First of a series exploring the defining moments of the past decade.
On this episode of The Stream, we look at the 2016 social media trend and ask: “Why do we miss 2016?” The past decade has seen a surge of new ways of self-expression online, but somehow, netizens reminisce about the grainy selfies with dog ear filters, old movies, and less AI-generated content. We discuss whether this is really about 2016 or if we simply want more authentic connections again.
Presenter: Stefanie Dekker
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak of Russia has said his government is discussing the possibility of providing fuel to Cuba, as the United States continues to restrict oil resources going to the island nation.
Wednesday’s statement, reported by the RIA state news agency, comes days after Russia’s deputy foreign minister also said Moscow would provide “material supplies” to Cuba.
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Until recently, Russia has been among the top suppliers of oil to Cuba along with countries like Mexico and Venezuela.
But Cuba’s fuel supply was disrupted last month, in the wake of a US attack on Venezuela.
On January 3, the US launched a military operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Shortly thereafter, US President Donald Trump announced he would cut off Cuba’s supply of Venezuelan oil and money.
Then, on January 29, he issued an executive order threatening sanctions against any country that provides oil shipments to Cuba.
Countries like Mexico and Russia have been trying to negotiate the fuel blockade, as the United Nations warns of the potential for a humanitarian “collapse” on the island.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed Trump’s executive order as “unacceptable” while meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in Moscow.
Prior to the fuel blockade, Cuba’s economy already struggled under a decades-long US embargo, stretching back to its alliance with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Economic and political crises have also spurred unrest and migration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, the island’s tourism sector cratered, prompting a mass exodus. As many as two million people left, more than 10 percent of its population.
The fuel blockade is poised to heighten tensions on the island. Its electricity grid, for instance, relies primarily on fossil fuels. But Cuba produces only about 40 percent of its required fuel, making it heavily dependent on foreign shipments.
The Trump administration has signalled it would like to see Cuba’s communist government collapse.
Analysts, however, have warned that efforts to topple Cuba’s government through supply restrictions would likely have a devastating toll on the country’s population.
While Russia and China remain closely aligned with Cuba, they have so far avoided offering more than symbolic support.
On Wednesday, Canada became the latest country in the region to pledge food aid to Cuba, worth $8 million Canadian dollars (US$6.7m).
“As the people of Cuba face significant hardship, Canada stands in solidarity and is providing targeted assistance to help address urgent needs,” Foreign Minister Anita Anand said in a statement, adding the aid would be delivered via the World Food Programme and UNICEF.
Anand told reporters she did not discuss the decision to provide the aid with the US.
A second humanitarian aid deployment from Mexico also arrived in Cuba on Wednesday.
The two Mexican navy vessels had departed the port of Veracruz on Tuesday, carrying 1,193 tons of supplies, according to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Earlier this month, Mexico dispatched more than 814 tonnes of food and hygiene products as part of an initial shipment to Cuba.
Already, the US has signalled it may ease its fuel blockade on Cuba.
In early February, it announced $6m in humanitarian aid to Cuba, although it announced the supplies would be distributed through intermediaries like the Catholic Church, not the Cuban government.
Likewise, on Wednesday, the Trump administration revealed it would allow a special licence to allow Venezuelan oil to be resold to Cuba, on the condition that the policy would be “directed towards transactions that support the Cuban people”, not the government.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also travelled to Saint Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday for a meeting of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, a regional political and economic bloc.
Before Rubio’s arrival, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness appealed for a collective response to the crisis in Cuba, which is not a member but maintains ties with CARICOM.
“Humanitarian suffering serves no one,” Holness said on Tuesday.
“Apart from our fraternal care and solidarity with the Cuban people, it must be clear that a prolonged crisis in Cuba will not remain confined to Cuba,” he added.
Mexico kills cartel leader El Mencho. Violence erupts nationwide. What changes now?
Mexico says it killed El Mencho, leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Within hours, highways burned and violence spread across multiple states. His death is being called a victory, but removing a kingpin doesn’t dismantle a cartel. What changes now for Mexico, and what doesn’t?
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Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Noor Wazwaz, Sonia Bhagat, and Marcos Bartolome, with Spencer Cline, Tamara Khandaker, Tuleen Barakat and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Sarí el-Khalili.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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In US-blockaded Cuba, ingenious mechanics and inventors revive old machines in order to survive during a time of scarcity.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Cuba was plunged into crisis. Fuel, food and spare parts vanished almost overnight. This character-led documentary shows how common Cubans refused to give up – and instead built a new culture of radical repair. From Havana’s Malecon to small-town back yards, it follows mechanics, street vendors and a teacher-turned-inventor who live by one rule: “invent and resolve”.
New Zealand have recovered from a poor start to crush Sri Lanka by 61 runs in the Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights and eliminate the cohosts from the tournament.
Mitchell Santner led New Zealand’s recovery on Wednesday with a captain’s knock of 47 off 26 balls after coming in with his side in huge trouble at 84-5 to power them to a competitive 168-7 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
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Sri Lanka managed 107-8 in reply, never recovering from a top-order collapse and succumbing to their second defeat in the Super Eight stage of the 20-team tournament.
Rachin Ravindra (4-27) and Matt Henry (2-3) impressed with the ball for New Zealand.
“It’s embarrassing to disappoint the home crowd. They’ve been very supportive,” Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said.
“We wanted to restrict them to 130, but to be honest, they played really well, so we must give them credit.”
Having lost to England in their first Super Eight match, it was a do-or-die game for Sri Lanka, and they initially showed a sense of urgency with the ball after electing to field.
New Zealand got off to a strong start before losing openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert in successive overs.
They were 75-2 in the 10th over before the Sri Lankan spinners wreaked havoc to reduce them to 84-6.
Maheesh Theekshana (3-30) removed the well-set Ravindra (32) and Mark Chapman in the same over to turn the screw.
Santner joined Cole McConchie, who made 31 not out, in a rapid 47-ball stand of 84 that proved decisive.
Santner smacked four sixes as New Zealand plundered 70 runs from the last four overs to ensure their bowlers had a decent total to defend.
Henry bowled Pathum Nissanka for a duck with the first ball of the Sri Lankan innings and deceived Charith Asalanka with a slower delivery in his next over.
Player of the match Ravindra then whittled out Sri Lanka’s middle order to derail the chase.
The left-armed spinner sent down a two-wicket over in which Kusal Mendis and Pavan Rathnayake were stumped to reduce Sri Lanka to 29-4 in the ninth over.
Ravindra also dismissed Shanaka for three to essentially seal their victory.
Kamindu Mendis (31) and Dunith Wellalage (29) offered brief resistance, but Sri Lanka were never in the chase.
“It’s one of those wickets where, if you can get in and give yourself a bit of time, you can cash in,” Santner said.
“It was pretty tough to start out there, so to hit 160 was nice.”
Group 2 leaders England have qualified for the semifinals with four points from two matches.
Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities have rejected reports that a former president tried to grab power at the height of last month’s nationwide protests and characterised the claims as “purely fictional narratives”.
A French media report saying former moderate President Hassan Rouhani gathered influential clerics, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, and other figures, like former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, to take power was “likely based on false information and speculative accounts provided to the author”, Iran’s embassy in Paris said on Wednesday.
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“This article is a clear example of an organised campaign to produce and disseminate false and fabricated information aimed at damaging Iran’s image. It holds no real value or credibility,” it said in a statement released by state media.
The report said Rouhani’s alleged attempt to overthrow 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and rebrand the Islamic Republic failed after Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani refused to support it. Larijani has now been given expanded powers in case of war with the United States, according to Western media reports this week.
Rouhani and Zarif were placed under arrest shortly after thousands were killed on the nights of January 8 and 9 during the anti-establishment protests, according to the French report.
The claim of the arrests was first raised last month by two hardline politicians, including a lawmaker, but was denied by Rouhani and Zarif separately at the time. Appearing next to former reformist President Mohammad Khatami, Rouhani also released photos from a funeral event to show he was not under arrest.
On Tuesday, Rouhani’s office slammed the reports that he was positioning himself to replace Khamenei – who has been in power for 36 years – and framed it as a “continuation of the psychological operations of American and Israeli sources”.
The former president said in a statement that the reports were aimed at creating “doubt and concern among public opinion in Iran to complete their [the US and Israel] maximum pressure through economic sanctions and military threats”.
In its statement on Wednesday, the Iranian embassy in France also rejected any connection between the arrests of top reformist leaders earlier this month and the alleged neutralised power grab scheme.
The arrests “were solely related to public statements and the issuance of declarations made during the unrest” in January, according to the embassy.
Some of the reformists have since been released after posting considerable bail, but several remained incarcerated as they had previous political prison sentences hanging over their cases with judicial and intelligence authorities.
The most damning statement by a former official and reformist figure after the protest killings was from former presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has been under house arrest since shortly after the 2009 Green Movement protests. Multiple political activists were arrested in connection with helping the release of his statement, which said that the “game is over” and called for a peaceful transition away from the Islamic Republic.
Former Presidents Khatami and Rouhani also called for major reforms, and Iran’s Reformists Front said it would have to cease to exist if the theocratic establishment does not take steps to change course.
Iran’s supreme leader, however, called the events during the unrest a “coup” that was carried out to serve the interests of the US and Israel.
Student protests restarted this week in Tehran and multiple other major cities after universities were reopened for the first time after the January nationwide protests.
The condemnation of the foreign media reports by Iran’s authorities come amid two other stories publicly rejected over recent days.
The Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a foreign-based group considered a “terrorist” outfit by Tehran for launching armed attacks on Iranian soil decades ago, claimed a major operation on the headquarters of the supreme leader this week.
It said in a short statement that more than 100 of its fighters were killed or arrested, and more than 150 more fled, after “inflicting heavy casualties” and engaging in an hours-long firefight early Monday inside a compound located in Tehran’s Pasteur area – where numerous government offices are located.
While some residents reported hearing loud noises on the day, and unconfirmed reports said a number of schools in the surrounding area were closed abruptly, there was no evidence to suggest a bloody battle in the area.
Gholamreza Sanaei Rad, a senior IRGC commander and deputy for the political-ideological office of the supreme leader in the force, suggested that such a large operation could not have taken place at a top security compound in the capital without anyone noticing.
“This is merely a claim, and they are making it to introduce themselves as an alternatives for their masters, who have now turned to the pro-monarchy and Pahlavi camp,” he told the state-linked Iranian Labour News Agency on Sunday, in reference to US support for Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Iranian shah deposed in the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The IRGC-affiliated Mehr news agency said that several “mercenaries used PVC tubes to make something like a children’s toy and create some noise in Tehran to keep benefitting from their masters”.
Iran has blacklisted a number of US politicians for funding the MEK or delivering speeches at their ceremonies. The group has little support in Iran, partly because its forces joined former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during his eight-year invasion of Iran in the 1980s.
This week, another Western media report suggested that Turkiye might launch a military operation inside Iran to secure its own borders if a war with the US leads to chaos and prompts Iranians to seek refuge in the neighbouring country.
But a statement by the communications office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, carried by Turkish news outlets and picked up by Iranian counterparts on Sunday, rejected the allegation as containing “disinformation”.