Athens – The number of unaccompanied migrant children held in unsuitable police cells and detention centres in Greece has increased alarmingly, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas.
Category: Environment
Jointly managing South Asia’s stressed water resources
By Rafiqul Islam Dhaka, Aug 1 (IPS) – Experts and policymakers here say regional cooperation is a must to resolve long-standing water problems in South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal, and to harness the full value…
Global warming reduces protein in key crops
Rising carbon dioxide levels from global warming will drastically reduce the amount of protein in staple crops like rice and wheat, leaving vulnerable populations at risk of growth stunting and early death, experts warned Wednesday. Researchers say they still don’t…
One human dies daily in conflicts with wildlife in India
Indian government data shows that at least one person has been killed every day in conflict with a wild tiger or elephant for the past three years.The statistics released by the Environment Ministry count a total 1,144 people killed between…
National convention on Disaster Management ends
The two-day national convention-2017 on Disaster Management ended here today laying an emphasis on integrated efforts to minimize losses of lives and property for sustainable growth. At the convention, representatives of local government bodies and different non-government organizations, officials and…
‘Breakthrough’ mosquito trap uses human smell and heat
London – A mosquito trap that uses a person’s smell combined with warm water and a dark cylindrical shape could transform how the insects are caught in developing countries, say its creators. The trap, developed at the University of Greenwich…
90pc wastes mix in water in developing countries: survey
A survey reveled that 90 percent wastes directly mix in water causing pollution in developing countries. “Releasing of wastes is one of the major causes of water pollution. These wastes are directly mixing in sources of water causing pollution,” Stamford…
Decades of collusion over hazardous pesticides, chemicals
Watchdog Groups Digitize and Release 20,000 Documents for Public Review The Bioscience Resource Project and the Center for Media and Democracy today are releasing a trove of rediscovered and newly digitized chemical industry and regulatory agency documents stretching back to…
80pc of Bangldesh population under quake threat
Dhaka – Seventy percent of the total land area of Bangladesh is vulnerable to earthquake risk and 80 per cent of the total population under earthquake threat. Besides, 61% areas of the country are in flood risk, 23% flash flood…
Tribal youth killed by elephant in BD district of Sherpur
Dhaka, Jul 30 – A tribal young man was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Choto Gazni in Jhenigati Upazila of Sherpur on Saturday midnight.
Climate change will feed wildfires: experts
Out-of-control wildfires like the ones that brought destruction to southern Europe, North America and parts of South Africa in recent weeks will likely become more frequent as global temperatures soar under climate change, experts say. More than 10,000 people had…
Cricket’s summer song making a comeback in UK
The cheep, cheep, cheep of a cricket in the grass is the quintessential sound of summer. The song of the elusive insect fills the air, as if conjured up by a magician. Mike Coates, the warden here at RSPB Farnham…
US’ FDA will curb nicotine in tobacco
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking to limit nicotine content in tobacco products, for the first time in its history. The policy announced on Friday has a goal of cutting back on nicotine levels in order to…
Saudi Arabia wants irregular Bangladeshis to return home
Dhaka – Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Moshi has called upon the irregular Bangladeshis living in the kingdom to return home, saying that they will not face any problem in coming back in future legally.
Trump beating an old drup in tying immingrants to crime
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly’s announcement of the opening of a new office to focus on victims of crimes by immigrants looks for all the world like a cynical ploy to stigmatize a vulnerable class of people to justify inhumane…
Erroneous reporting about Ken Betwa River Link
Himanshu Thakkar leading water activist of India and coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People (SANDRP) has pointed out an erroneous reporting by the Indian Express on the Ken Betwa link, the first link of the…
Rare birds, wildflowers: ‘Secret garden’ opens after century
Truckee, Jul 28 (AP/UNB)- Pink and yellow wildflowers burst from a lush bed of grass hidden from public view for more than a century. Towering trees and snow-capped mountains encircle the wild meadow, beckoning visitors to a largely untouched piece…
Villagers cut down forest in orangutan sanctuary
Jakarta, Jul 27 (AP/UNB) – A conservation group says nearly a fifth of the forest belonging to an orangutan sanctuary on the Indonesian part of Borneo has been occupied and damaged by people living near the area, threatening efforts to…
Petronas drops massive natural gas project in Canada
Petronas said Tuesday it was pulling out of its Can$36 billion ($28.8 billion US) liquefied natural gas exporting project on Canada’s west coast long opposed by environmentalists and native rights activists. The Pacific NorthWest LNG project was greenlighted in September…
Biological annihilation on Earth accelerating
Robert J. Burrowes Human beings are now waging war against life itself as we continue to destroy not just individual lives, local populations and entire species in vast numbers but also destroy the ecological systems that make life on Earth…
The high costs of pesticides to society
A new study warns of the “very high costs” of current levels of exposure to pesticides in food, especially for children and pregnant women. It suggests that the damage caused by pesticides across the European Union amounts to at least…
New diesel, petrol vehicles to be banned from 2040 in UK
New diesel and petrol cars and vans will be banned in the UK from 2040 in a bid to tackle air pollution, the government is set to announce. Ministers will also unveil a £255m fund to help councils tackle emissions…
Unmasking the climate-change deniers
Benjamin Franta Stanford – Twenty-five years after the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change on May 9, 1992, the world has yet to implement a treaty that effectively addresses global warming. Now, following President Donald Trump’s withdrawal…
RU campus inundated by light rainfall of last few days
Rajshahi – The students of Rajshahi University (RU) have been suffering from waterlogging caused by light rainfall of the last few days. The problem of water logging is being faced for many years due to the poor drainage system, informed…
DU to cancel routes if its buses ply wrong road
Dhaka University (DU) authorities have decided to cancel the routes of its buses if those ply wrong sides of roads violating traffic rules. The authorities took the decision in an internal meeting, said DU acting proctor AM Amzad Ali on…
Thailand: Trafficking Convictions Important Step Forward
A Thai criminal court’s sentencing of 62 people, including a military general, too long prison terms for their mistreatment of Rohingya migrants is a major step in combatting human trafficking in Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today. Thai authorities should…
4 N’ganj factories fined for polluting environment
Dhaka – The Department of Environment (DoE) on Tuesday fined four factories Tk 61.86 lakh for polluting the environment in Narayanganj.
The birds, the bees, and sustainability
Q&A with Robert Engelman: We asked Worldwatch researcher Robert Engelman, author of the “Our Bodies, Our Future: Expanding Comprehensive Sexuality Education” in Worldwatch’s EarthEd: Rethinking Education on a Changing Planet, about what motivated him to explore sexuality education to move…
GM crops bounce back with gains in production areas
Manila – Global acceptance of genetically modified (GM) crops sprang back in 2016 after suffering a decline in 2015, according to estimates by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).
1.28 lakh 62,340 saplings planted in Rangpur, Rajshahi , Gaibandha
BSS, Rangpur The teachers and employees of 9,071 primary schools and officials of the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) planted 62,340 saplings in all eight districts under Rangpur division on Sunday. The saplings of fruit bearing, woody, flower and medicinal…