Dubai, Oct 30 (AP/UNB) – Saudi Arabia will allow women into sports stadiums as of next year, the kingdom’s latest step toward easing rules on gender segregation — but they will be seated in the so-called family section, an area…
Category: Feature
Adolescent health congress skirts abuse-trafficking issues
By Stella Paul New Delhi, Oct 30 (IPS) – Twenty-year-old Gogontlejang Phaladi of Mahalapye, Botswana is grateful she was never sent to a so-called “hyena” like scores of girls in neighbouring Malawi were.
Stopping child marriage forever
By Shahiduzzaman Dhaka, Bangladesh, Oct 30 (IPS) – The mother moved in like a tigress to save her cub. In 2015, when her 13-year-old daughter Shumi Akhter was about to be married off, Panna Begum pleaded with her husband, Dulal…
Kim visits cosmetics factory with wife, sister
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a cosmetics factory in Pyongyang, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju and sister Kim Yo-jong. State media released undated photos of the visit on Sunday. Both women are rarely seen in public. Ms…
Thai king’s 5-day funeral, yearlong mourning ends Sunday
The yearlong mourning period and elaborate five-day funeral rites for Thailand’s king of seven decades officially end Sunday when his relics and ashes are enshrined in the royal palace and two temples. During the ceremony at Bangkok’s Grand Palace, broadcast…
‘Those accusng Trump of sexual harassment are lying’
All women who have accused U.S. President Donald Trump of sexual harassment are lying, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday. The remarks came after Sanders was asked for the official White House position on the issue at…
‘Hand of God’ saved Indonesian teen from fatal factory fire
Tangerang, Oct 28 (AP/UNB) – The explosion came first, shocking 17-year-old Fitriyah and sending her running for the only exit of the Indonesian fireworks factory where she started work just the week before.
US Rabbis demand Israel stop selling arms to Myanmar
More than 300 American rabbis and cantors are petitioning Israel to stop selling weapons to Myanmar, which the U.N. says is responsible for ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims.
Five idols vandalised in Netrakona
Netrakona, Oct 27 – Miscreants damaged five idols of Hindu gods and goddesses at Sarbojonin Kali Temple at Baishdhar East Para in Sadar upazila early Thursday.
Google Earth discovers ancient stone gate in Saudi Arabia
Scientists have discovered about 400 previously undocumented stone structures known as ‘Gates’ in Saudi Arabia with the help of Google Earth imagery. While Saudi Arabia is largely thought of as barren mountains and desert, it was also home to an…
Campaign against attacks on Rohingya refugee girls
Dhaka, Oct 24 – Despite concerns being raised from various corners, no special awareness programme is visible in the Rohingya camps to help the children and young girls avoid falling victim to sexual predators and human traffickers.
Women leaders demand level playing field in polls
Dhaka – Women community leaders on Monday expressed their deep concern over the security of women candidates and voters during the elections and demanded level playing field for them in polls. They said the level playing field is always a…
Rohingya children still at acure risk: Unicef
Nearly two months since Rohingya families began fleeing en masse to Bangladesh, thousands of children and women are still without basic lifesaving services, UNICEF said today. The warning comes as representatives of donor governments and humanitarian organizations meet in Geneva…
How would world’s millennials combat racism?
A recent study by Pew concludes that over 58% of Americans believe racism is a “big problem” in society. H. Richard Milner, a noted researcher and expert on race and education at the University of Pittsburgh says that, “education is…
Women investors’ participation in BD share marker up
The country’s capital market is witnessing a surge of female investors, increasing their contributions to the national economy, according to official statistics. Modern technology has made their journeys in the share market easier, helping many keep the track of the…
Widower catches man having sex with dead wife in morgue
A grieving widower was shocked to find a male nurse having sex with his dead wife’s body when he went to see her for the final time in a hospital morgue.
12,000 Rohingya children driven into BD a week: Unicef
Dhaka, Oct 20 – Violence in Myanmar is driving up to 12,000 Rohingya children into Bangladesh every week putting them into danger of cholera and malnutrition, according to a new global report.
The Rohingya children robbed of their childhood
Dhaka, Oct 19 – A seven-year-old Rohingya girl Tahmina Akter was waiting for her parent who was in a queue to receive relief food for survival.
Monument of love – the Taj Mahal – at heart of political storm
Lucknow, Oct 19 (AP/UNB) — India’s famed monument of love, the white marble Taj Mahal, is finding itself at the heart of a political storm, with some members of the country’s ruling Hindu right-wing party claiming that the mausoleum built…
PM attends milad and doa for Sheikh Russell
Dhaka, Oct 18 – A milad and doa mahfil was held at Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi after Maghrib prayers today on the occasion of the 54th birthday of Sheikh Russell, the youngest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh…
Women pivotal to addressing hunger, malnutrition
New York, 13 Oct (IPS/Lakshmi Puri) — The 16th of October marks World Food Day, a reminder to the international community of the criticality of treating food security as a 21st Century priority if sustainable development, peace and security and…
Rape accused killed in Cox’s Bazar ‘gunfight’
Dhaka, Oct 17 – An accused of a rape case was killed in a reported gunfight with members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Kurushkul area of Sadar Upazila of Cox’s Bazar early Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Selim,…
Violation of varsity girls at Banani case trial begins
Dhaka – The Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 of Dhaka on Monday began the trial of the sensational Banani rape case with recording the depositions of the complainant.
Mass death of Antarctic penguin chicks alarm scientists
Almost the entire cohort of chicks from an Adelie penguin colony in the eastern Antarctic was wiped out by starvation last summer in what scientists say is only the second such incident in over 40 years. Researchers said Sunday the…
Bangladesh’s baul (mystic) saint Lalon Fakir remembered
The 127th death anniversary of Fakir Lalon Shah, the most prominent figure of country’s baul tradition, will be observed here today amid tight security measures. Marking his death anniversary, different programmes including a three-day fair from October 16 to 18,…
Sharapova wins first title since 2015
Former world number one Maria Sharapova won her first title since May 2015, beating Aryna Sabalenka 7-5 7-6 (10-8) in the Tianjin Open final. The 30-year-old Russian was playing her seventh event since she returned to the tour in April…
Motion Picture Academy expels movie mogul Harvey Weinstein
Los Angeles, Oct 15 (AP/UNB) — In a move virtually unprecedented, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was revoked Saturday by its board.
Notre Dame College Ex-principal Benjamin Costa no more
Dhaka, Oct 13 – First acting Vice-chancellor of Notre Dame University Bangladesh and former Notre Dame College Principal Father Benjamin Costa CSC passed away at a city hospital here on Friday. He was 75.
Intellectual property: Draft texts on IGC dilute mandate
Geneva, 11 Oct (K M Gopakumar) – The draft decision text on the mandate and work program of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) dilutes the existing mandate given by the General…
Yangon’s first step to ease Buddhist-Muslim tension
Myanmar on Tuesday launched its first bid to improve relations between Buddhists and Muslims since an eruption of deadly violence in August inflamed communal tension and triggered an exodus of some 520,000 Muslims to Bangladesh, Reuters news agency has reported.