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Image: 1984 awardees of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for theories concerning "the specificity in development and control of the immune system” and the discovery of “the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies". Credit: Nobelprize.org

A COVID-19 Vaccine Quickly and Cheaply Is Possible

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

The writer is a theoretical chemist noted for his research publications in quantum chemistry.

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – Public health experts say that if the COVID-19 epidemic is not successfully contained, it could become a global pandemic, perhaps spreading to 80% of the world's population. With a 1% mortality rate, this would mean that 70 million people would die of the disease. With a 2% mortality rate, the total number of deaths would be twice that number, 140 million people. Comparable numbers of people have died in the tragic wars and pandemics of the past. There is a serious danger that it might happen again.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 March 2020

Photo: Collage with images from Arms Control Association and the Doomsday clock.

Postpone the NPT Review Conference to 2021 and Convene in Vienna

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf

The writer has attended all nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) meetings since 1987 as a delegate, including as senior adviser to the chair of Main Committee I (nuclear disarmament) in 2015 and to the chair of the 2014 preparatory committee; as alternate head of the International Atomic Energy Agency delegation to the NPT; and as a non-proliferation expert with the Canadian delegation from 1987. Personal views are expressed here.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 March 2020

Photo: 1st row (L-R): Mr. Luis Filipe Lopes Tavares, President of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) Council of Ministers; ACP Secretary General Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti; Ambassador Mrs. Teneng Mba Jaiteh, Chairperson of the Committee of Ambassadors; Mrs. Chikoti; Ambassador. Mr. Tete Antonio, Secretary of State of the Republic of Angola; 2nd row: (L-R) Ambassador Awad Sakine Ahmat, Representative of the African Union in Belgium; Mr Koen Doens, Director General, International Cooperation and Development and Representative of the European Union.

New ACP Chief to Enhance the 79-Nation Group's Effectiveness at the UN

By Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, ACP Secretary General

The following are extensive excerpts from the inaugural address of Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, Secretary General of the 79-nation ACP Group of States to the Special Meeting of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors on 2 March 2020 at the ACP House in Brussels. Angola's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2000-2017, Mr. Chikoti succeeded Dr. Patrick I Gomes on 1 March 2020. He paid him tribute for leading the ACP Group over the last five years and thanked him for his initiatives.

: ACP Group of States; OPINION; 15 March 2020

Photo: Vladimir Putin gave an interview to TASS Russian News Agency on civil society and foreign agents on March 3, 2020. Credit: TASS

Russian Govt Prohibits 'Only Illegal' NGO Activities

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – President Vladimir Putin maintains that Russia does not prohibit the activities of civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as long as these abide by the country's laws, refrain from meddling in internal politics and inciting extremism and civil disobedience in the country.

He told Russia's state-owned TASS News Agency in an interview for the project titled "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin" that any non-governmental organizations operating on Russian territory, including religious ones, must necessarily respect and comply with the Russian law.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 15 March 2020

Photo: Inmates in a Orleans Parish Prison yard. CC BY 2.0

US Prison Conditions Risk Intense Coronavirus Outbreak

By Julia Conley, Staff Writer Common Dreams

WASHINGTON. D.C. (IDN) – Prisoners' rights advocates are warning that the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. may soon have dire implications for the 2.2 million people living in the American penal system, as prison officials across the country shared little about their plans to keep inmates safe and many of the precautions Americans are being advised to take are unavailable in detention facilities.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 14 March 2020

Photo: Yosemite National Park in California, one of the first protected areas in the United States. Trump's climate change denial, withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, and sponsorship of the fossil fuel industry pose the greatest threats to human society and the biosphere. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Our Addiction to Fossil Fuels Can Kill Us

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – The Industrial Revolution marked the start of a massive human use of fossil fuels. The stored energy from several hundred years of plant growth began to be used at roughly a million times the rate at which it had been formed. The effect on human society was like that of a narcotic. There was a euphotic (and totally unsustainable) surge of growth of both population and industrial production.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 14 March 2020

Photo: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meeting during G7 Summit on Osaka on June 28. Credit: Kremlin.ru

Bullish on Trilateral Arms Control and Bearish on New START

By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos

While Kingston Reif is director for disarmament and threat reduction policy, Shannon Bugos is research assistant at the Arms Control Association.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – President Donald Trump said recently that he is open to meeting with the other heads of state of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to discuss arms control and will soon put forward a trilateral arms control proposal with Russia and China. But China continues to express its opposition to trilateral talks and has yet to respond to U.S. overtures to begin a bilateral strategic security dialogue.

: Arms Control Association; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 13 March 2020

Photo: Tents of the homeless on the sidewalk in Skid Row, Los Angeles. CC BY-SA 4.0

Interconnected Dangers to Civilization

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – Cultural evolution depends on the non-genetic storage, transmission, diffusion and utilization of information. The development of human speech, the invention of writing, the development of paper and printing, and finally, in modern times, computers and the Internet: all these have been crucial steps in society's explosive accumulation of information and knowledge. Human cultural evolution proceeds at a constantly-accelerating speed, so great in fact that it threatens to shake society to pieces.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 13 March 2020

Photo: NPT Prepcom 2019. Credit: James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).

Five Nuclear Weapon States Pledge Commitment to NPT

By J C Suresh

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) — Five permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council – USA, China, France, Russia and Britain – who together possess an overwhelming majority of 13,865 nuclear weapons have pledged "unstinting commitment to preserving and deepening … for future generations" the legacy of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

A joint statement by Foreign Ministers of the five countries on the 50th anniversary of the entering into force of the NPT on March 5, 2020 says "we celebrate the immeasurable contributions this landmark treaty has made to the security and prosperity of the nations and peoples of the world."

: J C Suresh; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 12 March 2020

Photo source: How a special forces 'band of brothers' culture leads to civilian deaths in war. Credit. Pexels

Veteran Mental Health Charity Leaves Thousands at Risk

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – A UK-based mental health charity that provides treatment to around 2,000 military veterans every year has announced that it will no longer be accepting new referrals. Combat Stress has helped veterans for more than 100 years but says that a lack of funding means that they can no longer afford to offer mental health assistance to veterans.As more than 200,000 personnel leave the military every year, many of whom go on to experience poor mental health, this news raises serious concerns about the future of veteran mental health in the UK.