AI may genuinely extend the horizon over which seasonal climate risk can be estimated. For communities across South Asia living under the influence of the monsoon, a longer view could mean the difference between a farmer adjusting her planting in time and a family receiving a flood warning too late to act.
The broader lesson for South Asia is equally important. Hilly regions cannot be developed simply by transferring lowland infrastructure models into mountainous terrain. Investment has to respond to local economic systems, geography and environmental risks.
The UN's 2026 report warns that “long-term water use has exceeded renewable inflows and safe depletion limits,” leaving some water supplies beyond recovery. As the world’s largest groundwater extractor, India sits at the centre of this reckoning
The larger economic choice for South Asia is therefore broader than whether to participate in carbon trading. The region can remain primarily a supplier of relatively inexpensive mitigation outcomes, or it can also develop the technology, professional capacity, financial products and verification systems that determine what those outcomes are worth.
Gandhi's idea of satyagraha influenced Nelson Mandela in South Africa, and Martin Luther King Jr in the US were deeply influenced by Gandhi’s concept of Satyagraha “which teaches that truth and justice are not achieved through violence but through moral courage and peaceful dialogue”, Yang said in the message delivered by his chef de cabinet Ivor Fung at a meeting on Gandhian Values and UN Charter.
The UN membership has undergone a sea change since 1945 and the new realities need to be reflected in the permanent membership. Any proposal that does not address the issue of representation of the Global South, including Africa, Asia and Latin America, in the permanent category does a grave injustice to the aspirations of developing countries for equality.
“A premier example is our neighbour, Pakistan”, he said of the consequences it faces internally as a result of promoting terrorism. But “unfortunately, their misdeeds affect others as well, especially the neighbourhood”, he said
New Delhi, which has historically had close diplomatic and strategic ties with Moscow, is forging an independent path open to the West giving it room to be a conduit between the two countries for peace diplomacy.
The Cold War had some rules, but today “we are in a purgatory of polarity” where the world has not reached a state of multi-polarity and “more and more countries are filling the spaces of geopolitical divides, doing whatever they want with no accountability”’
India and several countries have been pushing for the adoption of the negotiating text and the the US adding its weight gives it added impetus.
“It is now time to move forward with the establishment” of the memorial honouring the more than 4,000 UN Peacekeepers who have made the supreme sacrifice”, he said, noting that 182 Indian peacekeepers have died “upholding the cause of international peace and security”.
The report said that “according to available public reports by media and the protest movement itself, between July 16 and August 11, more than 600 people were killed. Of these, nearly 400 deaths were reported from July 16 to August 4, while around 250 people were reportedly killed following the new wave of protests between August 5 and 6 August”.
Munir Akram, the permanent representative of Pakistan which is also a member of UfC, opposed expanding permanent membership but said that Africa can be considered a special case and be given long-term seats in the Council
According to Rana Dasgupta, a leader of the minorities organisation Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad, about 100 Hindus have been injured and two killed. Anti-Hindu violence took place at 97 places last week, and at least 10 temples were attacked, according to him.
While China has been providing an umbrella from sanctions for some Pakistan-based terrorists like Lashkar-e-Tayiba leader Sajid Mir, its Permanent Representative Geng Shuang spoke out at the meeting against double standards.
Although Pakistanis and their supporters cite the Security Council resolution asking for a plebiscite to be held in Kashmir, they ignore the Council’s demand that Pakistan and Pakistani nationals completely withdraw from the occupied areas.
“All countries must deliver by next year nationally determined contributions – or national climate action plans – aligned to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius”, he said
Bracketing China with India, Lavrov attacked the West’s criticism of these “Asian giants”. He said, “A multipolar world is a reality. It's not just a made-up of fiction”.
According to the data accompanying the report, India’s population is projected to grow from the 1.45 billion now to a peak of 1.7 billion in 2064 when the decline begins and register 1.5 billion in 2100, a 12 per cent drop.
