Nuclear Abolition News | IDN

By RAMESH JAURA

BERLIN | VIENNA (IDN) - Before World War II broke out in 1939, German-born Nobel laureate Albert Einstein recommended President Franklin D. Roosevelt to begin research on a nuclear weapon since Germany under Adolf Hitler might be developing such a destructive tool. The result was the Manhattan Project, which culminated in the U.S. dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Einstein deplored use of the new discovery of nuclear fission as a weapon, and signed with the British philosopher Bertrand Russell, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, highlighting the danger of nukes. [P] ARABIC TEXT VERSION |   JAPANESE TEXT VERSION

Nuclear Abolition News | IPS

By THALIF DEEN

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - A long outstanding international conference on a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East, scheduled to take place in Finland next month, has been postponed, giving rise to speculation on whether it will ever get off the ground.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a vigorous opponent of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), remains hopeful the conference will take place sometime next year. [P] ARABIC | GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION

Nuclear Abolition News | IDN

By JULIO GODOY

BERLIN (IDN) - Between late 2009 and mid-2010, the German government, represented by its foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, made a case for dismantling B61 atomic bombs on German soil. The actual number of such weapons of mass destruction is a top military secret, but some 20 of these are reported to be stationed in Germany. [P] DUTCH | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION | NORWEGIAN | PERSIAN | SWEDISH

Nuclear Abolition News | IDN Essay

By FREDERICK N. MATTIS*

ANNAPOLIS, USA (IDN) - A gathering theme in world affairs is the desirability of a treaty [convention] to ban nuclear weapons. Such a treaty would bring the following benefits to all states and people: freedom from nuclear war or nuclear attack, freedom from possible “false-alarm” nuclear missile launch, and freedom from possible acquisition by terrorists of a nuclear weapon from a state’s arsenal.

Nuclear Abolition News | IDN

By FELIX IMONTI of Oilprice.com*

TOKYO (IDN) - The possibility of a nuclear war between Pakistan and India grows every day. If the Pakistanis do not bring under control the terrorist groups in the country and resolve the conflicts with India, it is not a matter of if it will happen, but when.

Nuclear Abolition News | IDN

By RAMESH JAURA*

BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) - Much to the chagrin of several millions in Japan and beyond, who are relentlessly campaigning for a nuclear weapons-free world, the government in Tokyo has declined to join an initiative calling for efforts to outlaw nukes out of concern it would affect the country's security arrangement under the U.S. nuclear umbrella. But the mayors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima as well as the Hiroshima Prefecture's Governor remain unwavering in their impassioned commitment to abolition of nuclear weapons. [P] CHINESE TEXT VERSION | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION |  KOREAN TEXT VERSION

Nuclear Abolition News | IPS

By GARETH PORTER

WASHINGTON (IPS) - In 1998, the Defence Department vetoed a delegation of prominent U.S. nuclear specialists to go to Iran to investigate its nuclear programme at the invitation of the government of newly-elected Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, according to the nuclear scientist who was organising the mission.

The Pentagon objected to the delegation’s mission even though it was offered the option of including one or more scientists of its own choosing on the delegation, according to Dr. Behrad Nakhai, the nuclear scientist who was organising it.

The Pentagon veto of the nuclear scientists’ delegation eliminated the Khatami government’s most promising initiative to promote a thaw in U.S.-Iran relations by weakening a key U.S. argument for viewing Iran as a threat.

Nuclear Abolition News | IDN

By NEENA BHANDARI

SYDNEY (IDN) - Australia and New Zealand have entered into a scientific and technical cooperation agreement to strengthen detection of nuclear explosions under the framework of the international Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and work together to promote a permanent and effective ban on nuclear weapon tests. [P] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION

Nuclear Abolition News | IDN

By J C SURESH

TORONTO (IDN) - Negotiations for a proposed conference on ridding the Middle East of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction would be difficult and the path would be long, but the "prize" – the security of the region and the world – would be worth the time and effort, the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA's) First Committee dealing with Disarmament and International Security has been told.

Nuclear Abolition News | IDN

By RAMESH JAURA

BERLIN (IDN) - A veil of silence and secrecy has shrouded the fate of a conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction in 2012, since the UN announced on October 14, 2011 that Finland will host it. The veil slowly lifting now corresponds to the "wall of silence" in Israel, which Israeli anti-nuke activist Sharon Dolev is persistently trying to break – with some success. [P] ARABIC TEXT VERSION | GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION | NORWEGIAN | SPANISH | SWEDISH | URDU