Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts

Citizens from 180 countries gather in Washington, DC for the World Cultural Festival 2023 to pray for peace in Ukraine.

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World Culture Festival 2023: People from 180 different nations interacted with one other, celebrating global cultures via dance, music, and food—a big celebration that really demonstrates India's power as a force that unites the world—while hundreds of flags flew together in the backdrop.

  

A unique yoga, breath, and meditation session led by international spiritual leader and Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the historic Lincoln Memorial on the second day of the World Culture Festival 2023 set the tone for an evening of soulful performances, motivational speeches, and an undeniable sense of human connection. As former Indian President Ram Nath Kovind noted, "P.S. By doing this, you (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) have produced a miniature representation of the whole community.


A traditional Ukrainian song performed by renowned Ukrainian singer Olena Astasheva, who had fled her homeland because of the conflict, was one of the various artistic forms displayed. After being moved by the performance, the masses joined Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in a spontaneous prayer for peace for the people of Ukraine.


We need to rename the Art of Living to the Art of Living Proof, because you (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) are showing that you can love, you can share, and you can have compassion, Rev Gerald L. Durley said in what can only be characterised as an exciting address.

Image Source : SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR (X)

American venture capitalist Tim Draper said, "We (Americans) used to refer to people from other nations as foreigners. It was also a derogatory word. Under Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's direction, we have managed to bring everyone together, and as a result, no longer is anyone on earth considered an alien. But if an extraterrestrial visited our planet and said, "Take me to your leader," I would recommend Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Image Source : INDIA TV

Additional notable speakers on day two were Dr. Vivek Murthy, the US Surgeon General, Prithvirajsing Roopun, the President of Mauritius, Ram Nath Kovind, the former First Lady of India and wife of the late Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, Akie Abe, and others. 

Know more about cultural activities of World Culture Festival-Day 2:

The 10,000-person Garba performance, a 200-person euphoric Bhangra performance, Irish step dance, surreal Afghan melodies, a spectacular ensemble of 1,000 Chinese American vocalists and dancers, combined with a Kung Fu performance, majestic dragons and lions brought to life through creativity and imagination, were just a few of the cultural highlights from Day 2. There were unforgettable performances from South American nations, Indonesia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Hip Hop and Breakdance superstars like Kurtis Blow, a 1200 member Gospel choir, and a spellbinding performance from the Pakistani contingent.

Image Source : INDIA TV

We need that reminder now more than ever because loneliness and isolation have become epidemics that are fostering mental health and contributing to physical illness as well, like dementia and heart disease, and now threaten the very well-being of our communities, according to Dr. Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General. "Celebrations like today (WCF) are powerful because they remind us of how essential our connections to one another are," he said.

Sourse NDTV

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 586

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine to mark Defenders of Ukraine Day [Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters]

Fighting

  • Ukraine said its air defence systems shot down 16 of about 30 drones launched by Russia on Sunday. Authorities said civilian infrastructure and grain storage warehouses were damaged in the Cherkasy region as well as the southern Mykolaiv and eastern Dnipropetrovsk regions.
  • Russia’s defence ministry said its forces’ air defences in eastern Ukraine had intercepted five United States-made HIMARS shells, an air-launched JDAM bomb and 37 Ukrainian drones. Kyiv began a counteroffensive in June to retake Ukrainian land occupied by Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
  • Russia’s defence ministry said it shot down six Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and two Ukrainian missiles over Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
  • Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said five more ships were on their way to Ukrainian seaports using a new corridor for agricultural exports after Moscow withdrew from the United Nations and Turkey-brokered Black Sea grain deal that allowed safe passage for Ukraine’s grain.
  • UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak backpedalled on a comment by his defence minister that the United Kingdom could send military instructors to Ukraine. Grant Shapps told the Sunday Telegraph that as well as training Ukrainian troops in the UK, he wanted to deploy British instructors to Ukraine. Hours later, Sunak said there were no such plans. “That’s something for the long term, not the here and now. There are no British soldiers that will be sent to fight in the current conflict,” he said.
  • After Shapps’s comments were published, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev who is now deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council, said any UK soldiers training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine would be seen as legitimate targets for Russian forces.
  • The UK’s Ministry of Defence said leaked Russian defence spending documents suggested Moscow was “preparing for multiple further years of fighting in Ukraine. The documents said defence spending for 2024 was likely to account for 30 percent of total public expenditure.
Location: Russia
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