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Water, Water Everywhere But is it Fit to Drink?

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, 22 March 2023 (IDN) — A much-quoted line in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's lyrical ballad, 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', reads: “'water, water everywhere—nor any drop to drink'.

The poem goes back to the year 1798—and more than five centuries later, the cry for water, described as a basic human right, is reverberating throughout the UN General Assembly Hall and committee rooms as hundreds of delegates gathered in New York for a three-day UN Water Conference, scheduled to conclude March 24.

: Thalif Deen; SUSTAINABILITY; Clean Water & Sanitation; 22 March 2023

Image: Israel’s President Isaac Herzog is now all but despairing to save the country from the perilous path that Netanyahu has chosen. Source: YouTube Screenshot of i24NEWS English

'The Battle Over Israel’s Soul'

By Alon Ben-Meir*

NEW YORK, 22 March 2023 (IDN) — Israel is facing the greatest danger since its inception—not from any regional adversarial power but from within, led by a largely corrupt cast of political characters and shepherded by a criminal who is willing to destroy the country only to escape justice.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 March 2023

Photo (left to right): Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak during the AUKUS announcement at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego on March 18. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

A Tripartite Deal That Could Trigger Proliferation of Nuclear Submarines

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, 22 March 2023 (IDN) —The tripartite deal between the UK and the US to provide nuclear submarines (SSNs) to Australia—announced March 13—is threatening to have repercussions worldwide

A joint statement by the three countries (AUKUS) described it as a trilaterally-developed submarine based on the UK’s next-generation design that incorporates technology from all three nations, including cutting edge U.S. submarine technologies.

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 22 March 2023

Photo: Mozambican rapper Azagaia. Credit: Africa News 2023

Large Crowds Grieve Death of Mozambican Protest Rapper

A Stricken Nation Recovers from a Deadly Cyclone

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK, 21 March 2023 (IDN) — Chanting “Resistance!” and “Power to the people!”, thousands of Mozambicans bid farewell to popular protest rapper Azagaia, who died suddenly last week at the age of 38.

Planned memorial marches that were expected to fill the streets of the capital, Maputo, with rallies in other cities, were met by a heavy police presence, preventing the procession from taking place.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 March 2023

Image: Record-breaking Tropical Cyclone Freddy. Source: Eumetsat

Climate Change Poses Existential Threat to the World's Poorest

Plea for Radical Reduction in Global Emissions

By Rita Joshi

BONN, 21 March 2023 (IDN) — "We’re running out of time but not out of options to address climate change," declared Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, commenting on the IPCC's Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report, released on 20 March.

: Rita Joshi; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 21 March 2023

Image: The electricity generated by wind farms reduces the reliance on coal-powered energy. Source: UN News. Credit: Unsplash/Fabian Wiktor

Flagship UN Report Calls for Urgent Climate Action

By IPCC Press Office

INTERLAKEN, Switzerland, 20 March 2023 (IDN) — There are multiple feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change. They are available now, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released today.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 20 March 2023

India in the Spotlight Over Cough Medicines Fatal to African Children

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK, 20 March 2023 (IDN) — An epidemic of kidney disease among children in Africa has been linked to deadly toxins in cough medicine imported from India.

Doctors say they see dozens of children under the age of five with kidney failure—a condition they only saw once or twice a year—while mothers demand justice.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 20 March 2023

Photo: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Credit: Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington.

US Millions Offered to Ethiopia to Help Country Heal from War

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK, 20 March 2023 (IDN) — The United States has promised Ethiopia $331 million in humanitarian aid to help heal the war-torn Horn of Africa country.

The funds were announced during a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Ethiopia on March 15.

The funding will provide life-saving support to those displaced and affected by conflict, drought, and food insecurity in Ethiopia,” he said.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 20 March 2023

Photo credit: Nbcnews. Source: TechBuild Africa

Silicon Valley Bank’s Closure Threatens African Startups

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK, 20 March 2023 (IDN) — Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of choice for most startups and venture capitalists, is no more. It was closed after the bank announced it had lost $1.8 billion in the sale of treasuries and securities.

Millions of dollars banked by startups and venture capital funds were at stake until the U.S. Federal Reserve acted to save the day.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 20 March 2023

Image: Sabrina Harman poses for a photo behind naked Iraqi detainees forced to form a human pyramid, while Charles Graner watches. Wikimedia Commons

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.”