OPINION

Collage of photos: President Putin (Credit: Kremlin.ru) and President Biden being sworn in (Source. Wikimedia Commons.)

US and Russia Should Agree to a New “Reset”

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – There is a dangerous element in President Joe Biden’s foreign policy. It comes from his deeply embedded dislike of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. During the campaign, he even called Putin a thug, which was not a very sensible thing to do if you are hoping to do business with him.

For all Biden’s conciliatory and pacific instincts, which I described in my column on January 19, his rigid position on Putin seems to lead him astray when it comes to US-Russian relations.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 26 January 2021

Photo: Knox Msebenzi (credit: Msebenzi), Managing Director of Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA) in South Africa (Credit: NIASA)

South African Nuclear Energy Chief Pleads for Energy-Mix

Interview by Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – The power industry in South Africa is faced with huge challenges. Knox Msebenzi, Managing Director of the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA), discusses the impact of challenges on the country's economy and a way out of the power generation difficulties in South Africa.

The Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa is a body committed to promoting the highest standards in the development and application of nuclear technology in South Africa. NIASA is composed of organisations, groups, and individuals, from not only the established nuclear sector but also any entities involved in any technology endeavour related to the development and operation of nuclear technology.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; OPINION; 26 January 2021

Photo: ICAN campaigners protest in Sydney, Australia on 22 January.

Global Buddhist Network Heralds Entry into Force of Nuclear Ban Treaty

Viewpoint by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada

Following is the text of a press release President Harada welcoming the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22, 2021.

TOKYO (IDN) – Together with the members of the Soka Gakkai worldwide, I wholeheartedly welcome the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22, 2021. The entry into force of the TPNW heralds the start of the end of the nuclear era and marks a significant step forward toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

: SGI - Soka Gakkai International; OPINION; 24 January 2021

Photo: Election Campaign in Myanmar. Source: Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

New Opportunities for Aung San Suu Kyi After Elections

Viewpoint by Enze Han

The writer is an Associate Professor at the Department of Politics and Public Administration, the University of Hong Kong.

HONG KONG (IDN) – Amid the worsening domestic COVID-19 situation, Myanmar’s election in November 2020 brought a landslide victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD) under the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite voting restrictions in parts of Rakhine and Shan states, the election was overall a step in the right direction, and the NLD increased its majority in the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house) and Amyotha Hluttaw (upper house).

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 24 January 2021

Photo: The remains of the Prefectural Industry Promotion Building, after the dropping of the atomic bomb, in Hiroshima, Japan. This site was later preserved as a monument. UN Photo/DB

The Nuclear Ban Is Here. Now What?

Viewpoint by Alyn Ware

The author is Director of the World Future Council Peace and Disarmament Program. He is also the International Representative of the Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace.

PRAGUE (IDN) – January 22 was a historic day for the global campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons, with the entry-into-force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). According to promoters of the TPNW, nuclear weapons "are now illegal under international law".

: Alyn Ware; OPINION; 23 January 2021

Reflections on the Groundbreaking UN Nuclear Ban Treaty

By Ramu Damodaran

The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. This OpEd first appeared in this week’s #WhyWeCare, @ImpactUN on January 22.

NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) – Memory, more than modesty, made me miss mention last week of the single exclusive conversation I was privileged to have with Brian Urquhart and which lasted all of ninety seconds.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 January 2021

Image: (left) Kumi Nakazato (Nara, Japan); (right) Nadia Anthouli (Athens, Greece). Credit: UN Office of Disarmament Affairs: Posters for Peace.

Nuclear Weapons Are Now Banned, Prohibited, Outlawed!

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf

The writer is the former Head of Verification and Security Policy at the International Atomic Energy Agency and was a member of the Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive Advancement of Nuclear Disarmament established by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

VIENNA (IDN) – As the day broke today, 22 January 2021, a new era dawned in which nuclear weapons now are prohibited – finally banned – 75 years after the invention and use of nuclear weapons.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 January 2021

Photo: Ebelechukwu Obiano, the wife of Willie Obiano, the governor of one of Nigeria’s five south eastern states, Anambra. Source: facebook.com/mamaananbra

Nigeria: A Governor's Wife Goes Houston To Take the Vaccine

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) – Whether Jean-Jacques Rousseau miscredited the words to Marie Antoinette in Confessions or not, Nigeria is happy to supply a modern-day princess who has earned the title of Her Royal Spite-tress without controversy.

And unlike Antoinette reputed to have tossed the infamous pate, “Let them eat cake”, out her window when the mass of ordinary people in France was dying for breadcrumbs, her Nigerian cousin travelled thousands of miles to find her groove.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 21 January 2021

Photo: President Joe Biden. Credit: The White House.

Revisiting A Historic Day in Divided America

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) – January 20 was a historically momentous day as Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America, and Kamala Harris, a person of colour was sworn in as the first woman Vice President – and now the highest-ranking woman in US history.

After taking the oath of office, President Biden said he wants “to restore the soul of America, bringing America together, uniting our people, and uniting our nation”.

: Somar Wijayadasa; OPINION; 21 January 2021

The Political Significance of the UN Nuclear Ban Treaty

Viewpoint by Thomas Hajnoczi

The writer is the outgoing Director of Arms Control at the Austrian Foreign Ministry. He negotiated the TPNW*

VIENNA (IDN) – With its entry into force on January 22 the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will become binding international law for the growing number of State Parties, for the moment 51 countries. Moreover, it is also having an effect on those states that do not intend to join it.

The nuclear-weapon states themselves testify to the TPNW's effectiveness by their campaign against it. They could have ignored it instead of pressuring countries not to sign and ratify.