Tax proposal for printed paper, pictorial and drawing books

THE finance adviser, according to his own claim and also as per the views of the chamber bodies, presented a business-friendly budget. Economists also did not make any severe adverse criticism of the proposed budget for fiscal 2008-2009. But I...

US economy going thru' a spell of recession

NEW YORK, June 12: No one in the United States tries to conceal the fact that the economy is going through a spell of recession. The Fed officials and Treasury department say the current problems stem from the record spike...

BSRM urges removal of duty anomaly imposed on billets, rods

BSRM Group, an industrial conglomerate has urged the government to remove the duty anomaly imposed on billets and rods as proposed in the budget for 2008-09."The duty on billets, if applied on ad-valorem would be approximately Tk 5500 per tonne...

Pak cricket chief blasts team after India defeat

KARACHI, June 12 (AFP) : Pakistan's cricket chief on Thursday accused the national team of lacking commitment after they suffered their biggest-ever defeat against arch-rival India.India thrashed Pakistan by 140 runs in the tri-series match held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on...

Trial of power-plant graft case deferred to June 18

Keeping in abeyance the trial of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the barge-mounted power plant graft case, a special court Thursday fixed June 18 as the next date following a late development, reports UNB.Judge M Firoz Alam passed the...

Teak timber worth Tk 0.6m recovered in Comilla: 2 held

COMILLA, June 12 (UNB): The staff of Suaganj Forest Station seized a truck loaded with teak timber worth Tk 0.6 million (6.0 lakh) and arrested two people in Daudkandi Upazila Wednes-day morning.Acting on a secret information, the officials and employees...

Military 'runs Mugabe campaign'

The BBC has obtained documents suggesting that Zimbabwe's military is actively involved in running Robert Mugabe's re-election campaign, according to Internet.The documents outline plans by ruling party Zanu-PF to harass and drive out opposition supporters, especially from rural areas. A...

Finance chiefs from Asia, Europe to debate global turbulence

SEOUL, June 12 (AFP): Senior European and Asian financial officials will gather in South Korea this weekend to debate ways to tackle the global financial turmoil sparked by the US subprime mortgage crisis.Europe's huge and growing trade shortfall with China...

Call rate down, dollar stable

The inter-bank call money rate closed lower Thursday although the market experienced higher demand for cash. The US dollar, however, maintained its earlier strength intact against Bangladesh taka (BDT) in the inter-bank foreign exchange market due to intervention inflow of...

Proposed duty structure for imported partially oriented yarn merits reconsideration

The government's proposed budget for fiscal 2008-09 is industry-friendly, on the a whole. However, there are some factors that merit reconsideration by the government as well. The reduction of customs duty by two per cent has been proposed for imported...

Pak consumer prices hit 33-yr high

FT Syndication ServiceISLAMABAD: Pakistan's inflation rate surged to its highest level in more than 30 years in May, new data showed last Wednesday as the government released a budget that includes a big reduction in fuel and food subsidies.Consumer prices...

Primary teachers snub BRAC boss Abed's offer of talks

Four organisations of primary teachers have declined an offer by BRAC founder and boss Fazle Hasan Abed to sit across the table and end the hostility over a government project to train primary school teachers under the non-government organization, reports...

Responding to people's expectations

THERE was a time when dictatorship, centralisation of power and all the other attributes of strong individual dominated regimes used to be at least secretly admired by a large number of people. But many of these same people with their...

ICB AMCL declares NAV of three unit funds

The Asset Management Company Limited (AMCL), a subsidiary of Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), has declared net asset values (NAV) of its three unit funds.The total NAV of ICB AMCL First Mutual Fund stood at Tk 185,179,753.71 on the basis...

Robbers loot four houses in Manikganj

MANIKGANJ, June 12 (UNB): Armed robbers looted cash and valuables worth about Tk 1.0 million (10 lakh) from four houses at Uttar Sheota in the district town Tuesday and Wednesday.Local people said the robbers numbering 20/25 swooped on the house...

Bush to face huge anti-war demonstration in Italy

ROME, June12 (Agencies): President Bush can look forward to a hearty welcome from his old friend, the charismatic Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, and Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Rome. That's not what was found on the streets, however,...

9 robbers killed in shooting, mass-beating in Natore

Nine suspected robbers were killed in mayhem of mass-beating and gunfight between a gang of robbers and law-enforcers at Bara Adimpur village in Singra under Natore early Thursday, reports UNB.Police said local people hemmed in a gang of dacoits numbering...

Dhaka to prepare products list for marketing abroad

Dhaka will prepare a list of products for marketing abroad under zero tariff facility as per WTO Hong Kong Declaration in 2005, said an adviser Thursday."The list will be prepared within the next month," said commerce adviser Hossain Zillur after...

commodities digest

China opposes US ruling on steel pipe dumping dutiesBEIJING, June 12: The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Wednesday that it was strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to a recent final US ruling on the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probe into...

Saudi oil-price meet to be at head-of-state level: OPEC chief

LONDON, June 12 (AFP): A meeting due June 22 in Saudi Arabia for the world's biggest oil producers and consumers to discuss record-high crude prices will be at head-of-state level, OPEC chief Abdullah al-Badri said Wednesday."The meeting in Jeddah will...

Rangs launches 'Bangla Karaoke' products

Rangs Electronics Limited, known as 'SONY RANGS', introduced its latest Pexatech Magic Sing Bangla Karaoke products in their product line up.Two models of Magic Sing Karaoke with 250 built-in Bangla songs will be available at 20 outlets in Dhaka and...

Nazmul Huda gets another 12 years RI, Sigma cleared

A Dhaka court Thursday sentenced former BNP communications minister Nazmul Huda to 12 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) on charges of extorting a vehicle by threatening a Bogra MP, reports bdnews24.com.The court acquitted Huda's wife Sigma, co-accused in the case.Additional Metropolitan...

Obituaries of the Clinton almost-dynasty are premature

WHEN Bill Clinton told Hillary about his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky, the First Lady banished him to one of the White House couches for several nights. "I spent the first couple of days alternating between begging her for forgiveness and...

city events

earns second goldOlympian shooter Sabrina Sultana of Dhaka Rifles Club earned her second gold medal in the 22nd National Shooting Championship clinching the top slot of the Women's 10 metre Air Rifles on the 3rd-day of the five-day meet at...

Budget 2008-09: A re-statement of what is given

Preparing the budget and placing it before the nation is a regular annual exercise by any government in office.Despite the fact that the incumbent government is not an elected one, it has still to prepare one to let the nation...

Readjustment of duty structure to cause Tk 9.55b revenue loss

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) will lose revenue worth Tk 9.55 billion in fiscal 2008-09 for considerable readjustment of the duty structure in the proposed budget.The government has proposed four-tier duty structure in the upcoming fiscal budget lowering duty...

Nepal's 'god-king' wakes up to life as commoner

KATHMANDU, June 12 (AFP): Nepal's former king Gyanendra Thursday began life as a commoner after leaving his sprawling palace home and army of servants for the last time.He will have to adjust to living in a former hunting lodge on...

Work on 2nd phase of Teesta project hits snag

NILPHAMARI, June 12: Work on the second phase of Teesta irrigation project has been abandoned due to fund constraints and non-availability of foreign donors.The work of second phase started in 2006 with an estimated expenditure of Tk 1.66 billion to...

DCCI seeks penalty-free facilities for legalising undisclosed money

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Thursday demanded penalty-free and unconditional facilities for legalising undisclosed money in the next fiscal year."In addition to the proposed provision for disclosing undeclared money in the new budget, we seek unconditional and...

Bush says diplomacy is first choice in Iran standoff

MESEBERG, June 11 (Agencies): President Bush said Wednesday that his first choice is to solve a nuclear standoff with Iran by using diplomacy, but "all options are on the table." The president reinforced the possibility of military strike against Iran,...