Norway put pressure on England ahead of Miami showdown tonight

MIAMI, July 10 (Reuters): The six decades since England's lone World Cup triumph will come into sharper focus as they head towards Sunday's (3:00 am as per BST) quarter-final against a Norway team with one of the best strikers in...

Hit-and-miss penalty technique under World Cup spotlight

It's theatrical. It can be maddening. It makes the world's top soccer players look very cool - or very silly.The stutter-step penalty has been a feature of this World Cup, with the leading adopters of the technique being superstars Lionel...

France crush Morocco's World Cup dreams

FOXBOROUGH, MASS, July 10 (Agencies): France captain Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty but curled in a superb goal on the hour as France struck twice in six minutes to brush aside Morocco 2-0 on Friday (as per BST) and book...

Hidden child labour, hidden curse

When child labour in Bangladesh is discussed, the images that usually come to mind are children working in brick kilns, factories, workshops, tea stalls, or roadside shops. Yet beyond these visible sectors lies another vast world where thousands of children...

Passion for tree plantation and such government programmes

At a time when the Ministry of Agriculture has made a mess of its tree plantation programme, an office attendant of a primary school has shown how love for and dedication to trees can make miracle happen in greening an...

Managing information responsibly

In today's digital world where surveillance is almost everywhere, managing information ethically is more important than ever. Companies collect vast amounts of data from customers, workers and everyone else, often with little consent or genuine understanding. Yes, data analytics and...

Why can't Bangladesh make its own phone?

Bangladesh produces millions of smartphones labelled "Made in Bangladesh," yet the reality behind this achievement is less impressive than it appears. While local factories assemble handsets, almost all key components including processors, display panels, camera sensors, and printed circuit boards...

Research and public universities

The latest move by the finance ministry to disburse funds to researchers at public universities drew criticism for various reasons. Under the new rule, the University Grants Commission (UGC) will centrally disburse research funds. So far, public universities have received...

Flying blind on tax policy

Taxation is usually discussed as a matter of rates, exemptions and revenue targets. Rarely is it discussed as a matter of information, of whether the people setting policy are sufficiently informed about the markets they are taxing. Too often they...

Exploitation of existing onshore gas reserves

Faced with an acute energy shortage marked by steadily falling domestic gas production (by roughly 150 million cubic feet each year) and severe disruptions in imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) due to conflicts in the Middle East, Bangladesh has been...

When cats become capital

A decade ago, a cat in a Dhaka apartment was an oddity, perhaps a stray taken in out of pity or a child's persistent demand. Today, it is increasingly a Persian or a Scottish Fold, bought for tens of thousands...

ADB downgrades BD's growth to 4.5pc in FY27

Bangladesh's economy is staring at a challenging and fragile path in the current fiscal year amid decelerating growth momentum and stubborn inflationary pressures, cautions the ADB and cites major headwinds.The country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for FY2026-27 has...

BRAC Bank's retail deposits surpass Tk 500b milestone

BRAC Bank has achieved a significant milestone in its 25th anniversary, with its retail deposit portfolio surpassing Tk 500 billion. The portfolio reached Tk 503.24 billion as of June 30, which reflects customers' enduring trust  in the bank  and the...

Trading in closed companies to be suspended: BSEC chief

The stock market regulator is set to suspend trading in shares of non-operational companies as part of a broader market reform aimed at protecting investors and improving market integrity, said its new chief."There is no other market in the world...

BD expects positive decision from India

Bangladesh hopes that the outcome of bilateral discussions with India over the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty will be positive."We are in talks with India over the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty. They know that water...

Landslides kill five more with toll already at 30

Five members of two families including a four-year-old child were killed after landslides triggered by heavy rainfall buried their homes in Lama upazila of Bandarban district early Thursday.According to UNB, the victims were asleep when chunks of mud collapsed onto...

Government to form body to compute real figures

The government will form a committee to determine the actual amount of state subsidies and outstanding arrears in the power and energy sectors, sources say. The decision to form the specialised committee has been made to resolve significant data discrepancies,...

Caretaker govt system, referendum provision revive

Election-time nonparty caretaker government system and the provisions for referendums in the constitution are restored by the apex-court verdict. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld a High Court verdict having scrapped key provisions of the 15th Constitutional...

Diversification hope fades as non-RMG exports stagnate

Bangladesh's efforts to diversify its export basket beyond single-item dependence on ready-made garments (RMG) have made little headway over the past five fiscal years. Even four of the country's five largest non-RMG export sectors are still earning less than they...

Mother, son hacked dead at Rohingya camp

Cox's Bazar, July 9 (UNB): A 30-year-old woman and her minor son were hacked to death allegedly by her husband over family feud at Kutupalong rohingya camp in Ukhiya upazila of Cox's Bazar district on Thursday.The deceased were identified as...

FIFA refereeing chief rejects claims of bias in Argentina's win over Egypt

FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating in Argentina's 3-2 victory over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16, dismissing allegations of bias and saying match officials operated with complete independence.In an interview published on inside.fifa.com on Thursday,...

4 of 30 Bangladeshis sent to Russia die in Ukraine war

Four of the 30 Bangladeshi workers who travelled to Russia under employment contracts and were allegedly forced to join the Russia-Ukraine war have died, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury told parliament on Thursday.He said the government...

Sending 10 million skilled personnel abroad planned

Overseas employment of 10 million skilled personnel over next five years has been planned as part of government strategy to expand Bangladesh's foreign labour markets and foreign-exchange earnings.Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury informed parliament Thursday about...

2 more die of measles-like symptoms

Health authorities recorded two more deaths linked to measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours to 8:00am on Thursday.With the latest fatalities, the measles-related death toll has risen to 747 since mid-March, including 93 laboratory-confirmed cases, according to the Directorate General...

Flood situation worsens as more rivers rise above danger level

Relentless monsoon rains over Bangladesh and adjoining Indian catchments have sharply aggravated the flood situation, with swollen rivers spilling into new areas.However, the authorities have issued a warning that the crisis could spread further over the next three days as...

Khosru confident of achieving FY27 revenue target

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Thursday expressed his deep optimism about National Board of Revenue (NBR) meeting its record revenue collection target set for the current fiscal year (FY 2026-27), despite years of repeated shortfalls.The revenue administration is...

PM inaugurates Environment Fair, National Tree Planting Campaign

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday inaugurated the Environment Fair 2026 and the National Tree Planting Campaign and National Tree Fair 2026, highlighting the importance of protecting the environment, expanding forest cover and encouraging greater public participation in tackling climate...

BKB, BRAC climb remittance ranking

Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) and BRAC Bank have climbed into the country's top three remittance-collecting lenders, reflecting intensifying competition among banks as remittance inflows reached a record US$35.56 billion in fiscal year 2025-26.Although Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC saw its share...

Pre-registration for 2027 Hajj opens

TALHA BIN HABIB The Ministry of Religious Affairs in Bangladesh has launched pre-registration for the 2027 Hajj with a mandatory provision of providing bank account numbers of the intending Hajj pilgrims. The pre-registration process has started in the current month...

ISU launches BSc Eng in AI & Data Science

International Standard University (ISU) has introduced a Bachelor of Science Engineering in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science under its Faculty of Advanced Science and Computing. The programme received formal approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh recently, said...