Israeli aircraft struck Hamas bases in Gaza early yesterday, the military said, after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants hit a Jewish theological seminary in southern Israel.

Spain’s coast guard said it rescued on Wednesday 49 migrants from an overcrowded boat adrift in the Mediterranean for nearly two days after it left North Africa headed for Europe.

Tax-free dividend income raised to Tk 50,000 from Tk 25,000; ​15% additional tax imposed on retained earnings over 50% of paid-up capital

Imported smartphones are scheduled to turn much costlier as the government has proposed increasing supplementary duty from 10 percent to 25 percent.

In a stark contrast to the past few years, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed 10 percent supplementary duty on issuance or renewal of all kinds of vehicle reg-istration, route permit, fitness certificates and ownership certificate—with exemptions for

Allocation of Total Government Expenditure by Sectors FY 2019-20

Businesses yesterday welcomed the budget as the government proposed some new initiatives which would aid growth, give rise to new entrepreneurs and enable more people to enjoy benefits of social safety net programmes.

The government has resorted to deficit financing, largely through bank borrowing and sale of high-cost savings certificates, increasing the interest payment burden on its shoulders and fuelling inflation.

Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has prepared a report claiming that it has removed most of the 52 substandard food items from the market across the country and filed 52 cases against the companies concerned as per the High Court directives.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal yesterday proposed doubling the subsidy for the gas sector to Tk 9,600 crore for 2019-20, from Tk 4,500 crore in the previous year.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over the delay in forcefully displaced Rohingyas repatriation from Bangladesh to Myanmar.

More than a year ago, when Mohammad Zayed graduated from a university college in the capital, his family started expecting that he would soon take over the financial responsibility.

A 10-year-old girl was killed and her mother suffered serious burn injuries in a house fire at Patharghata upazila in Barguna early yesterday.

The new budget is growth-friendly and has set ambitious goals but shied away from addressing the key challenges confronting the economy, said a number of economists in their immediate reactions.

French President Emmanuel Macron will send a replacement oak tree to US President Donald Trump after the original was dug up from the White House garden and died.

In 2010, the government decided to construct a 128-kilometre (km) metre gauge rail track to link Chattogram with tourist town Cox’s Bazar at a cost of Tk 1,852.35 crore.

Beijing yesterday described the mass protests against Hong Kong’s extradition bill as “riots”, and said it supported the local government’s response despite international pressure to respect the rights of Hong Kongers.

Walking back on its election pledge to eradicate black money, the government in its first budget of the current tenure has once again kept the scope for whitening money.

In a major reshuffle in the police department, 21 SP-ranked officials including the SPs of 11 districts and nine DCs of the metropolitan cities were transferred yesterday.

People in Japan operating drones under the influence could face up to a year in prison under new laws passed yesterday that aim to control the increasingly popular devices.