Dhaka (CNN) - Life in low-lying Dhaka can be a paradox. Flood waters rise up to a meter in the monsoon months, but there is an ongoing shortage of clean drinking water.

The Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) is working with WaterAid in some of the country’s biggest and most unsanitary slums to improve access to safe, legal drinking water connections, and build toilet units.
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London (CNN) – You’d be forgiven if the mild bounce in the markets Monday had you dreaming of better times for Greece and the eurozone. Your wakeup call comes to you courtesy Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, former French Finance Minister and the latest establishment figure to heap scorn on Greece.

In a lengthy and wide-ranging interview with the Guardian newspaper, Lagarde may have for the first time uttered in public what some suspect many European politicians are saying behind closed doors. It’s payback time for Greece.
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London (CNN) – Much of the beleaguered eurozone will grind to a halt Saturday for the Eurovision Song Contest, that continent-wide musical tussle of campness and political bickering watched by 120 million-plus TV viewers worldwide, which has launched Abba and Celine Dion among others.

But this year, one suspects, certain European countries may be quietly relieved if their own acts come an honourable second – or even draw the dreaded nul points.

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(CNN) – Despite the financial crisis and the implosion of businesses like Enron over shady business practices, senior executives are now more likely to pay bribes to win business, according to a survey by Ernst & Young.

Of the nearly 400 CFO’s polled from November to February, 15% would make cash payments to win or retain business – up from 9% two years ago.
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India and Pakistan’s border in Kashmir is one of the most dangerous in the world. But the "Line of Control" dividing them has been opened to trade, in the hope that it can boost the local economy and help build peace between the two nations.

Kashmir has been a major flashpoint for India and Pakistan since the countries were partitioned at the end of British rule in 1947. Both say Kashmir belongs to them.

There's still a heavy security presence throughout the area, but the situation is much better than it was a few years ago, say local residents. And the relative calm is bolstering trade.

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London (CNN) – Are European Union governments missing a trick by taking small and medium-sized firms for granted?

In Germany, such businesses - the Mittelstand - have been nurtured, and in return significantly boosted the country's economy.

As our regular viewers will know, over the last few months Marketplace Europe’s travels have taken us inside small and medium-sized companies around the region.

We’ve talked about the way they run their businesses, the bigger macro environment and prospects for Europe and the single currency.

The common theme of each conversation is concern that well-intentioned incoming governments - from France, Greece and the Netherlands - will tax smaller firms out of business rather than offering incentives and protection to keep growing in such challenging economic times.
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Japan has won back its top spot as the most important partner of the United States in Asia, moving China to the second spot, according to an opinion poll of the "general public" conducted in the United States.

The survey asked 1,200 people in the continental United States to select the most important U.S. partner from a list that included Japan, China, Russia, India, Korea and Australia.

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(CNN) – On Sunday, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees passed away from cancer, adding to a series of untimely deaths of fading music icons over the last few months.

The Bee Gees enjoyed their heyday in the late 1960s and 1970s with disco hits such as “Saturday Night Fever,” “Staying Alive,” and “How Deep is Your Love.”  While the group’s popularity declined over the following decades, Robin Gibb’s death will breathe new life into the group’s record sales in the United States, if history is any indication.

Soundscan, which provides data on U.S. record sales, won’t have data on Bee Gees sales until next week.  But Gibb’s passing follows the death last week of another 1970s legend, ‘Queen of Disco’ Donna Summer.
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(CNN) – Fifteen months ago Tahrir Square was the site of a tsunami that swept President Hosni Mubarak and his entire government from office.

In the most populous country in the Middle East and North Africa, only the military apparatus has been left intact from the Mubarak era. The world is getting very familiar with the name and face of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt's ruling military council.

This week marks a historic opportunity to break from that past. There are a dozen candidates vying for the top job, a third of them labelled as front runners.

In geo-political circles, Egypt is described as a pivotal power, an emerging market economy and potential political power that can sway the outcome in the region.
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(CNN) – Just days after Facebook took the plunge with a multi-billion dollar shares sale in the U.S., another high-profile brand, Formula One, appears to have accelerated its own plans for a public listing in Singapore.

The Asian city-state is also one of the more unique stops on the 20-race Grand Prix calendar, as the race is staged at night under floodlights. FULL POST