Environment and Forests Minister Anwar Hossain Manju on Friday said the oil-spill impacts on the Sundarbans’ biodiversity are not as adverse as it was feared. “The biodiversity and the aquatic animals have surely been affected by the oil slick caused…
Daniel Mittler, Greenpeace International here is no question: COP20 utterly failed to translate the positive changes happening in the real world into the negotiated outcome. After China and the US had, for the first time ever together, agreed to reduce…
An extraorfinary general meeting (EGM) of the National Press Club on Monday decided to hold the bianniel general meeting and election of its managing committee by 31 March next, as against the schedule to get it done by 30 December,…
The authorities’ plan to clean up the spilled oil of ‘OT Southern Star 7’ by local people using foam and other oil-sucking materials got poor response as the furnace oil collection has become difficult due to its continuous spread to…
Washington, DC – The US Senate Intelligence Committee’s report summary on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) detention and interrogation program is a powerful denunciation of the agency’s extensive and systematic use of torture, Human Rights Watch said today. The 525-page…
Soscha de la Fuente, Dutch Youth Representative on Sustainable Development to the UN One of the big surprises for youth at this COP has been the Ministerial Declaration on Education and Awareness-raising, put forward by Peru and Poland. COP19 President…
Jessica Olson, Sierra Student Coalition As countries are called upon to raise ambitions regarding emissions targets, Gender Day stands as a reminder that ambition must encompass more cross-cutting issues. Gender Day emerged at COP18 in Doha and has since become…
The 12th annual general meeting (AGM) of the Bangladesh Water Partnership held at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) auditorium on Saturday decided to highlight in detail in its secretary general’s report the activities of the local area water partnerships,…
Civil society leaders from Asia, Africa and Latin America have urged government delegates attending the UNFCCC Cop-20 in Lima to consider the urgency of a legally binding climate deal while super typhoon Ruby is about to thrash on the Philippines.…
Robert J. Burrowes In a recent article, full of insight, Professor Bill Quigley identified ten different illegal actions police often take ‘to prevent people from exercising their constitutional rights’ to take nonviolent action to address a grievance. He noted that…
By Stephen Leahy Uxbridge, Canada (IPS) – This December, 195 nations plus the European Union will meet in Lima for two weeks for the crucial U.N. Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, known as COP 20. The hope in…
By Vaidehi Shah Former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday told 450 business leaders at the Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development that green growth is a “no-brainer” and urged them to put it into practice. “Governments must demonstrate…
Sushovan Dhar This region is termed ‘poor’ not because it lacks any potential –natural or human – but it has not been able to guarantee accountable democracy In a few days from now, the 18th Saarc summit will be held…
Robert J. Burrowes Several years ago, someone said to me: ‘The victim wouldn’t have it any other way.’ When I first heard this comment, it made no sense to me, largely because I had never appreciated being a victim of…
Manila – The Philippine government should investigate an alleged “death squad” implicated in several hundred killings in Tagum City on the southern island of Mindanao, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Official police records obtained by…
Sarah Margon In 2009, Nigerian police forces fighting Boko Haram in the northern city of Maiduguri lost about 30 officers in a violent firefight. The next day, they executed many of the men they had rounded up and detained as…
Mausi Segun The images of sorrowful parents, weeping profusely and brokenly asking when their daughters would be rescued, have struck a chord across Nigeria. The murmurs of discontent swelled with the government’s confused and inadequate responses to basic questions about…
Robert Fisk Lost lands are littered with the homes of those who lived there. Armenian houses in south-eastern Turkey. Abandoned Palestinian homes in Israel. German property in what was the Sudetenland and Prussia. There are Greek homes around Smyrna –…
Dr. Atiur Rahman SAARCFINANCE seminars are by now regular events drawing together policymakers and practitioners in member central banks for sharing experiences and ideas on issues of topical importance. Peer group networking created through such seminar events are affording them…
Absence of coordinated planning in tackling the fallouts of climate change may badly hurt Bangladesh’s food production despite having adequate knowledge and good practices, professionals have said. The final draft copy of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change’s 5th Assessment…
European countries contribute less to global technological development than other developed nations, and are pursuing intellectual property policies that are not “development friendly”, according to a study. European nations conduct most of the world’s research and development (R&D) and own…
Farming must feed more people more sustainably. Zareen Bharucha looks at scientific approaches past and present. Advances in agricultural science and technology (S&T) have contributed to remarkable increases in food production since the mid-twentieth century. Global agriculture has grown 2.5–3…
By Elham Asaad Buaras International NGOs have formally classed the killings and exodus of Muslims in the majority Christian Central African Republic (CAR) as ethnic cleansing “of historic proportions”. The humanitarian situation in the CAR has deteriorated since a coup…
Dr. M. S. Haq In, for example humans – cells form tissues, tissues form organs, groups of organs forms systems such as digestive system and nervous system – all working collectively, individually, and otherwise, as applicable for, among other things…
Dr. M. S. Haq During 2012 US presidential elections season, I wrote newspaper articles that dealt with inter alia: 01. analyses of election related ground realities of GOP, Democratic party, and others concerned; 02. identification of strengths of, and developmental…
Dr. M. S. Haq I have so far written a number of articles that dealt with inter alia – dissection of relevant editorials, post editorials of newspapers of Bangladesh; and suggestions for remedial measures, as appropriate though, in pertinent areas.…
By Nile Bowie General elections are widely seen as the answer to Thailand’s crippling political impasse, though Yingluck Shinawatra’s embattled government may be removed through either judicial or extra-legal means regardless of her performance at the polls. Protestors calling for…
Dr. M. S. Haq A few days ago, an ISPR statement said “Recently, in various universities and colleges of Bangladesh, departmental or personal initiative has been taken in development and research work on different drones or remote controlled light aircraft,”.…
Dr. M. S. Haq A black hole is believed to be a region of spacetime. The hole is surrounded by event horizons where gravity is very strong. As a result, all light that hits the horizon is absorbed and is…
Dr. M. S. Haq There are several causes of present day terrorism at local, global and other levels. The causes include inter alia and as appropriate: dissatisfactions, deprivations, inequities, inequalities, human rights violations, the right to life violations, paucities of…