Month: November 2021

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Unami

Implementation of resolution 2576 (2021) – Report of the Secretary-General (S/2021/946) [EN/AR]

I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2576 (2021), in which the Secretary-General was requested to report every three months on progress made towards fulfilling the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). The report covers key developments relating to Iraq and provides an update on the activities of the United Nations in Iraq since my previous report of 3 August 2021 (S/2021/700) and the briefing to the Security Council by the Special Representative for Iraq and Head of UNAMI on 25 August 2021.

II. Summary of key political developments

A. Political situation

2. Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 10 October 2021. The elections were preceded by the dissolution of the Council of Representatives on 7 October. The elections began with a special voting day on 8 October for Iraqi security forces personnel, internally displaced persons, prisoners and detainees. On 11 October, the Independent High Electoral Commission announced partial preliminary results for all governorates. On 13 October, the results of 8,547 polling stations selected by lottery for manual counting, as provided in the electoral law, were added to the overall preliminary results. On 16 October, the Commission stated that it had completed the cross-checking and manual count of 3,681 polling stations which had been unable to send results electronically on election day owing to technical issues. The Commission also announced the full preliminary election results, with a total voter turnout of 43 per cent. In a statement, the Commission reiterated its impartiality and outlined the legal appeals process for disputes regarding the preliminary election results.

3. Following the announcement by the Independent High Electoral Commission of partial preliminary election results, the President of Iraq, Barham Salih, and the Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, issued social media statements on…

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Mohegan

Mohegan Gaming Officially Done With Greek Casino Project

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE) announced Friday that it had withdrawn its plans to create a casino in Greece. The former Hellinikon airport plot in southern Athens has been the target for the new Inspire Athens, and MGE was chosen to operate the casino following a heated contest with Hard Rock International. MGE might continue as an advisor, but the company’s exit could also give Hard Rock new opportunities in Greece.

MGE Backs Off Greek Casino Plans

MGE released an announcement late last week, explaining that it had conducted an extensive review of its operations and future obligations against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. It stated, “We concluded that we would not continue to pursue the concession rights for the Athens project.”

The operator added, “We are also focused on the large undertaking at Inspire Korea, which will consume the next few years. While we know this is a disappointment to many, it is the right decision for our company and its stakeholders.”

MGE was selected by the Hellenic Gaming Commission along with its GEK Terna Holding Real Estate Construction Partner to build the resort in southern Athens. The company announced in September that all equity ownership in Athens was transferred to GEK Terna, previously only a minority owner of the project.

MGE To Still Assist Project, For Now

MGE will continue to act as a consultant for Inspire Athens and offer its expertise as per its contractual obligations. GEK Terna is a Greek conglomerate that is reportedly in discussions with Hard Rock to form a consortium for the project.

MGE CEO Ray Pineault, last May, promised to complete the casino within 36 months. Pineault stated that the integrated tourist complex at the former Athens International Airport in Hellinikon was the first to include an integrated resort…

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Lenni Lenape

Native American Heritage Month inspires conversations about sustainability

Photo by Tori D’Amico

The Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Compliance (EDIC) led a Walk and Talk on Wednesday, Nov. 17 to educate attendees on how Native Americans use resources from the land. The event was held in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. 

For hundreds of years, members of the Ramapough Lenape Nation have preserved land and life in the Ramapough Mountains. Their heritage is important to recognize and support, as there are still active members to this day. 

“I think throughout the year we should continue to learn more,” Associate Director of EDIC Rachel Sawyer said, expressing how important it is for members of the community to continue to focus on these topics, even outside of November.

Some ways students can support the lands which the tribes have founded include indulging in a more sustainable lifestyle. Ramapo, along with its SGA Sustainability Committee and other active groups on campus, are working towards providing the community with new ways to make smarter, sustainable choices. 

Current tasks the college is working towards include a native plant meadow located behind the Sharp Sustainability Education Center — which would help support natural plant life, offering compost bins open to the public — located at the College Park Apartments (CPAs) and the Village residencies, working towards becoming completely Fair Trade and being zero-waste. These initiatives benefit the environment’s lifespan and the people within the community, especially those of minority groups. 

As a campus, it is evident that there are efforts made towards becoming more sustainable in a way that can preserve the ancestral land the college is built on. At the Walk and Talk, Sawyer shared facts about how tribes in surrounding areas survive their living conditions.

The Lenape tribe, for instance,…

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Nanticoke

Friedman takes over Nanticoke restaurant

Well-known restaurateur Rob Friedman of Friedman Hospitality Group purchased Giuseppe’s restaurant in Nanticoke and plans to rename it “Grico’s South.”

The restaurant is temporarily closed, but Friedman said Monday he plans to reopen it Dec. 1, and it will feature some popular dishes from Giuseppe’s as well as Grico’s in Exeter, which he also owns.

He purchased the restaurant and the building at 14 N. Market St. from Steve and Adeline Smith. Joe Ginther formerly operated Giuseppe’s, a pasta, seafood and steakhouse with Italian fine dining that opened in 2019. The building formerly was the site of Tommy Boys Bar and Grill.

Friedman said it will remain a fine dining restaurant with a “little more of an Italian influence” along with featuring popular dishes from Grico’s.

He said he’s excited about operating an upscale restaurant in Nanticoke, which is a new area for him.

“There’s not a lot of upscale dining in the Nanticoke area and I thought this would be a great addition for Nanticoke,” Friedman said. “There are some exciting plans for Nanticoke in the future so that also was attractive to me.”

In addition to Grico’s Restaurant, Friedman owns other upscale restaurants throughout Luzerne County including Rikasa in Pittston, Beaumont Inn in Dallas, Fire & Ice Restaurant in Kingston Twp., Kevin’s Bar & Restaurant in Kingston, Cork Bar & Restaurant in Wilkes-Barre and Bank + Vine in Wilkes-Barre.

Friedman said he thought the Nanticoke restaurant would fit well with the other restaurants in his portfolio. He hopes to add outdoor dining igloos at Grico’s South like most of his other restaurants.

He said he met with the employees at the former Giuseppe’s and most said they are excited to join the new Grico’s South.

Jared Kopetchne, the pavilion chef at the Beaumont Inn, was promoted and will be the executive chef at Grico’s South, Friedman said.

John…

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Unami

Security Council press statement on Secretary-General’s report on Iraq’s electoral process

SC/14701
15 NOVEMBER 2021

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez (Mexico):

The members of the Security Council welcomed the Secretary-General’s report on Iraq’s electoral process and the assistance of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) to that process, pursuant to resolution 2576 (2021).

The members of the Security Council welcomed the positive assessment of the international UNAMI election monitors and congratulated the Government of Iraq and the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) for conducting a technically well-managed and generally peaceful election on 10 October 2021.

The members of the Security Council also welcomed UNAMI and IHEC findings that partial manual recounts of polling stations have matched IHEC’s electronic results-transmission system.

The members of the Security Council commended the Iraqi people for their commitment to the electoral process in the face of dynamic security challenges.

They acknowledged the role of UNAMI in supporting the Government of Iraq’s and IHEC’s efforts to plan and execute genuinely free and fair Iraqi-led, Iraqi-owned elections. They welcomed the efforts of the Government of Iraq, IHEC and UNAMI to promote women’s political participation. The members of the Security Council commended UNAMI for demonstrating objectivity in its efforts to support Iraq throughout the election process.

The members of the Security Council reiterated their condemnation of both the 7 November 2021 assassination attempt against Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al‑Kadhimi and the persistent threats of violence against UNAMI, IHEC and others. The members of the Security Council deplored the use of violence to settle election-related grievances and urged all political parties to pursue legal and peaceful means to resolve these grievances. They condemned attempts to discredit the election.

The members of the Security Council encouraged all stakeholders to respect the legally defined process and to…

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Munsee

Manistee exhibit showcases Indigenous art, voices

MANISTEE — Two portraits of the same woman hang side by side at the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts. 

The series, called “Great Grandmother” is by local artist Judy Jashinsky. Her work is part of the “First Americans” exhibit currently on display at the Ramsdell.

In one portrait, Jashinsky’s great grandmother is drawn from a picture that used to hang in her childhood home. In the other, she appears as she might have — had she not attended an Indian boarding school.

“This was the picture that we used to see on the reservation when I was a kid. And I used to say to my mother, ‘this is Grandpa’s mom … she doesn’t look like an Indian,’” Jashinsky said. “I used (beadwork) to do a portrait of her had she not gone to missionary school and then turned white.”

Jashinsky, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, is also an organizer for the First Americans exhibit which held its opening reception on Nov. 13.

While she has participated in a number of art shows, Jashinsky says very few, like the First Americans exhibit, provide an explicit venue for Native American perspectives. 

“I was in a show in 1992 at the time of the quincentenary at the Natural History Museum, but that was different because the tribes are from all over the United States, and very few of them could actually make it to the opening,” Jashinsky said. “It wasn’t like this, where you could actually have been able to meet and talk to the other Native Americans here.”

The Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is located on the ancestral land of the Anishinaabe people. 
 
It is…

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Mohegan

Mohegan withdraws Inspire Athens Hellinikon plans

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment has withdrawn from plans for the creation of its Inspire Athens integrated resort and casino following a “comprehensive review”.

Connecticut headquartered developer and operator Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment has withdrawn its plans for the creation of its Inspire Athens integrated resort and casino following a “comprehensive review”.

Conducted against the backdrop created by COVID-19, the review into its operations and future commitments resulted in the company not pursuing the concession rights for the Athens Project. 

On September 12, 2021, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, through its unrestricted subsidiaries, transferred all of its equity ownership in the Athens Project to GEK Terna, previously the minority investor in the project. 

In the SEC Filings on the MGE’s official website, it stated the company and GEK Terna coordinated the equity transfer with the requisite government officials in Greece, including approval by the Hellenic Gaming Commission on October 22, 2021. 

The final transfer of the consortium’s reliance on the MGE’s technical and professional capacity and experience in the development and operation of integrated resort casinos remains pending, along with other administrative procedures for final governmental and regulatory review.

The news of the withdrawal comes just over a year after Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment expressed its excitement on its Inspire Athens integrated resort and casino launch, which it noted would launch a new era of tourism and economic growth for Greece and Southeast Europe. 

The Inspire Athens development was slated to create in excess of 7,000 jobs for the region during and after construction, including direct, indirect and induced.

Upon completion the firm expected an increase of at least ten per cent in…

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Nanticoke

Friedman purchases eighth restaurant, Giuseppe’s in Nanticoke

One of the dining areas in Giuseppe’s Rstaurant in Nanticoke that has been purchased by Rob Friedman, who said he will re-name it Grico’s South.

One of the dining areas in Giuseppe’s Rstaurant in Nanticoke that has been purchased by Rob Friedman, who said he will re-name it Grico’s South.

NANTICOKE — Local restaurateur Rob Friedman, of Friedman Hospitality Group, has purchased his eighth restaurant — Giuseppe’s in Nanticoke and will rename the eatery Grico’s South.

Friedman said the restaurant is currently closed and he plans to have it reopened by Dec. 1.

“We are pleased to purchase this restaurant and serve the greater Nanticoke area,”Friedman said. “We will reopen under the name Grico’s South. Grico’s in Exeter has been around for more than 80 years and we plan to offer many of the items featured at Grico’s and also many of the favorites that have been offered at Giuseppe’s.”

Friedman said he has promoted Jared Kopetchne to the position of executive chef at Giuseppe’s. Kopetchne had been a sous chef at the Beaumont Inn in Dallas. He said Sheila Humphrey will be the general manager of the restaurant.

“It’s exciting to be able to offer opportunities for our sous chefs to become executive chefs,” Friedman said.

Friedman said Giuseppe’s will be open Tuesday through Saturday.

He said he purchased the restaurant from Steve and Adeline Smith, who Friedman said have decided to relocate.

“The Smiths approached me to tell me they were relocating and offered this opportunity,” Friedman said. “We are excited that the staff of Giuseppe’s — servers, back-servers and bartenders — have told us they are excited to work at…

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Lenni Lenape

Bygone Muncie: A local history primer to welcome Muncie’s new neighbors

Chris Flook  |  Special to The Star Press

I was delighted to see the first Afghan refugees arrive here a few weeks ago. This is an exciting, historic moment in Muncie’s history. To our new neighbors and to those yet to come, welcome to the Magic City!

There are a few important things to know about your new community. First and foremost, Pizza King is the local delicacy. Everywhere you will find giant Canada geese and they are subservient to no one. The trains will make you late to work. The White River is our greatest asset, but it doesn’t protect us from tornados. Residents are generally kind, but it’s best to avoid social media during elections.

“Chief Munsee” never existed. There’s much to do in Downtown Muncie. Our handsome parks are matched only by the splendor of the Greenways. Locals will complain about a “pothole problem” in Muncie, but our roads are just like every other place on this latitude in the Midwest. Nothing on Earth is more beautiful than a Muncie sunset. No matter what you read or what anyone tells you about Fishers and Carmel, they suck. Muncie is, hands down, the best city in Indiana.

From Afghanistan to Muncie: The area’s first new neighbor shares his story

Muncie, Indiana’s land

The ground on which you now live is Myaamiaki Native American land. It was stolen and colonized by some of our ancestors two hundred years ago. The Myaamiaki are one of several Indigenous nations with ancestral homelands in what is now Indiana. Our community was actually founded by the Lenape, another Native nation. The Lenape arrived along the White River as refugees in 1796, after being forced from their homeland back east. In 1818, some of our ancestors made them leave…

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Mohican

‘Indigenous identity and the land are inseparable’: Menominee Forest researcher to start podcast

Jasmine Neosh strolls through the Menominee Forest realizing that so much can be learned here about how native woods are supposed to be without many of the invasive plants from Europe.

These invasive plants pervade much of the woodlands in the country and foresters today are working to restore large swaths back to native environments partly through Indigenous land management techniques, such as prescribed burning.

It is work the Menominee have always practiced on a patch of land that was never taken by European settlers.

At the same time, the forest also provides a business for the tribe, supplying lumber in a sustainable way that has been used in many notable places, such as the Milwaukee Bucks basketball court and NCAA courts.

“Management of the forest was excellent, taking good care of the environment and making a profit,” Neosh, 32, who is a Menominee Nation citizen, said. “Most people think the area is wild. You can see the outlines (of the forest) from space. They think that Natives just left it alone. But we’ve tended to it like gardeners for the entire existence and we’re still doing that today. And as a result of that level of care and understanding that we’ve put into it, it’s incredibly healthy.”

Jasmine NeoshJasmine Neosh

Jasmine Neosh

Foresters from around the world come to the Menominee Forest to research Indigenous land techniques because the forest is one of the most pristine and healthy native timberlands in the country.

RELATED: ‘Our spiritual home’: Wisconsin’s pristine Menominee Forest a model for sustainable living, logging

RELATED: How the lost Mohican language is being revived in Wisconsin with help from a New York initiative

As a graduate student at the College of Menominee Nation, Neosh has been researching the Menominee Forest and is…

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