Oorbee Shom is a renowned Nazrul Sangeet and classical music artist and teacher. As a former student of Government Music College, she completed her B. Music and M. Music in Nazrul Sangeet from the same institution, securing first class in M. Music. She is currently teaching at Government Music College.
On the morning of August 26, 2026, a massive glacier and rock collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border unleashed a wall of water down the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems, obliterating villages, hydropower plants, and the Gyirong border crossing with China. More than a week later, Nepal's death toll has climbed past 1,300, with thousands still unaccounted for — making it the country's deadliest disaster since the 2015 earthquake that killed roughly 9,000 people. But beyond the human tragedy, the flood has become entangled with Nepal's fragile post-uprising politics, its relationship with global powers, and a young, still-untested government's fight to control the narrative.
The world is deeply unsettled. Everywhere, the drums of war are beating, the balance of power is shifting, and old maps are being redrawn. Maps, too, have a silent language. In times of peace, a desert, a mountain range or a landlocked region may appear to be little more than coloured patches on a page. But when war breaks out, their value is reassessed. A port is no longer merely a port; a railway becomes a strategic asset; a strait becomes a vital artery for global energy supplies; and a neighbouring country can suddenly become a market, a corridor or a security buffer.
It was around 12:30pm. As we spoke to several farmers after reaching a char in the Jamuna River, 35-year-old Mariam Begum came forward.
Disputes over land ownership often begin with something as small as a boundary covering a few decimals of land. But once such a dispute reaches court, it rarely remains a simple land case. A case that begins with one generation can end up being passed on to the next. Disputes over land records, plot numbers, mutation, partition, possession, inheritance or land surveys become intertwined, causing cases to drag on for years. Amid the mountain of cases piling up in court records, the wait of those seeking justice is often lost.
Once, there was a piece of land there. There was the smell of earth, dreams of crops, boundary ridges, and claims of possession and ownership. There were plans for the future, too. Each decimal of land was worth approximately Tk 2,000. The total value of the eight decimals was Tk 16,000.
The government has brought major changes in the top management of public administration. Contractual senior secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration Md Ehsanul Haque has been removed and made a member of the Planning Commission. In his place, contractual secretary of the Health Services Division Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury has been transferred and posted as secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration. At the same time, three officers of the administration have been promoted to the rank of secretary and given charge of three important ministries.
It is a Bhadra afternoon. Outside the window, the sun is scorching the courtyard. The wind is blowing, yet there is no coolness in it. Sweat gathers on the forehead, neck and back. Even under the fan, the air feels hot. To make matters worse, frequent power cuts bring the fan to a halt, and the four walls of the room quickly turn into a heated box. Outside, people wait for the rain; indoors, they wait for relief. Both seem to be taking their time. Adding to the oppressive humidity this year is another uncomfortable message from the global weather system—the El Niño is strengthening.
Climate change is a globally pressing issue. And any single country is unable to address climate change-induced human rights violations issues to mitigate. That is why, according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) regional, international, global partnership and cooperation is imperative to work together for establishing human rights for all in a real sense rather than lip service, experts observed.
Three decades after Yasmin’s murder, the crisis against which Dinajpur rose up has not disappeared; rather, in some respects, it has returned with an even more frightening face. A particular piece of information from the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad’s “Violence Against Women and Girls: 2025 Survey” is especially heart-wrenching: according to the survey, girls aged six to nine are at the highest risk among child victims of rape. At an age when a child should be holding a doll in her arms, she is instead becoming a victim of brutality. There can be no deeper social shame than this. According to the organisation’s latest figures, in just the first five months of 2026 (January to May), 1,035 women and girls were victims of violence, including 250 rape victims, 65 victims of gang rape, and 18 who were raped and then killed. And these figures represent only incidents reported in newspapers; it is easy to assume that the actual number of unreported and suppressed cases is many times higher.
Various sources indicate that the rate of children going missing in Bangladesh is rising at an alarming pace. According to data held by the Police Headquarters, 15,917 cases were filed as general diaries (GDs) at police stations across the country over the seven months from January to July this year, following reports of children going missing. That amounts to an average of 2,274 GDs a month and more than 75 a day. In other words, a report of a missing child was filed at a police station every 20 to 21 minutes.
Vast in size but calm by nature. Seen from afar, the Indian Ocean may appear that way. Blue waters. Long maritime routes. Rows of commercial vessels. But over the past decade, the picture has changed. Major construction projects have begun across the ocean. Deep-sea ports in some places. Long runways in others. Military bases elsewhere.