Foreign investors keep pulling out as uncertainty weighs on market

Foreign investors have continued withdrawing funds from Bangladesh's equity market over the past nine months through February this year amid persistent geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainties.Political stability following the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's landslide victory in the February polls has failed...

The next phase of digital payments in Bangladesh

When I look at how payments were traditionally made in Bangladesh till about a decade ago, I am reminded how our financial system relied on physical presence. Paying utility bills, settling supplier payments, or processing salaries meant paperwork, signatures, and...

Eid travel chaos exposes governance failures

For years, political leaders and ministers have shown a persistent lack of control of their speeches, decisions and initiatives on national issues. During the Eid vacation, these shortcomings were evident in areas such as transport fares, availability of vehicles and...

A tale of city's street dogs

The Defence Officers Housing Society (DOHS) Parishad at Baridhara and the Animal Welfare of Baridhara DOHS (AWBD) are, according to a report carried in a contemporary, on a collision course over the presence of stray dogs there. Even the pet...

Surviving unexpected energy storms

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has instructed the home minister to adopt stern measures against oil smuggling as well as creation of any artificial energy crisis. For a country critically dependent on imported fossil fuel, such strict directive from the government's...

Adverse impacts of energy crisis on commodity prices

The war in the Middle East has entered 2nd month, and there is no end in sight. All sides are claiming that they are winning, but only one outcome that is certain is global economic recession and suffering of ordinary...

The costs of Trump-Netanyahu's dirty war

It has been the dirtiest of all wars, if by dirty is meant a cunning, stealthy, unprovoked and no-holds barred war. America and Iran were ostensibly (from the aggressors' point of view) negotiating under the good offices of the Omani...

Deliberately silenced: Feminism and what we refuse to hear

The meaning of the word feminism has been shaped by contemporary trends and compounded misconceptions, which have ultimately eroded its true essence and, at times, weaponised it. Driven by a sense of misapprehension of its intent, the word “feminist” is...

Houthis enter war with missile targeting Israel

TEHRAN, Mar 28 (AFP): Yemen's Houthi rebels announced their entry into the Middle East war on Saturday by launching a ballistic missile towards Israel, as the world struggled to contain the economic damage of a conflict now entering its second...

13 BD fishermen 'abducted by Arakan Army' in Teknaf

Cox's Bazar, Mar 28 (UNB): Thirteen Bangladeshi fishermen were abducted allegedly by the members of Myanmar's armed rebel group Arakan Army from the Naf River in Teknaf upazila of Cox's Bazar district on Saturday morning.Those abducted were identified as Mostafizur...

Post-Eid return rush overwhelms Dhaka

The capital city witnessed massive crowds at key entry points on Saturday as thousands of city residents returned from their village homes after the Eid-ul-Fitr and Independence Day holidays, with many passengers complaining of higher transport fares and prolonged traffic...

First responders and security forces work at the site of a projectile strike in Eshtaol,

First responders and security forces work at the site of a projectile strike in Eshtaol, near Beit Shemesh in central Israel, on Saturday. — AFP

Ahsan Habib Palash takes charge as 12th DG of RAB

Additional IGP Md. Ahsan Habib Palash has assumed charge as the 12th Director General (DG) of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) today.A member of the 15th BCS (Police) batch, Palash joined the Bangladesh Police in 1995 as an Assistant Superintendent...

WTO members bypass opposition to introduce world’s first baseline digital trade rules

YAOUNDE, March 28 (Reuters): A group of World Trade Organization members agreed on Saturday to sidestep adoption hurdles for the world’s first baseline on digital trade rules, opting to bring the agreement into force among consenting participants, the WTO said.In...

Govt plans five climate-resilient bridges in Mymensingh, Netrokona

The government plans to build five climate-resilient bridges over key rivers in the border areas of Mymensingh and Netrokona, aiming to strengthen regional connectivity and unlock economic potential in the country's north-eastern districts.The Roads and Highways Division (RTHD) has proposed...

Vehicles queue at a refuelling station in the capital's Arambagh area on Saturday as panic buying

Vehicles queue at a refuelling station in the capital's Arambagh area on Saturday as panic buying continues despite government assurances of adequate fuel stocks. —FE photo by K Asad-Uz-Zaman

Investment, savings slide as growth slows

Bangladesh's investment and savings ratios declined sharply in FY2024-25, reflecting a broader economic slowdown that has pushed GDP growth to its lowest level since the pandemic. The latest official data point to weakening domestic demand and a more cautious investment...

Israel hits Iranian nuke facilities

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Mar 28 (AP): Israel struck Iran's nuclear facilities hours after threatening to "escalate and expand" its campaign against Tehran on Friday. Iran vowed to retaliate and struck a base in Saudi Arabia, wounding U.S. service members...

Bank Asia to acquire Bank Alfalah's local operations for $47.5m

The shareholders of Pakistan-based Bank Alfalah Limited have approved the sale and transfer of its Bangladesh operations to Dhaka-based Bank Asia Limited for approximately $47.5 million (equivalent to around Tk 5.80 billion), reports UNB.A source at Bank Asia confirmed that...

Hackers demand $1.5m ransom in major cyberattack

In one of the largest corporate cyberattacks in Bangladesh, the country's leading supermarket chain Shwapno has confirmed that its customer database was breached, with hackers demanding a ransom of $1.5 million.The incident came to light after sensitive customer information-including names,...

Energy plans strain under budget constraints

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division has sought an additional Tk 16.30 billion in the FY2026-27 budget, warning that a funding shortfall could disrupt key projects and weaken the country's energy security efforts.The request comes amid mounting pressure on public...

Tarique at Nayapaltan office for first time as PM

BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman exchanged views with party leaders, cabinet members and lawmakers at the party's Nayapaltan central office in the city on Saturday evening, reports BSS.Earlier, he arrived at the central office around 7:20pm while BNP...

Govt appoints tag officers, deploys BGB at fuel depots

The government has stepped up monitoring of the country's fuel supply chain by appointing tag officers at petrol pumps and deploying Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel at key depots, as motorists in the capital continue to suffer for acute short...

Govt may have to spend extra Tk 610b annually

Bangladesh faces a looming economic challenge stemming from global oil price crossing a critical threshold of US$120 per barrel amid the escalating Mideast tensions, with an extra burden on its cautiously tailored budget. Researchers at a press briefing Saturday warned...

Section 144 imposed before Taheri's mahfil in Habiganj

HABIGANJ, Mar 28 (UNB): The local administration has imposed Section 144 in Shimulghar area of Madhabpur upazila in Habiganj ahead of a planned waz mahfil by Mufti Giyas Uddin Taheri. The event was scheduled to take place Saturday afternoon in...

2,800 litres of illegally stored fuel seized in Jamalpur

Authorities have uncovered 2,800 litres of fuel hidden at a filling station in Jamalpur following a protest by hundreds of motorcyclists who blocked a major highway after being denied service, report agenciesThe drive was conducted at M/S Jui Enterprise in...

AL politicised Liberation War, undermined genuine freedom fighters: Hasan Hafiz

President of Jatiya Press Club, poet Hasan Hafiz, has alleged that the Awami League (AL) politicised the spirit of the Liberation War, thereby undermining genuine freedom fighters, reports UNB.He said the party did not single-handedly achieve independence and claimed that...

CCC administrator pledges to build clean Cumilla

CUMILLA, March 28 (BSS): Cumilla City Corporation (CCC) Administrator Yusuf Molla Tipu has reaffirmed his commitment to transforming Cumilla into a clean, livable and modern urban center, in line with the Prime Minister's directives.He made the remarks while inaugurating mosquito...

July Memorial set on fire in Shariatpur

SHARIATPUR, March 27 (UNB): Miscreants have set fire to the July Memorial in Shariatpur, built in memory of the martyrs of the 2024 July uprising.Mohsin Madbar, convener of the district unit of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), shared a...

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman presiding over a meeting of BNP Parliamentary

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman presiding over a meeting of BNP Parliamentary Party at the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat in the capital on Saturday. — Focus Bangla