Havoc in Haor

Farmers in the northeastern backswamp are all too familiar with flash floods. Rice paddies grown just once a year in this vast haor remain at the mercy of nature.

Less sure

“I’m 53 years old. The older I get the less sure I am about things I was sure about when I was 25 years old. I believed stocks for the long run was an unquestioned truth. I believed our economy was based on free market capitalism. I believed stock prices were based upon profits and cash flows. I believed a home was a place to live — not an investment. I believed the Catholic Church was run by good men doing good things. I believed journalists and the media were watchdogs working on behalf of the public. I believed our military was protecting our interests. I believed politicians legislated on behalf of the people. ….. Boy, was I dumbass” — from The Burning Platform blog post titled ‘What the hell is going on’.

What is mine is not thine

A South Asian woman is often subjected to innumerable rituals. In Bangladesh, for the majority of the population, if a baby girl is born, the Azaan (call for prayer) is quietly whispered into her ears. In the case of a baby boy, the Azaan is loud as it is meant to announce his arrival with pride. During a girl's Aqiqah (christening), a goat is sacrificed, but when it comes to a boy, the number of goats becomes two. In case of inheritance, while the wife inherits only an eighth of her husband's property after death and the daughter gets only a fifth (as the daughter is assumed to inherit from her husband's as well), no one really mentions that upon a wife's demise, her husband too inherits one-fourth of her property. These are only a few instances of unjust inheritance laws that are prevalent in South Asian societies.

What religion robs us of

This week, the only time when we think of things beyond, even as rituals of Christianity dominate our days, perhaps is a good time to critique, as modern man has to, what centuries or even just decades ago, we could not question at all religion.

Can António Guterres Fend Off America’s War on the UN?

When António Guterres was chosen by the United Nations Security Council in October to become the next leader of the UN, neither he nor anyone else could have predicted precisely who would be commanding the Oval Office of the White House in January 2017, just as Guterres’s term opened.

UAE represents a global model of humanitarian and development work: Abdullah bin Zayed

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, has stressed that the UAE foreign aid represents a global model to follow in terms of humanitarian and development work.

Breast Milk is Exported to the US

In a shed made of boards and tarps, one-year old Nune is in deep sleep as his mother Check Srey-Toy gently rocks his hammock. Then she tells me that she sells her breast milk to the US.

Challenges to Media Freedom in Sri Lanka; The ‘New’ Government’s Performance

A common view held by many across the Commonwealth that Sri Lanka holds out a beacon of hope to the world in reversing the tide of authoritarianism underscores darker and more complex realities.

The Hidden Problem

"He had a bottle of poison in his hands and told me he would drink it if I didn't agree to marry him." – A 16-year-old girl living in a Dhaka slum explaining the circumstances that led her to consent to marriage.

In Service of Power

Two years ago, a friend and colleague, teaching at a US university, wrote to me asking if one of her doctoral students working on education issues in developing contexts could work on Pakistan and if I would be willing to guide her in her fieldwork. I thought that having a doctoral student look at leadership issues across gender would be good since there was little local research on this. So I said I would support the student.

2017 World Health Day

Today marks the 2017 World Health Day highlighting the importance of addressing the effects of depression on people’s health.

Partnership: Key word to China’s foreign policy (II)

China has always regarded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as a high priority in its neighborhood diplomacy. We firmly support Asean community building, its centrality in regional cooperation and the commemoration of its 50th anniversary. We stand ready to work with Asean for a closer China-Asean community of shared future. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of China’s diplomatic ties with central Asian countries. We support their efforts to follow a development path compatible with their national conditions and to uphold their independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We will build a circle of close partnership with central Asia and set good examples of a new type of state-to-state relations. We will continue to expand trade and investment with South Asian countries, enhance people-to-people exchanges, build platforms for mutually beneficial cooperation and contribute our share to the development of South Asia.

Disease, Not Crime

India's recently passed Mental Healthcare Bill marks the government`s Erst national effort to tackle depression. One of the bill`s impacts is that it decriminalises suicide, a landmark move that deserves applause. It is high time that depression and a plethora of other mental illnesses are no longer viewed as non-issues, or manifestations of weakness. It is fitting, then, that the theme of World Health Day on April 7 this year is depression.

Partnership: key word to China’s foreign policy (I)

As the world economy remains in the doldrums, regional turbulence intensifies and protectionism and isolationism rise against globalization, the international community has turned its eye on China, hoping for a bigger role from China for world stability and development. Some even expect China to play some kind of leadership role in the international system and global governance.

Journalist Living on Minimum Wage in Bangladesh

So you think you can live a day with the money a junior garments worker earns?