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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."

: Taro Ichikawa; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 21 January 2018

Photo: India's longest range nuclear capable missile Agni-5 was successfully test fired from the Kalam Island off Odisha coast on January 18 by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Source: NDTV

Successful Test Firing of India's Agni-5 Evokes No Fury

By Kalinga Seneviratne

BANGKOK (IDN) – The successful launch of the nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Agni-5 on January 18 has hardly been noticed in Asia. The western media however have given it coverage focusing on India's ability now to strike major Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

This partly adulatory coverage is in sharp contrast to hysteria in the western media in particular when North Korea tested a similar missile on November 28, 2017. While North Korea’s tests are projected as threats to global denuclearization efforts, India's are not.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 21 January 2018

Photo: Leonardo Boff. Credit: onepeterfive.com/

The Earth’s Future Will Not Come from Heaven

Viewpoint by Leonardo Boff

The author is a Brazilian liberation theologian, author and campaigner for the rights of the poor and disadvantaged. He is a professor of theology, ethics and philosophy at universities all over the world and a member of the Earth Charter Commission. This article is a slightly modified version of an article that first appeared in Other News.

RIO DE JANEIRO (IDN) – Most readers will find it difficult to accept what I am going to express here. Even though it is based on the best scientific minds that have been studying the universe, for almost a century the situation of planet Earth and her eventual collapse – or qualitative leap to another level of reality – has not penetrated into either the collective consciousness or the major academic centres.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 20 January 2018

Photo: Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan and President of the Security Council for the month of January, addresses the Security Council meeting on Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, with a focus on confidence-building measures. 18 January 2018. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

Kazakh President Offers Astana as Venue for Disarmament Negotiations with North Korea

By Santo D. Banerjee

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – In the run up to the fiftieth anniversary of the UN inviting nuclear haves and have-nots to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on July 1, 1968, Kazakhstan has proposed a set of six measures aimed at the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and offered a platform for disarmament negotiations with North Korea.

The initiative has been launched on January 18 at the high level briefing of the Security Council which focused on the theme of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: confidence-building measures convened by Kazakhstan in its capacity as the Council President for the month of January. And this at a point in time when, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres says, "global anxieties about nuclear weapons are the highest since the Cold War."

: Santo D. Banerjee; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 19 January 2018

Photo: Flag of Eritrea. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Mounting Political Tensions Around Eritrea

By Klara Smits

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The political situation around Eritrea is evolving rapidly, in both the Horn of Africa and Europe. Sudan has closed the border with Eritrea and deployed troops amid rising tensions while in the Netherlands, Eritrea’s top diplomat has been declared 'persona non grata' over the country’s practice of enforcing a so-called "diaspora tax" on expatriate Eritreans. Growing protests from the Eritrean diaspora, and even one protest inside of Eritrea, show that the pressure on the Eritrean government is mounting.

When Sudan closed its borders with Eritrea at the beginning of January, it initially announced that the border closing was aimed at stopping trafficking of people and goods. However, deteriorating relations seemed to be playing an equal role.