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Modi the favourite as India votes
India began voting Friday in a six-week election with an all but assured victory for Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as a weakened opposition is pushed to the sidelines
Civil war in Myanmar poses grave threat to civilians: UN rights chief
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has warned that intensified fighting in Rakhine State between the military and the Arakan Army, alongside tensions being fuelled between the Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine communities, pose a grave threat to the civilian population
First phase of India polls: Nearly 50pc voter turnout in first eight hours
An estimated voter turnout of 40 percent was recorded in the first six hours of voting today as India began a six-week polling in Lok Sabha elections covering 102 seats across 21 states and union territories, according to figures compiled from electoral offices in states
Levi's now in Dhaka
The 2,270 square feet store on Banani Road 11 opened on April 1, aiming to draw the rising middle-income population with an assortment of imported denim jeans, t-shirts, polo shirts, and formal and casual woven shirts for men and women.
No political case filed against BNP men: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said there are no political cases filed against BNP leaders and activists
Opinion
To the wire
For this season though, in City’s level of perfection, this is perhaps coming short of the high standards they’ve set themselves.
A cursed harvest
Health risks of tobacco cultivation, particularly among children, are deeply concerning
Government's fatal apathy towards road safety
What’s most appalling is how common these violations of crucial road safety measures are in our country
Business
IMF’s 3rd loan tranche on track despite repeated failure to hit reserve goal
The minimum net international reserves (NIR) will also remain below the threshold when an IMF mission visits Dhaka next week to review the progress of the programme before releasing around $681 million in the third tranche in May.
Sports
Rohit Sharma ‘not a fan’ of IPL’s Impact Player rule
Former India pacer Zaheer Khan echoed similar sentiments.
City must use CL exit pain for 'something special’, says Walker
Guardiola's side play Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday.
A match in which Man City played but Real Madrid won
Antonio Rudiger scored the decisive penalty as Real Madrid beat holders Manchester City in an edge-of-your-seat 4-3 shootout victory to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for a record-extending 17th time after the teams were locked at 4-4 on aggregate following extra time on Wednesday.
News
12 trucks with smuggled sugar seized in Pabna, 23 held
Detectives in Pabna seized 12 trucks loaded with 242 tonnes of smuggled sugar last night
PM building future Bangladesh: Finance Minister
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina started work on building future Bangladesh to fulfill the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the finance minister has said
In pictures: India's Lok Sabha election 2024
Voters in India started casting votes in the world's largest parliamentary election this morning, setting off a marathon poll battle as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a record-equaling third straight tenure in office
Myanmar conflict: 13 more BGP members take shelter in Bangladesh
Thirteen more members of Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) took shelter in Bangladesh yesterday amid the ongoing conflict between the military junta and the Arakan Army in Rakhine state
First-time voters rejoice in India's Maoist rebel heartland
In remote Indian forests home to a decades-old Maoist insurgency battling government rule, few in farmer Ajay Kumaroya's village had ever dared anger the guerrillas by voting
My Dhaka / The dynamic duo of DIYer Studio
When your university courses come to an end and you are left with a few bundles of quality, loose sheets of paper, what do you do with it? Give it away, forget about it, or do you make a bespoke...
My Dhaka / Post-Eid Reflections: Missing the chaos of the city
It is as if Dhaka has been sleeping for the last few days.
Entertainment
‘Kritrim Jogot’: First Bangla AI-generated music album
He also shared that the album title has been inspired by the integration of AI and the real world. The main attraction of the album is the AI artiste Izak. Kazi Ahmed mentioned that the name was chosen as a tribute to Sir Isaac Newton.
No celebrity participation in BFAA election, Rubel expresses disappointment
Rubel, who has been elected as the sports and cultural secretary eight times, reminisced about his long-standing involvement in BFAA elections, dating back to 1990. "I have never seen an election under such strict supervision by the administration," he lamented. "We all wanted to vote joyfully. It's sad if people like actor Alamgir or Ujjal have to show their ID cards to enter," he added, highlighting the somber mood prevailing amongst the fraternity.
Barbra Streisand records new song for TV series 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz'
Renowned singer and EGOT-winner Barbra Streisand has crafted a new song titled "Love Will Survive" for the upcoming Peacock television series "The Tattooist of Auschwitz." This announcement comes as Streisand's first-ever recording for a television series, reflecting her deep connection to the historical themes and modern relevance of the show.
Life & Living
#Decor / Stress-free bedroom makeover using furniture sets
Here are three reasons why investing in furniture sets, instead of going for individual pieces, can make your bedroom interior designing project smoother.
Wanderlust on two wheels: Musdaque’s expedition across 10 countries
While the allure of the unknown beckons the adventurous spirit within us, only a few capture the essence of exploration like cross-country motorcycling. Riding through the heart of Asia, Musdaque Chowdhury, and his partner Maliha Chowdhury, embarked on a 197-day journey traversing 10 countries.
Coke Studio Bangla’s ‘Tati’ celebrates Bangladeshi weavers
If you are a devoted listener of Coke Studio Bangla, chances are you may not have missed its Season 3 opener, “Tati,” — a song that celebrates not just the music, but the very soul of Bangladeshi craftsmanship. Released under the creative direction of Shayan Chowdhury Arnob, the vocalists include Md Gonjer Ali, Oli Boy and the evergreen Jaya Ahsan.
Youth
BUET crowned Asia West champions at ICPC World Finals
The team “BUET Potatoes” from BUET has been crowned the Asia West champions at the ICPC World Finals 2023.
Mongol Barota: MIST’s Mars rover team participating in the University Rover Challenge finals
Mongol Barota Mars Rover Team from MIST heads to finals with PHOENIX 4.0, aiming for victory.
New PSC member Pradip Kumar Pandey takes oath
Newly appointed Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) Member Professor Pradip Kumar Pandey was sworn in today
Tech & Startup
RUET team secures 3rd place in International ICT Competition
A group of students from the Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) has achieved third position in the Huawei ICT Competition 2023-2024 APAC Round. The competition, comprising over 6400 participants from 14 countries, has announced the winners at the APAC Award ceremony held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Heads up, Meta has seriously entered the AI race
Meta is launching a major update to its Meta AI assistant and its underlying large language model, Llama 3. The Meta AI assistant, first introduced last September, is now being integrated across Meta's core platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger. Users can interact with the assistant through search bars, message inboxes and even directly within the Facebook feed. Additionally, a standalone web app for Meta AI has been launched for the first time.
Prionty wins PUBG Creative Vision Award as first Bangladeshi
Samia Hossain Prionty, a sixteen-year-old PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) player from Bangladesh, has recently won the Silver award in the annual 'Creative Vision Award' segment of PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) 2023. The creative work that she submitted for the contest was an in-game firearm design for PUBG Mobile, named 'Pixel Glitch' for the UMP45 gun, a weapon from the game.
Star Multimedia
No Israeli strike on Iran 'likely before April 30'
Israel is unlikely to attack Iran before the end of the Jewish Passover festival, according to media reports.
Israel releases pictures of damage caused by Iran's attack
Iran attacked Israel on Saturday with hundreds of drones and missiles. The Israel Defense Forces released photos of the damage in this attack. The BBC published two of the images today.
A village where lungis are still woven in an ancient way
Chachkia is the sole village in Pabna that still uses ancient looms to weave lungis.
Kangal Harinath, a pioneer of women's education
Kangal Harinath was a pioneer of women's education in a remote area of Kumarkhali subdivision. He also used to publish news of helpless, tortured and oppressed people in his newspaper.
MV Abdullah's chief officer sends audio message to family
Atiq Ullah Khan, chief officer of MV Abdullah, has sent an audio message to family after the ship and its 23 crew were released after more than a month.
Daily Star Books
Environment
Nature quest: Gems of the forest
The axis deer, chittra horin in Bangla, is one of the more precious belongings of the Sundarbans. This herd was seen wandering outside of the mangrove forest to eat grass under the open sky.
Help your pets beat the heat
This year is predicted to be the hottest year so far and the temperatures have already crossed 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country by now
Dubai floods / Thousands of Bangladeshis stranded at Dhaka, Dubai airports
Several thousand Bangladeshi passengers remained stranded at the Dubai and Dhaka airports for the last two days as flights to and from Dubai got delayed or cancelled due to unprecedented flooding in the Middle East country
Rain likely in Dhaka, six other divisions
Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally winds is likely to occur at one or two places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions with hails at isolated places in the 24 hours from 9:00am today
Climate change to wreck global income by 2050: study
Researchers in Germany estimate that climate change will shrink global GDP at least 20% by 2050. Scientists said that figure would worsen if countries fail to meet emissions-cutting targets
City will face no waterlogging this year: Taposh
Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh today said there will be no waterlogging in the capital during the upcoming rainy season.
How European trash illegally ends up in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, are facing an influx of illegal waste shipments from industrialized nations, with a considerable amount trafficked from Europe
Year's highest temperature of 40.7 degrees Celsius recorded in Chuadanga
Local weather official says 'severe heatwave' will continue
Fact-check
Fact check: Mossad did not describe deceased US airman as 'enemy'
More claims suggesting the remark came from Mossad spread across X and TikTok.
Meta to set up team to counter disinformation, AI abuse in EU elections
European Parliament elections will take place June 6-9. Its 720 lawmakers, together with EU governments, pass new EU policies and laws.
Misinformation and disinformation: A threat to democracy in Bangladesh
In today’s digital age, the spread of misinformation and disinformation has arisen as a major challenge to global democracy.
OpenAI to launch anti-disinformation tools for 2024 elections
The explosive success of text generator ChatGPT spurred a global artificial intelligence revolution but also triggered warnings that such tools could flood the internet with disinformation and sway voters.
Deepfake video targeting Gaibandha-1 candidate surfaces on Facebook
On the day of the National Election 2024, a fabricated video surfaced on Facebook featuring Nahid Niger, an independent candidate for the Gaibandha-1 seat, announcing her withdrawal from the election. Subsequent verification by Dismislab, an online platform specialising in media research and verification, confirmed that the video was a product of AI-based deepfake technology.
Podcast on fake news: Impact of Israel-Hamas conflict on Bangladesh's national election
Uncover the sources and intentions behind these circulating rumors.
Fake videos targeting BNP resurfacing on social media: reports
A distorted video featuring a speech by Begum Khaleda Zia, Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has once again surfaced on Facebook, raising concerns about the spread of misinformation during the upcoming election. The video, created by adding together different portions of a speech delivered by Khaleda Zia in London back in 2015, resurfaced on social media platforms despite being fact-checked by three different fact-checking organisations in 2021 and 2022.
Doctors Without Borders targeted by Israel-Hamas war misinformation
"Basically he abused his position as a medic, which the IDF cannot shoot, to break the law and assist terrorists to get a weapon."
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