Mahmoud Mohieldin Medellin – In September 2015, the leaders of 193 countries agreed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the most ambitious plan ever to promote human development – by 2030. Nearly two years into the process, there…
Category: Economy
On climate finance, “The SIDS Can’t Wait”
By Desmond Brown Castries, St Lucia, Aug 28 (IPS) – Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet warns that the clock is running out for small states such as those in the Caribbean as they struggle to develop the infrastructure capable…
IFAD – India to discuss rural poverty alleviation efforts
New Delhi, 29 August – Officials of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are in New Delhi this week to discuss how to best support India’s efforts to alleviate rural poverty, achieve national development objectives and contribute to the…
Tokyo stocks fall as N. Korea fires missile over Japan
Tokyo stocks fell in early Tuesday trading after North Korea launched a missile over Japan that the country’s prime minister described as an “unprecedented, serious and grave threat”. Nuclear-armed North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean…
Deal with WB to improve health, nutrition services
Dhaka, Aug 28 – The government on Monday signed a $515 million financing agreement with the World Bank to improve the country’s health, nutrition and population services.
Rambutan fruit being cultivated commercially in Narsingdi
Commercial cultivation of Rambutan, a fruit variety which looks like a big size lichi, has started in Shibpur upazila of the district due to its economic prospect. Deputy Director from Department of Agriculture Extension Latafat Hossain said today Rambutan cultivation…
Quader orders repair of roads in 24 hours
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday ordered the Road and Highway Department (RHD) engineers to complete the renovation work of damaged roads and highways of 15 North-Western districts within 24 hours. “No excuse, including that of natural…
BD stocks open week up on higher transactions
Stocks opened the week on Sunday upward with rising trend of all indices at Dhaka and Chittagong Stock exchanges on higher transactions. The day’s trade value at DSE increased to Taka 930.23 crore from Thursday’s Taka 782.11 crore and the…
Too poor to escape the Hurricane
In the detritus of Hurricane Harvey a splash of red, white and blue catches the eye. It is a rain-sodden American flag, half-hidden under the green leaves of fallen trees. A few paces away Judie McRae, 44, is inspecting the…
Samsung heir’s jailing heralds reform drive: analysts
The conviction and jailing of South Korea’s top business tycoon heralds a drive to reform the country’s giant conglomerates and loosen their grip on the economy, analysts said. When Lee Jae-Yong, de facto head of the world’s biggest smartphone maker…
Samsung heir guilty of bribery, sentenced to five years jail
The heir to the Samsung empire was convicted of bribery and other offences Friday and jailed for five years in connection with the scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-Hye. Lee Jae-Yong’s penalty could leave the vast conglomerate,…
Islami Bank donates Tk 5 lakh to widow Khadija
Dhaka – Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited donated Tk. 5 lakh to Khadija Begum, widow of Md. Mahbubur Rahman who died of colon cancer. Md. Mahbub ul Alam, Acting Managing Director of the Bank handed over the cheque of donation to Khadija in…
Google, Walmart unveil e-commerce partnership
Google and Walmart on Tuesday announced a partnership that will make the retailer’s products available on the internet giant’s online shopping mall. “Starting in late September, we’ll be working with Google to offer hundreds of thousands of items for voice…
World’s debt over 3 times greater than economic output
Global debt levels have surged to a record $217 trillion in the first quarter of the year. This is 327 percent of the world’s annual economic output (GDP), reports the Institute of International Finance (IIF).
BHP returns to profit, to sell US shale assets
BHP reported a return to profit Tuesday as strong commodity prices helped it bounce back from a large loss last year, with the mining giant also flagging the sale of its US shale assets. The world’s largest miner recorded an…
Myanmar calls for preserving fresh water lake to promote ecotourism
Myanmar’s Tourism Federation has called for preserving Indawgyi Lake, the country’s largest fresh water lake in Mohnyin, northernmost Kachin state in order to promote ecotourism, according to an official report on Monday. Indawgyi Lake, which is also the third largest…
Alibaba to establish regional headquarters in northwest China
China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba will set up a northwest headquarters in Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province, to better support the development of western China and the Belt and Road Initiative. The decision was announced by Ma Yun, Alibaba’s chairman, during…
ADB-GCF deal to scale up climate finance in Asia
Dhaka – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) on Thursday signed an Accreditation Master Agreement (AMA) that will allow ADB to access and administer GCF funds and scale up the bank’s climate financing to its…
Fitch upgrade Greece debt, sees steady improvmen
Credit rating agency Fitch on Friday upgraded Greece’s debt by a notch, citing what it called an improving outlook and amid expectations the country’s debt sustainability will steadily improve. A month after Athens returned to credit markets with a bond…
BB cuts interest rate of green transformation fund
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has reduced the interest rate of green transformation fund for export oriented textile and textile products and leather manufacturing industries to encourage the use of the fund.
Japan trade surplus shrinks in July
Japan recorded a double-digit drop in its trade surplus in July as costs of energy imports rose on a weaker yen, government data showed Thursday. The world’s third-largest economy logged a surplus of 418.8 billion yen ($3.8 billion), down 17…
Global stocks extend rally as North Korea fears wane
World stock markets mostly rose Tuesday, extending the previous day’s rally as fears receded over a potential clash between the United States and North Korea. Investors have cashed out of haven assets, like gold and the Japanese yen, and ploughed…
Women build rural infrastructure in Bangladesh
By Shahiduzzaman Dhaka, Aug 13 (IPS) – Breaking all the social barriers and taboos, poor women in Bangladesh are now engaged in rural development works across the country as labourers.
China industrial output slows sharply in July
Output by Chinese factories and workshops slowed sharply in July, growing by a lower-than-expected 6.4 percent compared to the same month last year, official figures showed on Monday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected growth of 7.1 percent for…
Petrobras profits plummet in second quarter
Brazil’s troubled oil giant Petrobas on Thursday reported a 93 percent drop in profits in the second quarter of 2017 from the previous three months. Petrobras reported 316 million reais profits ($100 million), down from 4.4 billion in the first…
Cancel public hearings on Pancheswar Dam: SANDRP
GreenWatch Report The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has demanded cancellation of the public hearings being organised for the Pancheswar Dam, based on the Mahakali Treaty with Nepal, in the Uttarakhand state of India, on the…
Jordan makes strides toward inclusive green economy
By Safa Khasawneh Amman, Aug 10 (IPS) – Jordan may be one of the smallest economies in the Middle East, but it has high ambitions for inclusive green growth and sustainable development despite the fact that it lies in the…
The evolving face of technology and development
Blood-delivering drones? Check. 3D-printer working off the grid to print finger splints? Check. Disadvantaged women trained and employed in software-developing? Check. Is this how technology can deliver for development? First things first. Let’s go back to the first principles. The…
FBI says terror network stretches fron Britain to Bangladesh
US investigators have uncovered a global financial network run by an Islamic State leader from Britain to Bangladesh, The Wall Street Journal reports. The network also funnelled money to an alleged ISIS operative in the US through fake eBay transactions,…
BD now on global tourism map: Minister
Dhaka, Aug 10 – Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon on Thursday said Bangladesh is now on the global tourism map with its growing presence though it could not successfully attract the international tourists in a significant way…