Dhaka, July 6, – Thailand on Thursday assured Bangladesh of extending support in its race to become a member of the regional bodies including Mekong-Ganges Cooperation Forum and East-West Economic Corridor.
Category: Environment
Unesco withdraws objection from Rampal power project
Dhaka, Jul 6 – The World Heritage Committee of Unesco has withdrawn its earlier objection over the construction of Rampal power plant project at its current location. It has also spared the Sundarbans from being relegated to the List of…
€1.5 million for Cyclone Mora victims in BD and Myanmar
Dhaka, 6 July – The European Commission is providing € 1.5 million in humanitarian aid funding for emergency relief assistance to populations affected by Tropical Cyclone Mora, which ripped through parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar in late May. The aid…
Water use innovations ‘crucial’ to face climate change
By IPS World Desk Rome, Jul 5 (IPS) – In the Near East and North Africa region, the per capita renewable water availability is around 600 cubic metres per person per year –only 10 per cent of the world average-…
Illegal structures in residential areas must go: HC
Dhaka – The High Court Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday gave 10 months to the owners to remove their illegal establishments from Gulshan, Banani and Dhanmondi areas of the city.
Funding climate resilience benefits all nations
By Kenton X. Chance Kingstown, St. Vincent, Jul 4 (IPS) – A leading climate change mitigation and adaptation activist and former climate negotiator in the Caribbean says that the United States could protect its economic and political interest by helping…
‘Rohingya issue to be resolved bilaterally’
Dhaka, July 4 – Renewing her call to Myanmar to take back Rohingyas from Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said this problem will be solved through bilateral discussions.
2000 BD migrants stranded in Turkey
Dhaka, Jul 4 – Around 2000 Bangladesh nationals, mainly regular migrants from Iran, Lebanon and Jordan, got stuck in Turkey as their attempts to illegally enter Europe through Turkey have become difficult.
Govt has enough preparation to face flood, says PM
Dhaka – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the government has all the necessary preparation to face possible natural disasters like flood. –UNB
Flood situation in Northeast BD deteriorates
Dhaka – The flood situation in northern and northestern districts has deteriorated due to incessant heavy rain and onrush of water from the bordering Assam and Meghalaya hills submerging many areas of north-eastern parts of the country.
Flood serves havoc to Sylhet: 250 thousand marooned
Sylhet, July 2 – The onrush of water from the upstream and heavy rainfall triggered by monsoon over the last one week inundated vast areas in six upazilas of the district, leaving about 2.5 lakh people marooned.
Stop Rampal project: NCPS, BAPA ask govt
Dhaka – National Committee to Protect Sundarbans (NCPS) and Bangladeah Paribesh Andolon (BAPA) on Sunday renewed its call to the government to cancel the Rampal coal-fired power plant project for the sake of saving the Sundarbans. -UNB
Californians take a shine to solar power
Jacquie Barnbrook had grown tired of the high electricity bills and her gas-guzzling luxury car when she finally decided to take the plunge last year. The 52-year-old Los Angeles resident joined an ever-growing number of Californians who are switching to…
A journey along the Teesta river in Sikkim
Guest Blog by Gauri Noolkar-Oak A day later, I set out on the last leg of my journey – through Sikkim, to the source. The journey from Kalimpong to Singtam and further to Mangan was breathtaking. The mountains grew taller…
Northern regions of BD brace for floods: Rivers cross red marks
Dhaka – River levels at some places are risinging fast and the country is likely to face severe flood soon, water experts have said. Waters of Teesta, Surma and Kushiyara rivers are flowing above danger level at five points.
Climate change could greatly widen US inequality: study
If the United States fails to take decisive measures to combat climate change, it will become a poorer country facing more dramatic inequality, according to a study published Thursday. The poorest third of US counties could see income drops as…
A journey along the Teesta River in W Bengal
Guest Blog by Gauri Noolkar-Oak The minute I crossed over the Indo-Bangladesh border into India at Chengrabandha, the atmosphere changed instantly; more briskness, more people and more English and Hindi surrounded me. I also spotted posters of Baahubali 2, and…
A Journey along the Teesta in Bangladesh
Guest Blog by Gauri Noolkar-Oak Few journeys take us through a string of experiences that nourish the senses and the soul. A thoroughbred urban, city-lover, I nevertheless knew deep down that my journey of such nourishment would be with a…
Climate refugees to desperately search for homes
Dhaka, Jun 30 – By 2060, around 1.4 bn people could be climate refugees, driven from low-lying coastal cities by sea level rise, says a new study.
Iranian city soars to record 53.7°C: Near hottest on Earth
A city in southwest Iran posted the country’s hottest temperature ever recorded Thursday afternoon, and may have tied the world record for the most extreme high temperature.
US sets new visa rules for 6 mainly Muslim nations, refugees
Washington — The Trump administration on Wednesday set new criteria for visa applicants from six mainly Muslim nations and all refugees that require a “close” family or business tie to the United States. –AP/UNB
Sustainability strategies – lessons learnt
by Jocelyn Ho Back in the 1970s Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman stated that the exclusive purpose of business is to increase its returns to stakeholders. He argued that companies adopting CSR would be faced with more binding constraints than…
Aquaculture main driver of mangrove losses
Jakarta – Expanding aquaculture in South-East Asia over the last two decades has been the main driver of mangrove loss in the world, says a study published in PLOS One this month (June). The study, conducted by a team of…
Spotlight on women migrant workers
By Roshni Majumdar UN, Jun 24 (IPS) – Migrant workers, and their economic contribution to the development of both the country of origin and the host country, have caught the eye of governments and policymakers worldwide.
Can new protections save Dhaka’s dying rivers?
Experts and environmentalists have criticised Bangladesh’s environment agency for its decision to declare four dying rivers around Dhaka as ecologically critical areas (ECAs).
‘Global sea level rise accelerates since 1990’
The rise in global sea levels has accelerated since the 1990s amid rising temperatures, with a thaw of Greenland’s ice sheet pouring ever more water into the oceans, scientists said on Monday.
Global pact on environmental rights to be presented to UN
PARIS, June (BSS/AFP) – Hollywood star turned activist Arnold Schwarzenegger joined politicians and legal experts in Paris Saturday to launch a campaign for a global pact to protect the human right to a clean, healthy environment. French President Emmanuel Macron…
Water-sanitation for all: 4 pol errors to avoid
by Nathaniel Mason Eliminating inequality is integral to the Sustainable Development Goals, from ‘universal access’ to water, to ending poverty ‘everywhere’. Yet in a world where the politics of who gets what is increasingly polarised, leaving no-one behind is fundamentally…
Eid in Laxmipur, Satkhira, Chandpur, Bhola
Dhaka, Jun 25 – Dwellers of eight villages in Laxmipur, several villages in Satkhira, Chandpur and Bhola districts are celebrating the holy Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims, on Sunday amid much enthusiasm and religious fervour.
15 bodies found after landslide buries scores in China
Mao County, Jun 25 (AP/UNB) – Crews searching through the night in the rubble left by a landslide that buried a mountain village under tons of soil and rocks in southwestern China found 15 bodies, but more than 100 more…