It is with a sense of pride and honour that I recollect the events of March 30, 1971 at Jashore Cantonment. My father, Lt Col. Syed Abdul Hai, was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps (AMC) in 1950.

On the eve of March 8, 2021, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) officials were smiling—the 2021 4G auction brought a lot of money to the public exchequer! After 81 rounds, the auction ended with USD 46.75 million/MHz for 15 years, making it a record in recent years.

"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.

On a dark morning in August 1975, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members were brutally assassinated. His killers wanted to reverse the gains of Bangladesh’s independence, for which Bangabandhu had led a heroic struggle.

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.

For weeks I have been working on this article. I couldn’t get it right. What is the best way to congratulate the people of Bangladesh on the 50th anniversary of the founding of this remarkable country and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman?

Will negotiators from the Global South be barred from attending the United Nations climate summit (COP26) in Glasgow in November because they are not vaccinated against Covid-19?

There are not many moments in one’s life that are truly and deeply felt, and clearly remembered. For me, the night of Thursday, March 25, 1971 in Dhaka, is one of them—one of the most horrific and simultaneously most galvanising moments in my career as a journalist.

The global economy would not exist without the ocean. Ocean-based industries contribute USD 1.5 trillion annually and hundreds of millions of jobs in fishing, shipping, marine tourism, and renewable energy.

More than a decade ago in July 2010, I wrote an article titled “When state is the cause of its own insecurity”.

Provi-dence has myriad ways of working miracles. It can summon up the spirit of a hapless people, struggling to break free, and decide the fate of nations yearning for deliverance.

A dramatic turn of events since the March 17 attack on Hindu villagers in Sunamganj’s Shalla Upazila has been reshaping the narrative on the culpability of potential actors and, by extension, the politics of communal violence in Bangladesh.

As we are now well into the second decade of this century, it is widely acknowledged that this coming decade is our last opportunity to keep the increasing rate of the global atmospheric temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius and prevent the catastrophic impacts of human-induced climate change from occurring around the world.

At least 85 poor countries will not have significant access to coronavirus vaccines before 2023. Unfortunately, a year’s delay will cause an estimated 2.5 million avoidable deaths in low and lower-middle income countries.

Think of something you want. Anything. No, really. Be it a set of frosted cupcakes, a piece of jewellery, or homemade sushi rolls.

In the last 50 years, Bangladesh has emerged as a role model for developing countries around the world. From incredible economic growth to vast strides in education and public health, to major contributions in culture and sports,

Academics, policymakers and other stakeholders in the Bay of Bengal region and beyond agree on the need for greater integration in this region.

An institution of higher learning in Pakistan had to cancel an academic conference about 1971.

On March 17, Bangladesh kicked off its 10-day series of celebrations of the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of the country’s independence.

Bangladesh has made a transformative journey during the last five decades since its independence in 1971. Steady economic growth, and achievements in the social arena,