While the rising sea level and warming oceans are undeniably a part of the crisis in the Sundarbans, other factors are also in play. It's a tale of criminal enterprise, regulatory failure and violent dispossession of some of the world's most vulnerable people.
India is not merely a buyer of cheap oil from Russia or an exporter of refined fuels to Europe. India is a system stabiliser, ensuring the flow of oil in the world market in the context of economic necessity as well as geopolitical compulsions. India ranks among the top five refining nations globally.
European green laws represent a major shift in the relationship between trade and environmental sustainability. For South Asia, they create both risks and opportunities. While compliance costs and market access challenges are real, these regulations can also accelerate the region's transition towards greener and more resilient economic development. The long-term success of South Asian economies will depend on their ability to integrate sustainability into industrial growth strategies while ensuring that environmental goals complement, rather than hinder, broader development objectives.
India's Gen Z seeks opportunity, purpose and impact. The cockroach's greatest lesson is not survival but service—quietly sustaining ecosystems through recycling, resilience and adaptation. As young people lead the journey towards sustainability and Net Zero, the question is not whether they are cockroaches, but whether they will learn from them.
Kamboj said that India was concerned that the “conflict has resulted in the loss of countless lives and misery, particularly for women, children and the elderly, with millions becoming homeless and forced to seek shelter in neighbouring countries. economic reports of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are also deeply concerning”.
India, which was a member of the Council last year, was caught in the middle of the polarisation at the UN, both at the Council and the Assembly, because of its dependence on Russian arms and the support it had received at crucial times in the Security Council from its predecessor the Soviet Union.
“The war is also fanning regional instability and fueling global tensions and divisions, while diverting attention and resources from other crises and pressing global issues”, Guterres said outlining the war’s fallout on the global economy, the food crisis affecting the global south and the nuclear danger.
India contributes 200 personnel and Nepal 415 to UNDOF, which is headed by Major General Nirmal Kumar Thapa of Nepal.
China pays almost 120 million to the annual budget of WHO the second highest contributor and has the third-largest voting power at the World Bank based on its shareholding. Beijing has made a concerted effort to have its nationals head international organisations, and the West later organised a pushback.
The report noted that the Dae’sh - or ISIS - has threatened to attack India’s diplomatic mission in Afghanistan. It said that the Dae’sh “remained a significant terrorist threat in Central and South Asia, and the group retained ambitions to conduct external operations” and that “it had positioned itself as the primary rival to the Taliban and was reportedly set to portray the Taliban as incapable of providing security in the country”.
Focusing on the Abrahamic faiths, Guterres said, “antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, the persecution of Christians, racism and white supremacist ideology are on the march”, but left out the attacks on and threats faced by minorities belonging to religions like Hinduism, Sikhism and Bahaism.
For South Asia as a whole, the report said the region’s “economic outlook has significantly deteriorated due to high food and energy prices, monetary tightening and fiscal vulnerabilities” and it forecast a 4.8 per cent growth year and 5.9 per cent next year.
“The application of rule of law at the international level should protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States from aggression, including terrorism, and including cross border terrorism”, Kamboj said. The remarks were directed at Pakistan, but without mentioning it by name.
Guterres also brought up the issue of the international debt burden faced by some countries, notably Pakistan, which he called “a victim of the manmade disaster of a morally bankrupt global financial system”.
This month External Affairs Minister presided over two high-level meetings of the Council covered by India on reforming multinational organisations including the Council and on fighting terrorism, both of which have proved popular.
The complex situation in Myanmar requires “quiet and patient diplomacy”, Kamboj said. The welfare of the people of Myanmar is of “utmost priority” and at “the core of our efforts” there, she said.
India is pressing for Council reforms, which have stalled for decades, and lobbying for a permanent seat. As its president this month, India convened a ministerial-level meeting of the Council on reforming the UN which put a spotlight on the Council’s basic architecture of permanent membership mired in post-World War II geopolitics which has changed dramatically in 75 years.
Known as the Convention on Biodiversity, the agreement was announced after hectic negotiations early Monday towards the end of 15th UN conference on biodiversity in Montreal.
She said, “We the victims of 26/11 Mumbai attacks continue to wait for justice. As the sponsors of these dastardly attacks remain free even after 14 years. “Too many lives have been lost. Too many children have been orphaned”.
