ARGENTINA
President Fernandez in a weak position
The surprise resignation on July 3 of Economy Minister Martin Guzman, 39, and his replacement by Silvina Batakis, 54, constitutes a defeat for President Alberto Fernandez. Artisan of the agreement, in March, on the restructuring of the Argentine debt with the IMF, Guzman was regularly criticized by the supporters of the vice-president Cristina Kirchner, who calls for a social shift and imposed the appointment of Batakis. The daily Clarin notes the president’s loss of influence over the executive. “He no longer pulls the strings of the government, or at least a large part of it. And he has only limited power left.” The international financial community is worried.
HONG KONG
Xi Jinping celebrates “Chinese-style” democracy
The master of Beijing, who had hardly left the capital since the start of the pandemic, went to Hong Kong on June 30 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the return to China of the former British colony. Referring to the “return to order” after “a period of great turmoil”, Xi Jinping also alluded to the “one country, two systems” model, supposed to last until 2047. However, a national security law dating from 2020 restricts the freedoms of 7.5 million Hong Kongers. which, according to The Guardian, explains “the loss of confidence of foreign investors in what was one of the most dynamic and pro-business cities in Asia”.
UKRAINE
Lysytchansk in Russian hands
Last urban bastion of the oblast (region) of Lugansk still in the hands of kyiv, the city of Lyssytchansk fell into the hands of the Russian army on June 3, a week after its sister city, Severodonetsk, on the other bank of the Donets. “This is an important victory for Moscow, whose gains have been slow and costly since the invasion began on February 24,” the news site acknowledges. Kyiv Independent. Next objective for Vladimir Putin: the other region of Donbass, that of Donetsk, where the Ukrainian defensive positions have been reinforced in recent weeks in anticipation of the Russian advance. A battle that promises to be decisive for the future of Ukraine.
ITALY
Climate: a glacier is collapsing
At least seven people were killed and more than a dozen missing after the rupture of part of the Marmolada glacier, the highest peak of the Dolomites massif (3342 meters), in the north of the country. The disaster occurred on June 4, the day after a record temperature on this alpine mountain. In the Corriere della Sera, glaciologist Renato Colucci, from the University of Trieste, points to the main cause of “accelerated climate change”. He estimates that “the disappearance of the glacier could take place within twenty years”.
DENMARK
The start of the Tour de France in mourning
As Denmark hosted the first three stages of the Tour de France in Copenhagen, its capital was the scene of a shooting in a shopping center on July 3. Result: three dead and four wounded. Usually peaceful, the country – considered “the happiest in the world” – has not experienced such tragedy since the two deaths of the 2015 Islamist attack. Unlike the July 22 shooting in Oslo, Norway , the terrorist track has been ruled out. But the circulation of weapons in Scandinavia is worrying, because of the settling of accounts by bullets, which has become commonplace in neighboring Sweden. “Denmark has one of the strictest laws in Europe concerning the possession of weapons”, recalls however the BBC.
ISRAEL
A Prime Minister on a short contract
Yaïr Lapid, a center-left figure, has four months to prove himself. On June 30, the former television presenter was appointed Prime Minister of Israel until the legislative elections of November 1, where he will be the main opponent of Benjamin Netanyahu. “Not only should Lapid govern the country, but he should also campaign with a clear message: he is the prime minister, which Netanyahu is no longer,” says the Israeli newspaper Haretz. After flying to Paris on July 5, Lapid will welcome Joe Biden on July 13 for a decisive diplomatic visit.
TUNISIA
A “dictatorial” project put to the vote
The new Constitution presented on June 30 by President Kaïs Saïed, accused of authoritarian drift, stands out from the draft submitted ten days earlier by Sadok Belaïd, the head of the National Consultative Commission for a New Republic. In the daily columns Assabah, this respected jurist denounces modifications offering “very broad powers, under conditions that he determines alone”, to the Head of State. And adds: “This could pave the way for a dictatorial regime.” Tunisians are due to vote in a referendum on July 25.
Valentine Durand, Clément Daniez, Corentin Pennarguear and Axel Gyldén