By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – The UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) Rosemary DiCarlo has criticized both Iran and the United States for putting strain on the groundbreaking 2015 deal to monitor Iran’s nuclear programme, which she stressed remains a “cornerstone of international peace and security”.
Historic Meeting Wraps Up With Pledges to Boost Opportunities for Refugees
By Tim Gaynor and Matthew Mpoke Bigg, UNHCR GENEVA (IDN) – A historic meeting in Geneva wrapped up on December 18 with wide-ranging and substantial commitments to help millions of refugees and the communities they live in worldwide, including important pledges of new long-term support for their inclusion. “I want to salute the efforts pledged […]
Build A More Equitable Response to Refugee
Viewpoint by António Guterres The following are extensive excerpts from the UN Secretary-General’s opening remarks at the first Global Refugee Forum (17-18 December 2019). It came at the end of a tumultuous decade in which the number of refugees has risen to over 25 million people worldwide. Guided by the Global Compact on Refugees, the […]
Rising Concern in Russia About Spiralling Arms Race
By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia is convinced that proliferation risks and threats that are rampant today can be eliminated by the strict observance of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), while respecting and ensuring the balance between its three components: nonproliferation, disarmament and peaceful use of nuclear energy. The […]
UN Expects Trade Growth in Asia-Pacific in 2020 Despite Decline in 2019
By Devinder Kumar NEW DELHI | BANGKOK (IDN) – United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana has welcomed the agreement reached between China and the United States on December 13, defusing tensions in a 19-month trade war. She expects it to […]
The Putrid Mess of Israeli Politics
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Israeli politics gets messier and messier. Now there is to be yet another election, hard on the heels of the last one which, in turn, was hard on the heels of the one before. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have two major aims in life. The […]
Five Tech Giants Linked To ‘Cruel and Brutal Use of Children’ In Congo Mines
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Do kids work in coal mines? In 1910, an estimated 2 million American children under the age of 15 were working in factories and mines for low wages and long shifts. Photographs by Lewis Hine of New York revealed the depraved exploitation of children, some […]
Multiple Charges Against Ex-Wife of Zimbabwe’s Vice President
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Marry Mubaiwa, estranged wife of Zimbabwe’s Vice President, faces a battery of charges – from fraud, money laundering to attempted murder – in a case that has startled even the most battle-hardened citizens. Ms. Mubaiwa, 38, is accused of unlawfully transferring $919,000 to South Africa […]
South African Leader Sees End to Racism and Bigotry
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – President Cyril Ramaphosa struck a note of optimism in his message on December 16 – the Day of Reconciliation and the anniversary of two major historical events, now celebrated as a public holiday. Since the nation attained democracy, he said, citizens have showed the capacity […]
NPT Review Conference Should Not Repeat the ‘Sad Experience’ of 2015
Viewpoint by Sergey Lavrov The following are extensive excerpts from Russiaan Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference on “Foreign Policy Priorities of the Russian Federation in Arms Control and Nonproliferation in the Context of Changes in the Global Security Architecture” Moscow, 8 November 2019.