The number of child labour in climate change affected countries like Bangladesh may rise in near future as the change may make it more difficult for children to attend school whose families struggle to survive, warned Save the Children, UK. In a new report titled ‘Feeling the Heat: Child Survival in a Changing Climate’ the ... Read more
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Mindless destruction of coastal green belt
Only 200 trees are left on the green forest belt developed on some 125 acres of land along the Sonaichhari coast under Sitakunda upazila in Chittagong. Massive plundering of trees in two phases within a
Leather industry sees Eid bonanza
Leather industry people are seen happy this year with increased supply of rawhides at lower prices from the sacrificed animals in Eid-ul-Azha. They estimate that this year the supply would be increased by at least 10 per cent. In the past around 40 per cent of the country’s annual rawhide stocks came from sacrificed animals. ... Read more
Trees plundered again at coast
Some 5,000 trees felled in Sitakunda to clear space for ship-breaking yard From The Daily Star About 5,000 trees were razed in over half a kilometre of the forest belt at Sonachhari coast under Sitakunda upazila in Chittagong on Sunday night. According to officials, the wholesale felling of the trees was carried out with instructions ... Read more
unhygienic condition of public toilets in city
Women have little access to public toilets in the capital city, as there are no separate arrangements for them and most such facilities are unhygienic and not maintained properly. Dhaka City Corporation has around 100 public toilets in the city, but most of them do not have separate cubicles or space for women. Such situation ... Read more
Bangladesh’s 7.2 million under-5 children malnourished
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday released a report which said most of the world’s 83 million chronically undernourished children under five are in South Asia. The report said 24 countries bear 80 percent of the global burden of under nutrition and the top five are- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Nepal, Unicef ... Read more
Tax payment goes online in January
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) will complete the tasks for introducing an online tax payment system within next month to streamline the existing tax return submission procedure, said the chairman of the board yesterday. “We have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to initiate the online tax ... Read more
BTCL hits snags
State-owned BTCL has hit the doldrums, unable to provide new land phone connections in most metropolitan areas including Dhaka, but still has lofty plans. There are ten private sector operators providing land phone services across the country apart from BTCL. Together, the state-run and private companies provide just 1,571,748 land phone connections across a country ... Read more
People continue to suffer 5 months inside Aila
Food, water, sanitation still problems for Dacope people From NewAgebd Living became a nightmare for people of Dacope, an upazila in southwestern Khulna, after May 25 when the region was battered by water surges whipped up by cyclone Aila that ripped through the coastline into India. And it has not yet changed for the better ... Read more
Bangladesh readies flood-tolerant rice
3 varieties to prevent a million tonnes of crop loss a year From The Daily Star Bangladesh is set to officially release three flood-tolerant rice varieties that would help farmers prevent up to a million tonnes of annual crop loss caused by flash floods, researches said. Officials concerned told The Daily Star that these rice ... Read more
283 get plots at Uttara, Purbachal
3rd Phase Lottery 283 get plots at Uttara, Purbachal Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) yesterday announced the names of 283 plot winners of the third phase lotteries for Purbachal New Town Project and Uttara Model Town Project. Of the total, the names of 55 winners were picked in one category – journalist — for Purbachal project ... Read more
Mills to face sugarcane crisis
Ahead of beginning of the sugarcane crushing season, the government is worried about the availability of sugarcane to run the 15 state-owned sugar mills. The Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation has announced that sugarcane crushing at the government-owned mills would begin on November 13. The season will be inaugurated on the day at the ... Read more
Landline maker set for automation
Telephone Shilpa Sangstha Limited (TSS), the state-run telephone equipment manufacturer, is set to go under an automated production system by December, eyeing production of more than a thousand landline sets a day. “An automated system by the year-end will enable our company to make telecom equipment,” TSS Managing Director Mohammad Ismail told The Daily Star. ... Read more
Bangladesh ranks low in South Asia mobile use
Bangladesh’s mobile penetration rate stood at 28 percent in 2008 lagging behind war-ravaged Afghanistan’s 29 percent in South Asia, according to a regional report. “Of course, the fact that Afghanistan is ahead of Bangladesh in mobile penetration should cause all sorts of palpitations in government offices in Dhaka,” said the report tilted ‘Telecom Access Rankings ... Read more
Food festival starts today
A three-day British fusion food festival — Taste of Britain Curry Fest — is set to start at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel today, which will present the culinary success of British Bangladeshis in the UK. Dhaka Sheraton Hotel and Curry Life, a British magazine on UK’s fusion food industry, are co-organising the festival. GM Quader, civil ... Read more
Aila victims sink deeper
Woes of waterlogged victims compounded as they slip out of spotlight; thousands still live on embankments, aid flow stopped From The Daily Star Lutfar Gazi doesn’t even tries to recall that disastrous day when cyclone Aila ripped through the area he lives and wrecked havoc on his life in May this year. Since then he ... Read more
Dhakaia cuisine show held
From The New Nation Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, while celebrating 400 years of capital Dhaka, organised a day-long programme on the city’s traditional cuisine on Saturday. The programme included academic workshop in the morning and a food exhibition in the afternoon. In the workshop, experts presented 18 papers on various aspects of traditional Dhakaia cuisine, ... Read more
Developers see booming real estate sales next year
From The New Nation Bangladesh real estate sector has rebounded and is expected to achieve an impressive growth of 15 per cent in 2010 thanks to the government’s supportive policy for helping recover the sector even amid global recession. To boost the sluggish business hit by global meltdown and political turmoil, developers have taken a move ... Read more
Cox’s Bazar airport set for expansion
From The Daily Star The government has moved to expand the runway of Cox’s Bazar airport, aiming to upgrade it to international standards and offer foreign holidaymakers a hassle-free trip to the world’s longest unbroken sea beach. “We have taken steps to expand the runway at Cox’s Bazar airport and develop other facilities,” GM Quader, ... Read more
Making country CFC-free: Beximco brings new inhaler in market
From The New Nation Another brand of CFC-fee inhaler, manufactured by Beximco Pharma hit the market while international Ozone phase-out bodies seen it as a great private-public stride to phase out use of ozone depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Bangladesh as a signatory to Montreal Protocol, need to phase out use of all CFCs by December this ... Read more