Dhaka, July 5 (UNB) – Three days of incessant rains in Bangladesh have destroyed 273 shelters and injured 11 people in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camps, said UNHCR on Friday. “We remain on high alert, ready to deploy additional emergency response…
Category: Environment
Communist Party of China to help resolve Rohingya crisis
Beijing, Jul 5 (UNB) – The Communist Party of China (CPC) on Friday said it will contact the top leaders of Myanmar to amicably solve the Rohingya crisis and start the repatriation process as soon as possible. CPC Minister for…
Strongest earthquake in 20 years rattles Southern California
Los Angeles, July 5 (AP/UNB) — The strongest earthquake in 20 years shook a large swath of Southern California and parts of Nevada on Thursday, rattling nerves on the July 4th holiday and causing injuries and damage in a town…
More than 80 migrants feared drowned off Tunisia Coast
Dhaka, July 5 – Dozens of African migrants are feared to have drowned after their boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia after setting off for Europe from Libya, a government source and the Tunisian Red Crescent said on Thursday,…
Libya: Deadly attack highlights disregard for civilians
EU Containment Policy Helps Keep Migrants in Harm’s Way Tunis –The deaths of at least 44 migrants and asylum seekers in an airstrike on July 3, 2019, on a compound that includes a detention center in Tajoura, near Tripoli, Libya,…
ICC for judicial backing to probe crimes against Rohingyas
Dhaka, July 4 – The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday requested its Judges to authorise an investigation into alleged crimes like deportation, other inhumane acts and persecution committed against Rohingyas from Myanmar. As Myanmar is not…
6-year UNDP plan to improve livelihoods of Dhaka’s 4 mn poor
Dhaka, July 3 (UNB) – The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) in collaboration with the government of Bangladesh has launched a six-year project for improving the living standard of the capital’s 4 million poverty-stricken people. The project titled ‘Livelihoods Improvement…
Airstrike hits migrant detention center in Libya, 44 killed
Benghazi, Jul 3 (AP/UNB) — An airstrike hit a detention center for migrants in the Libyan capital early Wednesday, killing at least 44 people and wounding more than 130, the U.N. mission to the war-torn country said. The airstrike raises…
Rickshaw movement on 3 Dhaka City roads banned from July 7
Dhaka, July 3 (UNB) – Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon on Wednesday said the movement of rickshaws on three major roads in the capital will be restricted from July 7. The three roads are Kuril to Saydabad via…
Floating Antarctic ice goes from record high to record lows
Washington, Jul 2 (AP/UNB) — The amount of ice circling Antarctica is suddenly plunging from a record high to record lows, baffling scientists. Floating ice off the southern continent steadily increased from 1979 and hit a record high in 2014.…
BD High Court declares all rivers as living entities
Dhaka, July 1 (UNB) – The High Court has observed that Bangladesh’s existence depends on the protection of rivers. “The country will survive, beloved Bangladesh will survive if the rivers are protected,” it said. The HC bench of Justice Moyeenul…
UN envoy to ‘ring alarm bell’ if no action taken on Rohingya
United Nations, Jul 2 (AP/UNB) — The U.N. envoy for Myanmar said Monday that progress on alleviating the crisis that led more than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to neighboring Bangladesh has been slow and if there is no action…
Is there a co-relation between human development & SDGs?
By Pedro Conceição UN, Jul 1 2019 (IPS) – “People are the real wealth of nations,” began the first Human Development Report (HDR). That 1990 report marked a turning point in the global development debate. During the second half of…
Bodies of drowned migrant man, daughter back in El Salvador
SAN SALVADOR, July 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The bodies of a man and his young daughter who drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico to the United States were returned on Sunday to their native El Salvador.…
Bird caught feeding chick cigarette butt in devastating pic
‘The baby needs to become a poster child for change’ A parent bird has been spotted feeding its chick a cigarette butt, highlighting environmental concerns and prompting a wave of anger at careless smokers. The black skimmer bird was photographed…
No dev work that damages environment: experts
Dhaka, June 29 (UNB) – Stating that no development effort will be effective if it ruins the ecological and environmental balance, speakers at a public dialogue on Saturday urged the government to ensure a more environment-friendly budget. Poribesh Bachao Andolon…
Europe must answer the climate call
By Christiana Figueres Brussels – In early 2015, the European Union became the first major economy to set a post-2020 target for limiting greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. By committing to reducing emissions to at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2030,…
The world is running out of time
By Bertrand Badré Washington, DC – In 2015, the international community launched a renewed effort to tackle collective global challenges under the auspices of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21). But after…
New Mexico governor seeks ideas for recreational pot law
Santa Fe, Jun 29 (AP/UNB) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is launching a new effort to craft legislation that could legalize recreational marijuana sales next year. The first-year Democratic governor announced Friday her recruitment of health, legal and…
5 BD cement factories near Sundarbans get EIA nod: Minister
Dhaka, Jun 29 (UNB) –Five air-polluting cement factories located within the ecologically critical area of the Sundarbans Reserve Forest have been given environmental clearance, Forest Minister Md Shahab Uddin told Parliament on Saturday. The factories are Meghna Cement Mills Ltd,…
America’s bipartisan climate-policy failure
By Mark Paul and Connor Rupp Sarasota – US President Donald Trump’s anti-climate agenda is in full swing. His administration has already taken action 117 times to repeal or weaken climate regulations, and much more deregulation is in the works.…
Getting to net-zero emissions
By Johan Rockström Potsdam –The leaders of the G20 countries head to Osaka this week for their annual summit. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will address them before traveling to Abu Dhabi to finalize the arrangements for September’s UN Climate…
Tens of thousands marooned as 4 Sylhet upazilas flooded
Sylhet, June 28 — Several hundred thousand people of four upazilas remained marooned after torrential rain over the last few days led to the flooding of parts of Gowainghat, Companiganj, Jaintiapur and Kanaighat sub-districts. Flooding has cut off road communications,…
New York declares climate emergency, first US city to do so
Dhaka, June 28 – New York City officials declared a climate emergency in an effort to mobilize local and national responses to stall global warming, reports CNN. It’s the largest city in the US, with over 8.62 million inhabitants. The…
Scientists discover vast freshwater reservoir beneath ocean
Dhaka, June 27 – Underneath the salty waters of the North Atlantic ocean, geologists have discovered a giant aquifer of freshwater, hidden from view just off the US coast, reports Science Alert. While the vast size of this massive cache…
MH 17: Charging Individuals based on flawed Investigation
The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) and the Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) share Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s skepticism about Russia’s culpability in the shooting down of MH17 on the 17th of July 2014. The Dutch-led…
Rohingyas maybe a threat to country’s security: PM
Sangsad Bhaban, Jun 26 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the security and stability of Bangladesh could be hampered if the displaced Rohingya people cannot be repatriated soon. “If we can’t send them back soon, there’s an…
Atrocities against Rohingyas: ICC forms pre-trial chamber
Dhaka, June 26 (UNB) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has constituted pre-trial Chamber-III demonstrating further progress over ongoing process to look into the atrocities committed against the Rohingyas. The Chamber is composed of Judge Robert Fremr, Judge Olga Herrera…
Countries differ over review of achievements under UNFCCC
Bonn, 26 June (TWN) – Disagreements between developed and developing countries arose over the need to review the progress on achievements under the UNFCCC, at the Bonn climate talks. The talks which began on 17 June, are scheduled to end…
A grim border drowning underlines peril facing many migrants
Mexico City, June 16 (AP/UNB) — The man and his 23-month-old daughter lay face down in shallow water along the bank of the Rio Grande, his black shirt hiked up to his chest with the girl tucked inside. Her arm…