Habib Siddiqui

  9 Jul 2026 Bangladesh   The landslide came after at least eight  people – including five children – died in flooding and landslides on 6 July in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement, that is home to more than one million Rohingya refugees, most of them women and children.  COX’S BAZAR, 9 July 2026 - A landslide triggered by monsoon rains has reportedly killed seven students and a teacher at a school in the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, with more children being pulled from the rubble in the second deadly incident this week, Save the Children said.  The landslide came after at least eight  people – including five children – died in flooding and landslides on 6 July in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement, that is home to more than one million Rohingya refugees, most of them women and children.  Several Save the Children learning centres have been damaged by heavy rain and flash floods, forcing their temporary closure. ...

  UN for more land for Rohingya camps amid deadly landslides Agence France – Presse . Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh   09 July, 2026, 21:49   The file photo shows a view of Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar. | New Age photo The UN refugee agency called on Thursday for additional land to ease overcrowding in Bangladesh’s Rohingya camps after heavy rains triggered landslides that have killed at least 15 people. More than 1.2 million Rohingyas, many of whom fled Myanmar during a brutal military crackdown in 2017, live in congested camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar. They live in basic shelters on hillsides cleared of trees -- making the land unstable during monsoon rains. Since Monday, at least 15 people have died in the camps and more than 4,000 have been displaced after torrential rains triggered multiple landslides, officials said. In a report on Thursday, the UNHCR highlighted severe congestion in the camps and renewed calls for space expansion. ‘The incidents reinforce the impo...

  Jessie and I are honored to be recognized as “War abolisher couple” among other good groups given war abolisher awards. See https://worldbeyondwar.org/war-abolisher-awards/ You can attend the award ceremony 24 July online by registering on the same link The horrors facing our people and all of humanity are beyond description. Every day we see he ongoing genocide and etnic cleansing, the ecocide, the culturicide and much more. But we also get inspiration from so many people working hard for peace for justice (including environmental justice) for people and for our shared planet. For example the team is working with students attending our latest summer camp  - this one focused on cultural heritage for youth ages 12-16. To see this and our other activities, visit https://www.facebook.com/PIBS.PMNH Please see this very short (6.5 minutes) video about our work https://youtu.be/qt8OTGoS198 and support by volunteering remotely or in person ( palertinenature.org/volunteer ) and/or...

  Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the only regions where the majority of young teenage children cannot read, and the majority will probably not achieve literacy as adults. The consequences extend far beyond the education sector. At a time when artificial intelligence, automation, and other technological advances are reshaping labour markets, and countries are seeking to build knowledge-based economies, Bangladesh has a workforce in which more than half lack functional literacy and numeracy. Bangladesh has struggled for nearly five decades to secure foundational literacy and numeracy for all children. Successive governments have made progress, but not enough to justify complacency. For the new government, this is both an urgent challenge and an opportunity to reassess existing plans and learn systematically from past policy and implementation failures. The only country in South Asia with universal foundational learning is Sri Lanka. Despite its political conflicts, it has made...

  The Bangladesh Christian Association (BCA) has strongly condemned a series of reported attacks on churches and alleged acts of intimidation against Christians in the Indian state of West Bengal, urging Indian authorities to conduct a prompt, impartial investigation and bring those responsible to justice. In a joint statement, BCA President Nirmal Rozario and Secretary General Hemanta Corraya expressed deep concern over reports of attacks on churches, disruption of Christian worship, intimidation of believers, and pressure to convert from Christianity. They described the incidents as a serious challenge to religious freedom and the rights of minority communities. The association said in a secular and democratic country, allegations of repeated attacks targeting places of worship and religious minorities are deeply troubling. It stressed that safeguarding every citizen’s right to practise their faith freely is both a constitutional obligation and a fundamental responsibility of the...

  Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, facing a death sentence back home where her party’s activities are banned, told Reuters that she and senior party colleagues plan to return from exile in India around December and surrender. The South Asian nation’s longest-serving leader said she and members of her Awami League aim to return voluntarily to the country they fled two years ago and present themselves in court, testing Bangladesh’s handling of its most prominent political opponent. “They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me,” Hasina, 78, said in the nearly hour-long telephone interview late on Thursday and into Friday. “Still, I have to go,” she said. “My party leaders and workers are being subjected to tremendous repression. If death comes, I want it to come on my own soil, where my parents are buried and where their blood was shed.” Hasina fled Bangladesh in 2024 after protests ended her 20 years as prime minister across multiple terms. The country’s wa...