Bangladeshis
Hajj pilgrimage: 7 more Bangladeshis die in Saudi Arabia
Seven more Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims died in Saudi Arabia during July 3-14, according to Bangladesh Hajj Management Portal.
Mustafigur Rahman, 61, was from Tangail, Azizul Haque, 65, from Kushtia, Md Shahjahan Siraj, 58, from Chapainawabganj, Foyzur Rahman, 50, from Sylhet, Sirina Akhter, 60, from Brahmanbaria, Abdul Mottalib, 58, from Naogaon, and Abdul Mottalib, 58, from Naogaon.
Read: One million pilgrims begin standing at Arafat, marking climax of Hajj
Mustafigur and Azizul died Thursday while Shahjahan and Foyzur passed away Wednesday, according to the portal.
Sirina breathed her last on July 7 while Abdul Mottalib and Rafiqul died on July 4 and July 3.
The causes of their deaths could not be immediately determined.
Nineteen Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims, including five women, died in Saudi Arabia from June 11 to July 14, 2022.
This year, around 60,256 Bangladeshis performed hajj, a once-in-a-lifetime duty for all Muslims physically and financially able to make the journey
2,415 more Bangladeshis can perform Hajj this year
Over 2,400 more Bangladeshis will be able to perform Hajj this year, as Saudi Arabia has increased the number of Hajj quota for this country.
The information came from a letter sent to the Hajj Council in Saudi Arabia by the Religious Affairs Ministry of Bangladesh on Wednesday.
Read: First hajj flight leaves Dhaka with 410 pilgrims
According to the letter, Bangladesh has accepted the increased quota of additional 2,415 pilgrims allotted to the country by the Saudi government for this year’s Hajj.
The letter requested the Saudi Hajj Councillor to take necessary steps after fixing the quota of 115 under government management and the remaining 2,300 under private agencies.
This year's Hajj will be held on July 8 in Saudi Arabia, depending on the sighting of the moon.
Read: Hajj cost goes up by Tk 59,000
The flight of Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia started on June 5. The last flight to Saudi Arabia is on July 3. The return flight will start from July 14 and end on August 4.
So far, 26,309 pilgrims have gone to Saudi Arabia till Tuesday.
More Bangladeshis are becoming rich despite pandemic and inflation: BB
Bangladesh has seen an increase in the number of millionaires during the Covid-19 period, according to Bangladesh Bank’s updated data.
The data, made available to UNB on Wednesday, showed that the number of millionaire bank account holders stood at 1,03,597 in the first quarter (Jan-March) this year, which was 1,01,976 at the end of December 2021.
It means that number of millionaire bank account holders in the country increased by 1,621 in the first three months of 2022 despite the inflation threat fuelled by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Economist AB Mirza Azizul Islam told UNB that the global economy is recovering with the ease of Covid-19 pandemic related restrictions.
“The wheel of industry is turning as before. Bangladesh’s economy is also turning around. The rich people became richer more during the pandemic in Bangladesh and other countries in the world,” He said.
In March 2020, the number of accounts of individuals and institutions holding more than Tk One crore in the banking system was 82,625. After a year in September 2021, the number of such accounts exceeded One lakh.
In the January-March period of 2022, the BB’s Banks statistics showed that the deposits volume in the millionaire bank accounts have increased by Tk9,647 crore. As of March 2022, the total volume of deposit in the millionaire accounts stands over Tk6.63 lakh crore. It was around Tk6.54 lakh crore at the end of last year.
Read: Be vigilant to prevent financial crimes: BB governor
According to the BB data, the number of millionaire accounts is less that One percent of the total bank accounts, which hold about 44 per cent of the total deposit.
Till March 2022, the total number of bank accounts stood at 12.73 crores with a deposit around Tk15.15 lakh crore.
Since 2010, the number of millionaires with an asset value worth $50 lakh in the country has increased at an average rate of 14.3 per cent, the highest growth recorded in the world during the period.
In Bangladesh there were only 5 millionaires in 1972. The number increased to 47 in 1975. In 1980, there were 98 millionaires. The number was 943 in 1990, 2,594 in 1996, 5,162 in 2001, 8,887 in 2006 and 19,163 in 2008.
Detained Bangladeshis in Libya to be brought back: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said the government would bring back Bangladeshis who were detained by Libyan security forces off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
He said this while responding to a question at his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Also read: UN says boat capsizes off Libya, 35 dead or presumed dead
Dr Momen, however, did not tell the number though media reported that over 500 Bangladeshis have been detained.
They were detained on Saturday while preparing to cross over to Europe from Libya's capital Tripoli.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Libya Major General SM Shamim Uz Zaman and his team are in touch with the Libyan authorities to rescue all of them.
Also read:Missing Bangladeshi journalist found in Libya after 5 days
Local media – The Libya Observer – tweeted claiming that security forces in Misrata have “arrested” more than 600 Bangladeshi migrants who were preparing to cross the Mediterranean Sea to the EU shores.
Do Momen said many returned after being detained there and laid emphasis on mass awareness to avoid repetition of such incidents.
114 Bangladeshis return from Libya
As many as 114 Bangladeshi nationals returned home from Libya Thursday, thanks to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
A special flight of Buraq Air carrying the returnees arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 8.15am, said Zia, additional superintendent (media) of the Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn).
Read:Bangladesh 6th largest migrant sending country: IOM
Every returnee was provided food and a financial assistance of Tk 4,750 by IOM.
These Bangladeshis went to Dubai, Oman and Malaysia on ‘visit visas’ from Bangladesh last year. From there, they went to Libya by paying brokers up to Tk 11-15 lakh each.
But they were detained by Libyan law enforcers in Tripoli. And some of them even served up to nine months in jail. Later, the United Nations migration agency facilitated their return to Bangladesh.
IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return Programme can be life-saving for migrants stranded or in detention, especially in conflict-ridden countries.
Since 2015, a total of 2,942 Bangladeshi migrants have returned from Libya through the programme, which is a part of the larger EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration.
Read:IOM seeks focus on perilous journeys by Bangladeshis to migrate
The programme facilitates orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration management through the development of rights-based and development-focused policies and processes on protection and sustainable reintegration.
The necessity of the programme was magnified in 2020, when 30 migrants—including 26 Bangladeshis — were shot and killed at a smuggling warehouse in the Libyan town of Mizdah.
Over 400 Bangladeshis enter Poland, Hungary and Romania safely
Over 400 Bangladeshis have so far safely crossed the Ukrainian border and reached its neighbouring countries, including Poland, according to the government.
The government of Bangladesh is arranging their repatriation and is in touch with relevant organizations for their return home.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam chaired a meeting on Sunday held among the relevant Ministries and Bangladesh envoys in Austria, Poland and Romania to discuss the ways for safe return of Bangladeshis from Ukraine and subsequent return to Bangladesh.
Till today, around 400 Bangladeshis have safely crossed the Ukrainian border and reached Poland, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday night.
Also read: Around 200 Bangladesh citizens reach Poland, Romania from Ukraine: Shahriar
Among them, 46 Bangladeshis are in temporary shelter arranged by the Bangladesh Embassy in Warsaw.
Dhaka issues helpline numbers for Bangladeshis stranded in Ukraine
Bangladesh has asked its nationals stranded in Ukraine to contact the country's diplomatic missions in the neighbouring European countries while Poland and Romania came forward to provide temporary shelters for Bangladeshis.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday issued helpline numbers for the stranded Bangladeshi nationals to help them get into Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova, all bordering Ukraine.
For Slovakia and Hungary, Bangladesh nationals have been asked to get in touch with the Bangladesh Embassy in Austria.
They can reach Rahat Bin Zaman, Deputy Chief of Mission on +43 688 60344492 and Jubayadul H Chowdhury on +43 688 60603068 in Vienna.
For Romania and Moldova, people in distress can get in touch with the Bangladesh Embassy in Romania, Bucharest: (i) +40 (742) 553 809, (ii) Mir Mehedi Hasan (tel & WhatsApp group) +40 (742) 553 809.
For Poland, they can contact the following people at the Bangladesh Embassy in Warsaw -- Md Masudur Rahman, +48 739 527 722: Md Mahbubur Rahman, +48 579 262 403; MST Farhana Yesmin, +48 690 282 561; Billal Hossain, +48 739 634 125; and Md Rabbani, +48 696 745 903.
Poland has "opened its border with Ukraine" to let in Bangladeshi nationals from the neighbouring country in the wake of a Russian invasion.
Bangladesh citizens carrying passports can secure a travel pass at the border to enter Poland without a visa, but they need to carry two colour passport-sized photos with them, the Bangladesh Embassy in Warsaw said in a notification on Friday.
Bangladesh does not currently have an embassy or a consulate in Ukraine. The country's Embassy in Poland only acts as Ukraine's de-facto diplomatic mission.
Read:Poland 'to let in stranded Bangladeshi nationals from Ukraine'
A team from the Embassy in Warsaw will also reach the Poland-Ukraine border on Saturday to assist Bangladeshi citizens wishing to enter Poland. The countries share an over 500km-long border.
21 Bangladeshis return after serving jail in India
Twenty-one Bangladeshis, including five children, returned home through the Benapole checkpost on Friday evening after serving time in Indian prison in different terms, starting from six months to five years.
The returnees comprising 10 women, 6 men and 5 children, belong to Dhaka, Bagerhat, Khulna, Barguna, Narail, Munshiganj and Cox's Bazar districts.
Read:17 Tablig jamaat members return after serving jail in India
They returned to the country with a special travel permit issued by the Government of India on coordinated efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, and the Special Task Force on Prevention of Trafficking in Women and Children in West Bengal and Kolkata, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Raju Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Benapole checkpost immigration, said they were lured to India with promises of good jobs in different times. But Indian police arrested them while working from home in different parts of the country, including Kolkata.
From there, NGOs called MM Rescue, Sanglap and Talash put them in a shelter home.
Read:3 Bangladeshis return home after serving jail in India
In the presence of the Director General (Consular and Welfare) and Assistant Secretary (Welfare) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a delegation from Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata handed over all the Bangladeshi women and children to the local Upazila Nirbahi Officer, Upazila Women and Children Affairs Officer and law enforcers’ agencies, said the release.
After the immigration process, they were handed over to two NGOs -- Justice Care and Rights Jashore.
Malaysia to reopen its job market for Bangladeshis this year, says Imran
After a gap of over three years, Malaysia will reopen its job market for Bangladeshis by this year-end, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed has said.
“The Malaysian government has shown interest in signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with our government over the issue. The final date will be known in a day or two after we get the necessary documents,” he told reporters at Sylhet Circuit House on Friday night.
READ: Govt plans big to equip youths for future job market
According to the Minister, the job market will be reopened for Bangladeshi workers in several sectors -- tree plantation, gardening, agriculture, production, mining, construction and domestic service.
Besides, another MoU will be signed for sending workers to Greece legally, said Imran, urging people to refrain from going abroad illegally.
Malaysia is one of the most popular destinations for Bangladeshi workers. As many as 1,057,056 Bangladeshis have found work in Malaysia between 1976 and 2019, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).
READ: Why the pandemic left long-term scars on global job market
Manpower export to Malaysia has remained suspended since 2018.
Vaccinated Bangladeshis can visit Thailand without quarantine from Nov 1
Thailand will allow fully vaccinated travellers from Bangladesh from November 1 without quarantine under the ‘Sandbox Scheme’ in the designated tourism areas of Thailand.
On spending a week in those designated areas, travellers will be allowed to move in any areas of the country.
The Embassy of the Kingdom of Thailand is expected to share the information detailing the new arrangement.
READ: Bangladesh can sign FTA with Thailand to boost trade: Thai envoy
Newly appointed Ambassador of Thailand to Bangladesh Makawadee Sumitmor gave the updates when she met State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.