With upcoming elections in May, the Iraqi government is urging Internally Displaced People (IDPs) to return home. After the defeat of ISIS in December 2017, an increase in security and number of returnees to their region of origin is expected;…
Category: Environment
Over 1m people demand globally: Cut single-use plastics
Washington, DC, 18 April 2018 – More than one million people ahead of this year’s Earth Day (April 22) are demanding that the world’s largest corporations reduce their production of single-use plastic.
Car plunges into Kuril lake
Dhaka, Apr 18, 2018 – A private car skidded off the road and fell into a roadside lake at the base of the flyover on Kuril Biswaroad in the capital on Wednesday.
Bangladesh’s air quality falling fast: report
DHAKA, April 18, 2018 – A global study has warned that the air quality in Bangladesh has been falling fast since 2010, taking the concentration of dangerous substance, known as particulate matter or PM 2.5, in the air to 10 times…
Greenpeace finds coral reef in Total’s Amazon drilling area
Environmental campaigners Greenpeace said Tuesday that a massive coral reef has been found to extend right into where France’s oil company Total plans to drill near the mouth of the Amazon.
Canada, Britain call for ‘credible’ Rohingya investigation
U.K. and Canadian foreign ministers host Commonwealth colleagues in London Canada and Britain are calling for an urgent investigation of crimes committed against Myanmar’s Rohingya population.
Plastic pollution is killing the planet – Take it seriously
This is installment 1 of an Earth Day series: “Houston, we have a problem” In a series of emails from Worldwatch this month, learn why plastic waste is so deadly and how you can do your part in your life…
‘Save Mathabhanga-Churni River’ campaign in W Bengal
April 17, 2018 SANDRP On 10th April 2018 around 500 fishers assembled at Majhdia, a town bordering Bangladesh in the district of Nadia (W Bengal), to publicly voice their protest against killing of rivers Mathabhanga and Churni. Majhdia town reverberated…
Sundarbans ecology braces for disaster due to vessel capsizes
Bagerhat, April 17 – The repeated incidents of capsize of vessels carrying coal and different chemicals in the Sundarbans water routes have put the flora and fauna of the world’s largest mangrove forest at stake.
Scientists accidentally engineer plastic eating engime
Researchers in the US and Britain have accidentally engineered an enzyme which eats plastic and may eventually help solve the growing problem of plastic pollution, a study said Monday.
‘Windrush’ Scandal Highlights Heartless UK Immigration Policies
A scandal has emerged over the fate of ‘Windrush’ children, Commonwealth citizens who came to Britain from the Caribbean with their parents decades ago, but are now incorrectly being told they are here illegally. Some have lost their jobs and…
Rohingya lawyer urges UN to refer Burma to ICC for crimes
United Nations, Apr 17 (AP/UNB)— A lawyer from Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority who focuses on the trauma, mass rape and trafficking of its girls and women urged the U.N. Security Council on Monday to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal…
Boosting India’s goat sector could double rural incomes
New Delhi, 16 April – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is partnering with the Government of India, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Agri-solutions, to host a two-day conference starting today to discuss how to significantly improve…
The secret water war in Europe
Is water a commodity or a human right? Cities across Europe are fighting water privatisation. In 2010, water was officially recognised as a universal human right by the United Nations. However, the European Union has yet to do the same.
No initiative yet to rescue sunken coal vessel in Sundarbans
No initiative has yet been taken to salvage the coal-laden vessel that capsized in the Pashur River in Mongla upazila near the Sundarbans on Saturday night.
Wastewater treatment critical component of circular economy
The 8th World Water Forum was held in Brazil a few days ago. What’s ironic is that the more than nine thousand of us attending this Forum were discussing water-related issues in a city of three million grappling with a…
All needed for repatriation in place, claims Burma
Though there is no sign of repatriation yet, Myanmar has claimed the work is proceeding steadily on this front and necessary steps are in place to start the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar.
British-led fight against marine pollution joined by New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ghana
British Prime Minister Theresa May announced Sunday that New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ghana have joined Britain in an alliance to fight against plastic pollution.
BRTA launches drive against unfit vehicles in Dhaka
Dhaka, Apr 16 – The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) on Monday launched drives against unfit and faulty vehicles in different parts of capital Dhaka.
On-site support systems for migrant workers in Asia: MFA
On-site support systems for Sri Lankan migrant workers Sri Lanka maintains on-site services for its migrant workers abroad primarily through the Ministry of Foreign Employment and its embassies in popular destination countries. The services are enhanced because of its self-financed…
Coal laden cargo vessel sinks in the Sundarbans
A cargo MV Bilas carrying 775 tonnes of coal capsized in the Pashur river near the Sundarbans early today. The incident occurred when the cargo stuck in a hidden char at no-5 anchor near Harbaria area around 60 nautical miles…
‘Myanmar’s claim of taking Rohingya family back ridiculous’
Dhaka, Apr 15 – Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Sunday termed ridiculous Myanmar’s claim of repatriating a five-member Rohingya family saying that Bangladesh does not have any information about that so-called repatriation.
Anti-hawker drive: Charge sheet filed against gun-toting ex-BCL leaders
Dhaka, April 15 – The charge sheet accusing two expelled leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) in a case filed over brandishing firearms during a hawker eviction drive in Gulistan area of the capital was placed before a court here…
Coal-laden cargo sinks near Sundarbans
Bagerhat, April 15 – A cargo carrying 775 metric tonnes of coal capsized in the Pashur River in Mongla upazila near the Sundarbans on Saturday night.
World shipping industry agrees to halve carbon emissions by 2050
Members of the UN International Maritime Organisation on Friday struck a deal to halve carbon dioxide emissions from shipping by 2050 in a deal that will force the industry to redesign fleets. “The initial strategy envisages for the first time…
Myanmar says first Rohingya refugee family returns
Myanmar says it has repatriated the first family of Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh, despite a UN warning that it is not safe to return.
Integration of women migrants needs more attention
Non-EU women immigrants make up about six percent of the prime-age population (25-54 years old) in the EU15 countries. Their lack of integration into the labour market is not only a story of lost opportunity at an individual level. It…
On the hunt for the photo that could change our future
Dear Mostafa, This photo above was taken as I perched on the edge of a Zodiac boat while on an expedition to Antarctica last month. While I tried to absorb the scale and beauty of these icebergs, it was also…
BD. UNHCR sign MoU on Rohingya repatriation
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Bangladesh government on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to the voluntary returns of Rohingya refugees once the conditions in Myanmar are conducive.
15000 people in Dhaka cleaning to set Guinness world record
Over 15000 people joined a cleaning campaign in the city arranged by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) aiming to set a new Guinness World Record.