Health
Floating hospital on the Brahmaputra treats char people, cataract surgery for Tk 20
Moored at Kamarjani char in Gaibandha, the Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital has served more than 816,000 patients in two decades, 48,784 of them in 2025 alone.
Latest
Latest news
Crops
Fuel prices bring horse ploughing back to Tarash fields at Tk 200-250 a bigha
With fuel prices up, demand for ploughing and levelling fields with horses instead of tractors and power tillers is rising in villages of Talam union, Tarash, Sirajganj, and some farmers have made it their trade.
CropsOn the Padma chars, women keep the seed but are left off the farmer list
On the Padma chars of Harirampur, Manikganj, women decide what is sown where and which seed is kept, yet their names are missing from land deeds, farmer lists and the new farmer card applications.
FruitsTen-bigha avocado orchard in Kotchandpur claims Tk 5-7 lakh a bigha
Entrepreneur Harunur Rashid Musa's 11-year-old orchard in Kakbaria, Jhenaidah, grows 14 to 15 avocado varieties, yielding about 60 kg a tree, with bagging and pheromone traps against pests.
AgrotechIreland tenders €8m contract to watch 1.3 million farm parcels by satellite
Ireland's agriculture department wants a supplier to run its Sentinel satellite Area Monitoring System, which checks farm scheme claims on 4.5 million hectares, for four years from May 2027.
Daily life
No Excuses Day: a day to drop the excuses and see friends and family
No Excuses Day, started by the Canadian company SCENE, asks people to skip the excuses and spend time with friends and family; SCENE's survey found about 90 percent have made excuses to avoid social plans.
Crops
Farmer groups demand an end to solar plants on cropland and fertiliser at state price
The Krishak O Khetmojur Sangram Parishad rallied at the National Press Club demanding a stop to solar plants on cropland, enough fertiliser at the government price and rationing, and announced district protests on 5 October.
HealthWhat a handful of sunflower seeds offers, and why to add them to your diet
About 30 g of sunflower seeds gives 5 g of protein and about 3 g of fibre plus vitamin E, magnesium and unsaturated fat; they can be eaten raw or lightly roasted, but heavily salted or oily seeds are best avoided.
HealthThirty-second habits that lift your mood: laughter, stretching, three breaths and a soothing touch
Research suggests micropractices such as laughter yoga, 15-30 second stretch breaks, three slow deep breaths and a 20-second self-soothing touch can improve mood, wellbeing and work performance.
Health
Five habits to lower colon cancer risk: fibre, calcium and regular screening
With colon cancer rising among younger people, gastroenterologist Saurabh Sethi advises moderate coffee, calcium-rich food, cutting processed meat, more fibre and regular screening after 45.
CropsICAR opens a Pearl Millet Technology Park in arid western Rajasthan
ICAR-IIMR's regional pearl millet station at Gudamalani, Balotra, opened a new administrative and laboratory building and a technology park, part of Rs 1,716 lakh of investment to strengthen research and farmer training.
Fisheries
New Alipur fishing trawler sinks in the Bay of Bengal; all 15 fishers rescued
The MB Mayer Doa-6, a trawler built this year at a cost of about Tk 55 lakh, split its hull in rough seas some 45 km out from Alipur fishing port in Patuakhali; another trawler picked up its 15 fishermen, but the boat has not been found.
BangladeshBangladesh's 30 Agro-Ecological Zones Explained: Soil, Water and Farming
Bangladesh is small, but its soil, water and weather change sharply from place to place. BARC divides the country into 30 agro-ecological zones. Here is what each zone is like, and how village data, satellite images and machine learning can give farmers sharper advice.
Islam
The Prophet's prayer for protection from four dangers
Narration 960 in Sahih Ibn Hibban records a supplication for protection from bad character, base desires, evil deeds and serious illness.
Crops
A Tk 100 bamboo trap catches 300 rats in a season for a Fulbaria farmer
Darul Islam, a farmer in Fulbaria, Mymensingh, builds rat traps from bamboo, jute rope and discarded bicycle or rickshaw tubes; after catching about 300 rats on his 10 kathas in the Aus season, he sells them at Tk 100 each and neighbours are using them in Aman fields.
IslamWhen praised, give thanks rather than grow proud: a lesson from the Quran and Hadith
The Quran and Hadith teach gratitude to God rather than self-satisfaction when praised; the Prophet also warned against excessive praise, and a supplication of the early Muslims is recited when one is praised.
AgrotechAuto-rickshaw parts replace the bullock at a Rajbari mustard-oil press
At Chandani in Rajbari Sadar, Bachchumia turns his family's wooden oil presses with a rotating rig built from auto-rickshaw parts instead of a bullock, cutting labour; each press crushes about 30-35 kg of mustard a day for 8-10 kg of oil.
Environment
An 18-foot road through Moheshkhali's reserved forest will serve encroachers
In Shaplapur, Moheshkhali, a dirt track through 18,286 acres of reserved forest is being turned into a 4.5 km road by LGED; the Forest Department and environmentalists say it will endanger wildlife and spur encroachment.
IslamEven a loved one's things need permission: what Islam teaches
Scholar and writer Raihan Al Imran writes that closeness does not erase another person's rights: permission is needed even for a moment, its limits must be respected, and permission to use a phone is not permission to read what is in it.
HealthBeetroot's natural nitrate: possible benefits for blood pressure, circulation and exercise
Beetroot's natural nitrate helps the body make nitric oxide, which may support blood flow and blood-pressure control; but no single food guarantees health, and it is best eaten as part of a balanced diet.