The post-Covid global recession and spiralling costs of fuel import triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war, put considerable strain on Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserves. Having no other alternative, Bangladesh turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), seeking a loan. In January 2023 IMF pledged to lend Bangladesh USD 4.7 billion on certain conditions, including that subsidy…

The United States had wanted to see free and fair elections in Bangladesh. They went as far as to take stern measures such as imposing visa restrictions to this end, stirring tensions and unease in relations between the two countries. On his recent visit to Bangladesh, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and…

Israel and Iran have finally come out of the closet with their unquenchable thirst for might and prevalence over the region. These two equally obstinate countries are no longer fighting a shadow war, and this raises significant concern for multiple stakeholders, including the Palestinians and the Sunni Arab states. In Iran’s defence, one could say…

We are all aware of the recent fiasco during a Dhaka Premier League (DPL) match when two veteran cricket teams, Mohammedan Sporting Club and Prime Bank Cricket Club, reportedly expressed dissatisfaction over the appointment of an on-field female umpire to officiate their match. Though initially it was thought to be a gender issue, both the…

Imagine an invisible serial killer lurking around the corner, waiting to suck the life out of you with its all-consuming, toxic embrace. This is what Dhaka’s air has become. Every day, millions of people breathe in and breathe out Dhaka’s toxic air, full of pollutants and carcinogenic heavy metals and chemical elements like arsenic, lead,…

I am neither a musician nor a music critic. Nor am I trained in assessing the technicality of a music performance. However, as a trained feminist anthropologist, I love to follow—borrowing Arjun Appadurai’s phrase—the social life of things. Since Coke Studio Bangla launched in Bangladesh in 2022, it has been fascinating to follow its social life….

Back in 2015 when Liverpool first announced that Jurgen Klopp would be taking on the reigns at Anfield, I let out a sad sigh. As an avid Arsenal fan, I was finally coming to terms that one day Arsene Wenger would have to move on and there we were, allowing every possible candidate to slip…

The words “reset,” “rebuild”, and “strengthen” normally imply the use of mechanical tools to reconstruct something that needs repair. However, the same words—when put in the context of diplomacy—can, and do, have the same connotations. During the just-concluded visit to Dhaka by the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu,…