麻豆社

Thirty years ago, the US launched a full-scale invasion of the Central American country of Panama to remove its President, Manuel Noriega. Casualties were limited and the intervention ended with Noriega surrendering; at the time, it looked like "mission accomplished". But since then, US military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan have not gone so smoothly. David Adams, who covered the events in Panama in 1989, wonders if they have lessons to offer those planning for current and future conflicts.

Pascale Harter introduces this and other stories from 麻豆社 correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world.

The killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3rd was a dramatic military intervention by US forces - and it has set off great debate about where American policy on the Middle East will, or can, go from here. But as Lizzie Porter points out, Iraq is not just the scene for foreign powers to play out their animosities; the government in Baghdad is facing a wave of public unrest from Iraqi citizens themselves, especially the young, exasperated by corrupt and sectarian politics, and the failure of daily public services. The country's grave-diggers are going to be busy for some time yet.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is huge - and grossly under-served for transport links: whether by rail, road or air, long-distance travel is a risky, expensive and often impossible proposition. But life must go on, and traders still have to get their goods to market. Olivia Acland recently braved a short (but nerve-racking and noisy) journey on one of the ramshackle boats which ply up and down the River Congo, keeping the country afloat.

And Deirdre Finnerty shares the story of one unmarried mother confined to a State-financed, Church-run 'mother and baby' home in Ireland in the late 1960s - and how her baby was taken away from her. There were thousands of cases like hers - and hundreds more where, it's alleged, very young children died without proper care in these institutions, over seven decades. But most of the blame and shame has been cast on the young women. So how will the Irish government and the public react to the findings of an official enquiry into the policy, due to report back in February?

(Image: General Manuel Noriega in Panama City, 20 May 1988. Credit Angel Murillo/AFP/Getty Images)