One hundred eighty three more Bangladeshi nationals evacuated from war-torn Lebanon arrived in Dhaka early Wednesday.With them, a total of 521 Bangladeshi nationals have returned home from Lebanon through nine flights.Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment, and International Organization for Migration (IOM) welcomed the repatriated Bangladeshis at Shahjalal International Airport.They landed here around 1 am by a flight of Sky Vision Airlines. Bangladeshi expat killed in Israeli air strike in Lebanon: EmbassyEach repatriated Bangladeshi received financial assistance of Tk 5,000, along with food items and medical care.So far, one Bangladeshi has been killed in a bombing incident in Lebanon.These evacuees are among around 1,800 Bangladeshi nationals who expressed their wish to voluntarily return due to the deteriorating security conditions in Lebanon.

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained five Bangladeshi nationals from Malkadanga border of Boda Upazila area in Panchagarh district on Monday night. The detainees were identified as Nand Kishore Roy,45, Parimal Roy,21, Nityananda Roy,21, Sanjay Chandra,17, and Kalyan Roy,24, all from Domar Upazila in Nilphamari district. This information was given in a press release of BGB-56 Battalion Commander, Nilphamari Lt. Col. Sheikh Mohammad Badruddoza. BGB detains two locals trying to flee through Dinajpur border According to the BGB,  the five individuals were attempting to cross into India through the main pillar area of the 775 border post. Acting on a tip-off, a BGB patrol team apprehended them from Shuyerpara, about 100 yards inside Bangladesh's territory. The BGB also seized cash and mobile phones from the detainees. The process of handing over the detainees to the Boda Police Station of the district was underway, said BGB.

Bangladesh has urged Spain to expedite the efforts for releasing five Bangladeshi nationals detained in a prison in Galicia province. At a bilateral meeting with Director General for Consular Affairs Xavier Martí Martí of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain held in Madrid recently, Bangladesh Ambassador to Spain Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood solicited support from the Spanish Foreign Ministry in expediting the release of five Bangladeshi nationals. The Spanish Director General for Consular Affairs assured the Ambassador that he would take up the issues with the concerned authorities and necessary steps would be taken, said a media release. Bangladesh Ambassador Mahmood also sought simplification of visa procedures for Bangladeshi nationals seeking to travel to Spain. The Ambassador said Spain is Bangladesh's second largest export destination in the EU while Bangladesh is Spain’s fourth largest trade partner in Asia. Read More: It's not necessary to use visa broker to apply for US visa: Embassy Bilateral relations in trade, investment and other prospective areas are expanding day by day, he said. Simplification and easing of visa process would contribute to the expansion of the relations further and reap benefits for the two peoples, particularly for private sector entrepreneurs and businessmen, said the Ambassador. For Spanish residence, Bangladeshi expatriates are required to produce a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh, rather than by the Department of Police. The Ambassador said more than 50,000 Bangladeshis staying in Spain constitute the second largest expatriates' community in the EU. “They make significant contributions to both the economies. Digitalized PCC issued by the Department of Police of Bangladesh is acceptable to and recognized by all countries of the world, except Spain,: he said. Obtaining a PCC from the Ministry of Home affairs is a very tedious, time-consuming and burdensome process. Since all Bangladeshi passports are now either Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) or E-Passports, if Spain accepts PCC issued by the Department of Police and subsequently legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh that will alleviate people's sufferings a lot, said the Ambassador. The Ambassador also requested Spain to consider expatriates' Marriage Certificates issued and legalized by the competent authorities in Bangladesh acceptable. He said the Spanish economy could be benefitted by recruiting skilled workforce and professionals from Bangladesh, particularly in the agriculture and ICT sectors.

A Bangladesh ship with 29 crew, all Bangladeshi nationals, has been stuck at port of Olvia in Ukraine amid Russian attack on the country. The goods-laden ship ‘Banglar Samriddhi’, owned by state-run Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, anchored at the port before the Russian invasion began on February 24,Omor Faruque Tuhin, a crew of the ship told the UNB over phone on Sunday noon. Read:Ukraine crisis: No direct impact on Rooppur, other projects, says FS According to information provided on the website of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, the ship has remained anchored in Ukraine since February 22. The vessel Banglar Samriddhi is a bulk carrier built in 2018 and currently sailing under the flag of Bangladesh. He said all operations at the Olvia port were closed immediately after the attack and all the crews remained stuck inside the ship as panic gripped them. “Panic has gripped us as we keep hearing sounds of explosions and firing from far but fortunately the port didn’t come under any large attack yet. We can’t move anywhere with the ship as there can be mines planted in the sea,” said Tuhin. In a separate development about 200 Bangladesh citizens fleeing war-torn Ukraine have so far entered Poland and Romania, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Saturday night. “We’re in touch with about 700 Bangladesh citizens,” he told UNB. The government’s efforts are going on to help Bangladesh nationals get into Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova, all bordering Ukraine, said officials. A team from the Embassy of Bangladesh in Warsaw is working near the Poland-Ukraine border to assist Bangladeshi citizens wishing to enter Poland. The two countries share an over 500 km long border. Read:Around 200 Bangladesh citizens reach Poland, Romania from Ukraine: Shahriar Earlier, Bangladesh 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. Nearly 120,000 people have so far fled Ukraine for Poland and other neighboring countries in the wake of Russian invasion, reports AP quoting the U.N. refugee agency on Saturday.

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. 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. Also read: Go to Romania, Bangladesh tells its nationals in Ukraine The Embassy also urged the Bangladeshi expats who are in far away areas from the Poland border to observe the situation carefully before moving ahead. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has advised its citizens who are in the south and southwest of Ukraine to go to Romania. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Friday said the Romanian government will make arrangements for their two-day stay and then arrange for their return to Bangladesh under the supervision of the Bangladesh Embassy in Bucharest. Earlier, on Thursday, State Minister for Foreign Md Shahriar Alam said that the government would arrange chartered flights to bring back Bangladeshis from Poland if they can safely enter Poland with visa on-arrival on an emergency basis with the support of the Polish government. “Our first task is to bring our citizens to Poland safely from Ukraine,” he told reporters at his office, adding that they had already talked to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) and Biman Bangladesh Airlines to that end. The State Minister had also said they would finalise the modalities of evacuation from Poland and "will talk to foreign airlines too, if needed". Also read: Bangladesh to arrange evacuation flight from Poland after its citizens’ entry from Ukraine "Poland will allow Bangladeshis to stay for 15 days upon their arrival from Ukraine and the government of Bangladesh hopes to bring back its citizens much ahead of the 15-day timeline." The State Minister had also said that the Bangladesh Embassy in Poland "is taking preparations to provide accommodation facilities for Bangladeshis’ stay there until their evacuation". "They (Bangladeshis) need to come to the Polish border from Ukraine making their own arrangements." An estimated 500 Bangladeshi nationals, including students, are currently stranded in Ukraine.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam on Thursday said the government will arrange chartered flights to bring back Bangladeshis who would leave warn-stricken Ukraine and arrive in neighbouring Poland.   “Our first task is to bring our citizens to Poland safely from Ukraine,” he told reporters at his office, adding that they have already talked to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) and Biman Bangladesh Airlines about the possible evacuation. The state minister said they will finalize the modalities of evacuation from Poland and if necessary they will talk to foreign airlines too. “They (Bangladeshis) need to come to the Polish border from Ukraine with their own arrangement,” he said, adding that the Polish government, earlier, assured of providing visas for them to cross the border which is yet to begin. Poland will allow Bangladeshis to stay for 15 days upon their arrival from Ukraine and the government of Bangladesh hopes to repatriate its citizens much ahead of the timeline. Shahriar said Bangladesh Embassy in Poland is taking preparations to provide accommodation facilities for Bangladeshis’ stay there until their evacuation. The Bangladesh Embassy in Warsaw approached the Polish government on Thursday morning again to issue arrival visas urgently. “We’re sending additional officials from our missions in Italy and Germany so that required services can be provided to Bangladeshis within the shortest possible time,” said the state minister. Read: Ukraine says Russian army attacked from Belarus Bangladesh on Thursday asked its nationals in Ukraine "to move to safer places" with Kyiv closing its airspace amid a Russian invasion while the country's embassy in Poland is exploring ways to give Bangladeshis shelter. An estimated 500 Bangladeshi nationals, including students, are currently stranded in Ukraine. Bangladesh's Embassy in Poland said that it is in touch with the host government as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka "regarding further steps to ensure the safety of Bangladeshis in Ukraine". "Around 500 Bangladeshis are in direct touch with us. We have asked them to take shelter in safer places," Bangladesh's Ambassador to Poland Sultana Laila Hossain told UNB over the phone from Warsaw. She said they are preparing a database which will be shared with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland as traveling to Poland would require visas. The ambassador said they also will request the Polish government to allow Bangladeshis into the country, noting that some of the Bangladeshis might not have passports who will require travel permits. “We’ll seek to know how to proceed considering the current situation," she said. Asked about exact figure of Bangladeshis in Ukraine including undocumented ones, she said they were getting a number in between 1000-1500 but many moved from Ukraine already. We don’t have an accurate figure.”  The ambassador said Bangladeshis are not concentrated in a single place and those who are in touch with the embassy informed this morning about bombing and siren. Read: Russia-Ukraine: What to know as Russia attacks Ukraine  “We had a meeting with them last night. We asked them to move to safer places with required food and money,” said the envoy. She said they are getting updates from those who are in touch with the embassy but they are yet to establish contact with others. However, she said that they (Bangladeshis) are encouraged to share information with each other so that others can also get in touch with the mission. Bangladesh does not currently have an embassy or a consulate in Ukraine. The country's embassy in Poland takes care of its Ukraine affairs. On February 15, the embassy asked Bangladeshi nationals in Ukraine to consider leaving Ukraine temporarily in view of the volatile situation in that country. Bangladeshi nationals were also advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Ukraine and keep the embassy in Poland informed about the status of their presence in Ukraine to enable the mission to reach them easily, according to an earlier advisory. Russian troops launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions, warning other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen". Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of a Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine’s democratically elected regime.

Two Bangladeshi nationals, who returned home from India through the Benapole border in Jashore, have tested positive for Covid-19, officials said on Tuesday. Dr Ashrafuzzaman of the Benapole Immigration Health Centre, said that three people returned to Bangladesh from India through the land border on Wednesday noon. Read:Covid positivity rate marks sharp rise in Bangladesh Of them, two -- Habibur Rahman, 60, and Habibullah Sohan, 30, of Sadar upazila in Thakurgaon district -- tested Covid positive, he said. The Covid-19 positive patients were sent to Jashore 250-bed General Hospital while another returnee, Kamal, was taken to the Jashore isolation centre for a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Raju Ahmed, officer-in-charge of the Benapole checkpost, said the two Bangladeshi nationals had gone to India for medical purposes. "Already the higher authorities concerned have been informed." The world is struggling to fight off the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and the number of corona cases is increasing fast globally. Three more cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Bangladesh, taking its total tally to 10, according to GISAID, the global database for genomic data on the Coronavirus. On December 11, Bangladesh reported its first two cases of the Omicron variant in two members of the Bangladesh women cricket team. Read: COVID case counts may be losing importance amid omicron India Wednesday reported its first known Omicron death in the northwestern city of Udaipur, as the country recorded a whopping 58,097 fresh Covid cases and 534 fatalities in 24 hours. Alarmed by the rising Omicron cases, India's federal government two weeks ago warned states that "the variant is three times more transmissible than the Delta" and directed them to take action to rein in its spread.

Fully vaccinated travellers from Bangladesh no longer require quarantine on their arrival in the Netherlands. But the travellers must be tested before their departure from Bangladesh (even if they are vaccinated fully). Read: Malaysia lifts entry restriction on travellers from Bangladesh Those who are not vaccinated (or partially vaccinated), must have quarantine statement with them and need to be home quarantined. Read: UK removes Bangladesh from travel red list Bangladesh Embassy in The Hague shared the updated directives for Bangladeshi nationals travelling to the Netherlands from Bangladesh.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday said the government is in regular touch with the stranded Bangladeshi nationals in Afghanistan and has taken every measure for their safe and orderly departure from the troubled country.  So far, the government has facilitated the return of around 20 of them from Afghanistan, said the ministry. Read:12 Bangladeshis reach US Military base along with Afghan students: FM Bangladesh has urged all concerned to ensure safety and security of the Afghan people as well as foreign nationals in Afghanistan. Bangladesh has also called upon all concerned to exercise maximum restraint during this challenging time hoping an early return of normalcy and restoration of peace in Afghanistan. While appreciation efforts for facilitating the safe departure of all foreigners including Bangladesh nationals, Bangladesh wants to see continuation of the return process of the remaining foreign nationals. Read:Taliban guard airport as most NATO troops leave Afghanistan "It is expected that the development workers can return to Afghanistan once conducive environment is restored," MoFA said. Bangladesh expressed deepest condolences to the bereaved families who lost their near and dear ones at the bomb attack near Kabul Airport on 26 August and prayed for early recovery of the injured. 

Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok has facilitated repatriation of a group of 68 Bangladeshi, Indian and Thai nationals from Thailand to Bangladesh by a special Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.  The flight was arranged on a self-payment basis in line with Bangladesh Government’s commitment to extend all possible assistance and support to stranded Bangladeshis abroad.  Read: More people return to Dhaka from Thailand by special flight The Biman Bangladesh flight arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.  Ambassador of Bangladesh to Thailand Mohammed Abdul Hye thanked the Thai Government for extending their cooperation in this regard. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, the Embassy of Bangladesh in Bangkok has so far facilitated 16 special flights from Bangkok to Dhaka in coordination with the authorities concerned in Bangladesh and Thailand.  Read:78 Bangladeshis, foreign nationals arrive from Thailand Officials of the Embassy saw the passengers off at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport and extended necessary consular and other assistance for their departure formalities.