New students will be admitted to different classes including  class l through lottery due to Covid-19 situation, said   Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni on Tuesday.

“We have taken a decision to admit students to different  classes through lottery after discussion with experts and detail information will be disclosed  within December 7,” she said while talking at a virtual press conference.

“This year the catchment area will be enhanced  to 50 percent from existing  40 percent and cluster system admission seekers can choose five schools for enrollment,” she said.

Considering the current situation, it is not possible to hold admission test with the students' physical presence and to arrange online admission test in every school is very tough, said Dipu adding “That’s why the government has taken the decision.”

The government has extended the closure of educational institutions until December 19, aiming to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

The Education Ministry issued a notice in this regard on November 12.

In late March, the government announced general holidays in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and shut all the educational institutions.

Although activities at both government and private offices gradually resumed, educational institutions have not been reopened.

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The global death toll from Covid-19 reached 1,409,301 on Wednesday as the confirmed cases neared six million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Coronavirus is affecting 191 countries and territories around the world, infecting 59,762,055 people since the first cases were reported in China in December last year.

The United States has recorded the most cases (12,591,165) since the start of the pandemic followed by India and Brazil.

India's Covid-19 tally reached 9,222,216 on Wednesday as 44,376 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, the federal health ministry said.

According to it, the death toll mounted to 134,699 as 481 patients died since Tuesday morning.

Delhi has seen a sudden spike in the number of new COVID-19 cases. As many as 6,224 new cases were registered and 109 people died here in the past 24 hours, showed the official data.

There are still 444,746 active cases in the country, while 8,642,771 people have been discharged from hospitals, according to the ministry.

Brazil's Covid-19 death toll surpassed 170,115 on Wednesday, after 630 new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, according to Brazil's Ministry of Health.

The country also registered 31,100 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the caseload to 6,118,708.

Situation in Bangladesh

Bangladesh on Tuesday announced detection of 2,230 new cases, pushing the total to 451,990. During the period, 32 more patients died from Covid-19 which took the death toll to 6,448 with a fatality rate of 1.43 percent.

So far, 366,877 patients (81.17 percent) including 2,266 new ones, have recovered.

Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 and the first death on March 18.

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Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of general secretary of Narail district unit of Awami League and Narail Municipality Mayor M Jahangir Biswas.

She prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family.

Jahangir Biswas breathed his last at 12:50pm at a hospital in the capital. He was 55. He left behind his wife, three sons and host of relatives and well-wishers.

Meanwhile, Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader also expressed his profound sorrow and shock at the death of Jahangir Biswas.

Read Also: PM mourns death of Daily Sangbad acting editor Muniruzzaman

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen have tested positive for Covid-19.

They are doing fine and remain in isolation, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

They both were scheduled to leave for Niger this morning (Wednesday) to attend the 47th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM).

The planned visit was cancelled as they got the Covid-19 test reports on Tuesday.

They went for Covid-19 test as per rules before travelling abroad.

They are now maintaining quarantine following health guidelines.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold the meeting on the theme “United against Terrorism for Peace and Development” on November 27-28.

The OIC will discuss ways to raise funds for supporting the Rohingya case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the meeting.

The OIC Secretariat in a media statement said the Council will discuss the situation of Muslim minorities and communities in non-member states, how to raise funds for the Rohingya case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as well as civilizational, cultural and religious dialogue promotion, and other matters that may come before the council.

Placed on the agenda of this year’s CFM session, Secretary General Dr Yousef Al-Othaimeen explains, is a list of topics and issues of concern to the Muslim world.

In addition to the Palestinian cause, the fight against violence, extremism and terrorism, Islamophobia and religious defamation will also be discussed.

The OIC foreign ministers will also discuss, over two days, political, humanitarian, economic, socio-cultural and other issues related to science and technology, the media and the implementation progress on the OIC plan of action 2025.

The other item on the agenda is a brainstorming session on “Security and Humanitarian Challenges Confronting African Sahel States Members of the OIC”.

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar district.

The Gambia filed a more than 500-page Memorial, which also includes more than 5000 pages of supporting material, in its lawsuit against Myanmar at the ICJ in The Hague, making its case for how the Government of Myanmar is responsible for genocide against Rohingya.

In November 2019, The Gambia opened a case at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, against Myanmar for failing to prevent or punish genocide against Rohingya Muslims.

On January 23, 2020, the ICJ unanimously indicated legally binding provisional measures, requiring the Government of Myanmar to take all steps within its power to prevent the commission of all acts of genocide, such as killing, causing serious mental or bodily harm, and other acts listed in the Genocide Convention.

It also requires the government to preserve evidence of genocide and to report to the court every six months on its progress implementing the order, among other measures.

On September 22, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, presented satellite photographs of a Rohingya village–Khan Da Para, also known as Kan Kya, in Rakhine State—before and after it was attacked and destroyed in military-led “clearance operations” in August 2017.

Two men accused of gang-raping a woman in Magura Sadar Upazila have been arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).

The arrestees were identified as Zahidul Islam, son of Ashraf Hossain, and Asad Molla, son of Golam Rasul Molla of Sadar upazila.

Rab arrested them on Monday night from Batika Bazar in Sadar upazila. After the victim identified the perpetrators, they were handed over to Sadar Police Station on Tuesday night, according to a media release from Rab-6.

The 45-year-old victim, who came to Magura with her husband to work as a farmhand, was gang-raped by five youths at Jagla village in Sadar upazila.

The rapists tied the man to a tree and violated the woman. The victim filed a case against five people on Sunday afternoon.

The miscreants also threatened the couple and told them to keep silent. But the couple informed the villagers about the ordeal and filed the case.

Bangladesh saw a sharp rise in sexual violence and rape incidents in recent months. Nearly 1,000 rape cases, including over 200 gang rapes, were reported between January and September, according to Ain o Salish Kendra.

But the actual number is thought to be higher since many victims of sexual violence do not report the assaults.

The gang rape of two women in Sylhet and Noakhali sparked countrywide protests last month, prompting the government to add death penalty as the highest punishment for rape.

The 'Women and Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Bill, 2020' was cleared by the Parliament on Nov 17.

According to Human Rights Watch, the conviction rate for rape in Bangladesh is below 1 percent.

Marking the 'International Day of Eliminating Violence Against Women', Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said the government, under visionary woman leader Sheikh Hasina, is pledge-bound to build a safer society for women and girls.

He said Bangladesh considers sexual violence against women a social evil. “Its prevention requires a “whole of society approach”," he said in the message.

“Bangladesh government maintains a strong position against all forms of sexual violence against women and has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to counter this menace through socio-economic, legal, and technological interventions,” the Foreign Minister said.

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Bangladesh introduces death penalty for rape