Matia for withdrawal of excise duty on bank accounts

Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury yesterday strongly urged the government to consider and withdraw the excise duty on bank accounts and interest…

Rights groups want policy

Several rights groups yesterday urged the government to develop an appropriate national policy to protect state assets and valuable information before signing any contract or agreement with profiteering e-commerce giants like Alibaba and Amazon.com, reports UNB. They made the call from a human chain…

China to set up SEZ on 783 acres of land in Anwara

The Chinese government will set up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on 783 acres of land in Chittagong's Anwara upazila under a government to government (G to G) deal, reports BSS. Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) Paban Chowdhury and China Harbour Engineering Company…

Tier IV data centre design approved

Uptime Institute of the United States of America has approved the design of Tier IV Data Centre which is being installed at Bangabandhu Hi-Tech Park in Gazipur. The Uptime Institute has certified the design document, constructed facility and operational sustainability of the data centre, said an official…

Qatar’s migrant workers on Gulf crisis frontline

AFP, DOHA: Ajit, an Indian electrician, is just seven months into his new job but right now he is a worried man, like many other members of the huge migrant…

‘Keep automobile workshops out of 15pc VAT’

Bangladesh Automobile Workshop Owners' Association yesterday demanded keeping the automobile workshops out of the purview of 15 per cent VAT threshold, reports UNB. It made the demand from a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in the city. The association leaders also threatened to go…

Airbus A-330 added to Biman’s fleet

Biman Bangladesh Airlines yesterday added an Airbus A-330 aircraft to its fleet for increasing on-time performance as well as giving a boost in ensuring customer care, reports BSS. The aircraft that was taken from Wamos of Spain under lease agreement made its first flight yesterday with…

Saudi adult courses seek self-reliance

AFP, RIYADH: The smell of automotive grease fills a college hallway and clanging noises emerge from the workshop where Saudi Arabian men gather around…

Asia markets slide, dragged by oil plunge and Trump fears

AFP, HONG KONG: Asian markets mostly sank yesterday with energy firms swiped by a dive in oil prices, while traders were also spooked by a report that President Donald Trump was being investigated for possible obstruction of justice. Crude tanked three per cent on data Wednesday showing a smaller-than-forecast…

Money from Europe a lifeline for Nigerian families

AFP, BENIN CITY: Grace and Sunday Otoide's house is the last one standing on Bata Road in Benin City, southern Nigeria. All the neighbours have left…

Full stalls, empty markets as South Sudan’s economy crumbles

AFP, AWEIL: "I sell the small bottle of cooking oil for 140 SSP. Six months ago, it was 70. The customers complain," said James Deng, an 18-year-old stallholder in Aweil, South Sudan. In this regional market in the country's northwest -- just as at the main Konyokonyo market in the capital…

Stocks end week mixed

Stocks ended the week yesterday mixed with falling trend of major indices at Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges despite higher transactions, reports…

EU pulls plug on mobile roaming charges

AFP, PARIS: The European Union rang in the end of cross-border roaming charges for mobile phone users in the 28-nation bloc yesterday, hailing it as “one of (its) greatest and most tangible successes”. The move, more than a decade in the making, comes in time for the summer holidays when…

Bank of England holds interest rate at record low

AFP, LONDON: The Bank of England yesterday froze interest rates at a record low 0.25 per cent, but three policymakers called for a hike on Brexit-linked fears over soaring consumer prices. The central bank said in a statement that its monetary policy committee (MPC) voted 5-3 in favour of the status…

UK wages fail to keep pace with inflation

AFP, LONDON: Wages in Britain are falling in real terms but the unemployment rate remains at a 42-year low, official data showed Wednesday. Average weekly earnings, adjusted for inflation and excluding bonuses, slid 0.6 per cent in the three months to April from a year earlier, the Office for National…

International Leasing and Financial re-elects chairman

MA Hashem has been re-elected chairman of the board of directors of International Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IFISL) for the next two years effective from June 15, a press statement said yesterday. The board of directors of the company in its 205th meeting unanimously re-elected Hashem…

Mobile app launched for students

BRAC University launched a mobile application titled ‘BRACU Mobile’ for students based on the Android mobile operating system, says a press note. Vice Chancellor of BRAC University Professor Dr Syed Saad Andaleeb launched the app at the Global Deve-lopment Learning Network (GDLN)…

China fines Emirates for flying at wrong altitude

AFP, BEIJING: China's civil aviation authority has fined Dubai-based Emirates airline for violating safety rules and banned it from adding new routes in the country for six months. On April 17, an Emirates plane flew at the wrong height over the city of Urumqi in far-western Xinjiang, causing "serious…

Myanmar plans to implement eco-tourism project

Myanmar has planned to implement eco-tourism project in Bago Yoma forest in the central part in a bid to boost tourism of the country, reports Xinhua. The project will be carried out by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, official…