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Photo: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (here shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before their working dinner at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on February 14, 2017) believes that “Iran seeks dominance in the Middle East and the destruction of our ally, Israel”. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

Trump Appears to be Getting Ready to Wage War in Syria

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – President Donald Trump said it would never happen. Now it is. During the election he said he did not want more interventions – no more Iraqs, no more Afghanistans, Libyas or Syrias.

A year into his presidency the American military is involved in all these places and he’s aching to get boots on the ground in North Korea and perhaps even Iran. At least he’s not thinking about it in Ukraine – that would really set the cat among the pigeons.

Last week his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, said that waging war in Syria is “crucial to our national defence”. This is a big deal but few seem to be talking about it. The pundits and congressmen are either asleep at the switch or taking a holiday.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 30 January 2018

Photo: Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Credit: V. Lebrun-Verguethen

Bookshops and Race: Nigerian Writer Speaks Out

By SWAN

PARIS (IDN | SWAN) – “Are there bookshops in Nigeria?”, asked a French journalist of famous Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, igniting a firestorm on social media following an event in Paris on January 25.

Many outraged observers accused the journalist of racism and ignorance, while lauding Adichie’s response

“I think it reflects very poorly on French people that you have to ask this question. Come on, it’s 2018,” Adichie replied, after the journalist qualified her question by saying French people knew little about Nigeria, apart from hearing about Boko Haram and violence.

: A.D. McKenzie; THE WORLD; Africa; 30 January 2018

Photo: A general view of the Vienna UN Conference. Credit: Robert Bosch AG/APA-Fotoservice/Schedl

Women's Path to Leadership: Are We at a Turning point?

By Darline Giraud*

This is the fourth in a series of reports on the Vienna UN Conference from January 10-12, 2018, which discussed actions and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly 5 (SDG 5) and in the spirit of SDG 17. The Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) organized this Conference co-ordinated by Heather Wokusch. – The Editor

VIENNA (IDN) – Women face unique challenges in attaining leadership positions. To determine multidisciplinary threads, a recent UN Vienna conference panel invited female leaders at different career phases to share their experiences and discuss means of creating opportunities for future generations.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 30 January 2018

Nuclear-Weapons Ban Will Help Usher In Peace, Human Rights

By Jamshed Baruah

NEW YORK | TOKYO (IDN-INPS) – Eminent Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), has welcomed the July 2017 adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as a turning point in the global history of efforts to achieve peace and disarmament, emphasizing that while nuclear weapons exist, a world of peace and human rights will remain elusive.

According to a press release highlighting major aspects of his proposal issued in Japanese on January 26, Ikeda outlines strategies for gaining support for the Treaty from the nuclear-weapon states and nuclear-dependent states, and calls on Japan to declare its readiness to consider becoming party to the TPNW: "Having experienced the reality of nuclear weapons, Japan cannot turn away from its moral responsibility."

: Jamshed Baruah; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 29 January 2018

Photo: António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, at the Security Council meeting on Non-proliferation/Democratic People's Republic of Korea on December 15, 2017. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias.

Doomsday Clock Warning Makes UN High Level Conference Even More Important

By Alyn Ware*

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the hands of the symbolic Doomsday Clock to 2 Minutes to Midnight, on January 25, indicating that the threat of a nuclear war through accident, miscalculation or intent has risen to an alarming level, and that climate change is not being averted.

The Bulletin highlighted nuclear threats between the U.S. and North Korean governments, including "hyperbolic rhetoric and provocative actions on both sides." They also lamented "the decline of U.S. leadership and a related demise of diplomacy under the Trump administration".

: Alyn Ware; UN INSIDER; 29 January 2018

Image: RES4Africa promotes the deployment of large-scale and decentralized renewable energy solutions in Sub-Saharan African markets to meet local energy needs for growth. Credit: RES4Africa.

Renewed Efforts to Develop Renewable Age Grip East Africa

By Justus Wanzala

NAIROBI (IDN) – Heightened demand for energy, a shift in policy and the emergence of viable entrepreneurial innovations are propelling transition to sustainable energy in the East African region.

This emerged during a two-day conference organised by Kenya’s Strathmore University‘s Energy Research Centre (SERC) in partnership with Renewable Energy Solutions for Africa (RES4Africa) – an association that promotes the deployment of large-scale and decentralised renewable energy in sub-Saharan African countries. The meeting was held on in Nairobi.

: Justus Wanzala; THE WORLD; Africa; 29 January 2018

Photo: Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and President of the Security Council for the month of January 2018, addresses the Security Council meeting on Maintenance of International Peace and Security. 18 January 2018. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

Security Council Aims at a World Free of Violent Conflicts by 2045

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – As conflicts escalate in different geographic areas all over the globe, the 15-nation Security Council has underlined an urgent need for redoubled efforts for their prevention and resolution, addressing where appropriate the regional dimensions of conflicts with specific emphasis on regional diplomacy and arrangements. The Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security

In presidential statement (S/PRST/2018/1), presented by Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and Security Council President for January, veto-wielding five permanent members and ten non-permanent members underline the need for continuing to strive towards sustainable peace and achieving a world free of violent conflicts by 2045, the year of the UN's Centenary.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 28 January 2018

Photo: Farmer Sittipong Yanaso at his durian farm. Credit: CCDKM.

‘Smart Farms’ Making Thai Agriculture Sufficient and Sustainable

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 20th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

CHANTHABURI, Thailand (IDN) – Thai farmers are going back to basics under a “Smart Farms” formula supported by modern information communication technology (ICT) integrated into a Buddhist concept of ‘sufficiency economy’ to make the kingdom’s lifeblood – agriculture and its small-scale farmers – sustainable into the foreseeable future.

“Some farmers use chemical fertiliser to get more fruits [from their trees] (but) their trunks die in three to five years. We use organic fertiliser here and our trunks will last for 30 years” said farmer Sittipong Yanaso, speaking to IDN at his lush multi-cropping durian plantation here.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 28 January 2018

Photo: Sameh Hassan Shokry Selim, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt (left) with UN Secretary-General António Guterres (right) at the UN. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten

G-77 at UN to Focus on Global Solidarity and Multilateralism

By Ramesh Jaura

GENEVA | NEW YORK (IDN) – The Group of 77, comprising 134 developing and newly industrialized countries, has set itself six priorities for 2018 during the presidency of Sameh Hassan Shoukry, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. These are closely related to the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, which poses "the quintessential challenge".

Shoukry, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, has taken over the presidency of the Group – the single largest intergovernmental organization in the United Nations – from his counterpart from Ecuador.

The Group was established on June 15, 1964 by the 'Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Developing Countries' issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 28 January 2018

US Military Bases Devastating Communities Across the World

By Alice Slater*

This article was originally published in The Nation on January 24 with the caption: 'The US Has Military Bases in 80 Countries. All of Them Must Close.' It is being reprinted with their permission.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – On the weekend of Martin Luther King Day (January 15), Baltimore University fittingly hosted more than 200 activists in the peace, environment, and social-justice movements to launch a timely new initiative, the Coalition Against US Foreign Military Bases.

Ajamu Baraka, Green Party vice-presidential candidate and co-founder of the Black Alliance for Peace, opened the meeting reminding us that Reverend King, in his historic anti-war speech more than 50 years ago at Riverside Church in New York, called the government of the United States “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today” adding that “the war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit,” while warning that “a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”