Drought bakes China’s wheat belt, slashing harvests for some
Drought bakes China’s wheat belt, slashing harvests for someAbout an hour by road northwest of the famed Terracotta Warriors, combine harvesters send out clouds of dust as they work their way through the parched wheat fields of Maqiao village in China’s northwestern Shaanxi province. “I’ve been growing wheat for over 20 years, and I’ve never seen a drought this bad,” said Zhou, 50, during a late May visit. Parts of China’s wheat belt in Shaanxi and Henan provinces have been hit hard by hot, dry weather, with the sun baking the soil into cracked slabs and scorching the wheat before it could ripen. In some parts of the province, the drought was so bad farmers brought the harvest forward by a week. As of May 30, about 60% of the wheat crop in Henan and more than 20% in Shaanxi had been harvested, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2025 05:06 UTC
Deposit growth slips to 8.21pc in April
Deposit growth in the banking sector slowed to 8.21 percent in April, down from 8.51 percent in March, despite a slight rise earlier. The central bank's figures show deposit growth was 7.89 percent in February and 8.28 percent in January. Senior officials at Bangladesh Bank and economists, however, say several factors are behind the slow deposit growth. “When businesses and entrepreneurs borrow less from banks, deposit growth naturally slows,” he told bdnews24.com. Another senior official at the central bank said rising unemployment is also affecting deposit growth.
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2025 04:57 UTC
Trump reinstates US travel ban, bars citizens of 12 countries
Zinat Khan Zadran, daughter of Afghan refugee Wazir Khan Zadran, serves her father a hot tea as they have breakfast, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, US, April 29, 2025. REUTERSZinat Khan Zadran, daughter of Afghan refugee Wazir Khan Zadran, serves her father a hot tea as they have breakfast, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, US, April 29, 2025. The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. "Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised," Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, said in a statement. The travel ban threatens to upend a 31-year-old Myanmar teacher's plan to join a US State Department exchange program, which was slated to start in September.
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2025 03:16 UTC
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman no longer Bangladesh’s ‘Father of the Nation’ as interim government drops historic title
Dhaka: Bangladesh’s interim administration has removed the designation ‘Father of the Nation’ for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a latest amendment to the country’s freedom fighters’ legislation, according to multiple media sources. The update “alters” the recognition of freedom fighters and notably “modifies the term ‘Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’”. The bdnews24.com portal stated that “The words ‘Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’ and portions of the law that mentioned the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have been deleted.”Further, The Daily Star reported that the ordinance introduces subtle adjustments to the description of the 1971 Liberation War. “The new definition of Liberation War drops the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In addition, women who suffered wartime atrocities—referred to as Birangona—will be officially acknowledged as freedom fighters under the new criteria.
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2025 02:28 UTC
At least 11 die in crowd chaos outside Indian cricket stadium
At least 11 die in crowd chaos outside Indian cricket stadiumAt least 11 people died on Wednesday in a crowd surge outside a cricket stadium in the Indian city of Bengaluru where fans were celebrating Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first Indian Premier League title win, authorities said. As the celebration proceeded, some people outside without passes tried to push through gates and there was further trouble between the perimeter and main arena, police said. UNCONTROLLABLE CROWDPolice started caning people at one gate, leading to more chaos, said Mithun Singh, a software engineer among the crowd. Bengaluru metro stopped services near the stadium, where the ceremony continued despite the turmoil outside. Bengaluru were celebrating beating Punjab Kings in the T20 tournament's final match in the 18th edition of the IPL, the world's richest cricket league.
Source:bd News24
June 04, 2025 19:59 UTC
Economy won't 'stagnate' due to long Eid holiday: Salehuddin
"There's no scope for stagnation," Salehuddin said. Bangladesh Bank has already stated which days and in which areas banks will remain open-even how things will function at the sacrificial cattle markets. "Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated across the country on Jun 7. In Nepal, there's a 30-day holiday for Durga Puja. So, the country will function.
Source:bd News24
June 04, 2025 19:30 UTC
Mujibnagar govt leaders were FFs: Adviser
On Wednesday, he addressed the debate sparked by the government's decision to redefine the eligibility criteria for freedom fighters through an ordinance. It mentions the Mujibnagar government-Tajuddin Ahmad, Mansur Ali, AHM Qamaruzzaman, and Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmed were part of it and all of them were freedom fighters." The interim government issued an ordinance on Tuesday amending the National Freedom Fighters' Council Act, enacted three years ago. The ordinance introduces a revised definition of "freedom fighter" and designates some previously recognised individuals as "collaborators of the Liberation War". On Wednesday, the adviser said: "The war was led by this [Mujibnagar] government.”
Source:bd News24
June 04, 2025 19:06 UTC
Bangladesh’s trade deficit shrinks to $18.22b in first 10 months of FY25
Bangladesh has posted a lower trade deficit of $18.22 billion for the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, improving slightly on last year’s figures. Imports rose to $54.79 billion over the 10-month period, up by 4.60 per cent from $52.37 billion a year earlier. CURRENT ACCOUNTThe current account deficit, which captures a country’s routine external transactions, has narrowed sharply, reaching $1.39 billion by the end of April, down from $6.02 billion year-on-year. A surplus helps reduce dependence on foreign loans, while a deficit signals external financing pressure. The country received $910 million in the first 10 months of FY25, down from $1.27 billion in the same period last year.
Source:bd News24
June 03, 2025 12:56 UTC
PSC unveils roadmap to clear BCS exam backlog
The Public Service Commission (PSC) has prepared a roadmap to resolve the backlog concerning the 44th to 48th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) exams. The commission said that the final results of the 44th, 45th and 48th BCS exams will be published this year. Specifically, the final result of the 44th BCS will be announced on Jun 30, the 48th special BCS on Sept 22, and the 45th BCS on Dec 10, bdnews24.com reports. Meanwhile, the PSC pledged to publish the 45th BCS written test results on Jun 19, the 47th BCS preliminary results on Sept 28 and the 46th BCS written test results by Dec 18. The 47th BCS preliminary test is scheduled for Sept 19 and the written test for Nov 27.
Source:bd News24
June 03, 2025 12:03 UTC
Govt employees to get 10–15% 'special benefits' on basic pay
Government employees are set to receive a "special benefit" of up to 15 percent on their basic salary. Employees on post-retirement leave (PRL) will receive the benefit based on their last basic pay grade, according to the notice. For pensioners, the special allowance will be calculated based on their current pension and grade. The issue of a dearness allowance for public servants has been in discussions since the current government assumed office. In the end, instead of a dearness allowance, the government is introducing this “special benefit”.
Source:bd News24
June 03, 2025 11:39 UTC
Middle class dream dims as ‘conventional’ budget adds tax burden
Far from offering a roadmap out of the grip of inflation, the budget delivers little reprieve for ordinary citizens. Economists also consider the targets he has set for revenue collection and private sector investment to be “ambitious” numbers. To implement the budget, the IMF had advised setting a revenue collection target of Tk 5.8 trillion for the new fiscal year. Thus, the NBR’s tax collection target is surging by over 7.66 percent. Because, although expenditures have been reduced, the revenue collection target has not been lowered and instead it has been increased.
Source:bd News24
June 03, 2025 10:26 UTC
Deficit budget draws fire for ‘questionable spending’ on bureaucratic perks
The proposed budget outlines a deficit of Tk 2.26 trillion, which equals 3.62 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The outgoing year’s ADP was initially Tk 2.65 trillion, revised down to Tk 2.16 trillion. Saifuddin argued that if leakages and mismanagement in development spending can be curbed, job creation may not suffer. DEFICIT SMALLEST IN 14 YEARSThe proposed deficit of Tk 2.26 trillion is the lowest in 14 years. The last time the budget deficit dipped below this level was in FY2010–11, when it stood at 3.8 percent of GDP.
Source:bd News24
June 03, 2025 09:57 UTC
Finance advisor begins press briefing on budget
A day after delivering the budget speech for the 2025-26 fiscal year, Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed is attending a press conference to take questions on his proposals. The event began at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com. Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Planning Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud, and Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Advisor Fouzul Kabir Khan are also attending the press conference. Finance Secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder, Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, and National Board of Revenue Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan are there as well. Salehuddin presented the proposed Tk 7.9 trillion budget for the upcoming fiscal year in a speech broadcast on BTV on Monday.
Source:bd News24
June 03, 2025 09:49 UTC
Cigarettes to get costlier as budget raises taxes, duties
The measures were outlined in the proposed national budget for FY26, presented by Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed on Monday. The proposed budget has left the retail price and tax rates of all types of cigarettes unchanged. They further pointed out that the prices and tax rates of zarda and gul, which are smoke-free chewing tobacco products, have also been left unchanged. Reacting to the proposed budget, PROGGA’s Executive Director ABM Zubair said: “Tobacco causes the death of 442 people every day in Bangladesh. If the anti-tobacco tax reform proposals were implemented, tobacco use and related deaths would decline, and government revenue would rise.”Currently, 35.3 percent of adults in Bangladesh use tobacco.
Source:bd News24
June 02, 2025 23:40 UTC
BD offers tariff relief on 626 US products ahead of trade talks
In response to additional duties imposed by the United States on Bangladeshi exports, the government is planning to offer tariff relief on 626 products as part of preparations for trade dialogue and to gradually reduce trade imbalances with the US. ""In addition, supplementary duties on 9 products are proposed to be fully withdrawn, while those on 442 products are proposed to be reduced. This will ease the tax burden on citizens and reduce anti-export bias. Under this, Bangladeshi exports to the US would face a 37 percent supplementary duty.Previously, the average US tariff on Bangladeshi goods was about 15 percent. Combined, this would increase the total duty on Bangladeshi exports to 52 percent.Following a request from Bangladesh, the additional 37 percent duty was temporarily suspended for three months.
Source:bd News24
June 02, 2025 16:37 UTC