Army tightens grip in Myanmar
The leader of Myanmar’s ruling party was ousted by the country’s president in a dramatic swoop Thursday as the army and its allies strengthened their political grip ahead of crucial elections.
The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has been gripped by in-fighting in the run up to the November polls—billed as the freest and fairest for decades in the former-junta ruled nation.
After a night of high political drama which saw security forces enter the USDP base in Naypyidaw, Shwe Mann—who is also the parliamentary speaker—was ousted in an unexpected party putsch.
The USDP, which served as a vehicle for former junta figures to transform into MPs, issued a statement ![]()
Market ends week lower on dull trade
Share trading was predominantly lackluster during the week ending on Thursday as investors were cautious in repositioning and placing orders for secondary shares.
The benchmark index DSEX eroded 55 points this week when Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) saw low level of activities and experienced a technical glitch that halted trading for nearly two hours on Wednesday, reports BSS.
The broader index fluctuated around 4800-point level and finally closed the week at 4808.87, with the two selective DS30 and DSES sliding marginally to 1859.39 and 1191.00 respectively.
Dhaka, Delhi to fight fake currency
The joint task force of Bangladesh and Indian signed a joint declaration to tackle smugglings and counterfeit currency in the two countries.
“The second such top security-level formal talks between the two countries especially on fake currency signed a joint declaration to work together against fake currency notes,” Additional Inspector General of Police M Moklesur Rahman told journalists on the second-day of the three-day bilateral meeting held at Police Headquarters in the capital city today, reports BSS.
Inspector General, National Investigation Agency (NIA) is leading the 15-member delegation of India.
$180m USAID program for food security
US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat today announced that the USAID will launch a new $180 million five-year phase of its Food for Peace (FFP) program this year to face food insecurity of the poorest and most vulnerable people in Bangladesh.
She made the announcement at a function - USAID Food for Peace Program in Bangladesh, 2010-2015: Exploring Successes and Challenges - at a city hotel, reports BSS.
LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Khandkar Mosharraf Hossain attended the function as the chief guest while USAID Bangladesh Mission Di...
LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Khandkar Mosharraf Hossain attended the function as the chief guest while USAID Bangladesh Mission Di...
TEEAL e-resource programme for agri improvement
Sets pertaining to TEEAL (The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library), a programme that helps improve agriculture sector through easy access to research literature, are being placed in universities and research universities in Bangladesh and training is being provided for their use, according to Sathguru Management Consultants, which is supporting the running of the programme along with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Established in 1999, TEEAL is a programme of Cornell University Library’s Albert R Mann Library, in partnership with leading publishers, to provide access to agricultural research literature. It contains almost 500,000 articles from more than 350 highly ranked research journals in agriculture and related biological sciences.
“Garment villages” to double clothing exports
The rapid growth of Bangladesh’s garment industry has been a blessing and a burden to the country. Even as it has provided jobs to millions and helped Bangladesh cut its poverty rate, it has also exploited the nation’s poorest and most desperate, leading to the gratuitous and preventable deaths of thousands (see: Rana Plaza in 2013).
So invaluable is the industry to Bangladesh that the country is doubling down on the business, despite the repercussions. Already the world’s second largest exporter of clothing by some estimates, Bangladesh intends to double its apparel exports to $50 billion by 2021.
The country’s commerce minister, Tofail Ahmed, announced the plan last week, including the creation of a “garment village” in the southeastern port city of Chittagong—a major export hub...
