Jamil Mahmud

Several thousand Bangladeshis have been stranded in nine Middle East countries amid suspension of air communications to and from Dhaka for containing Covid-19 spread over the last two weeks.

The government is going to launch a special open market sale (OMS) of coarse rice at Tk 10 a kg in all city corporation areas to ensure food for the urban poor amid the countrywide shutdown.

An estimated two lakh irregular Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus infections with the Southeast Asian country enforcing about a-month-long lockdown since March 18.

A plane departing Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is a rare sight these days, as the country’s busiest airport has turned almost deserted due to air communication suspensions over global Covid-19 outbreak.

The Covid-19 outbreak hit Italy hard at a time when many Bangladeshi wage-earners and traders living in the country were hoping to increase their income during a busy tourist season.

Bangladeshi expatriates in some European counties, especially in Italy, find themselves in a precarious situation amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, with many of them left with no jobs and stuck at home without adequate supply of daily essentials.

He went to oil-rich Kuwait as a low-paid migrant worker about a decade ago to change his fortune, with dreams to return to the country to enjoy his sunset years. But like hundreds before him, Md Kalam’s dreams remained unfulfilled.

Saudi Arabia is planning to abolish its controversial sponsorship system, known as kafala, amid economic reforms and frequent allegations of labour exploitation in the Gulf country.

Around 5,600 undocumented Bangladeshi migrant workers in Saudi Arabia have applied for their repatriation under a special exit programme.

Some 470 Bangladeshi migrant workers are set to return home this week from crisis-hit Lebanon, following applications for repatriation under a special programme announced by authorities. Many of them are desperate to return home, said officials and migrant workers living in the Arab country.

Bangladesh is set to hold talks with one of its major labour receiving countries Qatar today and tomorrow with a hope to see rise in hire of Bangladeshi migrant workers by the Gulf country.

The government is going to identify “outstanding” recruiting agents based on their track record under a new monitoring mechanism -- aiming to efficiently promote human resource export.

Bangladeshi migrants without residence permit who are employed by Saudi Arabian companies will get an opportunity to return under an initiative taken by the Gulf country recently.

Return of over 10,000 undocumented Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia is still uncertain due to a shortage of flights and high ticket prices as the amnesty for the repatriation of illegal foreigners ends tomorrow.

About 28,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia are still facing uncertainty over returning home within the December 31 amnesty deadline due to the high price of air tickets and a shortage of flights, said sources at the expatriates’ welfare ministry.

The body of Babulal, who was killed in an airstrike in Libya on November 18, reached home yesterday.

Against the backdrop of recent protests over alleged abuse and torture of female migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, a government delegation is going to hold meeting with Saudi authorities in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Little did Sumi Akter know the extent of misery awaiting her when she left for Saudi Arabia to work as a domestic help. She was tortured, kept confined for days, and sold by her employer.

Recent deportation of migrant workers from Saudi Arabia brings to the fore how Bangladesh government fails to prevent malpractices in recruitment and ensure migrants’ welfare, according to experts.

A total of 110 female migrant workers returned empty-handed from Saudi Arabia on August 26. Around 38 of them were forced to return after facing physical and sexual torture, while 48 came back home as they were not paid their salaries on a regular basis.