Wednesday, September 30

Tag: Featured

What are the chances of a Brussels-style attack by Isis in the UK?
22Mar By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

What are the chances of a Brussels-style attack by Isis in the UK?

    The British security agencies worry that Islamic State is plotting large-scale terrorist attacks in the UK by coordinated commando-style groups similar to those in Brussels and Paris. Isis propaganda videos frequently identify the UK as a major target and intelligence officers repeatedly caveat conversations by saying it is only a matter of time before there is a successful attack in the country, whether lone wolf-style or a large-scale assault. The agencies stopped seven plots last year but stress over and over again they do not believe their luck – and operational efficiency – is going to hold forever. The threat level in the UK is “severe”, meaning an attack is designated as “highly likely”. That sounds alarming but it would need specific information to raise that to th...
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5 killed in UP Election violence
22Mar By Sumon AdminNo Comments
Bangladesh, ENGLISH

5 killed in UP Election violence

    At least five people were killed and more than 500 injured in the first phase of elections to union parishads (UPs) marked by widespread violence and irregularities yesterday. Clashes between supporters of rival candidates, storming of polling stations and ballot box stuffing -- mostly by those loyal to the ruling Awami League-backed candidates -- were reported in many UPs. Mathbaria upazila of Pirojpur saw the deadliest violence. At least three people were killed and several others injured after law enforcers opened fire on alleged AL supporters who purportedly confined polling officials inside a polling centre, police and locals said. The death toll in this incident may rise, they added. Border Guard Bangladesh [BGB] personnel opened fire following the order of an execut...
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Eating Blueberries May Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
21Mar By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, Life Style

Eating Blueberries May Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

    Eating blueberries may protect ageing brains and help stave off symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests. Scientists from the University of Cincinnati in the US gave a group of volunteers either blueberries in a powder form or a placebo powder. Blueberry powder was found to improve the thinking performance of 47 adults aged 68 and older who already had mild cognitive impairment, a risk factor for Alzheimer's. A similar effect was not seen when volunteers ate a placebo powder, the Press Association reports. MRI brain scans also showed increased brain activity in participants who had the blueberry powder, compared to ones who had the placebo. Commenting on the findings, lead researcher Dr Robert Krikorian said: "There was improvement in cognitive performance an...
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The world’s longest aircraft Airlander 10 revealed in new pictures
21Mar By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

The world’s longest aircraft Airlander 10 revealed in new pictures

    Airlander-10-3.jpg New photographs of the world’s longest aircraft have been revealed in anticipation of its official unveiling and first UK test flight. The Airlander 10, which is part plane, part airship and part helicopter, is 92m long - around 15m longer than the biggest passenger jets. The British firm Hybrid Air vehicles (HAV) have designed the craft to stay airborne for up to three weeks using helium and the vessel is able to travel at a speed of 92mph. HAV will unveil the aircraft, standing at 26m high and 44m wide, in a First World War aircraft hangar in Bedfordshire on Monday and it will undergo its first test flight in a few weeks’ time. As it is heavier than air, the Airlander 10 is able to land without tethers on a variety of surfaces, including water and ice,...
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Govt bans Shela river route in Sundarbans again
21Mar By Sumon AdminNo Comments
Bangladesh, ENGLISH

Govt bans Shela river route in Sundarbans again

    Authorities today once again imposed a ban on all types of water vessels through the Shela river in the world’s largest mangrove forest and a listed heritage site – the Sundarbans. The move came two days after a coal-laden cargo vessel sank in the Sundarbans – a year after an oil tanker sank in the same river spilling oil endangering the rich biodiversity of the forest. Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) took the decision that will come into effect immediately, Mobarak Hossain, public relation officer of BIWTA, told The Daily Star. The forest department has formed a surveillance team to enforce the ban, Saidul Islam, divisional forest officer of the Sundarbans’ Chandpai range. The teams will monitor Saronkhola and Chandpai points and alert authorities of a...
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London preparing for 10 simultaneous terror attacks in wake of Paris
21Mar By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, London

London preparing for 10 simultaneous terror attacks in wake of Paris

    Police in London have reportedly been ordered to prepare for as many as 10 terror attacks happening at once across the capital, in a dramatic escalation of the capital’s readiness in the wake of the Paris shootings. Quoting a Government minister with knowledge of the proposals for enhanced security, the Sunday Times reported that police had made cracking down on firearms a top priority. It comes after an alleged gang of gunrunners appeared in court charged with smuggling an “evil” shipment of 22 Czech-made assault rifles and nine sub-machine guns into Britain from Eastern Europe. The National Crime Agency (NCA), which was critical in the operation to arrest the suspects in that case, had reportedly been given new orders amid fears of a Paris-style attack involving terroris...
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Illegal buildings mushroom in Rajuk areas
21Mar By Sumon AdminNo Comments
Bangladesh, ENGLISH

Illegal buildings mushroom in Rajuk areas

Rafiqul Islam Azad: It has taken about three months for the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) to serve the final notice to halt construction of an unauthorised building in Tongi, which falls under the regulatory body’s Detailed Area Plan (DAP). In the meantime, the builder went ahead with the illegal construction by completing the roof on the third floor, effectively throwing dust in the eyes of Rajuk and police. The authorities concerned, however, are yet to take any visible action either to stop construction or to demolish the illegal structure at 200 Lal Miah Madbor Road of Arichpur, Tongi Bazar. The building is allegedly coming up by putting at risk other constructions in the area, which may lead to an accident anytime. Another unauthorised building has come up unhindered at Konapa...
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EU referendum: Why Remain will win by a mile, and why, on balance, it should
20Mar By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, Europe

EU referendum: Why Remain will win by a mile, and why, on balance, it should

    With the Budget out of the way the focus switches to something vastly more important: Brexit. Ten years from now no one will care about what was in the Budget, but we will all remember what happened on 23 June 2016. There are two insuperable problems about this debate. One is that many people have such strong views they are not going to be swayed by mere economic arguments. So we will have more scare stories of millions of jobs being at risk were we to come out, and more visions of sunlit uplands of economic freedom if we did. But if the decision is emotional, rather than economic, there is not much that economists can contribute. The other problem is that the economic uncertainties are so huge, that more or less any set of calculations is open to challenge. We have form o...
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What’s not part of the Salah Abdeslam story? Anything to do with the plight of refugees.
20Mar By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, Europe

What’s not part of the Salah Abdeslam story? Anything to do with the plight of refugees.

    The arrest of Salah Abdeslam in a Brussels neighborhood on Friday marks the end of the pursuit of Europe's most wanted man. Abdeslam was cornered by Belgian police and wounded in a firefight before being taken by authorities. Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French national, is the only one left alive of the 10 assailants who carried out last November's shocking Paris terror attacks, which killed 130 people and wounded dozens more. The terrorists, all European nationals, were proxies of the Islamic State, and it's hoped that investigators can piece together more about the plot now that Abdeslam is in custody. The political tremors that followed the massacres in the French capital reached myriad countries in the West. In the U.S., the attacks immediately fed into the talking points ...
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Cyber heist: FBI to team up with CID to identify hackers
20Mar By Sumon AdminNo Comments
Bangladesh, ENGLISH

Cyber heist: FBI to team up with CID to identify hackers

    Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will team up with Bangladesh police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate the cyber heist at Bangladesh Bank’s account with New York’s Federal Reserve Bank. The decision came as an announcement from CID’s additional Deputy Inspector General Shah Alam after a half-an-hour meeting between the two sides in Dhaka’s CID headquarters this afternoon. Agenda of the discussion spanned around technical aspects, Shah Alam told reporters. “We will have cyber experts who will trace the IP address of the hackers and the financial beneficiaries.” Earlier in January, hackers stole $101 million from the central bank's account with the New York Federal Reserve Bank. The issue came to surface after a month and resulted in major changes...
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