The death toll from the gas cylinder blast in Gazipur's Kaliakoir upazila rose to 14, as another burn victim died early Wednesday (Mar. 20). The deceased was identified as Kamala Khatun, 65. Kamala, who received 80 percent burn injuries, breathed her last around 4:30 am at the ICU of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said Tariqul Islam, a resident medical officer at the institute.

Condition of eight to nine more victims, who are undergoing treatment at the hospital, is also critical, added the doctor. Solaiman Molla, Mansur Ali, Tayeba, Ariful Islam, Mahidul, Nargis Khatun, Zahirul Islam, Motaleb, Md Solaiman, Rabbi, Tawhid, Yeasin and Mashiur previously died. At least 35 people, including women and children, sustained burn injuries in Kaliakoir on March 13. Locals said a fire broke out from a gas cylinder at a house in Telir Chala area of Mouchak in Kaliakoir that evening. When residents of the house threw the cylinder out on the road, the explosion occurred.

The pirates who hijacked Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah with 23 crew members contacted the owners of the vessel for the first time after nine days on Wednesday. Mizanul Islam, a media adviser of KSRM Group, said: "The pirates contacted us this afternoon but they did not demand anything. We have talked about the crew and the ship in general. Now the environment for discussion has been created. We hope that a solution will be found."

"They informed us that all the crew members are safe and sound. There will be no torture on them. They will again contact us," he added. Captain Anam Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association, said it is a positive sign that they have started communication. "I hope the owners and insurers will negotiate with the pirates to reach an agreement," he added. On March 12, Somali pirates seized control of the Bangladesh-flagged cargo vessel when it was carrying coal from Mozambique's Maputo port to Al Hamriya Port in the UAE.

Bangladesh's exports will continue to contribute to its economic growth in the short term although high inflation, a weaker taka, and restrictions on imports will weigh down consumption and private investment, according to a new report. The report, prepared by BMI, a provider of insights, data and analytics owned by Fitch Solutions, said a weak macroeconomic environment and lower purchasing power had caused consumers to shift spending away from mid-priced clothing towards low-priced items, benefitting low-wage producers such as Bangladesh. The report was released last week.

"We expect that Bangladesh's exports will be bolstered by the growth of low-priced clothing sales across key destinations," the report said. According to BMI, Bangladesh's net exports, which have historically been in the negative, improved to $3.9 billion in the negative, significantly higher than the average net exports of negative $8.1 billion since FY2017-18. Net exports bottomed out at negative $15.1 billion in the second half of 2021-22, it said.

The High Court directed Awami League lawmaker Abdus Salam Murshedy to hand over the property at Gulshan in Dhaka, which he has allegedly occupied illegally, to the government terming it abandoned property. Salam Murshedy has been ordered to hand over the property through the secretary at the housing and public works ministry within three months of receiving the HC verdict. The HC also directed the housing and public works secretary to submit a compliance report before this court through its registrar office in 15 days after receiving the property.

The court said the property was not released through the court of settlement. The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Ebadot Hossain delivered the verdict after holding a writ petition seeking its directives to recover the Gulshan house allegedly occupied by Abdus Salam Murshedy illegally.