| A Warrior for Nuclear Peace Dies But His Message Reverberates Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*  Photo: Bruce Blair. Credit: Matt Stanley, mattstanleyphoto.com LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Bruce Blair, one of the great unsung heroes of the nuclear bomb age, died on July 19 at the age of 72. In his twenties he had been an intercontinental nuclear rocket launch officer, spending his days or nights deep down in a below-ground bunker waiting for the signal to fire and obliterate the cities and their people, the workers of all classes, pensioners and the totally innocent children of western Russia. ARABIC | JAPANESE | THAI Trump and Senator Cotton Embrace Enhanced Testing & Face Kilotons of Surprises Viewpoint by Robert Kelley VIENNA (IDN) – There are growing rumours that the United States is considering carrying out a nuclear test in the near future. Legislation introduced in the United States Senate suggests that this may not be an idle threat. The language in the recent amendment reads: “carry out projects related to reducing the time required to execute a nuclear test if necessary,” This threat indicates a complete lack of understanding of the political and technical difficulties such a move would introduce. HINDI | JAPANESE Young Leaders Across Northeast Asia Tackle Challenging Security Questions By UNODA  Photo: Northeast Asian youth leaders from the “Perspectives for Dialogues in Northeast Asia”, organized in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in June 2019. Credit: UNODANEW YORK (IDN) – The nine-member youth Steering Committee for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Northeast Asia engaged with United Nations staff earlier in July on a range of pressing international security challenges.Their webinar discussions were part of a wider learning series organized by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) to help the young leaders prepare for an upcoming meeting in the Republic of Korea on disarmament and non-proliferation topics. [2020–07-10]Okinawa Governor Refuses to Host Prohibited U.S. Nuclear Missiles By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) – Governor Denny Tamaki of Okinawa district has rejected the U.S. plans to base on the island missiles capable of threatening China – apparently as part of President Donald Trump’s move to challenge Beijing and upgrade the importance of Taiwan, 500 kilometres away from the island. If a plan for Okinawa to host such missiles were to develop, Tamaki said: “I can easily imagine fierce opposition from Okinawa residents.” JAPANESE | RUSSIAN Combating the Threat of Nuclear Weapons Needs ‘Responsible’ Media Viewpoint by Dr J. EnkhsaikhanThe writer is former Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations, and Chairman of Blue Banner NGO. ULAANBAATAR (IDN) – The first half of 2020 has demonstrated once again that the world has indeed become closely interconnected and that cooperation of states and other stakeholders is imperative to deal with the current three existential threats that know no borders: the existence of weapons of mass destruction, the climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.JAPANESE | NORWEGIAN Time to Act on Dr King’s Call to Tackle Evils of Racism, Economic Exploitation, and War Viewpoint by Alice Slater NEW YORK (IDN) –The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) just issued its 2020 Yearbook, reporting on developments in armaments, disarmament, and international security. In light of the drumbeat of frightening news about growing hostility between the dominant nuclear-armed states vying for power, SIPRI describes a bleak outlook for arms control. HINDI | ITALIAN | JAPANESE | SPANISH |
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