Women Find a Green Midas Touch

On a hot and humid day in northwestern Bangladesh, Anisa Begum sits with a group of 25 homemakers, explaining how to use natural fertilisers to increase grain yield.

Bangladesh Workers Short of Compensation

Six months after the worst man-made disaster in Bangladesh’s history, safety conditions in garment factories have a chance to improve. But not the lives of survivors or the victims' next of kin.

Bangladesh Ailing After Aila

It has been four years since Cyclone Aila struck Bangladesh, triggering floods and widespread destruction. But the villagers of Koira subdistrict, among the worst affected of the 11 districts hit by the cyclone, are yet to recover from its impact.

100-Dollar Dream Teases Bangladesh Workers

On the industrial outskirts of Dhaka, which is dotted with big and small clothes factories, thousands of workers took to the streets demanding a minimum wage rise.

Aid Cuts Childbirth Risks in Bangladesh

Seven months pregnant, 24-year-old Shumi Begum has travelled 220 km from her village with her paternal grandmother to consult a specialist on childbirth.

Stronger Laws to Deter Acid Attacks on Women

Preeti Rathi was just 25 years old when she passed away in a Mumbai hospital exactly a month after a man threw acid on her while she stood waiting on a railway platform.

Fourth Estate Under Fire in Bangladesh

When it comes to media, Bangladesh boasts some impressive statistics: it has the largest number of outlets among the world’s least developed countries (LDCs), including 50 nationwide dailies, of which eight are English-language newspapers; 25 television channels; seven FM radio stations; 14 community radio channels and over 300 regional magazines published in English and Bengali.

New Labour Norms Could Hurt Bangladesh

The decisions of the United States and the European Union to demand implementation of controversial labour standards in Bangladesh following the Sawa industrial tragedy pose a serious threat to the rule-based global trading system, says Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General for United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

U.S. Retailers Unveil Contentious Bangladesh Safety Agreement

An alliance of 17 major U.S. brands and retailers, including Walmart and the Gap, has unveiled a five-year agreement aimed at strengthening conditions and worker rights at garment factories in Bangladesh.

Fighting Drought, One Pond at a Time

Bangladesh, a country of 150 million people who depend on rice as their main staple, is gearing up for drought. Already huge areas of the rice-producing regions are on a knife's edge, as elusive rains and hotter temperatures team up on thirsty paddy fields and threaten to disrupt food supply.

Girls Fight Back Against Child Marriage

Shirin Aktar was just 13 years old when her parents decided it was time for her to get married.

Obama Suspends Bangladesh’s Trade Benefits Over Labour Rights

Citing Bangladesh's alleged failure to respect international labour rights, U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday suspended trade benefits for the South Asian country's exports under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

Climate Change to Determine Economic Growth

The Monetary Board of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank, tasked with keeping the island’s economy on an even keel, does not only keep tabs on exchange rates, gold prices and inflation – it also has an eye on a less obvious indicator of economic stability: water levels in the country’s main reservoirs.

Small Ponds Bring Bumper Harvests

“I would never have believed it possible to get a bumper rice harvest during the drought season,” 43-year-old Mohammad Shajahan Ali, a farmer hailing from the village of Magtapur in Bangladesh’s northern Chapainawabganj district, told IPS.