A total of 187 Bangladeshis, who were stuck in war-torn Sudan, returned home via Saudi Arabia in two separate batches - 136 on May 8, followed by 51 more on May 11. Bangladeshis looking to exit Sudan were helped out of the country as part of an international effort in which the government mainly coordinated with Saudi authorities to get them out of the country and take temporary shelter in Jeddah before returning home.

There were around 1,500 Bangladeshis stranded in Sudan when the fighting broke out, and about 700 have registered to return to Bangladesh. Battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since mid-April have killed hundreds of people and wounded thousands of others, disrupted aid supplies and sent 100,000 refugees fleeing abroad, turning parts of the Sudanese capital Khartoum into war zones. More than 680 of the 1,500 Bangladeshis in Sudan left Khartoum for Port Sudan for evacuation under arrangements by the Bangladesh Embassy on May 2.

Boeing is forecasting air travel in Bangladesh to double in the next decade, driven by the country's growing population and expanding economy. The aerospace company provided details about the increasing demand and capacity for air travel in Bangladesh in its Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), a yearly forecast of global and regional airplane demand presented in a briefing on Wednesday (May 10).

Through 2032, Bangladesh is expected to achieve an annual economic growth rate of more than 5% - double the global average - supporting annual air-traffic growth at nearly 8.5% annually, according to Boeing. Strong Bangladesh economy to fuel air-traffic growth at nearly 8.5% annually through 2032. To meet strong demand in passenger travel and air cargo, Boeing anticipates South Asia's carriers will need more than 2,300 new commercial airplanes over the next 20 years, more than tripling South Asia's current in-service fleet of 700 airplanes.

The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is no longer an idea based on "power equations", but rather a natural construct based on principles of "inclusivity, comradery, and multi-stakeholderism," said a document related to the 6th Indian Ocean Conference, being held in Dhaka on May 12, 13. As two responsible states, Bangladesh and India are committed to ensure the rise of a "free, open, inclusive and rules based" IOR, according to the concept note of the conference.

The global order is rapidly evolving, power axis is shifting, and the complacency of the past is making way for greater confidence in future, the document reads. The IOR has emerged as a microcosm of partnerships, collaborations, bilateral and multilateral dependence. Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun, minister- and state minister-level delegations from 25 countries including Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will attend the conference. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the conference at a Dhaka hotel on May 12.

The deep depression over southeast Bay of Bengal intensified into Cyclone Mocha and headed in a north-northwest direction at a speed of eight kilometres per hour on Thursday afternoon, the Indian Met Department said. Preparations were on in Bangladesh for the cyclone to hit on May 14, since it is expected to change direction in a day or two and start heading in a north-northeasterly direction, from about the central, or south-central Bay, and head for the coast of Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Cyclone Mocha would make landfall on Sunday (May 14) along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border packing winds of up to 145 kilometres per hour, according to IMD. Ahmadul Haque, director of Bangladesh's Cyclone Preparedness Programme, said they had deployed 8,600 volunteers in Cox's Bazar and another 3,400 Rohingya volunteers in the refugee camps. In Khulna, the local administration has kept 409 cyclone centres prepared for sheltering 2,73,850 people. But communities in Bagerhat for example, were gripped by fear in view of the vulnerable state of protection dams in the area.