Minister for Environment, Hamidullah Jan Afridi Thursday announced that there would be 100 per cent sanitation coverage by 2015, and stressed the need to devise a three pronged strategy to achieve this target.

Washington defended its plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions as among the most ambitious in the world Tuesday as major economies meeting in Paris rallied around a Mexican plan to raise cash to fight climate change.

In view of the economic recession, particularly in the USA and European countries, the prices of frozen food in the international markets has fallen up to 40 to 45 percent posing a threat to the industry in Bangladesh.

"A red alert hovers over the frozen foods industry," said Sheikh Abdul Baki, Vice President of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters' Association (BFFEA).

Flash floods, wildfires and heatwaves brought on by climate change could test Europe's ability to insure against and respond to natural disasters, a new report warns.

Flooding of the Nile Delta and further desertification of north Africa could also unleash a wave of migrants from Europe's southern neighbours, said delegates at the launch of the European Union-backed ADAM report.

Southeast Asia's biologically diverse coral reefs will disappear by the end of this century, wiping out coastal economies and sparking civil unrest if climate change isn't addressed, conservation group WWF said on Wednesday.

President Obama

Per capita income in Bangladesh shot up to $690 this fiscal year (FY) from the previous year's $608 demonstrating the country's overall income significantly increased though GDP growth fell.

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) calculated per capita income in the current FY, based on its estimate of population at 14.42 crore. The estimated population last year was 14.24 crore.

Blaming a drastic slump in exports, the German government on Wednesday predicted a 6 percent contraction in its economy this year, and warned that other countries in the euro zone may not be able to stay competitive as the downturn drags on.

Environment and Natural Resources Minister, Champika Ranawaka said yesterday that the level of development of a nation cannot be gauged through its levels of Gross Domestic Production (GDP) or Human Development Index (HDI) but more so through environmental factors.

Southeast Asia faces one of the world's highest climate change bills, the Asian Development Bank said on Monday, unless the region adapts to climate change and joins the rest of the world in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.