Syria May Have Peace Again

 

It may seem that the situation in Syria has faded, but that is hardly case. The media is not making Syria their main headlines, but the war still continues between the Syrian Government and the rebels. This week according to the New York Times, for the first time Syrian officials announced on Thursday the possibility of peace talks. From the time the United States (US) and Russia united late September, their goal now is to make Syria getting rid of their nuclear weapons. Negotiations of making peace are on the table. Reports are that there will be a conference to discuss peace in Syria on November 23 of this year. The issue that is not certain yet, and probably delaying this process is, who would be the representatives for the rebel group (opposition forces), and for the Syrian Government when they meet in Geneva for this peace negotiation? The United Nation officials have not confirmed the news of this date, and say that “we should not get ahead of ourselves.” Although things do look promising and peace in Syria may be on the horizon, for now only time will tell.

The possibility of these talks could mean the end to a three year civil war in Syria. The conflict in Syria has affected global politics as a whole due to the disagreements after it was discovered that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons. Now that the war may be coming to an end, how Syria plans to carry on as a country will be up for a whole new global debate.

Cowell, Alan. (2013) Syrian Official Says Peace Talks Could Resume Nov. 23. New York Times.              17-2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/world/middleeast/syria.html?ref=syria&_r=0

Typhoon Wipha hits Japan

On Wednesday, October 16^th, typhoon Wipha struck Japan’s east coast.  Wipha had winds of 126km/h, with the strongest gusts at 180km/h (The Guardian, 2013).  Luckily, the typhoon did not cause much damage to the country’s capital, Tokyo, and barely touched the Fukushima disaster site.  Due to the typhoon, TEPCO “cancelled offshore work and secured machinery” (The Guardian, 2013).  TEPCO has stated that the typhoon did not cause any more problems at Fukushima, though the workers have dumped rainwater that collected near the storage tanks into the ocean after testing it for radioactivity (Wakatsuki, 2013).

The destruction of Wipha in Oshima, as workers look through the rubble for survivors (Wakatsuki, 2013).

Fukushima was left unaltered after Wednesday’s typhoon, but other parts of Japan, such as Oshima, a small island south of Tokyo, were left in ruins (Wakatsuki, 2013).  As of today, a total of 17 people have been killed and more than 50 are missing (The Guardian, 2013).  The full effects, such as the death toll and clean up costs, of Wipha are unknown.  Japan will have to find the funds for the cleanup effort of the debris caused by typhoon Wipha, while continuing to fund the endless cleanup of Fukushima.

Works Cited 

Wakatsuki, Yoto. (17 October, 2013). "Typhoon Wipha hits Tokyo area". Cnn.com.

Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/16/world/asia/japan-typhoon-deaths/

Agencies in Tokyo. (17 October,  2013). "Typhoon Wipha wreaks deadly destruction on

Japan".TheGuardian.com. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/16/typhoon-wipha-japan-izu-oshima

Tourism In Mexico Continues Despite Violence

         

         18 headless bodies were found in a car near Lake Chapala, in the western state of Jalisco in the month of May 2010. As the police further investigated, evidence appeared that suggested that the Zeta cartels were behind those murders. It is said that about 50,000 people have died in these drug wars since Felipe Calderon came into power in the year 2006 as Mexico’s president. Despite reoccurring news such as this, statistics show that tourism has increased yearly. This has been proven to be a positive thing for Mexico, seeing as how Mexico gains much economic stability through foreign affairs. And although tourism has increased in Mexico despite the drug cartel violence, it has decreased from some popular tourist areas such as Acapulco bringing economic consequences to the town.

            Acapulco has been labeled the second most dangerous city in the world. Labels such as that have scared off even the most “irresponsible tourists.” News coverage about the killing of 200 people in a span of two months in a touristy area, Acapulco, have also been a culprit of scaring off tourists. In the past three years cruise ships to Acapulco have diminished from 81 to 9. American tourism has dropped by 92%. This has affected the economy of the town. Without the tourists the town has been hurting economically.

            It is true that there have been cases throughout Mexico of tourists being robbed at gunpoint. After 7 years of these types of terror, many tourists have gotten over it, Mexico is still the least expensive vacation destination. Although Acapulco may not be the top destination spot in Mexico, other areas are still a good location for tourists. 

Mexican magic

An aerial view of Cancun Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula’s Caribbean coast at sunset. Cancun was purposely built as an ideal tourist spot by the Mexican government. (Corbis)

 
 

Sources:

Miglierini, J. (2011, April 18). The price of Mexico's 'drugs war'. Retrieved from BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13120598

Rueda, M. (2013, March 5th). Touring Mexico's Most Violent City. Retrieved from ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/ABC_Univision/acapulco-worlds-nicest-dangerous-resort-city/story?id=18652375

Tree, O. (2012, May 10). Eighteen Headless Bodies Dumped Near Mexican Tourist Spot In Latest Drug Cartel Killing. Retrieved from International Business Times: http://www.ibtimes.com/eighteen-headless-bodies-dumped-near-mexican-tourist-spot-latest-drug-cartel-killing-697871

Flannery, N. P. (2013, March 18). Is Drug War Violence Scaring Away Mexico's Spring Break Tourists? Retrieved from Forbes: www.forbes.com/sites/nathanielparishflannery/2013/03/18/is-drugwar-violence-scaring-away-mexicos-spring-break-tourists/

A Potential Campaign

A Potential Campaign

On October 8^th Egypt’s Army chief/ defense minister revealed that there would be a possibility that he would attempt to run for president in the upcoming elections scheduled for next year.  Since the time of the army’s takeover officials (of the interim government) and allied media have depicted the Muslim Brotherhood as a threat to the nation and presented them as a terrorist threat that needs to be combated.  This has resulted in as massive escalation of violence by Islamic militants, some of whom are allied to the Muslim Brotherhood.  The acts of violence have been attacks against security forces in the areas of northern Sinai and other parts of the country.  While tension and conflicts have been high between pro-Morsi demonstrators and the army some media sources have taken a very one sided view. These sources of media have portrayed el-Sissi and the army as the countries saviors.  The sources of media allied with el-Sissi are trying to raise support in order to get Sissi to run for elected office.  As these reports have come out the violence still continues.  On Monday the 7^th of October, nine soldiers and policemen were killed and the attackers were able to fire a projectile at the country’s main satellite communications station in Cairo, effectively creating a giant hole in the dish.   A militant group called the Furqan Birgades claimed responsibility for the attack and sated that it was part of “ongoing war between "Sunni Muslims and infidels who intended to uproot Islam from the land of Egypt."

            With the potential of el-Sissi running for office being put out into the media, the effects of him running and potentially being elected have to be taken into consideration.  There is still a great amount of violence and conflict around the current interim president and military-backed interim government.  As a result the question is raise if el-Sissi run’s will it cause greater conflict among the masses and will the elections proceed smoothly if he is allowed to run?  In addition who will run against him and will the people Egypt really have a choice of who can run against el-Sissi and who they can vote for.  People are currently wondering if the state of military rule will end anytime soon especially with the ongoing violence.  If the state continues will el-Sissi step down?  The announcement of this possible presidential campaign raises the question of if Egypt will go back to having elections and if elections are brought back will they be fair and peaceful.

References:

1) Michael, Maggie (Oct 8th, 2013). Egypt's army chief leaves open possibility of running for president. Retrieved from  http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/egypt-s-army-chief-leaves-open-possibility-of-running-for-president-1.1488911

Greece Financial "Forecast"

    In continuation of last week, things are looking better for Greece. Earlier this week, BBC News published an article announcing that the forecast for Greece's Euro Crisis "will emerge from recession in 2014". During the drafting of Greece's 2014 budget, they "predicted a 0.6% growth". The people of Greece have been working very hard to get to this point. Many people all over the world continue to be doubtful of this predicted forecast due to the slow improvements. However, the "Greece's budget prediction [has] reflected signs of optimism around the Greek economy". Another great thing about the Greeks is although they are very optimistic, they are also being realistic about the crisis by being well aware that they still have many challenges due to both political and economic issues. The Greek government and economy is continuously being watched over closely for constructive feedback and effective improvements by the IMF and the rest of Europe.
     Now that the Greek government has an optimistic outlook on their financial crisis, how can we help them? If you love to travel and explore the world, your next travel destination should be to Greece! By traveling to Greece, the employment rate will increase creating more jobs for all those Greeks who have been unemployed in result of the EU crisis. Although Greece has been on a bumpy ride, 2013 has been named a comeback year in Greek tourism! As global citizens, we should help them because there is so much to see and do there. I know many of you have refused to visit because of the euro crisis and believe you may not be able to experience Greece completely but that is very inaccurate! In a question and answer interview published just a few hours ago with the Greek Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, he stated that because of the euro crisis, "tourists had a lot of misperceptions about the country because of all the negative publicity". Truth is, explore Greece now because Kefalogianni thinks that "Greeks feel even more hospitable to their visitors" and "they want to show their hospitality and warmth to everyone who choose their country for their vacation. Some last words, do not let this euro crisis stop you from paying a visit because by visiting you are lending a hand in helping them recover from their euro crisis!


"Greece forecasts it will emerge from recession in 2014" BBC News. 10 Oct. 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24430135

Sachs, Andrea. "Travel Q&A: A conversation with the Greek minister of tourism" 10 Oct. 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/travel-qanda-a-conversation-with-the-greek-minister-of-tourism/2013/10/10/6c50ac8c-2c5d-11e3-b139-029811dbb57f_story.html

Is the Cleanup too much for Japan?

Earlier this week, Japan called on the world for help. In a speech given on Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated, “We are wide open to receive the most advanced knowledge from overseas to contain the problem," (Yamaguchi, 2013).  This is surprising in light of Japan’s previous “reluctance in accepting foreign assistance to fight the problems at the plant” (Yamaguchi, 2013). To many, this is a welcome sign of progress at the Fukushima power plant. But this does beg the question: Really, how bad are things at Fukushima?

            Reports earlier today indicate that radiation levels on Wednesday “jumped 13 times the previous day's reading, the highest levels since late 2011” (Reuters, 2013). This event happens on the same day that workers “mistakenly detached a pipe connected to a treatment system, releasing seven tonnes of highly radioactive water” (Reuters, 2013).  TEPCO stated that the spike in radiation levels was due to construction work near the Number 2 reactor building and that the detached pipe was an accident. Last week the overflow of contaminated water in a storage tank was also an accident. What is really happening at Fukushima? Are workers just plagued by accidents? Are they careless? Or is the wreckage at Fukushima just too much to handle? All that seems clear by and in light of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s statement is that Japan needs help. And they need it soon.

Reuters (2013, Oct. 10). Radiation levels near Japan's damaged Fukushima reactor hit two-year high. Retrieved from http://www.trust.org/item/20131010042949-cl8l4/

Yamaguchi, M. (2013, Oct. 6). Japan PM Seeks Overseas Help on Fukushima Leak. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/japan-pm-seeks-overseas-fukushima-leak-20485100

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's previous stance on
nuclear reactor safety.

Workers working on pipes attached to treatment systems