News Briefs--(17-03-2018)

Agri technology fair in city

With the participation of 15 countries, the latest international agriculture technology fair started in the city on Thursday and it ends today (Saturday). State Minister for Rural Development and Cooperative Moshiur Rahman Ranga inaugurated the 8th edition of the fair showcasing the latest advances from the world of technology that are helping to revolutionise a sector often seen as stuck in its old ways. A total of 640 stalls have been displaying agro-technology, including food and crops processing instrument and technologies for crop development, at the fair. Bogra-based RDA and Limra Trade Fairs and Exhibitions have jointly organised the three-day fair. — UNB

Kuroda wins second term at Bank of Japan

TOKYO, Mar 16: Japan's parliament approved Haruhiko Kuroda for a second term as central bank governor on Friday, with a mandate to battle deflation and pep up the world's third-biggest economy. Handpicked by Shinzo Abe to steer the former economic powerhouse out of a dangerous cycle of falling prices, Kuroda has guided the key monetary plank of the prime minister's vaunted "Abenomics" economic policy. Now 73, the ex-president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is on course to become the longest-serving Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor if he completes a full second five-year term. —AFP

UK businesses get ready for post-Brexit world

LONDON, Mar 16: Britain's top businesses are cranking their Brexit plans into gear, shifting operations abroad to ensure a smooth transition when the nation quits the European Union in one year's time. A string of airlines, banks and other corporate household names have activated their contingency plans to move jobs or restructure amid ongoing uncertainty, as British Prime Minister Theresa May battles Brussels for a post-Brexit trade deal. Britain intends to seek free trade deals with its major trading partners once it leaves the EU, as planned, in March 2019. Many large companies want to retain their London presence however despite jitters over the economic outlook. — AFP