The fire burnt a quilt and mattress manufacturing factory in Sylhet city Monday early morning. Witnesses said the fire started from the electric wire of the Surma Bedding House at Ambarkhana in the city at around 5:00am and it rapidly burnt the shop. A local businessman, Faruk Ahmed, said they called
Month: December 2013
CPD doubts full execution of WTO Bali package
The Centre for Policy Dialogue on Monday expressed doubt on full implementation of the Bali Package that members of the World Trade Organisation agreed in Indonesia on Saturday as the agreement has no specific timeframe for implementation. At a press conference on ‘Bali outcome of the
BB issues agent banking guideline
Allows banks to appoint individual, NGO, MFI as agent for underserved population Bangladesh Bank on Monday issued a guideline on the agent banking allowing a bank to appoint any individual or NGO or microfinance institution as its agent for providing limited-scale banking services, especially to the poor people. The BB in its guideline said that the ... Read more
BTRC allows pvt cos to launch commercial toll-free service
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has recently issued a directive for introducing local and international commercial toll-free services aiming at call centres, private companies and banks. A toll-free number is an option where the number holder pays for the calls it receives. Callers need not to pay for their calls to a toll-free number.
N American retailers to finish factory inspection by mid-July
Krilla says at the launch of Alliance’s Dhaka office The president of Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a North American retailers’ platform, Jeffrey Krilla, on Monday said that they would complete the inspection of all the garment factories in Bangladesh which produce products for them by mid July 2014. He said speaking at the opening ... Read more
BTRC requested to give opinions on 4 telcos’ CDR data urgently
Unpaid Sim Replacement Tax BTRC requested to give opinions on 4 telcos’ CDR data urgently The National Board of Revenue has requested the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to submit urgently its report on the Tk 3,100-crore SIM replacement tax claimed by the revenue board from four mobile phone operators, NBR officials said. The NBR has ... Read more
BSEC allows m-banks, brokerages to keep it in 5 instalments
Provision Against Stock Losses BSEC allows m-banks, brokerages to keep it in 5 instalments The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday issued a directive, allowing merchant banks and stockbrokers to keep provision against the losses the firms incurred in 2012 and 2013 in five instalments. The merchant banks and brokerage houses have to keep 20 ... Read more
Dhaka stocks inch down
Dhaka stocks inched down on Monday as some institutional investors went for profit taking sell-offs after the previous day’s rise. The turnover on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, however, increased as investors remained optimistic that the United Nations assistant secretary general’s move might break the current political stalemate. Stocks had gained on Sunday
Biman resumes Dhaka-Yangon flight
National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines on Monday resumed Dhaka-Yangon regular flight after more than six years, said a press release of the airlines. A special flight of Biman left for Yangon on Monday evening with a delegation of businessmen, travel agents and journalists. From now on, every
Smart Tech brings Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium
Smart Technologies (BD) Ltd has brought ‘Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium’ — the most powerful office package in the market of Bangladesh, said a news release. Users will be able to use Microsoft’s Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher and Access through this package. Besides, 27GB online
Taranco holds out ‘hope’
In a bid to resolve the current political impasse, visiting United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco continued his hectic parley with top leaders and civil society members of the country on the Monday, the third day of his visit. Amid this frantic move, he talked to the press for the first time, ... Read more
Schoolboy among two killed on third day of blockade
Blockade extended until 6am Friday; Jamaat calls strike today Two persons, including a schoolboy, were killed and over 50 others injured in sporadic incidents of violence on the third day of the nationwide 72-hour blockade, enforced by BNP-led 18-party alliance, and Jamaat-e-Islami called hartal on Monday. Meanwhile, the 18-party alliance has extended the road-rail-waterway blockade ... Read more
Take challenge to hold polls Jan 5, PM tells ministers
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday told her Cabinet colleagues that her government has taken up the challenge to hold the upcoming parliamentary election by January 5 and also deal with the ongoing political violence by opposition activists, a senior minister told reporters at the Secretariat. “There is no way the upcoming election can be held ... Read more
Mollah execution any day: AG
Defence, UN rights experts, HRW urge govt to halt execution Attorney General Mahbubey Alam on Monday said Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah can be executed any day as the International Crimes Tribunal’s death warrant has cleared the way for his execution. The chief counsel of Mollah, Barrister Abdur Razzak, however, asked the government not to ... Read more
WI U-19 team pull out after Ctg blast
WICB asks team to leave Dhaka At the earliest The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) cancelled the Under-19 team’s tour of Bangladesh following a crude bomb explosion outside of the hotel in Chittagong where they were staying. Citing the reason ‘acting in the best interest of the safety and security of the team’ the West ... Read more
BNP plans one-point protest if Taranco mission falls flat
The BNP-led 18-Party Alliance would go in for a harsher, non-stop and one-point oust-the-government movement from next week if United Nations (UN) assistant secretary general for political affairs Oscar Fernández-Taranco’s initiatives for an inclusive parliamentary polls under a non-partisan management go in vain, according to party insiders.
Ershad asks candidates to pull out by Dec 13
JP members skip cabinet meeting Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman HM Ershad on Monday said he has asked his party candidates for the general elections to withdraw their nomination papers by December 13. “The election now seems meaningless without the participation of the opposition parties,” he said while talking to reporters at his Baridhara
RMG exporters in a tight corner
Repeated blockades have put the garment sector in a tight corner as exporters are counting losses from order cancellation and rising transport costs. Buyers are cancelling orders as exporters fail to meet the lead time due to transport crisis, said Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment
WTO’s Bali package: a mixed bag
Bangladesh to gain from trade facilitation; duty privileges are still without legally binding commitment: CPD The country stands to gain considerably from the ‘Bali package’ struck at the ninth WTO ministerial meet in Bali on Saturday if it acts judiciously, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said yesterday. The keystone of the agreement, the first in ... Read more
Growers frustrated with heavy loss due to blockade
Early Winter Crops Growers frustrated with heavy loss due to blockade The growers were frustrated with heavy loss as seasonal crops including winter vegetables were being perished due to disruption of supply chain during the ongoing nationwide blockade enforced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance. The growers were compelled to sell their crops in local markets at ... Read more