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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike, novelist extraordinaire, passed this month into eternity, writes Nigerian author Okey Ndibe.
Born April 28, 1931, he had a rich life as an academic, bureaucrat, father to an only son, Osita Ike (who preceded him in death), husband (to Adebimpe Olurinsola Ike, nee Abimbolu, who survives him), and traditional leader of his community, Ndikelionwu.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN) – The struggle for the Donbass region in the eastern and southern Ukraine goes on, seemingly never endingly. It’s now six years since dissident militias threw off the yoke of the central government in Kiev and declared their de-facto independence.
They were supported by Russian troops which at first president Vladimir Putin denied and then later admitted. It was the Russians who supplied the missile launcher that accidentally shot down a Malaysian airlines passenger jet. Altogether 17,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in this conflict.
By Radwan Jakeem
NEW YORK (IDN) – Since U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the JCPOA, also known as the "Iran nuclear deal", in May 2018, a widespread view is that the regime in Tehran is yearning for an atomic bomb.
Washington experts, however, maintain that while Iran’s violations of the JCPOA “are serious, they are reversible and they do not suggest, as some have alleged, that Iran is dashing to acquire a nuclear bomb“.
By Jamshed Baruah
GENEVA (IDN) – Two Nobel Peace laureates – IPPNW and Pugwash – have vehemently censured the killing of Gen. Qassem Suleimani on January 3. Suleimani was Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and, from 1998 until his death, commander of its Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations.
In a statement on January 8, IPPNW – the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War – “condemned the deliberate and calculated murder” of Iranian Major General Qassim Suleimani by U.S. forces in Iraq.
Viewpoint by John Scales Avery
The following are excerpts from ‘The Passions of Mankind’ in which John Scales Avery discusses human emotions from an evolutionary perspective. The book consists mainly of chapters and articles that he has previously published, although some new material has been added. It can be freely downloaded and circulated from the following link: http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/The-Passions-of-Mankind-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf
By J Nastranis
NEW YORK (IDN) – Hundreds of thousands of Haitians lost their lives, including 102 UN personnel, and millions were gravely affected by the devastating earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation ten years ago on January 12.
The incident ranks among the top 10 deadliest earthquakes in human history, according to a recent OCHA report. Nevertheless, $126 million humanitarian plan for Haiti, launched in February, was only 32 per cent funded.
Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball
The writer is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. The following is the text of his article published in January/February 2020 issue of Arms Control Today.
WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – This year, the world will mark the 75th anniversary of the catastrophic atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the indispensable but imperfect nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
Viewpoint by Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson*
WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) - Iran announced its fifth breach of the 2015 nuclear deal January 5, stating that it “discards the last key component of its operational limitations” put in place by agreement. In the January 5 statement Iran said its nuclear program “no longer faces any operational restrictions,” however Foreign Minister Javad Zarif did say that Iran will still continue to “fully cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Viewpoint by John Feffer
The writer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus, which first carried it on 8 January. He is the author of several books and numerous articles. He has been an Open Society Foundation Fellow and a PanTech fellow in Korean Studies at Stanford University. He is a former associate editor of World Policy Journal.
WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – The United States has been in a 40-year cold war with Iran.
TIRANA (IDN-INPS) – A mother of three was found under the rubble hugging her three children. A 24-year-old student’s dream of becoming a dermatologist was cut short.
A family of eight was found under their collapsed four-storey concrete home. The youngest was two. There was only one survivor from that family — a 17- year-old boy, frozen with shock and unable to utter a word.
A 33-year-old had promised her husband, who passed away two years ago, that their daughter would follow his footsteps and become a painter; they both died.
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