Collecting more taxes
It was the renowned American Supreme Court judge Oliver Wendell Holmes who wrote more than a century back that ‘taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society’. If…
While Bolsonaro fiddles
Of course, my title conjures up images of the Emperor Nero (37-68 AD) fiddling while ancient Rome burned, and for many reasons, this myth was a historical falsehood. Fiddles did…
Separating signal from noise
Can things get any worse in Occupied Kashmir? Yes. The principal responsibility of Pakistani decision-makers then is to ensure two outcomes at the same time. The first is to try…
How Brazil and Vietnam are tightening their grip on world’s coffee
A towering machine rumbles through the fields of Julio Rinco's farm in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, engulfing whole coffee trees and shaking free beans that are collected by…
Teachers on strike
Three thousand teachers are currently on strike in Oakland, California in the latest in a series of teacher walkouts in the United States, involving 71,000 educators during the first eight…
Brazil’s self-harm
NEXT Sunday’s second round of the presidential election in Brazil is more or less guaranteed to ensconce in power an extraordinarily odious figure from the far right. Brazil, by far…
Mastering the world of waste
Everyone I talk to from Karachi is upset about the waste situation. It is both a health hazard and a major source of shame and annoyance for Karachiites. Dawn recently…
Rogues’ gallery to decide fate of Brazilian leader
One Brazilian is accused of taking bribes, another with hiding a secret bank account, a third with trying to help a man escape prison. So who are they - hardened…
Economic crisis rattles Brazil as Olympic year starts
Brazil hoped to start 2016 making itself pretty for its turn on the world stage when its hosts the summer Olympics. Instead attention has turned to its deepening economic crisis.…
How ready is Pakistan for FDI?
Over the past few months, I have canvassed important global companies and investors about their appetite for Pakistan. Unlike the more volatile portfolio investors, these ‘sticky’ investors are courted by…
