Two major events to mention:
Fidel Castro, who had been the leader of Cuba since 1959 – and officially elected president since 1976, quietly resigned (for the past 20 months the 81 year old has suffered from severe illness and had assigned his brother Raúl as his substitute). Shortly before the upcoming presidential elections, he stated that he would physically not be able to further hold the presidential office. Castro had been the leading figure of Cuba for so long that it is hard for not only Cubans, but also the world community, to imagine an – let’s call it an “in-Fidel” Cuba.
The other major event to me seems that Kosovo has declared independence. As I was discussing with friends yesterday, how can Kosovo declare independence from Serbia, when there is no acknowledged border to Serbia? Most governmental offices in the north of Kosovo are held by ethnic Serbs – Serbia assigned them to stay put – who have no personal interest in gaining independence from Serbia and in drawing a definite border. Many citizens of Kosovo however have the hope – encouraged by and large by international actors like the EU and the USA – that independence and statehood will bring economic growth to the conflict stricken region. Most member states of the EU would approve of an independent Kosovo whereas Russia (oh yes, they still have similar interests within their own borders, don’t they?) is determined to oppose Kosovo’s split from Serbia. Yet, I personally do not expect Kosovo to immediately experience economic and political improvement. Since Serbia also does not recognize this declaration of independence as legitimate it is rather likely that multiethnic Kosovo will again face major political difficulties.
As just seen on www.reuters.com: U.N. police have pulled out of a Kosovan border post that was destroyed on Tuesday by Serbs who vow never to submit to the authority of Kosovo’s Albanian government and its Western backers. Danish troops of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force later moved up to secure the border with Serbia proper, KFOR said (more).
