Garment workers will go on Eid holidays in phases from July 14 to avoid heavy pressure of vehicles on highways ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-fitar, reports UNB. The decision was taken at a coordination meeting held at Home Ministry yesterday with State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal where representatives…

Parliament yesterday passed a bill, titled ‘Export Promotion Bureau Bill, 2015’, seeking continuation of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), reports UNB. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed moved the Bill in the House and it was passed by voice vote. The EPB, which was set up through an ordinance…

The euro fell yesterday after Europe slapped Greece with a deadline to submit fresh bailout reform proposals or face a eurozone exit, while a Chinese stock market rout also spooked traders, sending them into the yen, reports AFP from Tokyo. In Tokyo, the common currency weakened to $1.0986 and 134.16…

Rally at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) continued for the second consecutive day, driven mainly by pharmaceutical sector with support from multinational companies (MNCs), reports BSS. Like previous session, pharmaceutical stocks captured the highest Tk 101 crore turnover, which was 22.0 per cent of the…

Bangladesh has already met several targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and it needs to ensure inclusive development for achieving remaining MDGs target within a stipulated time, said development experts, reports BSS.    Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in the areas of…

AFP, LONDON: British finance minister George Osborne unveiled fresh austerity measures Wednesday to slash the country’s debt, evoking the plight of crisis-hit Greece in presenting the first purely Conservative budget for nearly 20 years. Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne slashed welfare spending…

A bill, titled ‘Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2015, was placed at the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) to increase the ceiling of any individual economic activity from Tk 24 lakh to Tk 30 lakh for enlistment in paying VAT, reports UNB. Finance Minister AMA Muhith placed the Bill…

AFP, LONDON: Oil prices rose yesterday in a slight pullback after plunging at the start of the week over Greece and economic fears surrounding the world’s biggest energy user China. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery increased 43 cents to $52.76 a barrel. Brent North Sea…

Emirates will launch a new service to Mashhad, the second largest city in Iran, from September 1, marking its second gateway into the country, says a press release. Emirates will operate to Mashhad with five weekly services utilising a combination of a three class and two class configured A330-200.…

AFP, HONG KONG: Asian equities tumbled Wednesday as a collapse in Chinese shares began to contaminate other markets, and after European leaders slapped Greece with a deadline to submit fresh bailout reform proposals. With markets buffeted by two global crises, traders ran for the cover of investments…

AFP, STRASBOURG: European Union lawmakers demanded yesterday that a proposed free trade deal with the United States drop a US-backed private dispute settlement system in favour of public procedures in open court. The European Parliament has held up the progress of negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade…

Malaysia has reportedly agreed to recruit 500,000 low-skilled migrant workers from Bangladesh, a move welcomed by many in a country from where scores of people have risked their lives to go abroad in search of work, reports Voice of America from Kolkata. Details of the agreement, called a Business-to-Business…

AFP, BANG PLA MA: Ranong Rachasing would normally be in her fields at this time of year, toiling in ankle-deep water to make her rice paddies bloom through knowledge honed by years of cultivating Thailand’s most celebrated export. Now the wizened 57-year-old’s fields lie fallow, baking under…

AFP, HEIHE: The warmth of the friendship between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin—who meet yesterday for the eighth time in two years—does little to counter the bitter economic winds blowing through their shared border. In the Chinese city of Heihe, neon-lit…

AFP, LONDON: Troubled British bank Barclays, plagued by forex and Libor rigging scandals, announced yesterday that it has fired chief executive Antony Jenkins with immediate effect. Barclays management has “concluded that new leadership is required” to accelerate an overhaul of the beleaguered…