Bangladesh has proposed the setting up of an environment court with powers to jail polluters for up to five years, officials said on Tuesday. They said the plan was endorsed by the cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday, and would soon be put before parliament for approval. Any citizen [...]

Rescuers pulled bodies from under chunks of mud covering mostly thatched huts before rescue work was suspended because of darkness, officials said. As the rain continued to pound, officials feared the toll could rise as scored remained missing. The country’s flood warning centre said most of the south-east had experienced heavy rainfall during the past [...]

BUET professor Ijaz Hossain on Thursday claimed that energy shortage annually causes nearly US$ 16.6 billion economic loss to the country. He made the claim while making a presentation on “the Impact of Power & Gas Crisis on the export-oriented manufacturing sector” at a luncheon meeting at Sonargaon Hotel in the city, organized by Dutch-Bangla [...]

Bangladeshi researchers have successfully decoded the jute plant genome opening up a new vista in the development of variety of the world’s most adorned biodegradable natural fibre.(The Daily Star) Experts said this gene sequencing would help improve the fibre length and quality, including colours and strength; and develop high yielding, saline soil- and pest-tolerant jute [...]

Allies of the ruling Awami League-led government have urged the ruling party not to go ahead with the draft health policy without their participation in the discussion process. Hasanul Haque Inu, president of Jatio Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), one of the partners of the Grand Alliance, said this at a round-table on health policy held at [...]

The next budget focuses on resolving energy and power crisis, finance minister AMA Muhith said on Wednesday. Power and energy is set to get the most emphasis on Thursday when Muhith proposes the Tk 1320 billion budget for the next fiscal year. Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat, the finance minister pointed out that the [...]

Overpopulated, largely poor, and environmentally degraded, the nation of Bangladesh has known its share of woes. Yet even in face of struggles, including a forest loss of over 90 percent, the women of Bangladesh are aiding the country’s struggling people and biodiversity through the establishment of some 20 million homegardens. Long-neglected by the government and [...]

The national budget for the fiscal year 2010-11 may stand at around Tk 1,32,200 crore giving priority to energy, agriculture, education and social welfare, and measures to curb price hike, official sources said. Finance Minister AMA Muhit is now giving a last minute check on budget documents before sending those to the government security printing [...]

Those who have succumbed to the charms of the hilsa will love this! Bangladesh is attempting to farm the fish – the country’s most delectable foreign exchange earner – in ponds, as its very existence is threatened by pollution, climate change and even over-consumption. Researchers at Chandpur Fisheries Research Institute have taken to farming the [...]

New Moore in the Sunderbans sinks below waves. For nearly 30 years, India and Bangladesh have argued over control of a tiny rock island in the Bay of Bengal. Now rising sea levels have resolved the dispute for them: the island has gone. New Moore island in the Sunderbans has been completely submerged, said oceanographer Sugata Hazra, [...]