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Photo: An Airman completes a missile assembly on an F-16 Fighting Falcon during a load crew competition at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., June 30, 2017. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Andrew D. Sarver

Kick Off To A Nuclear Race Threatening Doomsday

By Sergio Duarte

The writer is President of the 1995 Nobel Peace Laureate Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and a former Ambassador of Brazil who served in key posts. He was President of the 2005 Seventh Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs with UNODA, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (2007-2012). – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN) – As if by coincidence, almost simultaneously the world learned of the Doomsday Clock moving closer to midnight and of the release of the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) by the government of the United States.

: Sergio Duarte; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 11 February 2018

UN Agency in Talks with Israel on African Asylum Seekers

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA | TEL AVIV (IDN) – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is negotiating with Israel to resettle a portion of African asylum seekers in third countries deemed by the UN to be "safe," perhaps including Western countries, in exchange for some of the refugees to be given permanent residency in Israel, according to The Times of Israel.

The aim is to halt Israel's plans to deport thousands of asylum seekers to African countries, widely believed to be Rwanda and Uganda. "Such an arrangement could be realized, though the necessary details need to be worked out," Sharon Harel, the external relations officer at the UNHCR office in Israel, told the newspaper.

: Jaya Ramachandran; THE WORLD; Middle East; 11 February 2018

One Belt One Road – A Unique Opportunity For Sri Lanka

Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona

The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations. The following are extracts from remarks he recently made at the Rotary Club Colombo West luncheon. – The Editor

COLOMBO (IDN) – President Xi Jinping's One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, unveiled in 2013, provides Sri Lanka with a unique opportunity to fast track its economy along the path to development.

An investment bonanza that is being made available under the OBOR (also referred to as the Belt and Road) initiative, especially the Maritime Silk Road, could revive the glory days of the ancient Silk Route for Sri Lanka.

: Dr. Palitha Kohona; OPINION; 10 February 2018

Image: Montage of an inert test of a United States Trident SLBM (submarine launched ballistic missile), from submerged to the terminal, or re-entry phase, of the multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Why 'Nuclear Weapons – An Absolute Evil' Is A 'Must-Read'

By Anne Baring*

Anne Baring is a Jungian Analyst, author and co-author of the books listed on her website, including her latest one, The Dream of the Cosmos: a Quest for the Soul. She can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Prof. Avery's 'Nuclear Weapons: An Absolute Evil' can be downloaded here. - The Editor.

LONDON – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on January 5 that they have moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock to two minutes to midnight. A few days before this announcement was made a statement by General Sir Nick Carter appeared in The Times in the United Kingdom: “Our ability to pre-empt or respond to threats will be eroded if we don’t keep up with our adversaries.” (The Times 22/1/2018).

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 10 February 2018

Photo: 2017-2018 Graduation students of the Regional Academy on the United Nations (RAUN). Credit: RAUN

Empowerment: A Collaborative Vision of SDG 5

By Cecilia Vera Lagomarsino*

This is the sixth 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 Goal 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) - Achieving female empowerment is imperative on a global basis, but accomplishing it remains elusive. With a collaborative vision of SDG 5, a recent United Nations Vienna conference explored crosscutting themes and potential synergies among UN organizations, the diplomatic community, civil society, NGOs, academics and business leaders.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 09 February 2018

Use of Coal Increasing in Rapidly Growing Emerging Economies

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN (IDN) – While the number of new coal-fired power plants China and India are building has declined, the planned expansion in the use of coal in fast-growing emerging economies, such as Turkey, Indonesia and Vietnam, will in part cancel out the reduction, according to a new study.

The study advocates politically feasible solutions for a global coal exit. For example, coal could be pushed out of the energy markets by means of a roadmap to shut down coal mines, stricter power plant regulations and higher carbon prices worldwide.

: Rita Joshi; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 09 February 2018

Photo: Airborne Launch Control System. Credit: www.afgsc.af.mil/

Activists Call on U.S. to Respect the Olympic Truce

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – As the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games kicked off on February 9, over 100 activists from around the United States sent an open letter to Defence Secretary James Mattis, calling on him to respect the Olympic Truce by postponing provocative nuclear-capable missile tests.

Dozens of organizations around the country worked closely together to send the letter, Sandy Jones, Director of Communications at the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation in Santa Barbara in California said.

The letter states, "Regardless of advance planning of such tests, it is essential to global security that the United States be flexible and respect worthwhile initiatives for peace such as the Olympic Truce."

: UN Bureau; NEWSBRIEFS; 09 February 2018

Photo: Celebrity chef Ali Artiste (right) sees how sorghum recipes are being rediscovered in rural Kenya as farmers switch crops in response to droughts. Credit: IFADTV

Why the US Should Get Back to the Pledging Table at IFAD

Viewpoint by Scott Morris

Scott Morris is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and director of the US Development Policy Initiative, which seeks to broaden the US government’s approach to development. He also works on issues related to the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and particularly the relationship between the IFIs and the United States. This article first appered on the Center for Global Development Blog on February 7, 2018 and is being re-published with due permission. – The Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – As donors gather [on February 13-14] in Rome to pledge funds to the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), they may be wondering where the United States is. During a recent debate on the floor of the US House of Representatives, Congresswoman Maxine Waters raised the possibility that the Trump administration may not make a pledge to IFAD.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 08 February 2018

Photo: Burundian student Mmane Alini, 17, takes notes in class at Hope Secondary School in Nduta refugee camp, Tanzania. © UNHCR/Georgina Goodwin

Refugees, Migrants Need Courageous European Leadership

Viewpoint by Idriss Jazairy

Ambassador Idriss Jazairy is the executive director of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue and the former head of a UN specialised agency, IFAD. This article first appeared* in EURACTIV on February 5, 2018 and is being re-published with their permission.

GENEVA (IDN) – More people than ever are on the move under the centrifugal impulse of globalisation. Fifteen percent of the world’s population or one billion of the Earth’s seven billion people are considered as people on the move. Host developing countries or societies bear the brunt of those that flee from their homes.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 08 February 2018

Photo: Defense Secretary James N. Mattis and Air Force Gen. Paul J. Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testify on the National Defense Strategy and the Nuclear Posture Review before the House Armed Services Committee in Washington, D.C., Feb. 6, 2018. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Kathryn E. Holm

Nuclear Posture Review 'Recipe for a Disaster', Warns Pugwash

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Nobel Peace laureate 'Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs' has warned that the latest development of U.S. nuclear weapons policy "will serve only to increase the saliency and attractiveness of nuclear weapons, and will certainly not enhance international security."

Commenting on the United States 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), Pugwash President Sergio Duarte and Secretary General Paolo Cotta-Ramusino said on February 6: "The global landscape is already filled with simmering nuclear tensions, as well as other serious issues of conflict. Stressing the role of nuclear weapons is not merely unhelpful but is likely to increase these tensions."