Dhaka, Feb 19 – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has invited her Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte to visit Bangladesh for launching the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 here this year.
Category: Environment
Protect rights of labourers in Gulf: Filipino community
A call to ensure the rights of unskilled domestic workers in Gulf countries has been issued by the Filipino community. It comes as the Philippines Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) on Monday issued an employment ban of overseas Filipino workers…
Indonesia’s Mt. Sinabung spews massive smoke-and-ash column
An Indonesian volcano erupted Monday, sending a massive column of ash and smoke some 5,000 metres (16,400 feet)into the air, leaving local villages coated in debris and officials scrambling to hand out face masks to residents. Mount Sinabung on Sumatra…
Experts raise questions on Indian SC verdictt on Cauvery
New Delhi, Feb 18 – The SC Judgment raises a large number of questions. Here are some, based on a quick reading of parts of the Judgment, notes eminent Indian water activist Himanshu Thakkar who also coordinates the South Asia…
Romeo the lonesome frog is feelin’ the love
In the end, Romeo the lonesome Bolivian frog found more love than he could have imagined. A campaign to raise $15,000 by Valentine’s Day to fund a search for Romeo’s Juliet before he croaks generated $25,000, an environmental group said.
Rohingyas see no atmosphere in Rakhine to return
Dhaka, Feb 17 – The repatriation of Rohingyas living in Bangladesh may take further time as the verification of the first-batch list of Rohingyas, handed over by Bangladesh, ‘depends on Myanmar’ as there is no specific timeframe to complete it.
Saving the orangutans of Sumatra
The Leuser Ecosystem is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Sumatra and one of the largest single continuous blocks of tropical rainforest left in the whole of south-east Asia. It is also home to the orangutan, one of the…
IOM asked Rohingya kids to draw their dream
Dhaka – More than 1,300 children have received psychosocial support from the UN migration agency – IOM in Cox’s Bazar since September 2017.Children account for around 60 percent of the 688,000 Rohingya refugees who fled ‘industrial ethnic cleansing’ in Myanmar…
‘Take comprehensive preparations for sustainable LDC graduation’
Dhaka – Speakers at a seminar on Saturday stressed the need for taking comprehensive preparations for the country’s sustainable graduation from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) as Bangladesh will not avail itself of the LDC facilities in the world trade after…
Light pollution threatens Chile’s dark skies
It seems nothing can escape the inexorable spread of light pollution — not even the giant telescopes probing the heavens above northern Chile, a region whose pristine dark skies, long considered a paradise for astronomers, are under increasing threat.
Cauvery verdict: ‘No state can claim exclusive right to a river’
Cauvery Water Dispute: The 765-km long Cauvery river, also called the Ganga of the south, is considered the lifeline for Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. New Delhi/Bengaluru: In a landmark verdict that casts a long shadow on southern politics, Tamil Nadu’s…
Dhaka hands over list of 8032 Rohingyas to Yangon
Bangladesh has handed over a list of 1673 families of 8032 Rohingays to Myanmar to start the first phase of repatriation of the displaced people living in Bangladesh to their homeland in Rakhine.
Maid’s body found in Kuwait freezer sent back to Philippined
The body of a Filipino housemaid found stuffed in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait has been returned to the Philippines to her grieving family.
Prior to ICESCR review of BD’s rights compliance: HRW
Human Rights Watch has written in advance of your upcoming review of Bangladesh’s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Human Rights Watch has extensively documented human rights violations in Bangladesh relating to neglect in the…
World migration 2018- Video on key numbers, facts
By International Organization for Migration Geneva, Feb 14 (IOM) – So how much do you really know about world migration? Watch this video that presents key numbers and facts about migration discussed in the World Migration Report (WMR) 2018. It…
Fortify rights calls on UNSC to take Myanmar to ICC
Dhaka, Feb 14 – The United Nations Security Council should refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court for investigations into accusation of genocide and other atrocity crimes against Rohingya Muslims, Fortify Rights said on Tuesday.
Tiger census in Sundarbans begins Wednesday
Khulna, Feb 13 – A joint team of the Department of Forest and the conservation organisation WildTeam will launch a 75-day tiger census in the Sundarbans on Wednesday, also the Sundarbans Day.
Satellites show warming is accelerating sea level rise
Washington,(AP/UNB) — Melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are speeding up the already fast pace of sea level rise, new satellite research shows.
Stability, peace in Rakhine absolutely critical, says Myanmar
Dhaka – The stability, peace and development of Rakhine State are absolutely critical for entire Myanmar to become stable, peaceful and developed, says a Myanmar government report.
Water: Why the taps run dry
The world has abundant freshwater but it is unevenly distributed and under increasing pressure, UN agencies say, as highlighted by the severe shortages in Cape Town. More than 97 percent of the planet’s water is salty, most of it in…
Rohingyas to face more dangers coming monsoon
Despite escaping violence in their homeland, the impending cyclone and monsoon season mean the Rohingyas now face more life-threatening dangers from the weather and environmental conditions in Bangladesh, says the UN Migration Agency on Monday.
The sun to be cooler by 2050
The sun might be unusually cool by 2050, according to a new study. Based on the cooling spiral of recent solar cycles, scientists from University of California, San Diego believe the next “grand-minimum” is just decades away, during which the…
Bangkok’s school children kept indoors for smog
Lack of wind blamed for allowing accumulations of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and other harmful emissions to fester over several days Amy Sawitta Lefevre Residents in Bangkok, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, were warned on Thursday the city’s…
DCCI seeks measures to make doing business easier
Dhaka, Feb 11 – The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Abul Kasem Khan on Sunday sought steps to improve environment for doing business in the country.
Bangladeshi Children on a Russian Winter Adventure
Dhaka, Feb 10 – Eight Bangladeshi children between the age of 11 and 16 arrived Moscow in the early morning of February 9 to attend the traditional Russian winter adventure in the Penza region, roughly 600 km away from the…
EU teams to visit Rohingya camp Monday
Dhaka, Feb 10 (UNB) – Four teams of Members of European Parliament (MEPs) comprising 11 MEPs will visit a Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar on Monday to see their plight on the ground. One of the teams arrived here on…
18 films about food to inspire, outrage, and Mobilise
Danielle Nierenberg Film is an incredible tool for effecting change in the food system with its unique ability to educate, inspire, and grow the movement for sustainable food and farming. Film can transport viewers to unseen territories, from Colombian coffee-growing…
Walking the water scarce path of refugees
Amal Talbi co-authors: Lauren Nicole Core Imagine that you must flee home at once. You may be fleeing violence, social tensions, poor environmental conditions, or even persecution. You and your loved ones may walk for several days to find safety,…
Garment industry boom in BD leaving workers behind
By Naimul Haq Dhaka, Feb 9 (IPS) – Although Bangladesh has made remarkable recent strides like building green factories and meeting stringent safety standards, garment workers here are still paid one of the lowest minimum wages in the world.
British FS Boris Jonson in Dhaka to discuss Rohingya issue
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrived here on Friday afternoon on a two-day visit to discuss bilateral and regional issues with a special focus on the current Rohingya crisis.