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Photo: Presentation of the UN World Drug Report 2022, with UNODC Research Officer Dr Thomas Pietschmann on the extreme right. Credit: UN Correspondents Association Vienna.

Conflict Zones as Magnets for Synthetic Drug Production

Growing Capacity to Manufacture Amphetamine in Ukraine

By Aurora Weiss

VIENNA (IDN) — Nearly 284 million people aged 15-64 used drugs worldwide in 2020, a 26 per cent increase over the previous decade. Young people are using more drugs, with use levels today in many countries higher than those of the previous generation, notes the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)'s World Drug Report 2022.

Globally, the report estimates that 11.2 million people worldwide were injecting drugs. About half of them were living with hepatitis C, 1.4 million with HIV and 1.2 million with both.

: Europe Editor; UN INSIDER; 02 July 2022

Photo: Abortion rights demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court after the court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision, in Washington, D.C. on June 24, 2022. Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune

Two Infamous Rulings by the US Supreme Court Put America to Shame

Viewpoint by Alon Ben-Meir

Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a retired professor of international relations at the 'Center for Global Affairs' at New York University (NYU). He taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies for over 20 years.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Recently the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which granted women the constitutional right to abortion, and the other ruling nullified a century-old New York law that forbid New Yorkers from carrying firearms in public. Both rulings are despicable as they will only severely undermine the health and security of millions of Americans.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 July 2022

Image: The Red Sea's reef is one of the longest continuous living reefs in the world. © Unsplash/Francesco Ungaro

A Tide of Pledges at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | LISBON (IDN) — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has pledged to enable 100 coastal countries including all Small Island Developing States to realize the maximum potential of their blue economies through sustainable, low-emission and climate-resilient ocean action by 2030.

: Ramesh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Oceans, seas and marine resources; 02 July 2022

Photo: Protests in Sri Lanka. Source: FAZ

Open Letter to The President of Sri Lanka

By A patriotic group of Los Angeles-based Sri Lankans

It’s not too late!

LOS ANGELES, USA (IDN) — The current state of our beloved nation could be broadly described as a story, a story that is excruciatingly painful to hear, watch and read. The current tragic drama seems to have only villains.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 July 2022

Photo: Beach adjacent to the University of the South Pacific. Credit: Kim Rabuka.

Fijian Activist Educates Youth on Upcycling Marine Debris

By Kim Rabuka

SUVA (IDN | Wansolwara) — Suzanne Turaganiwai, a marine activist and ocean advocate is educating youths and communities on how to manage waste to keep the environment clean.

The 29-year-old manages the marine debris activism account on Instagram called 'benu ni waitui'.

"It's looking at highlighting the impacts of marine pollution on the environment and also to showcase the different items that wash up here on the beaches in Suva. Also upcycling these items into art and a sort of advocate for the cleaner ocean for Fiji," she told Wansolwara.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 01 July 2022

There’s No Game Like Football

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — Until she asked, I didn't know it was a problem. Her problem, I mean. When people say whatever gets your time and attention gets you, it’s often true.

For as long as I can remember, 36 weeks every year, this thing gets my time and attention.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 01 July 2022

Photo: Prime Minister Modi (left) shaking hands with US President Biden as Canadian PM Trudeau looks on. Credit: The authors of this article.

India’s Leadership during Global Crisis and the Modi Paradigm

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn

Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. is an ex-diplomat & ALCAP’s Special Adviser for Asia & Africa and Jainendra Karn is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — That India exported 1.8 Million Tonnes of wheat to help several countries since the government introduced a ban on its export must have come as a great relief to the international community currently reeling under the effects of the conflict in Ukraine.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 30 June 2022

Photo: Final working session of the G7 summit. Credit: Federal Government/Steins.

G7 Carped for Failure to Tackle Hunger Crisis

By Jutta Wolf

BERLIN (IDN) — "Faced with the worst hunger crisis in a generation, the G7 have simply failed to take the action that is needed. Many millions will face terrible hunger and starvation as a result," declared Max Lawson, head of inequality policy at Oxfam International. "Instead of doing what is needed, the G7 are leaving millions to starve and cooking the planet," he added.

Lawson was responding to news of the $4.5 billion pledge made by the summit meeting of the Group of 7 (G7) consisting of Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, concluded on June 28 in Elmau in the Bavarian Alps.

: Jutta Wolf; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 30 June 2022

New Evidence Shows Russia Has Deployed Powerful Missiles To Kaliningrad Coast

By H I Sutton

This report was issued by Naval News and is being republished courtesy of them.

PARIS (IDN) — Russia is locked in increased tensions with NATO, primarily as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. The strategically relevant exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic may be another flashpoint. Now Russia has deployed advanced anti-ship missiles to firing positions on the coast.

: Europe Editor; THE WORLD; Russia; 29 June 2022

Asia-Pacific: Older Persons as Agents of Development

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

BANGKOK (IDN) — Older persons are highly visible across Asia and the Pacific: they work in agricultural fields producing our food supplies, peddle their wares as street vendors, drive tuk-tuks and buses, exercise in our parks, lead some of the region’s most successful companies and form an integral part of our families.