Bangladesh’s efforts to send workers to five countries have suffered a blow as those nations adopted restrictive measures before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Remittance hit a four-month high in January after the government increased cash subsidy to remitters.

Seven Bangladeshi migrants, who died of hypothermia on a boat from Libya towards the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa on January 25, have been identified.

Some 273 out of 287 migrants recently found on a boat in the Mediterranean have primarily been identified as Bangladeshis, according to the Bangladesh embassy in Rome.

Some 550 Bangladeshi expatriate workers, including 200 UAE-bound ones, are forced to cancel their flights every day at the last moment, said sources at Dhaka airport.

Around 550 Bangladeshi expatriate workers, including 200 UAE-bound workers, are forced to cancel their flights every day at the last moment after being diagnosed with Covid-19, sources at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) said.

A Malaysian lawmaker has called upon the country’s government to take a closer look and delve deeper into the 25 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies and their 10 sub-agents who have been allowed to recruit workers from Bangladesh to Malaysia.

Seven Bangladeshi migrants, who were on a boat from Libya towards the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, have died of hypothermia, Italian Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio said in a statement yesterday.

Seven Bangladeshi migrants who were on a boat from Libya heading for the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa have died of hypothermia, Agrigento Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio said in a statement on Tuesday.

Malaysian Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin yesterday said his country will no longer give special quotas for the recruitment of foreign workers, reports The Star.

A debate over syndication in labour recruitment in Malaysia is swirling around, especially after Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard on December 19.

No more special quotas will be given for the recruitment of foreign workers in Malaysia, the country's Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said today.

All authorised recruiting agencies will get opportunities to send workers to Malaysia, said Expatriates’ Welfare Minister Imran Ahmad.

Bangladeshis will continue to have the opportunity of applying for employment in Italy through the legal process as seasonal and non-seasonal workers in various sectors.

Malaysia’s agreement with Bangladesh on labour intake is shrouded in so much secrecy that even employers and agents do not have any access to details, reports a Free Malaysia Today opinion piece penned by K Parkaran.

“Media reports on recruiting syndicates for Malaysia are nothing but trash,” remarked Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad, while talking to The Daily Star yesterday.

A total of 25 Bangladeshi recruitment agencies and 250 sub-agencies are expected to be involved in the recruitment of migrant workers for Malaysia, reports news portal Malaysiakini citing sources.

Migrant workers from Bangladesh may soon be able to go to Greece by legal means as the two countries are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in this regard next month.

Some 92 Bangladeshi workers left Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Korea today through chartered flights operated by a Korean air company as the government of the East Asian nation resumed receiving foreign workers.

Remittance slightly increased in the just concluded year after experiencing a falling trend in the last couple of months.