A year after deadly typhoon, Philippines women weave their magic

A year after one of the world's most powerful storms smashed into the Philippines, a group of women are stitching their lives back together by weaving colourful reeds used in handicrafts sold by the world's top retailers. Their workshop is...

Kuroda sprang easing surprise to head off damaging inflation forecast

Bank of England looks set to signal no rate hike until mid-2015

The Bank of England, once widely expected to start weaning Britain off near-zero interest rates this month, now looks set to signal no rise in borrowing costs until the middle of next year. The BoE kept rates at 0.5 per...

Berlin Wall\\\'s fall 25 years ago an epic blow to tyranny: Merkel

The fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago, heralding the end to the Cold War between East and West, showed the world "dreams can come true" and should inspire people trapped in tyranny everywhere, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on...

Global Economy: Europe braces for some dismal figures

After European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi got his colleagues to sign up to a target for pumping money into the ailing euro zone economy, a raft of GDP reports are likely to show just why more help may be...

Stocks further dip amid topsy-turvy trading

Stocks ended lower for the 2nd consecutive day on Monday amid topsy-turvy trading throughout the session as the investors stuck to cautious stance. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), ended at 4,914.71 points, shedding another 23.94...

DSE, CSE plunge at opening

The prices of most of the shares at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) fell in early hours of trading on Monday, maintaining the previous day’s negative trend, the 2nd trading session of the week. DSEX, the...

Draft BNBC redefines high-rise from 11th storey

The final draft of Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC-14) has redefined high-rise, considering the buildings with 11 storeys (33 metres) or more as high-rises against the current seven-storied or more, officials said. The decision has been taken at a meeting...

Graft allegations galore against cooperatives

Several thousand graft allegations have piled up with the department of cooperatives against the managing bodies of multipurpose cooperative societies across the country over the years for lack of action, officials said.   Dillydallying by the authorities concerned in settling the...

Individuals, firms to pay tax at source

Individuals and companies both have to pay tax at source at the time of opening local letters of credit (L/C) for purchasing or procuring products from the domestic sources, the revenue board said to clear a mist. The National Board...

Global retailers bank on B\\\'desh to source jeans

Global retailers and big-name brands are interested to source jeans from Bangladesh for marketing overseas in view of reasonable prices and qualities of the wears.   More than 50 companies from 14 countries are learnt to have confirmed their participation in...

Scottish nationalists storm back after referendum defeat

Just weeks after seeing their dream of an independent Scotland wiped out in an historic referendum defeat, Scottish nationalists have turned failure into a revival which could transform British politics at next year's UK general election. The Scottish National Party...

Britain succeeds to halve EU budget bill, critics cry foul

Britain claimed victory last week in a budget battle with the European Union, saying it would pay only half of what Brussels had demanded, but EU officials said payment had merely been delayed and Eurosceptic critics accused ministers of deception....

Making Companies Act up-to-date

The Companies Act, 1994 came into force from September 12, 1994 with changes/amendments/modifications. Only a few changes/amendments took place during the past two decades. Many sections of the Act became outdated and ineffectual due to rapid technological innovations and emergence...

Music as a health therapy

Songs and music have a universal appeal. Their different genres at different times of human history flourished in some select locations. If Vienna saw the rise of Western classical music at its pinnacle between 1780 -1827, courtesy of Hayden, Mozart...

Last nail into PC\\\'s coffin?

The government is a mammoth entity having a large array of organs, big and small.  Each of these organs is primarily designed to serve certain purpose/s. Some of these organs prove to be useful and some others fail to perform...

Economic growth vs economic development

Those who are reading this article, just for a moment imagine yourself of not having enough money to feed and clothe your family, not able to send your children to school for education or send them to hospital when they...

DSE key index dips below 5,000-mark

Amid gloomy market outlook, the key index of the country’s main bourse – Dhaka Stock Exchange – dipped below the 5,000-mark on Sunday, as investors went for selling spree, fearing further fall. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, plunged...

DSE, CSE see volatility at opening

The country’s two bourses – Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) – witnessed volatility at opening on Sunday, the 1st trading day of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went down by 3.67 points...

100 firms are involved in money laundering: CID

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police has brought 100 business firms under surveillance following preliminary probe findings on their involvement in money laundering, competent sources said. According to them, these businesses used L/Cs as a tool of money laundering....

Govt to form corporation to run rly container services

The government has decided to form a separate corporation to maintain the railway container services to enhance its transportation capacity and boosting business, an official said. The ministry of Railway (MoR) took the decision at an inter-ministerial meeting in the...

Fake cosmetics, toiletries galore

The recent seizure of ten truckloads of spurious ingredients used for manufacturing cosmetics and toiletries by the law enforcers in the city has surprised many. This reflects to what extent fakery has gone deep into the society exposing public health...

Govt plans to set up incubators to help foster IT business

The government considers setting up of separate IT-support centres in all public universities aiming to create and grow young entrepreneurs. The centre, called 'IT Business Incubator', will be provided with necessary supports including financial and technical services. In this connection,...

Dramatic forces of change sweep banking industry

So far we haven't talked about profit or revenues. Because we believe, we need to have first the full picture of the landscape where we operate in. Once we are abreast with the overall scenario, we would be able to...

Bay of Bengal: Fighting against trans-national maritime crimes

Maritime security in the 21st century poses new challenges and needs more strategic mechanism to face these. Much importance has been given to internal and regional security by combating land-based trans-national crimes and terrorist activities. But maritime security remains less...

Containing fire incidents in Dhaka

Fire incidents in the capital city, particularly in its old part, appear to be common occurring at regular intervals. Such incidents leave dozens killed and hundreds injured ever year. The recent fire incident at Nawab Bari in old Dhaka has...

Socio-economic aspects of Qurbani

Qurbani is an important religious rite performed by the Islamic world as an expression of obedience to Almighty Allah and sacrificing everything to seek His pleasure and nearness. Allah commands, "Therefore, to thy Lord turn in prayer and sacrifice (108.2)"...

Belly dancing for IMF reform

There has been a crying need for structural reform within the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a long time. The required reforms fall in the areas of representation, governance and funding. In spite of acknowledgement of the need for reform...

Uproot illiteracy, the root cause of economic backwardness

The globalised world of 21st century, as we know, is more advanced in terms of science, technology, education and culture. People of all sectors-- specially the rich, ultra-rich and the educated ones-- relish the fruits of lives. In this scenario,...

BEZA getting free hand to act expeditiously

Government authorities have decided to empower Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) to act expeditiously for development activities in the special zones meant for boosting investment, officials said. The prime minister's office (PMO) took the decision, in principle, at a progress-review...