Following is the text of comments at the opening of the 2022 Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons on June 20, 2022, by John Polanyi, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Toronto, awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986. VIENNA (IDN) — Ambassador Alexander Kmentt, convener of the 2022 Vienna […]
Mongolian Independence and its Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone
Viewpoint by Joseph Gerson The writer is President of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security and Vice-President of the International Peace Bureau. BERLIN (IDN) — We don’t often think in terms of national independence and nuclear disarmament initiatives, but their intersection lies at the heart of Mongolia’s unique single-state nuclear-weapons-free zone.
Eritrea: North Koreans with Black Faces
Viewpoint by Daniel Haile* COLLEGE STATION, Texas | USA (IDN) — Eritrea is a very small country in East Africa along the Red Sea. Second to North Korea, the Eritrean regime is the most isolated, secretive, and repressive authoritarian regime globally, and the last remaining Marxist state on the African continent. The Kim Jong-un of […]
Tourism in Asia Hard Hit by Three Factors
Ukraine War and Chinese Lockdowns Add Fuel to COVID’s Devastating Blow Analysis by Mohan Srilal COLOMBO (IDN) — The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a devastating blow to tourism across Asia that has been a driving force of economic growth, particularly in countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand and Indonesia. Today there’s a trifecta of impacts on […]
Famine is a Policy Choice: The Afterlife of Covid, Institutional decay, and Privatization—Part 2
This is the second in a series of two articles. Click here for Part 1 COLOMBO (IDN) — What was never mentioned in connection with power cuts and soaring fuel and energy prices was the privatization of sale of the Yugadanavi power plant to an American New Fortress company in a corrupt mid-night deal in […]
Famine Is a Policy Choice: IMF Talks, Geopolitics and Disaster Capitalism—Part 1
Viewpoint by Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake * This is the first in a series of two articles. Them belly full but we hungry A hungry mob is an angry mob A rain a-fall but the dirt, it tough A pot a-cook but the food no ‘nough A hungry man is an angry man — Bob Marley and […]
Tourism Collective Taps into Fiji’s Unique Culture, Ecosystems
By Jone Salusalu* SUVA, Fiji (Wansolwara | IDN) — Fiji is home to some 300 islands and is known for its pristine and white sandy beaches that iconically stand as an exotic pride for Fijians all over the world. Many are uninhabited islands with lush green forests and peaks, but most are habited islands with […]
Second Comprehensive Study on NFWZs Is Needed
Viewpoint by Dr Jargalsaikhan Enkhsaikhan The writer is Chairman of Blue Banner NGO, Former Mongolian Permanent Representative to the United Nations. ULAANBAATAR (IDN) — In preparation for the 10th Review Conference (Revcon) of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August, a group NGOs met in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to exchange views and […]
The Brazilian Nuclear Submarine
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte The writer is an Ambassador, former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affair, and President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. NEW YORK (IDN) — Last July 8 the Director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, informed the Board of Governors that Brazil had decided to […]
More Than 50 Nations Pledge to Help Build Ukraine’s Defense
By Jim Garamone This article was issued by the U.S. Department of Defence and is being republished courtesy of them. WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — Representatives from more than 50 nations pledged to get more military capabilities into the hands of Ukrainian forces battling Russian invaders, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said on June […]