Road network expanding: Case for National Highway Authority

Road experts have suggested various solutions to address the problems/bottlenecks. It is worth recalling here what Suleiman Hafez, the then Jordanian Minister of Finance, said at a seminar on 'Road Maintenance Financing' held in Amman on June 30, 1997. The...

Rajan\\\'s tough inflation stance risks stand-off with govt

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan has set himself a target of lowering consumer inflation and is even ready to raise rates to achieve it, risking friction with the new government if he is seen as overstepping. Rajan,...

Pfizer confronts surge of lawsuits over Lipitor

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is facing a mounting wave of lawsuits by women who allege that the company knew about possible serious side effects of its blockbuster anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor but never properly warned the public. In the past five months,...

China under pressure as US pushes plan to ease South China Sea tensions

China will come under the most concerted diplomatic pressure yet to rein in its assertive moves in the disputed South China Sea when the United States uses a regional security meeting this weekend to rally support for a freeze on...

How to manage a class with varied levels of learners

Dealing with mixed ability students in a class is a common phenomenon in teaching career though it is a very difficult situation for a teacher to cope with. A teacher's success depends on how successfully he/she can manage such kind...

BD-Turkey FTA talks this month

Bangladesh is going to start negotiations with Turkey this month for signing a bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA) as the imposition of 17 per cent additional duty by Ankara on apparel items is seriously affecting export from Dhaka, competent sources have...

ACC yet to act on BASIC Bank financial scam

The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) has not made any visible progress in the probe into the loan scam in the state-owned BASIC Bank. The Bangladesh Bank (BB) sent a letter to the ACC on July 15 in this connection. The letter...

Consumer Complaint Centre draws little response

The National Consumer Complaint Centre (NCCC) has drawn little response from consumers due to lack of adequate campaign by the authorities concerned as well as reluctance of consumers, sources said. Just a single complaint has been lodged with the organisation...

BJMC seeks Tk 5.0b for purchase to feed mills

Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) has sought Tk 5.0 billion in financial assistance from the government to help it procure raw jute urgently, officials have said, as the prime time of the cash crop has now set in. The state...

Handloom industry in dire straits for lack of govt\\\'s policy support

Thousands of handloom factories in the country have been closed down in the last couple of years and many others are facing the same fate mainly for want of government's policy support, industry insiders said. They said around 0.2 million...

Large cap stocks lift mkt for 3rd week straight

Stocks extended gaining streak for the three weeks in a row with significant improvement in turnover, as investors snapped up large cap stocks. Analysts said that the buying spree was spurred mainly by banks' deposit interest rate cut and lucrative...

Toll collection: User-sponsored fund for road maintenance

The Cabinet at its March 24, 2014 meeting unanimously approved the 'Toll Policy 2014' and decided to collect toll, in phases,  from all vehicles which include trucks, buses, lorries and bicycle-rickshaws using national, regional and inter-district highways. The money thus...

Appalling state of City Corporations

It is appalling to see that despite the bifurcation of the Dhaka City Corporation, meant to provide better services to the urbanites, there is no sign of any improvement in their basic services. Take the instance of garbage for example....

Heart melts before ailing humanity

The eighth version of Mirakkel, a funny reality show on Zee Bangla, went on air on August 04 last. On its second day, the show produced a man aged 69 in typical Bangalee Babu attire. The jokes he cracked as...

All about lifts that need a facelift

Nowadays multistoried and high-rise buildings are being constructed in the big cities; driven by the extreme necessity to accommodate more people through minimizing horizontal expansions as well as utilizing space-efficient strategy. It is envisaged that this trend would be spread...

Alpha-Tocopherol and Tocotrienols from red palm oil can prevent cancer, CVD

Adulterated food has become a burning issue for the consumers of Bangladesh. Edible oil is one of the important items that mass people use for cooking their daily consumption. Some unscrupulous traders in our country are blending low quality oils...

Checking erosion of values and corruption

Image of an organisation is very important for  success of its activities. In the battlefield, a soldier moves towards the enemy risking his life without hesitation on command of his commander because of the latter's image of a war-field leader...

Charting road to sporting glory

A sports fete like the Commonwealth Games 2014 held at the largest Scottish city Glasgow failed to draw the attention of the media here it deserved. Why? One of the reasons understandable is that the games participated by former colonies...

NBR directive to intensify collection of tax at source

The revenue board has instructed taxmen across the country to intensify focus on collection of tax at source, plug holes of revenue leakage and find out areas vulnerable to concealment. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) gave the directives to...

BBA to seek legal advice before hiring Sinohydro

The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) is finally going to seek legal advice to avert any possible conflict in awarding river training work of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project to Chinese company Sinohydro. The BBA's latest move came following the company's...

India bets on Modi touch to reform infrastructure PPP drive

India's new government is betting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replicate his relative success with regional infrastructure projects to ensure fewer public-private partnerships (PPP) stall for want of land. The government wants private companies to contribute half of a...

Palestine seeks ICC war crimes case against Israel

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki said there was "clear evidence" of war crimes by Israel during its offensive in Gaza as he met International Criminal Court prosecutors to push for an investigation. Malki visited The Hague shortly after Israel and...

Afghan unity talks at early impasse

The two men vying to become Afghanistan's next leader may have shaken hands on a deal to resolve a bitterly disputed election, but they are miles apart on a critical component of their gentleman's agreement - forming a united government....

Move to make EPB more functional

The government has initiated a move to incorporate some fresh provisions in the draft Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Act, 2014 aiming to make the Bureau more functional and effective for further rejuvenating the country's overseas trade. Regular holding of board...

Corporate tax structure and investment

Corporate tax came into particular focus this year in the course of discussions on the national budget for FY2014-15. A major conclusion of these discussions was that corporate taxes in Bangladesh were very high, misaligned with other taxes and the...

Road from Bali: Moving towards plurilateral reform?

The signing of the trade deal at Bali, Indonesia last year was hailed as a watershed event causing euphoria among the member countries. It was the first time that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) reached an agreement on trade reforms...

Impact of climate change hits Jessore hatchling trade severely

JHENIDAH, Aug 7: Belated start of production, increase in per unit electricity bill coupled with a hike in production cost has hit hard fish hatcheries in Jessore, compelling many owners to quit the business. Alhaj Firoj Khan, Firoj Khan, President...

Stocks end flat amid choppy trading

Stocks ended flat in the green Thursday amid choppy trading as mid-session sale pressure wiped out early gains. The market started with an upbeat note, but could not sustain amid mid-session sale pressure. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka...

DSE, CSE up at opening

The prices of most of the shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed upward trend in the first few minutes of the session Thursday, the last trading day of the week. DSEX, the...

Rethink on NBR step likely

The government is likely to rethink the budgetary measure that provides for imposition of 25 per cent tax on annual incomes of state-run regulatory entities from the current fiscal year, as the step stirred up discontent. Finance Minister AMA Muhith...