DNA

The organisation of political power within and between nations and citizens if failing miserably to protect the public's health. Not that you didn't suspect it. But this time there is corroboration, and it comes in the form of findings of a new Commission from The Lancet and the University of Oslo. These power asymmetries, together with the piecemeal way that global decisionmaking has developed since World War II, are having a disastrous effect on human health, say the report's authors. The fact...

The rash of rapes and cases of molesations in the country continue to paint India as among the worst countries for women to live in, but research finds it otherwise. The incidence of sexual violence in India and Bangladesh are among the lowest in the world. It is, not surprisingly, the bloodiest in central sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, one in 14 women (7.2 per cent) aged 15 years or older report being sexually assaulted by someone other than an intimate partner at least once in their lives...

Most were bitten by the bug of the moment, happily so. And those not bitten ended up being the most bugged of them all. Yeah, one's talking about the "My Facebook Movie" that has been a raging craze for the last two days. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Facebook has been inviting users to make "My Facebook Movie" by visiting a special website while being logged in. A short video, featuring a collection of most-liked photos, posts and life events, would be automatically produced and posted on...

The world has been turned upside down since the advent of the Internet. If there is something that apparently hasn't changed overwhelmingly in these two decades of upheaval, to quite an extent, it has been the browser. Yet, there is one that intends being a game-changer, and has been at it quite silently for the last four months. This browser is called Coast by Opera; one that is nothing like the conventional Internet browsers that people use across devices — it takes a quantum leap from what...

Every few months or seasons, someone raises the undying issue of Bangalore's decaying nightlife and the exigent need to resuscitate it. This time it has been the Tourism Vision Group which, in its report to the Karnataka government last week, called for the dire need for the state capital to shed its embarrassing "boring" tag, and push the current 11pm deadline that brings life to a standstill by another two hours. The group that made the suggestion is high-profile, not one that can be dissed...

We Bangloreans need to rejoice. The pre-event hype and the subsequent glee, bordering almost on the hysterical, over the launch of WiFi hubs in the city give one the impression that all our problems on earth have been solved. But this euphoria can only be ephemeral, as one would soon realise that one's attention had been needlessly diverted. The back-breaking roads are still there, the non-existent foothpaths haven't reappeared, the stench of garbage has not been replaced by fresh air, and the...

Bangalore South is one of those few constituencies in the country the bulk of whose electorate is the target group of all the three major political formations. It is reckoned to be a prestigious constituency, and in terms of ethnicities is as demographically fragmented as any other in the country. And now it's become the cynosure of all eyes, with talk of former Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani being the possible Congress candidate for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Even though Nilekani...

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is in a veritable financial mess, and few have a clue about how to extricate the Palike from it. In spite of available data on municipal finances, little analysis has been done on them, and accountants (even though there is a shortage of them) are the only ones who understand the data. These observations come from a well-known economist who has studied the BBMP’s budgets, and has a number of recommendations to make. Mukul Asher, who specialises in...

Well-known economist Mukul Asher specialises in public sector economics and social security issues in Asia. He has been a consultant to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization, Asian Development Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and other institutions. He has interacted with policymakers as a resource person in several Asian countries such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, People’s Republic of China, and Sri Lanka. He teaches applied public...

His devilishly handsome looks only added charisma to the chiseled visage. His burning, azure eyes only made the penetrating gaze pierce right through you. And when all this came with that immaculate accent and flamboyant dialogue delivery, he did not have to be that gaunt 6'2'' to tower over anyone else. But that Peter O'Toole did, portraying the relatively diminutive TE Lawrence, the British archaeologist, soldier and adventurer who led Arab tribesmen against the Ottoman Turks during World War...