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EU-U.S. Tussle Over Iran Sanctions and the Aftermath

By Kelsey Davenport

The author is Director for Non-Proliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association (ACA). This analysis is being reproduced from ACA's Special Newsletter of August 24, 2018. – The Editor.

WASHINGON. D.C. (IDN-INPS) – During an August 19-22 trip to Israel, National Security Advisor John Bolton said U.S. sanctions reimposed on Iran are having economic effects “even stronger than we anticipated” and that the United States expects that Europeans will see that the “choice between doing business with Iran or doing business with the United States is very clear.”

Iran figured prominently in discussions between Bolton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 24 August 2018

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres pays his respects during a ceremony honouring the memory and legacy of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who passed away on 18 August at the age of 80. Annan was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, serving from 1997 to 2006. 22 August 2018. United Nations, New York. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Kofi Annan Was the United Nations, Says UN Chief Guterres

By Shanta Roy

NEW YORK (IDN) – Kofi Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the first from sub-Saharan Africa, was the only UN chief who rose from the mid-level ranks of the professional staff to the 38th floor of the Secretariat.

At a wreath-laying ceremony in the UN precincts on August 21, Secretary-General António Guterres said "because of Annan's long and varied career in different offices and departments, it sometimes seemed as though Kofi knew everyone personally."

"But even staff members who never met him felt a bond with Kofi, because he was really one of us. In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations," he declared.

: Shanta Roy; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; United Nations; 23 August 2018

Photo: In October 2017, Kofi Annan joined his successor as Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and the current chief of the UN, Antonio Guterres at UN Headquarters in New York. On August 19, Guterres described Annan as “a guiding force for good” and a “proud son of Africa who became a global champion for peace and all humanity.” UN Photo/Mark Garten

UN's Fallen Chief Kofi Annan 'A Voice for the Voiceless’

By António Guterres

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as delivered, at the wreath-laying for Kofi Annan at United Nations Headquarters, in New York on August 22, 2018. Read also Kofi Annan: A Life of Service to People Across the World. – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – We are here to pay tribute to Kofi Annan, one of the best of us, a man who embodied United Nations values and made us all proud to call ourselves his colleagues. This is a personal loss for many of us. It is difficult to imagine what a blow it must be to his wife and to his family. Our hearts go out to them.

We know how much Kofi meant to the world. I would like to say a few words about what he meant to all of us who work for the United Nations. Kofi Annan’s years in office were an exciting time.

: Ramesh Jaura; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; United Nations; 23 August 2018

Photo: Mary Robinson and Kofi Annan attend Citizens Manifesto event in Zimbabwe in July 2018. Credit: The Elders

The Elders Call for Restraint and Justice in Zimbabwe to Honour Kofi Annan’s Legacy

By The Elders

LONDON (IDN-INPS) – The Elders today urged Zimbabweans at every level in society to uphold the democratic rights to justice and peaceful protest, and refrain from words or actions that could incite violence, drawing on the counsel of their late Chair, Kofi Annan (1938-2018).

Ahead of the ruling by Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court on the petition filed by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance regarding the 30 July election result, The Elders called on political leaders to act responsibly to avert further bloodshed.

: Ramesh Jaura; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; Kofi Annan; 23 August 2018

Image: 2030 SDGs Game. Credit: Imacocollabo

'2030 SDGs Game' Arouses Growing Interest in Japan

By Ramesh Jaura and Katsuhiro Asagiri

BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) – Reports have it that when Albert Einstein was some five years old and confined to bed, his father gave him a magnetic pocket compass to play with. He twisted and turned it, wondering how the needle always knew to point towards the north.

Takeo Inamura and Nobuhide Fukui share a similarly profound curiosity about how the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, world leaders adopted in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit in New York, could really transform the world.

And, what could be done to bring home to the common man and woman that there is no magic wand to realize the grand vision of SDGs, to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind?

: Ramesh Jaura and Katsuhiro Asagiri; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 23 August 2018

Photo: Seaweed farmers. Credit: Mwinyi Sadallah

A Glimmer of Hope for Zanzibar Seaweed Farmers

By Kizito Makoye

PAJE, Zanzibar (IDN) – As the morning breeze sweeps Mwanamkasi Jumbe wade through knee-deep water, her gown flapping in the wind as she drags a pile of seaweed seedlings to her farm before it is too hot.

Armed with a bundle of sticks, she hangs pieces of fresh seaweed haphazardly hooked on a yellow polyethylene rope.

"It's a tough job, but I love doing it. I get something to support my family," she says. "The seedling takes six weeks to mature," she adds.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 22 August 2018

Photo: Che Guevara Statue, Santa Clara, Cuba (CC0 Public Domain).

Guevara and Marx: Critical Remake of an Old Film – 6

By Roberto Massari*

This is the sixth of a nine-part series. Read Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

BOLSENA, Italy (IDN) – With regard to the “Marxism” of Marx there is not much more, because the rest of the article launches itself into a very imaginative analysis of the progress of the Cuban revolution which I leave out here without remorse.

In the past, however, I have devoted some attention to the hasty manner in which Che had dismissed some statements in that text from the two founding fathers related to Mexico and Bolivar. Here I limit myself to mentioning the piece by Guevara, but for my comment I refer to the detailed analysis I made in Che Guevara. Pensamiento y política de la utopía (pp. 54-9).

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 22 August 2018

U.S. Goes for 'Space Force All the Way'

Viewpoint by Alice Slater*, The Hill

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – […] Vice-President Mike Pence announced the Trump administration’s plan for a new military command, the U.S. Space Force, emphasizing President Donald Trump’s urging that “It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space: we must have American dominance in space.” Pence’s announcement was greeted by Trump, tweeting in response, “Space Force all the way!”

Pence’s rationale for this disturbing expansion of U.S. militarization to the heavens is that “our adversaries”, Russia and China, “have been working to bring new weapons of war into space itself” that pose a threat to American satellites.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 21 August 2018

Little Progress in Nuclear Disarmament Since Helsinki Summit

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Everything gets said, nothing gets done. When President Donald Trump met President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, we were promised all sorts of goodies – progress in reconciliation in Ukraine and Syria, and not least nuclear disarmament. If there is progress behind the scenes it's not noticeable to the naked eye.

People talk about Trump being in Putin's pocket yet when, soon after Trump became president, Putin suggested major cuts in nuclear weapons Trump turned him down. This would have been a fantastic way to start his presidency. He could have upped Barack Obama's achievement of getting the arsenal down to 1550 warheads each. In nearly everything else he wants to destroy Obama's legacy or minimize it. This would have been a way to do it.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 21 August 2018

Mozambique Imposing Hefty Fees on Local and Foreign Media

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Press freedom in Mozambique just got a lot less free. Under a new government decree, local and foreign journalists must now pony up thousands of dollars for the right to report in this Southern African country.

The little dribble of news about Mozambique in the foreign press could disappear altogether, ending press freedom at a crucial time. Human rights groups call it an attempt to discourage reporting from the country.

"We think this is completely exorbitant and out of any reasonable proportion," said Arnaud Froger, head of the Africa desk for the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.