Paris (Imran Y. CHOUDHRY) :- Former Press Secretary to the President, Former Press Minister to the Embassy of Pakistan to France, Former MD, SRBC Mr. Qamar Bashir analysis : While the world is already grappling with multiple wars—Russia’s relentless campaign in Ukraine, and a raging trade war between the United States and China—a new front of confrontation is brewing, and it may prove to be the most perilous yet. That front lies in Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which has again placed the region, and perhaps the world, on the edge of catastrophic conflict.
The latest round of indirect nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, mediated through Oman, ended in a stalemate. The U.S. demanded that Iran completely cease enrichment of uranium, alleging it has already reached 50%—a level perilously close to weapons-grade. President Donald Trump, in his characteristic bluntness, declared such enrichment “unacceptable” and reiterated that bombing Iran’s nuclear sites remains “on the table”—especially if Israel takes the lead.
In response, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed a gender-segregated crowd—women dressed in black abayas, men seated apart—and rejected the U.S. proposal outright. He warned that accepting such terms would render Iran’s nuclear plants useless. “If we give up enrichment, our nuclear plants will be empty shells, reliant on the West for fuel,” he declared. “It would be the ultimate betrayal of our national interests.”
Indeed, despite crippling U.S. and EU sanctions, Iran’s nuclear program has persisted. Tehran insists it only seeks nuclear fuel for energy, not weapons. But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report indicating enrichment levels dangerously close to weapons-grade, stirring alarms in Washington, Tel Aviv, and beyond.
Yet this time, the geopolitical dynamics are drastically different. A surprising twist emerged when President Vladimir Putin of Russia declared Russia’s intent to join the negotiations, suggesting that excluding Moscow from talks with such far-reaching implications was unacceptable. Putin’s intervention has drastically shifted the equation. What was once a two-player confrontation between Washington and Tehran may now evolve into a global standoff, especially if Moscow pledges to defend Tehran militarily or diplomatically.
If Russia indeed aligns itself with Iran, an Israeli or U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities could be interpreted by Moscow as an attack on its sphere of influence—provoking an unpredictable military response. Further complicating the matter, President Trump recently held a 90-minute phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Officially, the talk focused on trade and investment, but Trump took the unusual step of explicitly stating that Iran was “not discussed.” This denial has only fueled speculation that Beijing, too, may be stepping into the shadows of the Iranian nuclear crisis.
If China and Russia jointly back Iran, it would create an unambiguous geopolitical divide: on one side, the U.S. and Israel; on the other, Iran with the diplomatic, economic, and possibly military support of two global powers. Such polarization could render any military action against Iran unthinkable and turn what was once a manageable regional tension into a global crisis with echoes of the Cold War.
The stakes are already high. Iran’s Foreign Minister warned Israel that any attack would be met with massive retaliation, and Khamenei himself vowed that “aggression will be punished proportionally.” Tehran’s position is firm: enrichment is a sovereign right, and the Western demand to halt it—without a concurrent lifting of sanctions—is fundamentally unjust.
It is this asymmetry that lies at the heart of Iran’s frustration. Washington demands denuclearization, but offers no meaningful economic relief in return. As Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei recently put it: “We must ensure that Iran will effectively benefit economically and that its banking and trade relations with other countries will return to normal.” Without these guarantees, he said, any deal would be one-sided.
Iran now plans to present a counter-proposal, which it calls “reasonable, logical, and balanced.” But the U.S. remains skeptical. Trump told reporters, “They’re just asking for things that you can’t do. They want to keep enrichment. We can’t have enrichment.” The next round of talks is tentatively set for Muscat this Sunday, although both Iranian and American officials have expressed uncertainty over the date.
Amid these tensions, Israel remains a wildcard. It is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though it neither confirms nor denies their existence. Iran accuses the West of hypocrisy: turning a blind eye to Israel’s nuclear arsenal while fixating on Iran’s civilian program. Tehran has even hinted at releasing classified Israeli documents allegedly proving Western complicity in bolstering Israel’s nuclear capacity.
This double standard resonates deeply in the Muslim world. If the U.S. and its allies are truly committed to nuclear non-proliferation, why the silence on Israel? Why is Iran—an NPT signatory and a member of the United Nations—denied what others enjoy freely? Iran argues that if nuclear capability is a sovereign right for the U.S., Russia, China, India, Pakistan, France, and even Israel, then denying that right to Iran is an unjustified discrimination rooted in geopolitical favoritism, not international law.
President Trump, for his part, continues to play both hawk and dealmaker. He insists his administration is guided by “common sense,” yet his threats are often maximalist and theatrical. He’s threatened to seize the Panama Canal, annex parts of Canada, and even buy Greenland—none of which materialized. His threat to bomb Iran could be a negotiating tactic to strengthen his hand at the table. But with Iran, such brinkmanship carries a heavier cost.
Iran is not Panama or Greenland. It is a civilization-state with a proud history, stretching back to the Achaemenid Empire, rivaling Rome in antiquity and influence. Its people are fiercely nationalistic and will not capitulate easily—especially not to threats.
So what lies ahead?
The most logical path forward—if we are to avoid catastrophe—is mutual recognition of each nation’s rights and responsibilities. If the West truly wants to avoid proliferation, it must apply the same standards across the board, including Israel. Iran, too, must commit transparently to peaceful nuclear development, with rigorous international inspections.
But any one-sided approach, which demands total Iranian compliance while ignoring Israeli capabilities and refusing to lift economic sanctions, is doomed to fail.
The world today is no longer unipolar. China and Russia are no longer silent spectators. With their involvement, the U.S. no longer enjoys uncontested leverage. This emerging multipolarity means diplomacy, not domination, must guide the next phase of the Iranian nuclear talks.
For the sake of global peace, let better sense prevail. Let every nation uphold international law, act with transparency, and above all, avoid nuclear brinkmanship. Because in a nuclear conflict, there are no winners—only mutual destruction, and irreversible loss for all of humanity.

Nice ( Imran Y. CHOUDHRY):- The Ocean is our planet’s life support, but it’s under threat.

World leaders, investors, youth, Indigenous Peoples and scientists unite at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice to accelerate global action to Save Our Ocean.

The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) opened today in Nice, France, bringing together world leaders, scientists, and environmental advocates to address urgent challenges facing the world’s oceans, from pollution to overfishing and climate change.

France and Costa Rica co-hosted the five-day conference, which aims to accelerate global efforts to protect marine ecosystems. These ecosystems sustain over three billion people and play a critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate.

“The ocean, if we protect it, can help us fight climate change. So if we protect seagrass beds, for example, seagrass beds are like amazing heroes in catching carbon. If we protect whales, they also capture carbon. And healthy fisheries are also part of the carbon capture. And the deep sea, which we know is vital for carbon capture and storage.

Key priorities for the conference include advancing the target, a global commitment to protect 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030. Currently, only 8.4 percent of marine areas are under some form of protection.

“The action needs to start now and we need to put money and action behind these pledges and that is really what we are looking for at this ocean conference,” Battle said.

Another primary focus is securing enough ratifications for the High Seas Treaty, formally known as the BBNJ Agreement, which would enable the creation of marine protected areas in international waters. The treaty requires approval from at least 60 countries to take effect, but only 32 have ratified it so far.

French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the urgency of reaching the ratification threshold by the September 2025 deadline, while also calling for stronger measures against illegal fishing and harmful fisheries subsidies.

The conference features high-level discussions on sustainable financing mechanisms, including “blue bonds” and “blue loans,” to support ocean conservation efforts.

Scientists warn that rising ocean temperatures, acidification, and sea level rise threaten marine biodiversity and coastal communities, underscoring the need for coordinated global action.

Ambassador Mumtaz Zahra Baloch is leading the Pakistan delegation to the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3). Pakistan remains strongly committed to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); and conserving and sustainably using the ocean, sea and marine resources for sustainable development, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water).

This Conference continued until the 13th of June for taking the decisions and strict actions to save Oceans.

It’s been 10 years since the creation of the first vertical forest, Milan’s Bosco Verticale. How has it inspired other buildings – and affected their residents’ happiness and health?

In 2007, Italian architect Stefano Boeri witnessed the frantic construction of a city in the Dubai desert dominated by energy-wasting skyscrapers covered in glass, ceramic and metal. All these materials, he tells the BBC, “reflected sunlight, generating heat in the air and especially on the urban ground, where pedestrians walked”. Three thousand miles away, he had just begun working on his own design for two very tall buildings in a neglected area of northern Milan. “Suddenly, it occurred to me to create two biological towers… covered not with glass, but with leaves,” he says. The design would invite fauna and flora into this industrial wasteland and cool the air inside and out, offering a radical new architectural prototype that, he explains, “integrates living nature as a constitutive part of it”. The startling result was the world’s first “vertical forest”.

The multi-award-winning design is now 10 years old, its plants maintained by “flying gardeners” harnessed to the side of the buildings, and its occupants up to three degrees cooler, as the foliage releases water vapour and filters the sunlight. To mark this anniversary, architectural firm Stefano Boeri Architetti has released a new book, Bosco Verticale: Morphology of a Vertical Forest, featuring essays by leading voices working at the intersection of nature and architecture, alongside images by architectural photographer Iwan Baan. The book traces the evolution of the project and the principles it espouses, and, say the publishers, Rizzoli “celebrates an architectural work that has become the symbol of a renewed collective sensibility toward care for the environment and the plant world”.

Since the completion of Milan’s Vertical Forest, a green wave of plant-rich construction has begun reintroducing nature into our cities

In a reversal of the usual architectural hierarchies, the book describes the vertical forest as “a home for trees and birds, that also houses humans”. It draws on philosophies and texts that have influenced it, such as The Secret Life of Trees (2006) by British biologist Colin Tudge, a work that explains the crucial role trees play in our lives in sequestering carbon, producing glucose and providing shade. It also quotes the British ethologist Dame Jane Goodall. As populations increase, she asserts, “it is desperately important that this growth should be accompanied by new incentives to bring the natural world into existing cities and into the planning of new ones”.

Since the completion of Milan’s Vertical Forest, a green wave of plant-rich construction has begun reintroducing nature into our cities, from Dubai to Denver, Colorado; Antwerp to Arlington, Virginia; with Africa’s first vertical forest scheduled to break ground in Cairo later this year. Answering critics who doubted the concept’s affordability is the Trudo Vertical Forest in Eindhoven, The Netherlands (completed 2021), a social housing project with a rent cap of €600 (£510) per month.

A sense of connection

Over in Montpellier, France, a third of The Secret Gardens − a forested residential development designed by Vincent Callebaut Architectures, Paris, and due for completion later this year − will be reserved for affordable housing. In integrating practices such as rooftop agriculture and water recycling, The Secret Gardens also “addresses the climate crisis by restoring the human-nature connection”, Vincent Callebaut tells the BBC. “By transforming residents into urban gardeners and façades into carbon sinks, this building demonstrates that ecology isn’t a constraint but a lifestyle philosophy,” he says.

The power of these extraordinary structures to alter how people live and feel is central to their design. One of Vincent Callebaut Architectures’ latest designs is The Rainbow Tree (Cebu, Philippines), inspired by the psychedelic colours of the native Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree‘s bark. But the “tree” requires the collaboration of the residents of each of its 300 apartments to maintain its striking flora. This, along with its shared greenhouses and urban beehives, helps “foster social bonds”, says Callebaut, creating a sense of community and connection.

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This notion that biophilic design (design that draws on humans’ innate connection with nature) can positively affect our wellbeing is supported by recent research. A study undertaken by Wageningen University in the Netherlands reported that the presence of plants in a work environment not only improved the attractiveness of the workspace, but also increased employee satisfaction. Workers also noticed the enhanced air quality and reported fewer health-related complaints.

Nature is not something that exists in an immemorial past – it is and will always be our technological future – Emanual Coccia

In Wales, a 10-year study looking at the presence of anxiety and depression in 2.3 million medical records, found that the greenest home surroundings were associated with 40% less anxiety and depression than those living in the least green areas. People in poorer areas benefitted the most, with access to green spaces and water reducing the risk of anxiety and depression by 10% (6% in wealthier areas).

It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that biophilic concepts are being commissioned for new hospitals. Callebaut’s Hospiwood 21, in La Louvière, Belgium, says the architect, “incorporates therapeutic vertical forests using greenery to reduce patient stress and enhance recovery”, and is furnished with a soothing biophilic interior full of cascading plants. Meanwhile, in Italy, Stefano Boeri’s New Policlinico Hospital Milan will feature a rooftop garden of more than 7,000 square metres. Biophilia is part of a rethinking of care facilities, says Boeri, that “opens up a new perspective on rehabilitation, going beyond the traditional concept of a facility for the mere long-term care of patients and becoming a true space of interaction and wellbeing in close contact with nature”.

In fact, the green tendrils of biophilic design are creeping into a huge range of buildings. Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore’s 10-storey leisure and retail complex, has been open to both air passengers and visitors since 2019, and boasts lush indoor forests comprising 1,400 trees, as well as the world’s tallest indoor waterfall (40m). In Amsterdam, the sustainable bamboo interior of the Hotel Jakarta (founded 2018) features a tropical garden in its central atrium that, quenched by rainwater from the roof, is fast advancing towards its 30-metre high ceiling. An hour away in Rotterdam, a rooftop forest, almost 40m above ground level, crowns The Depot, a publicly accessible storage facility for the vast art collection of the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, and shaped like a giant mirrored cauldron.

As well as lifting our spirits, high-rise forests can play an important role in tackling climate change. Vincent Callebaut’s Tao Zhu Yin Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan, a 21-floor tower that is shaped like DNA’s double helix, was completed in 2024. Its 23,000 plants absorb an estimated 130 tons of CO2 each year, and their cooling effect on the façade reduces the need for air conditioning by 30%. The building features rotating balconies to maximise sun exposure, while the ventilation chimneys at its core reflects Callebaut’s interest in biomimicry (the emulation of nature’s systems to provide solutions to human problems) and function much like a lung, drawing in air at its base, purifying it, and then expelling it at the top.

Far taller than they are wide, high-rise forests also minimise soil sealing, freeing up land for nature and reducing flood risk. “My projects embody a vision where cities are no longer climate problems but living solutions,” says Callebaut. Far from nature being “an obstacle or ornamental afterthought”, it’s the guiding principle of the design. Buildings now act, he says, as “inhabited trees… that absorb CO2, produce energy, and shelter biodiversity”. Responding to two major contemporary crises, global warming and declining mental health, biophilic buildings are already being envisaged as part of entirely forested cities. In Liuzhou in China’s Guangxi province, one of the world’s worst regions for smog, Stefano Boeri’s futuristic Forest City, housing around 30,000 inhabitants and generating all of its own energy, has been approved and is awaiting construction; while the firm’s Cancun Smart Forest City in Mexico, which plans to prohibit combustion-powered vehicles, is also awaiting starter’s orders.

Back in Milan, the building that began it all, with its rooftop solar panels, is indisputably tree-like, harvesting its energy from the sun and drawing up groundwater. “Nature is not something that exists in an immemorial past,” writes author and philosopher Emanuele Coccia in the book. “It is and will always be our technological future.” As for Boeri, the twin vertical forests he brought to life in Milan are not just buildings, he writes, but “a political manifesto” with “a simple and popular message: living nature has to return to inhabit the spaces conceived for humans. No more, no less”.

Bosco Verticale: Morphology of a Vertical Forest is edited by Stefano Boeri Architetti and published by Rizzoli.

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