Number 24 | 2022

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The growing modernization of the world’s nuclear arsenal is threatening an increase of deadly weapons in the not-too-distant future.

The grim prediction comes from the latest Yearbook released June 13 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) 2022.

One of the key findings is that despite a marginal decrease in the number of nuclear warheads in 2021, nuclear arsenals are expected to grow over the coming decade.

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | MOSCOW (IDN) — African Union chair Macky Sall, after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has urged western and European “partners” to remove their sanctions hurting African economies.

Senegalese president Sall underscored the pain resulting from the barrage of international sanctions on Russia which have disrupted supplies of fertilizer, wheat, and other commodities, pushing up prices for food and fuel.

By Kalinga Seneviratne

LEVUKA, Fiji (IDN) — This rugged island of Ovalau covered with greenery is only 13 km long and 10 km wide and is situated off the eastern coast of the main Fijian island of Viti Levu. Its only town, the port settlement of Levuka with about 1500 population is Fiji’s only UNESCO Heritage Listed site and a local community leader says that it could well be de-listed if the Fijian government does not pay enough attention to its heritage value.

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) — A Joint International Health Statement for the 1st Meeting of States Parties (1MSP) of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has stressed the urgent need to eliminate nuclear weapons as a matter of global health and survival. The joint statement expresses a "united voice" of physicians, nurses, public health professionals, and medical students worldwide.

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SUVA, Fiji (IDN) — This week, to coincide with the World Ocean Day (WOD) on June 8, South Pacific’s experts and stakeholders on the Oceans met here to plan coordinated action at the United Nations Oceans Conference starting in Lisbon on June 28.

Speaking at a WOD event here on June 8, Fiji’s Fisheries Minister Semi Koroilavesau said that the enormous scale of the challenges facing the oceans today can no longer be ignored. “We are not the only ones that hold the future of our ocean in our hands. The entire world must also do its part and that is the greater challenge that calls us for greater commitment and awareness from us all,” he noted.

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — On Dec. 18, 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming June 13 as International Albinism Awareness Day, designed to protect and preserve the rights of persons with albinism to life, dignity and security, as well as their right not to be subject to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW | BAMAKO (IDN) — The Malian Transitional Military Government's abrupt and unexpected decision to withdraw from the G5-Sahel group and its Joint Force is "unfortunate" and "regrettable", a senior United Nations official told the Security Council as she urged countries in the region to redouble efforts to protect human rights, amid protracted political and security crises.