The first solo art exhibition by Iqbal Bahar Chy ‘Grits and Grains’ has begun at La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka on Friday, 14 June 2019. Eminent artist Shahid Kabir attended the opening ceremony as the chief guest while Architect…
Author: editor
Asia-Pacific Region falters on UN development goals
By Thalif Deen UN, Jun 14, 2019 (IPS) – UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a Chatham House meeting in London last week that the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), one of the legacies of the late Secretary-General Kofi Annan,…
An uncertain future for Palestinian refugees
By Charlotte Munns UN, Jun 12 2019 (IPS) – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been forced to justify its existence at the United Nations ahead of a pledging conference…
Place Sundarbans on ‘World Heritage in danger’ list: IUCN
Dhaka, June 15 – International Union for Conservation of Nature( IUCN), the official advisor on natural World Heritage, recommends for three natural sites, including the Sundarbans in Bangladesh, to be listed as “World Heritage in danger.” The other two sites…
Mixed reaction on budget from ruling alliance
Dhaka, June 14 – The leaders of Awami League-led 14-party alliance have given mixed reaction over the proposed budget for 2019-20 fiscal year. Some alliance leaders said the proposed budget will not fulfill the expectation of the mass people of…
Budget to benefit a section, people will reject it: BNP
Dhaka, June 14 – The main opposition BNP has termed the proposed national budget for fiscal 2019-20 highly ambitious and claimed the people would reject it. “The people would not accept the budget as it would create pressure on them…
Budget not reflects ruling party’s polls manifesto: CPD
Dhaka, June 14 – The proposed national budget has not reflected the pledges of the ruling party Awami League’s election manifesto as it would go in favour of the people who are beneficiary of economic misrule instead of the larger…
PM Hasina seeks help for implementing ‘pro-people budget’
Dhaka, June 14 – Terming the budget “pro-people” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the Tk 5,23,190 crore outlay for FY2019-20 is pretty self-explanatory and there is no scope of confusion. “We prepared the budget for our common people, not…
A quarter to reap all benefits of budget, says BNP
Dhaka, June 13 – BNP senior leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Thursday said the proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2019-20 will facilitate only a section of people instead of fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the country’s…
BBC’s Global Food Chain Champion India School Meals Project
On Wednesday evening at the BBC Food and Farming Awards in Bristol, the BBC World Service Global Champion Award was presented to Akshaya Patra – the world’s largest charity-run school meals project. This is the third year The Food Chain…
How urban consumption drives global emissions
Strong action from mayors, business and citizens is driving down emissions created locally. But emissions from urban consumption of goods like food and clothing, along with materials used to construct urban buildings, are set to double without action. Emissions due…
Taxation proposals in Bangladesh budget for 2019-20
Income Tax, Value Added Tax and Import-Export Duty NBR officials work relentlessly to achieve the revenue target set by the government every year. NBR tax revenue is basically collected from Income Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Import & Export…
বাজেট প্রতিক্রিয়া – সিগারেটে করহার অপরিবর্তিত, লাভবান হবে তামাক কোম্পানি
প্রস্তাবিত বাজেটে নিম্নস্তরে সিগারেটের দাম বৃদ্ধি করা হয়েছে শলাকা প্রতি মাত্র ২০ পয়সা বা ৫.৭ শতাংশ। অথচ এসময়ে জনগণের মাথাপিছু আয় বেড়েছে ১১.৩২ শতাংশ। সিগারেট ধূমপায়ীর প্রায় ৭২ শতাংশই নিম্নস্তরের সিগারেটের ভোক্তা। প্রস্তাবিত বাজেট কার্যকর হলে এই স্তরের সিগারেটের প্রকৃতমূল্য…
BD to bring a quarter of population under social safety net
Dhaka, June 13 – The government is going to bring nearly a quarter of the families in the country under the social safety net programmes in the next financial year. The government has planned to allocate Tk. 74,367 crore in…
BD allocates Taka 1bn to settle riverbank erosion victims
Dhaka, June 13 – A total of Tk 100 crore has been allocated in the proposed budget for 2019-20 fiscal years to facilitate rehabilitation of the people affected by river erosion. Besides, steps have been taken for managing water resource,…
5 testify in Holey Artisan Café attack case
Dhaka, June 13 – The Anti-terrorism Special Tribunal of Dhaka yesterday recorded the depositions of five policemen in the Holey Artisan café attack case and later Judge Md Mojibur Rahman of fixed June 18, as the date for next hearing…
Islamic State in Afghanistan aims to attack US, general says
Ramstein Jun 13 (AP/UNB) — The Islamic State group in Afghanistan is a “very worrisome” threat to the United States, and U.S. counterterrorism efforts have yet to shrink its extremist ambitions, a senior American general said Wednesday. Marine Gen. Frank…
Social imbalances in the EU
by Sylvia Schmidt Despite the economic recovery of recent years, persistent social imbalances—such as those affecting women and young people—must be taken into account in the debate on Europe’s future. In the wake of the European Parliament elections, this autumn…
India’s most significant innovations have roots in civil society
By Apoorva Oza Ahmedabad, Gujatar, India (IPS) – When we look at some of the things we take for granted in India today, there is a common thread to all of them. Every single one. They all originated from civil…
Developing technologies for zero-carbon economies
By Nils Røkke Trontheim, Norway, Jun 11 (IPS) – Never before has half a degree (0.5C) meant so much for humanity. We are behaving as if we have time to deal with climate change. We don’t. The main problem is…
Climate change peril Uganda’s tree climbing lions, primates
By Wambi Michael Kasese, Uganda, Jun 12 2019 (IPS) – As climate change leads to increased temperatures in East Africa, a thicket of invasive thorny trees with the ability to withstand harsh climatic conditions have begun threatening Uganda’s second-largest park,…
Tightening the noose on Cuba
By Chandra Muzaffar On the 2nd of May 2019, the Trump Administration decided to enforce Title 111 of the Helms-Burton Act. Title 111 authorises US nationals with claims to confiscated properties in Cuba to file suits in US courts against…
Big data and its enclosure of the commons
by Ekkehard Ernst Digital dystopias are overdone but inequality is rising. The answer lies in treating data as a commons and Big Data as a collective-action problem. The fear of the machine is back. Dystopian views of a world without…
New study busts myths on comprehensive sexuality education
Paper recommends scripted lessons, where necessary, to help teachers cover the subject correctly Paris, 12 June— Comprehensive sexuality education is an essential part of a good quality education that improves reproductive health and contributes to gender equality, argues Facing the…
Hearing: Subscribers vent anger at cellphone operators
Dhaka, June 12 – Subscribers on Wednesday vented their anger at the poor services provided by different mobile phone companies in the country. At a public hearing arranged by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) at the Institution of Engineers,…
Alleged dangerous killer rapist caught, says Rab
Narsingdi, June 12 – Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) claims to have cracked the rape and murder case of Sabina Akhter in Shibur upazila, saying they arrested the ‘killer’ who did sexual intercourse with the victim after killing her. At a…
WHO asked to report on current pathogen-sharing modalities
London 10 June (TWN): In considering the public health implications of the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing related to genetic resources, the first step should be to unpack the current modalities for pathogen sharing under…
Scaling up agroecology for sustainable development
In April 2018, the FAO hosted the Second International Symposium on Agroecology, following the first in 2014. With the main objective of moving from dialogue to action, the Symposium brought together different stakeholders and catalyzed inter-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration. The…
Eco-trends – what’s next on radar for green consumers
If 2018 was the year of the reusable coffee cup and paper straws, where next for the ethical high street consumer? BusinessWaste.co.uk research takes a closer look at the areas to watch in 2019 as well as a look back…
Keraniganj Police OC among 11 sued for rape
Dhaka, June 12 – A rape victim on Tuesday evening sued Keraniganj Police Station OC of Dhaka and 10 others for kidnapping and raping her and the court directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to submit a report after…