Bangladesh wins big: Maritime security brooks no delay

The Hague-based United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) has announced its verdict on delimitation of maritime boundary between Bangladesh and India. The verdict has come largely in favour of Bangladesh, as it provided the country a substantial share of...

Govt to transform 8,500 post offices into e-centres

The government has taken an initiative to turn 8000 rural and 500 upazilla post offices into 'Post E-Centre for Rural Community' aimed at reaching information and communication technology service to the people living there, officials said. The move has been...

DSE turnover hits nine-month low

Turnover on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dipped to a nine-month low Wednesday as investors were reluctant to take fresh exposure in the market. “The ongoing pessimism kept investors mostly inactive, bringing the turnover to a nine-month low,” said a stock...

DSE, CSE advance at opening

The country’s two bourses – Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) – saw upward trend in early hours of trading on Wednesday, the 4th trading day of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went...

Dhaka city needs its own, caring father/s

World over cities and towns do have a father each, heading the municipal or city corporations. Dhaka is one mega city which has a couple of fathers. The city fathers are usually elected by the residents. Here also, Dhaka city...

New law underway to safeguard interests of bank, FI depositors

A move is underway to replace the Bank Deposit Insurance Act 2000 with a new law that would safeguard the interests of depositors of both banks and financial institutions (FIs). The existing act protects the interests of only bank depositors,...

Highways ill prepared for Eid traffic rush

Construction works on the major highways heading towards southern and northern districts and repairs of ruptures caused by rain on other routes pose the risk of severe traffic snarl-up during Eid rush, sources said. An official of the Roads and...

Govt moves to create 15m new jobs in 10 years

The government has taken an initiative for creating 15 million new jobs in next 10 years by taking advantage of planned Chinese relocation of labour-intensive industries abroad, sources said. The move has been taken to raise the country's annual Gross...

RMG factory owners for release of cash incentives

A large number of readymade garment (RMG) factory owners may face difficulties in paying wages and allowances to their workers if the government does not release committed cash incentive on time before Eid-ul Fitr, industry insiders said. It usually takes...

RMG export order falls marginally in last six months

Issuance of UDs (utilisation declarations), dropped marginally during the January-June period of the current calendar year (2014) against the same period of the previous year indicating a downtrend in the apparel exports. UD is an important index for assessing the...

Special tribunal in capital market set to start

The long-expected Special Tribunal in the capital market is set to start its judicial function very soon as all the relevant preparations to commence its operation are almost completed, sources said. A place has already been hired recently for the...

Income inequality in Bangladesh perspective

Inequality in Bangladesh has always been a major problem. The rich continue to be richer while the poor the poorer. Inequality in distribution of income has increased. Rising economic inequality is a major challenge that the world faces today. There...

Let\\\'s stop destruction of forests

Rampant land grabbing by local influential people is now threatening the very existence of tropical rain forest at Muchikandi eastern hill forest (Purba Pahar) along the Rema-Kalennga reserve forest and wilderness zone in Chunarughat upazila under Habiganj district. The land...

America: Military clout wanes but dollar reigns supreme

There was always a consensus in American Congress and among the Americans that the United States would never ignore rising threats in any near or distant lands and allow any terrorist groups or dictatorial regimes to gain sanctuary in any...

Mujibnagar agri project bliss for 4 districts of S-W region

JHENIDAH, July 8: Mujibnagar Integrated Agricultural Development Project (MIADP), a DAE component, is playing a major role in disseminating agri-technologies among the farmers of 19 upazilas under four districts - Jhenidah, Kushtia, Chuadanga and Meherpur- of S-W region of Bangladesh....

Stocks close flat amid choppy trading

Stocks closed flat on Tuesday with sluggish trading activities as investors remained in watchful mood amid lack of clear direction. DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSEX) ended at 4,376.52 points, shedding only 0.24 points from previous...

DSE, CSE fall at opening

The prices of most of the shares on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw downward trend in early hours of trading on Tuesday, the third trading day of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the...

World War One: First war was impossible, then inevitable

Why does the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand - the event that lit the fuse of World War One 100 years ago - still resonate so powerfully? Virtually nobody believes World War Three will be triggered by recent the military...

Tax revenue collection to face Tk 20b shortfall

Aggregate tax revenue collection may face Tk 20 billion shortfalls against its target for the just concluded fiscal year (FY) 2013-14, largely because of political turmoil and decline in operating profit of private commercial banks (PCBs), especially in the first...

FDI in enlivening tourism sector

If you have many innovative ideas and good planning but no money for implementing them, obviously the planning will yield no results. The tourism sector in Bangladesh is more or less like that. There are a lot of ideas and...

Taking measures to prevent leaking of question papers

Assessment is considered as one of the significant components of teaching-learning process. Students, teachers, materials, methods of teaching and evaluation are the main components of teaching. We assess our learners through public examinations which fall in the category of 'summative'...

Move to revive BR\\\'s lost glory

The government has taken a set of proactive measures to upgrade operational activities of Bangladesh Railway (BR) and thus ensure better services to the passengers, sources said. They said once the measures are implemented in the next five years, BR...

First beach surf club built at Cox\\\'s Bazar

The first surf club on Cox's Bazar seashore has created recreational opportunity for both local and foreign tourists, a tour operator said, as experts suggested far more facilities to cash in on the world's longest unbroken sea beach blessed with...

BD cos dominate SAFA competition

Bangladesh's corporate entities continue holding the top positions among the SAARC countries in disclosure and fair presentation of their financial statements and other business activities in their annual reports, according to officials linked to the process. South Asian Federation of...

Banks, NBFIs fade in capital market in last two years

The capital market has witnessed a drastic change in the sectoral turnover in the last couple of fiscal years (FYs) with banks and NBFIs losing their dominating edge, experts and stakeholders said.   The turnover value of the heavyweight banking sector...

DSE turnover dips below Tk 2b

Stocks extended losing streak for the fifth session on Monday with turnover plunging below Tk 2.0 billion mark after six-week as investors followed ‘wait-and-see’ strategy amid cautious stance. DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, dipped below ‘psychological’...

BIWTA buying dredgers without need appraisal

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) is going to procure 20 more dredgers without any need assessment, official sources said. The move to collect a number of dredgers at a time under one project has raised questions among the...

Businesses skip tax net for lengthy procedures: IFC

Lengthy procedures of tax compliances coupled with higher cost and unofficial payments create a web of barriers to bringing businesses onto the tax-net in Bangladesh, an IFC study reveals. On an average, 339 days are required for resolving tax disputes...

Big jump in food import in 11 months of last fiscal

Country's overall imports grew by nearly 15 per cent in the first 11 months of the just concluded fiscal year (FY) 2013-14, thanks to a big (125.84 per cent) jump in import of food grains during the period, officials said....

Illegal SIM used to mint money thru VoIP

Telecom operators and internet-service providers have proposed building up a central database for suspected mobile SIM cards to detect illegal VoIP (voice over internet protocol) call terminations that reportedly fetched fortunes for many in the business. The proposal on SIM...