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Image: Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. Credit: Pentagon

When the US “Illegally” Invaded a UN Member State

By Thalif Deen *

UNITED NATIONS, 18 March 2023 (IDN) — When the United States was embroiled in political and military conflicts with Iran and Iraq, President George W. Bush and his aides at the White House continued to mispronounce the names of the two countries, giving them an American linguistic twist: I-RAN and I-RAQ.

Injecting an element of humour into a much-maligned invasion, a late-night stand-up comedian remarked amid laughter: “We should never invade a country unless our leaders know how to correctly pronounce the name of that country.”

: Thalif Deen; THE WORLD; Middle East; 18 March 2023

Photo: The 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67 concluded its two-week long session on 17 March asserting the critical role of technology and innovation in achieving gender equality. Credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown

UN Finds Technology & Innovation Key to Gender Equality

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK, 18 March 2023 (IDN) — The UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality, the empowerment of all women and girls and their human rights closed its two-week-long session on 17 March, acknowledging the critical role of technology and innovation in achieving gender equality.

: Caroline Mwanga; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 18 March 2023

Image: M1 Abrams tanks in Iraqi service, January 2011.Wikimedia Commons.

Who’s in Control of How We Remember the Iraq War?

By Jeremy Earp*

“All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory.” — Viet Thanh Nguyen

NORTHAMPTON, MA, USA (IDN) — As mainstream U.S. media outlets pause to remember the U.S. invasion of Iraq, it’s clear that there’s a lot they hope we’ll forget— first and foremost, the media’s own active complicity in whipping up public support for the war.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Middle East; 18 March 2023

Image: File photo of a coca leaf collector at work in Colombia (AFP or licensors). Source: Vatican News

UN Concerned About Surge in Global Supply of Cocaine

By Reinhard Jacobsen

VIENNA, 17 March 2023 (IDN) — The United Nations is concerned about a dramatic jump in the global production of cocaine over the past two years after an initial slowdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The surge in the global cocaine supply should put all of us on high alert,” said Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), reacting to these findings.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 17 March 2023

Photo: UN Secretary-General António Guterres meets Iraq's Prime Minister in Baghdad March 2023. Guterres, who was in Iraq for the first time in six years, expressed his support for the country’s people, the new Government and its ambitious reform agenda. Credit: UNAMI/Sarmad Al-Safy

The Urbanity of Evil: 20 Years After the Invasion of Iraq

By Norman Solomon

SAN FRANCISCO, March 17 2023 (IDN) — Vast quantities of lies from top U.S. government officials led up to the Iraq invasion. Now, marking its 20th anniversary, the same media outlets that eagerly boosted those lies are offering retrospectives. Don’t expect them to shed light on the most difficult truths, including their own complicity in pushing for war.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 17 March 2023

Image source: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

Independent Commission Server and Other Election Day Stories

By Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA, 16 March 2023 (IDN) — For the third time since 1999, I voted at a general election on February 25 and did so without much hassle. I knew my candidates would lose at the unit where I voted, but that didn’t matter. Voting mattered more.

The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) processed me so quickly it was almost like magic. I had no reason to suspect my experience would not be the norm that day.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 March 2023

Image: Marine Corps Gen. Michael E. Langley, U.S. Africa Command commander, provides testimony at a Senate Armed Services Committee posture hearing in Washington, D.C., March 16, 2023. Credit: Air Force Staff Sgt. John Wright, DOD

US Command Chief Wants to Help African Nations Find African Solutions

By Jim Garamone, DOD News

This article was issued by U.S. Department of Defense.

WASHINGTON, D.C., 16 March 2023 (IDN) — Africa is a tremendously diverse continent with many cultures, languages, threats and opportunities that U.S. planners need to consider, said Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, the commander of U.S. Africa Command during an interview.

The nations of the continent do have one big commonality: They prefer to solve African problems with African solutions, the general said.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Africa; 16 March 2023

Image: President Xi Jinping of China, 10 March 2023. Credit: Xinhua News

Will China's 'Position Paper' Achieve Peace or Justice for Ukraine?

By Mona Ali Khalil

This article was issued by Passblue and is being reproduced with due acknowledgement.

NEW YORK, 16 March 2023 (IDN) — China launched its 12-point position paper to end the war in Ukraine on the first anniversary of Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine. Some, including the United States, the European Union and NATO have dismissed what they call China’s peace plan as pro-Russian. The US further claimed that “China is seriously exploring supplying arms to Russia.” China has categorically denied the US claims and consistently maintained that it “will continue firmly standing on the side of dialogue and the side of peace.”

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 16 March 2023

Image: US President Joe Biden, left, with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti who will be the US ambassador to India. (File Photo: LA Mayor)

US Will Finally Have Envoy in Delhi as India's Diplomatic Value Rises

By Arul Louis

The writer is a New York-based non-resident senior fellow of the Society for Policy Studies, a New Delhi-based think tank. He can be contacted @arulouis.

UNITED NATIONS, 16 March 2023 (IDN) — After an almost two-year delay during which India’s importance rose for US diplomacy, Washington will finally have an envoy in New Delhi with Eric Garcetti’s nomination clearing the Senate with Republican help on March 15.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; South Asia; 16 March 2023

Image: Wang Yi (center), a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, with representatives from Saudi Arabia and Iran in Beijing. [Photo by Wang Jing / China Daily]

Will Iran & Saudi Arabia Join Israel and Get the Bomb?

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, 15 March 2023 (IDN) — Saudi Arabia and Iran— two archrivals in the Middle East who severed links seven years ago—re-established diplomatic, political and economic relations last week (15 March) in a historic deal brokered by China, one of the world’s major nuclear powers.

Described as a victory for Chinese diplomacy in a volatile region which for long has been the happy hunting grounds of the United States, the rapprochement between a strong ally of the US and a longstanding ally of the Russians and the Chinese was one of the glorious uncertainties of Middle Eastern politics.