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US set to suspend nuclear arms control treaty with Russia

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The Trump administration is expected to announce on Friday that it is withdrawing from a Cold War-era arms control agreement that has kept nuclear missiles out of Europe for more than three decades.

An American withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF treaty, has been expected for months, and follows repeated accusations by Washington that Moscow is violating the treaty – a charge the Kremlin denies.

The treaty, signed in 1987 by then-President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, banned an entire class of weapons: ground-launched cruise missiles with a range between 500km and 5,000km.

Such weapons were seen as particularly dangerous since they take only a few minutes to reach their targets, leaving little time for political leaders to ponder a response and raising the threat of a nuclear war in case of a false attack warning.
The announcement would not mean an immediate pullout, but would start a six-month countdown that could lead to a permanent US withdrawal from the accord.US officials have also expressed concerns that China, which is not party to the treaty, is gaining a significant military advantage in Asia by deploying large numbers of missiles with ranges beyond the treaty’s limit.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in early December that Washington would give Moscow 60 days to return to compliance before it gave formal notice of withdrawal, with actual withdrawal taking place six months later.

The 60-day deadline expires on Saturday, and the administration is expected to say as early as Friday that efforts to work out a compliance deal have failed and that it would suspend its own compliance with the treaty’s terms.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that he was expecting to receive an official notification in the coming days, before accusing Washington of being “unwilling to hold any substantial talks” with Moscow to save the treaty.

According to the news source, reporting from Moscow said one of the major problems with a US withdrawal is that there is no alternative in place.

“There have been various critics, across the spectrum, saying the INF treaty was out of date because it was something the US and Soviet Union had agreed to, but countries such as China hadn’t. They were allowed to forge ahead with missile development as they wished,” he said.

“The problem is that right now, there is no replacement … and there doesn’t seem to be any work in progress to develop one”.

‘Prepare for a world without the Treaty’

In a tweet on Thursday, the chief spokeswoman for NATO, Oana Lungescu, said there are no signs of getting a compliance deal with Russia.

“So we must prepare for a world without the Treaty,” she wrote.

Technically, a US withdrawal would take effect six months after this week’s notification, leaving a small window for saving the treaty. However, in talks this week in Beijing, the US and Russia reported no breakthrough in their dispute, leaving little reason to think either side would change its stance on whether a Russian cruise missile violates the pact.

A Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, was quoted by the Russian state news agency Tass as saying after the Beijing talks on Thursday: “Unfortunately, there is no progress. The position of the American side is very tough and like an ultimatum.”

US withdrawal raises the prospect of further deterioration in US-Russian relations, which are arguably at the lowest point in decades, and debate among US allies in Europe over whether Russia’s alleged violations warrant a countermeasure such as deployment of an equivalent American missile in Europe.

The US has no nuclear-capable missiles based in Europe; the last of that type and range were withdrawn in line with the INF treaty.

The prospect of US withdrawal from the INF pact has stirred concern globally.

Nuclear weapons experts at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said in a statement this week that while Russia’s alleged violation of the INF treaty was a serious problem, US withdrawal under current circumstances would be counterproductive.

“Leaving the INF treaty will unleash a new missile competition between the United States and Russia,” they said.

Laura Rockwood, the executive director at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, called the treaty “extraordinarily successful” and said it “needed saving”.

“It would be best to keep the INF in place,” she told the news source that “You don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. It’s been an extraordinarily successful arms control treaty. There have been concerns over competition by China but perhaps the best way of addressing that is instead of scrapping the INF altogether, you try to engage China either on a trilateral basis or on a separate bilateral basis.

“There is a view that they [Russia] are violating the treaty but there is also the mechanism of the special verification commission which could be invoked, but its hasn’t, and perhaps if the two parties were willing they could sit together and find a way together to mutual verification,” she said.

 

Source- Aljazeera

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Foreign News

NiDCOM BOSS HAILS DR. ELENITOBA-JOHNSON ON HIS INDUCTION INTO THE US ACADEMY

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NiDCOM BOSS HAILS DR. ELENITOBA-JOHNSON ON HIS INDUCTION INTO THE US ACADEMY

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H
Hon. Abike Dabiri- Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has congratulated Dr. Kojo Elenitoba-Johnson on his induction into the US National Academy of Medicine (NAM), describing it as “an honour well- deserved”.

In a statement by Abdur- Rahman Balogun, Director of Media,Public Relations and Protocols, stated that Dr. Elenitoba- Johnson has yet achieved another ground breaking milestone in the Medical world globally.

Dabiri-Erewa described the honour as a demonstration of his outstanding professional achievement and unwavering commitment to service in the medical field.

She applauded his constant research and studies on ways of ameliorating the needs of his patients which has earned him this great honour, the highest honour in the field of health and medicine.

The NiDCOM boss urged Elenitoba- Johnson not to be relentless in the discharge of his duty and to keep making Nigeria proud as hard work pays, an example being the honour he just got. 

She also prayed to God for protection and directions as he joins the League of Medical Professionals doing great things globally.

Dr. Kojo Elenitoba-Johnson, an international leader in the fields of Hematopathology and Molecular Genomic Pathology as well as a translational researcher also held leadership positions at the University of Utah, University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania.

National Academy of Medicine (NAM) works alongside with the National Academy of sciences and National Academy of Engineering to provide independent objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions.

NAM members make a commitment to volunteer their services in National Academies activities.

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NiDCOM BOSS CONGRATULATES GBENGA OGUNJIMI ON D.C’s HONOUR TO NIGERIAN CENTRE

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NiDCOM BOSS CONGRATULATES GBENGA OGUNJIMI ON D.C’s HONOUR TO NIGERIAN CENTRE

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/ CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has congratulated Gbenga Ogunjimi on the honour bestowed on Nigerian Center, a center he established in the District of Columbia.

In a statement by the Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, stated that October 1st has been declared as Nigerian American Day in Washington, D C .

The declaration was announced by the Secretary of the District of Columbia, Kimberly Bessett on behalf of D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser in celebration of the enormous work the center has provided to immigrants in D.C and uplifting the contributions of Nigerians and Nigerian Americans in the District as well as nationwide Dabiri-Erewa applauded Gbenga on this milestones, describing it as the first of its kind in the District and a great honour to Nigeria.She encouraged him to keep up the good work while urging other Disporans to key into this feat and be the best in whatever they are doing as hard work, determination and dedication leads to greater success.

According to Ogunjimi, the Nigerian Center provides a variety of services like walk-in immigration support,IRS free tax counseling, pathway to Prosperity micri-loan program and Nigerian language training classes in collaboration with African Ancestry inc.

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Africa CDC Strengthens Laboratory Capacity for Mpox and Other Outbreaks in Burundi

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and referral processes while ensuring biosafety and biosecurity practices. These outcomes are crucial for an effective response to mpox outbreaks and generally contribute to strengthening sample referral and biosafety and biosecurity measures in Burundi.

Africa CDC has also strengthened Burundi’s response to the ongoing mpox outbreak by donating critical equipment and materials.

The donation includes an Illumina MiniSeq sequencing system and reagents, a high-performance computer server, mpox qPCR testing kits, and other essential consumables.

In addition, the INSP team has been trained on molecular testing, sequencing, and interpretation of results.

“These resources provided, and skills built, will enhance the country’s molecular testing and sequencing capabilities, enabling accurate and timely detection and characterization of mpox cases and boosting the national testing and pathogen detection capacity,” said Dr. Yenew Kebede.

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