By Robert Johnson BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The 79-nation ACP Group of States and the Least Developed countries (LDCs) are concerned about the free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the South American trade bloc Mercosur announced on June 28, 2019. The agreement has been concluded after 20 years of negotiations. The agreement […]
Caribbean States Vow to Facilitate Swift Entry into Force of Nuclear Ban Treaty
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) –Seventy countries have signed and 23 ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) since it was opened for signature at the UN headquarters in New York on September 20, 2017, nearly two-and-a-half months after it was adopted by 122 states. The Treaty will enter into legal force […]
Trump Should Beware of Bolton’s Bid to Sabotage START
By Daryl G. Kimball This analysis by Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association (ACA) first appeared on June 28, 2019 in ArmsControl.org WASHINGTON, DC (IDN-INPS) – Last year, President Donald Trump told reporters that he wanted to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin “to discuss the arms race, which is getting […]
Trump’s Pick for UN in Geneva Opposed to Reproductive Rights
By Stéphanie Fillion, Passblue MONTREAL (IDN) – “I am pro-life, I believe that all human life is sacred, and that human life begins at conception,” Andrew Bremberg told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently. Asked if rape victims should have access to abortion, he replied, “I don’t believe that abortion is a moral […]
How Youth Can Help Entry into Force of the CTBT
Viewpoint by Ilya Kursenko VIENNA (IDN) – For the first time, the youth had a strong presence at the five-day CTBT: Science and Technology 2019 Conference (SnT2019, seventh in a series, in which scientists, industry leaders, policymakers, civil society and academia participated. They gathered in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, to exchange knowledge and share […]
3D Printing Ushers in A New Era With Industry 4.0
By J W Jackie RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – 3D printing is a mode for construction that is continuing to break out and pervade through numerous industries. Forbes reported that in 2019 80 percent of enterprises claim 3D printing is allowing them to innovate faster, reducing costs for production and allowing for greater flexibility of […]
ACP Urges G20 to End Menacing Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS (IDN) – Ahead of the G20 Summit in Japan’s Osaka on June 28-29, the Brussels-based organisation of 79 developing countries, the ACP Group of States, called upon Heads of Government to take strong measures to end Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing – an issue at the core of marine ecosytems […]
Sri Lanka’s Strategic Location Incites US-China Rivalry
By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE (IDN) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cancelled a scheduled visit to Sri Lanka on June 27 as part of his ‘Indo-Pacific’ tour citing “unavoidable scheduling conflicts”, according to the United States Embassy in Colombo. But they might more precisely have said, the visit was dropped “due to unavoidable opposition to U.S. […]
Ultimata to Iran and Pakistan Threaten to Cloud China’s FATF Presidency
Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey James M. Dorsey – a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture – offered this viewpoint to IDN. SINGAPORE (IDN) […]
Ethics Essential to Developing Global Smart Tech, Say Experts
By David Robie* This feature is moved in association with the Pacific Media Centre in New Zealand. BANGKOK (IDN) – Addressing the annual conference of Asian communication scholars, a leading cyber security expert has called on universities to play a more active role in implementing ethics and legal frameworks for communications smart technology to save […]