AFP, London World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Friday that 2009 is turning into “a very dangerous year” for the economy but warned G20 members against protectionist policies to fight the downturn. “2009 is shaping up to be a very dangerous year,” he told reporters ahead of Saturday’s G20 finance ministers meeting on how best ... Read more
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Government to revise fertiliser dealership policy soon
Obaidul Ghani The government is planning to revise the fertiliser dealership policy as soon as possible after the current boro season to ease fertiliser distribution and sale at the grassroots level, said agriculture ministry sources on Wednesday. The above decision was taken at a meeting of the National Coordination and Consultant Committee on Fertiliser Management, ... Read more
Nomination submission closes today
WOMEN RESERVED SEATS IN JS Nomination submission closes today Staff Correspondent The submission of nomination for elections to the 45 reserved seats for women in the parliament, according to the revised schedule, closes today. The returning officers will scrutinise the nomination papers on March 15 at the Election Commission secretariat. The last date for the ... Read more
Farmers harvest bumper pulses production in N-region
BSS, Rajshahi The farmers have started harvesting of lentil and Chickpea (gram) with expectation of bumper production everywhere in the northern region during the current season. Officials said, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has fixed a target of producing 1,04,415 tonnes of pulses including lentil, gram and mashkalai from around 1.04 lakh hectares of ... Read more
BB eases cost of loans
Repo rate down 25 basis points Sajjadur Rahman The central bank yesterday slashed the interest rate it charges on loans to commercial banks by 25 basis points to 8.50 percent to bolster growth and cushion the impact of the global economic turmoil. “The decision to cut the short-term repo rate has been taken to encourage ... Read more
MCCI urges removal of uncertainties on tax holiday in next budget
UNB, Dhaka Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on Wednesday strongly urged the government to remove the uncertainties on continuation of the tax holiday and widen the list of industries under the scheme in the next budget. The MCCI came up with the plea at a pre-budget meeting with the National Board of Revenue ... Read more
IPS, generator sales peak amid power crisis
Kazi Azizul Islam With severe load-shedding of electricity continuing in the city and elsewhere, the businesses dealing with power back-up devices see hectic business in the upcoming summer with sales peaking since early March. In last year around 60,000 units of instant power supply or IPS and 15,000 small generators were sold. Industry people expect ... Read more
Sheraton set for renovation
Sayeda Akter The government plans to renovate Dhaka Sheraton Hotel without delay and appoint an international operator to run the five-star hotel for five years. Also, Sheraton is set to extend its contract with the government for three
DCCI demands bailout plan for RMG sector
Star Business Desk The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry has demanded that the government come up with a bailout plan for the readymade garment sector. It also sought subsidy on the imports of capital machineries and industrial
Malaysia cancels 55,000 visas for Bangladeshis
Cites global meltdown impact as reason, denies entry to 532 Bangladeshi workers in Kuala Lumpur Staff Correspondent Malaysia on Tuesday cancelled visas for more than 55,000 Bangladeshi jobseekers, which were approved back in 2007, citing the impact of global economic recession on its manufacturing sector. These workers were scheduled
Govt asked to explain judicial magistracy legality
Staff Correspondent The High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the government for delaying the passage of two ordinances to make the judiciary independent of the executive. The High Court bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice Abdul Hye, in a rule issued suo moto, also asked the government to explain by March ... Read more
Army Act being considered for fastest trial: Shafiq
bdnews24.com, Dhaka The law minister, after a meeting with the attorney general and the army’s judge advocate general on Wednesday, said trying the BDR mutineers under the Army Act is still being considered for the fastest trial. “As Bangladesh Rifles is a ‘disciplinary force’ and it killed officers of another ‘disciplinary force’ their trial could ... Read more
MPs fear agitation by city dwellers over water shortage
Mustafizur Rahman Shortage of water, which is gradually becoming acute in the capital with the summer setting in, may trigger demonstrations by city-dwellers, fear Members of Parliament. The city’s lawmakers expressed their concern at a meeting with the LGRD and cooperatives minister, Syed Ashraful Islam, at the secretariat on Wednesday. They demanded immediate solution of ... Read more
No sign of improvement in power, gas supply: Water crisis turns serious in city
UNB, Dhaka Although the government set up monitoring cell in Power and Energy Ministry, no substantial improvement appeared in the power and gas supply situation across the country. The country has been experiencing more than 2000 MW power shortage and about 200 million cubic feet (MMCF) gas shortage
Four army officers laid to rest
Body of Maj Hakim identified Staff Correspondent Two army officers killed in a chopper crash on Monday and two during the massacre at Pilkhana BDR Headquarters were laid to eternal rest yesterday at city’s Banani Army Graveyard. The officers buried with state honour are Maj Gen Rafiqul Islam, general officer commanding of 55 Infantry Division ... Read more
Tanveer asked to explain breach of discipline
Staff Correspondent The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has asked one of its policymakers, Chowdhury Tanveer Ahmed Siddique, to explain why action will not be taken against him for breaching party discipline and defaming the party chief. The party’s joint secretary general Nazrul Islam Khan on Wednesday told New Age that the show-cause notice was served to ... Read more
Scotland Yard cops arrive to advise local agencies
UNB, Dhaka A four-man Scotland Yard team that arrived here yesterday will not investigate the BDR carnage but advise law-enforcing agencies here as to how the UK would conduct investigation into a matter of this magnitude. “They are not here to solve the crime-that role must sit rightly with the Bangladeshi law-enforcement agencies. The UK ... Read more
Confce on special economic zone held
Staff Reporter A three daylong conference on special economic zone (SEZ) development styled ‘Deep Dive’ to stimulate discussions on best practices and actionable strategies begins yesterday at the Hotel Radisson. The World Bank Group’s (WBG) Investment Climate Department organised the programme. The objective of the Deep Dive is to serve as a networking and learning ... Read more
Extraction ban makes stone chips rare, pricey
Kawsar Khan The supply of stone chips has dropped in recent times raising its prices in local markets because of a partial government ban on stone collection from two rivers in Sylhet. Since February 2, the Department of Environment (DoE) imposed a ban on the use of machines to collect stone from the Piyain and ... Read more
AL names 36 women candidates for reserved JS seats
Staff Correspondent The ruling Awami League on Monday published the list of its 36 women candidates for women’s reserved seats in parliament, including two from allied parties and two others from the families of army officers slain in the February 25-26 BDR rebellion. The AL announced the names of its women candidates for reserved JS ... Read more