By Lowana Veal REYKJAVIK (IDN) – It was widely believed that the U.S. military left Iceland in 2006 when they abandoned the base adjoining Iceland’s international airport at Keflavik on the southwest tip of the island. But recent developments, in particular the visit of U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence to Iceland in early September and perhaps […]
Russian Weapons Accident Raises Nuclear Concerns
By Greg Webb The writer is editor of Arms Control Today, the Arms Control Association’s flagship publication. WASHINGTON, DC (IDN-INPS) – An accidental explosion on Russia’s White Sea coast has triggered questions about the Kremlin’s strategic weapons development efforts and concerns that Russia may have shut down sensors to deny information to international observers. The […]
Kazakhstan Needs Young Graduates as Teachers for Education Reforms to Succeed
By Milena Melnikova* TARAZ (IDN) – Since 2016, the educational system in Kazakhstan has undergone numerous reforms, and in October 2018 President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced further reforms, including a pledge to increase spending in education along with science and healthcare to 10 percent of national GDP within five years. With the aim of making Kazakhstan […]
As Capitalism Fails in Tajikistan, Older Tajiks are Nostalgic About the Communist Era
By Alisher Kukanbekov KHOROG (IDN) – “I’m surely grateful to have lived in the Soviet Union. Our lives moved rather slower back then, we didn’t have to worry about putting food on the table. Everyone was equal,” says Amid, recalling the days when Tajikistan was part of the Soviet Union. It is not uncommon for […]
Kazakhstan Honours Advocates of a Nuclear-Free World
By Ramesh Jaura with reports from Katsuhiro Asagiri BERLIN | NUR-SULTAN (IDN) – Kazakhstan, widely acknowledged as a leader in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, has availed of this year’s International Day against Nuclear Tests to honour two eminent advocates of a world free of nuclear weapons. The Central Asian republic was one-time holder of the […]
Kazakh Capital Hosts Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Delegates
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NUR-SULTAN (IDN) – Representatives of five Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZs) and Mongolia have been exploring ways of inter-zonal cooperation and further coordination at a seminar in the Kazakh capital, co-organized by the Government of Kazakhstan and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). Inputs from the seminar are expected to […]
Need for Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty’s Entry into Force Reiterated
By Reinhard Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) – Urgent calls to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force as a key pillar of the international non-proliferation and disarmament framework marked the International Day against Nuclear Tests 2019 commemorated around the world on August 29 with ceremonies to remember the devastating consequences of nuclear tests. The Day […]
Sochi Summit Expected to Open Russia’s Door to Africa
By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW (IDN) – As Sochi, a Russian city located on the Black Sea coast, prepares to host African leaders, experts have been discussing the possible outcome of this first high-level event in the history of Russian-African relations, with the heads of all states of the African continent invited, as well as […]
Kazakh Ratification Marks One Step Closer to Banning the Bomb
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Kazakhstan, the country where the Soviet atomic bomb was first tested exactly 70 years ago, has become the 26th State party by depositing with the United Nations Secretariat the ratification instrument to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) thus marking one step closer to the […]
Grave Concern About US-Russian Actions Evoking Cold War
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – While nuclear experts and peace advocates have expressed heightened concern about the collapse of the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the United States and Russia are trading accusations over breaching commitments and taking actions evoking Cold War era. The Treaty was signed by former U.S. President […]