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Image source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran Discards the Last Key Component of Nuclear Deal Operational Limitations

Viewpoint by Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson*

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) - Iran announced its fifth breach of the 2015 nuclear deal January 5, stating that it “discards the last key component of its operational limitations” put in place by agreement. In the January 5 statement Iran said its nuclear program “no longer faces any operational restrictions,” however Foreign Minister Javad Zarif did say that Iran will still continue to “fully cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

: Arms Control Association; OPINION; 09 January 2020

The US-Iran War Continues Though Current Crisis Is Averted

Viewpoint by John Feffer

The writer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus, which first carried it on 8 January. He is the author of several books and numerous articles. He has been an Open Society Foundation Fellow and a PanTech fellow in Korean Studies at Stanford University. He is a former associate editor of World Policy Journal.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – The United States has been in a 40-year cold war with Iran.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 January 2020

Photo: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Albania the morning of 26 November 2019, killing 51 people. Credit: UNDP

Rebuilding Albania After The 6.4 Magnitude Earthquake

By UN Development Programme

TIRANA (IDN-INPS) – A mother of three was found under the rubble hugging her three children. A 24-year-old student’s dream of becoming a dermatologist was cut short.

A family of eight was found under their collapsed four-storey concrete home. The youngest was two. There was only one survivor from that family — a 17- year-old boy, frozen with shock and unable to utter a word.

A 33-year-old had promised her husband, who passed away two years ago, that their daughter would follow his footsteps and become a painter; they both died.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 08 January 2020

Photo: Denise Butler (right) embraced Nelima Sitati Munene on January 4 in Brooklyn Park as they celebrated a new federal law giving Liberians in the U.S. a path to citizenship. Credit: Evan Frost | MPR News

Liberians Rejoice Over A Promised Path to U.S. Citizenship

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the Trump administration turns down an ever-growing number of applications for asylum, it surprised many that some 5,000 Liberians in the United States have been granted a path to citizenship.

In fact, it was the product of decades of effort by the Liberian community and its allies.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 08 January 2020

Photo: Presidential Office Building in Taipei. CC BY-SA 3.0

The Significance of Taiwan’s Forthcoming Election

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – In the Chinese government's eyes it has three rebellious parts of China on its plate – Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Tibet, protestors from time to time have clashed with police and soldiers. In Hong Kong, the reform and freedom demonstrations are now in their eighth month. In Taiwan, society has constructed a form of democracy anathema to Beijing.

On January 11 Taiwan goes to the polls. China does not welcome this and indeed President Xi Jinping over the last two years has been increasingly strident in his criticism of Taiwan’s continuing policy of remaining apart.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 07 January 2020

Bank Accounts of Angola’s Pampered Rich Frozen

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Some called her Princess. Others labeled her the beautiful face of the dictatorship – always beaming from the pages of Fortune, Forbes and other high-finance magazines which flattered her as Africa’s “First Woman Billionaire”. Today, the daughter of Angola’s ex-president is in a messy fight over millions siphoned from state funds, now frozen as part of the current president’s anti-corruption drive.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 07 January 2020

Photo: UN chief Guterres told the noon stakeout for correspondents at UN Headquarters in New York on January 6, that a “cauldron of tensions” could lead countries to unpredicted decisions with unpredictable consequences. Credit: United Nations.

Guterres Calls For De-escalating 'Dangerous' Geopolitical Tensions

Iran Ambassador Meets With UNESCO Chief Amid Trump Threats

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK | PARIS (IDN) – “Stop escalation. Exercise maximum restraint. Re-start dialogue. Renew international cooperation.” This is the four-point message of UN Secretary-General António Guterres spelling out what needs to happen now, in capitals across the world, to de-escalate geopolitical tensions, which he described as being “at their highest level this century” as the new decade dawns. RUSSIAN

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 07 January 2020

Photo: Asked, 'Which country do you think is the greatest threat to peace in the world today?' international respondents overwhelmingly chose the United States. Credit: Staff Sgt. William Tremblay / U.S. Army / Creative Commons)

‘U.S. Is Greatest Threat to World Peace’

By Jamshed Baruah

NEW YORK (IDN) – American philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky has criticized Washington's policies on Iran and referred to polls from prestigious centres, which show that America is the biggest threat to world peace. According to Iran Press/America, he told a New York school on January 4 that the former Republican Party had now become a "radical rogue" that has abandoned any parliamentary policy.

"They may succeed in raising sanctions and even secondary sanctions on other countries, and may take other measures to keep Iran out of agreement with the United States," Chomsky added.

: Jamshed Baruah; OPINION; 06 January 2020

Photo: Protestors gather outside Trump Tower to demonstrate against US/Middle East relations in Chicago. Credit: Grack Hauck, USA TODAY

U.S.-Iran Conflict: Iraq President Concerned – Young Americans Alarmed – Trump Has Put Millions at Risk

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – While Iraq President Barham Salih is worried about U.S.-Iran conflict since the killing of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani, young Americans are alarmed and speak about World War III, and an OpEd says Congress failed to act to prevent Iran war. The British-educated Kurd Salih, who spent years representing his party in Washington, was elected President of Iraq in 2018 said in a Q&A with the New Yorker’s Robin Wright:

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 05 January 2020

Image: Post-Soviet states in English alphabetical order: Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. CC BY-SA 3.0

Putin Keen to Strengthen Ties with Former Soviet Republics

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is keen to deepen and strengthen relations with the former Soviet republics, particularly those which initially formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and joined the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) after the breakup in 1991. Russia was internationally recognized as the successor state to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics out of which 15 sovereign states emerged and re-emerged.