NEW DELHI, Feb 15 2019 (IPS) – Results from a survey with young and unmarried women suggest that as low as 1% of women have received information on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) from their mothers, doctors or government…
Author: Lutfun Nahar
Bangladesh condemns Thursday’s attack on Indian troops
Dhaka, Feb 15 (UNB) – Bangladesh has strongly condemned the dastardly terrorist attack on an Indian paramilitary convoy in Pulwana District of Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in a message addressed to her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi said,…
Age limit for govt jobs to be 35 from March: Obaidul
Dhaka, Feb 15 (UNB) – Awami League (AL) Secretary General Obaidul Quader on Friday said the government is planning to announce 35 years to be the maximum age for applying for government jobs. “An announcement in this regard will be…
India warns of ‘crushing response’ to Kashmir suicide attack
Srinagar, Feb 15 (AP/UNB) — India’s prime minister warned Friday of a “crushing response” to the suicide bombing of a paramilitary convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir which killed 41 people and was the deadliest in the divided region’s volatile history. Prime…
300 babies die in war zones every day: Save the Children
War zone acts including denial of aid, damage to hospitals and outright attacks killed 100,000 babies every year in the world’s 10 worst conflict-affected countries, the international charity Save the Children said on the eve of Munich’s Security Conference. And,…
The loss of European memory
The greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression (1929-1939) has produced a crisis of democratic legitimacy not unlike the one that fuelled the rise of fascism in the interwar years. During the postwar era (1945-1989) collective memories of total war—as…
PM Hasina heads Panel on Bangabandhu’s birth centenary
Dhaka, Feb 15 (UNB) – The government has constituted a national committee to smoothly celebrate the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the national level. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will lead the 102-member Father…
PM Sheikh Hasina takes part in Munich Security Conference
Munich, Feb 15 (UNB) – The three-day Munich Security Conference (MSC 2019) began here on Friday to discuss the future of arms control and cooperation in defence policy as well as examine intersection between trade and international security, effects of…
False ‘Brinjal bomb’ panic in Chittagong University
Chattogram, Feb 15 (UNB) – Chittagong University students and authorities spent a sleepless night on Thursday as they mistook a brinjal as a bomb. Witnesses said panic spread to such extent that first police and then the bomb disposal unit…
Ensure Rohingyas’ basic rights, their repatriation: Dhaka
Dhaka, Feb 15 (UNB) – State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam has said the international community has a shared responsibility to help restore the Rohingyas’ fundamental rights and freedoms, including their right to return to Myanmar in safety…
Bd inks MoUs with Holland for water-sector capacity building
Dhaka, Feb 15 (UNB) – Bangladesh and the Netherlands have signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for capacity building of the water sector in Bangladesh. The Water Resources Ministry signed the MoUs — one with Deltares, a prominent Dutch research…
One-party rule imposed undercover of democracy: BNP
Dhaka, Feb 15 (UNB) – BNP senior leader Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Friday alleged that the government has imposed an autocratic role in the country undercover of democracy. “The government has established an unwritten one-party rule Baksal, but they…
Barrister Razzaq quits Jamaat
Dhaka, Feb 15 (UNB) – Barrister Abdur Razzaq resigned from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Friday as he said the party failed to apologise for its anti-liberation war role in 1971 and reform the organistion based on reality. The Jamaat assistant secretary…
The hidden economic costs of displacement
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 14 2019 (IPS) – While the impacts of displacement on wellbeing are well-known, one group has pointed to the equally burdensome economic costs for those displaced as well as host communities. In a new report, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre…
How devastating is climate change for world peace, security?
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 13 2019 (IPS) – When the Security Council, the most powerful body at the United Nations, met last month to discuss the growing new threats to world peace and security, the discussion veered away from international terrorism, nuclear…
Emojis with disabilities a step for inclusion
As a person with a disability, I have never seen myself represented in the vast range of emojis – those small digital images – found on smartphones. There are magician, mermaid and merman, zombie, and vampire emojis. There are thousands…
Power plant final deal with Reliance Group ‘soon’
Dhaka, Feb 15 (UNB) – The final deal with Indian Reliance Group is finally going to be signed for its proposed LNG-based 750 MW power plant as the Power Division has recently received clearance from the ministries of Law and Finance…
BNP trying hard to make Dec-30 election questionable: PM
Munich, Feb 15 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said BNP had an evil intention to make the 2018 general election questionable and they are still trying to do so. “Their [BNP’s] intention was to make the Dec-30 election…
Thakurgaon shooting: Home minister vows action ‘as per law’
Dhaka, Feb 14 – Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said that the authorities concerned are inquiring the incident of killing three people by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) shooting at Thakurgaon’s Haripur recently. “No one is above the law. Action…
74 JOF candidates file petitions with HC for reelection
Dhaka, Feb 14 – At least 74 Jatiya Oikya Front leaders filed separate writ petitions with the High Court seeking cancellation of the December 30 national election to their constituencies, citing widespread irregularities. In their petitions, they sought HC directives…
112 killed a year in waterway accidents, Minister says
Dhaka, Feb 14 (UNB) – A total of 4,732 people were killed in 639 waterway accidents in the country over the last 42 years. State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury came up with the statistics in parliament while responding…
Four-day Tablig Biswa Ijtema begins Friday
Gazipur, Feb 14 (UNB) – Biswa Ijtema, one of the largest Muslim congregations in the world, begins on the bank of the Turag River at Tongi here on Friday. The Ijtema to be held for four days this time will…
Dredging of 25 rivers underway, Minister tells Parliament
Dhaka, Feb 14 (UNB) – State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Thursday told parliament that the dredging of 25 rivers, including 13 almost dead ones, are now underway to maintain the navigability of river routes. “The ongoing dredging…
Burma again shows St Martin’s as its territory: Envoy called
Dhaka, Feb 14 – Myanmar keeps distorting facts showing Bangladesh’s St Martin’s Island as part of its territory in Myanmar’s government maps prompting Dhaka to react sharply and lodge a strong protest officially against the ‘deliberate’ attempt. The Ministry of…
Climate change may destroy Sundarbans tigers in 50 years
Dhaka, Feb 14 (UNB) – A new study has warned that the Sundarbans’ famed ‘Royal Bengal Tigers’ could be gone within 50 years, especially from the Bangladeshi part, because of constant rise in sea levels and climate change. The study…
Big fire at Suhrawardy Hospital
Dhaka, Feb 14 (UNB) – A big fire broke out at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in the capital on Thursday afternoon. The fire originated at a storeroom on the first floor of a new building of the hospital around…
Oikya Front’s public hearing on election a ‘mockery’: Quader
Dhaka, Feb 14 (UNB) – Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Thursday described Jatiya Oikyafront’s public hearing over the December-30 general election as a ‘mass mockery’. He made the remarks while addressing a press briefing at Awami League President…
Bangladesh, KSA sign MoU on military cooperation
Dhaka, Feb 14 (UNB) – Bangladesh on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), aiming to enhance military cooperation between the two countries. Principal Staff Officer Lt Gen Md Mahfuzur Rahman of the…
BNP demands fair probe of Thakurgaon killings by BGB
Dhaka, Feb 13 (UNB) – Condemning the killings of people by the members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Thakurgaon’s Baharampur village, BNP on Wednesday demanded a neutral investigation into the incident. In a statement, party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul…
US says ex-intel official defected to Iran, revealed secrets
Washington, Feb 14 (AP/UNB) — A former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran despite warnings from the FBI has been charged with revealing classified information to the Tehran government, including the code name and secret mission of…