CHENNAI: Chief minister of Tamil Nadu, leader to many Tamils and ‘Amma’ to millions, J Jayalalithaa died on Monday after undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai for 73 days. She was 68.
Jayalalithaa, who was admitted to hospital on September 22 with complaints of fever and dehydration, suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening. On Monday, Jayalalithaa continued to be very critical and was on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and life support systems. And the end came at 11.30pm.
In a statement issued after midnight on Tuesday, Apollo Hospitals said: “It is with indescribable grief we announce the sad demise of our esteemed honorable chief minister of Tamil Nadu Puratchi Thalavi Amma at 11.30pm today Monday night. Our honorable chief minister Selvi J Jayalalithaa was admitted On September 22 with complaints of fever and dehydration and underlying comorbidities. The honorable chief minister subsequently recovered substantially to be able to take food orally.
Thousands of Jayalalitha’s supporters, wailing and crying, gathered outside the hospital Monday to pray for her recovery. Police were deployed across the state to ensure security, out of fear that her death could trigger widespread violence and riots.
The US Consulate in Chennai put out an advisory urging Americans to be careful in the city and avoid large crowds.
Affectionately called “Amma,” or “Mother,” by her supporters, Jayalalitha joined politics in the early 1980s after a successful film career that included appearances in nearly 150 movies. She has had three stints as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, the latest of which began in May 2011.
Government officials have rushed to the hospital in Chennai. Police erected barricades to block roads leading to the hospital.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa passes away
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa passes away
Bangladesh sends record 750,000 workers to Saudi Arabia in 2025
- Latest data shows 16% surge of Bangladeshis going to the Kingdom compared to 2024
- Bangladesh authorities are working on sending more skilled workers to Saudi Arabia
DHAKA: Bangladesh sent over 750,000 workers to Saudi Arabia in 2025, marking the highest overseas deployment to a single country on record, its labor bureau said on Friday.
Around 3.5 million Bangladeshis live and work in Saudi Arabia, sending home more than $5 billion every year. They have been joining the Saudi labor market since the 1970s and are the largest expatriate group in the Kingdom.
Last year, Saudi Arabia retained its spot as the top destination for Bangladeshi workers, with more than two-thirds of over 1.1 million who went abroad in 2025 choosing the Kingdom.
“More than 750,000 Bangladeshi migrants went to Saudi Arabia last year,” Ashraf Hossain, additional director-general at the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, told Arab News.
“So far, it’s the highest number for Bangladesh, in terms of sending migrants to Saudi Arabia or any other particular country in a single year.”
The latest data also showed a 16 percent increase from 2024, when about 628,000 went to the Kingdom for work, adding to the largest diaspora community outside Bangladesh.
Authorities have focused on sending more skilled workers to Saudi Arabia in recent years, after the Kingdom launched in 2023 its Skill Verification Program in Bangladesh, which aims to advance the professional competence of employees in the Saudi labor market.
Bangladesh has also increased the number of certification centers, allowing more candidates to be verified by Saudi authorities.
“Our focus is now on increasing safe, skilled and regular migration. Skilled manpower export to Saudi Arabia has increased in the last year … more than one-third of the migrants who went to Saudi Arabia did so under the Skill Verification Program by the Saudi agency Takamol,” Hossain said.
“Just three to four months ago, we had only been to certify 1,000 skilled workers per month. But now, we can conduct tests with 28 (Saudi-approved) centers across the country, which can certify around 60,000 skilled workforces (monthly) for the Kingdom’s labor market.”
On Thursday, the BMET began to provide training in mining, as Bangladesh aims to also start sending skilled workers for the sector in Saudi Arabia.
“There are huge demands for skilled mining workers in Saudi Arabia as it’s an oil-rich country,” Hossain said.
“We are … trying to produce truly skilled workers for the Saudi labor market.”
In October, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh signed a new employment agreement, which enhances worker protection, wage payments, as well as welfare and health services.
It also opens more opportunities in construction and major Vision 2030 projects, which may create up to 300,000 new jobs for Bangladeshi workers in 2026.
