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Viewpoint by Van Jackson*
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (IDN) — It was one of the most potent lessons of the Cold War—nukes are good for deterring others from using nukes, but not much else. Weapons capable only of spasmodic mass violence are too crude as a credible tool of coercion in most circumstances.
If the United States seeks only deterrence, but not political advantage from nuclear weapons, then adopting a no first use nuclear policy is not just low-risk—it’s necessary.
By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK (IDN) — As the UN’s most powerful political body, the 15-member Security Council (UNSC) is armed with a mandate to maintain international peace and security.
But regretfully, it has been missing in action (MIA) in recent months, particularly in the ongoing conflicts in Palestine and Myanmar, where it has failed to take action against the perpetrators of violence resulting in hundreds of civilian killings and destruction of homes.
By Aar Jay Persius
BERLIN (IDN) — "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought." On June 16, at their meeting in Geneva, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin re-affirmed this fundamental truth, famously coined by their predecessors, Reagan and Gorbachev, at the last peak of the cold war, write the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Germany (Heiko Maas), Spain (Arancha González Laya) and Sweden (Ann Linde) in an article published in the German newspaper Rheinische Post on July 5.
By Morgane Wirtz**
Since the start of the conflict in Tigray in November 2020, Sudan has hosted more than 60,000 Ethiopian refugees. They are in addition to the tens of thousands of Eritreans the country receives each year. Some are fleeing massacres; others have been forced to fight.
HAMDAYETE, Sudan (IDN) — The Sudanese village Hamdayete lies on the banks of the Tekeze River, on the border between three countries. In the North-East, Eritrea. In the South-East, Ethiopia. In the West, Sudan. Due to its geographical position, Hamdayete is a reception centre for many refugees.
By Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN) — Along with Singapore and New Zealand, Australia was considered as one of the top three safest countries in the world for having successfully fought the spread of Covid-19 until about two months ago. But, with a two weeks lockdown in Australia’s largest city Sydney extended for another week, this early success has turned sour meanwhile.
Viewpoint by Noora Puro*
AMSTERDAM (IDN) — As the build-up continues to the pandemic-delayed UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), all eyes—and hopefully all agendas—are on how to reach net-zero carbon emissions. And as the International Energy Agency (IEA) made clear in its recent Net Zero by 2050 report, this aim will fall short without a radical decrease this decade in the share of coal in global energy generation. Indeed, taken together, the coal, oil, and gas sectors are the single main cause of climate change due to their production of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
This column concentrates mainly on the culture of the Western world.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — In 1776 Adam Smith published his “Wealth of Nations” which has guided economists and political thinkers ever since. It marks the start of the Industrial Revolution that began in Britain and then spread throughout most of the world. That was 245 years ago.
By Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN)—China and Australia have started another battle, this time over the Covid-19 vaccination roll out in the South Pacific. In a lengthy article on July 2, China's 'Global Times' accused Australia of sabotaging China's Covid-19 vaccination assistance scheme in Papua New Guinea (PNG) by planting "consultants" to manipulate local epidemic policies targeting China, blocking the approval of Chinese vaccine's emergency use, and threatening senior government officials who were collaborating with China in the vaccine roll-out program.
“History is written by the victors. Thus, the heinous massacre that was Hiroshima has been handed down to us as a perfectly justified act of war.... It is clear that the use of nuclear weapons, which cause indiscriminate mass murder that leaves survivors to suffer for decades, is a violation of international law.”– Hiroshima Mayor Takashi Hiraoka before the International Court of Justice, Nov. 7, 1995
Viewpoint by Jacqueline Cabasso*
OAKLAND, California, USA (IDN) — July 8, 2021, marks the 25th anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) Advisory Opinion on the legal status of nuclear weapons.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — Supreme Court judges “reconsider and rescind” their own judgement against a former president, a leader faces trial for secessionist activities, a rebel movement trounces an army: these surprise developments are the focus of this week's Africa News Briefs on South Africa, Biafra and Ethiopia.
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.