Today's ডাক is here. 🦆🦆

Morning, folks. I hope you’re smarter than cows and goats —
Adviser Farida Akhter “Cows and goats don’t eat tobacco. But people do — knowing they’re harmful!”
You guys aren’t doing that… right? 😅

Oh, and btw —
Taylor Swift just bought back all her music for a smooth $360M, finally ending her fight with Scooter Braun and the Wall Street bros.
No more (Taylor’s Version)? All originals now.

📰Prodhan Khobor

Japan committed $1b to BD | FY26 to Drop Tomorrow | Google’s AI App

🔎Bistarito

🤝 Yunus Wraps Up Japan

Chief Adviser is back home after a four-day trip to Japan, where he met PM Shigeru Ishiba and announced over $1.063 b in support, including:

• $418 m for economic reform and climate change projects

• $641 m for building a dual-gauge railway from Joydebpur to Ishwardi

• $4.2 m in scholarships for Bangladeshi students

Japan is Bangladesh’s biggest development partner, having already invested $24 billion since 1972. This visit marks a strong reboot in bilateral ties post-political transition. Eight new deals were signed—including on manpower training and job placement in Japan, where demand is growing. The pledges include support for climate resilience, railway upgrades, and scholarships. Japan plans to recruit 100,000 Bangladeshi workers in the next five years. The two countries also agreed to sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) soon, paving the way for deeper trade ties.

ঐDeshi

💰 BDT 7.9 trillion budget drops June 2 — budget for FY26 will be leaner than last year’s, trimming Tk 70 billion to Tk 7.9 trillion as it tries to tame inflation, boost investment, and shore up social safety nets. Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed will unveil it on BTV at 4 pm, setting a 5.5% GDP growth target—optimistic amid warnings from the IMF and World Bank that growth might stay under 5%.

💸 Tax-free income ceiling is going up slightly—from Tk3.5 lakh to Tk3.75 lakh—but for most taxpayers, that’s where the good news ends. Minimum tax could jump to Tk5,000, the 5% bracket is getting scrapped, and high earners will hit the 30% tax slab sooner—once income crosses Tk35.75 lakh, not Tk38.5 lakh.

⛽ Govt has reduced the fuel prices, cutting diesel by Tk 2 per litre and petrol and octane by Tk 3 per litre. However, the price of kerosene has been increased to Tk 114 per litre, up from Tk 102, due to a revised pricing method.

📢 Chief adviser invited BNP for talks tomorrow. Following criticism from BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed accused the government of stalling meaningful reforms and using them as a pretext to delay the national election beyond December.

📊Data Point

$183M
‘Lilo & Stitch’ movie made at the box office.

🌍Bideshi

📱 Google just quietly released AI Edge Gallery, an experimental app that lets Android users run AI models—from image generation to text rewriting—right on their phones, no internet required. The app taps into models hosted on Hugging Face and runs them locally for privacy and speed, with an iOS version on the way.

❌ Israel is facing mounting internal unrest amid its ongoing conflict in Gaza, with growing protests, military service refusals, and public dissent—including from hostages' families. Meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations remain stalled, as Hamas proposes amendments to a U.S.-brokered deal and Israel insists on Hamas’s total defeat and criticises it for offering “no guarantees” of a permanent end to the war.

🗳️ South Koreans head to the polls on June 3 in a high-stakes snap election after ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol’s brief martial law stunt triggered impeachment and chaos. Frontrunner Lee Jae-myung is leading the race against conservative Kim Moon-soo, with big implications for Seoul’s democracy, economy, and ties with the US, China, and North Korea.

🎭 A Voice That Still Echoes
13 Years Since the Death of Actor and Freedom Fighter Humayun Faridi. Listen to his recitation of Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Uttoradhikar:

“Boktobbo

পাকিস্তান ভাঙার অপরাধে এদেশে একদিন মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের ফাঁসিতে ঝুলিয়ে মৃত্যুদণ্ড প্রদান করা হবে।
হুমায়ুন আজাদ

❕ Baki-Stuff

• Govt Targets December Opening of Dhaka Airport's 3rd Terminal, but Japanese Consortium Seeks Delay.

• Forum Panel Led by Mahmud Hasan Khan Wins BGMEA Election.

• X Down Again: Users Face Feed, Posting, and Search Issues.

• India Did Suffer Aerial Losses in Conflict with Pakistan, Confirms Top General.

• PSG Crush Inter 5-0 to Win First-Ever Champions League Title.

We’re still learning. Any thoughts on us?👂

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