Special Content
Halloween: A thousand-year-old celebration born from the memory of the dead
It is the final evening of the year. Darkness begins to gather. Fires burn in some places, while masked figures move through the streets. According to an ancient belief, on this night the invisible boundary separating the worlds of the living and the dead becomes unusually thin.
Jannatul Naeem to take coastal communities’ voices to Global Climate Summit
Jannatul S M Naeem, a young climate activist from the coastal Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira district in southwestern Bangladesh, has secured an opportunity to represent Bangladeshi youth at the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Five villages on alert as Royal Bengal Tiger spotted near Sharankhola locality
Panic has gripped five villages in Sharankhola upazila of Bagerhat district after a tiger reportedly strayed into a settlement from the Sundarbans. Forest officials are using drones to search paddy fields for the animal, while villagers have reduced their movement at night. Residents have reported pugmarks in rice fields and other locations, prompting forest guards and members of local tiger response and patrol groups to launch public awareness campaigns.
Thousands of families face drinking water crisis in coastal Gabura
A government-built scenic complex that serves as a vital source of safe drinking water for thousands of people in Gabura Union, Shyamnagar upazila, Satkhira, is at risk of being lost to river erosion and saltwater intrusion because of years of neglect.
39 percent of sundari trees in sundarbans affected by top-dying disease, concern rising
Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) and Arannyak Foundation have found that 39 percent of sundari trees in the Sundarbans are affected by top-dying disease. In numerical terms, nearly 12 crore 95 lakh trees are affected. Of these, 2 crore 2 lakh 40 thousand trees are severely damaged. Increased salinity, reduced freshwater flow and climate change along with various environmental pressures have created fresh concern over the existence of sundari trees. The research has also revealed that the carbon absorption capacity of the Sundarbans has decreased by 15 percent. This has raised concern about the forest’s natural balance, biodiversity and its role in tackling climate change.
Why does LPG shortage hit market before price hikes?
An artificial shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders appears to develop about two weeks before a new price hike is announced. Once the revised prices take effect, supplies return to normal.
Hemanta in change of seasons, is nature losing its familiar form?
The turn of change has again come on the canvas of nature. Crossing the white cloud rafts in the blue sky of autumn and the swaying of kash flowers, the counting of the days of Hemanta has started on the pages of the calendar. Kartik and Agrahayan—these two months make up Hemanta, the fourth season of the six seasons of Bengal. This season knocks at the door of nature with the arrival message of winter. But with the change of time, is that ever-familiar form of Hemanta gradually fading?
171 killed in mob violence in 9 months: Where is the rule of law?
Allegations are supposed to be heard in a court of law, and punishment imposed by the state only after guilt has been established. Yet an increasingly troubling pattern is emerging in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s prisons at breaking point: 226 inmates for every 100 places
Prison walls are meant to keep inmates behind bars, but overcrowding is stripping away even their last measure of comfort. Facilities intended to hold people awaiting trial have become places where finding room to sleep is a daily struggle. Burdened with more than twice their intended population, Bangladesh’s prisons have become a stark reflection of a growing humanitarian crisis.
‘Don’t go to bring dad back without me’
“None of you should go to bring Dad back without me. I want to go and bring him home too.”