news digest

pilgrim in BaghdadBAGHDAD, Aug 15: At least one Shiite pilgrim was killed in Baghdad on Friday and 10 more were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded as their bus was heading for a festival in the holy city of Karbala,...

Georgia crisis entrenches Europe and NATO splits

The Georgia crisis has sharpened divisions in Europe about how to deal with Russia and splits within NATO over the wisdom of granting membership to Russian neighbours Georgia and Ukraine.Splits within the European Union over who is to blame for...

Fund constraint delays machine readable passport project

Uncertainty looms large over floating an international tender for introduction of machine readable passports (MRPs) due mainly to delay in allocation of a Tk 20 million fund by the finance ministry.The department of immigration and passport (DIP) sent a proposal...

Drop in commodity prices poses risks to Latin America

The Latin American economic boom of the past five years could take a hit if prices keep falling for the commodities they produce -- from soybeans to oil and metals.Argentina and Venezuela would suffer most from a sustained slump in...

NBR teams on the hunt for bigwig tax evaders

Special teams of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have been working to identify city bigwigs who are evading taxes despite having large volume of taxable income, an NBR official said.The NBR has formed the teams comprising officials from different...

Globalisation and its impact on insurance industry in Bangladesh

Of late, there are lot of discussions and deliberations on the importance of practising corporate governance in the insurance companies. Broadly speaking, 'corporate governance' covers any aspect of an organisation that is involved in management and performance improvement. There are...

The conventional and the organic food

SOMETIMES when buying at groceries, we are confused by the differences in price between food grown organically and food grown conventionally. Usually, the organic loses the price war argument in comparison to what is called "conventional" food.Of course, we are...

Reasons behind Russian invasion of Georgia

The United States has warned that Russia's continued presence in Georgia would damage its relations with the West.United States of America is rethinking its relations with Russia following the latter's invasion of Georgia. Though the Washington has ruled out any...

Fate and divinity notwithstanding

THE mosques in the country should be seen overflowing with people tonight as they would be praying long into the night in huge number in keeping with the Islamic religious tradition in the expectation that the ones in prayers who...

Pleas for reforming grading system

The universities that earlier followed the North American 'curriculum', had grading system. Now most of them, both in public and private sectors, have introduced the grading system. Recently, the University Grants Commission (UGC) have sent orders, asking for the introduction...

Soaring prices of feeds severely hit poultry sector

Soaring price of poultry feeds has thrown another blow to the country's bird-flu affected poultry sector as the overall prices of feeds have almost doubled over the last one year pushing the production cost roughly by 20 to 40 per...

Planned urbanisation for a solution

FROM a city of some two million people at the time of the independence of the country, Dhaka's population has swelled to some 15 million. With four or five million more people by the year 2015, Dhaka is expected to...

Global economy to grow at 4.1pc rate in 2008

NEW YORK, August 14: A growth rate below 3.0 per cent is considered a period of economic recession by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The global economy will grow at the rate of 4.1 per cent in 2008 and will...

news digest

home after Muslim clashesALEOSAN, (Philippines), Aug 14: Villagers in the southern Philippines began trickling back to their ruined homes Thursday, two days after government forces expelled Muslim insurgents who had stormed the area. Loreto Cabaya, mayor of Aleosan town, led...

Preparing for the 'post-gas era' economy in Bangladesh

The port city of Chittagong, which is also called the commercial capital of Bangladesh, has been facing severe gas and power crisis since long. However, the source of both the crises is again gas, since most of the power plants...

Addressing unemployment

WHY unemployment is bad for any economy is obvious. The unemployed ones are not productive, they do not add to the net of goods and services. They are rather dependants consuming what others produce, say, in the family, community or...

US Congressional body reports high incidence of tax evasion by companies

NEW YORK, August 13: The tax dodging is a global phenomenon. It is not unique to Bangladesh only. Tax dodgers everywhere have transactions with on-shore banking. Billions of dollars are being stashed in banks outside one's own country.A recent study...

Globalisation and its impact on insurance industry in Bangladesh

NOWADAYS we quite often hear the word globalization. The term 'Globalization' was first used in 1985 by Theodre Levitt in his write-up "The Globalization of Markets". Levitt used the expression to symbolise the rapid changes that have taken place during...

BEPZA draws Tk 4.80b plan for Comilla EPZ expansion

Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) has completed its plan for expansion of the Comilla Export Processing Zone (EPZ) at a cost of Tk 4.80 billion (480 crore).'Comilla EPZ is going to be the country's biggest EPZ with the large-scale...

NBR begins distributing 'status card' to self-motivated tax-payers

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has moved for distributing 'status card' to self-motivated tax-payers across the country to facilitate a hassle-free tax payment environment for them throughout life.The Board recently initiated the move to show due respect to the...

Easter Island - still a mystery!

EASTER Island, also known as Rapa Nui, in the South Pacific, is host to one of the world's greatest archaeological sites. Its isolation is one of the key factors affecting the culture that evolved here. The settlers of the 66...

Better not to reignite the old flames

IN spite of ourselves, many of us always stay reserved and refrain from talking in a manner that may sound childlike. Because of the fear of being ridiculed we resist our temptation to play a game with children. We deny...

'Conspiracy' theory and TU rights in RMG

Violence, it seems, has become a never-ending phenomenon in the country's export-oriented readymade garments (RMG) sector. It flares up every now and then in Dhaka or its adjoining areas or in the port city of Chittagong with RMG workers, allegedly,...

Farmers stop raising layer chickens for fear of fresh bird flu outbreak

Fear of a fresh bird flu outbreak in the upcoming winter season has gripped the country's thousands of farmers, causing some 40 per cent drop in layer chicken farming for egg production, industry said on Tuesday.Poultry farmers said they don't...

Adopting a comprehensive environment policy

THE environment of Bangladesh has been deteriorating during the last two decades and a half. But the ministry that was exclusively created to address this worsening environmental situation seemed to do little to arrest its degradation going on at a...

Idle relationship between spouses

Marriage is a gift, a special bond between man and woman, husband and wife. Much has been written about how we should behave towards a spouse after marriage, but no texts are more appropriate than the teachings of the Qur'an...

PSI cos assigned to furnish quality control certificates of imported goods

CHITTAGONG, Aug 11: Imported consignment of all commodities including the essential ones, can now be cleared from the port on arrival without any quality control test by the different agencies.In this connection, Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI) companies have been assigned with...

PPP for building infrastructure

The slow pace of foreign investment in the economy, despite all the publicity campaigns to this end launched by the successive governments, has often been an issue of discomfort among the policymakers as well as the intelligentsia. That the corrupt...

US asks govt to lift ban on trade union activities

The United States has asked the caretaker government to lift ban on trade union activities and improve labour rights in the garment factories before it holds a hearing on Bangladesh's GSP facilities in October, an official said.The call came late...

Manpower export needs streamlining

Emergency provides the opportunity for harsh and swift application of the laws against unethical practices. Besides, it gives the government sweeping powers to address pressing economic issues safeguarding the genuine interests of the workers of modest means who, getting cheated,...