Among all fabrics available silk fabric is the most expensive and rich. It is considered in all countries irrespective of the culture and dressing sense. Silk may vary from countries to countries, name can be changed but the main material of the fabric that is silk is unchanged and maintains the elegance throughout ages and ... Read more
Sections
Bees Can Say ‘Stop’
The finding shows that bee colonies behave more like giant, single beasts than as individual insects. THE GIST: 0 Bees can tell others in their colony to avoid troublesome places. 0 This is the first time a “negative” bee signal has been identified. 0 The bees doing the warning can target the bees who are ... Read more
Population, a growth engine
Rohan Samarajiva I was surprised, during my last stay in Dhaka, to read a magazine article about Bangladesh’s “population problem” that made no reference to demographic structure. Modern scholarship no longer sees population solely as a burden, understanding that the relevant question is not about the size of the population as such, but about its ... Read more
Digital innovation fair: An assessment
Habibullah N Karim Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 4 inaugurated the first-ever government sponsored ICT fair of the country at Bangabandhu Novo Theatre complex in Dhaka. The country has had many ICT fairs since the late eighties but those are all sponsored and organised by the private sector. The Digital Innovation Fair is the ... Read more
Slums: Human rights live here
More than 1 billion people across all continents live in slums. These communities, characterized by inadequate housing, lack of basic services, overcrowding, and high levels of violence and insecurity, are also places where residents live, work, and raise their children. Yet, many governments are failing in their duty to protect the rights of these people. Global ... Read more
Climate change: Whispering from the Sunderbans
Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman Due to increased rate of emissions of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and chlorofluorocarbons) from different sources such as burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other human activities, the rate of global temperature increase accelerated from +0.6°C over the past century to an equivalent rate of +1.0°C per ... Read more
European hemeroby approach for appropriate measuring
Human Impacts on Nature European hemeroby approach for appropriate measuring Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman Nature conservation anchors a discourse that articulates a nexus of nature-culture-artificiality-stability-biodiversity. The concepts of human disturbances have been enjoying increasing popularity in the discussion of biodiversity conservation. Anthropogenic behaviour that harms nature” or “human activities contrary to nature” leads to unnatural ... Read more
Bangladesh IT industry going global
From The Daily Star Bangladesh IT industry going global Habibullah N Karim The information technology industry in Bangladesh has gradually come of age and today accounts for more than Taka 25 billion or USD350 million in annual revenues. It is still a tiny blip compared to a GDP nearing USD100 billion but it’s a noticeable ... Read more
Impact of climate change on St. Martin’s Island
Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman Global climate change poses a high risk to the biodiversity of coral reefs of St. Martin’s. The major threats to the coral reefs are high levels of sedimentation, cyclones, storm surges and beach erosion. Global warming is a matter of major concern for coral reefs of this island as elsewhere. St. ... Read more
Parthenium weed poses danger to crops
Parthenium, a newly discovered invasive and dangerous weed, has been posing a serious health problems to human beings and livestock and also causing loss of crops and vegetation in the country, reports The New Nation The dangerous weed is affecting many countries in Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands causing serious environmental problems. It is ... Read more
Sundarban water warming faster than global average
In the Sundarbans, surface water temperature has been rising at the rate of 0.5 degree Celsius per decade over the past three decades, eight times the rate of global warming, says a new study, reports Times of India on Tuesday. That makes the Sundarbans one of the worst climate change hotspots on the globe. The ... Read more
Dhaka celebrating 400 years to project her glorious past
From WeeklyHoliday Abdur Rahman Khan A nation cannot progress without having a clear conviction and pride in her past glories. A citizen develops the feeling of esteem for his or her heritage through learning about the country’s historical and cultural legacy. This is why the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (ASB) have planned a three-year programme ... Read more
Towards a new paradigm for conserving biodiversity
From The Daily Star Morticulture Towards a new paradigm for conserving biodiversity Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman IT was not a poet but an American scientist, Mark Harmon, who nicknamed his field of study “morticulture”, to suggest the importance of managing the dead trees in the forest to maintain biodiversity. Deadwood plays a vital role for the ... Read more
Remittance and liquidity
Ma Taslim The governor of Bangladesh Bank seems to have come out of the early euphoria over the central bank’s rapidly increasing international reserves caused largely by remittances. Like most other people he was convinced of the virtues of an ever-increasing flow of remittances and large reserves. But the balance sheet of his bank, and ... Read more
Maoists returning to power in Nepal?
Shamsuddin Ahmed Are the Maoists returning to power or taking over power in Nepal? UCPN Maoist supreme leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda has claimed Tuesday his party will soon form a national government. He did not elaborate how UCPN (Maoist) will form the national government. Will he succeed to rally support of the majority ... Read more
Poison River Threatens Millions in Bangladesh
It was once the lifeline of the Bangladeshi capital. But the once mighty Buriganga River, which flows by Dhaka, is now one of the most polluted rivers in Bangladesh because of rampant dumping of industrial and human waste. “Much of the Buriganga is now gone, having fallen to insatiable land grabbers and industries dumping untreated ... Read more
Polluted rivers, risky water
Prof Mustafizur Rahman Tarafdar The water of Buriganga, Balu, Sitalakhya and Turag are severely polluted. No biological survival can occur there as oxygen is depleted and might have reached nearly O level! Oxygen level in fresh river water is 9mg/l at 20ºc and 7.6mg/l at 30ºc (Summer). BOD5 (consumption of oxygen for decomposition of microbs) ... Read more
Recession phobia
Md. Shairul Mashreque AT the beginning of the new millennium the world has been beset by an insurmountable challenge in the wake of global recession. Economic downhill-slide in major capitalist countries in the north, which boast of having strong economies, threatens to affect countries in the south — especially the least developed countries (LDCs). The ... Read more
Singh is King: Lessons for Bangladesh
Hassanuzzaman DR. Manmohan Singh has indeed proven himself to be the king of South Asian leaders by repeating history after nearly five decades. The Indian National Congress (INC) won a landslide victory in which it, along with its allies, now holds 262 seats in the parliament. Singh’s entry in 1991 as the finance minister of ... Read more
Climate change impact: Unplanned shrimp cultivation threatens environment
In view of the economic recession, particularly in the USA and European countries, the prices of frozen food in the international markets has fallen up to 40 to 45 percent posing a threat to the industry in Bangladesh. “A red alert hovers over the frozen foods industry,” said Sheikh Abdul Baki, Vice President of Bangladesh ... Read more