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Two Minutes to Midnight on Doomsday Clock

By the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – Citing growing nuclear risks and unchecked climate dangers, the iconic Doomsday Clock is now 30 seconds closer to midnight, the closest to the symbolic point of annihilation that the Clock has been since 1953 at the height of the Cold War.

The decision announced on January 25 to move the Doomsday Clock to two minutes before midnight was made by the 'Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board in consultation with the Board of Sponsors, which includes 15 Nobel Laureates.

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 25 January 2018

Photo: Astro-Lab (Arctic Stratospheric Ozon Observatory) near Eureka Weather Station (Nunavut, Canada). Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Scientists Seek Trudeau's Backing for Canada as a Global Leader in Climate Research

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) – In the face of U.S. President Donald Trump claiming that "the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive," international scientists have lauded Canada's achievements in the field, and called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to re-invest in climate science.

In an open letter to him, released in Ottawa on January 22, hundreds of prominent international scientists have raised concern that a crisis is looming for Canadian climate and atmospheric research following the government’s failure to renew or replace the Climate Change and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) program which funded seven research networks.

: J C Suresh; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 24 January 2018

Photo: UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed addresses the Fourth Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs with the focus "Perspectives on Migration: displacement and marginalization, inclusion and justice" on 22 January 2018. United Nations, New York. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten.

Faith-based Organizations Asked to Support Refugees, Migrants

By Amina J. Mohammed

Amina J. Mohammed is the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General. Following are extensive excerpts from her remarks to the Fourth Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs with the focus: "Perspectives on Migration: Displacement and Marginalization, Inclusion and Justice" in New York on 22 January 2018.* - The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Not since the Second World War have so many people fled their homes to seek a place of greater safety. Some 66 million people – half of them children – have fled armed conflicts, persecution, poverty, climate change and natural disasters and are now refugees or displaced within their own countries.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 24 January 2018

Photo: A US military officer and YPG and YPJ commanders tour an area hit by Turkish airstrikes in April 2017. YPG, the People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria's Syrian Democratic Forces. YPJ, The YPJ is an acronym whose translation means Women's Protection Units. It is the all-female brigade of the YPG. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Trump's Kurdish Militia in Syria

By Pier Francesco Zarcone*

ROME (IDN) – The U.S. decision to train about 30,000 men of a Kurdish militia on the Turkish-Syrian border was considered a reckless initiative with catastrophic consequences – and that immediately turned out to be the case – but, paradoxically, it is also understandable in the global Syrian situation. Let us leave aside the issue of violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian state, given that the United States makes and undoes international law as it pleases and the media present this as if it were normal.

The reasons for judging the U.S. move as reckless can be easily identified. The lesser of these lies in the notorious unreliability of Kurdish political-military organisations, accompanied by bungling opportunism and yet constantly exploited and betrayed by their allies of the moment.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 23 January 2018

Photo: President Trump departs from the Pentagon alongside Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Jan. 27, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jette Carr)

Mattis-Trump Duo Uncovers China and Russia as US Adversaries

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The American secretary of defence, Jim Mattis, has declared a new era: "There has been a return of great power competition ……great power competition – not terrorism – is now the primary focus of U.S. security." In the new national defence strategy document*, unveiled on January 19, China and Russia are singled out as "adversaries".

Although the U.S. is now spending on defence three times as much as China (1.7% of its GNP as against America’s 3.3%), Mattis is worried that the U.S. military advantage over its adversary has eroded "in every domain of warfare". The military, he said, was coping with "inadequate resources" and he called for Congress to appropriate it more billions of dollars.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 23 January 2018

Photo: Demonstrators at the Echangeur de Limete, Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 2016. Photo: Habibou Bangre/IRIN

In the Shadow of Lumumba, Congolese Defy Protest Ban

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Amid reports that pro-democracy activism in the Democratic Republic of Congo is feeling the lash from the unpopular government of Joseph Kabila who is under pressure to hand over power as the Constitution requires, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Congolese security forces "to exercise restraint and to uphold the Congolese people’s right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly."

Also the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat, has strongly condemned the violence following demonstrations organized on January 21 in Kinshasa, and deplored the reported loss of life.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 23 January 2018

Photo: Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and President of the Security Council for the month of January, opens the Security Council meeting on maintenance of international peace and security, with a focus on building regional partnership in Afghanistan and Central Asia as a model to link security and development. Secretary-General António Guterres is seen to his right. 19 January 2018. United Nations, New York. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Security Council Focuses on Afghanistan, Central Asian States

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The 15-nation United Nations Security Council has reiterated its commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and the Central Asian States. Before debating the pressing challenges ahead, the Council adopted a presidential statement on January 19, expressing its continued support to the UN Secretary‑General’s call to action to avert threats.

The presidential statement S/PRST/2018/2, presented by Kazakhstan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, whose country holds the Council presidency for the month of January, reiterates the Council's concern over the continuing threats to the security and stability of Afghanistan.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 22 January 2018

Photo: UN Security Council delegation, headed by Ambassador Kairat Umarov, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the UN, confers with Afghan leaders in Kabul. Credit: UNAMA.

Security Council Delegation Backs Afghan-led Peace Process

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK | KABUL (IDN) – For the first time since 2010, the UN Security Council undertook a visit to Afghanistan to reiterate the Council's support for the Government and people of Afghanistan and their efforts to restore peace, stability and progress to the country.

The visit from January 13-15 was organized by Kazakhstan, which holds the Council Presidency for the month of January. Kazakhstan, as the first country of Central Asia elected to the Council as its non-permanent member for 2017-2018, is striving to promote strong cooperation among neighbours, which is critical for promoting stability and prosperity in and around Afghanistan.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 22 January 2018

Photo: UN Security Council debates on Afghanistan and Central Asia. Credit: UNAMA.

Building Regional Partnership in Afghanistan and Central Asia

By António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Following are extensive excerpts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council debate on building regional partnership in Afghanistan and Central Asia to link security and development, on January 19. The debate was convened by the Council's Kazakh presidency for the month of January. – The Editor.

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The entire international community has a stake in peace, stability and development in Afghanistan, and the countries of Central Asia have a particularly important role to play.

Sustainable development is a fundamental end in itself, enabling people, communities and societies to flourish and fulfil their potential. But, sustainable and inclusive development is also an important factor in preventing and ending conflict, and in sustaining peace. Only by addressing the root causes of crisis, including inequality, exclusion and discrimination, will we build peaceful societies resilient to terrorism and violent extremism.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 21 January 2018

Photo: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (Credit: Wikimedia Commons) close to the main building of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which ICAN Chief Beatrice Fihn visited, and wrote in the Museum's guestbook: ". . . Hiroshima is a city of hope, and ICAN will work with you to see the end of nuclear weapons."

ICAN Chief Shows Japan the Way From a Blind Alley

By Katsuhiro Asagiri

TOKYO (IDN) – "I wish for all states, in particular Japan, to join the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. No more hibakusha," wrote Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), on a message board at the opening of an exhibition on January 12 at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum.

The exhibition marked the award of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to ICAN on December 10 in Oslo, "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons."