Fighting the Chotoo Gang

A group of notorious gangsters has apparently brought the Punjab police toitsknees.A2,200-strong police force has retreated after losing several men since the operation against the Chotoo gang in the southern Punjab district of Rajanpur began earlier this month. The army is now being dragged into yet another law and order issue that the civilian agencies should have been able to deal with.

When Only Men Make the News

On the onset, it seems women are everywhere in the media. You switch on the TV, there is inevitably an attractive woman luring you into buying a product. On the radio, there is the 'young new thing' vivaciously flirting with her male co-host while shuffling through songs; and in print, the entertainment pages would simply not sell without a titillating image of a female celebrity and a scoop on her latest rendezvous. But take a closer look, beyond the objectified and stereotypical images of women, being manufactured and mass consumed ad nauseam, and where are the women, really? Take a look at the news media, for instance. Where are the women in the newsrooms, in the bylines on the front and back pages, in the column spaces of our opinion pages, in the talk shows, not simply as hosts, but as commentators on so-called hard issues such as politics and foreign affairs? Where are the women in our news (discounting the PM and her alter-ego), except as wailing victims of violence, natural disasters and such and as muses of our male photographers during cultural festivals?

A Cash-Strapped Nation on a Splurging Spree

In our student days there was a commonly used Sinhala phrase – “clean suit empty pocket”. That succinctly conveyed the image of a well-clad individual without a cent on his person.

Matrix of Biometrics

Biometrics is the science of using physical (and behavioural) features for identification purposes. The most ubiquitous biometrics we encounter is 'the face'. Every individual has a distinct face, which is used by others to identify/ recognise him or her. Human beings also start recognising voices from the age of three months. Handwriting recognition is part of behavioural biometrics. The most versatile and reliable biometric data possibly comes from human genes.

No Free Chinese Takeaway but Chinese Takeover on the Menu

There is no such thing as a free Chinese takeaway; and, if the visiting Lankan high powered delegation led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe fancied otherwise, the Chinese hosts made pretty certain the guests got the message crystal clear when the fortune cookie, opened after the diplomatic feast of niceties was over, revealed the thumping bill of fare.

Historic Victory for Investigative Journalism

The world was shaken up this week with the leaks of the ‘Panama Papers’ exposing the financial shenanigans of world leaders, past and present. They showed how such leaders of men, women and nations and their business side-kicks hid their embezzled wealth in tax havens around the world and thereby avoided paying taxes in their respective countries. They enjoyed the good life with their monies stacked in offshore banks, some using shell companies with front-men as the account holders, while their fellow countrymen and women were asked to pay their taxes.

Home is School

The paradox of education in Pakistan is that the children of the poor are not getting enough of it, while the offspring of the rich get a surfeit. Neither is good for the child.

Plugging Asia’s Infrastructure Gap

Investors have an appetite for Southeast Asia's infrastructure projects, but poor structuring of deals keep them at bay.

Money and Politics

On Oct 4, 1988, then acting president Ghulam Ishaq Khan promulgated a little known ordinance to amend the Representation of the People Act of 1976.

Right to Information – Is It Catching On in Bangladesh?

There are different ways to measure how the Right to Information (RTI) regime is working in a country. A common measure is to see if citizens' demand for information to public officials is increasing steadily. This would indicate that they are becoming more aware of the law and its importance in exercising their democratic right to monitor the work of the government and its machinery. By doing so, they also seek to ensure that public officials are transparent in their work, abide by the laws and are accountable to citizens.

Panama and Pajama Games

Offshore accounts are nothing new. Their semi-legal and unethical status is well known. Corporate and crony capitalism produce outrageous inequality and concentrations of economic and political power. The wealthy and powerful of the world have secretly stashed away in excess of $20tr in offshore and other tax havens. Moreover, the vast majority of such activity is criminal, illegal or politically unacceptable. Even the inimitable Donald Rumsfeld might agree all this is a “known known.”

Stepping Out of the Cocoon

To encourage more young women into community media and journalism, and to work for the development of rural communities, in 2013, Bangladesh NGO's Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC), in partnership with Free Press Unlimited (FPU), launched a three month fellowship programme entitled “Youth women in Media and Journalism”. In the programme, an experienced mentor trains the attendees how to produce news, reports, features, case study and human profiles.

Sliding Scale

That Pakistan is a hostile terrain for women is widely known. The vast majority of the poor have little choice but to carry on with life as best as they can, holding out in the hope that the state and its set of laws, law enforcement and justice systems will be able to protect their freedoms and dignity.

Flexible Microfinance Models – For More Economic Opportunities

Bangladesh is ground zero for microfinance. Over the decades, since Sir Fazle Abed founded BRAC and Muhammad Yunus started Grameen Bank, the strategy of providing micro-sized loans to borrowers has helped increase income and consumption for the poor, ensured food security for many, created employment opportunities, and empowered women. According to the Credit and Development Forum, nearly 700 microfinance institutions operate in the country today, disbursing approximately Tk. 647 billion (Tk. 64,700 crore) to 3.4 crore active borrowers. The microfinance sector now contributes about 10 percent of GDP and generates approximately 250,000 jobs.

Development Without Equity

I could not find a parking spot on the side road and saw that some cars were parked off the main road. So I tried parking there. A traffic warden came up to me and said I could not park my vehicle there. I asked him that since some cars were already parked there, why could I not do the same.