Think Pieces reviewed and written by Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Nepal-Tibet floods expose dangers of China's Himalayan gamble https://asia.nikkei.com/opinion/nepal-tibet-floods-expose-dangers-of-china-s-himalayan-gamble Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Nepal-Tibet floods expose dangers of China's Himalayan gamble https://asia.nikkei.com/opinion/nepal-tibet-floods-expose-dangers-of-china-s-himalayan-gamble Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Khanal said there are reports that some people may have been trapped inside the tunnels of hydroelectric plants. Nepal is new to tunnels and needs equipment as well as technical knowledge in tunnel rescue operations, he said. Nepal needs technical help, not rescue after flood, says foreign minister https://asia.nikkei.com/economy/natural-disasters/nepal-needs-technical-help-not-rescue-after-flood-says-foreign-minister Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Japan's number of births rises for first time in 11 years https://asia.nikkei.com/economy/demography/japan-s-number-of-births-rises-for-first-time-in-11-years Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Japan's number of births rises for first time in 11 years https://asia.nikkei.com/economy/demography/japan-s-number-of-births-rises-for-first-time-in-11-years Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Philanthropy is undoubtedly a force for good in the world. Evan Spiegel, a tech billionaire, and his wife have used their fortune to pay the medical debts of more than 260,000 Californians. People of modest means keep day centres and homeless shelters afloat by donating what they can. The warm glow that comes from giving makes everyone happier. Tax breaks for charity donations are a poor way to do good https://economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/08/27/tax-breaks-for-charity-donations-are-a-poor-way-to-do-good from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Philanthropy is undoubtedly a force for good in the world. Evan Spiegel, a tech billionaire, and his wife have used their fortune to pay the medical debts of more than 260,000 Californians. People of modest means keep day centres and homeless shelters afloat by donating what they can. The warm glow that comes from giving makes everyone happier. Tax breaks for charity donations are a poor way to do good https://economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/08/27/tax-breaks-for-charity-donations-are-a-poor-way-to-do-good from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Meta settles its blockbuster trial for up to $17bn https://economist.com/business/2026/08/26/meta-settles-its-blockbuster-trial-for-up-to-17bn from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

AI is changing religion and religions are trying to change AI https://economist.com/international/2026/08/27/ai-is-changing-religion-and-religions-are-trying-to-change-ai from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Can AI make dysfunctional governments more effective? https://economist.com/asia/2026/08/27/can-ai-make-dysfunctional-governments-more-effective from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

https://x.com/piyushgoyal/status/2092929977272381865?s=43

https://x.com/adbpresident/status/2092417461127950658?s=43

https://aanmeegam.org/slogas/vinayagar-agaval-tamil/ Best Regards, Seetha Ram — KE Seetha Ram, Dr. Eng. | Fellow, Asian Development Bank Institute | Visiting Professor, University of Tokyo | Special Advisor to JR East for India High Speed Rail | The Club of Rome

https://aanmeegam.org/slogas/vinayagar-agaval-tamil/ Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/08/23/indian-cities-should-embrace-skyscrapers?utm_campaign=shared_article ...

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20260821_15/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/politics-government/20260822-344932/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

What AI has in common with dogs https://economist.com/culture/2026/08/17/what-ai-has-in-common-with-dogs from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Punctuation matters more than you think https://economist.com/culture/2026/08/20/punctuation-matters-more-than-you-think from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

A typical brain consumes around 20 watts whereas an artificial neural network carrying out an equivalent number of parallel calculations would require a data centre that guzzles millions of watts. Could more brain-like chips provide a path to consciousness? https://economist.com/briefing/2026/08/20/could-more-brain-like-chips-provide-a-path-to-consciousness from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

How much would you pay for a smarter baby? https://economist.com/business/2026/08/10/how-much-would-you-pay-for-a-smarter-baby from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

In praise of designer-ish babies https://economist.com/leaders/2026/08/13/in-praise-of-designer-ish-babies from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

ht...

http://vaiyan.blogspot.com/2023/08/venba-9.html Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

ht...

https://japantoday.com/category/national/drivers-tossing-urine-bottles-at-japan-highway-stops-leave-cleaners-fuming? Best Regards Seetha Ram

WWII work of Japan's future Nobelists shows complex relationship with military https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/comment/wwii-work-of-japan-s-future-nobelists-shows-complex-relationship-with-military Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Inspiring https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parenting-education/two-paths-one-purpose-how-two-presidents-scholars-found-meaning-in-helping-others?utm_source=emarsys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ST_Newsletter_AM&utm_term=President%E2%80%99s+Scholars+who+found+meaning+in+helping+others&utm_content=15%2F08%2F2026 Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/are-ai-companies-scanning-and-destroying-millions-of-books-including-rare-titles/ar-AA29iRGv

The yuan is more than a symptom of global imbalances https://economist.com/by-invitation/2026/08/10/the-yuan-is-more-than-a-symptom-of-global-imbalances from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

https://youtu.be/HDUYQxnU9rw?si=6KYgpGJUXVf3stCf Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20260807-342245/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

A racist massacre. A white-supremacist coup. A century of lies https://economist.com/culture/2026/07/30/a-racist-massacre-a-white-supremacist-coup-a-century-of-lies from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

China’s mightiest river is coming back from the brink https://economist.com/china/2026/07/27/chinas-mightiest-river-is-coming-back-from-the-brink from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

China’s mightiest river is coming back from the brink https://economist.com/china/2026/07/27/chinas-mightiest-river-is-coming-back-from-the-brink from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

AI is getting better at writing. Humans must get better at editing https://economist.com/leaders/2026/07/30/ai-is-getting-better-at-writing-humans-must-get-better-at-editing from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

In America researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research reckon that residential AC was responsible for a roughly 75% decline over the 20th century in the risk of dying on a very hot day, defined as above 27°C on average. Almost all of that decline came after 1960, when American households began to adopt AC. The geopolitics of air-conditioning https://economist.com/international/2026/07/23/the-geopolitics-of-air-conditioning from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

In America researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research reckon that residential AC was responsible for a roughly 75% decline over the 20th century in the risk of dying on a very hot day, defined as above 27°C on average. Almost all of that decline came after 1960, when American households began to adopt AC. The geopolitics of air-conditioning https://economist.com/international/2026/07/23/the-geopolitics-of-air-conditioning from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

The human cost has been limited because the cuts were more modest than he planned. Mr Musk also claims that he was encouraging other organisations to step in. Poor countries’ governments may have, and all to the good if so. Rich countries’ governments have not. They have instead taken America’s withdrawal as their cue to do the s How many people are dying as a result of USAID’s demise? https://economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/07/30/how-many-people-are-dying-as-a-result-of-usaids-demise from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

The human cost has been limited because the cuts were more modest than he planned. Mr Musk also claims that he was encouraging other organisations to step in. Poor countries’ governments may have, and all to the good if so. Rich countries’ governments have not. They have instead taken America’s withdrawal as their cue to do the s How many people are dying as a result of USAID’s demise? https://economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/07/30/how-many-people-are-dying-as-a-result-of-usaids-demise from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Yet if billionaires have too much political power, the solution may be to change the rules on donations rather than to change the tax system. This is because the rise of the self-made billionaire greatly weakens other arguments for wealth taxation. The rise of the deserving rich https://economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/07/23/the-rise-of-the-deserving-rich from The Economist Best Regards, Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Best regards, Seetha Ram — KE Seetha Ram, Dr. Eng. | Fellow, Asian Development Bank Institute | Visiting Professor, University of Tokyo | Special Advisor to JR East for India High Speed Rail | The Club of Rome ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: ADB Institute < news@info.adbi.org > Date: Tue, Aug 4, 2026 at 13:03 Subject: ADBI’s August Update To: < keseetharam@gmail.com > Get the latest on upcoming events, research opportunities, and updates happening at ADBI this August ...

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12199-008-0068-3