IDN-InDepthNews – Page 652 – News for a Sustainable World, Peace and Security

Nuclear Weapons2017-06-142023-07-10

Japan Urged to Participate in Nuclear Ban Treaty Negotiations

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – An eminent Buddhist philosopher and peacebuilder, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, has expressed regrets that the Japanese government did not participate in the first session of the UN Conference to negotiate a nuclear ban treaty, and urged it to work with the Netherlands in the second session from June 15 to July 7, thus making “a unique and vital contribution to the success of the negotiations”.

The centerpiece of negotiations is “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination.”

OPINION2017-06-132023-07-10

Trump has Cards Up his Sleeves to Avoid Impeachment

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – “The best lack all conviction”, wrote the Irish poet, William Yeats, “while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Is this not true of America today?

Some of the “best” are working to bring down President Donald Trump, yet are they ready to cut to the chase? He has cards up his sleeve. He came to power partly because he won the support of working class and lower middle class whites who were prepared to vote against their economic interest for the sake of the nationalism that Trump espoused. Neither Keir Hardie nor Franklin Roosevelt nor Bernie Sanders were their leader. It was Trump.

Asia-Pacific2017-06-132023-07-10

What SCO Summit in Kazakhstan Means for India-Pak Ties

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the second in a series of articles from Kazakhstan which being geographically located both in Asia and Europe, considers itself a Eurasian country. The articles are based on information gathered during a visit from June 7 to June 15 on the occasion of the opening of EXPO 2017 in Astana. Video clips accompany the articles in this series. – The Editor

ASTANA (IDN) – Within days of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit and opening of the ‘EXPO 2017: Future Energy‘, Roman Vassilenko, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, proudly refers to “25 achievements of Kazakhstan’s diplomacy in 25 years” and speaks of a “truly historic moment” in the country’s “modern history”.

UN INSIDER2017-06-122023-07-10

Historic UN Conference Vows to Restore Ocean Health

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Our ocean is critical to our shared future and common humanity in all its diversity. Our ocean covers three quarters of our planet, connects our populations and markets, and forms an important part of our natural and cultural heritage.

It supplies nearly half the oxygen we breathe, absorbs over a quarter of the carbon dioxide we produce, plays a vital role in the water cycle and the climate system, and is an important source of our planet’s biodiversity and of ecosystem services.

It contributes to sustainable development and sustainable ocean-based economies, as well as to poverty eradication, food security and nutrition, maritime trade and transportation, decent work and livelihoods.

UN INSIDER2017-06-112023-07-10

UN Agencies Explore Mobile Tools to Combat Food Fraud

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are exploring nuclear applications to combat food fraud and contamination, which cause huge losses and pose a serious public health threat.

Traditional, professional laboratories can easily detect different types of fraud and contamination in food relatively quickly but such capacity is often limited in many countries and by their nature not very portable. The FAO-IAEA initiative is trying to fill this gap.

“The goal is to make available low-cost devices and methods for food authorities to use directly in the streets and markets, particularly in developing countries,” said Simon Kelly, a Food Safety Specialist at the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, who leads the project.

UN INSIDER2017-06-102023-07-10

UN Chief Lauds Kazakhstan, Vows Close Cooperation with SCO

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the first in a series of articles from Kazakhstan which being geographically located both in Asia and Europe, considers itself a Eurasian country. The articles are based on information gathered during the visit from June 7 to June 15 on the occasion of the opening of EXPO 2017 in Astana. Video clips accompany the articles in this series. – The Editor

ASTANA (IDN) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appreciated Kazakhstan for playing “an increasingly dynamic role on the international stage” as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, stressed the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and urged it to show leadership on climate change.

Latin America & the Caribbean2017-06-092023-07-10

Where Forced Child Pregnancy is Not Fiction

By Phil Harris

ROME (IDN) – She is 10-years-old when she is raped by her mother’s companion and becomes pregnant. Extremely ill, undernourished and underweight during her pregnancy, her mother requests an abortion and although the law permits termination of a pregnancy if authorities deem the carrier’s health is in danger, the request is denied by the State.

The girl’s mother is arrested and temporarily imprisoned for failing in her duty of care to her daughter, despite having previously reported the abuse to the police, who did not act.

Meanwhile, the State sends the girl to an institution against her wishes, where she is made to stay until the birth of her child. She is not allowed any visitors, apart from an aunt who is allowed to come once a week for two hours.

MULTIMEDIA2017-06-092023-07-10

Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Astana, June 8-9

Oceans, seas and marine resources2017-06-082023-07-10

Unlocking the Potential of the Blue Economy

By Dr Patrick I. Gomes, ACP Secretary-General

Following are extensive excerpts from the opening remarks by the Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) at the breakfast event – ‘Unlocking the potential of the blue economy for the Sustainable Development of SIDS‘ – on June 6 in the margins of the Oceans Conference at the UN headquarters in New York. – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – There is reason to believe that the year 2017 promises to be an important year for the oceans. With the inclusion of a stand-alone goal for oceans, Sustainable Development Goal 14, we see new impetus at the international efforts to address the current opportunities and challenges that the oceans present.

OPINION2017-06-082023-07-10

Why Qatar?

Analysis by Pier Francesco Zarcone*

ROME (IDN) – The sudden rupture of diplomatic relations with Qatar announced by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Yemen on Jun. 5 triggers a crisis with unexpected outcomes and is likely to spell big trouble as much for those who wanted it as for the likely behind-the-scenes co-protagonist: the United States.

It takes no stretch of the imagination to argue that this situation, which exploded shortly after US President Donald Trump’s May 20-21 visit to Saudi Arabia for the Riyadh Summit, is connected with this trip. On that occasion, the US president assumed two positions that were only formally contradictory but, in substance, reveal the existence of a precise design for further destabilisation in the area.