Abdullah Shibli

I regularly scan the headlines of Bangla newspapers. Recently, I came across several news items with headers that go along the line “Bajare agun, purchhey shadharon manush,” meaning “The market is ablaze and the ordinary consumers are burning.”

My fellow columnist, Shuprova Tasneem, was recently lamenting the lack of fair wages and workplace safety in Bangladesh.

One of the most eagerly anticipated Nobel Prizes is awarded in the category of Economic Sciences and this year three Americans were honoured.

The power sector in Bangladesh could be considered a success story. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognise energy as a key enabler for development (cf. Goal 7).

The current debate over the necessity, cost, and effectiveness of the third dose or “booster shots” for Covid is generating a lot of heat.

The USA observed the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on September 11, 2021, on the same day the Taliban raised its white flag on the Presidential Palace in Kabul to celebrate their victory.

Under the current global configuration, the roles played by the two rival superpowers USA and China will be pivotal not only in the geopolitical sphere, but their respective strengths will also determine the trajectory of trade patterns, economic hegemony, and world power alignment.

The sudden collapse of the US-backed Ghani regime in Afghanistan and the scenes of the evacuation of American citizens at Kabul Airport brought back some deep-buried memories of mine from another era.

Why talk about inflation in the midst of the pandemic, one might ask. The answer is simple, if somewhat unpleasant. Inflation may soon be making a comeback!

For Bangladesh, the Delta variant of Covid-19 virus couldn’t have come at a worse time. Starting in January, our infection rate had been going down and was below 300 per day in mid-February.

Two recent news items, apparently unrelated, caught my attention.

It bears repeating that vaccines are essential for protection against the deadly coronavirus. We’ve seen how the virus spares no one and targets the most vulnerable people, including those who have pre-existing health conditions or comorbidities.

In Bangladesh, while the pandemic has impacted businesses of all sizes, plus life and livelihood, evidence is mounting that the enterprises that employ between 1 and 249 workers—officially the micro, small and medium enterprises—are bearing the brunt of the economic slowdown.

As the world strives to fast-forward the economy in an attempt to recover from the pandemic, climate change has rightly emerged as a major concern in all international forums.

The Daily Star newspaper recently announced on its front page, “COVID Vaccines. One Lakh Pfizer Shots to Arrive Next Month” (May 19, 2021).

Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro’s latest novel Klara and the Sun, his first since receiving the award in literature in 2017, has some relevance for policymakers and ordinary citizens across the globe.

Food insecurity in Bangladesh during the pandemic is rising. Even in the best of times, millions of people in the country go hungry.

In a world that has always favoured the rich over the poor—both within a country and across nations—the Covid-19 pandemic will worsen this maldistribution further unless actions are taken soon to rectify it.

The latest crisis surrounding the Suez Canal appears to have come to a favourable resolution, avoiding a full-blown disaster. The world was watching with bated breath for almost 10 days, as the Suez Canal drama was playing out last week.

Non-resident Bangladeshis (NRB) have played an important role in the economic growth of the motherland. Whether it is the remittances we are talking about or the “diaspora network” that facilitates technology transfer,