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By Kester Kenn Klomegah *
MOSCOW (IDN) — Despite various official efforts, including regular payment of maternal capital to stimulate birth rates and regulating migration policy to boost the population, Russia is reportedly experiencing decreasing population. According to the Federal State Statistics Service, Russia's population currently stands at approximately 144 million, down from 148.3 million.
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte
The writer is Ambassador, former High Representative of the United Nations for Disarmament Affairs and current President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
NEW YORK (IDN) — “Reliance on nuclear weapons for [deterrence] is becoming
increasingly hazardous and decreasingly effective.”
George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger and Sam Nunn
Wall Street Journal op-ed, January 4, 2007
"It is becoming clearer that nuclear weapons are no longer
a means of achieving security; in fact, with every passing
year they make our security more precarious."
Gorbachev, Mikhail, The Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2007.
By Jaya Ramachandaran
PARIS (IDN) — The Sahel and West Africa are facing a major food and nutrition crisis for the second consecutive year and 27.1 million people will be at risk during the 2021 lean season, according to experts. A swift and co-ordinated response, they say, is needed alongside strengthened political commitment to finding more sustainable ways of addressing recurrent crises and the growing need for food assistance across the region.
By P.I. Gomes
Dr P.I. Gomes is former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, the Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS was previously ACP Group of States).
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (IDN) — La Soufriere volcano in the northeast of the main island of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, after warning signs of rumblings some months ago and the volcanologists’ prediction of an imminent eruption, just a week ago, the fate of nature’s fierce foray was felt on April 8, 2021 by the first explosive eruption of metre-high clouds of ash, smoke, rocks and debris. This was the first most severe event causing the evacuation of some 16,000 persons from a red zone in close proximity to the volcanic area.
By Jamshed Baruah
GENEVA (IDN) — The Nobel laureate International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations nuclear weapon ban treaty, has been pleading for divestment in nuclear weapons. "The imminent entry-into-force of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) allows for a unique opportunity to hit the nuclear weapons producers where it hurts—their wallets," an ICAN campaign says.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Who won the Second World War? If you go to the United Kingdom people will answer, we did, led by Winston Churchill. If you visit the USA people will say, we did, led by Franklin Roosevelt. If you go to Russia, people will say the Soviet Union did, led by Stalin.
They can’t all be right. All three did to an extent, in as much as all three went flat out to defeat Hitler’s Germany.
The following excerpts are from a newly-released, 220-page book titled “No Comment – and Don’t Quote me on That”, a rich collection of political anecdotes, both serious and hilarious, reflecting over 40 years of reporting from the United Nations*
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, (IDN) — The United Nations, along with the 193 diplomatic missions located in New York, have long been veritable battlegrounds for spying, wire-tapping and electronic surveillance.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — In a message marking the grim anniversary of the 1994 genocide of Tutsi in Rwanda, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of the rise of extremist groups and the inflammatory rhetoric that produced horrific consequences.
“Everyone must take a hard look at today’s world and ensure that we heed the lessons of 27 years ago,” the UN chief declared. “While the technology used by extremists is evolving, their vile messages and rhetoric remain the same.”
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore…and then run?”
Those were the prophetic words of poet Langston Hughes but they could also explain the rising frustration in an African election season where hopes for a democratic change are deferred and the incumbent holds on to power year after year after year.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — The Church of England is joining a handful of museums, universities, and private owners exploring the repatriation to Nigeria of thousands of brass plaques, wooden and ivory sculptures known as the Benin Bronzes looted by British soldiers in the waning days of the colonial era.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.