Robert J. Burrowes Several years ago, someone said to me: ‘The victim wouldn’t have it any other way.’ When I first heard this comment, it made no sense to me, largely because I had never appreciated being a victim of…
Category: Green corner
Law enforcers cannot be judges to shoot at people
Two recent remarks made by the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Dr. Mizanur Rahman have irked a section of the police administration because those challenged the police’s discretion to shoot at people on the charge of being extremists…
Stop professing end of communications
A communications man said in a tv talk show the other day that the mass media in the country are doing a great disservice by airing the view points of the relatives of war crimes convicts. ‘They have no say,…
Curd, yoghurt good probiotics
Both curd and yoghurt are good for health. Both are milk products created by fermenting milk– yoghurt by fermenting milk using bacteria and curd by curdling milk with an edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar.
Violence against children: UN gets it wrong
Robert J. Burrowes The United Nations has just issued a report, ‘Why Children’s Protection from Violence should be at the Heart of the Post-2015 Development Agenda’ http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/sites/default/files/publications_final/why_childrens_protection_from_violence_should_be_at_the_heart_of_%20the_post_2015_development_agenda.pdf This is a worthy ideal. Unfortunately, the UN Report does not identify the…
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…
Too young to smoke, old enough to harvest tobacco?
Margaret Wurth Some companies even allow for lower standards of protection for children in their US supply chain than for those elsewhere. Grace, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy, doesn’t smoke – at 15, she’s too young…
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…
US: A nation behind bars
Washington, DC – Far too many US laws violate basic principles of justice by requiring disproportionately severe punishment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 36-page report, “Nation Behind Bars: A Human Rights Solution,” notes that laws…
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 –…
Of Kejriwal and Imran
Jawed Naqvi THIS is for my Pakistani friends who have often told me they see shades of Imran Khan in Arvind Kejriwal and for some Indian friends who have borrowed that view and propagate it as their own. In other…
Sustainable SME development
Dr. Atiur Rahman SMEs have been globally considered as engines of economic growth as well as key instruments for promoting equitable development. The major advantage of the sector is its employment potential at low capital cost. The labour intensity of…
Sustainability linked to responsible governance
Worldwatch Institute State of the World 2014 calls for bottom-up pressure and greater government accountability Washington DC – Citizens who expect their governments to lead on sustainability have been badly disappointed in recent years. From largely ineffectual international climate conferences to the…
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…
Secrecy among firms may be impeding innovation
Geneva – Firms in Kenya are using secrecy instead of patents to protect their valuable ideas and innovations, according to preliminary results from a World Bank study, and this is hampering collaboration and creativity in the country. The results were…
Sustainable food production: Facts and figures
Farming must feed more people more sustainably. Zareen Bharucha looks at scientific approaches past and present. Advances in agricultural science and technology (S&T) have contributed to remarkable increases in food production since the mid-twentieth century. Global agriculture has grown 2.5–3…
Q&A: The plight of the UK’s migrant domestic workers
Izza Leghtas Wealthy families who come to the UK may bring with them domestic workers who work for them in their home country – often women who raise their children, clean their homes and cook their meals. In a move…
Do traffic-related deaths get the attention they deserve?
Deaths from road injuries and diseases related to transport air pollution have grown globally in the last two decades — up by 46 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. But developing countries are bearing the brunt of this crisis.…
Ending hunger, undernutrition by 2025 must be top dev priority
By Shenggen Fan IFPRI’s 2013 Global Food Policy Report (http://www.ifpri.org/gfpr/2013) reviews major food policy developments and trends from the past year, documents emerging issues, examines key challenges and opportunities, describes the rising political commitment to food and nutrition security, and…
Bringing justice to health: Legal empowerment impacts public health
LEGAL EMPOWERMENT: The transfer of power from the usual gatekeepers of the law – lawyers, judges, police, and state officials – to ordinary people who make the law meaningful on a local level and enhance the agency of disadvantaged populations.”
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…
GreenWatch Dhaka mourns Dr MS Haq
Dr MS Haq, the prolific writer who used to fill the Green Corner of this online newspaper, is no more. He died of a massive heart attack in Dhaka on late Monday afternoon. He was buried near his parents’ graves…
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…
Shaheed Day pledges
Sixteen crore people of Bangladesh once again recall the supreme sacrifices of the language martyrs who symbolised the spirit of love and respect for the mother tongue and the right to democracy and self-determination in the then East Pakistan. They…
Women’s representation in government still low
New Worldwatch Institute study examines the number of women active in national legislatures Washington DC—In late 2013, women accounted for slightly more than 21 percent of the representatives in the lower or popular chambers of national legislatures worldwide, according to…
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…
Agri tech could increase global crop yields 67 percent, halve food prices
Washington D.C. – Increased demand for food due to population and income growth and the impacts of climate change on agriculture will ratchet up the pressure for increased and more sustainable agricultural production to feed the planet. A new report…