Bangladesh remittances fall 15% year on year in FY22
With Eid-ul-Azha slated for Jul 10, officials expected high remittances in June, but the money sent by the expatriates last month saw a 5.33 percent decrease to $1.83 billion. The fall in remittances, coupled with high import costs due to a price rise in the international market amid the Russia-Ukraine war, has impacted the value of the Bangladeshi taka heavily. Analyst Ahsan H Mansur thinks the high difference between the taka-dollar exchange rates in the open market and in the banks, and the efforts to keep dollar prices down led to the fall in remittances. “The illegal channels of remittances were closed during the pandemic. “Now the use of the dollar has increased as the restrictions have been lifted.”
Source:bd News24
July 03, 2022 20:14 UTC
Government restricts motorcycle movement for 7 days during Eid
The government has decided to stop the movement of motorcycles from one district to another for seven days during Eid-ul-Azha. The decision was taken at a meeting held at the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges at the Secretariat on Sunday. Roads and Highways Department will issue a circular to implement this decision, said Road Transport Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri. “Motorcycles will not be allowed to travel from one district to another without any logical reason three days before, and three days after Eid. He further mentioned: “If someone has to travel for an urgent reason, then they have to seek permission from police.”
Source:Dhaka Tribune
July 03, 2022 19:58 UTC
8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge to be inaugurated soon
The eighth Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge will be handed over to the Bangladesh government and inaugurated soon. The formal handover and inauguration of the bridge would take place soon, the CEAB said in a LinkedIn post on June 30. The 2.96-km bridge over the Kocha River is located 185km southwest of Dhaka in Pirojpur. As an important transportation hub project in southwestern Bangladesh, the completion of the eighth Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge had established a connection between Khulna and Barisal divisions by land, the CEAB said. The CEAB hoped the bridge would also promote regional connectivity as well as the development of agriculture, industry, aquaculture, fishery and tourism in southern Bangladesh.
Source:Dhaka Tribune
July 03, 2022 18:24 UTC
RFL Electronics secures $23.0m credit facility from British institution
RFL Electronics Ltd (REL) has secured a $23.0 million credit facility from Britain's development finance institution to expand its capacity to manufacture electronic home appliances. REL, a unit of the PRAN-RFL group, hopes to increase its refrigerator manufacturing capacity and assembly line of small appliances such as rice cookers and blenders with the funds. “I am thrilled that we are deepening our partnership with the PRAN-RFL group through this loan. Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, CEO of PRAN-RFL Group, said the facility will help boost local manufacturing and cater to the increasing demand for electronics products among the fast-growing and urbanising middle-income segment of Bangladesh. Lauding the initiative, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson said the investment recognises PRAN-RFL’s efforts to increase women’s employment.
Source:bd News24
July 03, 2022 17:35 UTC
Two children drown in Netrokona floodwaters
Two children have died after they drowned in floodwaters in Netrokona’s Mohongonj Upazila. Locals found their bodies near a bridge in Utiarkona Village on Saturday evening, according to Inspector Rashedul Islam of Mohongonj Police Station, reports bdnews24.com. “Some children, including the victims, were playing near a bridge of Utiarkona around 3:30 pm on Saturday. Sabila fell in the floodwaters first and Marzia tumbled in as well when she tried to rescue her friend,” Inspector Rashedul said. Rashedul said that an unnatural death case has been filed in connection with the incident.
Source:bd News24
July 03, 2022 16:28 UTC
When roads are flooded
When roads are floodedRoads in Bishwamverpur Upazila are devastated by floods. Before the floods hit, the road from Sunamganj city to Tahirpur via Bishwambarpur was smooth. But now the road is potholed and some parts of it are still submerged. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi
Source:bd News24
July 03, 2022 14:36 UTC
VIEWPOINT 2: On Independence Day, we could do better
Independence Day is recognized across America as the day to celebrate freedom. On top of that, regulatory “guidance” — bureaucratic circulars, opinions and even blog posts — adds real but less accountable restrictions on our freedom. Free speech is also under attack by the government and in the private sector. Trying to prevail against corporate speech restrictions leads to referencing impenetrable, seemingly arbitrary terms-of-service legalese. Independence Day is a time for celebrating and cherishing our freedoms.
Source:Daily Sun
July 03, 2022 14:27 UTC
Bangladesh’s exports climb to record $52bn in FY22
In the whole financial year, goods worth $52.08 billion were exported from Bangladesh, which is 19.63 percent higher than the target of $43.50 billion. The target was based on the exports of the fiscal year of FY2021-2022, which was $38.75 billion. “The prime minister kept a close watch on the export sector. The overall situation was good in the aftermath of the pandemic, and the government did everything in its power to support the export sector after reopening [of the economy],” he said. According to the minister, the export authorities are planning to set a combined target of $65 billion for the ongoing fiscal year.
Source:bd News24
July 03, 2022 14:11 UTC
Widow, son found dead with throats slit in Narayanganj
Police have recovered the bodies of a woman and her son, presumed murdered, from a home in Narayanganj's Araihazar Upazila, bdnews24.com reports. Razia Sultana Kakoli, a 42-year-old widow, and her 8-year-old son Talha Islam were found dead with their throats slashed on Sunday, according to Araihazar Police Station chief Azizul Haque. After her husband's death, Razia and her son had been living in the upazila's Gopindi area. The two of them had gone to bed the previous night without any incident but in the morning, neighbours found the front door of the house wide open with broken locks, according to Azizul. As there was no response to their calls, neighbours went inside the house and found Razia's body in the middle of her room while her son’s was lying on the bed next to her, he said.
Source:bd News24
July 03, 2022 12:46 UTC
Bangladesh raises LPG prices as taka weakens against dollar
In July, customers will have to pay Tk 104.52 for LPG per kg, including VAT, up from Tk 103.52 in the month of June, according to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission. For May, the LPG gas price was set at Tk 111.26 per kg. The price of LPG, which is used for cooking, fell by 7 percent in June in accordance with the price decline in international markets. For July, reticulated LPG has been priced at Tk 101.28 per kg, a Tk 1 increase from last month. Autogas, or LPG used in vehicles, will now cost Tk 58.46 per litre at the retail level, up from last month's Tk 57.91 per litre.
Source:bd News24
July 03, 2022 11:48 UTC
Bangladesh logs 1,902 COVID cases, 2 deaths in a day
The death toll from the disease climbed by two in 24 hours to 29,162, according to the latest government data released on Sunday. As many as 12,246 samples were tested across the country, for a positivity rate of 15.53 percent. Among the eight divisions, Dhaka logged the highest number of cases, with 1,605 infections. Another 307 people recovered from the illness nationwide, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,908,297. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
Source:bd News24
July 03, 2022 11:07 UTC