NUCLEAR ABOLITION: Five Reasons Why Israel Should Back Nuke Ban
For abolishing nuclear weapons, a major obstacle is presumed to be Israel. If it is posited (as I submit it should be) that a nuclear ban treaty [convention] would require accession by all states before entry into force, then let it be further assumed that all states have joined a nuclear ban -- except Israel.
NUCLEAR ABOLITION: Why Mideast Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone is Critical
The world is filled with serious problems that must be addressed -- poverty; racism; illiteracy; contagious diseases; terrorism; injustice; to name only a few.
NUCLEAR ABOLITION: The Ten Bring Nuke Abolition Back on Global Agenda
Heart-rending images of Fukushima disaster and a tidal wave of popular uprisings in the Arab world threatened to blur the compelling need for a nuke liberated Middle East as part of a world free of nuclear weapons. A transcontinental 10-nation initiative seeks to jolt the international community out of a mind numbing stupor.
NUCLEAR ABOLITION: Post-Osama, Pakistan May Be More Unrelenting on FMCT
An early resolution of the prolonged deadlock, in which the United Nations Conference on Disarmament is trapped for over two years, appears unlikely given the prevalent mood in Pakistan.
NEWS ANALYSIS: Why Army is Considered Rock Solid in Benighted Pakistan
The fact that Osama bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. Special Forces on May 1, had been hiding in Abbottabad, has revived suspicions about the Pakistani establishment making a common cause with terrorists, giving rise to calls that the country's armed forces must be brought under the civilian government's control.
NEWS ANALYSIS: Osama's Gone, Questions For Pakistan Remain
Twenty-four hours do make a difference. Two events that followed each other on a weekend in which April gave way to May, demonstrated the point. From one day to another, the focus of much public attention moved from fun and frivolity here to a dramatic military operation in Pakistan that ended the life of a feared, "most wanted" terrorist leader.
AFRICA: Mulling Common Stance for Durban Climate Change Conference
Africa, the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia, will speak with once voice at the United Nations climate change talks in Durban if South Africa, Gabon and Kenya have their way.
AFRICA: G8-Africa Partnership an Opportunity to Improve Food Security
When G8 leaders gather in Deauville, France on May 26-27 for their annual summit, one of their top priorities will be strengthening their partnership with Africa, including on issues related to food security and poverty reduction, and the critical role of agriculture in achieving these goals.
AFRICA: The Millennium Dam and Ethiopia-Egypt Ties
The Egyptian Prime Minister, Dr. Essam Sharaf, was in Addis for a two-day working visit. He was leading a large Ministerial delegation to Ethiopia and Uganda, where he attended, on May 12 the controversial inaugural ceremony of President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since the mid-1980s and has just been brazenly "elected" to yet another term by a "whooping majority."
AFRICA: China Launches Media Offensive in Emerging Continent
China is not only strengthening economic and financial ties with the countries of Africa, but has also launched a strong bid for media cooperation, which is considered a significant component of overall relations.
"Although geographically far apart, China and Africa have long learned about each other through the Western media. But Western reports did not always reflect the truth. Therefore, it is necessary for the two media communities to establish direct links," Xinhua news agency quoted the country's top publicity administrator Li Changchun as saying.
DEVELOPMENT: UN Holds Out Fresh Hope for Indigenous Peoples
In a landmark step towards lifting more than 370 million indigenous peoples in some 90 countries accounting for 15 per cent of the world's poor out of extreme poverty, four United Nations entities have launched a new initiative.
DEVELOPMENT: Poorest Promised New Deal, Yet Again
While the prospect of halving poverty by 2015 as proclaimed by the United Nations at the turn of the millennium looks bleak, yet another UN conference has resolved to halve to 24 the number of world's poorest and most vulnerable nations -- known as the least developed countries (LDCs) -- by 2021.
DEVELOPMENT: Governments Urged To Take the Right to Food Seriously
The right to food is a human right, and unless governments follow up on their pledges, it will remain a utopia. Broad-based social movements and human rights defenders the world over should therefore continue to demand change, says Olivier De Schutter, an independent United Nations watchdog.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Young Tokyo Entrepreneur Looks Beyond Today
"No matter how much civilisation has advanced, we cannot move human minds mechanically," says Tsuneyoshi Sakuma with a tinge of the philosophical, and adds, "I believe that 'moving cargo with our whole heart' is 'moving clients' thoughts safely' and living up to their expectations."
ARTS-CULTURE: Germany Strengthens Film Ties with Japan
As Germany and Japan celebrate 150 years of friendship, Berlin's twin city of Tokyo will host the first Talent Campus in Japan during the renowned film festival TOKYO FILMeX from November 21 to 26.
