Although February 14 is celebrated as Valentine's Day, the people of the coastal areas of the Sundarbans celebrate the day as 'Sundarbans Day' with a call to come forward for protecting  the forest and mitigating the impacts of climate change on the Unesco World Heritage Site. Sundarbans,  the land of mangrove and Royal Bengal Tiger, is facing the impacts climate change which is affecting nature-dependent livelihoods, health, and nutrition of nearby communities. The day has been celebrated for two decades in the coastal southwestern region including Khulna to raise awareness among people about the need of conserving the Sundarbans. On February 14, 2001, under the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan, Khulna University and 70 other environmental organizations of the country declared February 14 as 'Sundarbans Day' and celebrate it every year. Read more: Wood collectors losing interest in Golpata collection in Sundarbans amid falling demand Taking to UNB, Professor Rafiqul Islam, a resident of Paikgachha upazila adjacent to the Sundarbans, said, "The Sundarbans is vital for our survival. The Sundarbans is the lungs of South Asia. If we do not take proper initiatives to protect it, our country will face a great disaster. So first of all you have to love the Sundarbans. February 14 is the Sundarbans Day for us. “ Bidesh Ranjan Mridha, president of Koyra Unnayan Sangram Coordination Committee, said, "On February 14, we want to inspire the coastal people to love the Sundarbans. Many people do not understand what damages are being done to the Sundarbans. Nature in the forest is changing due to the  rise in the salinity level.” “Sundari tree, one of the most extensively found mangrove species in the Sundarbans, is disappearing fast. Goran, Gewa, Keora are growing there. The nature of water and soil of the Sundarbans has changed. If there was no Sundarbans, Koyra upazila would have been vanished by the cyclones, “ he added. Keramat Mawla, a former member of Mahisharipur union adjacent to the Sundarbans,  said, "Now fish are not found in the river next to our Sundarbans. Profit mongers are killing animals with poison to destroy the Sundarbans. The number of deer is also shrinking. Golpata collectors cut thousands of maunds of leaves with a permit of 500 maunds. We want to make local residents aware of these issues on Sundarbans Day.” Read: Jashore flower growers eye Tk 70 cr sale in the month of language, Falgun, Valentine’s Day

Students of Khulna University called off their movement in the early hours of Wednesday after authorities assured them of meeting their demands. The university authorities on Tuesday afternoon issued a notice to seize all sorts of items, including electronic devices, rice cookers and knives, after a female student of Aparajita Hall attempted suicide by slitting her throat with a chopper. Following the announcement, the students broke open the lock of the hall and took position in front of the dormitory’s main gate to press home their 10-point demand around 10pm. Expressing solidarity with the movement, students from other halls started gathering at Hadi Chattor and continued with the protest until the university authorities assured them of fulfilling their demands around 2am. Read:DMCH interns suspend strike Later, the agitating students submitted their 10-point demand to the authorities. The major demands included lifting the ban on the use of rice cookers and other utensils, amnesty for students who raise voice against sexual harassment on social media, and allowing guardians and female relatives to stay in the halls. The students also made it clear to the university authorities that they would go for a stricter movement "if our demands are met at the earliest". Rahima Rimmi, provost of Aparajita Hall, said that the authorities would meet all the demands of the students.

A student of Khulna University, arrested over raping a young girl, landed in jail on Friday. The accused is Jewel Hossain, a student of the law department of the University and son of Md Sobhan Ali Gazi of Balia village of Mamdkathi upazila of Satkhira district. A Khulna court sent Jewel to jail on Friday morning after police arrested him from a rented house in Islamnagar on Thursday night and produced him before the court, Officer-in-charge of Harintana police station Md Emdadul Haque, said. Read: Hubby 'confesses' to killing female doctor at Dhaka hotel Police made the arrest followed by a rape case lodged at Harintana police station, said the OC. Jewel and the victim were acquainted with each other for a month. During this time they used to travel to different places, according to the case statement. Jewel rented a room in Islamnagar and often stayed there. On Thursday, the victim came to the house around 2.30 pm. There, Jewel tried to rape her, finding her alone in his house, it said. The victim was sent to the OCC (One Stop Crisis Centre) of Khulna Medical College Hospital for treatment.

A Khulna Court has sent a lecturer of Khulna University to jail denying him bail in a case that accused him of torturing his wife for dowry. The accused is Sadhan Chandra Swarnakar, a lecturer of the Department of Environmental Sciences of the university. Read: Policeman held after alleged torture of wife for dowry Khulna Metropolitan Magistrate Judge Md Tariqul Islam handed the order turning down the bail petition on Thursday. On January 31, Puja Swarnakar, the accused’s wife, filed a case in the court of Khulna Metropolitan Magistrate Md Tariqul Islam alleging that her husband  tortured her for dowry. The plaintiff’s counsel Lawyer Abu Huraira Sohel said Sadhan started torturing Puja since their marriage in 2020 demanding dowry. Read: Man arrested for chopping wife’s wrist in Narayanganj for dowry In the latest incident on January 7, Sadhan allegedly tortured Puja and threw her out of the house. Later, Puja’s family members admitted her to Khulna General Hospital after noticing injury marks on her body. Later, the court summoned Sadhan for appearing before the court on Thursday.

The Khulna University authorities on Friday announced suspension of in-person classes until February 6, due to the recent surge of Covid-19 cases across the country. However, online classes will be held and the dormitories will remain open during this period. Read: DU suspends physical classes till Feb 6 The decision came from an emergency meeting held virtually at 4pm chaired by its Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mahmud Hossain, said the university’s PRO Md Atiar Rahman. The classes for the first year of the 2020-21 academic year which were scheduled to begin on January 30 has also been cancelled. At the same time, first year registration and admission to vacant seats will also remain postponed, he added. "The decision in this regard will be taken later". Besides, the offices of the university will be in service from 9 am to 1 pm following proper health guidelines. Read: Classes to go online if Covid spreads to educational institutions: Minister  Electricity, gas, water supply, internet services, treatment and cleanliness services will continue as before, he added. In addition, all concerned have been requested not to hold meetings, rallies and public gatherings on the campus until further notice due to coronavirus infection.

Khulna University, the highest seat of learning in the southern region, on Thursday celebrated its 31st University Day with a variety of programmes and a colourful rally. Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Mahmud Hossain inaugurated the University Day, the day of its founding, by releasing balloons and festoons, followed by a rally that paraded through the campus. In his inaugural speech the VC said, "Khulna University is moving forward with reputation. We will continue to work to uphold this tradition." The university's director of student affairs, teachers, staff, and students were present. KU, the highest educational institution in the southern region, started its journey on November 25, 1991, with only four disciplines and 60 students. Now more than 6,000 students are studying in 29 disciplines. The university was set up at a radio station on the banks of River Mayuri, the Pakistani army used as a centre for torturing Bengalis during the 1971 War of Liberation. KU has renamed the place as Shaheed Nazrul Islam Bhavan. The university takes pride in its achievements in past three decades. Twenty-nine scientists and researchers from KU have been included in the list of world scientists based on the citations of more than 7 lakh scientists from 13,531 universities of 206 countries. Professor Mahmood was ranked fourth in agriculture and forestry in the country, 151st in Asia and 825th in the world. In the 2020 Institutional Rankings of SCImago-Scopus based on science and research, Bangladesh has been in second place in the overall category for two consecutive years. In the innovative category, it is 26 steps ahead of last year, ranking 421st globally and first among the country's universities. It is to be noted that in the research conducted by this international organization conducted in 2019, for the first time among the universities of the country, it got first place in innovation, second place in research and 6th place in social research. The confidence of foreign students is increasing towards Khulna University. In the 2019-20 academic year, 19 foreign students got admitted, which is the highest at the undergraduate level in the university so far. Students from India, Canada and Nepal study in biology schools and science, engineering and technology schools here. KU remains colourful and festive in one way or another throughout the year. More than 22 organizations are active here for social and cultural activities, practising skills like debate, song, dance, recitation, research and photography, educating street children, helping the needy or donating blood.

Khulna University has suspended an assistant professor with the Mass Communication and Journalism department after a female teacher levelled sexual harassment charges against him. Prof Taslima Khatun, head of the Khulna University sexual harassment prevention committee, said that assistant professor Choton Debnath has been placed under suspension pending an investigation. "We are already probing the allegations and the first hearing on the same took place on Wednesday," she said. Read: OC, Inspector suspended for ‘sexual assault’ during remand in Barishal University sources told UNB that Choton called the woman to his rented house on January 26 and sexually harassed her over some issue. Later, he pressurised the woman to tender an apology. Recently, Choton tried to blackmail the woman colleague over the issue, prompting her to submit a written complaint to the sexual harassment prevention committee. When contacted, Choton said, “The committee did not inform me about the charges against me."

Professor Dr Mahmood Hossain of the Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline has been appointed as the new vice-chancellor of Khulna University.  A  gazette notification was issued by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education today in this regard. The appointment has been made as per the approval of the President in accordance with the Khulna University Act 1990. Dr Hossain has become the 12th VC of the university. The term  of the previous  VC Dr Md Fayek Uzzaman ended four months ago on January 28. Read Khulna University female student 'kills self'

A female student of Khulna University reportedly killed herself at her home in the city on Friday.

Khulna University (KU) on Thursday removed the suspension of two students.