Bangladesh has recently proposed to invest in hydroelectric projects in Nepal to expand its power options, reports Kathmandu Post. “In order to meet the growing demand, we are considering Nepal a big market that can fulfill our needs,” the premier…
Category: Think green
RUTA distributes warm cloths in Panchagarh
Rajshahi, 22 Jan – The Rajshahi University Teachers Association (RUTA) has distributed warm clothes to the cold affected poor and distressed people of Panchagarh to mitigate their sufferings.
Free Rupnagar canal of illegal establishments: HC
Dhaka, Jan 21 -The High Court on Sunday ordered the concerned authorities to take necessary steps for removing the illegal establishments on Rupnagar canal in Mirpur area of the city within one month.
The secret sauce for making the New Urban Agenda a success
Submitted by Luis Triveno , co-authors: Elkin Velasquez Monsalv Modernity’s most common story spanning national, cultural and religious borders is about people moving from rural areas to the cities. By 2030, 80% of the world’s population will be living in…
US Student extends support to accident victim BD student
Rajshahi, 19 Jan – At the benevolence of an American student, a Bangladeshi student Mesbaul Haque gets back his life from his critical condition.
How to rewrite the rules of globalisation
by Joseph Stiglitz How did globalization create such discontent in developed and developing countries alike? Nobel laureate and INET grantee Joseph Stiglitz explains. Stiglitz says that a corporate-driven policy agenda and the distorted economic views bolstering them have deepened inequality…
Solo photo show on Tea Tales begin at AF, Dhaka Friday
An 8-day solo photography exhibition titled “Cha Chakra: Tea Tales of Bangladesh” by Faiham Ebna Sharif will be inaugurated at La Galerie of Alliance Française, Dhaka on Friday, 19 January at 4.30 pm.
Democracy in crisis: Freedom in the world 2018
By Michael J. Abramowitz, President Democracy faced its most serious crisis in decades in 2017 as its basic tenets—including guarantees of free and fair elections, the rights of minorities, freedom of the press, and the rule of law—came under attack…
Sustainable energy critical for achieving Paris Climate Agreement
By Miroslav Lajčák Aby Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Jan 15 (IPS) – The Paris Agreement ushered in a new global approach to climate change. At the core of this agreement are the Nationally Determined Contributions. We are now implementing these…
Cold wave hits Rohingyas hard: Children worst victims
AKM Moinuddin & Tofail Ahmad, UNB Staff Writers Cox’s Bazar, Jan 14 – As a cold wave is sweeping several districts of the country causing sufferings to the poor and the elderly, Rohingyas, living in poorly-built shelters, are no exception…
Café bookstores with cozy environment to buy and read
Dhaka, Jan 14 – Some new bookstores, opened over the last one year in the city , offer booklovers not only an array of local and international books but also a cozy environment with the arrangement of light refreshments.
Rapid and rights-based responses to migrants, refugees urged
UN ESCAP Regional Consultation Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration 6-8 November 2017 – Statement of Asia and the Pacific The result of the process that civil society in Asia has drawn out after a series of consultations…
For democracy in Cambodia
Robert J. Burrowes A long-standing French protectorate briefly occupied by Japan during World War II, Cambodia became independent in 1953 as the French finally withdrew from Indochina. Under the leadership of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia remained officially neutral, including during…
The #MeToo movement disrupts commodification of feminism
By Rangita de Silva de Alwis UN, Jan 8 (IPS) – As the 62nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations in New York draws near, women from every corner of the world…
Clean energy sources manage to cut electricity bill in Chile
By Orlando Milesi Santiago, Jan 9 (IPS) – A 75 percent drop in electricity rates, thanks to a quadrupled clean generation capacity, is one of the legacies to be left in Chile by the administration of Michelle Bachelet, who steps…
2017 was a year of record-breaking climate events
By Kelly Levin We’re only a few days into the new year, but it’s already off to an extreme start. Washington DC, Jan 6 2018 (IPS) – Parts of the United States are experiencing blizzard and record low temperatures, with…
To resist robots invest in people
The rise of robots is inevitable, but the associated grim predictions around job losses aren’t. Asian Development Bank vice president Stephen Groff explains how countries can prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. By Stephen Groff A knitting factory in Bangladesh…
Balkan War Crimes: The promise and limits of int’l justice
The groundbreaking court brought many of the war’s worst criminals to justice, but more is needed to heal the region’s deep divisions. By Benjamin Ward and Param-Preet Singh Hundreds of men buried alive, men and women mutilated and slaughtered, children…
Project to check air pollution in Dhaka and Chittagong
Dhaka, Jan 9 – Environment and Forest Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud on Tuesday said the government is implementing clean air and sustainable environment (CASE) project to check air pollution in Dhaka and Chittagong.
Close all schools for a day – stop corporal punishment
A clarion call has gone out to Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, MP to close all schools and madrasas on January 13 for the day, by resolute anti-corporal punishment crusader Sir Frank Peters.
Billionaires, fiscal paradise, world’s debt, and victims
By Roberto Savio Rome, Jan 2 (IPS) – Among Bloomberg’s many profitable activities is a convenient Bloomberg Billionaires Index that has just published its findings for 2017. It covers only the 500 richest people, and it proudly announces that they…
2018 starts with record cold in parts of the Midwest
Des Moines, Jan 1 (AP/UNB) – Bone-chilling cold gripped the middle of the U.S. as 2018 began Monday, breaking a low-temperature record, icing some New Year’s celebrations and leading to at least two deaths attributed to exposure to the elements.
China’s ban on ivory trade comes into force
China has long been one of the world’s biggest markets for ivory, but as of 2018 all trade in ivory and ivory products in the country is illegal. The move is being hailed as a major development in efforts to…
2017 toll of environmental disasters on Earth
Hurricanes were more powerful, floods more debilitating and wildfires more damning in 2017. Mumbai: We entered into 2017 with promises of a new tomorrow and inhibitions about the uncertain future.
Rampal power plant impact on Sunderbans to emerge soon
Dhaka 30 Dec – Leaders of the National Committee to Protect Sundarbans said on Saturday that 13 research reports on the Sundarbans by world class scientists have been handed over to the prime minister’s SDG affairs coordinator Abul Kalam Azad.
Mainstreaming agrobiodiversity in sustainable food systems
Rome, Italy, 26 Dec – Bioversity International has recently published a book on mainstreaming agrobiodiversity in sustainable food systems. The book summarises evidence on the contribution of agricultural biodiversity to four interconnected dimensions: (1) diverse, healthy diets; (2) multiple benefits…
Typhoon that battered Philippines spares Vietnam
Hanoi, Dec 26 (AP/UNB) — A powerful storm that left a trail of death and destruction in the Philippines was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday and failed to make landfall in Vietnam.
The Vietnam War is not history for victims of Agent Orange
By Marjorie Cohn and Jonathan Moore Watching the Ken Burns-Lynn Novick 18-hour series, “The Vietnam War,” is an emotional experience. Whether you served in the US military during the war or marched in the streets to end it, you cannot…
Dubai’s RTA trialling hydrogen-powered taxis
Dubai’s Roads and Transports Authority (RTA) is trialling the region’s first hydrogen-powered electric vehicles, according to the Dubai Media Office. The Toyota Mirai will be put to the test as part of Dubai’s taxi fleet, in collaboration with Al Futtaim…
College principal held with Yaba pills in Rajshahi
Rajshahi – Members of Department of Narcotics Control on Saturday arrested a college principal with ten pieces of Yaba tablets from Kharail village at Mohanpur upazila in Rajshahi.