Dhaka, Feb 7 (UNB) – UNHCR special envoy and Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie has said the world must not turn away from the nearly 1 million Rohingyas who have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh. Jolie, who left here early Thursday…
Category: Environment
UNHCR, WB together to ease Rohingya burden on Bd: Jolie
Dhaka, Feb 6 (UNB) – Noting that it is one of the toughest tasks to feed and manage so many Rohingyas here, visiting UNHCR special envoy and famous Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie on Wednesday said the UN Refugee Agency and…
Dutch probe mass seabird death mystery
Dutch scientists said Wednesday they are baffled after 20,000 dead or dying guillemots washed up on North Sea beaches in a phenomenon not seen for decades. The fish-eating seabirds have been washing up between the northern Wadden Islands and southwestern…
282 structures razed to rivive Buriganga, Karnaphuli rivers
Dhaka, Feb 6 (UNB) – Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) on Wednesday pulled down some 282 illegal establishments along the Buriganga River in the capital and the Karnaphuli in Chattogram. In the capital, the BIWTA mobile court bulldozed as…
News on ‘plastic rice’ baseless: Minister
Dhaka, Feb 6 (UNB) – Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzak on Wednesday trashed reports on the manufacturing of so-called plastic rice in Bangladesh, saying it was impossible. “News reports on plastic rice are baseless. The rice in question has been cooked…
100 illegal structures on Buriganga river demolished
Dhaka, Feb 05 – The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Tuesday has demolished around 100 structures that built illegally grabbing the river bank of Buriganga. The second face eviction drive of its 11-day programme has conducted at city’s Nababerchar…
Show genuine will to end displacement in Rakhine: Jolie
Cox’s Bazar, Feb 5 (UNB) – UNHCR special envoy and famous Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie on Tuesday urged the Myanmar authorities to show the genuine commitment to end the cycle of violence, displacement, and improve the conditions for all communities…
2 degree temperature rise accelerates glacier-melting in HKH region
Even the most ambitious Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century would lead to a 2.1 spike in temperatures . The melting of one-third of glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya…
Removing arsenic from groundwater: Let’s use the tools
HAMILTON, Canada, Feb 1 2019 (IPS) – Cost-effective technologies are available to remove arsenic in groundwater. Why then do tens of millions still fall ill to this chronic problem? High natural levels of arsenic are characteristic of the groundwater supply in…
A-2oC temperature rise could melt half the Himalaya glaciers
Dhaka, Feb 04 – A Two-degree C temperature rise could melt half of the laciers in Hindu Kush Himalaya region, destabilizing Asia’s rivers, according to a new study. The comprehensive study of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, known as…
Why border walls don’t stop migration
President Trump has long called migration a security crisis, but in recent weeks he has also referred to the situation along the southern border as a humanitarian crisis. As he ended the government shutdown in a televised speech on January…
‘Plastic-like rice’ seized in Gaibandha
Gaibandha, Feb 4 (UNB) – Police in a drive seized ‘plastic-like rice’ from a shop in the town on Monday morning. Police said that one Rony Miah identified the rice as plastic while cooking it. Later, he went to Gaibandha…
Drive to free Karnaphuli riverbanks from grabbing begins
Chattogram, Feb 4 (UNB) -The district administration has started a drive to demolish the illegal structures on the banks of the Karnaphuli River in the port city. A team led by executive magistrate and assistant commissioner (land) of Patenga Tahmilur…
Angelina Jolie in Cox’s Bazar to assess needs of Rohingyas
Cox’s Bazar, Feb 4 (UNB) – UNHCR special envoy and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie arrived here on Monday morning to assess the humanitarian needs of the Rohingyas. During her three-day mission in the district, she will also assess some of…
Compatriots forced Bd women domestic help into illicit work
Bahrain, Feb 01 – Two pimps who locked a woman in apartments for three months and forced her to have sex with multiple men have been jailed for 10 years each. The Bangladeshi men, aged 29 and 44, were convicted…
Free visa, illegal hiring behind rising worker accidents
Bahrain, Sunday, Feb 2 – Illegal hiring of workers and employing free-visa labourers are major challenges facing authorities trying to curb accidents at work sites, according to a top official. A number of companies bring in workers on daily wages…
Disqualify river grabbers from elections bank loans
Dhaka, Feb 03 – In a landmark verdict, the High Court on Monday disqualified the grabbers of rivers and canals from contesting any election including local government and parliamentary polls. It directed the Election Commission to take steps to this…
Angelina Jolie plans to visit Rohingya camp
Dhaka, Feb 3 (UNB) – UNHCR special envoy and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie has planned to visit Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar district this week to see the situation on the ground and meet Rohingya people. She is likely to…
Debar river encroachers from polls, loan: High Court rules
Dhaka, Feb 3 (UNB) – The High Court on Sunday directed the Election Commission not to allow any individual to contest any election, including the parliamentary one, if he or she is accused of encroaching on rivers. The High Court…
Bd govt mulls E-waste management policy: Minister
Dhaka, Feb 2 – Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Saturday said a policy on managing e-waste was at its final stage. “It is currently with the law ministry,” he said at a roundtable discussion on ‘E-waste…
Toiling in Delhi’s toxic smog
Delhi is the world’s most polluted major city, its toxic cocktail of vehicle fumes, dust and smoke choking the chaotic metropolis and taking years off its 20 million inhabitants’ lives. But despite this, with levels of airborne pollutants routinely eclipsing…
Bringing greener pastures back home
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 22 2019 (IPS) – One month on since the Global Compact for Migration was approved, civil society has highlighted the need to turn words into action, supporting those who have been displaced or forced to migrate as…
Publication ceremony of ‘Satyer Bel-shoot’ held in capital
Dhaka, Feb 01 – The publication ceremony of ‘Satyer belshoot’ a new book by Sohel Mahmud Sagor was held at the Samaj Kalyan Sanity Bhaban in the Mohammadpur area of the capital on Friday. Another book titled Theosophy by the…
Delhi invites Dhaka business community to Maritime Conclave
Dhaka, Jan 31 (UNB) – India has invited Bangladesh business community, particularly those from shipping and waterways industries, to attend ‘Maritime Conclave 2019’ to be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on February 14-15. “Besides presenting opportunities for investment in the maritime…
21 organizations transforming Australia’s food system
From Danielle Nierenberg Greetings from Melbourne, where I’m speaking at festival21—a celebration of the potential for change in Australia’s future food system, joining food experts like Fabrice DeClerck, Science Director at EAT; David Nabarro, Strategic Director of 4SD and recipient…
For some whales, sonar may provoke suicidal behaviour
Scientists have long known that some beaked whales beach themselves and die in agony after exposure to naval sonar. Now they know why: the giant sea mammals suffer decompression sickness, just like scuba divers. At first blush, the explanation laid…
The world order that’s now emerging
By Eric Zuesse The Post-World-War-II world order was dominated by the one WW II major combatant that had only 0.32% of its population (the lowest percentage) killed by the war: the United States. The Soviet Union’s comparable number killed by…
Bd HC landmark verdict declares Turag river as living being
Dhaka, Jan 30 – In a historic verdict, the High Court on Wednesday declared the Turag River as a legal/juristic person or a living being to save the river from illegal encroachment. In its partial judgment, the HC bench of…
‘Finalise land-use policy very quickly to save farm land’
Dhaka, Jan 30 – Land-use policy needs to be finalised very quickly to completely stop the use of agricultural lands in non-farm activities, said experts on Wednesday. They said, it is necessary to take measures to rescue the agricultural land…
Recognise rivers as living beings: Green activists
Dhaka, Jan 29 (UNB) – Mentioning that rivers are being killed through unplanned development, encroachment, pollution and climate change impacts, experts and green activists on Tuesday demanded that the rivers be recognised as living being for saving those. They made…