UN talks on Libya resume in Cairo

CAIRO, June 12 (AP): Libyan officials returned to the Egyptian capital Sunday for a third round of talks on constitutional amendments for elections. The North African nation once again finds itself at a political impasse with two rival administrations claiming...

US trying to 'hijack' support in Asia: China

SINGAPORE CITY, June 12 (AP): China's defense minister accused the United States on Sunday of trying to "hijack" the support of countries in the Asia-Pacific region to turn them against Beijing, saying Washington is seeking to advance its own interests...

Death of scientists in road crash: an irrecoverable loss

Every death is a tragedy to family members, friends and colleagues. But the untimely death of three scientists of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) and the engineer is not just a loss for the families, but an irrecoverable loss for...

Preventing fatty liver diseases

Those who are overweight or obese are at a higher risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It is a term used for a range of conditions caused by a build-up of fat in the liver. In the early stages,...

Trade credit, a risky game banks play

Trade credit is used for short-term import finance for a period of one year normally. The credit is extended by foreign suppliers or lenders. These are in other term called as supplier's or buyer's credit. Under supplier's credit, foreign suppliers...

Unsafe food and hypertension

Notwithstanding repeated warnings about hypertension at seminars, view-exchanges programme, workshops etc., the focus continues to shift from the chief feature. Over the last couple of decades, Bangladesh has witnessed a number of high-profile colloquiums on the now-common malady of hypertension....

Urgency of green policy consistent with environmental needs

On June 5 the whole world, including Bangladesh, observed World Environment Day. We were reminded that raising environmental standards were essential given the important strategic role it plays within the paradigm of achieving Sustainable Development Goals. There were also media...

Present world is not of competition, but of collaboration: Palak

State Minister for Information and Communi-cation Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak has said the present world is not of competition, but of collaboration, reports UNB."The more collaboration, the more life can be made easier. To this end, there are opportunities...

BFFEA terms budget as 'practical'

Hailing the proposed budget for fiscal year (2022-23), the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Associa-tion (BFFEA) has termed it as 'practical' and 'time befitting', reports BSS.BFFEA President Md Amin Ullah, in a statement, on Saturday said that the budget prioritised the...

Electricity demand in Rajshahi region to grow by 3 times in five years

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said that the demand for electricity in Rajshahi region will increase by three times in the next five years."So, you should take necessary projects to cope with the demands," he...

Australia to pay $585m to French firm

SYDNEY, June 11 (BBC): Australia has announced a €555m ($585m; £475m) settlement with France's Naval Group as compensation for scuppering a submarine contract with Paris.Australia angered France last year by suddenly cancelling a €35bn deal to build a fleet of...

Budget skips proposals for IT sector: BASIS

Leaders of the Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services (BASIS) on Saturday said the budgetary measures for the IT sector in the budget for fiscal year 2022-23 did not reflect the BASIS's proposal as expected. At a press conference...

Saudi Central Bank appoints first woman as board member

Sheila Al-Rowaily, a former finance executive at a Saudi Aramco subsidiary, has become the first woman to be appointed to the board of the Saudi Central Bank, report agencies. Her appointment comes after a royal decree issued by Saudi Arabia's...

The 65th meeting of the Board of Directors of Modhumoti Bank Limited was held on Saturday, using Zoom technology. Humayun Kabir,

The 65th meeting of the Board of Directors of Modhumoti Bank Limited was held on Saturday, using Zoom technology. Humayun Kabir, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Shaikh Salahuddin MP, Vice-Chairman, other directors and Md Shafiul Azam, Managing Director &...

Apparel exports to US witness 65pc growth

FE ReportThe country's apparel exports to the US maintained a robust growth in terms of both value and volume during the first four months of 2022.The US imported readymade garment (RMG) items worth US$3.29 billion from Bangladesh during the period...

A fire swept through two carriages of the Parabat Express when the train was crossing the Shamsernagar

A fire swept through two carriages of the Parabat Express when the train was crossing the Shamsernagar Airport area in Moulvibazar on its way to Sylhet from Dhaka on Saturday Story on page 3 — Focus Bangla

Shimulia Ghat to remain functional after Padma Bridge opening: Khalid

The Shimulia Ghat (terminal) will remain operational for ferry services even after the commissioning of Padma Bridge, said State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Saturday. He also said pompous programmes will be held on both sides of Parma...

No scope of controversy over newspapers' digital contents, feels Editors' Council

The Editors' Council said on Saturday that the progress of newspapers lies in the combination of print and digital contents as the digital revolution has created a new challenge for the industry globally. Under such circumstances, the print media around...

71 new Covid cases reported

The country reported 71 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, a 10.93 per cent increase from 64 a day earlier, according to the daily update released by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Saturday.However, the positivity rate against...

Edible oil, coarse flour, egg get costlier

Edible oil, coarse flour (ata), egg, sugar and bottled water got dearer last week further battering the consumers who had already dug deep into their pockets to make the ends meet due to rising costs of other essentials. Prices of...

ICAB urges steps to zoom tax net

Citing the proposed national budget as time-befitting, chartered accountants (CAs) suggest that government take further steps to widen tax net in order to enhance the tax-GDP ratio.The proposed budget is very timely and it allocates a staggering sum for infrastructure...

UnSy urges rethinking of decision

Local think-tank Unnayan Shamannay (UnSy) urges the government to reconsider its decision to allow launderers to bring back their money from abroad through paying some penalty.If such scheme is in place, UnSy says, it will give a wrong message to...

Khaleda undergoes stenting after 'mild' heart attack

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has undergone angioplasty with stenting at a hospital in Dhaka after she suffered a heart attack, prompting the party to reiterate its demand that she be allowed to receive treatment abroad, reports , bdnews24.com.Doctors completed the...

Students from Delhi university display placards and shout slogans during a demonstration to condemn police firing on a crowd

Students from Delhi university display placards and shout slogans during a demonstration to condemn police firing on a crowd protesting the remarks by a former spokesperson from the ruling party on Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in New Delhi on Saturday —...

Most CSOs lack idea about RTI, NIS: Survey

Most civil-society organisations (CSO) and media personnel have little knowledge of the right to information (RTI), national integrity strategy (NIS) and annual performance agreement (APA).An opinion survey of the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) made this disclosure at an event at...

Economists slam less than expected SSNP allocation

Economists have strongly criticised reduction in budgetary allocations for social safety-net programmes (SSNP) amid higher inflationary pressure in the country.When vulnerable groups have the possibility to fall under the poverty line due to high inflation, the lower allocation is a...

Briefing 12-06-2022

CSE for continuation of money whitening Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) has made a set of demands including the reconsideration of the scope of whitening undisclosed money through capital market by individual taxpayers. The port city bourse CSE has also demanded...

BD globe's 4th worst in cutting pollution

Bangladesh is the fourth worst country in reducing environmental pollution, according to the global Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2022 report. Bangladesh's position in the index declined 15 steps to 177th out of 180 countries in 2022, the report showed. It...

Trade ministers in Geneva to seal a deal

The hopes of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) including Bangladesh to push ahead the agenda for extending LDC-specific trade benefits for graduated LDCs by at least six to nine years are likely to be sidelined in the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12)...

FBCCI for raising individuals' tax-free income threshold

Country's apex trade body on Saturday urged the government to increase the tax-free income threshold for the individual taxpayers to at least Tk 400,000 considering the adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic and mounting inflation."Please review the proposed tax-free income limit...