This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.
Asia-specific, coming soon with me, Marika Oi.
Hello and welcome to NewsHour.
It's coming to you live from the BBC World Service Studios in central London.
I'm Tim Franks.
We're beginning with a story out of Bangladesh, which is sensational in that country,
but which demands of the rest of us that we pause and just...
take a breath and acknowledge how even the tightest grip on power can slip and the fate of even the most populous countries change.
What's happened today in simple, cold terms is this,
that the former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina,
has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of ordering a lethal crackdown on the student-led protests of last year.
The protests which led to her long-ruling government being toppled and her fleeing to neighbouring India.
The verdict may not have been a huge surprise, nor the punishment,
but it is a moment for us to think about a remarkable change in fortune,
and also to ask where the country,
where many tens of millions experienced such a surge in hope just over a year ago,
where it is heading now.
Let's take you back to the court case, though, to begin with.
Key to it was the evidence that was presented,
suggesting that Shay Casina personally authorised the use of lethal force against protesters.