A 6.1 magnitude quake hit the western city during the morning commute. It was the largest since records began in 1923. Three people were reported killed with many more injured. Two men in their eighties died in Osaka City and…
Category: Environment
Floods wreak havoc – submerge Moulvibazar town: 5 killed
Moulvibazar, June 17 – Many areas of the Moulvibazar district town nearby villages, on Northeastern Bangladesh, went under water on Sunday due to a breach in the town protection dam along the Manu River.
Mount Everest,the high-altitude rubbish dump
KATHMANDU, (BSS/AFP) – Decades of commercial mountaineering have turned Mount Everest into the world’s highest rubbish dump as an increasing number of big-spending climbers pay little attention to the ugly footprint they leave behind.
Flash flood devastates Moulvibazar; 300 thousand marooned
Dhaka, June 16 – The flood in five Upazilas of the northern district of Moulvibazar took a devastating turn on Saturday with flash flood inundating new areas, leaving around 3 lakh people of several hundred villages marooned.
About 2,000 minors separated from families at US border
Nearly 2,000 children have been separated from their families at the U.S. border over a six-week period during a crackdown on illegal entries. That’s according to Department of Homeland Security figures obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
Greener, greater cities
by Pascal Mittermaier Washington, DC – What should a “green” city look like? Should it resemble Copenhagen, with its high rates of bicycle commuting and recycling? What about Curitiba, the capital of Brazil’s Paraná state, with its pedestrian-centered planning? Or…
The versatile bamboo – when a grass towers over the trees
By Manipadma Jena New Delhi, Jun 12, 2018 (IPS) – As governments scramble for corrective options to the worsening land degradation set to cost the global economy a whopping 23 trillion dollars within the next 30 years, a humble grass…
‘EU reinforces position as leader of global energy shift’
Abu Dhabi, UAE: 14 June 2018 — Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has welcomed the European Union’s (EU) decision to increase its renewable energy target from 27 per cent to 32 per cent by…
BD Greens for climate financing for resilient infrastructure
Dhaka, June 14 – Bangladesh Greens at a press conference on Thursday called for a focus on climate resilient infrastructure development for climate Financing in the upcoming national budget for 2018-19 fiscal year.
‘Agri intensification no “blueprint” for sustainable dev’
New research suggests that the combined social and ecological results of increased agricultural intensification in low and middle-income countries are not as positive as expected.
Unicef seeks urgent support avert disaster for Rohingya kids
Torrential rain and strong winds hit Rohingya camps and makeshift settlements in the past week threatening the health and safety of thousands of children as the first major storm of the monsoon season arrived in the district.
Help remittance-receiving families build future: IFAD
President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Gilbert F Houngbo on Thursday called for continued efforts to help remittance-receiving families build a sustainable future for themselves and their communities.
Nourishing cities with nature
by Carlo Ratti Boston – Ever since the ancient Greek poet Theocritus wrote his pastoral idylls romanticizing rural life, people have been pondering how to build cities that are in concert with their natural surroundings. But with rates of urbanization…
Rich & poor fight issue of ‘conflict of interest’ in UNFCCC
Boston, 14 June 2018, (COI) – Several developing countries continued to champion the need to have a policy on “conflicts of interest” in the UNFCCC at the recent climate talks in Bonn, Germany, last month, but their calls were not…
100 families evacuated, 45 houses evicted from Ctg hills
The Chittagong District Administration on Wednesday in a drive at the port city’s Batali Hill and AK Khan areas evacuated 100 families and evicted about 45 illegal establishments from the two risky hills to avert a possible loss of lives…
Millions start trips from Dhaka to village homes for Eid
Dhaka, June 13 – Thousands of residents of Bangladesh capital Dhaka started to leave the city celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr with their near and dear ones in village homes for last few days hoping better situation both road and railway. But early monsoon…
Drive on to remove people from risky Ctg hills
Local administration continued the eviction drive in the hilly areas of the port city for the second consecutive day on Wednesday to avert possible loss of lives from landslides.
Protecting Africa’s farmer-managed seed systems
About 90% of seeds sown in Africa come from ‘informal’ sources, local markets, or seeds saved by farmers, the majority of whom are women. It is these seeds that are providing 80% of Africa’s food. These seeds and the cultural…
Shocking’ die-off of Africa’s oldest baobabs: study
Some of Africa’s oldest and biggest baobab trees — a few dating all the way back to the ancient Greeks — have abruptly died, wholly or in part, in the past decade, researchers said Monday. The trees, aged between 1,100…
Foreigners’ undercover intrusion as relief workers seen: PM
Toronto, June 11 – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said the government is aware of the intrusion of many foreign nationals into Bangladesh in the guise of relief workers which may lead to trafficking of children and women, sexual…
Rohingya Crisis: Dhaka for ‘confidential’ mode of submission to ICC
Dhaka- Bangladesh opted for ‘confidential’ mode of submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Rohingya issue which Bangladesh thinks as a testimony of her ‘keenness to seek bilateral solution’ to this problem. “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, globally known as…
Govt urged to stop sending maids to Saudi Arabia
Dhaka – Speakers at a programme on Monday urged the government to stop sending country’s women to Saudi Arabia as housemaids and also take steps for immediate returns of the female workers who are already being treated inhumanly by their employers there.
Heavy rains hit Rohingya camps; cause structural damages: IOM
Heavy monsoon rains that began on Saturday have caused severe structural damage to Cox’s Bazar Rohingya refugee camps, said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday.
Reform freedom of movement to help workers, reduce migration
We now have a glimpse into the hard Tory vision of how a fully Brexited Britain will treat Europeans who want to work here. All during the 20th century after 1945, Britain had to import workers to do the jobs…
UN says world choking on plastic as environmental crisis grows
Up to five trillion grocery bags are used each year and like most plastic garbage barely any is recycled, the UN said Tuesday as it warned the world was choking on trash. In a report for International Environment Day, the…
Italy shuts ports to migrant rescue ship
A rescue vessel carrying 629 migrants is stranded in the Mediterranean after Italy’s new interior minister refused permission for it to dock. Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing League, said Malta should accept the Aquarius but he was rejected. Malta…
First spell of Monsoon shower causes landslide on Ukhia highway
Dhaka, June 10 – A low over the Bay of Bengal whipped up widespread rainfall across Bangladesh on Sunday ending several days of sweltering heat that caused much discomfort to devotees who are fasting the holy month of Ramadan. The…
Inefficient dam operations threaten India-Bangla Rivers
Sandrp – the South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People – in its latest bulletin published on Saturday 9 June has questioned the huge live storage of 27659 MCM (million cubic meters) water in 91 reservoirs in India on…
A Climate-Friendly Response to Trump’s Protectionism
by Michael Kellner, Barbara Unmüßig Berlin – As US President Donald Trump translates his “America First” strategy into import tariffs, and the European Union prepares to adopt countermeasures moving the global economy toward a trade standoff, the real challenge facing…
Focus on food migration nexus
Lawmakers at the highest levels urgently need a “revolution in thinking” to tackle the twin problem of sustainable food production and migration. Starting with an inaugural event in Brussels, then travelling on to New York and Milan, an international team…