Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – A speech of General George Patton, a famous World War 2 warrior, has an uncanny resemblance to the philosophy of Donald Trump. “All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser – Americans despise cowards. Americans […]
UN and CTBTO Hail End to Nuclear Testing by North Korea, Denuclearization Remains a Mirage
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | VIENNA (IDN) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo have welcomed the announcement by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to halt its nuclear testing programme and to dismantle the test site. The announcement came six days ahead of the DPRK […]
Strong Plea for Early Entry into Force of Nuclear Ban Treaty
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – On the eve of a crucial international conference, an eminent Buddhist organization advocating a nuclear-weapon-free world has called for the signing, ratification and early entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) adopted by 122 UN member states as a sign of their resolve […]
Costa Rica Advised To Make Growth More Inclusive
By Robert Johnson PARIS (IDN) – Costa Rica, renowned for its ecological footprint, forest protection and abundant biodiversity, has made impressive economic and social progress in recent years, with robust economic growth facilitating near-universal access to education, health care and pensions. But the Central American country is faced with a fundamental challenge: its fiscal imbalance, […]
Pressure Mounts on Japan to Join the Nuclear Ban Treaty
By Katsuhiro Asagiri TOKYO (IDN) – Japan is coming under pressure from within to sign and ratify the UN Nuclear Ban Treaty, which acknowledges the “unacceptable suffering” of the hibakusha – survivors of hitherto the first ever atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. 122 member nations of the United Nations adopted what […]
Campaign For Moving ‘Nuclear Weapons Money’ to Boost Peace
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – While governments meet in New York for the first ever United Nations High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament from May 14-16, 2018 campaigners for ‘zero nuclear weapons’ will be busy counting one million specially designed notes each of $1 million value, adding up to $1 trillion. The amount of […]
Kazakh Peacemakers Exchange Experience with Indian Partners
ALMATY (IDN | KazInform) – Kazakhstan militaries are taking peacemaking training in New Delhi jointly with Indian colleagues. The classes are taking place at the UN Training Center. The Kazakhstani peacemakers came to New Delhi to study the Indian experience to apply it in missions. Upon arrival they familiarized with the general provisions, structure and […]
Experts Stress Importance of UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – The increasing fragility of international peace and security is accentuating the critical need for persistent dialogue and relentless diplomacy to deter multiple conflicts triggering nuclear confrontation, disarmament experts and campaigners say. Conflicts related to nuclear weapons, including in Northeast Asia, between the U.S. and NATO on the […]
Trump Ends Deportation Protection for Liberians in the U.S.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | MONROVIA (IDN) – Liberians living in the U.S. since a devastating civil war that took 250,000 lives from 1989 until 1997 are now in the crosshairs of the current Trump administration which has terminated their protected status with effect from March 31, 2019. Some five thousand […]
UNIDO Helps Prevent E-Waste Eiffel Towers in Latin America
By Jaya Ramachandran VIENNA | QUITO (IDN) – Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), comprising old computers, televisions, fridges, mobile phones, and other appliances, also known as e-waste, is expected to reach 52.2 million metric tons by 2021. It is equivalent to the weight of more than 29 million passenger cars, and would suffice to […]