Over the years, Bangladesh has addressed some of the challenges it faces in sustaining food security. With the area under cultivation being stagnant, introduction of high yielding varieties of rice boosted food production in the country. Along with this, efficient irrigation technologies tackled the problem of scarce freshwater resources. Bangladesh however, is likely to face extreme climatic variations in the future that will severely affect food production in the country. Innovations in rice production will play a major role in helping farmers adapt to extreme conditions and secure livelihoods in the coming years.

Choices change. That is definitely a given. However the direction of change is often not easy to predict. While a number of predictions do exist about the future trends in technology, computing speeds and genetic engineering, there are fewer on the more human aspects of consciousness, ethics and aspirations.  Before looking at the future, it is worthwhile to look at the past and see what kinds of predictions were made for the present day.

Recognition of Israel as a Jewish state has become the most recent obstacle to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace process. After weeks of negotiations about an extension on a settlement freeze in the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an offer: a two month extension freeze in return for open recognition from the Palestinian Authority that Israel is a Jewish democratic state.  

On a recent visit to Istanbul, I noticed a new structure in the historic Sultanahmet area where the Ayasofya, the Sultan Ahmet (Blue Mosque), the Hippodrome and several other imposing monuments are located. Some of these trace their history back to the 3rd century BC.  The new structure housed the 1001 Inventions exhibition that traces the forgotten story of a thousand years of science from the Muslim world from the 7th century onwards, and how it was impacted by discoveries from other civilizations- the Indian, Persian, Greek and Chinese.

Every few years it seems that there is a new scramble for Africa; it's only the interested actors and strategies that seem to vary. It started with the rapid European colonization of the continent. This was followed by the more covert power play by USA and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.  The 21st Century or the current scramble for oil and minerals dominated by China and USA has been widely discussed by analysts. There have also been a number of new scramblers on the block, involved to a comparatively lesser extent, in particular India, Brazil and a resurgent Russia, who have increased their foreign policy focus on Africa in recent years. 

Discussion on India’s geo-political future and regional security are more often than not centred on Pakistan - understandably so, given the trust deficit that underlies a sixty-three year relationship defined by three wars; nuclear rivalry; unsettled border disputes and; diplomatic gamesmanship. 

For close to 20 years now, India has been striving to be a major player in the global arena. Moving away from decades of non-alignment and closed markets, India has shed its socialist roots to embrace the world more firmly. And in doing so, it has received attention as a potential global superpower. As every year passes, more voices join the chorus, wondering why exactly all the buzz hasn't translated into concrete action. 

Takaful or Islamic insurance is becoming increasingly popular in the Middle East particularly in GCC nations because it is suited to the principles of Islam. The region has a large untapped insurance market because conventional insurance has certain elements like gambling, uncertainty and interest which are prohibited by Islam. This is one of the reasons for the almost negligible growth of the conventional insurance sector. Since takaful accounts for Islamic principles, it has enormous potential to emerge as a suitable alternative to conventional insurance in the Middle East.