The World Today for June 23, 2023

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The Fix Is In

GUATEMALA

A Guatemalan court recently convicted newspaper publisher José Rubén Zamora of money laundering and sentenced him to six years in prison. His newspaper, El Periódico, regularly investigated Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and Attorney General María Consuelo Porras, the New York Times reported, adding that human rights observers lamented the development.

“Civil rights groups say Wednesday’s court ruling is the latest erosion of democracy in the impoverished Central American nation,” wrote the BBC.

Officials said Zamora ran afoul of the law due to his handling of the newspaper’s money, not his journalism, the Financial Times added.

But another legal development a few days before raises questions about the integrity of the country’s judicial system. As the Jurist explained, a Guatemalan appellate court released three military officers who had been convicted of crimes against humanity, even though the Inter-American Court of Human Rights convicted them of abducting and raping the children of a family of leftist activists in the early 1980s. The officers had received sentences ranging from 30 to 58 years.

The legal rot doesn’t stop there, analysts say. Guatemala’s Constitutional Court has disqualified top candidates who wanted to replace Giammattei in the country’s June 25 presidential election, according to Al Jazeera. The court took conservative businessman Carlos Pineda’s name off the ballot, for example, because he failed to submit paperwork correctly.

The court also stopped Indigenous community leader Thelma Cabrera from running, saying her vice presidential candidate failed to resolve a legal complaint against him as a human rights attorney, added TeleSur. Several candidates who are the children and grandchildren of former Guatemalan leaders – the country’s political elites, in other words – have been allowed to run for office, however, reported the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA).

“The same parties, the same people from the same political parties, are participating,” Cabrera told NACLA in a separate interview. “They only change their name, color; they use masks.”

Meanwhile, many of those political elites on the ballot are promising a crackdown on crime that would resemble that enacted by the president of neighboring El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, wrote the Associated Press. Bukele has erected new prisons and thrown throngs of alleged criminals in jail. Many Salvadorans, weary of rampant gangs, have praised his efforts – but critics say he is upending the rule of law in the process.

Sandra Torres, a former First Lady of Guatemala, is promising to use the impoverished country’s meager resources to build and maintain two mega-prisons for gang members rather than implement other programs that might curb crime at the source, for example.

If Torres wins, there might not be anyone able to point out potential alternatives.

THE WORLD, BRIEFLY

Three Down …

GERMANY

A German court this week sentenced an Islamic State member to more than nine years in prison for enslaving a 21-year-old woman from the Yazidi minority group, the Washington Post reported.

The court found the woman – known as Nadine K. – guilty of a series of charges, including crimes against humanity, aiding and abetting genocide, and sexual violence.

Court documents said Nadine K. and her unnamed husband – a Syrian national – married in Germany in July 2013, when she subsequently converted to Islam. Her husband later returned to Syria and Nadine K. followed him there in December 2014.

That year, Islamic State had taken over the traditional homeland of the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq, killing the men and enslaving thousands of women and children. The Yazidi woman – known as Naveen Rasho – was among those abducted and was forced into domestic and sexual slavery.

The court said Nadine K. and her husband willingly joined Islamic State and later moved to northern Iraq. In April 2016, the husband brought Rasho to live with the family, where she was regularly raped and beaten by the man, according to prosecutors.

The court said Nadine K. knew about the abuse and that she enabled and encouraged it.

Rasho was only released in March 2019, when the family fled from the Islamic State’s last stronghold of Baghouz, an eastern Syrian village. Kurdish forces detained the family, though the man’s whereabouts remain unknown. Nadine K. was arrested upon her return to Germany last year.

The Yazidi woman eventually returned to her family, but prosecutors said she “is still suffering considerably from the consequences of the crimes committed against her.”

Rasho’s lawyer, Amal Clooney, hailed the verdict – the third conviction of its kind.

In 2021, another German court found an Iraqi citizen guilty of committing genocide and war crimes for the brutal killing of a five-year-old Yazidi girl at his residence in Iraq in 2015.

The court sentenced him to life in prison. In a separate trial, his wife received a 10-year prison sentence for her involvement in the child’s murder.

Speak No Evil

MEXICO

The Mexican government ordered academics at a state-funded research institute to refrain from posting or sharing criticism of their bosses on social media or via email, a move that researchers said amounted to a gagging order, the Associated Press reported.

The new rule is aimed at researchers and workers of the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE). The order specifically says that CIDE academics should not send any messages or comments electronically that “could damage the dignity or integrity of public officials.”

Critics and researchers lamented that the order aims to silence them. However, the government countered that the move does not seek to limit freedom of expression but to “guarantee that right.”

CIDE has been a focal point of resistance to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s attempts to make academic institutions more nationalistic, state-oriented and pro-government.

This is not the first time López Obrador has clashed with academics.

In April, he signed a law that ordered the country’s science and technology commission – which provides research grants and other funding – to include Army and Navy representatives on its board.

Two years ago, the government’s science board issued an order prohibiting researchers from openly criticizing the organization, adding that any public statements must be approved by the board’s press office.

Previously, the council assisted prosecutors in their attempt to imprison 31 academics in a maximum-security facility. These academics were accused of violating a law prohibiting them from receiving and spending research funds – even though it was within their legal rights to do so at that time.

Light Measures

CHINA

One of China’s biggest airlines came under scrutiny this month after the company issued a new policy imposing strict weight requirements on female flight attendants, NBC News reported.

Hainan Airlines unveiled a series of guidelines for its cabin crew, saying that female flight attendants would immediately be grounded if their weight exceeded the “standard limit” by 10 percent.

The guidelines incorporated a formula to calculate the limit based on height and specified that the company would subject suspended flight attendants to a supervised “weight-reduction plan.”

The airlines added that the female employees’ appearance was also important for the company’s image.

But the policy received swift criticism from Chinese netizens, airline workers and labor rights advocates.

Lawyer Liu Tao said the policy was “very inappropriate and obviously illegal in China,” adding that it could constitute employment discrimination. He explained that China abolished a law that allowed weight standards for flight attendants in 2001.

Flight attendants from other airlines, meanwhile, complained that similar expectations are present in their own jobs. Some questioned the exclusive preference for thin female cabin crew members, because “they can’t even help passengers put away their luggage.”

The new guidelines come as Chinese domestic carriers have begun a hiring spree to meet the spiking demand for travel following the lifting of “zero-Covid” restrictions.

UKRAINE, BRIEFLY

This week, Ukraine reportedly launched an attack on a bridge connecting southern Ukraine to the Crimean Peninsula using long-range British-supplied missiles, according to Russian officials, the BBC said. The attack damaged the Chonhar bridge, which is crucial for transportation between Crimea and the front line in the south. The Russian-installed governor in occupied Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, accused the United Kingdom of ordering the attack, adding that it was likely carried out with British Storm Shadow missiles. The bridge serves as a vital land route for Russia to access Crimea, and the city of Melitopol is considered a target in Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has since expanded its military presence in southern coastal regions.

At the same time, Ukrainian forces have retaken a village in the Zaporizhzhia region, marking a significant gain in their counteroffensive against Russian occupation, NBC News reported. Despite suffering losses, Ukrainian troops launched successful waves of attacks, liberating the village of Piatykhatky. Both sides endured heavy casualties, and the region is seen as a key battleground. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the challenges, while Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Ukraine’s efforts.

Also this week:

• Drone photos and information obtained by the Associated Press suggested that Russia had the means, motive, and opportunity to destroy the Ukrainian dam that collapsed while under Russian control. Russian troops were reportedly stationed in a crucial area inside the Kakhovka Dam where the explosion occurred, and drone images show a car on top of the dam with what appears to be explosives. While it is unclear if the car bomb was detonated, Ukrainian officials argue that the photos demonstrate Russia’s intent to rig the dam. The destruction of the dam led to deadly flooding, crop damage, water supply threats, and an environmental catastrophe. Both sides have accused each other of destroying the dam. Russia has benefited from the flooding, and Ukrainian commanders claim it disrupted their counteroffensive plans.

• African leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, met with President Putin in St. Petersburg in an effort to persuade him to engage in peace talks with Ukraine, according to the Washington Post. The visit came after the African leaders met with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv as the capital was hit by a Russian attack. Ramaphosa called for an end to the war in Ukraine through negotiations and diplomatic means, emphasizing the economic consequences of the conflict on commodities and fuel prices.

• Meanwhile, Cuba and Russia reached a series of agreements to strengthen economic ties and bypass US sanctions as Cuban officials concluded an 11-day visit to Russia this week, Reuters noted. The visit builds on trade agreements signed in May and focuses on boosting Cuba’s exports, ensuring vital supplies of wheat and crude oil, and improving tourist facilities. Cuba aims to diversify its economic relations beyond the US dollar and seeks closer ties with China, India, and Russia. Russia has pledged to supply Cuba with 1.8 million tons of oil annually. The economic crisis in Cuba, worsened by US sanctions, has led to shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.

• The European Union agreed to implement new sanctions aimed at increasing economic pressure on Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported. The measures include export bans on third countries aiding Russia in bypassing Western restrictions. However, the bloc did not enact a proposed trade ban on all eight Chinese companies supplying military-use goods to Russia, with only three firms being blacklisted. These actions form part of the EU’s eleventh package of sanctions against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The EU seeks to prevent Russia from importing Western dual-use goods that could be used in the war with Ukraine. Additional measures include banning vessels involved in transferring Russian oil and expanding the blacklist of individuals and entities. The decision to not sanction Chinese firms follows discussions between the EU and China.

• Meanwhile, the United States and European countries have pledged billions of dollars in recovery assistance to Ukraine during a gathering of world leaders in London, the Washington Post added. The EU committed $54.5 billion in aid for the next few years, while the US announced an additional $1.3 billion in near-term assistance. The United Kingdom also offered guarantees for $3 billion of World Bank loans. However, the pledged amounts are only a fraction of what is estimated to be needed for Ukraine’s reconstruction. Western countries expressed their commitment to holding Russia accountable for the destruction caused by its invasion, and there are discussions about exploring lawful routes to seize Russian assets.

• Russian authorities declared the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as an “undesirable” organization this week, making all its activities illegal within Russia, according to the Moscow Times. The move is based on accusations by the Prosecutor General’s Office that the WWF threatens Russia’s economy, interferes with internal affairs, and financially supports Russian organizations designated as “foreign agents.” The WWF’s focus on environmental issues, particularly related to energy, oil, gas, and mineral industries, is seen as collecting information that hinders Russia’s economic development. This action follows a pattern of tightening restrictions on environmental groups, with Greenpeace Russia and other organizations previously facing similar bans.

DISCOVERIES

Unsung Heroes

Most researchers acknowledge bees and butterflies as the main pollinators that fly from different flowers and help fertilize plants.

But scientists recently discovered that a tiny beetle species – long thought of as a pest – also serves as an important pollinator, Popular Science reported.

When one thinks of weevils, one imagines bugs that feed on pasta and flour in pantries. These herbivores were also responsible for disrupting the cotton economy in the southern United States between 1889 and 1920.

A new study is shedding new light on how weevils contribute to pollination.

A research team analyzed 600 species of weevils by reviewing hundreds of studies about how the beetles and plants interact with each other. They focused on brood-site pollinators – insects use the same plants that they pollinate as the site to breed their larvae.

In the case of weevils, the team explained that the creatures would spend their life cycle feeding and laying eggs on one specific plant, but also pollinating it in the process.

Co-author Bruno de Medeiros noted that this relationship is beneficial for both the plant and the bug, helping both flourish. One clear example of it can be seen in the palm oil industry.

“Palm oil, which is used to make peanut butter and Nutella, was not a viable industry until someone figured out that the weevils found with them were their pollinators,” he said in a statement. “And because people had an incorrect preconception that weevils were not pollinators, it took much, much longer than it could have taken.”

Medeiros hopes that the findings can coax the scientific community and the public to change their preconception of these humble, unsung heroes.

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