Pfizer and Moderna apparently ruled out any prospect of sharing their mRNA technology-based vaccines with the vaccine firms in developing countries on grounds that they are far too complex and require more than 100 raw materials.
Tag: perspectives
‘New’ perspectives for Europe
I am invited to talk about New Perspectives on Europe, but new ones fail me, and the Trumpian decay afflicting even the core of Europe makes me seriously question my old perspectives. Certainly, the risks associated with a significantly changed…
SEEING THE WHOLE
Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in an Integrated and Coherent Way This new report by Stakeholder Forum, Bioregional and Newcastle University and funded by the Government of Finland sheds light for policymakers and stakeholders on how the Sustainable Development Goals…
The arc of climate justice
by Sherry Rehman Islamabad – It is a painful irony of climate change that those least responsible for the problem are often the most exposed to its ravages. And if any country can claim to be the victim of this…
Europe’s Airpocalypse
by Asit K. Biswas,Julian Kirchherr SINGAPORE – European policymakers like to lecture the rest of the world on air pollution. Asia, and China in particular, is a favorite target for criticism. Indeed, it sometimes seems as if no major environmental…
Is UN fit for ambitious new Sustainable Dev Agenda?
As you know, over one hundred Heads of State and Government will gather this week to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This agenda is intended to make the United Nations (UN) ‘fit for purpose’, but it is important…
The data revolution for sustainable development
Jeffrey D. Sachs , Enrico Giovannini , Robert Chen and Shaida Badiee New York – There is growing recognition that the success of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will be adopted on September 25 at a special United Nations…
China and the Deep Blue Sea
Nguyen Chu Hoi Ho Chi Minh City – Since December 2013, China has added more than 1,200 hectares to islands in the South China Sea. The geopolitical implications of these land reclamation efforts are well documented: The majority of the…
Who will suffer most from climate change?
By Bill Gates SEATTLE – A few years ago, Melinda and I visited with a group of rice farmers in Bihar, India, one of the most flood-prone regions of the country. All of them were extremely poor and depended on…
UN plan to save Earth is “fig leaf” for Big Business: insiders
Why the new Sustainable Development agenda is “fundamentally compromised” by corporate interests By Nafeez Ahmed The SDG stakeholder engagement process draws selectively on the input of civil society groups to promote its public legitimacy, while systematically ignoring the voices that…
The future is old
Brigitte Miksa Munich – The aging of our societies is one of the greatest success stories of the twentieth century. More than three decades have been added to the lives of hundreds of millions of people over the last hundred…
Shun violence, force; adopt peaceful means to bridge gap: TIB
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the on-going inhuman and cruel manifestation of violence and use of force in an unhealthy competition for power at the cost of basic rights of the people and prospect of…
The importance of being angry
Robert J. Burrowes Unfortunately, in many circles, anger has a bad reputation. There are several reasons for this. One reason is that we are scared when people are angry at us, so we try to scare people, especially children, out…
Green growth is a ‘no-brainer,’ Responsible Business Forum told
By Vaidehi Shah Former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday told 450 business leaders at the Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development that green growth is a “no-brainer” and urged them to put it into practice. “Governments must demonstrate…
Philippines: Death squad linked to hundreds of killings
Manila – The Philippine government should investigate an alleged “death squad” implicated in several hundred killings in Tagum City on the southern island of Mindanao, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Official police records obtained by…
How do you beat Boko Haram with an army that’s almost as evil?
Sarah Margon In 2009, Nigerian police forces fighting Boko Haram in the northern city of Maiduguri lost about 30 officers in a violent firefight. The next day, they executed many of the men they had rounded up and detained as…
Girls’ abductions alast straw for Nigerians
Mausi Segun The images of sorrowful parents, weeping profusely and brokenly asking when their daughters would be rescued, have struck a chord across Nigeria. The murmurs of discontent swelled with the government’s confused and inadequate responses to basic questions about…
Spain is inviting back Jews, not Muslims
Robert Fisk Lost lands are littered with the homes of those who lived there. Armenian houses in south-eastern Turkey. Abandoned Palestinian homes in Israel. German property in what was the Sudetenland and Prussia. There are Greek homes around Smyrna –…
Hastening South Asia’s emergence as global growth hub
Dr. Atiur Rahman SAARCFINANCE seminars are by now regular events drawing together policymakers and practitioners in member central banks for sharing experiences and ideas on issues of topical importance. Peer group networking created through such seminar events are affording them…
Lack of coordination hurt climate change policy execution
Absence of coordinated planning in tackling the fallouts of climate change may badly hurt Bangladesh’s food production despite having adequate knowledge and good practices, professionals have said. The final draft copy of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change’s 5th Assessment…
EU criticised for failure to transfer technology
European countries contribute less to global technological development than other developed nations, and are pursuing intellectual property policies that are not “development friendly”, according to a study. European nations conduct most of the world’s research and development (R&D) and own…
Ethnic cleansing in Central African Republic
By Elham Asaad Buaras International NGOs have formally classed the killings and exodus of Muslims in the majority Christian Central African Republic (CAR) as ethnic cleansing “of historic proportions”. The humanitarian situation in the CAR has deteriorated since a coup…
Equality of women and men
Dr. M. S. Haq In, for example humans – cells form tissues, tissues form organs, groups of organs forms systems such as digestive system and nervous system – all working collectively, individually, and otherwise, as applicable for, among other things…
Election matters of GOP, BJP and BNP
Dr. M. S. Haq During 2012 US presidential elections season, I wrote newspaper articles that dealt with inter alia: 01. analyses of election related ground realities of GOP, Democratic party, and others concerned; 02. identification of strengths of, and developmental…
Thailand’s political crisis: Is it time up for Thaksin?
By Nile Bowie General elections are widely seen as the answer to Thailand’s crippling political impasse, though Yingluck Shinawatra’s embattled government may be removed through either judicial or extra-legal means regardless of her performance at the polls. Protestors calling for…
Bangladeshi drones?
Dr. M. S. Haq A few days ago, an ISPR statement said “Recently, in various universities and colleges of Bangladesh, departmental or personal initiative has been taken in development and research work on different drones or remote controlled light aircraft,”.…
Gene mechanics 46: No black holes?
Dr. M. S. Haq A black hole is believed to be a region of spacetime. The hole is surrounded by event horizons where gravity is very strong. As a result, all light that hits the horizon is absorbed and is…
Coping with terrorism
Dr. M. S. Haq There are several causes of present day terrorism at local, global and other levels. The causes include inter alia and as appropriate: dissatisfactions, deprivations, inequities, inequalities, human rights violations, the right to life violations, paucities of…
Protect Bangladesh
Dr. M. S. Haq “Foreign office denies documents leak” is one of 16 January 2014 front page headlines of one of the popular English dailies of Bangladesh. The leaked documents claim to have revealed matters pertaining to for example possible…
On India’s reported plans
Dr. M. S. Haq One of the leading English dailies of Bangladesh of today (06 January 2014) – quoting reports from The Indian Express – states India plans to muster international support for Hasina. The country is reportedly planning to…