Some 2,977 people have perished in the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, with people dying at a rate of around 20 a day since March.The benchmark of nearly 3,000 was reached faster this year than in any previous year…
Category: Environment
Radiation levels off Fukushima up 100s of times: Greenpeace
The amount of radioactive substances in seabed off Fukushima is hundreds of times higher than before the disaster, a report issued by Greenpeace reveals. The figures mean that there is absolutely “no return to normal after nuclear catastrophe” in the…
Place for family planning advocacy in environmental work?
Robert Engelman Ask environmental leaders where voluntary family planning fits into their organizations’ missions and goals, and most will draw a blank. Their tasks are hard and often controversial enough without promoting expanded access to contraception, some might respond. Others…
Biodiversity, GMOs, Gene Drives and the Militarised Mind
A recent report from the National Academy of Science of The United States, titled Gene Drives on the Horizon : Advancing Science, Navigating Uncertainty, and Aligning Research with Public Values”, warns:“One possible goal of release of a gene-drive modified organism…
‘Monster’ El Niño Subsides, La Niña Hitting Soon
As if human-made armed conflicts, wickedness, rights abuse, gender violence, cruel inequality and climate catastrophes were not enough, now the saying “God Always Forgives, Men Sometimes, Nature Never” appear to be more true than ever. See what happens.Now that the…
Stories of tobacco victims deliver powerful impacts
New York, USA – A paper on the impact of tobacco victim testimonials, authored by Vital Strategies’ public health communication experts, has been published in leading peer-review journal “Tobacco Control.” The paper, entitled “Raw and real: an innovative communication approach…
Earth experiences hottest June ever recorded
The heat wave continues.Last month was the hottest June ever recorded, according to both NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This marks the 14th month in a row that global heat records have been broken. It’s the…
Last month was hottest June on record: US scientists
WASHINGTON, July 20, 2016 (BSS/AFP) – Last month was the hottest June in modern history, marking the 14th consecutive month that global heat records have been broken, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday. “The globally averaged temperature…
World touring solar plane’s final leg to UAE delayed
The final leg of an unprecedented world tour by a solar-powered plane was postponed Saturday due to the pilot’s health, he said in a message on Twitter. The Solar Impulse 2 had been scheduled to leave Cairo for Abu Dhabi.…
Cabinet okays proposal to simplify Indo-Bangla extradition treaty
Dhaka – The Cabinet on Monday approved a proposal to amend the existing ‘Treaty between Bangladesh and India relating to extradition’ for simplifying the existing extradition process of accused between the two countries, UNB news agency reports.
Nat’l committee announces action prog against Rampal deal
National Committee to Protect Oil-Gas-Natural Resources and Power-Port on Saturday announced fresh action programmes, including demonstration towards Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on July 28, in protest against the signing of a contract for implementing the Rampal Power Plant project near…
UNESCO announces 4 new World Heritage Sites
UNESCO has put four new sites on its World Heritage List.The new sites, announced Friday, include China’s Zuojiang Huashan rock art cultural landscape, Iran’s ancient aqueducts known as Qanat, and India’s archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara.The World Heritage Committee also…
Kuwait sets minimum wage for domestic workers
Kuwait has become the first Gulf Arab country to set a minimum wage for its hundreds of thousands of domestic servants.A notice published on the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry’s website on Thursday listed the minimum salary as 60 Kuwaiti dinars ($198)…
Sustainable dev hinders economic recovery?
The global economic and employment situation is alarmingly protracted, with recovery not expected any time soon. In October 2012, then IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard indicated he did not see a global economic recovery before 2016.Now, in mid-2016, it is…
Dubai workers educational programme
Dubai workers training course on labours’ rights, dues, occupational health and safety has started, and so far 509 workers have attended the awareness educational programme.The workers received approved certificates from Major General Obaid Muhair Bin Surour, Chairman of the Permanent…
Solar plane lands in Egypt in stop of world tour
The Solar Impulse 2 landed in Cairo on Wednesday for its penultimate stop as the solar-powered plane nears the end of its marathon tour around the world. After the two-day flight from Spain, just one final leg lies between it…
Agenda 2030 – a new start towards global sustainability?
Related Documents 2016_spotlight_ch1_1.pdf By Jens Martens on behalf of the Reflection Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted unanimously at the United Nations by world Heads of States and Governments in September…
The Aral Sea springs back to life
Successful recovery efforts have brought back the sea and new hope for devastated Aral Sea communities in Kazakhstan.Tastubek, Kazakhstan – The little village of Tastubek is situated in the North Aral Sea, 90km from Aralsk, a former port on the…
Cities’ sustainability marred by destruction of forested carbon sinks.
Washington, D.C.- Urban centers lie at the root of an important—–and often neglected—–source of emissions: deforestation. According to Senior Researcher Tom Prugh in Can a City Be Sustainable?, the latest edition of the annual State of the World series from…
Singapore court jails 4 Bangladeshis for attack plans linked to IS
Dhaka — A Singapore court has sentenced four Bangladeshi workers to jail terms of up to five years for allegedly planning attacks linked to the Islamic State group in Bangladesh, UNB news agency reported. The four are Mizanur Rahman, 31,…
Experts warn of cataclysmic earthquake in Bangladesh, NE India
Dhaka, – A massive fault could trigger a cataclysmic earthquake of magnitude 8.2 to 9.0 beneath Bangladesh, parts of east India and Myanmar, new research suggests. However, the researchers have no estimates for when such a megaquake could occur as…
Mexico to plant 18 million trees against pollution
Authorities will plant 18 million trees in Mexico City and its surrounding suburbs as part of efforts to combat air pollution, the government said Monday. Environment Minister Rafael Pacchiano dubbed it a “historic reforestation” to reinforce the “green belt in…
A new breed of business for the SDGs
Imogen Mathers Global leaders from business, civil society and universities meet in New York, United States, in late June for the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit. They will debate what the organisers call the “tremendous market opportunity for businesses ……
A metaphor of life and renewal
Sudhirendar Sharma The B-2 Stealth Bomber built at a whopping cost of $2 billion apiece have taken inspiration from the flying-wing design of the Javan cucumber seeds. Accomplished artists may have painted hundreds of verses on a kernel but the…
Indian minister threatens regulators, media, civil society over ILR
On June 7, 2016, (as widely reported by media[i]) Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti “threatened to go on hunger strike if the Ken-Betwa river linking project is further delayed and termed the attempt to delay the project by environmentalists…
Climate change health impacts loom large
The world should brace for potentially devastating impacts on human health due to climate change, top policy makers and officials from around the globe meeting in Paris said Thursday. Some of these consequences may be avoided if humanity radically curbs…
Flood turns grim in Kurigram district marooning 60,000
Dhaka – Onrush of water from the upstream and incessant rainfall have turned the flood situation worse in six upazilas of Kurigram district, rendering more than 60,000 people marooned, UNB news agency reported. The affected upazilas are Kurigran Sadar, Nageshwari,…
North and south face off over “Right to the City”
By Emilio Godoy Mexico City, (IPS) – The declaration that will be presented for approval at the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in October has again sparked conflict between the opposing positions taken…
International organisations concerned by El Niño funding gap
By Phillip Kaeding UN, (IPS) – The response to the 2015-2016 severe El Nino – which has effected over 60 million people from Southern Africa, to South-East Asia to Latin America – remains severely underfunded. In a statement released Tuesday…
50,000 petitioners urge UNESCO to protect the Sundarbans
Sundarbans, a World Heritage site in Bangladesh faces destruction if a proposed coal plant is built adjacent to it Petitioners ask that the Sundarbans are included by UNESCO in the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger Paris – A…