When the monsters came out of the closet
It is the eve of Eid-ul-Azha. A little girl goes to a neighbour’s house to apply mehendi on her hands. A skip in her step.
Saturday 24th of August 2019
,
opinion
Why can’t dynamic Asia-Pacific beat poverty?
Asia and the Pacific is lauded globally for its rapid economic growth over recent decades and has lifted 1.1 billion people out of extreme poverty since 1990. Nevertheless, the region continues to have the largest number of poor people in the world.
America’s Superpower Panic
Global superpowers have always found it painful to acknowledge their relative decline and deal with fast-rising challengers. Today, the United States finds itself in this situation with regard to China. A century and a half ago, imperial Britain faced a similar competitive threat from America. And in the seventeenth century, the Dutch Republic was the superpower and England the challenger.
Justice, where are you?
One of my close friends from law school is currently undergoing psychosocial counselling for severe depression. I met him over coffee last week, and asked him about it.
Is Trump winning at the expense of America?
Accept it or not, President Richard Nixon had contributed to China’s opening-up in the past. President Donald Trump’s strange policy is now contributing to China’s economic gearing-up, and North Korea’s opening-up.
Solving the climate crisis is beyond governments
Throughout my 10 years working in international development and climate policy, I’ve mostly heard colleagues talk about the private sector as if it was this intangible,
For the Fear of…
As our plane makes its final approach in to Chennai Airport, my 7-year-old, who has just recently graduated from flying phobia to the class of thrill seekers, tells me: “Baba, I LOVE rough landings.”
Seeing life anew
As some of you may have noticed, I have been absent from the writing scene for about six months. No, I haven’t retired from column writing—rather it has been a forced hiatus. Forced by an eye condition that struck without any prior warning. The affliction that stole part of my right eyesight came stealthily and silently—a white fog refusing to be dislodged obstructed my vision.
Slums: Whose problem is it anyway?
The recent fire incident at the Chalantika slum in Mirpur has perhaps been the kindest to the victims: claiming no lives, only their life’s possessions. The fire that broke out around 7:20pm on August 16, 2019, engulfed more than a thousand shanties, leaving thousands of people homeless. It took 24 firefighting units hours to reign in the insatiable flames. A lot of the slum dwellers had been away to their native villages to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha, serendipitously escaping the blazing fires. Concerned authorities have also been quick to contain the situation and provide relief to the affected people, with DNCC operating treatment facilities for the victims.
Setting standards in the real estate business
Along with the rapid development of the country, the real estate sector of Bangladesh is also expanding steadily. The sector is on the rise due to the growing demands for housing, expanding middle-class and increasing per capita income. But the country lacks real estate benchmarking, which is a standard of measurement for financial characteristics of property.
