By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 25 March 2024 (IDN)— The award-winning movie “Oppenheimer”, based on the life of Robert Oppenheimer, credited with having helped the creation of the atomic bomb, has once again turned the spotlight on the longstanding campaign for nuclear disarmament—and the deaths and devastation caused by one of the world’s most destructive […]
Is There a Way Out of Nuclear Stalemate?
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 16 March 2024 (IDN) — Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has entered its third year. President Vladimir Putin has been threatening the use of nuclear weapons. Republican Presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, doubled down his threat and appeared to invite Putin to invade any NATO member failing to meet […]
The US Continues its Pre-eminent Role as the World’s Biggest Arms Supplier
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK | 11 March 2024 (IDN) — The United States has continued to maintain its pre-eminent role as the world’s biggest single arms supplier, while Russia, a major military power involved in a devastating war with Ukraine, has suffered a decline in its arms exports. According to the latest report by […]
Boots on the Ground?
By Herbert Wulf* This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. BONN, Germany | 5 March 2024 (IDN) — During the last week of February, an international conference in support of Ukraine was held in Paris at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. The reason for […]
Need to Invigorate the Nuclear Disarmament Process
By Dr. J. Enkhsaikhan The writer is Chairman of Blue Banner NGO and Former Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations. ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia | 28 February 2024 (IDN) — Despite or perhaps because of the increase in geopolitical tensions, conflicts and the rise in the risks of nuclear weapons use, it is high time […]
Deadlock Over Disarmament ‘Not Acceptable’: Guterres
GENEVA | 28 February 2024 (IDN | UN Geneva) — Amid geopolitical divides, arms competition, increasingly dangerous new technologies and an elevated nuclear risk, the Secretary-General highlighted his concern that the UN Conference on Disarmament is consistently failing to deliver. The Conference, which was established with the primary goal of fostering cooperation for mutual disarmament, […]
Is Nuclear Outer Space a Possible Reality or an Empty Threat?
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 21 February 2024 (IDN) — The growing fear of a nuclear weapon in outer space was perhaps never anticipated 65 years ago when the UN General Assembly routinely created a Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) back in 1959. The 102-member committee, described as one of […]
Ending the Existential Risks of the Menace of Nuclear Weapons
By Tariq Rauf* VIENNA | 20 February 2024 (IDN) — Following the Trinity nuclear test detonation of 16 July 1945, nuclear scientist Leó Szilárd observed: “Almost without exception, all the creative physicists had misgivings about the use of the bomb” and further that “[President] Truman did not understand at all what was involved regarding nuclear […]
The Complexity of Nuclear Submarine Safeguards Impacts the Current Landscape
By Leonam dos Santos Guimarâes* RIO DE JANEIRO | 14 February 2024 (IDN) — The topic of applying safeguards to nuclear submarine fuel, focusing on ensuring security and proliferation resistance, involves a complex interplay of international regulations, agreements, and technical considerations. A pivotal aspect of this discussion centres on the application of International Atomic Energy […]
US Hunt for Bases in Africa Triggers Protests and Rivalry with China
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 13 February 2024 (IDN) — The US is perhaps the only country in the world with more than 750 military bases in over 80 nations, mostly in Western Europe, the Middle East and Asia, plus in some of the still-existing colonies and self-governing territories. But the only full-fledged US […]