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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.
![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]](/images/saudi-china-iran.jpeg)
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.
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies*
NEW YORK, 15 March 2023 (IDN) — March 19th marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. and British invasion of Iraq. This seminal event in the short history of the 21st century not only continues to plague Iraqi society to this day, but it also looms large over the current crisis in Ukraine, making it impossible for most of the Global South to see the war in Ukraine through the same prism as U.S. and Western politicians.
By John Scales Avery*
COPENHAGEN, 15 March 2023 (IDN) — It appears that the military-industrial complex has complete control of the government of the United States, which recently voted to give the Pentagon roughly a trillion dollars of the taxpayer's money. This was done by cutting back on social programs which would have helped poor working families.
By Greg Fry and Terence Wesley-Smith*
SUVA, Fiji, 15 March 2023 (IDN) — In his recently published article “Sea of many flags”, the head of the ANU National Security College Rory Medcalf makes the case for why Pacific Island states should regard the deep regional involvement of a Western coalition of powers, “quietly” led by Australia, as an effective and attractive “Pacific way to dilute China’s influence”.
By Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden, 15 March 2023 (IDN) — “George, you have to understand that Ukraine is not even a country. Part of its territory is in Eastern Europe and the greater part was given to us.” These were the ominous words of President Vladimir Putin of Russia to President George W. Bush in Bucharest, Romania, at a NATO summit in April 2008.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | DAKAR, 14 March 2023 (IDN) — Journalism is in trouble in Senegal.
On March 3, a reporter with the news service Walf TV was detained and then charged with six crimes, including “spreading false news,” after reporting on the questionable prosecution of an opposition politician.
The legal columnist, Pape Ndiaye, was arrested based on his expose of politician and opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, who was accused of rape.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | TUNIS, 14 March 2023 (IDN) — A campaign targeting Black migrants in the north African nation of Tunisia has escalated with misleading videos on social media. The African Union has responded—cancelling a major conference on illicit financial flows due to take place in Tunisia this month.
By ICAN
BERLIN, 14 March 2023 (IDN) — Nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula have remained high in the early months of 2023 with North Korea continuing missile tests and the United States and South Korea mounting joint military exercises, including one practicing how to respond to a nuclear attack and others involving nuclear-capable American aircraft.
By Saniya Sakenova
ASTANA, 14 March 2023 (IDN | The Astana Times) — Over the past 30 years, Kazakhstan has built up a productive cooperation with the United Nations, being a coherent advocate and active promoter of its ideals and goals, First Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Umarov said at a March 10 event marking the three decades of UN presence in the country.
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