Washington, Oct 10 (AP/UNB) — People make poor economic choices. They don’t save enough for retirement. They refuse to cut their losses on plummeting investments because they won’t own up to mistakes. They buy houses and stocks when prices are…
Category: Op-Ed
A world without exhaust pipes
Monica Araya The growing popularity of electric vehicles is set to curb one of the largest sources of global pollution. But a consumption bias continues to impede many buyers’ embrace of the technology, and until it is addressed, electric mobility…
World Mental Health Day Tuesday
The “World Mental Health Day” will be observed in the county as elsewhere of the globe tomorrow in a befitting manner with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues. This year’s theme of the day is “Mental…
Japan scientists grow drugs in chicken eggs
Japanese researchers have genetically engineered hens whose eggs contain drugs that can fight serious diseases including cancer, in a bid to dramatically reduce the cost of treatment, a report said Monday. If the scientists are able to safely produce “interferon…
Land holding records and maps in BD scanned – digitised
Dhaka, Oct 8 – As part of digitising the country’s land management, some 65 lakh bhumi khatians (records of land rights) have been scanned and indexed into a computerised system. 65 lakh khatians, 18,500 map-sheets scanned and indexed into the…
Disrupting climate change
Jules Kortenhorst Despite a surge of apocalyptic weather and fears of runaway climate change, there is still time to stem global warming and save the planet. The clean-energy transformation has already begun – and it will play out faster than…
Prince Charles worns of ‘plastic on the manu’ in world’s fish
Britain’s Prince Charles said that plastic is now “on the menu” in the fish we eat and called for decisive action as he opened a conference Thursday on protecting the world’s oceans. The heir to the British throne, a long-time…
‘Dhaka lobbbies multilaterally keeping bilateral door open’
Dhaka, Oct 7 – Bangladesh continues its strong international lobbying keeping the bilateral door open to ‘peacefully resolve’ the Rohingya issue at the earliest, says a top government official. “We’re strongly lobbying. National interest comes first. At the same time,…
Nobel says to korea nuke players: We are watching
They couldn’t award it to Kim Jong Un or Donald Trump; that much was certain. But the granting of the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons opened itself to a clear interpretation across Asia: When…
Integrate nutrition into national policies, budgets: UN
In October 2015, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) requested the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) to prepare a report on Nutrition and Food Systems, to be presented at CFS 44, which starts on…
19 Unique and innovative farm-to-school programmes
Danielle Nierenberg October is national Farm-to-School Month in the United States. It’s a time to celebrate the connections between schools, farmers, and locally and regionally produced foods. Each year, millions of students, farmers, and communities across North America celebrate the…
Carving out forest land to shelter desperate Rohingya
Dhaka (Reuters) – Hard-pressed to find space for a massive influx of Rohingya Muslim refugees, Bangladesh plans to chop down forest trees to extend a tent city sheltering destitute families fleeing ethnic violence in neighbouring Myanmar.
Buddhists celebrate Prabarana Purnima
Dhaka, Oct 5 – The Buddhist community today celebrated their second largest festival, Prabarana Purnima, in the city as elsewhere in the country in a befitting manner and with due solemnity. The festival is also known as Ashvini Purnima that…
british author Kazou Ishiguro wins Nobel Price for Literature
British author Kazuo Ishiguro, best known for his novel “The Remains of the Day”, won the Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday, the Swedish Academy said. The 62-year-old, “in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory…
Back-to-back hurricanes take heavy toll on the Caribbean
By António Guterres UN, Oct 4 (IPS) – As you know, we are coming off a jam-packed High-level week and the opening of the General Assembly. Some of the most important speeches during that period came from leaders of Caribbean…
The world running out of much needed new antibiotics
By Baher Kamal Rome, Oct 4 (IPS) – The world is running out of new antibiotics to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, a new specialised report warns ahead of this year’s World Antibiotic Awareness Week, adding that most…
Five reasons US gun control won’t happen
Anthony Zurcher In the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, gun control advocates are renewing calls for tightening regulation on firearms.
Jessia awarded Miss World Bangladesh after fraud report
Dhaka, Oct 4 – The Miss World Bangladesh-2017 fracas has taken away the crown from Jannatul Nayeem Avril and announced Jessia Islam the new winner. Avril, who was crowned Saturday at the end of a gala night, was disqualified after…
Myanmar beauty queen ‘dethroned over Rohingya video’
A Burmese beauty queen has claimed she was stripped of her pageant title over a video she made on the ongoing violence in Rakhine state.
HIV patients ‘getting old before their time’
Neena Bhandari Melbourne – While combination antiretroviral therapy has meant that people with HIV can live longer lives, research shows that the virus makes fundamental changes to the immune system by increasing the risk of developing age-related conditions.
Most countries lagging on health SDGs
Neena Bhandari Sydney: Scientists warn that unless significant political and financial investments are made, many countries will not meet the health-related UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Women and girls: The hardest hit Rohingya refugees
By Paolo Lubrano Dhaka, Oct (IPS) – Of the nearly half a million Rohingya refugees who’ve fled across the border and have sought refuge in Bangladesh, women and girls are the most at risk, sleeping under open skies, roadsides, and…
Euro enlargement between convergence and (de)financialisation
The White Paper on the future of Europe presented five forward scenarios: (1) delivering a positive reform agenda, (2) focusing on the single market, (3) making additional arrangements for deepening cooperation, (4) focusing on selected policy reforms, and, (5) fostering…
Suffering from diabetes? Eating broccoli can help
Eating broccoli sprouts may help diabetes patients manage their blood sugar, according to a new study which offers a much needed alternative to address the worldwide epidemic.Eating broccoli sprouts may help diabetes patients manage their blood sugar, according to a…
UAE Law on domestic workers is worth learning from
A law stipulating working conditions for domestic workers, including a regular weekly day off, 30 days of paid annual leave and the right to retain personal documents, was approved by UAE President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,…
Making right to development a reality for everyone
Geneva(Kanaga Raja) – More than 30 years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, business-as-usual will not be sufficient to achieve progress, a United Nations human rights expert has said.
US Drug Admin approves Lilly pill for breast cancer
Dhaka, Sep 29 (AP/UNB) – U.S. regulators have approved a new medicine for treating a common type of breast cancer after it has spread to other parts of the body.
The effects of a single terrorist nuclear bomb
Matthew BunnNickolas Roth The escalating threats between North Korea and the United States make it easy to forget the “nuclear nightmare,” as former US Secretary of Defense William J. Perry put it, that could result even from the use of…
Can circular economy really make world more sustainable?
John Mulrow Imagine that 100 percent of the recyclable materials that are currently headed for landfills are captured and re-processed into new products. This dreamy vision of the future is often referred to as “the circular economy,” and we aren’t…