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Image: Cover of the book, 'Lessons Learnt'.

A Conversation About Life Love and Career

A Review by Nandi Jasentuliyana

The writer is the former Deputy Director-General of the United Nations.

LOS ANGELES, USA (IDN) — Love, heartache, and euphoria wrapped in a treasure trove of the author's life experiences narrated within these pages depict the lonely abyss and the dizzy heights of glory that people experience.

In 'Lessons Learnt', Pramuk Manchanayaka 'has brought forth a wonderfully written, captivating publication that affirms the depth of humanity's relationship.

: Opinion Editor; ARTS & CULTURE; 23 September 2022

Photo: Late Ms Avon Mattison (left) with Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury at the inaugural High Level Forum on The Culture of Peace at the United Nations convened by the 66th President of the UN General Assembly on 14 September 2012.

Women’s Equality Makes Our Planet Safe and Secure

By Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury is the Founder of the Global Movement for The Culture of Peace (GMCoP), Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN (1996-2001) and Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations (2002-2007).

The following is based on his inaugural keynote speech at the first “Exceptional Women of Peace” Awards Ceremony hosted by the Pathways To Peace (PTP) on 13 September 2022 (virtual)

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 23 September 2022

Photo: Thousands of demonstrators join Fridays for Future’s global day of action to stand with Ukraine by walking down Willy-Brandt-Strasse, a main thoroughfare in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo: Daniel Reinhardt/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Ukraine War: Still a Cuban Missile Crisis in Slow Motion

Viewpoint by Joseph Gerson

This article was first published by CommonDreams.org

NEW YORK (IDN) — During the first days of the Ukraine war, former Senator Sam Nunn warned that the Ukraine War was a Cuban Missile Crisis in slow motion. That warning was recently reiterated by senior analysts in Moscow during an off-the-record conversation.

The war is about Ukraine and much more: power, privileges, the security disorder in Europe; the future of Putin’s rule; and Biden/Blinken efforts to reinforce U.S. hegemony in the face of pressures for a bipolar or multi-polar world disorder.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 September 2022

Photo: Subhash Chandra Bose on a 1964 stamp of India. Wikimedia Commons.

India: Misrepresenting Subhash Chandra Bose's Philosophy

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 23rd in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and, meanwhile, a social activist and commentator.

: Suresh Jaura; OPINION; 22 September 2022

Photo: Biological weapons. Source: Australian Institute of International Affairs

US Warns Russia Against Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons in Ukraine

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The retreat of Russian troops from occupied territory in Ukraine has led to widespread speculation that Moscow may use non-conventional weapons, primarily biological and chemical weapons, to beat back the Ukrainians.

In a prime-time interview on US television on September 19, US President Joe Biden said the US response to any use of “non-conventional weapons” by Russia “would be significant” but did not provide any details of possible retaliation.

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 21 September 2022

Shanghai Organization Could Unite Region’s Big Powers to Drive the Global Economy

By Kalinga Seneviratne

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (IDN) — For the first time, the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) attracted international and regional media attention because the Ukraine crisis has made the region’s powerhouses China, Russia and India major players in the global economy.

The 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO took place in the historical city of Samarkand, in Uzbekistan, on September 15 and 16.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 21 September 2022

Photo: Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Uzbekistan 2022. CC BY 4.0

An Inexorable Multipolar World Order

By Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) — Despite the mayhem around the world—war in Ukraine, geopolitical confrontations, myriad of sanctions, energy crisis, hyperinflation, climate catastrophes, and unrelenting health issues—a few countries in the Eastern hemisphere held two noteworthy summits perhaps in an effort to bring some sense and stability to our deeply convoluted world.

: Somar Wijayadasa; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 20 September 2022

Image: Mitchell Squire/Private Media. Source: Crickey

Democracy: Room for Some Sptimism Despite Setbacks

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — In the year 2000, George W. Bush became the victor of an imperfect presidential election. The less than straightforward way that Bush won and, in particular, how obvious it became that the US Supreme Court had become a political creature, raised the profound worry that this would rub off on many parts of the world.

One can’t prove it, but I suggest that that, together with later shenanigans surrounding the presidency of Donald Trump, including his refusal to accept the election result and the riot of January 6, when his supporters stormed the Capitol, there is some correlation between these events and the decline of democracy in many parts of the world.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 20 September 2022

Photo: Multi-Religious panellists at the Congress. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne | INPS-IDN

“God” Needs to Make Way for Global Multi-religious Peace Alliances

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 50th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports.

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (IDN/LCN) — There were over 250 religious leaders from across the world attending the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions on September 14-15, with over 90 per cent of them representing Islamic and Christian traditions.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 19 September 2022

Photo: Vanessa Nakate, centre, in Turkana County, Kenya with 20-year-old Dorcas Amana and her 20-month-old son Micah Erot and Asinyoni Ekiru with her 14-month-old baby Papos Alos. UNICEF/Translieu/Nyaberi/UN0702702

UNICEF Appoints Climate Activist Vanessa Nakate as Goodwill Ambassador

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A Black climate activist, who found her picture snipped out of a news photo of young environmental activists (all white) at a U.N. confab, is finally getting a serious platform for her important work.

Vanessa Nakate, the Ugandan-born fighter for climate protection has been selected by UNICEF, the UN aid and development agency for children, to travel around the continent as their new goodwill ambassador. Other ambassadors included Serena Williams, popular actor Amitabh Bachchan, and Katy Perry.