BRAC BANK INSTALLS ATMS AT 5 MRT STATIONS

BRAC BANK INSTALLS ATMS AT 5 MRT STATIONS BRAC Bank has expanded its alternate banking footprint by installing ATMs at five key stations of Dhaka's MRT Line-6, bringing fast and seamless banking services closer to daily commuters. The ATMs are...

Non-life insurers barred from using agents as IDRA scraps commissions

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has imposed a complete ban on agent commissions in the non-life insurance sector, introducing stricter rules on salary and benefit payments to employees.According to a notification issued by the regulator, non-life insurance companies...

KSA's non-oil exports surge 32.3pc in Oct

RIYADH, Dec 25 (Arab News): Saudi Arabia's non-oil exports, including re-exports, rose 32.3 per cent year on year in October to reach SR33.88 billion ($9.03 billion), according to official data. Preliminary figures released by the General Authority for Statistics showed...

Use of credit cards jumps domestically, overseas: BB

Credit card use in Bangladesh recorded a sharp rise in October, with both domestic transactions and spending by Bangladeshis overseas increasing significantly compared to the previous month, says the Bangladesh Bank.According to its latest report, transactions within the country, expenditures...

Textile, cottage industries fair begins in Rajshahi

A month-long handloom, textile and cottage industries fair opened in Rajshahi on Thursday.Organised by the Women Entrepreneurs' Association of Bangladesh (WEAB), Rajshahi chapter, the fair is being held on the northern side of the Rajshahi Central Botanical Garden and Zoo...

DBL Group clinches HSBC Export Excellence Award

DBL Group, one of Bangladesh's leading diversified conglomerates, has once again cemented its position as the nation's most celebrated export champion by clinching the prestigious HSBC Export Excellence Award 2025.This historic win in the Export Excellence - Ready-Made Garments (RMG)...

Deli, ACI launch stationery partnership

Deli, the globally renowned stationery brand, in collaboration with ACI, officially launched their joint programme under the inspiring theme "Beyond the Ordinary, Beyond the Boundary" at a grand event in The Sheraton, Dhaka on Wednesday, says a press release.The event...

BGMEA sets new membership criteria to ensure factory safety, operational standards

The apex body of the country's apparel sector has introduced a set of new criteria for granting membership, including minimum factory space and machinery requirements, aiming to ensure basic operational and safety standards.The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)...

Shanghai copper hovers below record high

Shanghai copper hovered below a record high on Thursday as Chinese demand picked up and the US dollar weakened. The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trading up 1.0 per cent to 96,210 yuan ($13,732.51) a...

Indian rice rates climb to one-month high

Prices of rice exported from India climbed to a one-month high this week as traders raised prices to adjust for the appreciation in rupee, while Thai and Vietnam rates edged lower on expectations of reduced demand and domestic currency fluctuations,...

Russia delays LNG target of 100m tonnes per year as sanctions bite

MOSCOW, Dec 25 (Reuters): Russia has pushed back by "several years" a plan to reach an annual liquefied natural gas output target of 100 million tonnes, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told state TV on Thursday, citing the effect of...

Weight-loss pill set to drive food industry product overhauls

NEW YORK, Dec 25 (Reuters): Packaged food makers and fast-food restaurants may be forced to overhaul more of their products next year as newly approved, appetite-suppressing GLP-1 pills become available in January, analysts say.More Americans are expected to try the...

Dilapidated relics cast a long shadow over justice at Amtali court

BARGUNA, Dec 25 (UNB): Two crumbling buildings, relics of a bygone era, have become a looming threat to nearly 20,000 people who frequent the Amtali Upazila Senior Judicial Magistrate Court in Barguna district.Built more than half a century ago, the...

Hundreds of 'Death Wells' scattered across Barind fields

RAJSHAHI, Dec 25: The water crisis in the Barind region has no end in sight, but now, poorly planned well drilling is rapidly turning into a serious humanitarian risk. Across vast tracts of farmland in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj, hundreds...

Charcoal kilns widely harming environment and public health

BENAPOLE, Dec 25: The unchecked operation of unauthorised charcoal kilns in Abhaynagar upazila of Jashore has pushed the local environment and public health to the brink of disaster. Toxic black smoke spewing continuously from the kilns is severely polluting the...

Mahmud, Talha leave Noakhali training over management issues

Khaled Mahmud, former Bangladesh captain and Noakhali Express head coach, walked out of his team's training session at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet on Thursday, citing displeasure over management, according to Cricbuzz.Mahmud, who was accompanied by former national...

BPL kicks off today

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2025-26 season is set to begin today (Friday), report agencies.Despite enduring numerous setbacks and controversies to reach its 12th edition, the tournament continues to face significant concerns about its integrity, the standard of cricket, and...

BCB takes ownership rights of Chattogram Royals

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) took over the ownership rights of Chattogram Royals for the remainder of the Bangladesh Premier League season. BCB vice-chairman Shakhawat Hossain, a member of BPL Governing Council, confirmed the development to Cricbuzz on Thursday.Royals owner...

Epoch-making Bangali singers of yesteryears

Long before the arrival of Uttam Kumar (1926-80), actor-director-screenwriter Pramathesh Barua (1903-51) was the first male heartthrob of Bangla cinema. His movie version of Devdas (1935) was most authentic. Like the Cumilla-born and raised, Victoria College-educated singer-musician Sachin Dev Burman...

New Year 2026 and Bangladesh's journey towards peace, progress, and prosperity

As Bangladesh welcomes the dawn of 2026, the nation finds itself at a decisive moment in its journey toward sustainable development, political stability, and social inclusion. This year is more than a simple turning of the calendar; it represents a...

Surging gold prices

The rising demand for gold, both globally and in Bangladesh, is a serious issue for a developing country like ours. Many people in Bangladesh view gold not just as a luxury item but also as a safety net-a way to...

Towards a green economy

There is an encouraging change in the business and economic environment of Bangladesh: the growing movement to the green economy. With climate change becoming a serious threat to our agriculture, industry and our seaside settlements, policymakers and consumers are beginning...

Death traps all around

Death traps are everywhere in Bangladesh. They lurk in accident-prone roads where vehicles race each other recklessly, in waterways where vessels capsize without warning, in sudden outbreaks of violence over trifling matters, and in bomb hurling in public spaces. Another...

Bureaucratic inertia, inefficiency foil good initiatives

Many complain that there were so many reform commissions but no commission on education. It now seems it was better that the sector was left alone. Nowadays, the focus is on the scheduled election and reform agendas hardly figure in...

Reducing inequality through higher taxes on the wealthy

In a strategic shift, the government is preparing to raise the tax incidence on wealthy or 'high-net-worth individuals' (HNWIs) as part of its efforts to address widening income inequality. This proposed approach is outlined in the Medium- and Long-term Revenue...

Israel's approval of 19 new settlements dangerous step, Palestine says

RAMALLAH, Dec 24 (Xinhua/AFP): Israel's decision to establish 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank is a "dangerous step" aimed at tightening control over Palestinian territory, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.The move extends "the policies of apartheid,"...

Between giants: Bangladesh's strategy in the Indo-Pacific

Bangladesh is presently at a crucial juncture-it is in a transition period and undergoing a visionary shift in its foreign policy. It is a fact that the pragmatic doctrine of "friendship to all, and malice towards none" has enabled Bangladesh...

Weather (2025-12-25)

Weather may remain dry with partly cloudy sky in the next 24 hours from 06:00 am today (Thursday).Night temperature may fall slightly and day temperature remain unchanged. The highest temperature in the country on Wednesday was 30.8 degrees Celsius in...

Woman, granddaughter die, as Ctg house catches fire

CHATTOGRAM, Dec 24 (UNB): A woman and her granddaughter were killed after a fire broke out at their house at Kaderia Para village in Rangunia upazila of Chattogram on Wednesday.The deceased were identified as Rumi Akhtar, 55, wife of Ruhul...

Two dredgers fined Tk 0.6m, six held

CHATTOGRAM Dec 24: The Department of Fisheries (DoF) fined two illegal dredgers Tk 0.6 million to protect biodiversity in the Halda River, a nationally recognised fisheries heritage site in Chattogram. Six people were detained during the drive on Wednesday, officials...