Spectre of hunger
Rising food prices could spark worldwide unrest and threaten political stability, the United Nations
News
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A perfect 10
The Indian Space Research Organisation makes history by launching 10 satellites in one flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
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One killed, 13 hurt by tornado in northern Colorado
A large tornado bounced through several northern Colorado towns on Thursday, killing at least one person, damaging or destroying dozens of homes and flipping over tractor-trailers and freight rail cars. Dazed residents retrieved what they could from their homes in Windsor, a town of 16,000 about 70 miles north of Denver that was hardest hit. Power crews removed downed lines and poles from streets and bulldozers cleared debris.
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Bird-flu risk in 6 districts
Avian Influenza Control Project has said six districts bordering India are at risk of bird flu. According to Dr Manas Kumar Banerjee, coordinator of Avian Influenza Control Project of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division under Ministry of Health and Population, Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar, Taplejung, Sunsari and Morang districts are at risk of the flu. "There is embargo on the import of poultry items but despite the ban, items like white eggs which are found only in India are also found in the local market of the mentioned districts," said Dr Banerjee.
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Prices of diesel, kerosene up in Barisal
The prices of diesel and kerosene have registered a sudden increase in Barisal over the couple of days reportedly due to artificial supply shortage created by a section of traders. Local said diesel and kerosene prices had increased in the city by Tk 7.00 to 10.00 per litre. Oil depot sources said they had supplied kerosene at Tk 7, 842 per barrel and diesel at Tk 7, 762 per barrel to the dealers. The dealers have been directed to sell those at Tk 8,000 per barrel in the wholesale markets.
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Google Earth users can see effect of climate change
Google Earth users around the world will be able to see how climate change could affect the planet and its people over the next century, along with viewing the loss of Antarctic ice shelves over the last 50 years, thanks to a new project. The project, Climate Change in Our World, is the product of a collaboration between Google, the UK government, the UK Met Office Hadley Centre and the British Antarctic Survey to provide two new
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Diseases spread for lack of knowledge about sanitation'
Speakers at a daylong workshop on Thursday emphasised the need for making the sanitation programme compulsory through out the country for getting relief from various waterborne diseases. At least 80 per cent diseases spread in the country due to lack of proper knowledge about sanitation, they said and urged the authorities concerned to set up sanitary latrines in the rural areas.
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One killed, 13 hurt by tornado in northern Colorado
A large tornado bounced through several northern Colorado towns on Thursday, killing at least one person, damaging or destroying dozens of homes and flipping over tractor-trailers and freight rail cars. Dazed residents retrieved what they could from their homes in Windsor, a town of 16,000 about 70 miles north of Denver that was hardest hit. Power crews removed downed lines and poles from streets and bulldozers cleared debris.
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Tainted pet food suit settled for $24 million
Menu Foods, other pet food makers and retailers involved in last year's massive pet food recall will set up a $24 million cash fund to compensate pet owners, according to a proposed settlement filed Thursday in federal court. The fund is expected to compensate thousands of pet owners in the U.S. and Canada who bought recalled pet foods made by Menu and 11 others. The products had a contaminated ingredient from China that sickened dogs and cats.
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Water crisis turns acute in Dakope upazila in Khulna
People in almost all the villages under Dakope upazila in Khulna are suffering acute crisis of drinking water in the current summer. Water of all the tube wells excepting a few in the upazila are not safe for drinking as it is contaminated with arsenic and contains high salinity, local people said. Besides, most of the pond sand filters (PSF) installed by the Department of Public Health Engineering remain inoperative, worsening the situation, they said.
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'Restrict alien species of trees, animals to save biodiversity'
Experts at a discussion yesterday urged the government to restrict introduction of alien species of trees and animals into the biological diversity of the country as they harm biodiversity and agriculture. Mass awareness should be created along with the long-term plan to protect the biodiversity of the country, they added. The discussion was organised by Water Resources Planning Organisation (Warpo) to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity in the city with its Director General (DG) M Enamul Haque in the chair.
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No-lose' carbon limits may lure poor nations, says EU
The European Union may entice developing nations including China into a global climate agreement by setting "no-lose'' greenhouse-gas targets, which offer incentives to cut emissions and no penalty for failure. Targets may be unveiled for industries such as power generation and steel, providing developing nations with carbon credits they could sell to richer countries with stricter limits, according to an EU document posted on a United Nations Web site. International negotiations take place next month in Bonn.
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Proper laws needed to check food adulteration
Upgradation of moral values, raising mass awareness, and formulation of proper laws and their strict implementation are the imperatives to check food adulteration in the country, said the speakers at a seminar yesterday. They urged the government to take punitive actions against those involved in the production and sale of adulterated food and run the anti-adulteration drive frequently to save the nation from ruin.
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Water pollution (letter)
Water is the most vital element and crucial for the survival of all living organisms. The environment, economic growth and development are highly influenced by water. Spatial and seasonal availability of surface and groundwater is highly responsive to the monsoon climate and physiography of the country and upstream withdrawal for consumptive and non-consumptive uses. Our country is the lower riparian of three major river systems, the Ganges-Padma, the Brahmaputra-Jamuna and the Meghna (GBM). The problem is that we have too much water during the monsoon and too little in the dry season.
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Child infected with bird flu virus cured
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) yesterday said a child was infected with the deadly H5N1, the strain of bird flu that infects people, in January this year and was cured before diagnosis. The DGHS, as part of its routine surveillance, sent a swab with samples from naso-pharyngeal of the 16-month-old boy to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta which confirmed the H5N1 infection Wednesday.
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Tk 520cr Aussie support for poverty reduction
Australia will donate Tk 520 crore over the next four years to lift the extreme poor out of poverty and improve health of women and children, says a press release. Visiting Deputy Director General of AusAID Richard Moore yesterday signed an agreement with representatives from Brac and UNICEF to this end. From the fund Tk 236 crore is provided to Brac to lift over four million people from extreme poverty in four years. The programme will provide grants to enable women set up small enterprises such as owning livestock, poultry or growing vegetable.
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A new great lake--or Dead Sea?
Turkmenistan intends to create a huge lake in the desert by filling a natural depression with drainage water. Critics say it's a bad idea that could even spark a war.
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Hurricanes won't go wild, according to climate models
Two new model studies project a modest increase or even a decrease in the frequency and intensity of Atlantic tropical cyclones.
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Fears of gastroenteritis outbreak loom
With the weather turning hot and humid, like other parts of the province reports of gastroenteritis particularly among children have started to pour in at various city hospitals. Cases pertaining to gastro/diarrhoea reported to various government hospitals across the province increased considerably during May. Reports have also been received pertaining to cholera epidemic in a district as well.
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Wheat production to drop slightly: FAO
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has forecast that wheat production in Pakistan this year will decline slightly because of dry conditions in some areas and a reduced use of inputs. However, the production may remain slightly above the average for the past five years, according to FAO's