Iran will attend a conference of key powers, including the United States, this week that will focus on stabilizing
Iraq, a meeting Baghdad said might be a turning point for regional cooperation in easing the violence, reports Reuters.
“Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Sunday there was a ‘high possibility’ arch foes Tehran and Washington would hold bilateral talks at the May 3-4 conference in Egypt, although not necessarily at the ministerial level.
“U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who will attend the conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, said she would not rule out the possibility of meeting directly with Iran’s foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki.”
An AFP reports states: “Iran’s top national security official Ali Larijani met Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Sunday, at the start of a previously unannounced three-day visit.” Click here for more…
It’s never too late to correct one’s course and get into a dialogue mode with others to find a possible solution to an intractable problem.
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.