United News of Bangladesh

From its humble beginnings in Chinatown in 1936 to becoming a household name across Singapore and beyond, Woh Hup has been a key part of the nation’s culinary legacy for nearly nine decades. Best known for its noodles and the iconic Oyster Sauce, the brand continues to shape kitchens while balancing tradition with innovation. Over the years, Woh Hup has earned recognition for its contributions to Singapore’s food culture, including a place in the National Heritage Board’s 50 Made in Singapore Products (2015) and the Top Influential Brand in Sauces award (2018, 2023). A delicious guide to frozen drinks this summer Building on this legacy, Woh Hup has launched its China Flavour Instant Noodles series, designed to bring authentic regional tastes to modern dining. The series features three varieties: Dried Shanghai Scallion Oil Noodles – rich and savouryDried Sichuan Pepper Noodles – hot and flavourfulDried Shanxi Spicy Oil Noodles – aromatic and spicyCatering to health-conscious consumers, the noodles are non-fried, cholesterol-free and trans fat-free, offering a lighter option without sacrificing taste. Convenient and quick to prepare, they suit today’s fast-paced lifestyles while preserving authentic flavours. Now available at major retailers in Singapore, the China Flavour series reinforces Woh Hup’s position as a trusted homegrown brand that honours tradition while embracing modern tastes. Source: Agency 

When Hurricane Katrina struck 20 years ago, it devastated New Orleans and transformed its schools, leaving behind the nation’s first all-charter district. For many who lived through that upheaval, the experience shaped their futures — inspiring some to become educators themselves. Ahead of the storm’s anniversary, three survivors shared with The Associated Press how Katrina altered their lives and careers. A displaced student finds inspiration in TexasChris Dier, now a history teacher in New Orleans, was starting his senior year in neighboring Chalmette when Katrina hit. Evacuated to Texas, he finished school there after months in a trailer offered by strangers. Teachers stepped up in his darkest moments — providing supplies, tutoring, and even soccer cleats. “They made me feel like I belonged, not just a statistic,” he recalled. Once determined never to follow his mother into teaching, Dier said Katrina changed his outlook. “I saw how teachers responded. That inspired me.” An eighth grader longs for New Orleans’ ‘love and attention’Jahquille Ross, now an educator and nonprofit leader, was in eighth grade when he evacuated. Shuttled through four schools in a year, he felt isolated and struggled academically. “The teachers didn’t go out of their way. I didn’t get the love and attention I was used to in New Orleans,” he said. Returning months later, he found strength in family and community. Inspired by supportive educators, Ross chose to teach, hoping to give young children — especially from Black communities — the same encouragement he once received. Vermont’s dog mountain honors the bond between humans and their pets A teacher loses her school and memoriesMichelle Garnett, who taught kindergarten for three decades, recalled the heartbreak of finding her school destroyed. Floodwaters ruined her classroom, along with irreplaceable keepsakes her parents had given her. “All was lost,” she said. Still, living with 23 family members in Baton Rouge, she found comfort in safety and togetherness. Garnett entered teaching out of necessity while caring for her ill daughter, but Katrina deepened her sense of purpose. “We think we choose a path, but God puts us where he wants us. Teaching is where I needed to be.” Their stories reflect how Katrina’s devastation reshaped not just schools but lives — and how resilience, care, and community became lessons for a new generation of educators. Source: Agency 

One way to be climate-friendly: Shop sustainably. But figuring out which products count as “sustainable” can be hard, especially when buying online. As ordering with a computer or phone becomes more ubiquitous, the number of online products labeled sustainable is also increasing. Yet there is no single seal of approval across e-commerce platforms that verifies whether something is climate-friendly, partly because there are multiple ways to define sustainability. Third-party nonprofit organizations study manufacturers and sellers' practices and offer certifications that are displayed online. Government programs such as the Agriculture Department's organic certification or Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star efficiency standard are also often listed. Large e-commerce websites may highlight the certifications with special icons, hyperlinks to certification programs or written descriptions. The mixture can invite homework from buyers. Elwyn Grainger-Jones, who leads a nonprofit that certifies product sustainability, said there also isn't a single clearinghouse that tracks which third-party certifications are the most credible. “Therein lies an issue and a challenge,” said Grainger-Jones, CEO of Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. “What we haven’t seen so far is a third-third party step in and be the information portal on what a good certification is." And while shopping online might come with more packaging, it doesn't always come with more emissions. A person shopping online may even emit less than if they went to the store in person, according to a study published in Environmental Science and Technology. But there are a lot of variables, including which e-commerce site they use, the shipping speed they select and how close they live to a brick-and-mortar alternative. There might not be one surefire way to tell sustainable products from unsustainable ones, but certification experts shared tips on what to look for. Many apply to in-person purchases, too, so you can keep them in mind for the supermarket or furniture store. Know how sustainability is measured There are multiple measures of sustainability, and sometimes positive attributes can be offset by negative ones. Third-party certification is meant to show that an independent group studied these factors. Some focus on one issue, while others look holistically at how different factors fit together. Manufacturing an item might have low emissions but use lots of water. A company might reduce plastic, but if its products don't last long, they can still wind up in the landfill. Other sustainability concerns include energy efficiency, how far the item has traveled and how resources were extracted to make it. Certification labeling also varies. Sometimes it's printed on the product, sometimes it's listed on the manufacturer's website and sometimes the certifying body lists the products that have earned its approval. Large retail websites, in turn, often list certifications in a product description. Check whether it’s verified by a third party Third-party verification is a core avenue for determining whether a manufacturer's sustainability claims are legitimate. “Ideally you want to look for some certifying bodies because they’ve removed some of that up-front labor that as a consumer you otherwise might have to do," said Clementina Consens of B Lab, which certifies companies that meet environmental and social standards. Grainger-Jones said some companies create their own self-certifications that look convincing but don't mean much. “You can go and buy a self-declared certificate for a couple of thousand dollars,” he said. Look for quantifiable and transparent climate goals If a company is serious about sustainability, it should have its practices assessed and make that information easy for customers to find, Consens said. She said she looks to see whether a company has completed an environmental impact assessment, whether it publicizes its findings or whether there is any tangible data on the company's greenhouse gas emissions, water or energy use. Large e-commerce websites such as Amazon, Walmart and Target have set emissions benchmarks and other climate-related targets for their suppliers and list their own companywide sustainability goals. Walmart, for example, has released extensive information on its Project Gigaton, including a list of participating suppliers, definitions of its recognition tiers and science-based requirements for suppliers' goals. Target publishes its climate goals, and has provided updates on where the company has surpassed expectations, and where it has fallen short. It also displays icons and hyperlinks next to products that meet sustainability goals. Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly program vets products based on a set of verified third-party certifications and posts a green leaf label alongside products that meet the certifications, along with hyperlinks. “Having those third-party standards is super important for credibility,” said Nneka Leiba, Amazon's principal sustainability specialist. Certifications that aren't quantifiable or are too permissive don't meet Leiba's bar for inclusion in the program. She said when evaluating a certification, she looks to see whether it’s following International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, or other relevant standards. She said certifications should be backed by scientific rigor and require companies or products meet specific benchmarks. Leiba said manufacturers' efforts to become certified can be good for their business. She said products in the Climate Pledge Friendly program experience a 12% sales increase in the first year after earning the green leaf badge. “That cycle is really beneficial to our customer, and beneficial to the environment,” she said.  

Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong is set to request a 700 million baht (S$27.6 million) budget from the Cabinet for a domestic flight giveaway programme aimed at drawing at least 200,000 international tourists to destinations across the country. Sorawong on Wednesday said the Ministry of Tourism and Sports plans to submit a proposal to the Cabinet next week for the budget allocation to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The programme, titled “Buy International, Free Thailand Domestic Flights,” is designed to encourage foreign visitors to explore locations beyond Thailand’s main tourist cities. Foreign couples rush to marry in Denmark, Copenhagen moves to prioritize locals The TAT will work with six domestic airlines—Thai AirAsia, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai Airways International (Thai), Thai Lion Air, and Thai VietJet—on joint promotional campaigns to strengthen Thailand’s tourism sector as a key driver of economic growth. “The government will support domestic flight tickets priced at 1,750 baht per one-way trip and 3,500 baht for round trips. The initiative aims to attract at least 200,000 foreign tourists, covering destinations across Thailand, with a particular focus on Unesco-designated cities, popular tourist spots, and key destinations nationwide,” Sorawong explained. “The total budget for this project is 700 million baht, which will run from August to December, with travel to take place from September to November.” Italy's Cala Goloritze Ranks Top among the World's 50 Best Beaches in 2025 International visitors purchasing standard airfares to Thailand—either through airline websites, multi-city options from Thai and Bangkok Airways, or fly-thru/check-through services from Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air, and Thai, or via online travel agents (OTAs)—will receive free round-trip domestic tickets along with a 20kg luggage allowance. The programme is expected to generate at least 8.81 billion baht in direct revenue from foreign tourist spending, with total economic benefits projected at 21.80 billion baht. The initiative is inspired by Japan’s “free domestic flights” campaign, which seeks to spread tourist traffic from major cities to secondary destinations. It supports the Thai government’s designation of 2025 as the “Amazing Thailand Grand Tourism and Sports Year.”

A special photography exhibition titled 'Shotoborshe Sultan' will begin on Friday evening at Bengal Shilpalay in Dhanmondi marking the birth centenary of legendary Bangladeshi artist SM Sultan. Bengal Foundation organised the exhibition in collaboration with HSBC Bangladesh. The exhibition will showcase a rare and intimate visual journey of artist Sultan through the lens of eminent photographer Nasir Ali, widely known as the 'Poet with the Camera.' It will feature portraits of the iconic artist alongside original negatives, handwritten letters, diary entries, drawings, and other memorabilia from Mamun’s private collection.  Many of these artifacts will be displayed publicly for the first time, offering an evocative glimpse into the extraordinary life of one of Bangladesh’s most visionary painters. Marking his 65th solo exhibition, Mamun described the initiative as a significant milestone in his artistic career.  “For the first time, items from my personal collection— including three of his teeth, handwritten letters, diary pages with writings and drawings, unpublished sketches, and original negatives—will be on public display. To mark the occasion, Bengal Foundation and HSBC Bangladesh are jointly publishing a 160-page catalogue titled 'Seeding the Soul' - and altogether, this will be an important exhibition,” Nasir told UNB. "It feels like the State has finally honored me with what I deserve:" Nasir Ali Mamun 'Shotoborshe Sultan' will remain open to visitors every day from 4 to 8 pm (except Sundays) until September 27 at Bengal Shilpalay, House 42, Road 27, Dhanmondi. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by distinguished artist Monirul Islam and Matiur Rahman, Editor of The Daily Prothom Alo, as Guests of Honour. Md Mahbub ur Rahman, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bangladesh, will also be present on the occasion.

The Cambridge Dictionary has added more than 6,000 new words this year, including social media-driven slang like “skibidi” and “tradwife.” “Internet culture is reshaping the English language, and it’s fascinating to capture these changes in the dictionary,” said Colin McIntosh, lexical program manager at Cambridge Dictionary, the world’s largest online dictionary. Skibidi — coined from an animated YouTube series — can mean “cool,” “bad,” or be used playfully with no specific meaning. Meanwhile, tradwife is short for “traditional wife,” describing a married woman who embraces homemaking and often shares her lifestyle online. Another addition, delulu (from “delusional”), refers to believing things that are not real, often by choice. Christian Ilbury, a sociolinguistics lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, noted that many of the new entries emerged on platforms like TikTok, where younger generations communicate. He added that terms such as delulu actually predate social media, but wider online use boosted their visibility. Other additions reflect broader trends: mouse jiggler — a gadget or software used to fake computer activity while not working, a term popularized by remote work — and forever chemical, describing persistent and harmful environmental pollutants. Students face arrests and office calls over AI surveillance false alarms Cambridge Dictionary said its decisions are guided by the Cambridge English Corpus, a database of over 2 billion written and spoken words, which helps track real-world usage. “A dictionary is a public record of how language is used,” Ilbury explained. “If people are saying skibidi or delulu, the dictionary should reflect that.” McIntosh stressed that only words with “staying power” were added. Source: Agency 

The 76th birth anniversary of eminent playwright and theatre personality Selim Al Deen, widely known as 'Natyacharya', is being celebrated across the country through theatre festivals, seminars, exhibitions, processions and commemorative programmes. On Monday morning, teachers, students and cultural organisations paid floral tributes at Selim Al Deen’s grave on the Jahangirnagar University (JU) campus. The JU Drama and Dramatics Department arranged daylong programmes featuring theatre songs, a photography exhibition, a commemorative rally, and a seminar where Dhaka University’s Theatre and Performance Studies teacher Sudip Chakraborty presented a keynote paper. Meanwhile, Dhaka Theatre and Gram Theatre jointly organised a four-day festival at Bangladesh Mahila Samity, which began on Friday with the staging of Deen’s Liberation War-based play 'Deyal'. The festival will conclude Monday evening with the Dhaka Theatre Awards ceremony and the staging of Deen’s play 'Nimmojon', directed by Nasiruddin Yousuff. Theatre troupe Swapnadal launched its two-day festival titled 'Natyacharya Selim Al Deen Janmotsab 2025' on Monday at Jahangirnagar University and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA). The programme features special stagings of Deen’s iconic plays 'Hargaj' and 'Chitrangada', directed by his student Zahid Repon. On Monday evening, 'Hargaj' will be staged for the 49th time at BSA’s Experimental Theatre Hall, while 'Chitrangada' will be staged on Tuesday evening to close the festival. In Gaibandha, Sarathi Theatre is hosting a three-day festival at Dariapur featuring tree plantations, art competitions, cultural performances, and the staging of Kalindir Git on Wednesday. Bogura Theatre is also marking the occasion with art competitions, recitations, and theatrical readings at its office premises. Separately, Selim Al Deen Sangrohashala arranged a two-day programme including a seminar on “Henrik Ibsen and Selim Al Deen: Eastern and Western Theatrical Forms and Modernity” at the National Theatre Hall, followed by a staging of 'Rupchan Sundarir Pala' by Bangalok. Born on August 18, 1949, in Senerkhil village of Feni’s Sonagazi upazila, Selim Al Deen studied Bangla literature at Dhaka University and later joined Jahangirnagar University, where he founded the Drama and Dramatics Department. A co-founder of Dhaka Theatre and Gram Theatre, he was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 2007, the Bangla Academy Award in 1984, and the National Film Award for Best Dialogue in 1994. Selim Al Deen passed away on January 14, 2008, and was laid to rest near the central mosque of Jahangirnagar University.

Dog Mountain in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, has become a beloved destination for dog lovers seeking nature, art, and a place to honor their pets. Anne Pace, visiting with her one-year-old border collie Tam, said, “I’ve wanted to see this place for years. I even left a note for my previous border collie—he was my best buddy.” The 150-acre park was founded 25 years ago by Vermont folk artist Stephen Huneck and his wife, Gwen. It features hiking trails, swimming ponds, an art gallery, and a Dog Chapel where visitors leave photos and messages for their pets. Gallery manager Pam McCann described it as “a pilgrimage place and a sanctuary.” Czech Zoo celebrates birth of 4 rare Barbary Lion cubs, extinct in the wild Huneck’s art—sculptures, prints, and furniture—adorns the park, including the chapel, which showcases his love for dogs through detailed carvings and stained-glass images of his own dog, Sally. Visitors like Scott and Julie Ritchie, traveling the U.S. with three large dogs, call it a rare and beautiful experience worth revisiting. Source: Agency 

As summer temperatures soar, frozen drinks like milkshakes, malts, frappes and concretes offer a refreshing escape, but their names and recipes vary across regions and eateries in the U.S. Milkshakes, the most iconic of the bunch, are typically made by blending ice cream with milk and flavorings such as syrups, extracts or fruit. At Manhattan’s century-old Lexington Candy Shop, vanilla remains the most popular flavor, followed by chocolate, coffee and strawberry, according to co-owner John Philis. Specialty shakes include the black and white (vanilla and chocolate) and the Broadway (coffee ice cream with chocolate syrup). Malts are milkshakes enriched with malted milk powder, which combines malted barley, wheat flour and evaporated milk, giving a toasted, nutty flavor reminiscent of 1950s diners. How to know when your garden vegetables are ready to harvest Frappes differ by region. In Massachusetts, a frappe resembles a milkshake, sometimes just flavored milk. Coffee-based frappes, popularized by chains like Starbucks, are blended icy drinks topped with whipped cream. Other frozen treats include concretes — ultra-thick frozen custard blended with mix-ins like cookies or candy, requiring a spoon to eat. Ice cream floats mix ice cream with soda for a bubbly dessert, while ice cream sodas are made with syrup and seltzer, then topped with ice cream. Smoothies, often viewed as a healthier option, combine fruit, yogurt or juice and sometimes ice, though rich ingredients can make them high in sugar and calories. From creamy shakes to frothy floats, frozen drinks offer a variety of flavors and textures for summer indulgence.

Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) on Thursday inaugurated 'Troubling Rain', a solo photography exhibition by award-winning photographer and educator Abir Abdullah, at its La Galerie in the capital’s Dhanmondi. The opening ceremony was attended by prominent artist Dhali Al Mamoon, architect Saif Ul Haque, Ekhon TV editorial head Tushar Abdullah, and art critic Moinuddin Khaled. In the exhibition, Abir captures the contrasting faces of Dhaka’s monsoon season — celebrated in Bengali literature for its beauty and romance, yet marked by disruption and hardship. Shot over two decades, his images portray flooded streets, overturned umbrellas, and fragile urban infrastructure under relentless rain, offering intimate glimpses into the resilience of the city’s residents. Abir Abdullah, currently the Photography Workshop Coordinator at AFD, studied at the Bangladesh Photographic Institute and Pathshala, later advancing his skills through global workshops and documentary projects. His career has been recognised with prestigious honours including the Mother Jones International Fund for Documentary Photography and the Alexia Foundation professional grant. His works have been published in The New York Times, Asiaweek, and TIME, and exhibited in cities including London, Amsterdam, San Francisco, Perpignan, Quebec, and Sharjah. 'Troubling Rain' will remain open to visitors until August 23, from Monday to Saturday between 3 pm and 9 pm, at La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka.