Stephanie Nebehay Geneva (Reuters) – Myanmar’s security forces may be guilty of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority and more of them are fleeing despite a deal between Myanmar and Bangladesh to send them home, the top U.N. human rights…
Category: Environment
Toxic pollution puts babies’ brain at risk
As New Delhi and other major cities hit new toxic smog peaks, the United Nations sounded the alarm Wednesday over the damage that pollution is doing to babies’ developing brains. The UN’s children’s agency, UNICEF, said Asia accounts for more…
Govt-private sector-NGO collaboration urged for SDGs
Speakers at the “Citizen’s Conference on SDGs in Bangladesh” have urged the government to ensure its partnership with private sector, civil society and NGOs to implement programmes to achieve the sustainable development goals, set by the United Nations.
Honoring soil scientists on World Soil Day
13 soil scientists to watch Danielle Nierenberg Soil performs a variety of vital functions, including supporting plant and animal life and filtering contaminants from water and the air. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) asserts that “soils need to…
Rohingya refugees face fresh ordeal in crowded camps
By Naimul Haq In this special series of reports, IPS journalists travel to the border region between Bangladesh and Myanmar to speak with Rohingya refugees, humanitarian workers and officials about the still-unfolding human rights and health crises facing this long-marginalized…
Trump removes protection for swaths of Utah parks
US President Donald Trump slashed the size of two Utah conservation areas Monday, the first such large-scale reversal in more than 100 years. Trump traveled to Salt Lake City to announce that he was cutting 85 percent of the vast…
Indigenous people guardians of Brazil’s threatened forests
By Mario Osava Rio De Janeiro, Dec 4 (IPS) – Indigenous peoples, recognised as the best guardians of the world’s forests, are losing some battles in Brazil in the face of intensified pressure from the expansion of agriculture, mining and…
When medicines don’t work anymore
By Martin Khor The crisis of antibiotic resistance has gotten worse, and a global action plan must be launched urgently, most appropriately at the World Health Assembly in May. PENANG, Malaysia, Dec 4 (IPS) – The growing crisis of antibiotic…
World gathers in Nairobi to tackle menace of pollution
Over 4,000 heads of state, ministers, business leaders, UN officials and civil society representatives gathered Monday at the third UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi to tackle the global menace of pollution.
1.7 million children die for unhealthy environment every year
Bhopal, Chernobyl, and Minamata – these environmental disasters shocked the world. Yet, pollution results not only from catastrophic accidents but also from years of silent exposure. Children’s developing bodies are particularly vulnerable. According to the World Health Organization, some 1.7…
Asthma sufferers advised to wear scarf around nose to stop attack
Asthma sufferers are being encouraged to wear a scarf over their nose and mouth to prevent asthma attacks this winter. Breathing in cold, damp air can make the airways tighten and trigger an attack in three out of four people,…
Cricketers flounder in New Delhi’s hazardous smog
Indian and Sri Lankan cricketers battled through hazardous smog levels in a Test match Monday as New Delhi authorities faced scathing criticism over their lack of action to combat pollution. A day after protests by Sri Lankan players temporarily halted…
One-third of $434m fund for Rohingyas raised so far
Dhaka, Dec 4 – Only 34 percent of the $434 million needed to provide assistance to 1.2 million people, including host communities in Cox’s Bazar district, has been raised when Rohingyas are still suffering from various problems, says a new…
Viewing water policies through a gendered lens
Tanusree Paul Despite the international recognition accorded to the key role played by women in issues around water, the extent to which India’s national water policies accommodate gender concerns remains to be examined. Based on an in-depth content analysis of…
Sri Lankan Players vomit due to smog in New Delhi
Pollution stopped play on Sunday in the third Test between India and Sri Lanka, and visiting coach Nic Pothas said
Pope defends his position regarding Myanmar
Pope Francis has said he did not negotiate truths in the meeting with Myanmar’s military leaders including armed forces’ commander in chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as he met them during his Burma tour.
Arctic, major fishing nations agree no fishing in Arctic, for now
Arctic and major fishing nations, including China, announced Friday that they have agreed to a moratorium on commercial fishing in Arctic waters before a fishery in the icy region is even feasible. The far north is warming at nearly twice…
“What price do we put on our oceans?”
By Manipadma Jena Nairobi/New Delhi, Dec 1 (IPS) – “Political resolve is the key for succeeding in our fight against oceans pollution,” Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment, who is leading hands-on the organisation’s global campaign to clean up seas…
Govt doing politics with Rohingya issue: BNP
Dhaka, Dec 2 – Opposing the government’s plan to rehabilitate Rohingyas at Noakhali’s Bhasan Char, BNP senior leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain on Saturday alleged that it is trying to do politics using the Rohingyas.
Annisul Huq laid to eternal rest
Dhaka, Dec 2 – Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Annisul Huq, who passed away at a London hospital on Thursday while undergoing treatment, was laid to eternal rest here on Saturday afternoon. He was buried at Banani Graveyard at…
Annisul will be buried next to his mother at Banani
Dhaka – The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCCC) mayor Anisul Haque will be buried next to his mother’s grave. ASM Mamun, DNCC Public Relations Officer said that he will be buried next to his mother, mother-in-law and younger son Sharaful…
Obama digs at Trump over climate change
Former US president Barack Obama launched a veiled barb at his successor Donald Trump on Friday, saying there is “a pause in American leadership” on climate change. Since leaving office in January, Obama has been relatively restrained in his comments…
Should environmental refugees be granted asylum status?
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Nov 29 2017 (IPS) – The 1951 UN convention on political refugees– which never foresaw the phenomenon of climate change– permits refugee status only if one “has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her…
Reducing the health burden due to pollution
By Olusoji O. Adeyi and Julia Bucknall Heavy smog compelled New Delhi to declare a pollution emergency last week. As air pollution soared to hazardous levels and residents donned masks, India’s capital took a series of measures, such as banning…
Killing biosphere to fast-track human extinction
Robert J. Burrowes Several years ago in Cameroon, a country in West Africa, a Western Black Rhinoceros was killed. It was the last of its kind on Earth. Hence, the Western Black Rhinoceros, the largest subspecies of rhinoceros which had…
For Rohingyas every day is a nightmare
Parul Akhtar, a Rohingya woman in her mid-twenties, may never wish to remember the homeland she and her children left about three weeks ago. Too scared to speak out, Parul, the mother of two young children, rests inside the makeshift…
Rising seas may submerge 13,000 US historical sites
An expected sea level rise of just a few feet (one meter) will submerge more than 13,000 places of archeological significance in the southeastern United States, researchers said Wednesday. Burial grounds, early settlements, and space agency launchpads are among the…
EC has ‘obligation to block Bayer-Monsanto merger’
A new legal study by University College London urges the European Commission “to take action and to block the proposed merger between Bayer and Monsanto, whether viewed through a narrow competition lens or a wider scope of social and environmental…
Six dies of suffocation sleeping beside lit woven in India
Six men died while in sleep apparently due to suffocation inside a huge container in Indian capital city of New Delhi, police said Wednesday. “The men working with a caterer slept in a huge container, which also had a coal…
Pope calls for forgiveness – healing old wounds
Pope Francis urged Myanmar’s long-suffering ethnic minorities to resist the temptation to exact revenge for the hurt they have endured, preaching a message of forgiveness Wednesday to a huge crowd in his first public Mass in the predominantly Buddhist nation.…