10 reasons to feel grateful this Thanksgiving
by Rashmee
Posted on November 25, 2020 / The National
Despite these testing times, American Thanksgiving (November 26) may be a useful moment to take stock. What should we, as a planet, give thanks for in a year that threw up the depressing new word “doomscrolling”? It is true that 2020 has felt like a particularly bad year. It was roiled by two spreading crises, … Continue reading “10 reasons to feel grateful this Thanksgiving”
Read MoreCan the WTO hit the reset button on global trade?
by Rashmee
Posted on November 18, 2020 / The National
While the world’s eyes were fixed on the US presidential election, another consequential, if less thrilling contest was happening elsewhere, with significant ramifications for global trade. The World Trade Organisation is trying to appoint its new head, a decision that was supposed to be wrapped up in low-key style in the week of the American … Continue reading “Can the WTO hit the reset button on global trade?”
Read MoreWhy remote workers should reinvent the commuting ritual
by Rashmee
Posted on November 3, 2020 / The Economist
The daily commute is now a distant memory for millions of workers. Before lockdowns and closed workplaces forced desk-workers to stay at home, Americans spent, on average, nearly half an hour commuting each way every day. For many people, that time has been filled instead with household chores, childcare or just more work, according to … Continue reading “Why remote workers should reinvent the commuting ritual”
Read MoreWhat the battle for the US Supreme Court is really about
by Rashmee
Posted on October 22, 2020 / The National
This is a big week for American politics, arguably just like every other week in the years since the 2016 election of President Donald Trump. On Thursday, Mr Trump debates his Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the last such exchange before election day on November 3. It may not be a game-changer. By last weekend, … Continue reading “What the battle for the US Supreme Court is really about”
Read MoreExpect fewer vices in the Pence-Harris debate
by Rashmee
Posted on October 7, 2020 / The National
In normal times, a vice-presidential debate doesn’t rank high on the roster of set-piece events that define the closing weeks of a US presidential election. But these are not normal times. The Wednesday night face-off in Utah between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris could be the most important vice-presidential debate since 1976, when the exchange … Continue reading “Expect fewer vices in the Pence-Harris debate”
Read MoreClimate refugees is not a new term but get used to hearing it more often
by Rashmee
Posted on September 22, 2020 / The National
This is officially Climate Week and it’s brought to the world by the United Nations and New York City, on the sidelines of the ongoing, virtual 75th UN General Assembly. Unofficially, climate week now runs throughout the year in some form or other, somewhere — an extreme weather event, a call to action, or a heated argument … Continue reading “Climate refugees is not a new term but get used to hearing it more often”
Read MoreKnees, guns and votes: US race relations in 3 words
by Rashmee
Posted on September 9, 2020 / The National
Race relations can be a fraught subject anywhere but especially so in the US right now. The long hot summer of national reckoning on race and policing has slipped into an autumn of continuing anguish and defiance. Americans’ view of the relations between black and white races is now the most negative of any year … Continue reading “Knees, guns and votes: US race relations in 3 words”
Read MoreThe world expected too much from Obama. Now it expects too much of Kamala Harris
by Rashmee
Posted on August 18, 2020 / The Independent
When Joe Biden said of Kamala Harris, “Her story is America’s story”, it felt like 2008 in India all over again. I was editor of the Sunday Times of India, the country’s largest English-language newspaper, and based in the Indian capital. My husband was cultural attaché at the US embassy in New Delhi. Barack Obama … Continue reading “The world expected too much from Obama. Now it expects too much of Kamala Harris”
Read MoreBeirut blast: what do we do with the world’s ammonium nitrate?
by Rashmee
Posted on August 12, 2020 / The National
Both too much and too little has happened in the seven days since the powerful blast that levelled large swaths of Beirut. Lebanon’s Higher Defence Council, chaired by the president and prime minister, has declared the city a disaster zone. The UN says Lebanon is facing a humanitarian catastrophe. A virtual international donor conference on … Continue reading “Beirut blast: what do we do with the world’s ammonium nitrate?”
Read MoreWhat is the deal with ‘woke’ culture and writing letters?
by Rashmee
Posted on July 16, 2020 / The National
A battle of letters is under way on the broad and bitterly contested theme of “justice and open debate” and a truce seems unlikely anytime soon. We have been here before many times in previous years, with warriors for and against political correctness and wokeness facing off in prolonged bouts of written and oral sniping. … Continue reading “What is the deal with ‘woke’ culture and writing letters?”
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Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK