfortable and also useful to carry a lot of stuff.

Supermoto

The Supermoto or supercross bikes are designed for riding on dirt roads and for dirt riding. However, the bikes are not very stylish, but quite stylish. The bikes are mainly made for flat trucks, moto crosses, and road racing.

Moped

Some may get confused Moped with a scooter. Some people may even think of Moped as a scooter, but technically they are different. The Moped is actually a combination bicycle and a small bike. Usually, a Moped has pedals like the bicycle and a small engine of 50cc or less. Sometimes, an electric motor can be seen too.

The modern day moped doesn’t come with pedals; instead, the 50cc engine is installed, which limits the maximum speed up to 30mph. So, anyone older than 16 years old can drive a moped.

Final Words

Apart from these bike types, you can also customize your own bikes. Many companies offer bike customization and get you the opportunities to build according to your needs. However, making a customized bike is not available in Bangladesh. Hence, you will need to remain satisfied with the preloaded bikes unless you want to import a customized one.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Summit Corporation and Beximco Holdings have awarded a matching grant of Tk45 million per annum for three years to JAAGO Foundation, enabling them to educate 4,000 students across Bangladesh.

With this grant, JAAGO hopes to make a sustainable change in the lives of marginalised children and accelerate the development process of Bangladesh. The duration of this agreement is three years.

The foundation uses its Unesco award-winning teaching model – using ICT to ensure education over telephone calls, short messaging services and video conferencing systems. Once the education institutions open, the grant will be used to run the digital schools.

“The excellent work of JAAGO in using web-based learning for the poorer students all over Bangladesh is perhaps a model of educating in the future,” Muhammed Aziz Khan, founder chairman of Summit Group of Companies, said.

“Every child has the right to education – the right to go to school and learn. For too many, however, that right has been left in tatters by the Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully, we can cash in on the robust countrywide digital infrastructure and information technology prowess to enable distance learning opportunities for many,” said Shayan F Rahman, advisor to the board of Beximco Group.

“Everyone has been affected, especially the education sector, during the pandemic. At such a moment, Summit and Beximco have come forward to support the sector. I hope that this initiative will encourage other corporate houses to step forward and make a difference in the community,” Korvi Rakshand, founder of JAAGO Foundation, said.

At the virtual signing ceremony, Summit Group directors Fadiah Khan, Azeeza Aziz Khan and Salman Khan were present. From Beximco, Ajmal Kabir, group director, and Samira Zuberi Himika, executive director, were present.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

A youth was arrested in Keraniganj for allegedly raping a 14-year-old madrasa girl on Sunday night.

The arrestee was identified as Biplob alias Dipu, 28, son of Kolim of Bamonshur area.

Abu Salam, officer-in-charge of Keraniganj Model Police Station, said Biplob abducted the girl and raped her in a house. He freed the girl after eight hours with a threat to kill her if she revealed the incident to anyone.

Later, on Sunday night, Police arrested Biplob when rape-survivor’s mother filed a case against him.

The arrestee was sent to jail after being produced before court on Monday afternoon, the OC added.

Bangladesh’s rape epidemic

Sexual assaults on women continue unabated in Bangladesh, despite the government introducing death penalty for rapes last year.

A police headquarters report, released recently, said that 26,695 rape cases were filed across the country in the past five years.

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data shows that 1,018 children were raped last year alone, but only 683 police cases had been filed. Also, 116 survivors were six years old or below.

Overall, 1,627 rape cases were reported last year and 53 of the women were killed by the perpetrators while 14 took their own lives, as per the data.

However, ASK’s data is just the tip of the iceberg, according to aid agencies, who report that most women are too afraid to report rape.

In October 2020, the country was rocked by protests after a woman was allegedly attacked and raped in Noakhali.

In November last year, Bangladesh introduced capital punishment for rape, following days of protests against sexual violence against women in several cities across the country.

But human rights organisations say the move will not solve the country’s rape crisis, as the survivors of the heinous crime are often stigmatised in the society.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Monday recovered the dismembered body of the principal of Ashulia Residential School and College, who remained missing for almost a month, from Savar and Ashkona in the city’s Dakkhin Khan area.

Rab also arrested three persons in connection with the murder of 36-year-old Principal Mintu Chandra Barman.

The arrestees were identified as Rabiul Islam and Motaleb—two founding members of the school and Rahim Badsha, nephew of Rabiul.

Mintu Barman, son of Sharat Barman of Hatibandha upazila on Lalmonirhat district, along with Motaleb, Shamsuzzaman and Rabiul Islam had established the school after renting a building at Jamgara Beron area in Savar two years back.

Since then Mintu has been holding the post of principal and used to live at the adjacent building of the school on rent.

On July 13, Mintu went missing and did not return home. Dipak Chandra Barman, younger brother of Mintu lodged a general diary at Ashulia Police Station on July 22, said Commanding officer of Rab-4, Lieutenant Rakib Mahmud Khan.

During investigation, the elite force detained Rabiul, Motaleb and Badsha and following the confessional statement by them, Rab recovered the body of Mintu.

Mintu was killed at the school following an enmity over the ownership of the school and his body has been cut into six pieces.

The arrestees covered the five parts of the body in the school field while the head on the water body in the Ashkona area, said Rab.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Chinese telecom giant Huawei has contributed digital equipment and other devices necessary to develop a smart classroom for unprivileged children through Obhizatrik Foundation Monday.

To pull off this programme, Huawei has teamed up with Obhizatrik Foundation, an organisation working towards overcoming socio-economic challenges. Under this collaboration, Huawei has donated various items such as Huawei tabs, laptop, router; internet subscription for one year, students’ dress, bags, stationeries, masks, and oxygen cylinders to Obhizatrik School.

The items were handed over to Ahmed Imtiaz Jami, the founder and president of Obhizatrik Foundation, at a ceremony held at Obhizatrik School today.

“Our recent initiative ‘In Bangladesh, For Bangladesh – We are Here,’ has been mapped out to reach those deprived kids. We believe, even if it is a small initiative, the continued effort will make a difference, and several small streams will converge into a vast ocean finally,” Zhang Zhengjun, CEO of Huawei Technologies Bangladesh, said at the event.

“Obhizatrik Foundation has been working with an unprivileged section of people for a long time. But during the pandemic, we were helpless because of the lack of resources and digital means necessary for online education. We also needed safety materials such as masks and oxygen cylinders to fight the pandemic. Huawei has stepped forward to help the unprivileged children, to close the digital gap and safeguard their health,” said Jami.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Monday detained a Rohingya man along with 33 gold bars worth Tk 2.91 crore from Kutupalong in Ukhiya upazila of Cox’s Bazar district.

The detainee was identified as Md Zainal Abedin, 65, a resident of Tambru Konapara Rohingya Camp.

Tipped off, members of Tambru BOP of Cox’s Bazar Battalion (34 BGB) took position at Palangkhali in Ukhiya Upazila at around 6am and detained him.

Later, the BGB patrol team searched Zainal’s body and recovered the gold bars weighing 5.482 kg.

Ali Haider Azad Ahmed, Commander of Cox’s Bazar Battalion (34 BGB), said the detainee was handed over to Ukhiya police station.

The recovered gold bars will be deposited to the Cox’s Bazar treasury office, he added.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Plagiarism is nothing but cheating. But when the gatekeepers of academic integrity indulge in such an unethical practice, some universities choose to turn a blind eye. At least this holds true for the country’s most prestigious Dhaka University.

While the university has found evidence of plagiarism against 11 of its teachers in the past four years, it has been slow to upbraid or punish offenders — so far, punitive action has been taken against three of them only. Offenders, on the other hand, have blamed someone else for the mistakes.

The teachers who have faced the wrath of the university authorities for plagiarism are Md Omar Faruq of the Islamic history and culture department, Sayed Mahfuzul Haque Marzan of the criminology department, and Samia Rahman of the mass communication and journalism department.

In 2018, then assistant professor Omar’s PhD degree was cancelled on charges of plagiarism. In October 2020, the university formed a special tribunal to determine his punishment. Later, on its recommendation, the DU Syndicate — the governing body –asked the teacher to serve as a lecturer.

On similar grounds, associate professor Samia and assistant professor Marzan were redesignated as assistant professor and lecturer, respectively, in 2020. The action came three years after a panel was formed to probe allegations of plagiarism against the duo for an article they had co-authored.

In fact, in 2017, the University of Chicago Press wrote to DU, claiming that Samia and Marjan had, in their co-authored write-up, “used portions without proper citations” from French philosopher Michel Foucault’s 1982 article ‘The Subject and Power’. The duo’s article was published in DU’s Social Science Review in 2016.

When asked about the accusations, Marjan, in 2017, said that Samia was the first author of their joint article and “if there were any problems, they were in her portion of the work.” Samia, on her part, had said: “I was abroad when the article was published. He submitted it without consulting me.”

However, no meaningful action has been taken in other cases of plagiarism.

In September 2017, for instance, the DU syndicate formed a five-member panel, led by then pro vice chancellor (academic) Nasreen Ahmed, to probe allegations of plagiarism against tourism and hospitality management department’s three assistant professors — Bodruzzaman Bhuiyan, Nusrat Jahan and her husband Ruhul Amin.

This was after the teachers of the department indulged in mudslinging. Nusrat, a Senate member, was the one who had first complained to the authorities, including the VC, accusing Bodruzzaman of using copied materials in his thesis, titled ‘Socio-economic Impact of Tourism in Cox’s Bazar: A Study of Local Residence Attitude’.

Prof Md Afzal Hossain of the department was quick to raise similar allegations against Nusrat and her husband Rahul — the husband-wife duo, according to him, used portions from each other’s previous works in their academic articles.

Ruhul, however, refuted the allegations against him and his wife as baseless. “All our published articles are properly cited and referenced to the primary and secondary sources. The allegations are baseless.”

Four years have already passed, but the university probe committee is yet to submit its findings.

Similarly, in January 2020, a professor of Sweden’s Gothenburg University and a Bangladeshi private university researcher separately raised allegations of plagiarism against pharmaceutical technology department’s associate professor AK Lutful Kabir. Both then claimed to found some 98 percent plagiarism in Lutful’s PhD thesis.

Prof Jonas Nilsson of Sweden wrote a letter to the DU VC, alleging that Lutful had copied from his research paper. The department’s dean of faculty was asked to investigate the matter. However, there is no progress in the matter yet.

Two months later, in March 2020, the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh cancelled a research contract with two DU teachers after they found evidence of plagiarism in their joint academic paper.

The two researchers — Dr Eshani Chakraborty, professor of the history department, and Dr Zobaida Nasreen, associate professor of the anthropology department — received the society’s research grant nearly four years ago.

They were selected to carry out a research on ‘Brihottoro Dhakar Sthanik Sangskriti o Boishister Swarup Anusondhan (Exploring local culture and its distinctive features of greater Dhaka)’ in April 2017.

The Asiatic Society subsequently wrote to the DU authorities, urging them to initiate action against the two teachers, but the varsity apparently chose to stay silent.

Recently, former director of the National Academy for Education Management Iffat Ara Nargis brought plagiarism allegations against DU music department associate professor Mohsina Akhter Khanam (known as Leena Taposhi Khan) at a conference.

Nargis alleged that in her 280-page book, Leena copied materials from other books — “some 80 pages are direct lifts”.

Leena completed her PhD in 2010 on the ‘Use of ragas in Nazrul songs’ under the supervision of Nazrul exponent former national professor Rafiqul Islam. “The thesis under my supervision was completed following the assigned procedure using proper references,” Prof Rafiqul said.

Besides, a few teachers from the country’s public varsities recently raised plagiarism allegations against social science faculty dean professor Sadeka Halim. They pointed out the overlaps between the DU professor’s research paper, ‘Participation of Women in Aquaculture in the Three Coastal Districts of Bangladesh: Approaches towards Sustainable Livelihood’, and other materials.

When contacted, DU pro vice-chancellor professor ASM Maksud Kamal said, ‘These complaints usually come to me through a process. I have been looking into plagiarism complaints since taking charge. Officials concerned have been asked to submit a report at the earliest. Hopefully, a decision in these cases are expected by this month.”

Bangladesh has some 49 public and 107 private universities. However, not a single varsity has formulated an anti-plagiarism policy to date.

“We will soon unveil an anti-plagiarism guideline for researchers, teachers and students of the university aiming to prevent such an unethical practice in their research work. We are waiting for an approval from the Syndicate,” Prof Maksud Kamal said.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Xiaomi is one of the top brands that rule the global smartphone markets with a bunch of launches every year. Especially, the Mi 11 series has added low-budget phones such as Mi 11 Lite along with the flagships like Mi 11X Pro. However, the latest addition to the series, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, released on 29th March 2021 in India, has created a huge buzz as people are struggling to define a place for it. Some refer to the phone as the best; some refer to the worst from Xiaomi. But it’s evident that the phone has come with a unique look and some polarizing features.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra review

Design

Unlike many other phones, Mi 11 Ultra has a ceramic body. And the outer frame is made of metal. The last Xiaomi phone that had a ceramic body was the Mi Mix 2S. However, the Mi 11 Ultra is more comfortable and feels better than Mi Mix 2S.

The phone has the dimension of 164.3 x 74.6 x 8.4 mm and weighs around 234g which makes the phone a little tedious for handling. The front gets a Gorilla Glass Victus protection.

Users will find the power button pretty simple to reach, located on the right of the phone along with the volume rocker. A USB-C port is on the bottom edge.

However, the general users will miss two features- a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card holder.

On the back of the device is a giant camera hump to room some giant lenses. The hump also houses a display with some features of a smartwatch.

Display

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra features the same screen as the standard Mi 11. It is a 6.81-inch, curved-edged AMOLED display. It comes with a high-resolution 1440 x 3200. The display is one of the best of its kind, and the world has seen it until now.

Having a 120Hz refresh rate, along with HDR 10+ compatibility and up to 1700 nits of maximum brightness, nothing on the market can compare to it.

The back display presented in the Mi 11 Ultra is the same one used in the fitness tracker Mi Band 5. It’s like an always-on display comes in handy when the phone is facing screen-down, with choices to show a clock, picture, or custom texts, as well as notifications. It can be triggered with the phone’s camera app, allowing users to frame selfies taken with the primary camera.

For the most part, this display is a novelty, but the additional always-on display is pleasant – and undoubtedly more power-efficient than utilizing the bigger main display for the same reason.

Front Camera

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra features three rear cameras: a 50MP f/2.0 primary lens, a 48MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens, and a 48MP f/4.1 periscope lens. The latter offers 5x optical zoom and 120x digital zoom.

Photographs shot with the primary camera look excellent — they are bright as well as vibrant, with natural depth effects and accurate details. Xiaomi’s decision to favor sensors’ sizes over the resolutions has clearly paid off.

Shots in bright conditions are vivid and colorful, with no artifacts, noise, or evidence of artificial sharpening. But more noise appears in low light, but there’s still a lot of detail and some of the most realistic colors I’ve seen from a phone at night.

Night mode typically enhances things even more by adding detail and better exposing specific light sources but be cautious — too much ambient light may overpower the image.

Long and close shorts can depict a great number of details, thanks to the robust ultrawide and telephoto lenses. Video recording is possible at up to 8K resolution at 24fps and 4K up to 60fps.

Front Camera

The selfie camera is a 20MP (f/2.2) powerful lens decent enough to capture bright and lively images. The portrait mode balances the number of shadows and highlights effectively, albeit it blurred the backdrop a little too much by default.

However, using the rear display, users can activate rear cameras to take selfies. Though the maneuver can be a bit hard, the captures selfies will outclass any other selfies taken with any other phone.With rear cameras, the depth effect appears more natural, and the colors get more vibrant.

The video recording capacity of the front camera is also great, which is 1080p at 6fps.

Performance, Software, and UI

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, like other high-end Android phones in 2021, is powered by the strong Snapdragon 888 processor, which is combined with 12GB of RAM and a powerful GPU Adreno 660. These internal features have made the phone powerful enough to handle a wide range of tasks.

For what it’s worth, the phone doesn’t have any difficulties when running games, including COD and PUBG Mobile. As a result, if users don’t play for too long at a time, the heat management and performance concerns are unlikely to be a deal-breaker. In addition, the Android 11 based MIUI is used as the phone’s screen.

Because the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra boasts two stereo speakers, audio sounds fantastic whether you’re listening to Spotify, viewing a movie without headphones, or on a video or voice call.

Battery and Charging

While a 5,000mAh battery comes with the phone, which seems huge, it plainly struggles to cope up with the massive 120Hz display, strong CPUs, and back screen and the phone frequently struggles to survive a single day with the battery support.

With average use, the phone would be fully depleted within 12 to 15 hours once fully charged. If the phone gets heated, the power consumption skyrockets. However, the powerful 67W superfast comes to the rescue of heavy users. It takes only around 30 minutes to fully charge up the battery.

Price of Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra in Bangladesh

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra pro is officially not available in Bangladesh. The 12GB × 256GB variant has been released in India. If converted to BDT, the price stands around 80,158 Taka. The conversion rate here is 1.15. The unofficial price of this device is subjected to change depending upon the seller’s rate and tax issues.

Final Verdict

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra comes with some of the greatest hardware available, including top internal specifications, a strong camera, a stunning display, a powerful chipset and GPU, and quick charging via both wired and wireless ways.

However, there are certain drawbacks like the extremely high price and the clunky MIUI software, along with a lack of a guaranteed update. Moreover, the Mi 11 Ultra is not only large but also very unattractive due to the awkward camera module.

Altogether, if the price and the giant size of a phone don’t bother you much, Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra would be a great phone.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Apparel exporters have expressed their concerns over the rise in yarn prices in the local market.

They said retail sales grew sharply in the Europe and the US as stores are opening following mass vaccination in the western countries.

As a result a lot of work orders are coming to Bangladesh but unusual increase in yarn prices in the domestic market has made it difficult for the garment manufacturers to take the increased orders, they said.

Leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Terry Towel & Linen Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BTTLMEA) expressed their worries during a meeting held at BGMEA office on Sunday.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan chaired the meeting which was attended by BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President (Finance) Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Directors Asif Ashraf, Md. Mohiuddin Rubel, Abdullah Hil Rakib, Rajiv Chowdhury, former Director Ashikur Rahman Tuhin, First Vice President of BKMEA Mohammad Hatem, Director Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, and BTTLMEA Chairman M Shahadat Hossain.

They said the local mills are increasing yarn prices every day and providing proforma invoice (PI) with a short time limit which makes it difficult to open LC in such a short time.

Moreover, it takes around 15 days to confirm orders. As a result, apparel manufactures could not take many of the offered orders despite having capacity.

Even many factories are taking work orders under breakeven point only to stay in business. Buyers do not increase apparel prices as they only look at FOB.

The problem is impacting the competitiveness of Bangladesh’s RMG industry.

In the meeting the leaders had discussion on ways of addressing the problems being faced by the apparel sector.

It was decided in the meeting that a press conference will be organised soon to share how the yarn price increase is impacting the apparel sector.

They have also decided to hold talks with the government policy makers to ensure yarns at reasonable prices.

Source: United News of Bangladesh