Malaysia cancels 55,000 visas of Bangladeshi jobseekers

The Malaysian government Tuesday cancelled visas for more than 55,000 Bangladeshi jobseekers, who are due to enter that country soon.Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said the government is closely monitoring the issue."If necessary, the foreign minister...

news digest

Palestinians in GazaGAZA, Mar 11: Two Palestinians were wounded early Wednesday when Israeli warplanes fired rockets at the border line between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, medical sources said. Mu'awia Hassanein, director of emergencies at the health ministry, said two...

Merchant banking licence

In the backdrop of an earlier announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that more licences would be granted for operating merchant banking, a recent meeting of the commission for selection of the prospective licensees proposed by the selection...

For a more predictable management of power and energy gap

WITH the advent of summer, the city people are again faced with the old problem of power shortage in the form of load-shedding or outage. The fear is that the problem may take crisis proportions this year given the fact...

New direction for investments in education

Whether redundant types of education are being favoured over the forms of education that help the creation of human resources is posing increasingly as a serious question in the context of Bangladesh. Clearly, the country requires not the creation of...

Asia's multibillion-dollar remittance flow drying up

OVER the past three to four years, one of Asia's fastest growing industries has been exporting workers, especially to the oil-driven, construction-crazed economies of the Middle East.Remittances have become a major contributor to foreign exchange earnings and gross domestic products...

Energy crisis: Use of coal should be top priority

The Petrobangla, the state-owned oil and gas entity, might soon suggest the government to allow the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the private sector to help offset the energy crisis which might soon become unmanageable, particularly in the...

Wrong time for Pak series

It was a good thing that the Pakistani cricket tour of Bangladesh was deferred to another future date. As it is this is the month of March. In 1971 this was a momentous month and it has become a very...

Why is nationalisation of the US banking systems unavoidable?

CRITICS claim that long-run growth of the private sector investment in Bangladesh was affected seriously during the early years of independence due to the policy of nationalization. Soon after coming to power, the then government nationalized the industrial and the...

Not yesterday or tomorrow, concentrate on the present

CONCENTRATION is vital for every student. The more concentration one has, the better chance one has to perform in studies. Lack of full attention to studies is probably one of the main problems our students face.Most of the time the...

EBL mutual fund to hit market by Apr

A close-end mutual fund, launched by Eastern Bank Limited, is making debut in the stock market by next month."The EBL First Mutual Fund valued at Tk 1.0 billion will hit the market by April next," a market source told the...

Inflation downtrend continues

The country's Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation eased marginally in January on an annual average basis because of declining prices of food and non-food items both in rural and urban areas.The CPI inflation came down to 8.46 per cent in...

History of International Women's Day

THE idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialised world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies, actions by working women anywhere in the...

Fighting frustration during terminal years of academic life

Towards the end of their academic life, in honours fourth year or masters level, many students in Bangladesh suffer from frustration. They become restless, thinking when their academic life will be over and when and how they will get a...

US jobless figure now worst in 25 years

NEW YORK, March 7: The United States is the wealthiest nation in the world. The entire global economy swirls around it. It is an incontrovertible fact. It is now under a recession that has been described as broad and deep....

City IT Computer Fair most successful

The 'City IT 2009 Computer Fair' at Agargaon was able to attract a huge number of visitors after overcoming an out-of-the-blue blow borne out of the BDR mutiny in the capital, organisers said on the closing day of the annual...

Commerce is king in the empire's old home

FT Syndication ServiceSHIMLA: Shimla, the Indian hill station from which Britain ruled nearly a fifth of humanity less than a century ago, is a place redolent with imperial folklore and the architectural tastes of rural England.The town was the summer...

Hunt for the mastermind behind the BDR mutiny

THE first lesson a probationary crime detective learns from his mentor: "Sharpen your eyes, prick your ears up, accentuate your senses and whet your appetite for finding the actual motive of a criminal. Once you are certain about the motive...

A defining moment for Bangladesh

BANGLADESH is going through a situation that beggars description. No one was prepared for the recent Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutiny in Bangladesh and the carnage that went with it. A good number of army officers were killed, while a number...

Threats to life from beyond earth

The world we live in was never hundred per cent safe. And the hazards that stare life in the face are numberless. So, it is a very hostile world in which life survives. But for a human, the most intelligent...

Plans imperative to attain and maintain food security

Food is considered as a strategic resource. If it were not so, then the European Union (EU) countries would not be producing so much food but get the same imported at a relatively cheaper price for consumption. EU countries produce...

Swiss bracing for change in bank secrecy

Switzerland is bracing for a monumental change in a tradition of banking secrecy that survived pressure from Nazi Germany, World War II and numerous other crises over the last 75 years.It will have a hard time withstanding an American legal...

Poultry sector in distress as banks find funding risky

Poultry farm owners have said they are facing difficulties in getting credit from banks, which fear the industry still remains vulnerable to bird flue and risky for investment.World's Poultry Science Association- Bangladesh Branch (WPSA-BB) President Moshiur Rahman told FE the...

Scientists can build a better future

SCIENCE alone can solve the problems of hunger and poverty. Bangladesh needs to use science and scientific methods to improve the quality of life of its people and solve the problems facing the country. Bangladesh has to proceed carefully to...

Twenty-first century women: Striving to climb professional ladder

SHE has an excellent academic career; she is smart, competent and holds all the qualities to provide evidence just right to be at the top of her professional ladder. However, she is a mother, a wife, a daughter-in-law and in...

Gandhi's belongings on auction in New York

NEW YORK, March 6: The personal belongings of the beacon of India's freedom movement from the British yoke Mohondas Karamchand Gandhi was put on auction by James Otis, a filmmaker and peace activist. Gandhi introduced

corporatewatch

subscription deal with GEM GlobalThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given consent to Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited, under the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (Issue of Capital) Rules, 2001, for raising the paid-up capital from Tk 125,95,77,470 up...

Economic meltdown -- this crisis has a woman's face

THE current economic crisis is unravelling before us faster than even the most pessimistic of experts predicted just a few months ago.The effects are already trickling down to ordinary working people. In Asia Pacific, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has...

Securing water for tomorrow

AIR and water, two plentiful gifts of nature, are essential for the survival of all living beings. Their renewable sources will probably never end. But, irrational use and human interference are depleting and polluting air and surface water. Emission-induced draughts...

Business's confidence in the economy

It will take some time before the nation may recover fully from the trauma that it has been through since the rebellion broke out at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters in the capital city. But in spite of the shock,...