Excitement at the peak in the last moment of casting



Dr. Mahfuz Parvez, Associate Editor, Barta24.com
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Advance voting is underway in the United States. More than 7 crore votes have already been cast. The final counting of votes will begin as soon as the November 3 polls are over. People's verdict: Donald Trump or Joe Biden, who is going to the White House? With the presidential election looming, the last days of tension are underway.

The 2020 US presidential election is very important and historic for a number of reasons. If Biden wins, he will be the country's oldest president. If his partner Kamala Harris becomes vice president, that too will be quite significant. Not only is Kamala the first woman in the country, but Kamala's Indian identity and not being white is also significant. And if Trump wins, he will be the first president to reach the threshold of impeachment, who has been re-elected after falling far behind in terms of popularity. The turmoil of various incidents and accidents is therefore revolving around the US presidential election.

The issue of voting in the United States, a democratic country, is quite complex. How complex and uncertain, was felt in the last 2016 election. Trump came to power after losing in the popular vote but was elected president. Even in power, practically, he has earned the title of 'unpopular' through his words and deeds. Electoral opinion polls also reflect his 'unpopularity'. The Republican candidate, the current President Donald Trump, is far behind the rival Democrat candidate.

In the last four years, President Trump has multiplied the controversy by winning the 'questionable' election in 2016. He is probably the only president who has consistently attacked civil rights, public welfare, democracy, dissent opinions and immigration. These are not the end. From natural disasters to environmental protection, even in the current climate of extremes, how to launch an staunch attack on science, Trump has proved to be the worst.

The leader of world capitalism, one of the richest countries in the United States, has faced many problems at home and abroad under the leadership of President Trump. The richest and most developed country has suffered the most from the global pandemic of coronavirus. Corona has already killed more than 250,000 people in the United States. It is also a matter of time before one crore people are infected, which is the same number as in the whole of Europe and slightly less than in India. The lion's share of the more than four and a half million victims worldwide are citizens of the Trump-ruled United States.

The accusation against Trump from all quarters is that the way in which the Corona pandemic has been "tackled" due to gross incompetence and indifference is expected to increase the number of infections and deaths. "Proper hygiene, wearing a mask, arranging rapid tests from scratch and, above all, the right leadership could have prevented at least 90 per cent of these deaths," said a study by Columbia University.

Not only is there an increase in deaths or infection in Corona, but rising unemployment, an imbalance in health care, and social inequality continue to rise under the Trump administration. The current government has made the poorer part of American society more dilapidated and endangered. However, Trump claims that "America has seen the best economy in its time." But the data says that the US GDP in the pre-Corona period is the same as in the Obama era - an average of 2.5 percent. Trump also claims that the country's unemployment rate was the lowest during his time before the epidemic. But he did not forget that the rate has been declining since the Obama administration. Trump's claim on black development is also futile. This is because black citizens are the most economically disadvantaged and laid off during the Corona period. This information is now coming to the fore on the eve of the election.

Many more arrows of accusation are being thrown against Trump in the run-up to the polls. That being said, Trump has also waged a cultural war during the last four years of his administration. He has chanted the mantra 'America vs. Others' to maintain his support base. From immigration to abortion rights, firearms laws, etc., he has continued to campaign on various issues. He has tried to inspire a very hard liner and extremist white group. There are fears that if the outcome of the vote is not to his liking, Trump could arm them this time around, which would be an ultimate omen for democracy, stability and peace.

   

We are ashamed to look at the development of Bangladesh: Pakistan PM



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif praised the economic progress of Bangladesh and said that they are ashamed to look at the development of Bangladesh.

According to a report by Pakistan-based media Dawn on Thursday (April 25), Shahbaz Sharif said this in a view exchange meeting with business representatives at the Sindh Chief Minister's residence in Karachi on Wednesday (April 24).

He said that before independence, Bangladesh i.e. East Pakistan at that time was considered a burden to the country. But they have made tremendous progress in the growth of industrialization.

Shahbaz Sharif said, I was very young when...we were told that it was a burden on our shoulders. Today you all know where that burden has reached (in terms of economic growth). And now when we look at them, we feel ashamed.

Currently, Bangladesh is ahead of Pakistan in almost all indicators of the socio-economic sector.

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Mass arrests could not stop anti-Israel protests at American universities



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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US universities have erupted in protest over Israel's military operation in the Palestinian-besieged Gaza. This pro-Palestinian movement is being suppressed even after mass arrests. Rather, as the days go by, the protests are spreading.

The news agency Reuters reported that police made mass arrests at Atlanta's Emory University amid protests. A graduation ceremony at the University of Southern California was canceled due to the protests.

Emory University officials said protesters not affiliated with the college entered campus grounds early Thursday morning. When they refused to leave, the police used chemical spray to disperse them.

According to CBS News, about 108 people were arrested at Emerson College in the city on Wednesday night local time. Earlier in the evening, 93 people were taken into police custody from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.

Anti-Israel protests have spread to dozens of US universities within a week of starting at New York's Columbia University.

Meanwhile, a clash between protesters and police took place at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Later, authorities said that 34 people were arrested from there. These new arrests came after massive arrests of protesters at Columbia, Yale and New York universities.

Students gathered Wednesday (April 24) to protest at the University of Southern California's Alumni Park. At this time they were stopped by the riot police. Protesters were told to leave within 10 minutes by an announcement from a police helicopter. However, the students who remained at the scene were arrested for trespassing.

The protests at the University of Southern California were reportedly peaceful at first. Later the tension spread with the presence of the police. Protesters threw water bottles at the police when they tried to arrest a woman. At this time, they kept shouting slogans - 'Let him go'. Besides, they surrounded the police officers and shouted slogans like 'I want the liberation of Palestine'.

It should be noted that on October 7, the Palestinian independence organization Hamas entered Israeli territory and carried out an ambush. 1200 people were killed. Because of this, since that day, the Israeli forces continue to attack Gaza indiscriminately. 34 thousand 305 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip in the attack that lasted for more than six months. Apart from this, there is a severe humanitarian crisis due to lack of food, water and medical equipment.

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Iran is cracking down on women who don't wear Hijab



International Desk, Barta24.com
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Iran is cracking down on women and girls who don't wear Hijab. The country has started a new campaign named 'Noor' from last April 13. Since then, the implementation of the Hijab law has started to become stricter.

Iran has strict laws on wearing the Hijab. Strict action is taken against those who break this law.

Some videos of women being assaulted have gone viral on social media. In them, it is seen that women who go out without Hijab are forcibly picked up in cars by the members of the 'Morality Police'.

A video shows a mother and daughter walking through Tehran's busiest square in the capital. At that time, they were surrounded by five female and two male members of the police. When they tried to evade arrest, they were violently beaten and taken into a car.

Dina Ghalibaf, a female student at Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University, wrote on the micro-blogging site X that she was barred from boarding the metro. When she insisted, she was taken to a room. She claimed that she was beaten and sexually harassed there.

The student was arrested a day after making such a post and taken to Evin prison.

British newspaper The Guardian spoke to some of those arrested. One of them told the media that eight members of the police surrounded her last Saturday. At that time, she was called "prostitute", "naked American prostitute" and insulted her. Apart from this, the young woman claimed that men also touched her during the arrest.



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Boeing incurs huge losses after door open incident



Special Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Boeing lost a huge amount of money due to the opening of the doors of the Boeing aircraft of Alaska Airlines in mid-air. US aircraft manufacturer Boeing reported a loss of US dollar 343 million in the first quarter of this year (January-March).

An unused door on an Alaska Airlines Boeing Max 9 collapsed moments after takeoff from Portland, Oregon last January. Although the Alaska Airlines plane was able to land safely in this incident, questions about Boeing's safety have been raised around the world.

As a result, Boeing reduced the production of the aircraft according to their target. As a result, Boeing is forced to pay huge losses in the first quarter of this year.

After the Alaska Airlines incident, the United States Aviation Agency ordered the grounding of 171 Boeing Max 737 aircraft. In the wake of the incident, Boeing's chief immediately admitted the mistake and promised to fix the problem with 100% transparency. But even this did not save the end. Boeing's CEO was eventually forced to resign.

In order not to cut the heat of this incident, a former Boeing engineer recently talked about the manufacturing defects of the Dreamliner 787. He recommended grounding all Dreamliner aircraft worldwide. In this incident, the safety of Boeing was questioned again.

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