Air pollution causes deaths to 2.34 lakh people every year in Bangladesh while air pollution is blamed for 21 percent death during the same time, according a report-2018 of World Bank. Death caused by environment pollution is 10 times higher…
Category: Environment
Tunisia fishermen turn life-savers in the Medeterranean Sea
Zarzis, Tunisia, June 16 – The Tunisian trawler radioed infor help as it passed the migrant boat in distress out at sea. But with thepacked craft still adrift two days later, captain Chamseddine Bourassine tookdirect action. Fishermen from the North…
Teesta, Rohingya feature Dhaka-Delhi Foreign Minister-level talks
Dhaka, June 15 – Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has asked his new Indian counterpart S Jaishankar to expedite initiatives to resolve the Teesta issue and sought active supports over the Rohingya crisis in their maiden talks in Tajikistan,…
Aminbazar garbage landfill to pollute rivers near Dhaka: DoE
Dhaka, June 15 (UNB) – Director General Dr AKM Rafique Ahammed of Environment Department (DoE) urged the mainstream media to focus more attention and coverage to the garbage dump growing in a landfill in Amin Bazar, on the capital’s outskirts…
Unemployment forces people to go abroad taking risk: BNP
Dhaka, Jun 15 – BNP senior leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Saturday said Bangladeshi youths are opting to take risky voyage to go abroad for lack of jobs in the country. “Having failed to endure the pain of unemployment…
Rohingya crisis may destabilise region, President tells CICA
Dushanbe (Tajikstan), Jun 15 (UNB) – Stressing the importance of a peaceful solution to Rohingya crisis, President Abdul Hamid on Saturday said the crisis can destabilise the entire region if it is left unresolved. “We seek a peaceful solution to…
Asia-Pacific Region falters on UN development goals
By Thalif Deen UN, Jun 14, 2019 (IPS) – UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a Chatham House meeting in London last week that the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), one of the legacies of the late Secretary-General Kofi Annan,…
An uncertain future for Palestinian refugees
By Charlotte Munns UN, Jun 12 2019 (IPS) – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been forced to justify its existence at the United Nations ahead of a pledging conference…
Place Sundarbans on ‘World Heritage in danger’ list: IUCN
Dhaka, June 15 – International Union for Conservation of Nature( IUCN), the official advisor on natural World Heritage, recommends for three natural sites, including the Sundarbans in Bangladesh, to be listed as “World Heritage in danger.” The other two sites…
Digital solution to plastic waste
It was once a shoreline buried by enough trash to render it invisible, warranting the unfortunate nickname “toilet bowl”. Now the Philippines’ Manila Bay beach is unrecognisably clean compared with a few months ago, a transformation so sudden and extreme…
Formal education for Rohingyas in multi-year planning urged
Dhaka, June 14 (UNB)— Speakers at a roundtable suggested engaging Rohingyas in multi-year planning, providing formal education and more support as their repatriation continues to be delayed. They also urged involving Rohingyas with meaningful and productive activities. National Daily Samakal…
Vessel movement snapped by collision resumes at Ctg Port
Chattogram, Jun 14 (UNB) – The vessel movement at the outer anchorage of the Chittagong port resumed on Friday noon after three hours of suspension following a head-on collision between two vessels at the estuary of the Bay of Bengal…
Magurchara gas field blowout – 1997: Who compensates loss
Moulvibazar, June 14 (UNB) – Today marks the 22nd anniversary of possibly the first real man-made disaster affecting the environment to occur in Bangladesh, as a consequence of contracts signed between the government and the powerful set international oil companies,…
How urban consumption drives global emissions
Strong action from mayors, business and citizens is driving down emissions created locally. But emissions from urban consumption of goods like food and clothing, along with materials used to construct urban buildings, are set to double without action. Emissions due…
Developing technologies for zero-carbon economies
By Nils Røkke Trontheim, Norway, Jun 11 (IPS) – Never before has half a degree (0.5C) meant so much for humanity. We are behaving as if we have time to deal with climate change. We don’t. The main problem is…
Climate change peril Uganda’s tree climbing lions, primates
By Wambi Michael Kasese, Uganda, Jun 12 2019 (IPS) – As climate change leads to increased temperatures in East Africa, a thicket of invasive thorny trees with the ability to withstand harsh climatic conditions have begun threatening Uganda’s second-largest park,…
Bangladesh seeks China, others, help solve Rohingya crisis
Yuxi City (Yunnan), June 12 (UNB) – Bangladesh has raised the Rohingya issue in an international media forum here and sought more Chinese and other Asian nations’ involvement to solve the Rohingya crisis for regional peace and stability. Bangladesh stressed…
In hot water? Study says warming may reduce sea life by 17%
Washington, June 11 (AP/UNB) — The world’s oceans will likely lose about one-sixth of their fish and other marine life by the end of the century if climate change continues on its current path, a new study says. Every degree…
WHO asked to report on current pathogen-sharing modalities
London 10 June (TWN): In considering the public health implications of the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing related to genetic resources, the first step should be to unpack the current modalities for pathogen sharing under…
Scaling up agroecology for sustainable development
In April 2018, the FAO hosted the Second International Symposium on Agroecology, following the first in 2014. With the main objective of moving from dialogue to action, the Symposium brought together different stakeholders and catalyzed inter-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration. The…
Where did insects come from?
by Geetha Iyer The evolution of insects About 500 million years ago (MYA), the Earth experienced a remarkable evolutionary event. Called the Cambrian explosion, it resulted in the emergence of a plethora of life forms – some gigantic, others small;…
Rohingya issue on priority list of PM’s China visit: FM
Dhaka, June 10 – Bangladesh will keep the Rohingya issue on its priority list for discussion during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s planned visit to China in the first week of July, indicates Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen. “The Rohingya…
Tree symbolizing Trump-Macron friendship has died
WASHINGTON, June 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The photo of Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron planting an oak tree in the garden of the White House symbolized the friendship shown by the two leaders. But relations between them…
Japan’s government must exit coal
by Jan Erik Saugestad OSLO – Following the abdication of Emperor Akihito, Japan announced that its new imperial era would be called Reiwa (“beautiful harmony”). But if the Reiwa era is to live up to its name, Japan’s government must…
Won’t have to depend on others if water properly reserved: PM
Dhaka, June 9 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Sunday said Bangladesh will not have to seek water from others if water could be reserved properly. “Bangladesh is delta [country]. All rivers originated from the Himalayas flow through…
Dhaka North City Mayor promises to develop city slums
Dhaka, June 8 (UNB) – Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Atiqul Islam on Saturday said they will take steps to develop slums as well as ensure physical and mental development of slum children. He came up with the remarks…
Once mighty Titas reduced to a trickle in B’baria
Brahmanbaria, June 8 (UNB)- The literary sketch of Titas River in Adwaita Mallabarman’s ‘Titas Ekti Nadir Naam’ or ‘a river called Titas’ – later made into a film of the same name by Ritwik Ghatak – has undergone a sea-change…
Bangladesh Sundarbans has Tk 19-billon carbon reserve: Survey
Khulna, June 7 (UNB) – There is a reserve of 5.6 crore tonnes of carbon in the Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans, says a survey of the Forest Department. This carbon worth Tk 18,816 crore could be extracted without causing…
Aung San Suu Kyi finds common ground with Orbán over Islam
On a rare trip to Europe, Myanmar leader and Hungary PM discuss issue of ‘growing Muslim populations’ Hannah Ellis-Petersen Thu 6 Jun 2019 06.12 BST Last modified on Fri 7 Jun 2019 02.39 BST From her failure to speak out…
Curbs on migration or freedom of movement— Swiss experience
by Vasco Pedrina Arguments about immigration have polarised between restriction and liberalisation. But key are accompanying measures to ensure freedom of movement is associated with wage and social protection. Together with Luxembourg, Switzerland is one of the countries with the…