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 […]
Indian Univ. Fight against the Pandemic Adopts ‘Communication from Within’ Strategy
By Moumita Maji* SANTINIKETAN, India (IDN) — Different units of Visva-Bharati University have come together since the onset of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, in an attempt to fight the virus and ensure the safety of the community with minimum expenses but maximum courage. The home-grown strategy developed is unique with an emphasis […]
Miles to Go Before the World Moves Further from the Brink of Nuclear Catastrophe
By Aar Jay Persius BERLIN (IDN) — U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed at their June 16 summit in Geneva the principle agreed on by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. They also decided to […]
Putin Confirms That Africa Is One of Russia’s Foreign Policy Priorities
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — While Africa has moved to center stage as a Russian foreign policy priority, questions are being raised about the record of human rights abuses by Russian mercenaries in Chad and the Central African Republic, among other countries. United Nations investigators are examining allegations of atrocities […]
The US Builds A ‘Systemic’ Pact to Counter China’s Growing Influence
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) — Nearly five months after the termination of Donald Trump’s erratic presidency, US President Joe Biden has triggered a sort of ‘systemic’ pact against China—with partners in the Group of Seven (G-7), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the European Union (EU) at the June 11-15 summits. Thirty […]
DOUBLE TAKE: Nepal Falls Back into Familiar Rut
Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandran * NEW DELHI (IDN) — When K P Sharma Oli became Nepal’s Prime Minister for a third time on May 13, 2021, he was a much-diminished political figure from the one who rode to office at the head of a massive mandate in February 2018. He had then represented new hopes […]