Getting hotter: Heat stress rises for Dhaka’s poor as green spaces shrink
MD TAHMID ZAMI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports that as temperatures soar in Bangladesh’s crowded capital, accessing cooler spots like parks is getting harder…
Firefighters, army douse massive fire in Bangladesh market
Dhaka, BangladeshReuters Firefighters and army personnel have extinguished a fire that ripped through a crowded shopping complex in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka early on Tuesday, injuring several firefighters and burning down some 5,000 stores. The complex hosts some 3,000 shops in the Bangabazar area, home to the country’s famed cloth markets. The blaze broke out in […]
Explosion kills 15 in crowded market in Bangladesh capital
Dhaka, Bangladsh Reuters At least 15 people were killed and several others injured in an explosion in a crowded market area in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on Tuesday, a local fire service official said. The blast occurred inside a seven-story building, causing heavy damage to two floors, the official added. Firefighters and rescue workers are seen […]
Hundreds of thousands evacuated as Bangladesh braces for cyclone
Dhaka, BangladeshReuters Authorities in Bangladesh were evacuating hundreds of thousands of people on Monday before Cyclone Sitrang made landfall amid fears of heavy damage to houses and crops and disruption to road and power links. Approaching from the Bay of Bengal, Sitrang was expected to hit the southern coast near the Khepupara area of the […]
Essay: Megacity slums are incubators of disease – but coronavirus response isn’t helping the billion people who live in them
In an article first published on The Conversation, ROBERT MUGGAH of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and RICHARD FLORIDA, of the University of Toronto, look at why the world’s biggest city slums are particularly vulnerable to disease outbreaks like the coronavirus pandemic…
Deadly Dhaka blaze prompts calls for government action on building safety
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Bangladesh must enforce its building code and safety regulations if it is to avoid more disasters like the fire that killed at least 70 people in a centuries-old neighbourhood of the capital this week, experts said. The fire in Chawkbazar, a commercial region in Old Dhaka, began on Wednesday night in […]
Bangladesh’s PM says anyone who offends Islam will be prosecuted
World Watch Monitor Bangladesh’s Prime Minister has pledged that anyone who offends Islam or its prophet will be prosecuted. Sheikh Hasina said the religion of Bangladesh “is Islam”. “Anyone who pronounces offensive comments against it, or against the Prophet Muhammad, will be prosecuted according to the law,” she said, as reported by Asia News. Her comments […]
BANGLADESH: “I ONLY DID IT FOR THE MONEY” – HOW CLIMATE DISPLACEMENT IS PUSHING GIRLS INTO PROSTITUTION
OTTO SIMONSSON, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from Dhaka…
Catholic priest missing as Pope Francis arrives in Bangladesh
World Watch Monitor Pope Francis has arrived in Bangladesh, where a Catholic priest disappeared three days ago, highlighting the pressure Christians and other minority groups are under in the mainly Muslim country. Father Walter William Rozario, who is also the headmaster of a high school, went missing in northern Natore district on 27th November, on […]