Topic: Bangladesh

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4 noteworthy new novels: What happens when a past love reappears?

These four new novels all feature the specter of a past relationship.
Myanmar's about-face: 5 recent reforms

Since 1962, Myanmar's dictatorship has jailed the opposition, beat up monks, denied aid to disaster victims, and run scorched-earth campaigns against ethnic minorities. That may be changing, however. Here are five key changes the regime has made in just a matter of months.
In Pictures: Diwali: Hindu festival of lights
In Pictures: Ramadan: Muslim holy month
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Change Agent
Five microcredit programs innovate to break the cycle of poverty

Microcredit programs in developing countries now include other features such as connections to markets and savings accounts, as well as business development, health, and education services.
4 noteworthy new novels: What happens when a past love reappears?

These four new novels all feature the specter of a past relationship.
Change Agent
Community radio cuts disaster risk in flood-prone Bangladesh

Radio stations that broadcast in local dialects along Bangladesh’s coast warn residents about storms and help farmers cope with erratic weather.
Obama to unveil plan for helping African farmers

Ahead of the G-8 summit, President Obama will unveil a new public-private partnership with DuPont, Monsanto, and Cargill, and almost 20 companies from Africa, to help farmers build local markets and fight hunger.
What the world's poor can teach us on jobs

The prospect of long-term joblessness in Europe and the US should focus attention on a new type of economics that seems to work for helping the worst-off in poor countries.
Cover Story
CSI Tornado: Decoding – and chasing – supercells with the experts

CSI Tornado: Chasing supercells, interviewing a homeowner sucked off his front porch in an Oklahoma tornado outbreak, and examining the path of a destructive funnel, an expert expedition shows how science is close to decoding the way a tornado works.
Change Agent
World Bank unit, MasterCard Foundation boost small loans in Africa

They'll spend $37.4 million over five years to provide microfinancing, which helps people lift themselves out of poverty by starting or expanding small businesses, sending children to school, or improving farms.
To help world's children reach fifth birthday, look to this Bangladesh program

An innovative development program in Bangladesh is defying child mortality rates, ensuring children grow healthier and taller, by empowering women and educating families about nutrition. Global leaders should heed its successful model.
Hillary Clinton to drill India on Iranian oil

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on a three-day visit to India. At the top of the agenda is the country's imports of Iranian oil despite US sanctions.
Bin Laden raid one year later: Pakistan's Army untouched

The US Navy SEAL operation that killed Osama bin Laden last May threw the Pakistan Army into international disrepute. But in Pakistan, the Army has rebounded.
As extreme weather events increase, so does acceptance of climate science (+video)

A new survey finds that a majority of Americans believe that weather in the United States is getting worse, and they are linking it to global warming.
Backchannels
Coup predictions: Africa doesn't look as volatile as you might think

Recent coups in Mali and Guinea-Bissau don't amount to a big continental shift, according to a new statistical analysis.
How Apple, Foxconn, and others can address labor abuses in overseas factories

Why do we keep hearing about labor abuses in overseas factories like those of Apple-supplier Foxconn? Auditing and inspections are inadequate to solve the problem. Requiring companies to examine and publicly report on risks along their supply chains can help eliminate violations.
Climate change report: time to start preparing for the worst

It's time to start protecting people from the impact of severe-weather events, a panel says. The report offers further evidence of how the climate change conversation is shifting.
Change Agent
Five ways to make aquaculture more sustainable

Combining rice paddles and fish ponds, and using locally caught fish as feed, are just two of the ways that fish farming, or aquaculture, can be made more environmentally friendly.
Change Agent
ICNL promotes freedom of assembly around the world

The ICNL(International Center for Not-for-Profit Law) received $1 million from the MacArthur Foundation to advance its mission of creating a legal framework for the right of assembly and association in countries around the world.
America's big wealth gap: Is it good, bad, or irrelevant?

The gap between rich and poor is at its widest since the Roaring '20s. Obama complains that it's unfair, but a growing chorus of economists and sociologists say it's worse than that.
Myanmar's about-face: 5 recent reforms

Since 1962, Myanmar's dictatorship has jailed the opposition, beat up monks, denied aid to disaster victims, and run scorched-earth campaigns against ethnic minorities. That may be changing, however. Here are five key changes the regime has made in just a matter of months.
Chapter & Verse
After Muslim protests, Kolkata Book Fair cancels Taslima Nasrin book launch

The launch of Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin’s new autobiography "Nirbasan" was cancelled after the fair's organizers received threats from Muslim leaders.
Bangladesh Army says it foiled a coup via Facebook

Intelligence sources say the Bangladesh coup attempt last month was fueled by retired officers campaigning to introduce sharia law. The news raises concern about political instability in the region.
In South Sudan, tribal militias exact revenge (+video)

Some 2,000 people may have been killed and tens of thousands displaced by tribal conflict since Christmas, in what may be new South Sudan's greatest existential challenge.
Selling organs to pay off debt: Microfinance needs reforms

Governments and microfinance institutions must continue taking steps to reform the industry and provide the impoverished with a variety of financial services, including savings options and grants, which better meet their needs.
Report: Chinese hackers launched summer offensive on US chemical industry

Chinese hackers sought to steal designs, formulas, and processes from chemical companies in the US and elsewhere, according to a report by cybersecurity firm Symantec. It's the latest example of Chinese hackers targeting a sector of the US economy.
In Pictures: Diwali: Hindu festival of lights
Change Agent
Paul Polak – developing products for 'the other 90 percent' of humanity

He listened first, then designed products for the world's poorest people long before the term 'social entrepreneur' came into use.