Netflix trots out a drama/documentary hybrid this week titled “Testament: The Story of Moses,” mixing a Turkish production with religion experts discussing the biblical story. The three parts total more than four hours. If you’ve a mind to invest that kind of screen time in Moses, though, accept no substitutes, especially with the granddaddy of all biblical epics, Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 version of “The Ten Commandments,” just around the corner, keeping its annual date with viewers on ABC. Indeed, watching Netflix’s modern knockoff only heightens a sense of appreciation for DeMille’s efforts at a different time in the evolution of the movie industry, when TV was still relatively new and special effects hadn’t reached their digital heights. There are plenty of reasons to savor the original movie, most of them having to do with the casting, some of it campy and awful in a truly wonderful way, some just plain spectacular. As Moses, Charlton Heston brought a sense of conviction to this epic role (see also “Ben-Hur”) that anchored the movie in a way few actors could, before or since. Yet at the top of the heap look no further than Yul Brynner as Moses’ rival and eventual foe Rameses, who tells his reluctant bride-to-be with princely swagger and sexuality, “You will come to me whenever I call you, and I will enjoy that very much. Whether you enjoy it or not is your own affair… but I think you will.” On the other end of the spectrum there’s Anne Baxter as Nefretiri, Moses’ first love and Rameses’ reluctant bride when he ascends to pharaoh. Famous for her role in “All About Eve,” Baxter chews through much of Egypt, repeating “Moses” so often (as in “Oh Moses, Moses”) that one might be forgiven for concluding that’s both his first and last name. The supporting cast is equally delicious, including Edward G. Robinson sounding like he’s in a gangster movie and still stealing every scene he’s in as the traitorous Dathan, Vincent Price as pharaoh’s master builder and Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Rameses’ father, Sethi, who loves Moses more than he does his own son. ABC has aired the film more than 40 times since 1973, making it a solid Easter and Passover staple. Already 220 minutes long, the broadcast window with commercials has ballooned to four hours and 44 minutes, spilling out of primetime before Moses can descend from Mount Sinai with the you-know-what. Although broadcast TV doesn’t possess the only-game-in-town clout that existed when ABC first showed the movie, “The Ten Commandments” has remained a potent draw, perhaps because it’s the kind of film that can be watched – certainly in bits and pieces, if not all the way through – over and over. Last year’s telecast averaged more than 3 million viewers opposite NCAA tournament coverage, which it will face again this year. DeMille, of course, became practically synonymous with lavish, star-studded costume productions, starting with a silent version of “The Ten Commandments” in the 1920s and including “Samson and Delilah” in the ‘50s. Even by those standards, “The Ten Commandments” stands apart, both for its visual effects (the parting of the Red Sea is still a landmark sequence) and the soap-opera qualities wrapped up in the Moses-Nefretiri-Rameses triangle. Given that, even with broadcast television having become a shadow of what it was, there’s something reassuring about seeing the movie return year after year, marking the calendar in a way only a few Christmas specials and movies can rival. As TV traditions go, perhaps that’s why this one has proven so enduring. Or as Brynner’s Rameses might say, “So let it be written. So let it be done.” Source: CNN

Bangladesh Jeweller's Association (Bajus) has fixed the new price of gold. The price of 22-carat gold has been increased by Tk 1,750 to Tk 1,15,824 per bhori, according to a notification issued by Bangladesh Jeweller's Association (BAJUS) on Saturday. Besides, the price of 21 carat gold has been fixed at Tk 1,10,575, 18 carat gold at Tk 94,770. Although the price of gold has increased, the price of silver has been kept unchanged. According to the notification, the price of gold has increased in the local market. Considering the overall situation, BAJUS has fixed the new price of gold. The new prices will be effective from Sunday (April 7).  

In 2024, with our attention taken up by the presidential race and by futile culture-war battles, following the news has seemingly become more fruitless than ever, especially for a religious person who feels obligated to respond to societal ills. When members of my Jewish community tell me they face this problem, I say that being God-conscious individuals requires us to see beyond the news of the day and focus on our most pressing moral concerns. In many respects, I am inspired by the Catholic Church, which, at its best, holds true to its values—whether I agree with its conclusions or not—without overly prioritizing political point-scoring. What matters is not landing on the left or right side of an issue, but seeking to carry out the will of God in the world. More and more, I have been saying there is one issue where all people, particularly all religious people, can present a unified front, across partisan lines and across faith traditions. That issue is what can be called the genocide of the Uyghurs in China. There seems to be no end in sight regarding disagreements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, abortion, same-sex marriage and the like. But Christians, Jews and Muslims, as well as Democrats, Republicans and independents, can all agree that the Uyghur genocide, in which the Chinese Uyghur population (who are predominantly Muslim) has endured imprisonment, forced labor, religious persecution and much else, is an affront to human dignity and religious freedom. As one example of how we can respond, as Jews, a coalition of us led by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity are pressing Jewish C.E.O.s to provide documentation that they are not using Uyghur forced labor. If Christian organizations take similar steps, the impact can multiply. In recent history, Christians and Jews have come together to support the U.S. civil rights movement, religious freedom for minorities and the end of apartheid in South Africa. But when I look around at the world today, I see a startling lack of moral clarity. Part of this, I have to think, stems from the decline of religion, particularly in the United States. This decline was illustrated by a headline in USA Today in January: “More ‘nones’ than Catholics: Non-religious Americans near 30% in latest survey.” Despite the many societal improvements we have made in recent decades, I worry that we will no longer see mass movements for the betterment of the world if every individual is made into their own freelance arbiter of moral justice. That USA Today article confirmed my suspicions, saying: “Nones” are less likely to volunteer or vote in elections. Of the U.S. adults surveyed, 17 percent of religious “nones” volunteered in the last year compared to 27 percent of religiously affiliated adults, and 39 percent of “nones” voted in the 2022 election compared to 51 percent of religiously affiliated adults. They also showed slightly lower rates of civic engagement, and were less likely to have contacted officials or attended a government meeting in the last year. One explanation for these differences: Religious people feel responsible for the collective, whether it is made up of fellow synagogue-goers or parishioners, our co-religionists around the world, or all other human beings, made in the image of God. But we cannot afford to waste that blessing. We must use it to overcome the moral catastrophes of our time, understanding that religion is not just about carrying on the traditions of the past but also about shaping a brighter future. When we see the injustices of the world, we are called to actualize the words of Psalm 69: The lowly will see and rejoice; you who are mindful of God, take heart! For God listens to the needy, and does not spurn those held captive. If you are a Christian who wants to be a partner in our work toward ending the repression of the Uyghurs, join our coalition in a two-day conference, led by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, on April 17 and 18 in New York City. If you cannot join, you can still get involved by researching and avoiding brands that use forced labor, pressuring politicians to act at the state and national levels, and petitioning governments and companies. Bans on products from Uyghur forced labor have been put in place, but they have not effectively been enforced and need reinforcements. I don’t want to take the view that religious people are the only ones who can lead on this issue. But I feel deeply compelled to act because of a deeply held belief that every human being is created in the image of God.   Source: America Magazine

After 10 days of Ramadan, some relief has started to return to the market. Prices of some commodities, including vegetables, have fallen. However, the prices of essential commodities including rice, pulses, sugar are still high. On Friday (March 22) morning, in the capital's Karwan Bazar, Hatirpool, and various kitchen markets, it was seen that in addition to vegetables, the prices of onion, garlic and eggs have fallen. The price of chicken has also decreased. In various markets, it is found that the brinjal are being sold at Tk 60-80 per kg, which was Tk 80-100 at the beginning of Ramadan. At the beginning of Ramadan, the price of cucumber, which was above Tk 100, is now being sold at Tk 40 to 60.

At its worst, polio causes paralysis: 'Polio Paul' Alexander had to spend 70 years in an iron lung after surviving the disease as a child. Children are still at risk in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where polio is endemic. Polio is a very contagious viral disease caused by the poliovirus. It can cause permanent disability and even death, especially in children under the age of five. There are two types of polio present in the world today: Wild poliovirus and vaccine-derived poliovirus. The latter originates from an oral polio vaccine, known as the Sabin vaccine, or OPV.  Wild poliovirus has been eradicated in most countries, aside from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Vaccine-derived poliovirus has been found in Yemen and central Africa. Both the wild and the vaccine-derived forms have three types of viruses — types 1, 2 and 3. Although vaccine-derived polio can take the form of any of the three types, type 1 is the only remaining form of wild poliovirus. Types 2 and 3 were declared eradicated in 2015 and 2019. Although all wild poliovirus types can cause the same symptoms, there are differences in how damaging they can be, and immunity to one type does not protect against the other types. What are the symptoms? Most people infected with polio are asymptomatic. Around one in four people experience flu-like symptoms, such as a sore throat, fever, headaches or stomach pain. Generally, these symptoms go away on their own after two to five days.  Although rare, a very small percentage — less than 1% — of people infected with the poliovirus experience very dangerous symptoms, such as permanent paralysis, which can lead to a permanent disability, and even death when the virus affects the muscles required for breathing. Sometimes children that seem to have fully recovered can later, as adults, develop post-polio syndrome, which is characterized by new muscle pain, weakness or even paralysis. How is polio transmitted? The virus infects a person's intestines and throat. It can survive there for many weeks. It spreads through a community via contact with an infected person's respiratory droplets or feces. In places with poor sanitation, the virus can also contaminate food and drinking water. Infected people can spread the virus to others right before symptoms appear and until up to two weeks after. Where is polio present today? Polio has not yet been eradicated worldwide — the wild form of the virus still exists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And although Africa has been considered free of wild polio since August 2020, imported cases were reported in Malawi and Mozambique .  In July 2022, the US reported its first case of vaccine-derived polio in a decade. Vaccine-derived poliovirus was also detected in sewage samples in the UK and Israel. It was a "stark reminder that if we do not deliver our goal of ending polio everywhere, it may resurge globally," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the time. More than a hundred countries have been declared polio-free thanks to the development of polio vaccines in the middle of the 20th century and aggressive global innoculation campaigns. What are the two types of polio vaccine? There is no cure for polio, but there are vaccines for preventing the disease: The oral polio vaccine (OPV) and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). The oral polio vaccine is administered as an oral liquid and has been key for international eradication because it protects the individual and stops the virus from spreading. The OPV uses live but weakened forms of the poliovirus that are modified not to cause disease in the person taking the vaccine. But if the OPV-weakened virus is able to stay alive and circulate in places with poor sanitation, such as in wastewater, where there is a high number of unvaccinated people, it can mutate back into a disease-causing form of the virus. The inactivated polio vaccine is given as an injection and is extremely effective at protecting the receiver from serious disease. Because it's inactivated, it cannot cause vaccine-derived poliovirus. However, unlike the OPV, it doesn't stop the spread of the virus if the person is already infected. The OPV is cheaper than IPV and does not need to be administered by a health professional. But more and more countries are using IPV, because of the risk of vaccine-derived poliovirus. There are some types of care that can help with symptoms caused by polio, like bed rest, painkillers, breathing assistance and physical therapy.

Left-handed batsmen and opener Najmul Hossain Shanto has been made the captain of Bangladesh national team in all formats. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan Papo made this announcement on Monday (Feb 12) after the board's first meeting of the year, 2024.  Recently, Shanto led Tiger's against New Zealand both home and abroad series in 2024 during the absence of worlds no.1 All-Rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin today (Jan 30) called upon the political parties to carry out non-violent constructive programmes and urged all concerned to take stern actions against corruption. The President also said that due to continuous democracy in the last decade and a half, the country is moving fast on the path of improvement and progress. We have to make more progress to build the Sonar Bangla of Bangabandhu's dream. Tough challenges to face in the future. That is why we must always be careful. He delivered the speech in the first session of the 12th National Parliament on Tuesday (January 30) afternoon. He said, "Uncertainty is increasing in the global economy due to geopolitical instability. If the global economic crisis occurs, it will also affect us. For this we must have the necessary preparation." However, Awami League formed the government for the fourth consecutive term after getting an absolute majority in the 12th national parliamentary elections. Sheikh Hasina took charge as the prime minister for the fourth time in a row and overall for the fifth time. At the same time, she was also elected as the leader of the parliament.

Bouchra Karboubi is one of five female officials at the men's Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. As impressive as this is, she has yet to reach her ultimate goal. One day, when Bouchra Karboubi was 14, her brothers tore up her linesman's flag. They did not want their sister to bring "hchouma" – or "shame" – on the family. About 23 years later, Karboubi is one of Morocco's most famous women – at least for anyone who has a passing interest in football. The 36-year-old is one of five female officials at the 34th edition of the men's Africa Cup of Nations. "I'm really proud," Karboubi tells DW. "This assignment is a dream come true for me. When I started refereeing many years ago, I never dreamed this would happen. But I worked hard for it. And today I'm standing here. It's simply wonderful."   Fraternal resistance Karboubi grew up with her four brothers in Taza, a large, conservative city in northeastern Morocco, where at the time it was generally considered shameful for a girl to wear shorts and stand on the same pitch with men. That's why her brothers were dead set against their sister's passion for football. They also objected when Bouchra showed an interest in the refereeing school that had just opened in Taza in 2001. "But I said to myself: I love football – why shouldn't I give it a try? Even against my brothers' wishes," she says. This was followed by the torn-flag incident. After that happened, she simply grabbed a needle and thread and stitched the flag back up – before running the line in her next match. Bouchra was on her way, and even then, it seemed that her career as an official was pretty much unstoppable.   Climbing the ladder In 2007, she went to Meknes, a north-central Moroccan city, to study business administration. By then, parallel to her studies, Karboubi was already refereeing first and second division matches in the country's women's league. In 2014, she passed the fitness test required by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to referee men's matches. She began by officiating lower-level men's games, before going on to be nominated for international matches on the African continent in 2016. Karboubi gained her first major international experience by refereeing a match at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana in 2018. Two years later, Krarboubi, who by then had joined the police force, was allowed to referee a match between Maghreb de Tetouan and Olympique de Kourighba, her first in the top Moroccan men's league. Two years later, she became the first woman to referee the Moroccan men's cup final. The 3-0 victory of Al Fars over Atletico de Tetouan was almost an aside in the media reports about the game, with all of the focus on this breakthrough by a female referee in men's football.   Chief among five female officials Since then, Karboubi has been seen as something of a symbol for the progress of women's rights in the Arab world. She is the only female referee at 2023 men's African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. However, she is joined by four assistant referees: Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda, South Africa's Akhona Makalima, Bivet Maria Cinquela of Mauritius and Diana Chikotesha of Zambia. Dreaming of a men's World Cup Karboubi in particular has naturally been a focus of media interest. "It went well," was her own assessment of her AFCON debut in the match between Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau in the preliminary round. She got through the game without any major incidents and remained inconspicuous as a referee. "A good sign," she says. However, AFCON is far from the ultimate goal for the Moroccan referee, who also officiated at the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. "To referee a match at the men's World Cup one day – that's my ultimate goal," she says. It seems a safe assumption that if and when that happens, her brothers will no longer have any objections.  

The price of 22-carat gold has hit Tk1,12,440 per bhori, the highest in the history of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Jewellers' Association (Bajus) has decided to raise the price of gold by Tk1,400 per bhori following an increase in the price of pure gold in the local market. It is the highest price of gold as of Wednesday (Jan 17). Earlier on December 24, the price of gold hit the highest record of Tk1,11,041 per bhori. Bajus's standing committee on pricing and price monitoring took the decision in a meeting on Wednesday, a press release said. Now, gold of 22-carat will cost Tk 1,12,440 per bhori (11.664 grams), 21-carat Tk 1,07,308, 18-carat Tk 92,028, and gold of traditional method Tk76,632 respectively. The new prices will come into effect from Thursday.

Dhaka’s ambitious metro rail has project reached a significant milestone with the opening of the Karwanbazar and Shahbagh metro rail stations. This achievement marks the completion of all 16 stations along the Dhaka Metro Rail route, extending from Uttara North to Motijheel. Following the commencement of the Bijoy Sarani and Dhaka University stations on December 13, only the Karwanbazar and Shahbagh stations were pending activation. With their launch, Dhaka residents can now enjoy full access to the metro rail network, significantly easing urban transportation. The service will be operational from 7:30am to 11:30am from Uttara to Motijheel, while the section from Uttara to Agargaon will run from 7:30am to 8:30pm. Earlier on December 13, the Bijoy Sarani and Dhaka University stations on the Agargaon-Motijheel metro rail section opened to the public.