CASTRIES, Apr 12 2019 (IPS) – Jua Kali is a social enterprise tackling waste management and helping to reduce reliance on St. Lucia’s only landfill, which will reach the end of its lifespan in 2023. The company, with its slogan ‘Trashing the…
Category: Environment
Smart cities hold key to sustainable development
BANGKOK, Thailand, Apr 3 2019 (IPS) – Asia and the Pacific’s phenomenal development has been a story of rapid urbanization. As centres of innovation, entrepreneurship and opportunity, cities have drawn talent from across our region and driven economic growth which has…
Siren sounds on nuclear fallout embedded in melting glaciers
Radioactive fallout from nuclear meltdowns and weapons testing is nestled in glaciers across the world, scientists warning of a potentially hazardous time bomb as rising temperatures melt the icy residue yesterday. For the first time, an international team of scientists…
Dhaka high-rise fire: One owner secures bail
Dhaka, April 11 – The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court of Dhaka yesterday granted bail to Tasvirul Islam, one of the owners of FR Tower in the case filed over the devastating fire that ripped through 22-storied FR Tower at…
Stop discharging wastes into rivers: PM
Dhaka, Apr 11 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday urged all, particularly mills and factories, to stop discharging wastes into rivers as water pollution has appeared to be a severe problem for the country. “I would like to…
SDGs ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’
Unless the world faces its “social, economic and environmental challenges head-on”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will not be met. Addressing the final plenary of the UN Youth Forum on Tuesday, he…
Dhaka for US sanction against entities that persecuted Rohingyas
Dhaka, April 10 – Bangladesh has urged the United States to pass a resolution imposing sanctions on perpetrators and entities in Myanmar who had persecuted the minority Rohingyas and grossly violated their human rights. In his meeting with Senator Christopher…
The Sabarmati, Gandhi once chose to live by, now dry, nasty
Significant stretches of Gujarat’s Sabarmati river have gone dry or are plagued with pollution, says a latest report by a team of activists and environmentalists. The river in the Ahmedabad city stretch, before the Sabarmati Riverfront, is dry while the stretch along…
Alpine glaciers risk 90-percent melt by 2100
Unchecked greenhouse gas emissions could see more than 90 percent of glaciers in the Alps disappear by the end of the century, scientists said Tuesday in new research. There are more than 4,000 glaciers — vast, ancient reserves of ice…
HC orders disposal of Rana Plaza case in 6 months
Dhaka, Apr 9 (UNB) – Denying bail to Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana in a case filed over violation of the building code in construction of the building, the High Court on Tuesday directed the lower court to dispose of…
Rainfall sharply improves Dhaka’s air quality
Dhaka, Apr 9 (UNB) –Violent storms hit capital Dhaka on Tuesday evening helping its air quality to post a marked improvement. Dhaka climbed down to 22nd position in the Air Quality Index (AQI) as it had a score of 82…
Paris, Milan, C’hagen laud London’s ultra-low emission zone
Mayor of Paris and Chair of C40 Cities, Anne Hidalgo. “Bravo Sadiq Khan, for implementing one of the largest and most comprehensive Low Emission Zones of any city in the world. The ULEZ will undoubtedly bring long-lasting benefits to London,…
Two sons of Wahed Mansion owner on remand
Dhaka, April 8 – A Dhaka court on Monday granted seven days’ remand to two sons of Wahed Mansion’s owner in a case lodged by a local resident over the deadly fire in the Old Dhaka’s Chawkbazar area. Magistrate Rajesh…
2 owners of fire-ravaged Dhaka highrise sent to jail
Dhaka, April 8 – A Dhaka court on Monday sent the two owners of FR Tower to jail in connection with the case filed over the devastating fire that ripped through the high-rise building on March 28 killing 26 people.…
Fireman Sohel Rana dies giving space to those threatened by fire
Dhaka, April 08 – The brave heart Sohel Rana who succumbed to his injuries in the Banani fire rescued at least 40 people during the frantic operation. “While he was extinguishing fire standing on the ladder, he was making space…
Bangladesh airliner makes emergency landing in Chittagong
Dhaka, Apr 8 (UNB) – A Dhaka-bound flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines from Singapore with 84 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram on Monday evening following a technical glitch. General Manager (Public…
Vested quarters might exploit Rohingya youths: PM
Dhaka, Apr 7 (UNB)- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday feared that vested quarters might exploit the frustrated Rohingya youths to materialize their ill motive. “The young people who don’t have any work are also not sure about their repatriation…
Mother, 3 kids burned in Dhaka kitchen gas cylinder blast
Dhaka, Apr 6 (UNB) – A woman and her three children sustained burn injuries in a gas cylinder blast in the city’s Kadamtali area on Saturday night. The victims are Fatema Begum, 35, her sons Rafi, 11, and Safawan, 5, and…
Israel PM vows to annex West Bank settlements if re-elected
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank if he is re-elected. Israelis go to the polls on Tuesday and Mr Netanyahu is competing for votes with right-wing parties who support annexing…
WWF sounds alarm after 48 lbs of plastic found in dead whale
Milan, Apr 6 (AP/UNB) — An 8-meter (26-foot) sperm whale was found dead off Sardinia with 22 kilograms (48.5 pounds) of plastic in its belly, prompting the World Wildlife Foundation to sound an alarm Monday over the dangers of plastic…
20 buildings to be declared ideal in fire safety: Dhaka N Mayor
Dhaka, Apr 6 (UNB) – Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Atikul Islam on Saturday said 20 buildings will be declared as ideal considering their fire safety measures. The mayor came up with the remarks after inaugurating the activities of…
Dire future etched in the past: CO2 at 3-million year-old levels
Planet-warming carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere — at its highest level in three million years — is poised to lock in dramatic temperature and sea level rises over a timescale of centuries, scientists warned this week. The last time that…
China says lightning caused forest fire that killed 31
Beijing, Apr 6 (AP/UNB) — Lighting sparked a forest fire in mountainous western China last month that killed 27 firefighters and four local helpers in one of the country’s deadliest days for first responders, investigators said. Acting on accounts of…
Boeing cutting production rate of troubled 737 Max jet
Washington, Apr 6 (AP/UNB) -Boeing will cut production of its troubled 737 Max airliner this month, underscoring the growing financial risk it faces the longer that its best-selling plane remains grounded after two deadly crashes. The company said Friday that…
Resolve Rohingya crisis respecting int’l laws: Swiss envoy
Dhaka, Apr 6 (UNB) – Switzerland has reiterated that all efforts towards resolving the Rohingya crisis must be guided by respect for obligations under international laws, particularly human rights law. The country has also called for full implementation of the…
Builders, users of buildings must ensure fire safety: Hasina
Dhaka, Apr 5 (UNB)— The people who construct buildings and use them should ensure that there are no incidents of fire, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Friday. She said whenever a fire breaks out, it is the fire service’s responsibility…
Dams blamed for shrinking area, farm output in Kaveri delta
by K.A. Shaji • The delta of river Kaveri, which is the agricultural backbone of south India, has shrunk by 20 percent because of diversion of land for non-agricultural purposes and climate change. • The region witnessed an increase in…
Groundnut growers expect good yield in Rajshahi
Growers are dreaming of good yield of groundnut as they are enjoying suitable weather since sowing stage of the cash crop here in this current season. Royez Uddin and Ahammed Ali, two farmers of Char Mazar Diar under Paba Upazila,…
Air pollution killed 123 thousand in BD in 2017: Report
Dhaka, April 4 (UNB) – At least 1.23 lakh people were killed in Bangladesh in 2017 due to indoor and outdoor air pollution, said a new study on global air pollution. Two US based institutes Health Effects Institute (HEI) and…
Rohingya repatriation through talks, not conflict: PM
Dhaka, Apr 4 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said Bangladesh will keep up its efforts to repatriate displaced Rohingyas through negotiations, not engaging in any conflict with Myanmar. “Since they (Myanmar) are our close-door neighbours, We’ll never…