Bangladesh in world media this week

Ukraine war still dominates world news headlines. However, some regional news outlets published some news on Bangladesh in the outgoing week.

Here is a pick of five stories on Bangladesh that made headlines on international media in the outgoing week (March 5 to March 11):

Bangladesh, Nepal, India agree to open transport routes in six months

Nepal, India and Bangladesh have agreed to open at least one or two transport routes for passenger vehicles under the banner of BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal), a sub-regional initiative, in the next six months, reported the Kathmandu Post on March 10.

A meeting of three countries on the BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement on March 7-8 in New Delhi, where Bhutan participated as an observer, decided to go ahead with the plan to open the route(s) as pilot operation.

The meeting was held to discuss the Passenger and Cargo Protocols that are essential for implementing the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for the regulation of passenger, personal and cargo vehicular traffic between the four countries signed in June 2015.

This was the first meeting of the group since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic two years ago. The last meeting was held in February 2020 in New Delhi.

A study by the ADB has proposed 10 regional road networks as South Asian Corridors, out of which seven have been identified in the BBIN region.

But, the transport corridor will come into operation only after the countries involved give their official nod after conducting detailed studies on the matter.

Lithuania cancels Covid-19 vaccine donation to Bangladesh after UN vote on Russia

Lithuania has cancelled its decision to donate Covid-19 vaccines to Bangladesh after the country abstained during the United Nations General Assembly vote on condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this week, the Lithuanian government decided to send 444,600 doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh, reported LRT on March 8.

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that demands Russia to “immediately” withdraw from Ukraine.

After more than two days of debate, which saw the Ukrainian ambassador accuse Russia of genocide, 141 out of 193 UN member states voted in favour of the non-binding resolution.

Bangladesh rest all-rounder Shakib for South Africa tour

Bangladesh on Wednesday said they will rest all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan from all cricket until April 30 after the star sought to withdraw from the upcoming tour of South Africa, reported the Firstpost on March 9.

There was no immediate comment from Shakib but the 34-year-old at the weekend had said he needed a break and would like to skip the tour.

After a string of poor performances in the home series against Afghanistan, Shakib on Sunday said he felt like a "passenger" in the team and was not in the right mental state to play.

Shakib scored just 14 runs in two T20 matches against Afghanistan last week and took two wickets.

In the three-match ODI series he scored a total of 60 runs and claimed just five wickets.

He had already been named in the squads for both the Test and ODI series in South Africa.

Shakib skipped Bangladesh's previous Test series against New Zealand and reportedly asked for leave to play in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

But he went unsold in the IPL auction, paving the way for his return to the Test side.

In 2021, Shakib played only three of Bangladesh's seven Test matches.

The Bangladesh team on Thursday will fly to South Africa, where they will play three ODIs and two Tests in March and April.

Malaysia vetting 2 lakh applications for Bangladeshi workers

Malaysia’s Human Resources Ministry has received 2,00,000 applications for Bangladeshi foreign workers, which are presently being vetted, reported The Star on March 10.

The Human Resources Minister said the workers will be allowed for all sectors once the process is completed.

"We are also hoping to sign the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Indonesia to bring in foreign maids on March 17 in Bali," said Saravanan at a press conference after launching HRD Corp Open Day here on Thursday (March 10).

"Many of the issues with Indonesia have been ironed out and we are 'seeing the light at the end of the tunnel' on the MOU and hopefully it happens, unless there are any changes," he added.

Saravanan said induction courses will be made compulsory for all foreign workers who are brought into the country to create awareness on their rights while they are here.

"No agents will be used to bring in foreign workers, as employers will have to recruit workers directly to eliminate the issue of abuse by agents.

Saravanan said there will not be any more special approvals for ministers to bring in foreign workers and E-wages system will be implemented where foreign workers must be paid salaries by the seventh of every month.

On the amendments to the Employment Bill to increase the paternity leave from three days to seven days, Saravanan said it will be tabled for reading and approval in the next Parliament sitting.

First super-heavy equipment of Bangladesh's largest fertilizer factory installed

The carbon dioxide stripping tower, the first super-heavy equipment of Bangladesh's Ghorashal-Polash Urea fertilizer project (GPUFP), the country's largest and first evergreen fertilizer factory, was installed successfully on Tuesday.

Engineers and workers from China National Chemical Engineering & Construction Corporation Seven Ltd successfully lifted and installed the tower, which is 68.5 meters high and has a self-weight of 447.5 tons, reported the Xinhua on March 9.

After "dress-up", its lifting-weight reaches 602.7 tons, being the tallest and heaviest equipment of the fertilizer factory located in Narsingdi district, some 51 km northeast of the national capital Dhaka.

The Chinese company said the smooth lifting of the tower has laid a solid foundation for the subsequent lifting of other super-heavy equipment.

With the main crane hooking slowly and the auxiliary crane working carefully, the carbon dioxide stripping tower was lifted at one time, winning appreciation from the company's Japanese partner Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation.