The Bangladeshi-flagged vessel MV Abdullah, which was released by Somali pirates on April 14 after 32 days in captivity, reached Kutubdia anchorage in Cox's Bazar on Monday evening (May 13). Quoting Mohammad Abdur Rashid, the captain of the ship, Meherul Karim, chief executive officer of KSRM Group, which owns the ship, said MV Abdullah anchored at Kutubdia anchorage safely. It had earlier entered Bangladesh's territorial waters on Monday morning.

All 23 Bangladeshi sailors and crew members were transported to Chittagong Port in a lighter ship on Tuesday, where many of them were finally able to catch their first glimpses of their families in almost three months. As expected, the port premises became a scene of unalloyed joy as these family reunions occurred, the relief on their faces palpable for all to see. On March 12, the MV Abdullah, carrying 55,000 tonnes of coal from Mozambique to Dubai, was captured by Somali pirates, along with 23 sailors.

AD Ports Group of the UAE signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) for the development of the seaport, including construction of a multi-purpose terminal under the mega Bay Terminal project. The Abu Dhabi-based enabler of global trade, logistics and industry earlier proposed to invest $1 billion to construct and equip the multi-purpose terminal while the CPA said they have recently accepted the proposal.

Once constructed, the multi-purpose terminal will be equipped to handle one million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers and seven million tonnes of bulk cargo annually, the port officials hoped. State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury attended the signing ceremony as the chief guest held at the Westin Dhaka Hotel, according to a press release issued by the CPA. AD Ports Group in partnership with the CPA would be engaged in the development of the multi-purpose terminal of Bay Terminal along with other projects in the port.

The chairman of a union parishad (UP) in Moulvibazar has been suspended on allegation of carrying out the birth registration activities of 153 Rohingyas. Nakul Chandra Das was the chairman of No. 1 Fatehpur union parishad in Rajnagar upazila of Moulvibazar. The notice of his temporary suspension was issued on April 24. The UP chairman is the local registrar of birth and death registration. Using the ID and password allocated for them, the UP secretary reviews the birth and death registration applications. If they find the application to be appropriate, the UP chairman approves it with their own ID and password.

The registrar general's office allocates this ID and password for birth and death registration, which is not transferable. Accused Nakul, however, claims that these birth registrations (of the Rohingyas) were done using his password through hacking. According to Fatehpur UP and Rajnagar UNO, the matter came to notice at Shariatpur regional passport office in September last year.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court ordered to maintain status quo on transfer of shares of a Thailand-based firm, to two Chinese firms that are its partners in the First Dhaka Elevated Expressway Company (FDEE) Ltd, which is implementing the project under the supervision of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority. According to the loan agreements with two Chinese banks, the three companies were to pay back the loan in instalments due on January 21 and July 21 every year.

In case one of the three companies failed to pay their share of the instalments, the other two companies could initiate a process of taking over the shares of the third company by paying off the instalment. The two Chinese companies are contending that is what happened, entitling them to 50 percent of the shares of the Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited, which otherwise owns 51% of FDEE. The two Chinese companies, Shandong International Economic and Technical Cooperation Group and Sinohydro Corporation Limited, own 34% and 15% respectively.