President Abdul Hamid on Tuesday urged people to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr adhering to all Covid-safety protocols "as the (coronavirus) situation may deteriorate any time". "The (coronavirus) situation may deteriorate any time if people do not become aware of their movement and lifestyle at this moment," Hamid said. The President said these while conveying Eid greetings to the countrymen through media at Bangabhaban’s Credential Hall after offering Eid prayers this morning.  Due to the Covid pandemic, no religious festival of any community, including Eid, could be celebrated and enjoyed in the expected joyous atmosphere in the last two years, Hamid said. The President said the corona situation at present is very much under control, "so it is normal that people will have a tendency to enjoy unbridled joy now". Also Read: Hasina greets freedom fighters on eid "But you have to keep in mind one thing. The Covid-19 pandemic is under control but this lethal disease has not completely disappeared. Corona infections are on the rise again in many parts of the world. We must not invite danger while indulging in joy during the Eid celebrations," he said. Hamid also urged the people to share the joy of Eid with all, rich and poor alike. Noting that the current government is making continuous efforts to put a smile on the face of every citizen of the country, he said, "Before the Eid-ul-Fitr, 32,904 landless and homeless families were given houses as a gift from PM Sheikh Hasina." "Everyone's pledge on this Eid-ul-Fitr is to make everyone smile by building a hunger-free, poverty-free and happy-prosperous Bangladesh," the President added. Earlier, President Hamid offered Eid prayers at Durbar Hall of Bangabhaban. The Eid jamaat (congregation) at Bangabhaban was held in the morning (9:30 am), President's press secretary Md Joynal Abedin told UNB. The President usually attends the traditional Eid prayers in capital's National Eidgah Maidan but like the last two years, the programme has been scrapped due to the rise of Covid cases in some countries. Also Read: President Hamid congratulates Macron on re-election    

Primary schools in Bangladesh will reopen for in-person classes on March 1, with strict Covid-safety protocols in place. Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin, public relations officer of primary and mass education ministry, told UNB on Friday. On Thursday, Education Minister Dipu Moni said all secondary, higher secondary and university-level educational institutions in Bangladesh will reopen for physical classes on February 22. At the same time, preparations are being made to reopen primary schools in another two weeks, said Dipu Moni.  Read: Senior schools, universities to reopen on Feb 22: Dipu Moni "In-person classes at primary schools will remain closed for another 10 to 14 days. Measures are being taken to vaccinate children below 12 years. The health and family welfare ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services are looking into the WHO approval issues," she added. Meanwhile, the ministry of primary and mass education has already prepared the list of students eligible for Covid jabs at all primary schools, according to the minister. On January 21, the government announced that all schools and colleges in Bangladesh will remain closed from January 21 to February 6 amid a renewed surge in Covid-19 cases largely due to the new Omicron variant. The shutdown was extended till February 20 for the safety of the students as the virus continued to spread. The following day, the education ministry issued an 11-point directive, including the resumption of online classes for schools and colleges. Read:Covid surge: Closure of schools, colleges extended until Feb 20 Besides, the vaccination of students, aged between 12 and 17 years, against Covid-19 was directed to be continued following the health guidelines in coordination with the zonal offices of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, District Education Offices, Upazila Secondary Education Offices, local administrations and Civil Surgeons. After a 17-month Covid-induced closure, the students in Bangladesh returned to their classrooms on September 12 last year. The government shut the educational institutions on March 17, 2020, after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8 and later the closure was extended several times.

All pre-scheduled examinations of National University, Islamic Arabic University, Open University and seven colleges affiliated to Dhaka University will be held, adhering to the mandatory Covid-safety protocols, officials have said. "All the examinations will be held in compliance with health-safety rules," MA Khair, public relations officer of the Education Ministry, told UNB. Read: Covid surge: Closure of schools, colleges extended until Feb 20 On January 21, National University announced the suspension of all its examinations "till further notice" in view of a surge in Covid-19 cases. Meanwhile, the government on Wednesday extended the closure of secondary and higher secondary-level educational institutions by two weeks until February 20. The decision was taken in view of the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country.

In-person classes have been suspended at Rajshahi University till February 6, in light of the latest surge in Covid-19 cases across the country. The residential halls of the university will  however remain open, so that physical attendance in classes can be resumed as soon as possible, once it is deemed safe again. Read: Rajshahi University dormitories reopen after 18 months The decision came from an emergency meeting held at the administration building of the university Friday evening, following a Cabinet Division order in the wake of an alarming surge in Covid cases in the country, said Prof Pradip Kumar Pandey, administrator of the university's Public Relations Office. All offices of the university will remain open on a limited scale during the period from 9am to 2pm maintaining hygiene rules. All emergency services -- electricity, water, gas, internet, healthcare -- on the campus will also remain uninterrupted, according to a statement from Prof Pandey. At the same time, it has been left up to each individual department to decide whether to hold in-person examinations maintaining hygiene protocols. Read:KU suspends in-person classes and decides to go online teaching RU authorities meanwhile advised the students to stay on in the campus, but in their respective dormitories adhering to all Covid-safety protocols and avoiding all public gatherings. The authorities also urged all concerned not to arrange meetings or seminars on the university campus. The students on Friday afternoon staged a demonstration and demanded to keep the campus and dormitories open.

After a delay of nearly seven months due to the pandemic, the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exams for the academic session 2020-21 began on Thursday, following all Covid-safety protocols. Some 13,99,690 students are eligible to take the high-stakes exams this year. The number was 13,65,789 last year -- a 2.48% rise. While 11,38,017 candidates are supposed to appear for the HSC exams under nine general education boards, 1,13,114 are eligible to take the Alim exams under the Madrasa Education Board and 1,48,503 the vocational exams under the Bangladesh Technical Education Board this year. Read: Maintain health protocols to keep HSC exams undisturbed: Dipu Moni Besides, 406 students are slated to appear for the HSC exams from abroad. Some 2,621 centres have been designated as HSC exam hubs across the country. This year, the SSC and the HSC exams could not be held as per schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Subsequently, the government decided to hold the exams with shortened syllabi. The SSC and equivalent exams that began on November 14 concluded on November 23 while the HSC and equivalent exams will conclude on December 30.

The most high-profile bypoll in India is currently underway in the eastern state of West Bengal's capital Kolkata amid tight security and Covid-safety protocols. Voting began at 7 am on Thursday for the by-election to the Bhawanipur seat in south Kolkata, where Bengal's firebrand Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting to retain her constitutional position. Read: Bollywood singer Babul Supriyo joins Mamata's party The by-elections to two more seats in Bengal -- Jangipur and Samserganj in Murshidabad district -- are also underway. Nearly seven lakh people are eligible to cast their ballots in the three constituencies. The results will be out on October 3. In Bhawanipur, 66-year-old Mamata has to pull off a win to continue as Bengal CM.  India's ruling and Bengal's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has pitted a little-known woman lawyer against Mamata. Though her Trinamool Congress party swept back to power in Bengal in May's assembly polls, Mamata lost her own seat in Nandigram to her protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by around 2,000 votes.  Mamata has, however, challenged Suvendu's election in the Kolkata high court. Read: Mamata to kickstart campaign for Bengal bypoll today India's main opposition Congress, on the other hand, has not fielded any candidate against Mamata. The party's decision was announced by West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury earlier this month. On May 2, Mamata single-handedly pulled off a landslide victory in the assembly election for the third time in a row, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In June, Mamata moved the high court to declare Suvendu's election win "null and void' on the grounds that he had indulged in corrupt practices and sought votes on the basis of religion.  "Suvendu Adhikari has indulged in several corrupt practices that have enhanced his winning chances and materially altered Mamata Banerjee's chances of success in the election," her petition read. Read: Mamata slams Modi govt as nephew summoned over coal scam In her petition, Mamata also alleged discrepancies in the counting of votes, Mamata's lawyer had said. West Bengal had witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool rule.

After a gap of nearly five months, tourist places in Bangladesh finally reopened on Thursday. The move comes days after the Bangladesh government had eased Covid-19 lockdown restrictions on the movement of public transport services. However, people will not be allowed to enter the tourist spots without face masks and everyone will have to follow all Covid-safety protocols, as per a government order. Read:Bangladesh allows resumption of all public transport services from Aug 19 In Rangamati, locals heaved a sigh of relief as they got the opportunity to restart their livelihoods with the reopening of hotels, motels, restaurants and tourist spots in the district. Local people dependent on the tourists said they would be able to overcome the losses caused by the closure. As per an estimate of the Rangamati Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the tour operators suffered a cumulative loss of Tk 2.15 crore. Pre-lockdown, Rangamati Hanging Bridge, Polwell Park, Rangamati Sishu Park, Happy Island, Subolong Fountain, Echo Village and all other tourist sports remained abuzz with tourists the entire year.

To keep the wheels of the economy rolling during the ferocious second wave of the pandemic, the government Thursday allowed the resumption of all public transport services from August 19. All tourist spots, community centres, resorts and recreation facilities can also reopen but with 50% capacity from August 19 and following all Covid-safety protocols, the Cabinet division said in a notification. Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh announces new restriction rules The latest directive will remain in force until further orders, according to the Cabinet division.  Earlier, the government had allowed only half of the public transport vehicles to ply on the roads, following all health protocols. Moreover, it was silent on the reopening of the tourist spots and community centres. According to the latest notification, all modes of public transport, including those of road, river and railways can restart operations following all health protocols. Use of masks and social distancing will be mandatory everywhere. And legal action will be taken against violators, be it individuals or organisations, according to the government.       The authorities concerned have been asked to take necessary steps in this regard.   Bangladesh was put under the “strict” lockdown on July 23 barring people from leaving their homes except for essential reasons. Read: Bangladesh eases lockdown, but Delta variant ready to hit freedom Scheduled to end on August 5, it was later extended to August 10.

Life is returning to normal in national capital Dhaka, with the Bangladeshi government easing the Covid lockdown curbs from Wednesday. Almost all factories, offices, shopping malls and standalone outlets reopened in Dhaka this morning, strictly adhering to all Covid-safety protocols. Read: Lockdown breaches: 198 arrested in Dhaka on the last day Public transport services also resumed operations in the morning. Several city buses were seen plying on a number of busy stretches and ferrying passengers with 50 percent of their seating capacity. Such was the morning rush that several areas of the city witnessed traffic snarls, giving commuters a harrowing time on the roads. However, the inter-district buses entering or exiting the city were fewer than pre-Covid days. Besides, train and launch services also resumed services across the country, keeping 50 percent of the seats empty. Abu Raihan Mohammad Saleh, joint commissioner (traffic north) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said, “Traffic jams in some areas were due to the rise in the number of vehicles on the roads." Commuters experienced snarls between 8 am and 10.30 am in different areas of the city -- Technical point, Mirpur, Shyamoli, Asadgate, Banani, Amtoli and Mohakhali intersection to name a few, Abu added.

Banks will remain closed on Sunday, said the Bangladesh Bank in a circular issued on Thursday. However, banks’ transaction time on Monday and Tuesday has been extended by half an hour from 10 am to 3 pm instead of existing time from 10 am to 2:30 pm. Read: Bank transaction time extended by 1 hour during lockdown They can remain open up to 4:30 pm to conduct their official activities, said the BB circular, issued against the backdrop of the government’s extension of current lockdown until August 10 considering the Covid-19 situation. The other instructions including maintenance of all Covid-safety protocols and operation with limited staff will remain unchanged. As per that circular, during this period, the head offices and other necessary branches of banks can remain open with limited staff. Read: Banks to open from Sunday for limited hours The banks have to conduct its regular activities like deposits and withdrawal of money by customers, demand note/pay order issue, foreign remittance handover, payment under the government’s safety-net social programmes and pension payments.    However, internet banking services will continue for 24 hours. All banks will have to ensure the operations of ATM kiosks to facilitate transactions through cards and by supplying adequate cash in the machines, said the BB circular.