Commodity prices mainly fell this week in low-volume trade on the back of weak Chinese economic data, while many participants were away for an extended Christmas and New Year break.
Beijing released figures yesterday showing that growth in China’s services sector slowed sharply in December, reports AFP.
The data followed news on Wednesday and Thursday that manufacturing in the country had also suffered a slowdown in growth last month.
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Beijing’s recent efforts at improving strategic ties with Delhi may soon experience a hiccup. In an attempt to strengthen Dhaka’s military might, China has agreed to sell submarines to Bangladesh’s Navy sometime. Last month, the two countries sealed a $203 million deal that offers Bangladesh two Ming Class submarines. The move was scorned by India which could not help hide its dismay at the rising tide of Sino-Bangladeshi defense cooperation. Indeed a senior official recently took Beijing to task questioning the “necessity” of pact with Bangladesh. Delhi’s main concern is that these submarines may intrude into Indian waters. These events seem to raise alarm in India as the Indian Navy now plans to boost its presence in the Bay of Bengal...
The World Bank (WB) is expected to come up with a robust portfolio in the 2nd half of the current fiscal year (2013-14) in Bangladesh with significant funding in a couple of projects including municipality governance improvement and emergency cyclone recovery.
For FY 14, the World Bank have a robust portfolio including US$ 410 million for Municipality Governance Improvement Project and $140 million additional financing for Emergency Cyclone Recovery and Remonstration Project, among others, an official of the World Bank’s Dhaka office told UNB.
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One hundred civil society organisations have written to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to oppose the commercialisation of a genetically modified (GM) eggplant.
Known locally as Bt-Brinjal, the GM eggplant contains a synthetic insect-killing toxin similar to Cry1Ac from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (hence the acronym Bt) targeted at the fruit and shoot borer.
Bt toxins are already known to have many off-target effects, including toxicity to beneficial pest pre...
Saudi Arabia and India have signed an agreement on labour cooperation for domestic service workers recruitment.
The agreement was signed in New Delhi today by Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi and Minister for Labour of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Adel Bin Mohammed Fakeih.
The features of the agreement are:
i.It aims to protect the right of both the employers and domestic service workers and regulate the contractual relation between them.
ii. It endeavors to contr...
In a cavernous hangar, an imam recites a short prayer as workers gather round. When he has finished, managers wearing white overalls and hardhats mount the platform, pick up wooden mallets and strike an aluminium keel.
The noise ricochets around Western Marine Shipyards, one of Bangladesh’s leading shipyards, as everyone applauds. The keel is the foundation and spine of any ship, and this short keel-laying ceremony marks the start of work on the shipyard’s latest order. Work also recommences on the 13 other ships, fishing trawlers and ferries in various stages of construction at the yard.
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