Global News Roundup: March 14-21

By Lily Cusack

Russia Withdraws Warplanes from Syria

Russia withdrew war planes such as these from Syria on Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Russia flew their warplanes in Syria home on Tuesday, March 15, which the United Nations hopes will aid in the development of peace talks in Geneva, according to CBC. Russia has stated that they are still maintaining an air base and an undeclared number of forces in the country. The Syrian Organization for Human Rights has stated that Russian airstrikes have killed over 1,700 civilians, but Russia denies this statistic. The airstrike program has cost Russia an estimated $700 to $800 million. Russia supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and has been trying to put an end to the rise of the Islamic State in the war-torn nation. However, Russia has been increasingly frustrated with al-Assad, as he refuses to cooperate at the Geneva peace talks, which also include the United States. Russia is pushing for presidential elections, but they are leaving the question of al-Assad to inside, rather than outside, forces.

North Korea Sentences U.S. Student to Hard Labor

21-year-old student Otto Frederick Warmbier was arrested in Pyongyang , the capital of North Korea. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. 

According to CNN, on Wednesday, March 16, an American college student was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor by the North Korean government while visiting the country. Otto Frederick Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, reportedly removed a political banner from his hotel room before leaving, which the North Korean government constitutes as a “hostile act” against the country. The government claims that Warmbier was supported by either a church in his home state of Ohio, a secret university organization, or the CIA to commit the act. Warmbier pleaded guilty and issued a tearful apology, but was sentenced only after an hour of the trial. Warmbier was arrested on Jan. 2 as he was about to board his plane to leave the country.

SeaWorld to Stop Breeding Killer Whales

One of the multiple Shamu killer whales jumps during a show at Sea World San Diego in 2009. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.  

SeaWorld announced on Thursday, March 17, that they will stop breeding their killer whales in captivity, while their current killer whales will continue to perform in shows until their deaths, according to Calgary Sun. They will use birth control to prevent reproduction. SeaWorld, which has 29 killer whales under their care, have come under fire by activist groups for their treatment of whales in captivity. In 2015, three killer whales died within six months at a park in San Antonio, Texas. Since then, SeaWorld has implemented a new plan for viewing the killer whales. The whales will be shown at specific times, and the viewing areas will “reflect the natural world” while focusing on “orca enrichment, exercise and overall health.” For the next five years, SeaWorld will also partner with the Humane Society of the United States in providing $50 million to end commercial whaling and seal hunting and killing sharks for their fins. The company’s shares rose 8.2 percent on Thursday.

FlyDubai Plane Crashes While Landing

A FlyDubai plane like this crashed upon landing in a Russian city on Saturday, March 19, killing all 62 passengers on board. Photo 

According to Bloomberg Business, a FlyDubai plane broke apart while attempting to land in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on Saturday, March 19. The crash, which took place during difficult weather conditions, killed the 62 people on board. After trying to land two hours earlier, the plane returned to the landing pad, where it crashed and immediately burst into flames. Flightradar24, which tracks and collects data concerning airlines, stated that while the plane was losing altitude, it was gaining speed. The Investigative Committee in Russia is planning on examining “human error, technical failure and difficult weather conditions” as possible causes to the crash. The flight had 33 women, 18 men, four children and seven crew on board. FlyDubai is providing $20,000 per passenger to the families of the deceased.

Paris Attack Suspect Arrested

The Eiffel Tower illuminated in the colors of the French flag in honor of the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. 

Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect to the Paris attacks in November, was arrested in Brussels on Friday, March 19, according to International Business Times. The Belgium-born French national has been in hiding since the November attacks. He was formally charged on March 20 with involvement in terrorist murder. Abdeslam is thought to have transported the suicide bombers to the Stade de France before they detonated themselves, as well as possibly purchasing the detonators. He has said that he planned to detonate his vest, but backed out at the last minute. Due to the large amount of heavy weapons found during the initial search, it is thought that Abdeslam was planning another attack in Belgium. On March 21, the government announced the search for Najiim Laachraoui, who has the alias of Soufiane Kayal, as an accomplice in the attacks.

Obama’s Cuba Visit

President Obama arrived in Havana, Cuba (province #3) Monday, March 21, 2016. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

President Obama is making a historic visit to Cuba this week. According to The New York Times, he appeared with President Raul Castro on Monday, March 21 to kick off the first official talks between the two countries since before the Cold War. This is the third in-person meeting since December 2014 when they announced that diplomatic relations would be restored. The two leaders hope to discuss how to smooth out their relationship and deal with differences that divide them. Obama has said that he wants to address the issue of Cuba’s repressive governmental procedures, which were evident in the detainment of civilians that had the potential to cause concern before Obama’s arrival.

Ending the U.S. embargo on Cuba raises questions about the future

By Marilyn Haigh

After 53 years of severed relations, the U.S. and Cuba are undergoing changes to restore their bond. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced that they will take steps to better the relationship between the two countries, a relationship which was severed in 1961 when President Dwight Eisenhower closed the U.S. Embassy in Havana. Eisenhower instituted a ban on exports to Cuba.

For those who have the unique ability of being both Cuban and American, this new deal is not only about trade relations but cultural identity.

Joshua Olsberg is a first-generation Cuban-American who was raised in Louisiana and Texas, both communities with little Cuban influence, Olsberg said. His mother was born in Baracoa, a small city in Cuba where he eventually did research. The contrast between his upbringing and the experience of most Cuban-Americans made him curious to learn how identity varied within the Cuba diaspora. Olsberg compared the effects of location and political environment on Cubans living in Baracoa and Cuban-Americans living in Miami. He found that Cubans categorized themselves as humane, welcoming and open due to a regime that encouraged and necessitated taking care of one another. In Cuban-Americans, Olsberg saw more drive to succeed economically and in the workforce, as well as greater focus on immediate family.

In 2014, Olsberg received his Ph.D. from the Department of Sociology at MU where he taught the class “Race, Democracy, and Violence in Cuba and Haiti”. Global Communications talked to Olsberg, now a peace studies and sociology visiting lecturer at Southern Methodist University, to get his insight on new U.S.-Cuba relations:

 

At the height of the embargo, what would life for an average Cuban citizen look like?

Joshua Olsberg: (The Cuban) economy is stagnant and it has been for a long time. What the embargo does is it forces them to consistently have to make tough decisions that don’t necessarily benefit the everyday citizen. Cubans are quite capable, and domestically they are capable of producing nearly all the goods and services that they need. But, we don’t necessarily see those goods and services staying in the Cuban economy … I was in a region in Cuba that’s a really rich coffee and chocolate growing region. But the average Cuban citizen has a ration for their coffee … So there’s some deprivation and definitely some poverty but because of the tremendous social safety net they’ve put into place they don’t end up being hit as hard as other countries that have stagnant economies.

 

Will the economic benefits from better relations trickle down to the average Cuban or will profits go to the elite?

It depends on how the development process unfolds in Cuba. Not all development is equal so let’s say economic trade resumes with the United States, there may be an influx of capital into Cuba but it really depends on what development looks like … My hope is that they follow a model that’s what we call protectionist in orientation. That is they are adamant about keeping a high minimum wage, a livable minimum wage, and that they are adamant about making sure that any businesses that come in and set up shop in Cuba … maintain adequate working conditions and the right kinds of wages and benefits. Hopefully the capital comes in and some of it stays in the form of wages and benefits and if that’s the case than I think things will get significantly better in Cuba over the next 10 to 15 years.

 

What kind of changes can be made to make the U.S. and Congress more open to normalizing relations with Cuba?

That particular way of framing it sometimes I think contributes to the problem instead of works toward a solution. I hear a lot of talk from the American political strata about what changes Cuba needs to make. I would say that given my experience in Cuba I would ask the question ‘What changes does the United States need to make in terms of how it sees foreign direct investment?’

… While (Cubans) would most certainly welcome foreign direct investment, there won’t welcome foreign control nor should they be expected to. The United States needs to partner with the World Bank and the IMP in helping Cuba to determine what it’s needs are and put in place a development plan that is consistent with Cuba’s interests and goals as well as our own.

 

Human Rights Watch has investigated Cuba for human rights violations including violation of free speech, maltreatment of prisoners and family separation. Will that need to change for a better relationship with the U.S?

I think we (the United States) poisoned ourselves as a moral authority that can come in and say, “OK, you need to make these changes.” However I think there’s a point at which Cuba is going to want to consider and need to prioritize doing free and fair elections. While the Communist party I think will continue to have a huge presence, there is an opportunity for a broadened political spectrum that can emphasize and prioritize different things. I think in terms of human rights, when you have more transparency in any regime and you have the possibility that should that regime be voted out of office, some of those things will take care of themselves. I think the Castro regime needs to be willing to believe in the strength of its ideas and put that to the ballot. Most of that will have to come from within.

 

Do you think that Cubans would choose to continue the Communist regime if they were given the vote?

Yes, I do. I suppose it depends on what the opposition looks like … I think given the chance to put it to the ballot a lot of what the Castro regime has done over the years Cubans support and are proud of. They’re proud of the fact that they have such a strong education system, they’re proud of their achievements in healthcare… I don’t think that they are against that system; I think they are going to embrace a lot of the core ideas that have carried them foreword from the time of the revolution.

 

Do Cubans feel as if there is someone to direct the blame at?

I don’t want to go too far in terms of speaking for them but I would say that they have a good understanding of their history and of politics and international politics. They talk a lot about their relationship to the United States. I think they realize that their relationship with the United States was tainted by the first half of the 20th century I think there’s some mistrust. I don’t know that I would say there’s out and out blame—a lot of those things are in the past. I think that Cubans welcome a relationship with the United States … they’re not necessarily going to lay blame but they’re not going to be dictated to.

 

Did you see this change coming? Why now?

I expected that it would come at some point. I don’t think that anybody could have necessarily predicated or suggested that now is any better time than another other than (the fact) that we have a president who has already won his second election. If this is something that he believes politically, then he doesn’t owe anything to anybody at this point … I knew that at some point this was going to happen and the reason that I felt like this was going to happen is that there is economic opportunity there on both sides. At a certain point that’s going to be to too good to resist.