OpinionWelcoming the pesticide technical advisory committee's decision to stop registration, import and licence renewal of paraquat and glyphosate, Islamic scholar and agri-entrepreneur Minhaj Uddin Attar argues that strict enforcement and safe alternatives for farmers must follow.
Bagatipara Upazila Health Complex in Natore has 50-bed facilities but staff for 31 beds; X-rays have stopped for six weeks for want of film, two pathology workers handle all tests amid chemical shortages, and a new generator sits idle without fuel funds.
AgrotechJohn Deere has signed a three-year, $10 million partnership with Reservoir, a California field-testing hub that has drawn more than 20 agtech startups developing rugged AI and automation for farms.
CropsWest Bengal's agriculture department has begun re-verifying Krishak Bandhu beneficiaries to weed out fake claimants; no grant will be paid until checks are complete, though the form deadline has been extended.
LivestockRed Tractor's six-week consultation, running to 3 November, proposes cutting Beef & Lamb requirements by about a third and Dairy by a quarter, with farm-specific health planning and a new dairy code of conduct.
CropsUniversity of Illinois Extension has confirmed Asian copperleaf in Carroll County, a year after its first Illinois find in Stephenson County, and urges farmers to look for the weed after harvest.
CropsIndia's Agriculture Secretary Atish Chandra told a national rabi conference that El Niño could cut foodgrain output from rainfed areas this winter, and set out priorities from crop diversification to farmer IDs.
CropsAn Oxford study found better pollination raised cocoa yields by up to 20%, yet organic cocoa is only 4% of EU bean imports and nature-friendly farming still depends mostly on farmers and NGOs.
EnvironmentHowrah district in West Bengal has fishing cats, jungle cats, civets, porcupines and monitor lizards but no social forestry range; environmental activists want a protected or community forest and a rescue centre.
In the border villages of Gowainghat and Companiganj in Sylhet, autumn has dressed the land in blue sky, white kash flowers and green rice fields.
OrganicIn Whole Earth Farming, Hugh Locke proposes helping 240 million smallholder families adopt regenerative agriculture and agroforestry, citing yield gains of about 40 percent among members of his Haiti farmers' alliance.
HealthWarts, caused by the human papillomavirus, are usually harmless but spread by touch and shared personal items; blades, thread or lime used at home can cause bleeding, infection and scars.
EnvironmentColumbia University's IRI says the Niño 3.4 index hit +3.0°C in mid-September and all 22 models it tracks forecast very strong El Niño conditions through the 2026-27 winter, alongside a strongly positive Indian Ocean Dipole.
LivestockSouth Africa's Free State has confirmed another foot-and-mouth case at Fauresmith, taking its total to 799 with 155 active, even after more than 1.66 million cattle received a first vaccination.
HealthArtificial intelligence can scan X-rays, CT, MRI and retinal images and flag possible abnormalities quickly, but because it can err it remains a tool that assists doctors rather than replacing them, Amar Desh reports in a look at its benefits and limits.
FisheriesResearchers say silt and submerged shoals building up in upstream rivers after dredging of the Rabnabad channel for Payra port are blocking hilsa migration; the catch has fallen year after year since the 2022-23 record.
Late-monsoon erosion by the Jamuna has taken at least 50 bighas of cropland in Kazipur, Sirajganj, about 20 bighas of triple-crop land in a single week; villagers blame illegal sand extraction and the lack of permanent bank protection.
IslamSaudi Arabia's quota of 78,500 pilgrims from Bangladesh for Hajj 2027 filled before registration closed; with about 20,000 people still waiting, HAAB has asked for at least 20,000 more places.
EnvironmentFelling has begun in Dindori forest division, where about 146,000 sal borer-affected trees are marked for cutting by March; a retired forest chief says experts should have been consulted first.
IslamThe religious affairs ministry's Model Mosque Management Policy 2026 sets honoraria for imams, muezzins and khadims, festival allowances and Quran classes and maktabs at the mosques.
