Bangladesh will observe International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on May 29. A number of activities will be arranged on the day, the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) said in a release on Friday. A programme commemorating the peacekeepers will be held at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Dhaka on Sunday morning. READ: UN honours 2 Bangladeshi fallen peacekeepers The families and relatives of the injured and martyred peacekeepers will be honoured at the programme. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will join the programme as the chief guest via video-conferencing. Law Minister Anisul Huq will be present as the chief guest at Peacekeepers Day Run- 2022. Special journals and supplements will be published by the national dailies to highlight the significance of the day and talk shows will be aired by TV channels, according to the release. Documentaries on Bangladesh's peacekeeping activities will also be aired. Members of the cabinet, ambassadors and high commissioners of different countries, UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh, chiefs of the armed forces, military adviser to the UN Peacekeeping Mission, members of parliament, Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the armed forces, inspector general of police, senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, senior military and civilian officials including media personalities will be present at the programme.

A mild cold wave is likely to sweep over the country on Sunday, Met officials said. “The minimum temperature may range between 9 and 10 degrees in the western part of the country, including Rajshahi, Jashore, Pabna, Kushtia, Satkhira, Khulna, Faridpur, Bogura, Dinajpur and Rangpur districts, on December 19 and December 20," said AKM Ruhul Kuddus of the Met office. However, the temperature may rise after December 20. READ: Brace for a foggy weekend! The lowest temperature of the country was recorded at 9.4˚C at Tetulia in Panchagarh around 9am on Saturday. The highest temperature was recorded at 29.7 degrees in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar district. Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country. Light morning fog may occur at places over the country, said a regular Met bulletin. READ: Bangladesh ‘braces for Covid’s winter wave’; experts urge caution Night temperature may fall slightly but day temperature is likely to remain nearly unchanged over the country.

The much-awaited Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations will begin on Sunday, maintaining health protocols. Usually, the SSC examinations are held in February but this year these could not be held as per schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic. An uncertainty was created over the public examination due to prolonged Covid-forced closure of educational institutions and Delta variant-driven resurgence of Covid cases from the beginning of the year. READ: SSC examinee hacked to death in Chudanga With the improvement in the Covid situation, the government finally reopened educational institutions on September 13 and on September 27, and it announced plans to hold the SSC and HSC examinations with shortened syllabuses. Some 22,27,113 students are expected to take part in the SSC and equivalent examinations this time while the number was 20,46,779 last time. The number of candidates has increased by 1,79,334 with a growth rate of 8.76 per cent. The examinations will be held with short syllabuses on three elective subjects on a group basis. About 18,00,998 candidates will sit for the SSC examinations under nine general education boards, 3,01,887 for Dakhil exams under Madrasa Education Board and 1,24,228 for vocational exams under Bangladesh Technical Education Board this year. Besides, 429 students will take part in the examination from abroad. Some 3,679 centers are set to sit for the SSC exam across the country. This year, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other social media will be monitored to prevent question paper leak. If any ID is suspected, law enforcers will monitor and  take immediate action. The decision was taken at a meeting on the security of SSC exams with law enforcement agencies at the Ministry of Education on October 13. READ: SSC exams: Coaching centres to remain shut from Nov 8 to 25 According to the schedule, the SSC and its equivalent examinations will end on November 23. Educational institutions across the country were closed in March last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure was extended several times. Last year’s HSC examinees were evaluated on the basis of their results of JSC and SSC exams, a decision which received a mixed reaction.

A weeklong exhibition of 100 cultural objects and artworks representing key aspects of Rohingya memories, experiences, and aspirations will begin in the city on Sunday. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the North South University with the support of the Embassy of the Netherlands are going to organize the exhibition. Artworks of the exhibition will include a triptych of tapestries ‘Myanmar Life,’ ‘Camp Life’ and ‘Future Life,’ depicting Rohingya past, present, and future; scale models of traditional houses, boats and furniture conjure daily life in Arakan; and farming, fishing and domestic tools display traditional livelihoods and craft skills, while videos from camp tell the stories of the artisans. The inaugural ceremony of the exhibition will be held at the exhibition Hall of the North South University and will begin at 5pm. Anne Gerard van Leeuwen, Ambassador, Embassy of the Netherlands, Mia Seppo, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, Md Shahidul Haque, former Foreign Secretary and Senior Advisor, IOM Bangladesh, Professor Atiqul Islam, Vice-Chancellor, North South University and Giorgi Gigauri, Chief of Mission, IOM Bangladesh will attend the inaugural ceremony. Handmade by Rohingya refugee artisans living in the Cox’s Bazar camps, the collection is part of an ongoing effort by the IOM’s Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre to help comprehensively document and preserve the heritage of the Rohingya people, said the IOM.

After nearly 18 months, primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in Bangladesh are all set to reopen gradually from September 12 with a slew of Covid-safety protocols in place. The decision to resume classroom teaching was taken by the Bangladesh government earlier this month in view of the improving Covid-19 situation in the country. School authorities are gearing up to welcome students to classrooms, following prolonged closure since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.  Apart from ensuring thorough sanitisation of the school premises, many teachers have already put out the class routine and other directives for the students online. Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni has already said that the country's educational institutions will be ready to host students by September 9, before finally reopening three days later. “Ministry officials will complete field inspections by September 9 to observe whether the institutions are fully prepared to open their doors for students,” she said, after an inter-ministerial meeting at the cabinet division on September 5. The decision to reopen all the primary, secondary and higher secondary-level educational institutions from September 12 was finalised at the meeting. READ: Private school, college, madrasa teachers can’t be suspended for above 6 months: HC  

The US Embassy in Dhaka, including the Consular Section, will remain closed on Sunday in observance of President’s Day, a US federal holiday.