Dhaka – Bangladesh braces for even higher, unprecedented floods. The latest satellite imagery of accumulated rainfall by NASA and captured by Indian water expert Himanshu Thakkar shows that Assam Bangladesh, West Bengal and Bihar – already in spate – may…
Monsoon rain continued for the second consecutive day on Saturday across the country, including capital Dhaka, leaving the normal life in disarray. Low-income people, especially the day labourers, suffered much in the city as rain disrupted their normal pace of…
Global warming is altering the timing of floods in Europe, making some rivers swell early and others later than usual, a phenomenon that impacts farming and daily life across the region, researchers said Thursday. The report in the US journal…
GreenWatch Report The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has demanded cancellation of the public hearings being organised for the Pancheswar Dam, based on the Mahakali Treaty with Nepal, in the Uttarakhand state of India, on the…
By IPS World Desk Rome, Aug 11 (IPS) – A total of 300 migrants have reportedly been forced from boats over the past two days by smugglers off the coast of Yemen – many feared dead or missing, the United…
By Ivet González Los Palacios, Cuba, Aug 10 (IPS) – At the entrance, the Tierra Brava farm looks like any other family farm in the rural municipality of Los Palacios, in the westernmost province of Cuba. But as you drive…
Four people have been treated for smoke inhalation following a fire on a Tube train at Oxford Circus station in central London. The station was evacuated shortly before 09:00 BST and trains did not stop at the station for nearly…
By IPS World Desk Rome, Aug 10 (IPS) – A third of global forests, crucial for curbing gas emissions, are primarily managed by indigenous peoples, families, smallholders and local communities, according to the United Nations.
Modern slavery risks have risen in nearly three-quarters of the 28 member states of the European Union over the last year, reveals an annual study from global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. According to the 2nd edition of the Modern Slavery…
Environment and Forests Minister Anwar Hossain Manju said collective approach has become an urgent need to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change in the country. “Climate change and global warming are a big problem. If it can be tackled,…
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will offer the Government of Bangladesh a loan of USD 200 million to strengthen urban infrastructure, service delivery and governance in municipalities. “The country’s pour Asha vas still need significant investment to not only improve…
The world’s biggest polluter China has a “big job” ahead of it in the global fight against climate change, the UN’s environment chief said Wednesday. Since US President Donald Trump’s decision in June to quit the Paris agreement on reducing…
By Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, Albert K. Barume and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz Geneva/New York, Aug 7, (IPS) – The world’s indigenous peoples still face huge challenges a decade after the adoption of a historic declaration on their rights, a group of United…
By Manipadma Jena Bhubaneswar, India, Aug 7 (IPS) – “Showing them a picture-book crow, I intone ‘kaak’ in Bengali, the State language. While others repeat in chorus, the tribal Santhali first-graders respond with a blank look. They know the crow…
Gurdial Singh Nijar Last week the Dewan Rakyat passed a bill to curb “biopiracy”. This is the stealing of the biological resources of a country without its consent.
Average US temperatures have risen dramatically and fast, with recent decades the warmest of the past 1,500 years, according to a draft federal government report cited by The New York Times on Tuesday. “Americans are feeling the effects of climate…
Brussels, Aug 7 (AP/UNB) – The European Union has notified food safety authorities in Britain, France, Sweden and Switzerland as a precautionary measure that some eggs contaminated with an insecticide might have entered their territory.
Dhaka, Aug 8 – Blue skies above, green fields underneath the clean water of the depression and chirping of domestic and migratory birds attract nature lovers and tourists to Tanguar Haor, one of the many wetlands located in Sunamganj a…
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday ordered the authorities concerned to strengthen their efforts to keep the four rivers surrounding the capital free from pollution.”These four rivers will die if those are not freed from wastes and pollution,” she said…
Deaths due to extreme weather in Europe could increase fifty-fold from an estimated 3,000 per year recently to 152,000 by century’s end if global warming is not reined in, researchers warned Saturday. The toll would be especially high in temperate…
Dhaka, Aug – In the wake of a rapid decline in Gharial population, an initiative has been taken to exchange captive Gharials among the country’s zoos aiming to increase the population of the critically endangered freshwater species. “They’re few captive…
The Trump administration has issued its first written notification that the US intends to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
The Trump administration has issued its first written notification that the US intends to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. But in the notice to the United Nations the US state department said Washington would remain in the talks…
Geneva, 3 Aug (Kanaga Raja) – Some 830 million young people, representing more than 80 per cent of the youth population (aged 15-24 years), are online in 104 countries, according to new data released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Dhaka, Aug 3 – Rain between scorching heat should have been a relief for many. But now the rain has turned into a cause of miseries for Dhaka dwellers as they have to endure waterlogged roads and traffic gridlock after…
By Rafiqul Islam Dhaka (IPS) – In the wake of recent water-related disasters in Bangladesh, including water-logging and floods that displaced thousands of families, a high-level consultation in the capital Dhaka on valuing water will look at ways to optimize…
Danielle Nierenberg The Food Sustainability Index (FSI), developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) with the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) Foundation, ranks countries on food system sustainability based on three pillars: food loss and waste, sustainable agriculture,…
The United Nations needs to insist on its ability to carry out a mandated fact-finding mission on Myanmar, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a series of questions and answers on the topic. In March 2017, the UN Human Rights…
Visiting Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al Othaimeen on Thursday reminded Myanmar that Rohingya people must be given full citizenship and basic rights.“Rohingya people are denied their basic rights. They need to…