The climate action conversation
Last week, Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman had a very tough job ahead of her. In a milieu of the wealthy and the extremely wealthy, she had to…
Role reversal
IN July I had the good fortune of watching a cinema screening of Prima Facie, Suzie Miller’s one-woman play starring Jodie Comer, in London. During the lockdown in the UK…
Cost of reversal
As Pakistan’s finance managers crunch numbers to raise pitifully low national revenue, quick policy reversals to meet the gap will inevitably cause more harm than good. Tragically, however, the ongoing…
Minister terms hike in medical colleges fees ‘illegal’, promises reversal
As private medical colleges have started charging their fees as per the revised structure, caretaker Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan has said that the unprecedented increase in the fees is…
Mental health: universal human right
Every year, on October 10, we celebrate World Mental Health Day. This year’s theme declares mental health as a basic human right. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes this by…
China’s propaganda machine sputters in zero-Covid reversal
China’s state media is struggling and censors are working overtime as Beijing gropes for a coherent narrative in the wake of the sudden reversal of its hallmark zero-Covid policy. For…
A political conversation
There have been many comments about Africans’ reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the horrific violence it has unleashed on Ukrainians and the humanitarian catastrophe it has created. Many…
An unwanted adversary
In the 11th century, despite being warned, Byzantine emperor Michael VII turned to an infamous conman named Nikephoros for advice in strengthening his control over the empire. As prophesied by…
Banks face reversal of fortune from war and runaway inflation
Global banks are taking steps to weather the wider impact of war and runaway inflation as the stream of central bank money that kept them afloat for more than a…
Coronavirus fallout revives talk of ‘universal basic income’
The scoffed-at idea of paying everyone a basic income as machines take people’s jobs is getting a fresh look as a possible remedy for economies cratered by the coronavirus pandemic.…
