Bangladesh in world media this week

In the outgoing week, world media was overwhelmed with news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The conflict also spilled over into Bangladeshi interests. A Bangladeshi ship was hit in Ukraine in the week killing one crew. Bangladesh and Afghansitan series was also a major interest for international media last week.

Here is a pick of five stories on Bangladesh that made headlines on international media in the outgoing week (February 26 to March 4):

Bangladesh cargo ship off Ukraine hit by missile, one killed

A missile or bomb hit a Bangladeshi owned cargo ship at the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Olvia, killing one of its crew members, and efforts were underway to rescue the others from the vessel, Al Arabiya News reported on March 3.

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“The ship came under attack and one engineer was killed,” Pijush Dutta, executive director of Bangladesh Shipping Corp, told Reuters.

“It was not clear whether it was a bomb or missile or which side launched the attack. The other 28 crewmen are unharmed,” he said without providing further details.

The Bangladesh-flagged Banglar Samriddhi had been stuck at the port of Olvia after Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24 and had been hit by a missile, a Bangladesh foreign ministry official said earlier on Thursday.

Liton Das ton guides Bangladesh to ODI series-clinching win over Afghanistan

Liton Das struck a hundred and shared a record 202-run stand with Mushfiqur Rahim to set up an 88-run win for Bangladesh in the second one-day international against Afghanistan in Chittagong on Friday, NDTV reported on February 26.

Liton's 136 off 126 balls guided the hosts to 306-4 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, before they bowled out the visitors for 218 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Mushfiqur hit 86 off 93 balls to play his part before Taskin Ahmed (2-31) and Shakib Al Hasan (2-38) combined with other bowlers to wrap up the Afghanistan innings in 45.1 overs.

Liton brought up his fifth ODI century with a four off Rashid and hit 16 fours and two sixes in his innings.

“The partnership Liton and Mushy created was amazing,” said Bangladesh captain Tamim. “Though we did not finish well with the bat the bowlers did the job for us.”

Fareed finished with 2-56 for Afghanistan, playing his first match in the series.

“We conceded a few too many in the early overs and then that partnership between Mushy and Liton took the game away from us,” lamented Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.

It was the second Bangladesh partnership record of the series, after a seventh-wicket stand between Afif Hossain and Mehidy Hasan took them to a four-wicket victory in the first match on Wednesday.

Shakib's 400th wicket in Bangladesh win

Shakib Al Hasan has taken his 400th international white-ball wicket while left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed also starred as Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 61 runs in their first Twenty20 international.

Nasum claimed a career-best 4-10 on Thursday as paceman Shoriful Islam grabbed 3-29 and Shakib 2-18 to complement his brilliance, the Canberra Times reported on March 3.

Nasum helped reduce Afghanistan to 4-20 in just the fifth over, a start they failed to recover from before eventually being dismissed for just 94 in 17.4 overs in reply to Bangladesh's 8-155.

Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi were attempting a comeback for Afghanistan with a stand of 37 until Nabi holed out for 16, giving their distinguished allrounder Shakib his 400th international white-ball wicket.

In his next over, the 34-year-old Shakib also dismissed Zadran, who top-scored for 27.

Earlier, after Bangladesh opted to bat first, Liton Das struck a 44 ball-60 to get them started, before Afif Hossain scored 25 and debutant opener Munim Shahriar made 17.

Opener Naim Sheikh continued his poor form with just two to his name, and Shahriar was dismissed by Rashid Khan to leave Bangladesh 2-25.

Korea to handle $700mn Bangladesh power grid project

Korea has won the exclusive right to push ahead with a $700 million power infrastructure project in Bangladesh, Korea Times reported on March 4.

The country will be in a primary position to plan the project to build a smart grid system in Purbachal aimed at assuring a stable power supply in the newly developed city, some 15 kilometers northeast of Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.

Korea will conduct a feasibility study on the project first, before discussing the conditions and other details of the project with the Bangladeshi government.

The decision was announced at a meeting earlier in the day between the Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corp. (KIND) and Bangladesh's Public Private Partnership Authority.

Launched in 2018, KIND is the state agency that supports Korean companies in "project planning, feasibility studies, project information and bankability," its website said.

KIND and Bangladesh's Public Private Partnership Authority signed a memorandum of understanding in April 2019 for cooperation in developing infrastructure in Bangladesh, according to the ministry.

Under the MOU, Korea has so far won exclusive rights to proceed with four separate infrastructure projects worth $10.2 billion.

Bangladesh sets target to send 1 million workers abroad in 2022

Bangladesh is seeking to send 1 million workers abroad this year and diversify labour migration destinations, a top overseas employment official has said, as the country ramps up its COVID-19 vaccination campaign to reach the target, Arab News reported on March 2.

Over 10 million Bangladeshis are living and working abroad, mainly in the Middle East. They are the second largest contributor of the country’s foreign remittances after the garment sector. Last year alone, they sent over $22 billion back home, according to Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training data.

“We have a plan to export 1 million migrant workers to different countries around the world, and we are working to explore every possibility in this regard,” Mohammed Abdul Kader, additional secretary of employment, policy and research at the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment, told Arab News earlier this week.

The government’s target nearly doubles the number of workers Bangladesh exported last year, when COVID-19 restrictions limited travel across the world.

Authorities are hopeful they will be able to reach the target as most of the country’s population has already been vaccinated against the virus.