In this issue of The Gordian, we take a closer look at the Balkan Peninsula and the fall of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.  This issue contains exclusive reports by, our literary editor, Alex Liberto, and other UN-aligned members, namely Jay Davis and Carla Pietrobattista, Eston McKeague, Jonna Lappalainen and Aryan Yekrangi. The editors are Adrian Liberto and Ariana Yekrangi.

Exploring our tendency to view personal disaster as a distant, parallel universe, this issue of *The Gordian* delves into pressing social issues from rough sleeping to poverty, featuring exclusive reports from its editorial team.

The United Nations is the devil. It has had the top job of securing world peace for over three quarters of a century and for a host of reasons it has made an absolute mess of it. And yet, most of us are happy to be represented by this organisation. We say enough is enough. In this issue of The Gordian, we talk about why the UN cannot be trusted to represent, let alone advance, humanity’s ideals and aspirations and why simple reform will not resolve its inherent problems. This issue contains more exclusive reports by, our literary editor, Alex Liberto, and other UN-aligned members, namely Jay Davis, Jonna Lappalainen and Carla Pietrobattista. The editors are Adrian Liberto and Ariana Yekrangi.

Plunging into the ocean of UN communiques is like drowning in an alphabet soup. Often, the words are noble, the causes honourable. Occasionally they even make a difference... and yet the members of this mighty club behave like undisciplined children who delight in doing just as they please. In this issue of The Gordian, following the re-election of the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, we will be discussing everything relating to his post and office. This issue contains more exclusive reports by, our literary editor, Alex Liberto, and other UN-aligned members, namely Jonna Lappalainen, Carla Pietrobattista and Aryan Yekrangi. The editors are Adrian Liberto and Ariana Yekrangi.

War is an unacceptable way of resolving differences, or crimes committed by one country against another. In this issue of The Gordian, we discuss a solutions towards comprehensive global justice. We also take a closer look at the crimes committed by Israel and the UN Security Council. This issue contains exclusive reports by our Administrator, Ruby Goldenberg, our literary editor, Alex Liberto, our treasurer, Jonna Lappalainen and other UN-aligned members, namely Carla Pietrobattista and Anahita Ahmadi. The editors are Adrian Liberto and Ariana Yekrangi.

Justice is not a relative term, but for much of our history we have manipulated it to such an extent that we have created a parallel sort of justice. More often than not, human justice is just a sinister doppelgänger of justice in its purest form. Human justice depends on laws, and as we all know, laws are biased. In this issue of The Gordian, we discuss the differences between the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court and test their fairness, validity and integrity. We will also introduce you to a new series within magazine titled "UN in Focus". This issue contains exclusive reports by Jonna Lappalainen, Ayten Aydin and Carla Pietrobattista.

Over the last few centuries, economics has been dominated by a doctrine of perpetual growth. The prevailing idea was that there were no limits to how much we could exploit the earth and its resources. Today we know better, but sadly, we still behave as though we did not. In this issue of The Gordian, we present to you the basics of modern economic theory including topics like, the Doughnut Economy, the dilemma of growth and the relationship between GDP and happiness. This issue contains exclusive reports by our literary editor, Alex Liberto and other contributors namely, Carla Pietrobattista and Ruby Goldenberg.

"Yesterday, upon the stair; I met a man who wasn't there! He wasn't there again today; Oh how I wish he'd go away!" The following quote from Hughes Mearns’ poem, Antigonish, could so easily allude to sanctions. They are full of sound and fury, and yet, they signify nothing concrete, but rather an absence of something. In this issue of The Gordian we talk about sanctions, what they aim to achieve and whether they are successful or not. This issue contains exclusive reports by Alex Liberto, Anahita Ahmadi and Ayten Aydin. To read this issue free of charge, click on the link below.

People with bigotted or selfish agendas have always tried to hijack religion. Many of them claim a monopoly on truth relating to the divine and the moral. Today however, we know that religion cannot be used as an excuse for indifference, oppression or injustice of any kind, whether it be to fellow humans, to animals or to the planet itself. In this issue of The Gordian we highlight why it is important to put human rights before religious rights. This issue contains exclusive reports by Alex Liberto, Jonna Lappalainen and Aryan Yekrangi.

Factory farming causes animals to live and die in great pain each year. So far, our response has been almost total indifference and inaction. For this reason, we have decided to dedicate this issue to animal rights and animal welfare. In the spirit of Veganuary, we have a number of articles dedicated to the topic, including: reports, interviews, poetry and even food recipes. We will also discuss UN-aligned's achievements in 2020 and how we plan to take the leap to 2021. This issue contains exclusive reports by Animal Equality Italia, Andrea Piccinelli, Anahita Ahmadi, Jonna Lappalainen and other UN-aligned members.

People rave about democracy, but democracy is not the panacea it is made out to be. It has been described as “two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner” and in many cases it appears to be just that: a dictatorship of the majority. In this issue of the Gordian we take closer look at serious weaknesses of the US democratic system. This issue also contains a peep into the life of Samuel Pepys, a photo gallery from Uzbekistan and a dangerously hot quiz that should challenge everything you know about democracy.

This year the World Food Programme was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. But should branches of the United Nations be beneficiaries of such awards for simply doing their job? Wasn't this a missed opportunity? "This was a coward and political move" argues Adrian Liberto in his piece: Five Reasons why this Year’s Nobel Peace Prize was Misplaced. In this publication, author Ariana Yekrangi also takes a closer look at a looming food crisis predicted to be unlike anything we've seen before. This issue also contains an exclusive photo reportage by UN-aligned Administrator, Ruby Goldenberg.

Any lover of democracy would be justified in feeling a sense of alarm when faced with such statements as “an assault on democracy...” and “a direct political attack against the democratically elected government...”, but as the Bard of Avon put it: “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” In this month's Gordian we discuss LGBTQ+ rights. This issue contain more exclusive reports by Alex Liberto, Aryan Yekrangi and Anahita Ahmadi.

Picture this: you have five buttons in front of you. They are all linked to a raft full of migrants who are fleeing war and famine. Some may be simply looking for a better life, while a few may be nasty characters out for what they can get. Your buttons are: Destroy, Ignore, Repatriate or Assist. Which would you press? In the September issue of the Gordian we discuss refugees and migration. This issue contains more exclusive reports by Ruby Goldenberg, Aryan Yekrangi, Alex Liberto, Golam Habib and Fazal. Read this issue free of charge by clicking on the link below.

In this month's Gordian we talk about the Russian referendum and why Putin’s victory is a threat to us all. We also take a closer look at the Armenia and Azerbaijan conflict and offer possible solutions to this century-long problem. This issue contains more exclusive reports by Katha Strophe and Jonna Lappalainen.

When is it ok to hit a protestor? Is protesting during a global pandemic a good idea? Is it time we stopped using tear gas? In this new issue of the Human Rights series we answer all of the above questions and much more. We also introduce you to the new UN-aligned Campaigns. This issue contains exclusive reports by Jonna Lappalainen, Nayry Ignarkea and Anahita Ahmadi.

In the last issue of the Environmental Priority series, we talk about waste and its management. We also give you some ideas on how you can transform waste or avoid it completely. This issue contains more exclusive reports by Jonna Lappalainen, Rahima El-Harak, Nayry Ignarkea and Anahita Ahmadi.

Sea level rise is set to challenge human civilisation for centuries to come. In this issue of the Gordian we discuss various aspects about the rise of sea levels, including: causes, consequences and a potential way out. This issue contains more exclusive reports by Molly Perkins, Alex Liberto and other UN-aligned members.

In this issue of the Gordian we cover various topics about water. We will also take a closer look at a few ways to deal with misbehaving artists and their work. The issue contains more exclusive reports by Jonna Lappalainen and Alex Liberto.

This issue of The Gordian includes some examples of the damage certain high-profile companies have caused to human health and the environment. We also take a closer look at Russian tourist visas and their importance in international relations. This issue contains exclusive reporting by Zhi Wang and Ruby Goldenberg.