 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
By Ilya Kursenko *
MOSCOW (IDN) – Nuclear weapons do not seem to cause as much concern to people today as these did to our parents who grew up during the Cold War with the awareness of the fragility of peace. But when one understands what arms race implies or meets those who have been its victims, one realises that the horrors of the previous century should not be perpetrated in the age we are living.
By Lowana Veal
REYKJAVIK (IDN) – It was widely believed that the U.S. military left Iceland in 2006 when they abandoned the base adjoining Iceland’s international airport at Keflavik on the southwest tip of the island.
But recent developments, in particular the visit of U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence to Iceland in early September and perhaps a previous visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in February 2019, reveal other motives.
By J Nastranis
NEW YORK (IDN) – Ten years ago, on December 2, 2009, the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests by unanimously adopting resolution 64/35. The resolution was initiated by the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with a large number of sponsors and cosponsors with a view to commemorating the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site on August 29, 1991.
By Greg Webb
The writer is editor of Arms Control Today, the Arms Control Association’s flagship publication.
WASHINGTON, DC (IDN-INPS) – An accidental explosion on Russia’s White Sea coast has triggered questions about the Kremlin’s strategic weapons development efforts and concerns that Russia may have shut down sensors to deny information to international observers.
The August 8 incident began with a blast at a military test site near Severodvinsk, where Russia tests missile systems. Conflicting media reports and a lack of official Russian information have led to extensive speculation about the weapon that exploded.
Viewpoint by M. Emilia Berazategui
The author is Global Advocacy Coordinator at Transparency International, the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption
BERLIN (IDN) – In recent years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has repeatedly demonstrated its ambition to play a leading role in tackling corruption worldwide. Under the leadership of Christine Lagarde, it made public commitments at the 2016 UK Anti-Corruption Summit and during the High Level Segment of the 2018 International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Denmark.
Viewpoint by Dr. Patrick I. Gomes
The writer is the Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). Following are extensive excerpts from his presentation at the United Nations Trade Forum from 9-13 September 2019 in the Session ‘Climate Action and Trade’ in Geneva.
GENEVA (IDN) – The ACP Group of States shares with the great majority of well-informed persons, globally, that climate change is the most significant challenge, this century, for the achievement of sustainable development on planet Earth.
By Sean Buchanan
NEW YORK | GENEVA (IDN) – Islands are often emblazoned across tourism pamphlets, glorified as the epitome of natural beauty and portrayed as idyllic places of escape. But this image is far from the dark reality they face.
Changes in sea level, temperature, precipitation, a growing number of extreme storms and floods, visible vulnerability of critical infrastructure such as ports and airports, growing unpredictability, and the fact that there is nowhere to go, is a daily threat for the 65 million people living in 57 small island developing states (SIDS) scattered throughout the world’s oceans.
By Milena Melnikova*
TARAZ (IDN) – Since 2016, the educational system in Kazakhstan has undergone numerous reforms, and in October 2018 President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced further reforms, including a pledge to increase spending in education along with science and healthcare to 10 percent of national GDP within five years.
With the aim of making Kazakhstan one of the 30 most developed countries in the world by 2050, the education budget will be boosted dramatically and a Law on the Status of Teachers will be developed to make teaching an attractive profession.
By Jamshed Baruah
GENEVA (IDN) – Sri Lanka has won kudos for a number of progressive measures taken during its presidency of the Ninth Meeting of States Parties (MSP) to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) that addresses the humanitarian consequences and unacceptable harm caused to civilians by cluster munitions, through a categorical prohibition and a framework for action. The Convention observed its ninth anniversary on August 1, 2019.
Viewpoint by John Feffer
The author is the director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies and this viewpoint is published with his kind permission. It was written prior to the latest events in the UK Parliament.
WASHINGTON (IDN) – Doesn’t idiocy ever take a vacation?
As August wound down, the populist troika of Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Jair Bolsonaro proved once again that the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil would be better off with no leaders rather than the dubious characters that currently pretend to govern these countries.
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.
IDN-InDepthNews serves as flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate and its partner, the Global Cooperation Council, established in February 1983.