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Photo: The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana transits the Hood Canal in Puget Sound, Wash., Oct. 15, 2017, as it returns to its homeport following a strategic deterrent patrol. Photo By: Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Smith | DOD

Nuclear Modernization Race Continues Despite New START

By J C Suresh

TORONTO | WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — While independent arms control experts around the world heaved a sigh of relief at Joe Biden's signature decision to extend the New START Treaty with Russia through February 4, 2026, Pentagon officials say it is "just the beginning of a larger discussion with Russia and China about placing further limits on nuclear weapons proliferation".

The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense (DOD). As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase The Pentagon is also often used as a metonym or synecdoche for the Department of Defense (DOD) and its leadership.

: J C Suresh; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 28 February 2021

From Moments to Movements: Solidarity for Sustainability

By Ramu Damodaran

The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. This OpEd first appeared in the latest #WhyWeCare, @ImpactUN.

NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) — "STOP" said the imperious red sign (actually two red signs) as I ventured to the frostily frigid February frontline of the Atlantic coast, an injunction reminiscent of an earlier time when the United States chose to inhibit its interests within an isolated domain, a time that the Second World War brought to a definitive end when, in 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill concluded the Charter named for that ocean, one of whose clauses spoke of a peace that "should enable all men to transverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance", "voyages as metaphorical as literal, the nascent nautical navigations that we speak of today" as "global engagement", in the phrase of the title of the annual summit convened by the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) and the United Nations Foundation (UNF).

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 27 February 2021

Photo: Global temperature rise could lead to more frequent and more intense extreme weather events, such as prolonged droughts or devastating floods. Credit: WFP/Matteo Cosorich

UN Issues 'Red Alert' In A Climate Action Report

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) — A UN climate action report warns that nations are “nowhere close” to the level of action needed to fight global warming. It urges countries to adopt stronger and more ambitious plans to reach the Paris Agreement goals, and limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, by the end of the century.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s Initial NDC Synthesis Report measures the progress of national climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs, ahead of the 26th session of the Conference of its Parties (COP26) this November in Glasgow.

: Radwan Jakeem; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 26 February 2021

Photo: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. (file) Credit: UN News/Daniel Johnson

UN Concerned About the Impact of COVID-19 and Human Rights Violations

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) — Providing a global update to the Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet has said that as the COVID-19 pandemic gathers pace, people worldwide are “being left behind — or pushed even further behind”; they are being excluded from not only development but also opportunities. At the same time, civil society activists are being denied the right to voice opposition to the government.

“This makes us all weaker”, she warned the Council's virtual meeting on February 26. “It heightens grievances that are destabilizing. It means we miss perspectives and expertise that could inform and strengthen our initiatives. It shields corruption and abuses, by silencing feedback.”

: Jamshed Baruah; UN INSIDER; 26 February 2021

Image: Collage of Hubble Ultra Deep Field includes galaxies of various ages, sizes, shapes, and colours (left) and Atomic bombings of Nagasaki.

The Creative and Destructive Aspects of Homo Sapiens

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) — We do not know exactly how many millennia ago human beings started their ascent among other species to become dominant over the planet. We can, however, pinpoint with certainty in the Industrial Revolution the beginning of the rapid development of science, manufacturing techniques, trade and other skills that allowed unprecedented material progress particularly since the second half of last century.

: Sergio Duarte; OPINION; 25 February 2021

Image: Sunrise, Fog, Landscape, Mountains, Mist, Morning, Dawn as in diplomacy. Source: Pixabay.

The Great Game of Vaccination Diplomacy Targets Africa

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) — Russia is committed to helping eradicate the rapidly increasing coronavirus infections in Africa amounting to approximately 3.8 million with its latest developed Sputnik V vaccine. Such a step will enable Russia to reassert its geopolitical influence that involves a keen competition with other foreign players on the continent.

An official media release in mid-February said that the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team — set up by the African Union to acquire additional vaccine doses so that Africa can attain a target immunization of 60% — has received an offer of 300 million Sputnik V vaccines from the Russian Federation.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 February 2021

Image: Collage of Munich Security Conference and G7 logos by IDN-INPS

Two Major Conferences Resolute in Combating COVID-19

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) — The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) and the Munich Security Conference (MSC) held two meetings virtually on February 19, 2021, as these had to be postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The G7 countries — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — meet annually to discuss major world crises issues and to resolve global problems. The virtual meeting was hosted by the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

: Somar Wijayadasa; OPINION; 24 February 2021

Photo: Some countries using COVID vaccine to enhance their soft power. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Response to COVID-19 Embedded in Global Power and Diplomatic Wrangles

Viewpoint by Michael Jennings*

LONDON (IDN) — The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to various new, repurposed or newly popular terms. The newest entry to the pandemic lexicon might be “vaccine diplomacy”, with some countries using their jabs to strengthen regional ties and enhance their own power and global status.

In early February, half a million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Pakistan, before soon also reaching 13 other countries including Cambodia, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 24 February 2021

Image: The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling. CC BY-SA 3.0

Still Much to Be Done to Make Immigration More Palatable

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The Mexicans had a joke about ex-President Donald Trump’s planned wall along its border with the US. “It’s not being built to keep Mexicans out of the US; it’s built to keep Trump out of Mexico!” If this be so, then President Joe Biden can relax. No longer is there the need to dismantle the wall built by Trump.

The US media reports say that Mexico has to deal with another migrant “caravan” of fleeing Central Americans pouring into the south of the country, hoping to somehow crash their way into the US.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 23 February 2021

Photo: Niamey, Niger's capital and economic hub. CC BY-SA 2.0

Heavily US-Armed Niger Faces Electoral Violence

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The country that drew worldwide attention over a now-debunked U.S. theory linking Saddam Hussein with the purchase of “yellowcake” uranium powder is in the spotlight again.

On February 21, unidentified attackers set off a landmine that exploded under a car full of election commissioners in the Tillaberi region of the landlocked West African nation of Niger, killing seven.