Author: News Desk

US President Donald Trump said Monday he was not confident a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold, despite trumpeting his diplomacy to secure it ahead of his inauguration. Asked by a reporter as he returned to the White House whether the two sides would maintain the truce and move on in the agreement, Trump said, “I’m not confident.” “That’s not our war; it’s their war. But I’m not confident,” Trump said. Trump, however, said that he believed Hamas had been “weakened” in the war that began with its unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. “I looked at a picture…

US President Donald Trump fired four senior government officials appointed by his predecessor early Tuesday and warned “over a thousand more” faced imminent dismissal in a first post on Truth Social since his inauguration. “My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again,” Trump said on the platform. He named four individuals — Jose Andres from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, Brian Hook from…

On his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders, including rescinding Biden-era executive actions and withdrawing the US from the Paris climate accord. Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity during his campaign that he would be a dictator only on “day one” and use his presidential powers to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling. “After that, I’m not a dictator,” he said. As executive orders rolled in on Monday, the accelerated pace amounted to a shock-and-awe campaign. Trump promised in his inaugural speech that these orders…

Donald Trump said he planned to impose 25% tariffs on both Canada and Mexico and withdrew from a signature international climate treaty during an impromptu, wide-ranging news conference from the Oval Office where he tackled topics from trade wars to TikTok and said he was “not confident” that the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel would hold. The offhand remarks came as Trump signed a flurry of executive orders on domestic and international politics, including a decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organisation, which analysts have warned could hamper efforts to fight future pandemics. The US was…

Recently, netizens were in for a treat when Jaya Ahsan, Pritom Hasan and Elita Karim announced on their social media about an exciting collaboration. “It’s my first project with both Jaya Ahsan and Elita Karim. We’re coming up with something very special,” said Pritom Hasan to The Daily Star. “In the video, Jaya apa will be seen portraying a character that will feature prominently in a future project.” The musician also mentioned that he will reprise a character that he had played before, in the video. “We are collaborating on a project that combines storytelling, visuals, and music — using…

The director of “The Brutalist”, Brady Corbet, has been defending utilising AI since receiving hefty backlash for admitting to using the contentious tech in his film. He used AI to adjust leading actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones’ Hungarian dialect and generate specific images for the film’s ending. In his defense, Corbet said, “Adrien and Felicity’s performances are completely their own. They worked for months with dialect coach Tanera Marshall to perfect their accents. Innovative Respeecher technology was used only in Hungarian language dialogue editing, specifically to refine certain vowels and letters for accuracy.” “No English language was changed. This…

Today, the organisational secretary of the Artistes’ Association, actor Joy Chowdhury, confirmed this information to The Daily Star. On January 19, the executive council meeting of the Bangladesh Film Artists’ Association unanimously decided to suspend actress Nipun’s membership Joy Chowdhury told The Daily Star, “Actress Nipun’s membership has been suspended. If she can prove the allegations against her are false, her membership will be reinstated.” On July 16, 2024, Nipun Akter reportedly released a statement on the Artistes’ Association’s letterhead, identifying herself as the former general secretary. She later shared this on her Facebook page on July 17. The actress…

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin gave a heartfelt tribute to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan during the band’s second performance at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday. The crowd erupted in excitement as Martin declared, “Shah Rukh Khan forever,” before launching into the band’s iconic track, “Yellow”. Shah Rukh Khan, visibly moved by the gesture, shared a video from the concert on social media, along with a heartfelt message for the Coldplay lead singer. The “Jawan” star expressed his gratitude, writing, “Look at the stars… look how they shine for you… and everything you do! My brother Chris Martin, you make…

Actor Saif Ali Khan, who sustained stab injuries last week and underwent surgery at Lilavati Hospital, was discharged today afternoon, sources confirmed. Accompanied by his wife, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif left the hospital and returned to his Bandra residence. Doctors have advised Saif Ali Khan to remain on complete bed rest for a week and avoid visitors to minimise the risk of infection. Heavy security has been deployed at both the hospital and the actor’s residence as large crowds have gathered, hoping to catch a glimpse of the beloved star. Actor Saif Ali Khan sustained six stab wounds during…

Stocks of Khulna Printing & Packaging Ltd (KPPL) tripled in the past month despite the facts that it is languishing as a junk stock in the “Z” category, its operations have been shut for years, and there have been no positive developments about the company in recent times. Regarding the recent surge in its stock price, KPPL responded to a Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) notice yesterday saying it had no undisclosed price-sensitive information. Nonetheless, the printing company’s shares surged by around 10 percent to Tk 20.6 yesterday, marking a threefold increase from their starting point of Tk 7.2 last month,…