By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos* WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) — As the Biden administration prepares to initiate a review of U.S. nuclear weapons policy, its first budget request proposes to continue every part of the unnecessary and unsustainable nuclear weapons spending plans it inherited from the Trump administration. This includes the controversial additions made by […]
Afghanistan Faces Funding Shortfall Amid Deepening Humanitarian Crisis
By Radwan Jakeen NEW YORK (IDN) — Nearly 18 million Afghans or half the population of the South Asian country require assistance. A third of the country is malnourished, while half of all children under five are experiencing acute malnutrition. In view of this critical situation, Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, […]
France Denies Covering-Up Deadly Nuclear Tests in French Polynesia
By Asia Pacific Report newsdesk SUVA (IDN) — The French government has denied any cover-up over radiation levels in the Pacific following its nuclear testing in the region, as state-backed discussions took place in Paris about the legacy of the explosions, reports France 24. A two-day meeting called by French President Emmanuel Macron was held […]
What About Iraq and Iran Now That U.S. Afghan War Is Over?
Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK (IDN) — At Bagram air-base, Afghan scrap merchants are already picking through the graveyard of U.S. military equipment that was until recently the headquarters of America’s 20-year occupation of their country. Afghan officials say the last U.S. forces slipped away from Bagram in the […]
Latin America’s Unique Biodiversity Can Help Boost Post-Covid Recovery
By Fermin Koop* LONDON (IDN) — Protecting and restoring natural areas in Latin America, home to 50% of the planet’s biodiversity and over a quarter of its forests, could help the region achieve a ‘green’ post-pandemic recovery and meet biodiversity conservation targets, experts say. Doing so could even create thousands of jobs in key economic […]
Protracted Talks Lead States to Settle on Next CTBTO Leader
By Daryl G. Kimball* The writer is the Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) — After an unusually contentious process that lasted for months, representatives from the member states of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) finally agreed to appoint Robert Floyd of Australia to […]
The Opposition in India Should Focus on Restoration of Democracy
Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani This article is the 14th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and meanwhile […]
New Efforts to Reduce Homeownership Disparity in the US
By J W Jackie RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) — The White House has announced that it will be taking new actions to build black wealth and narrow the racial wealth and homeownership gaps that currently exist in the US. The Administration has vowed to “Take action to address racial discrimination in the housing market, including […]
Sixteen States Urge the Nuclear-Weapon States to Take Decisive Steps Towards Disarmament
By Aar Jay Persius BERLIN (IDN) — “A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.“ On June 16, at their meeting in Geneva, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin re-affirmed this fundamental truth, famously coined by their predecessors, Reagan and Gorbachev, at the last peak of the cold war, […]
Nuclear Weapons Have Always Been Illegal; It’s Long Past Time to Abolish Them
“History is written by the victors. Thus, the heinous massacre that was Hiroshima has been handed down to us as a perfectly justified act of war…. It is clear that the use of nuclear weapons, which cause indiscriminate mass murder that leaves survivors to suffer for decades, is a violation of international law.”– Hiroshima Mayor […]