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 onslaught of Covid-19 shows no signs of relenting. While the infection-death curve has been arrested by some countries, our one is still climbing, as if it wants to put a flag of our collective irresponsibility at a greater summit.

I remember the first time when, in utter horror, we heard the news of the assassination of Bangabandhu along with his whole family, save the two daughters.

US President Biden’s first act upon being sworn in as President on January 20, 2021, was to officially notify the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that he was withdrawing former President Trump’s withdrawal letter from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and that the United States was rejoining the Paris Agreement.

After suffering for more than a year since March 2020, when we were just about to have some respite following the decline in infection and death rates, the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has returned with greater vengeance.

Bangladesh has been under lockdown since 6am April 5, 2021. This is the first time the nation is under lockdown to curb the spiralling spike in Covid-19 cases.

The cargo vessel involved in a hit and run incident in Narayanganj on Sunday, leading to the capsize of a passenger launch that killed at least 34 people, was seized at a dock in Gazaria, Munshiganj.

Here we were, sailing quite smoothly after the first wave of the pandemic and congratulating ourselves for having “handled” it well. Even the WHO paid us compliments. But suddenly, within a few weeks, we seem to have gone right back where we started.

The United Kingdom—as the incoming President of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Glasgow, Scotland in November—held a ministerial meeting on March 31 to discuss the issue of raising adequate funds for enabling developing countries to tackle climate change.

Sometimes an industry needs a helping hand. It happened in many countries, at different junctures of history.

After about a year, since March 2020, Bangladesh has now gone into a second lockdown in view of the worsening Covid-19 situation.

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.

Myanmar is our only other neighbour, with India being the overwhelming first. To the credit of our policymakers, we have tried our best to maintain good relations with Myanmar notwithstanding their treatment of Rohingyas, forcing nearly 300,000 of them upon us thirty years ago, in the early nineties.

Narendra Modi’s recent visit to mark 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence has been dominated by his narratives of shared ties between the two friendly neighbours,

As Bangladesh celebrated 50 years as an independent country this year, it also reached the 50th year of British-Bangladesh relations.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will announce a new president on April 4, as well as a new board of directors. Whoever wins the election and takes over as BGMEA president faces a mountainous challenge.

One of the less talked-about downsides of the pandemic-induced lull has been the increasing financial stress on the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). According to a study last year by the Ohio-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis,

Bangladesh’s economy has been on a fast-paced journey in recent years, except of course during the ongoing pandemic. With high growth, the country has achieved several positive economic and social milestones.

"Why do they even try? They don’t sound like us!” My mother was referring to the “bong” accents emulated by some of the Indian actors who occupy our living rooms every evening. That does not stop these characters from becoming regular guests of our evening party.

It was extremely bold as a vision, highly ambitious as a project, without parallel in scope, crucial in terms of fulfilling a need, exemplary in its execution and unprecedented as a private project in which people’s participation was the main driving force.