Bangladesh may give Nepal a duty-free access for 100 of its products, especially vegetables and agricultural ones, as those have a higher demand in Bangladesh, said an official of the commerce ministry of Bangladesh yesterday. On the other hand, Bangladesh sought from Nepal a duty cut on exports of electronics goods, pharmaceuticals and agro-processed food items, said
Month: July 2012
BB restricts banks’ land, floor space purchase
The Bangladesh Bank has decided that commercial banks will not be allowed to purchase or lease for 10 years or more any lands, buildings and floor space for any purpose other than use by their head offices. However, in areas under the jurisdiction of city corporations, they can buy or lease office space for their ... Read more
Chittagong boutiques all set for Eid
Name the latest trend going for salwar kameez, sari and panjabi — and you are likely to find them in the boutiques in Chittagong. They are trying to attract as many Eid shoppers as possible. To avoid the mad dash that invariably occurs closer to Eid, many have started with their Eid shopping from the ... Read more
Dancing into people’s hearts
London Olympics 2012 Dancing into people’s hearts Akram Khan looks sheepish. The question that he has been asked is one to which he feels he must say yes, but he is not sure yet how best to express himself. He thinks for a moment, and then does an excellent job. So, is performing in the ... Read more
Golden-boy Phelps turns silvery
For a few seconds Michael Phelps seemed completely bemused. He just had completed a great race at the pool and yet had to settle with only a silver medal, his first in three Olympics. There was a time when everything he touched turned gold. But London is turning out to be the end chapter of ... Read more
‘More positives than negatives’
There are positives to be taken out of Bangladesh’s just-concluded tour to Europe, believes batsman Tamim Iqbal, despite the two losses to Scotland and the Netherlands. The left-hander was the only player to score more than 200 runs, including two half centuries, in the six Twenty20 internationals held earlier this month. But more than the ... Read more
BD A earn three points in draw
Bangladesh A earned three points from their drawn opening match against Baroda Cricket Association XI in the Shafi Darashah cricket tournament at the KSCA ground in Alur yesterday. Mominul Haque’s second fifty of the game shepherded the side’s second innings after it was set 344 runs to win the game. Baroda made a comeback when ... Read more
London Diary
Neymar ran to the sideline and struck the famous Usain Bolt lightning pose. It was football’s biggest Olympic star honouring one of the London Games’ most acclaimed athletes. Neymar celebrated by imitating his idol after scoring from a free-kick and leading Brazil to a 3-1 win over Belarus on Sunday, securing the gold medal favourites ... Read more
The unfamiliar that is all too familiar
Couple of days post Humayun Ahmed’s demise, BTV aired one of his plays. The play, “Nimphool”, was first aired in 1997. Set in a typical Bangladeshi village, the story begins with a mob approaching the home of the headman, ably played by Abul Hayat. A notorious bandit has been caught. The smart-mouthed outlaw, deftly played ... Read more
Six-day theatre fest begins tomorrow
Theatre troupe Swapnodal will pay tribute to Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, dramatist Selim Al Deen and Indian director Badal Sircar by organising a six-day theatre festival beginning tomorrow, informed the organisers at a press conference held on Monday at the seminar room of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The festival will mark
“Lux-Channel i Superstar” as a launching pad
In conversation with Rakhi A number of aspiring young actresses who were launched through the “Lux Channel i Superstar” talent hunt, are now busy in the media. These artistes have all the potential to carve out successful careers and may well dominate the media by dint of their talent and hard work. Rakhi is firmly ... Read more
Eid Delights: Innovative “Ittyadi”
A wholesome family-oriented TV show, “Ittyadi”, with innovative ideas, conveys social messages and generates awareness among the masses all with a dash of entertainment. Special episodes of “Ittyadi” during Eid bring up interesting choreography which adds to the extravaganza. The audience is usually treated to a variation in the dance presentation. In the upcoming Eid ... Read more
Govt making those legal
Illegal Housing Projects Govt making those legal The government has legalised two illegal private housing schemes and is going to okay at least four others to the destruction of natural wetlands and rural homesteads on the capital’s north-eastern fringe. An inter-ministerial body led by the housing minister conditionally approved BDDL Natundhara and United City (Neptune ... Read more
WB failed to give graft evidence
Padma Bridge Project WB failed to give graft evidence PM tells BBC; says she didn’t mention anyone in her ‘bloodsucker’ comment Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the World Bank could not present evidence for the graft allegations over the Padma bridge project. Click here to watch the interview. Interviewed by Stephen Sackur for BBC ... Read more
‘Small cabinet’ during polls
PM invites BNP to join interim govt; Khaleda says ‘no’ Ruling out the restoration of caretaker government system, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has suggested forming a “small cabinet” including the opposition ahead of the next parliamentary polls. In an interview scheduled for broadcast today, Hasina told BBC Bangla Service that she would allow if the ... Read more
Chevron to pump $500m into Bibiyana gas field expansion
Production capacity to rise by 300m cubic feet per day US oil major Chevron announced, on Monday, that it would invest $500 million in the expansion project of Bibiyana gas field, in the north-west of the country. The new project would include expansion of the gas plant, to process increased natural gas volumes from Bibiyana, ... Read more
Crime goes unchecked
The Pallabi-bound human hauler came to a sudden stop just before the Sheorapara bus terminal. Nearby, five youths were waiting, ominously. They were armed with steel pipes, bamboos and bricks. There were ten to twelve passengers, including three women, in the human hauler city shuttle plying from Gulshan to Pallabi via Mahakhali
Quirkiness the charm of Olympic football
“He is a lizard,” spits the beefy gentleman sitting a few rows over from the press tribunes. It’s a cold, wet summer afternoon at an almost full Wembley, and the atmosphere is surprisingly raucous at the home of football. Mexican waves do the business and boos ring out every time a wiry player in a ... Read more
Indian train fire kills 32
Thirty-two passengers were burnt to death and 25 injured as a fire tore through a coach of a train in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh yesterday. The accident, on a long-distance service from New Delhi, occurred in the early hours of the morning near the town of Nellore with an electrical short-circuit seen as ... Read more
Guidelines for safe disposal of CFLs not yet framed
The government is yet to frame any guidelines for safe disposal and recycling of Compact Fluorescent Lamps which contain environmentally hazardous mercury though millions of CFLs have been marketed, said concerned officials. Experts said that each CFL contains at least 5 milligrams of mercury, a toxic