Gazi

  An unvaccinated young adult from New York recently contracted polio, the first US case in nearly a decade, health officials said Thursday.   Officials said the patient, who lives in Rockland County, had developed paralysis. The person developed symptoms a month ago and did not recently travel outside the country, county health officials said.   For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. It appears the patient had a vaccine-derived strain of the virus, perhaps from someone who got live vaccine — available in other countries, but not the US — and spread it, officials said.   The person is no longer deemed contagious, but investigators are trying to figure out how the infection occurred and whether other people were exposed to the virus.     Most Americans are vaccinated against polio, but this should serve as a wake-up call to the unvaccinated, said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Brown University pandemic researcher.   ...

  Marking the 50 years of diplomatic relations, Bangladesh and Brazil signed an ‘Agreement on the Exemption of Visa for Diplomatic and Official Passports’. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam and the Foreign Minister of Brazil Carlos Alberto Franco França signed the agreement on July 18 on behalf of their respective government, said the Bangladesh Embassy in Brazil on Wednesday (July 20). The Bangladesh State Minister is now on a 4-day maiden official visit to Brazil. A high-profile business delegation led by the President of the FBCCI Jashim Uddin and the representatives of the Bangladesh-Brazil Chamber of Commerce (BBCC) accompanied the State Minister during the visit. On July 18, the State Minister delivered a lecture for the trainee diplomats at the Rio Branco institute (Foreign Services Academy of Brazil) in Brasília. More than 100 guests comprising high officials from the host government, Ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, civil society, tr...

  Marvel's latest superhero flick "Thor: Love and Thunder" pounded opponents for a second straight week to top the North American box office with an estimated $46 million haul, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.   The comedic follow-up to 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok" stars a muscle-clad, self-parodying Chris Hemsworth as the space viking who wields the mallet Mjolnir, but also finds himself pining for his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), whose help he enlists to battle god butcher Gorr (Christian Bale).     The take was down sharply from its $144 million debut last weekend, but Thor still easily beat out "Minions: The Rise of Gru," which scored second spot for the second straight week after a phenomenal opening weekend over the July 4th holiday. The latest goofy installment in Universal's animated "Despicable Me" franchise about the reformed super-villain Gru and his yellow Minions took in $26 mil...

  Brad Pitt scotched talk of imminent retirement as he travelled to Paris for the premiere of his Jackie Chan-inspired action caper "Bullet Train".   The 58-year-old had worried fans that his acting days may be numbered after a GQ interview last month in which he said he was in the "last semester" of his career.     But Pitt told AFP: "I'm not getting out by any means. "It seems that might have been taken as a statement of retirement. That's not what I was saying," he said.   "I'm over that hump of middle age and so I'm looking at that last leg... how do I want to spend that time? At my age, you've made enough mistakes... now there's a comfort in applying that kind of wisdom."   "Bullet Train", which is being released around the world over the next two weeks, sees Pitt trying something new in an action comedy from the director of "John Wick", David Leitch.   Pitt plays a rel...

  Victoria Beckham will join the official line-up of Paris Fashion Week with a live runway show this autumn, the organisers announced on Wednesday.   The British designer and former Spice Girl has previously presented in London and New York, though she has not staged a live runway show since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. She will present her new luxury collection during the spring 2023 women's ready-to-wear shows, which run between September 26 and October 4. Paris Fashion Week has poached a number of British talents recently, including up-and-coming men's designer Craig Green, who returned to the catwalk in June, also for the first time since the pandemic.   Beckham last held a live show for her luxury brand in London in February 2020, then put on online shows in September 2020 and February 2021.   She was notably absent from London Fashion Week in February, having previously stated that high costs were making it difficult to stage live shows...

  France is keen on strengthening cooperation with Bangladesh for mutual economic and social benefits overcoming challenges ahead, a French diplomat in Dhaka said on Wednesday.   “We now have to keep working together to combine our strength in order to consolidate mutual economic and social benefits and to face the numerous challenges to come,” said Chargé d’affaires at the French Embassy in Dhaka Guillaume Audren de Kerdrel in a message marking the French National Day that falls on July 14.     He assured that the French Embassy will continue to play an active role to further strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries. While Bangladesh is still facing the challenges of climate change, France commends the leading role of Bangladesh in the Climate Vulnerable Forum.   “France remains at the disposal of Bangladesh in this area as well as in the field of infrastructures, particularly transportation, access to clean water, energy and ...