Modiano wins Nobel in literature

French literary glory in the tradition of Nobel Prize-winners Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus has once again been recognized. Patrick Modiano, a French writer whose sullen, pithy and illusory novels were mostly set during the Nazi occupation of France, won...

G-20 and global growth

It is axiomatic that global growth depends largely on the powerful association of nations represented by G-20. The group contributes 85 per cent to the global economy and its collective performance is crucial for the overall growth. A 2.0 per...

Malala - idol to the world, outcast at home

Malala Yousafzai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last week, is hailed around the world as a champion of women's rights who stood up bravely against the Taliban to defend her beliefs. But in her deeply conservative homeland, many view...

\\\'I can\\\'t explain the joy each time I\\\'ve freed a child\\\': Satyarthi

In the 34 years since Kailash Satyarthi gave up his job as an electrical engineer to campaign for children's rights, the Nobel Peace Prize winner has been beaten, seen his home attacked and his colleagues killed. Yet attempts on his...

Thousands \\\'will most likely be massacred\\\' if Kobani falls to jihadists, UN warns

Thousands of people "will most likely be massacred" if Kobani falls to Islamic State fighters, a UN envoy said last week, as militants fought deeper into the besieged Syrian Kurdish town in full view of Turkish tanks that have done...

No BD vessel found fit for coastal shipping with India

No Bangladeshi vessel has been found fit for coastal shipping with India. This may lead to a delayed trial-run of the service in November, official sources say. The Department of Shipping (DoS) had planned launch of trial-run of the service...

Country can save Tk 650b per yr by investing Tk 60b in light engineering sector, say experts

By investing only Tk 60 billion the country can save Tk 650 billion as import substitute of light engineering products every year, experts said. As per estimate, the sector is currently manufacturing products worth Tk 250 billion with local technology...

Daily average turnover jumps to near Tk 9.0b

The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSEX) posted a staggering 11.40 per cent return in September, the steepest single-month gain in 2014, as the market was on a steady gaining streak almost throughout the month. DSEX, the prime...

Let festivals bring people together

Two great festivals occasioned with the gap of a couple of days. Outwardly, these festivals -one the Bangalee Hindus' most favourite and the other second most important after the Eid-ul-Fitr to the Muslims the world over - are dissimilar in...

On cerebral corruption

Corruption has assumed a singular meaning - financial misappropriation and thus other inconsistencies in a character are absolutely overlooked that are defined as corruption, as well. Decay, rottenness, depravity, wickedness, perversion, loss of purity and integrity, bribery all these are...

Coping with river bank erosion

In Bangladesh, river bank erosion is a regular phenomenon. The country is located in the delta of some of the world's largest rivers, like the Ganges (the Padma), the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. According to the Centre for Environmental and...

IT sector suffers from inadequate branding and marketing

Information Technology- enabled Services (ITES) hold enormous potential in the industrial diversification efforts of Bangladesh. The Information Technology (IT) sector in Bangladesh is considered by both the public and private sectors as having high growth potential. The industry employed an...

Abdul Kadir Mulla: man with a mission

Mr Abdul Kadir Mulla, the chairman and the managing director of Thermax Group, has recently been awarded as the highest individual taxpayer in the country for FY 2012-13 and the highest taxpayer in Dhaka City Corporation for FY 2013-14. This...

Leprosy still a health hazard

Mohammad Mostaque (57), who was affected by leprosy earlier, is now fully cured and is earning livelihood for his family. Mostaque, a resident of Aziz mohalla of Mohammadpur in Dhaka city, has a grocery shop. He was cured after taking...

Trends in Bangladesh\\\'s population movement

Bangladesh population has grown from 44.1 million in 1951 to 160 million by now - 2014. The inter-census growth between 1991 and 2001 was 1.48 per cent against 2.18 per cent between 1981 and 1991. Occupying only about 0.03 per...

Bangladesh film industry must produce quality movies

Bengali cinema is passing through a tough and critical time. Cinema halls in the country have been reduced to half. Releasing new cinemas has also come down to half. The lack of patronization of government, non-government, influence of sky culture,...

A nation of traders and shoppers!

This nation is fast becoming a nation of traders. Yes, this is the impression the many small and big outlets of both brand products and near nameless goods that spring up in mushroom-style in the vicinity of your and my...

Three more PPP projects now ready for tendering

The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Office is now ready to invite tenders for three projects this year expecting investment of US$500 million for infrastructure and road communication development in the country. Officials of the PPP Office said necessary ground works like...

Bankers for inter-govt deal with US

Bankers prefer an inter-governmental agreement with the United States to share bank-account information of the US citizens in Bangladesh, doing which is mandatory under their law.      Such a change is being suggested as the bankers found complicated the exiting system...

Footwear industry posts fair export growth

Country's footwear industry posted enviable export growth in the first two months of the current financial year as global buyers began to set their sights on Bangladeshi leather goods. Attractive designs, competitive prices and longevity of the footwear here drew...

Promoting the culture of respect through education

Around the world, people are passing through a critical juncture, with social discrimination, racial and xenophobic feelings, intolerance and violence on the rise. Nevertheless, the peace-loving people dream for a better world, where they can live together regardless of colour,...

Where connectivity is the key

In a short-story 'Poth Jana Nai' (Path not Known), as we remember, novelist Shamsuddin Abul Kalam depicted how connection with cities through a road could help a village grow in wealth and happiness. Bibhuti Bhushan and Tarashankar in their literary...

BTRC to seek opinions from stakeholders soon

The telecom regulator will seek opinions from stakeholders including general public, operators and civil society people soon to introduce the mobile number portability (MNP) system for customers. Sources at Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said the 172nd meeting of the...

0.15m tonne wheat procured as per 2014 target

The government has wrapped up wheat procurement drive for the current calendar year with almost cent per cent fulfillment of the target, officials said. Earlier, the government had targetted procurement of 0.15 million tonnes of wheat for the year 2014....

China, EU close to deal on telecoms trade dispute

China and the European Union are closing in on a deal to resolve a long-running telecoms dispute by the end of the month, people close to the matter say, potentially putting an end to one of the most divisive issues...

India-themed funds dominate in 2014 as investors cheer Modi

Emerging markets have provided investors with the best and worst returns of 2014, with league tables of mutual fund performance showing India-themed vehicles dominating the top and Russia conspicuous at the bottom. Mutual funds specialising in Indian stocks account for...

Negative interest rates sending global reserve shift out of euros

Negative euro zone interest rates may be forcing central banks to rethink how much of their foreign cash hoards they bank in euros, with a recent drop in euro reserves potentially the start of large-scale rebalancing that could depress the...

Signing of FTA with GCC states found not feasible

Signing of a free trade area (FTA) agreement with member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) may not be feasible for Bangladesh as it will cause huge revenue loss to the country, trade officials have said. "The import duty in...

Tourist spots abuzz with holiday makers

Longer holiday and stable political climate helped tourist spots rope in increased tourists during the Eid and Durga Puja festivals. Thousands of people thronged the tourist spots across the country especially the main spot Cox's Bazar. Besides Cox's Bazar, other...

Inflation and economic growth

Investors come across terms like inflation and gross domestic product (GDP) just about every day. They are often made to feel that these metrics must be studied as a surgeon would study a patient's chart prior to operating. The terms...