Dhaka: The United Nations reiterated its strong support for various reform initiatives of the interim government of Bangladesh led by Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

This support was expressed in a meeting held on Thursday (October 10) in New York, United Nations Under Secretary General for Political and Peace Building Affairs Rosemary DeCarlo and the visiting Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md. Jasim Uddin.

The meeting was held during the Foreign Secretary's first official visit to New York. Bangladesh's commitment to multilateralism and Bangladesh's various cooperative efforts with the United Nations came up in this meeting. Foreign Secretary Md. Jasim Uddin thanked DiCarlo for this support, calling the support of the United Nations very important in realizing the aspirations of the July-August Revolution.

During the meeting, they also discussed Bangladesh's contribution to UN peacekeeping and peace-building activities and the ongoing Rohingya crisis.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Secretary requested the Under-Secretary-General to increase the representation of Bangladeshi citizens at the senior policy-making level of UN peacekeeping operations. Discussing the Rohingya issue, the Foreign Secretary emphasized global attention as well as global action to resolve the Rohingya crisis. He expressed concern over the current conflict situation in Myanmar, which is creating a new area for infiltration of Rohingyas into the territory of Bangladesh.

Expressing fears that the crisis could spread across the region, the foreign secretary called on the United Nations to play an essential role in resolving the ongoing crisis in Myanmar and repatriating the Rohingya from Bangladesh to Myanmar. He assured Bangladesh's full cooperation to the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy. Referring to the proposal of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus to organize an international conference on the Rohingya crisis, the Foreign Secretary sought the cooperation of the United Nations in organizing this conference.

During the discussion, the Under-Secretary-General appreciated the ongoing cooperation between the Interim Government of Bangladesh and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He assured cooperation in various important areas to advance the reform initiative of Bangladesh. The Under-Secretary-General appreciated Bangladesh's role in UN peacekeeping operations. On the Rohingya issue, he expressed hope that the new Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General, Miss Julie Bishop, will work with all stakeholders to tackle the issue holistically.

Prior to the meeting, the Foreign Secretary addressed the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on the issue of 'Advancement of Women'. In his speech, he highlighted the importance of investing in women's education and skill development and the need to ensure the necessary financial resources in this regard. He highlighted the Bangladesh government's initiatives in women's education, gender equality, bridging the digital divide, and ensuring women's well-being and economic empowerment to make them self-reliant. The Foreign Secretary reiterated Bangladesh's commitment to the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, CEDAW and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, and in the adoption of Resolution 1325 establishing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda in 2000 by the then UN Security Council. Mentioned the important role of Bangladesh as a non-permanent member.

Mohammad Abdul Muhith, Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United Nations, attended the meeting with the Under Secretary General.

Steps have been taken to preserve the Chief Justice's official residence at 19 Hare Road in the capital as a heritage. For this, the Department of Archeology has started the process of declaring the building as a 'protected antiquities'.

In a notice on Thursday (October 10), this information was given by the Public Relations Officer of the Supreme Court Shafiqul Islam.

On the day of the fall of the government on August 5, the residence of the Chief Justice was attacked and looted.

Referring to this incident, the notification said, in view of the unexpected damage, Chief Justice Syed Refat Ahmed has taken the initiative to permanently preserve this historically important structure. As the first step of that initiative, the Chief Justice held a meeting with the officials of the Supreme Court Administration and Archeology Directorate on September 25. In that meeting, it was decided to preserve the building by declaring it protected antiquities. Director General of Department of Archeology Sabina Alam was present in the meeting.

According to the decision of the meeting, the Supreme Court administration wrote a letter to the Director General of the Department of Archeology on October 6. In view of that letter, last Wednesday (October 9), Deputy Director of the Directorate of Archeology Amiruzzaman directed the Dhaka and Mymensingh regional director of the directorate to inspect the residence and submit a report.

Highlighting the history and architectural style of the building, the notification said, in 1905, after making Dhaka the capital of East Bengal and Assam in the context of the Partition of Bengal movement, one of the residential buildings that were built for high-ranking government officials is the residence of the Chief Justice of Hare Road. The building was constructed in 1908 in a blend of Mughal and European architecture.

After the annulment partition of Bengal in 1911, the building was used for various purposes, but since the fifties, the building has been used as the residence of the Chief Justice.

According to the notification, according to the Antiquities Act, 1968, the building will be considered a national treasure if the ownership and use rights are preserved in favor of the Supreme Court. Declaring the 116-year-old structure as protected antiquities will help preserve its heritage in view of its historical importance and highlight the importance and heritage of the structure to the future generations. 

The Ministry of Education has formulated a new policy for admission to government secondary schools. According to the policy, there cannot be more than 55 students in each branch from class I to IX. Students can be admitted in all classes subject to availability of seats. This policy will be implemented from the academic year 2025 and the minimum age of the students for admission in the class I should be 5 years.

According to the policy published on Wednesday (October 9), the policy will be implemented from the academic year 2025 and the minimum age of students for admission to the first class should be 5 years. Age determination in later classes will be applied consistently to students admitted in class I.

According to the policy, there will be a committee of 12 members under the chairmanship of the Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education for the admission of students in the schools of Dhaka city and the committee will be formed under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner and UNO at the district level. The date and time of Digital Lottery program and application fee will be decided centrally by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education.

Dhaka Metropolitan Admission Committee' as per the scheduled date and time the students who want to get admission in the software should apply online. The same committee will centrally manage all admission related activities of government secondary schools across the country through digital lottery. Admission applications and collection of application fees and processing and publication of digital lottery results in government secondary schools across the country will be done centrally online.

Along with the list of students selected through lottery, a waiting list of equal number of vacant seats should be prepared. If the selected students are not admitted within the prescribed date, the admission committee will arrange admission in the order of the list from the waiting list. The sequence of the published waiting list must be maintained.

The policy also states that a student can give preference for admission to a maximum of five schools. However, if both shifts are chosen in a double shift school, it will count as two schools. 

Today is Mahashtami, the third day of Autumn Durga Puja, the main religious festival of Bengali traditionalists. Like every year, this year also the special part of Durga Puja 'Kumari Puja' will be held on Mahashtami with great enthusiasm and pleasure. Kumari Puja will be held in pujamandaps across the country today (October 11) including Ramakrishna Mission in the capital.

Kumari Puja is the offering of homage to Jagajjanani by making a living idol of a maternally virgin daughter. According to the scriptures, on this day the virgin will be named after another name of Maa Durga. Through this puja, women will become pure and motherly. Everyone will be respectful to women.

The puja ceremony will begin with 16 materials. Then fire, water, clothes, flowers and wind – these five materials are worshiped to the virgin mother. After making the oblation, garlands will be placed around the neck of the goddess. At the end of Kumari Puja, devotees offer Mahashtami garlands.

Hindus believe that the worship of virgins is the worship of the creator, the worship of man and the establishment of the dignity of women in the world. Respect for women, respect for people and worship of God are the underlying teachings of Kumari Puja.

Apart from Kumari Puja, Prasad will be distributed to the devotees from one o'clock today in various temples across the country including Shankhari Bazar, Dhakeswari National Temple, Ramana Kali Temple in the capital on Mahashtami. Pujas and other programs will also be held in temples and mandaps.

Earlier, the Durga Puja of Autumn Durgotsav began on Wednesday (October 9) with Mahashasthi. The five-day festival will end on Sunday (October 13) with the immersion of idols on Vijaya Dashami.