Heat alert has been issued in various parts of the country due to severe heatwave. In this situation, the Directorate of Secondary & Higher Education has extended the holidays of all secondary schools and colleges in the country till April 27 considering the health and safety of the students. This information was given in a notification from the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education on Saturday (April 20). According to the notification, primary and secondary schools will remain closed for seven days from Apr 21 to Apr 27. In this regard, Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin, senior information officer at the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education said that secondary level schools and colleges will remain closed till April 27 due to the heatwave. Regular classes will begin on April 28. Earlier, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education announced the closure of the primary school assembly through a notification due to the ongoing heatwave in the country. The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education is keeping a close watch on the heatwave across the country. Considering the situation, all government primary school assemblies in the country will remain closed until further notice.  

Metro rail services will be closed for two during Eid-ul-Fitr. As a result, the metro rail movement will be closed for two consecutive days on the occasion of Eid. The day after Eid al-Fitr is Friday. That day is the weekly holiday of Metro rail.  Nazmul Islam Bhuiyan, deputy manager of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), confirmed the matter on Wednesday morning (April 10). He said, according to the previous announcement, the metro rail will be closed on the Eid day. Metro services were also suspended on Eid last year. Nazmul Islam Bhuiyan said in the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, an average of 2,40,000 passengers traveled daily on the metro rail. Before Ramadan, the number was 295,000. The number of passengers has increased after the metro rail increased by one hour from 16 Ramadan. In the last five days, an average of 2 lakh 90 thousand passengers have traveled.  

The High Court has issued a order about the closure of primary and secondary schools throughout the upcoming month of Ramadan. At the same time, the notification to keep schools open during Ramadan has also been suspended. The High Court bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order following a writ petition. The High Court has issued a rule asking why the decision to keep the school open should not be canceled. The notification to keep the school open has also been suspended for two months. Earlier, Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Elias Ali Mondal filed the writ petition with the concerned branch of the High Court on February 25. He challenged the legality of the government's decision to keep schools open during the month of holy Ramadan.

Extreme cold has forced the authorities concerned to shut all primary schools in three districts of the Rangpur division. This decision will remain in effect until further notice. “Only classes will be stopped in all primary schools in Kurigram, Panchagarh, and Dinajpur,” Shah Rezwan Hayat, director general of the Directorate of Primary Education said. “However, teachers will be present for other school work,” he added.   Rangpur division is shivering in bitter cold. People's lives have been disrupted due to thick fog and chilly winds. The temperature has been fluctuating between 8C-11C for the past few days.   In this situation, about 3,500 primary schools in three districts of Rangpur Division have been declared closed.   Instructions have been issued to close primary and secondary schools in districts where temperatures will fall below 10C during the ongoing cold waves. The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education and the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education issued separate office orders in this regard on Jan 16.  

As China freezes with snowfall and cold breezes, multiple cities in East China's Jiangsu and Anhui provinces suspended schools on Tuesday as a precautionary measure to prioritise the safety of students and teachers, as reported by Global Times. Cities including Jiangsu's Nanjing, Changzhou and Zhenjiang, as well as Anhui's Lu'an, Wuhu and Chuzhou, have suspended classes or implemented flexible school hours to reduce the risk and transportation pressure caused by the cold weather. Moreover, all primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, vocational and technician schools in Changzhou were closed on Tuesday due to the cold weather. However, parents can apply for in-school care services if needed, and the schools will coordinate and arrange for care services, according to the Changzhou education authority. Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, has further implemented flexible school hours from Tuesday to Friday, reported Global Times. "Students who don't meet the conditions for attending school can choose not to come to school, while other students can arrive late or leave early according to their actual situation," the Nanjing education authority said. Several parents from Anhui confirmed that local schools suspended classes on Tuesday due to the snowy weather, according to Global Times. "The teachers held classes online and gave homework to the children to complete at home. We totally understand the decision as the weather poses transportation as well as safety risks," Zhang, a parent of a primary school student from Anhui's Wuhu, said on Tuesday. Since Sunday night, the regions along the south of the Huaihe River have seen moderate to heavy snowfall, with some parts experiencing blizzards. As of 8 am on Tuesday, a total of 43 cities and counties within Anhui Province had accumulated one to nine centimetres of snow, reported Global Times. Moreover, another cold air front is likely to affect the province from Tuesday night to Thursday, the Anhui provincial meteorological bureau said in a notice issued on Tuesday. Meanwhile, to enhance safety, an additional work team has been dispatched to Anhui to guide the prevention of and response to disasters from rain, snow and freezing conditions, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management. The initiative was taken as part of requirements for increased efforts in enhancing monitoring, forecasting, and issuing alerts to the public in a timely manner, reported Global Times. Reportedly, Jiangsu provincial education authorities issued a notice on strengthening prevention and response to low-temperature rain, snow, and ice disasters earlier on Sunday. Further, it stipulated the need to enhance risk prevention for outdoor group activities and suspend teaching and outdoor activities if required.  Source: ANI

A joint protest by scholars, journalists and businessmen was held against load shedding in Muzaffarabad , Pakistan-occupied Kashmir ( PoK ). A complete shutter-down strike was also observed and the locals called on the government to act quickly to stop load shedding. The load-shedding, according to demonstrators, is now intolerable and they are forced to take to the streets. A protester said, "I would like to thank everyone for closing their shops. The administration forced you to close your shops. No shopkeeper closes his shop; he sits in his shop in the morning and takes something for his family and kids. For the last five days, tailors in this area are suffering a lot. Have a fear of God. When God's stick is used, everyone is crushed in it. I request the administration and the new DC to take notice of it." The residents of the occupied region are accusing the Pakistani government of unfair treatment. The locals say that the government keeps sending them high electricity bills despite the fact that electricity is always cut off and load shedding is common in the area. In September, civil society activists were seen throwing thousands of electricity bills into a river in Muzaffarabad. Highly inflated bills have put undue financial strain on the people who live in the region, which produces large amounts of electricity. Another protester said, "This terrible injustice has been going on for the last five days. These madrassa students, tailors and residents have been worried for the last five days. You all are forcing us to intensify this protest in other areas." The residents are not able to perform prayers in mosques due to the lack of electricity. The situation is even worse in the rural and remote areas of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. "Electricity has been turned off in Jama Masjid. People are offering namaz (prayer) in Jama Masjid by using candles and lamps. I condemn this. This is the condition of our cities. You can understand what kind of situation there must be in villages," said a protester. Since the unlawful occupation of PoK by Islamabad, the locals in the region have faced all kinds of challenges. The successive governments in Islamabad have treated them unjustly and they have never been given the rights they deserve. In recent years, the people in the area have started to voice their grievances against the government of Islamabad.  Source: ANI

Bangladesh Jewellers’ Association (BAJUS) said that, all jewellery shops of Dhaka metropolis will be closed after 5pm on today, July 17. BAJUS said that in a press release on July 16. The statement said that, all jewellery shops of Dhaka Metropolis will be closed as 58th anniversary of bajus will be celebrated. On this day, in 1966, largest and traditional trade organization of the country, Bajus was formed. 

Patuakhali's Payra power plant is currently producing 1,320MW of electricity, which is shutdown the operation temporarily today, june 05 due to the coal shortage. On Monday, June 5 exactly at 12:00 noon the power plant shuts down. According to reliable sources, the two units of the Payra Thermal Power Plant have 1,320MW production capacity. On Thursday, May 25, the first unit was shut down due to coal shortage, and the second unit was also shut down today, June 05.  As a result, the entire power generation of the country's largest power plant has been halted. This can lead to load shedding across the country. The authorities state that the government and the Bangladesh Bank have allocated $100 million for importing coal. The LC has already been opened, and coal is expected to arrive and by the end of next month, the power plant will resume operation. According to the power plant authorities, the current dues for this power plant to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) are approximately 50 billion taka.  Due to the dollar crisis, the LC could not be opened earlier, and therefore, coal import was not possible.

Aircraft takeoff and landing will remain suspended from 6pm to 2 am everyday at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) starting from March 11 to June 10 due to renovation work. The information was delivered by Civil Aviation Authority on Monday. According to the directive, flight takeoff and landing will remain suspended for construction work of new high speed taxiway at third terminal of the airport. Earlier, in a notice civil aviation authority said that flight operation will remain suspended from 10 December to 10 March. In this period all types of flight operation on HSIA runway will remain suspended from 12am to 8am. As the new directive was given to suspend flight operation for more three months so basically the flight operation will remain suspended for 8 hours per day for six months starting from December 10 to June 10. Sylhet Osmani International Airport has been kept ready as alternative runway. In case of emergency flight can be landed at Osmani Airport. Meanwhile, the winter flight schedule of Shahjalal Airport has begun. Under the current schedule, times of flights after midnight have been changed. The airport authority follows the winter schedule starting from November. In this period dense fog remains most of the times at the airport starting from 2am to 9am. So visibility problem occurs sometimes for maintaining flight operation. In this case for emergency landing the flight has to divert for another airport. AH          

Education Minister Dr. Dipu Moni has said that if Coronavirus transmission rate increases in the country after reopening of educational institutions then those will be made closed again. She said this at Jamalpur circuit house on Saturday morning. The education minister said, all the educational institutions of the country will be reopened from Sunday. If lessons are given abiding by the health safety guidelines then there is possibility of less virus transmission. If the transmission rate increases then the educational institutions will be declared closed. She said, though teaching in the classrooms was suspended but online teaching was going on. Lessons were being continued through television and online platform. She also requested all not to allow children for going to schools if any student or member of the family is infected with Coronavirus. AH