NBR plans to be flexible in income assessment

Back from SavarThe government's revenue board that expects to collect a record Tk 545 billion in 2008-9 fiscal year from internal sources will show optimum flexibility in assessment of income statements of self-motivated tax payers, said the chief of the...

Proposed gas price hikes should be rational

THE government is going for another tariff hike -- this time it is natural gas. State-run oil and gas agency -- Petrobangla -- has finalized a proposal for enhancing the average price of gas by 53.76 per cent to Tk...

Tailored to create a common culture

IT was just five years ago that Grant Thornton, the globally recognised accountancy firm, dipped its toes in the water of customised management education. But today David McDonnell, chief executive of Grant Thornton International, is planning a range of programmes...

news digest

11 killed in Pakistan road accidentKARACHI, Pakistan, July 19: At least 11 people were killed and 40 others injured when two buses collided head-on in southern Pakistan on Saturday, officials said. The accident occurred in the Raees Goth area, 19...

Private sector needs some public spirit

I was delighted to see the unspeakable Ken Livingstone defeated in the London mayoral elections. He debased the office he occupied, and sent a toxic message to wealth creators. But his replacement, my namesake Boris Johnson, will have a hard...

Grandparent poultry farm in Panchagorh closed

NILPHAMARI, July 19: First grandparent poultry farm in Panchagorh district has been declared closed due to ownership conflict.Established in 2005 with an aim to reduce import dependence on broiler breeder parent stocks by 20 per cent Bangladesh's first grandparent poultry...

AL to resist any polls under emergency

Acting President of the Awami League (AL) Zillur Rahman categorically said Saturday that AL would neither take part nor allow others to take part in any election under State of Emergency.He said this while addressing a gathering of leaders and...

Effort continues to get honest leadership: CA

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed Saturday said efforts continued so that honest, competent, dedicated and patriotic leaders can hold the helms at local levels and in parliament for a rebuilt future Bangladesh, reports UNB.The 'Esho Bangladesh Gori' Road Show has...

Argentina drops tax hike on grain exports

BUENOS AIRES, July 19 (AFP): Argentina said yesterday it was dropping a controversial plan to raise taxes on its all-important grain exports, one day after the government was dealt a defeat on the measure in the senate.Taxes on soya-its main...

Dollar holds ground after Citigroup earnings report

NEW YORK, July 19 (AFP): The dollar held firm yesterday amid news that US banking giant Citigroup, hard-hit by a sharp downturn in the US housing market, posted a smaller than expected quarterly loss.The euro was quoted at 1.5846 dollars...

Two French aid workers taken

PARIS, July 19 (AFP): Two French aid workers have been kidnapped in Afghanistan, Action Against Hunger (Action Contre la Faim - ACF) said Friday in a statement.The pair-whose identities were not revealed-were kidnapped in the early hours of the morning...

Beijing begins massive Olympic shutdown to clean capital's filthy air

BEIJING, July 19 (AP): Beijing's Olympic shutdown begins Sunday, a drastic plan to lift the Chinese capital's gray shroud of pollution just three weeks ahead of the games.Half of Beijing's 3.3 million vehicles will be pulled off the roads and...

Novartis celebrates 35 years in Bangladesh

Novartis celebrated 35 years of helping patients in Bangladesh all over the country Wednesday through community activities.Novartis conducted health check for marginalised people and tree plantation in 13 areas of the country on the occasion.July 17 in 1973, Novartis started...

Arrested Indian citizen gives different account of BSF claims on border clash

CHAPAINAWABGANJ, July 19 (UNB): The Indian citizen, who was arrested early Friday after a border skirmish between Indian and Bangladeshi guards, said the Indian side had opened fire first.Members of the Bangladesh Rifles arrested the man, Tajemul Haque, after the...

Roadside bomb kills 4 policemen in Kandahar

KANDAHAR, Jul 19 (AP) : Police say a roadside blast insouthern Afghanistan has killed four policemen.Khan Mohammad, a police official in Kandahar province, says the blast struck a patrol in Maywand district Saturday.Mohammad says four policemen were killed and another...

Seminar on HIV/AIDS held in Mymensingh

MYMENSINGH, July 19 (BSS): A daylong seminar on `Awareness raising on HIV/AIDS for youths in Bangladesh' was held in the auditorium of Mukul Neketon High School today.Organised by national association of UNESCO clubs in Bangladesh in cooperation with Bangladesh national...

Itinerary for New Zealand visit announced

The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced the itinerary Saturday for a tour by New Zealand in October, reports Reuters. New Zealand will arrive on October 4 to play three one-day internationals and two Tests. Bangladesh lost three one-day matches and two...

Citigroup projects economy to grow at 5.7pc in FY '09

The US-based Citigroup has projected Bangladesh's economy to grow at a lower 5.7 per cent in fiscal 2008-09 (FY09) due to slow investment and unfavourable global environment.The projection is well below the gross domestic product (GDP) growth prediction of 6.5...

Domestic and foreign investment in Indian retail sector

THEORETICALLY investment in retail sector will have a positive spill-over effect on other related sectors of the economy. Practically it needs to be assessed and ensured that investments are channelised properly for an integrated development in all the related sectors...

Mercantile Bank holds half-yearly business conference

The Half-Yearly Business Conference -2008 of Mercantile Bank Limited was held at a city hotel Saturday.The first vice president of the bank attended the conference as the chief guest while First Vice Chairperson Tazneen Aman, Chairman of the executive committee...

Six-day Int'l confce on 'global climate change' begins in city Aug 25

A six-day international conference on 'global climate change and its affects' will be held in Dhaka from August 25 to 30.Dhaka University (DU) and Ohio State University, USA are jointly organising the conference in cooperation with World Metrological Organisation (WMO),...

Congestion at Ctg port easing

Congestion at the Chittagong port is gradually easing as the main line operators have started to lift their empty containers to avoid payment of a fresh penal rent of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA).The CPA warned that it would slap...

Agrani Insurance approves 7.0pc cash dividend

The 8th annual general meeting (AGM) of Agrani Insurance Company Limited approved 7.0 per cent cash dividend for the shareholders concerned for the year 2007.The AGM was held at the Bangladesh Institute of Administration Management (BIAM) auditorium in the city...

Finance ministry approves new rule on public assets, budget

The finance ministry has approved a new regulation on public assets and budget that aims at keeping bank borrowings within 3.0 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), said the ministry officials.The regulation, first of its kind, has...

Huawei donates world class wireless telecom lab worth $3m to BUET

Huawei, a global leader in next generation communication network, will provide a world class wireless communication laboratory and training centre to Electric and Electronics Engineering (EEE) Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).The lab, equipped with GSM-CDMA technology,...

Brown meets al-Maliki to assess progress

BAGHDAD, July 19 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown arrived in Baghdad Saturday and quickly went into talks with his Iraqi counterpart to assess the progress made in security and political stability in the war-torn country.Brown held nearly an...

Carbide-tainted fruits cause serious health hazard

Seasonal summer fruits contaminated with carbide are causing serious health hazards such as stomach pain, acidity, food poisoning, digestive trouble and colon cancer, experts said Saturday, reports BSS."Carbide mix hinders biochemical reaction in fruits and subsequently cause the deadly diseases...

Golam Mostafa Lane KS beat Dhaka XI

Golam Mostafa Lane Kishore Sangha made a good start in the 2nd phase of the Metropolis Pioneer Football League beating Dhaka X1 Club by 1-0 goal in the opening match at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Stadium at...

Chinese dissident arrested on secret charges

BEIJING, July 19 (AFP): Chinese dissident Huang Qi, who campaigns for the parents of children killed in the Sichuan earthquake, has been arrested for "illegal possession of state secrets," his wife said today.Qi was detained in the Sichuan capital Chengdu...

197 polling centres identified as vulnerable in KCC

KHULNA, July 19 (UNB): Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) has identified 101 polling centres as vulnerable while 96 others most vulnerable in 31 wards of Khulna City Corporation (KCC) for the mayoral poll slated for August 4.KMP has taken necessary steps...