UNITED STATES
Joe Biden candidate for re-election
In a 4-minute video posted on Twitter, President Joe Biden, 80, announced his 2024 presidential candidacy on April 25. His slogan? “Let’s finish the job”, or “Let’s finish the job”. At 41% popularity, the outgoing is at a low level, comparable to those of Ronald Reagan (re-elected) and Jimmy Carter (beaten) at the same stage of their presidency. “Older than all its predecessors […]the president has no intention of campaigning on the ground until the Republicans nominate their nominee and the official campaign has begun,” the official said. CNN website.
BRAZIL
Pelé in the dictionary of common names
Four months after the death of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as “Pelé”, the nickname of the footballer – considered the greatest player of all time – made its entry as a common name in the Michaelis dictionary. According to the definition, the word “pelé” – without a capital letter, which can be masculine or feminine – qualifies “one who is out of the ordinary, one who, by his or her quality, value or superiority, cannot be equaled by nothing or anyone”, specifies the G1 site which belongs to the Globo group. Example: “He is the skin of medicine”. The synonyms, says the dictionary, are: “exceptional”, “incomparable” and “unique”.
SUDAN
A regional crisis is looming
The truce concluded between the army and the paramilitaries – in open war since April 15 – did not allow the real cessation of fighting in Khartoum, the capital, and in the Darfur region (west). Hundreds of diplomats and foreign nationals have been evacuated and thousands of Sudanese are trying to flee to neighboring countries: Chad, Egypt and South Sudan. “The huge movement of people threatens to overwhelm Sudan’s neighbours, some of which are already hosting large numbers of refugees and internally displaced people,” underlines the New York Times.
IRAN
Army seizes oil tanker in Gulf of Oman
An oil tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, en route to Texas, was seized by the Iranian army on April 27 in the Gulf of Oman. According to Tehran, the building had tried to flee after a “collision” with an Iranian ship which caused injuries. The US Navy called for his immediate release. “Iran has seized at least five commercial vessels sailing in the Middle East in the past two years, including two Greek tankers in May 2022, in retaliation for the US seizure of an Iranian tanker in Greek waters”, remind him wall street journal.
CHINA
First phone call between Xi and Zelensky
Chinese Presidents Xi Jinping and Ukrainian Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone on April 26. During their conversation – the first since the start of the conflict – the Chinese head of state claimed to be “on the side of peace” and called for “negotiation”. “China hopes to become a neutral peace mediator in this conflict, although the United States and other countries have questioned its impartiality given the economic and financial support it has provided to Moscow, as part of their partnership ‘without limit'”, nuances the chain NBC News.
GERMANY
Right turn at Berlin City Hall
After twenty-two years under the leadership of the Social Democrats, Berlin is shifting to the right. CDU conservative Kai Wegner was elected mayor of the German capital on April 27 after a vote in the local parliament. However, it took three rounds of voting to validate the election of the new city councilor, who will now lead the city at the head of a coalition formed with the Social Democratic Party (SPD). “For Wegner, the election procedures that lasted for hours constitute a first defeat even before his grand coalition with the SPD got to work”, points out the magazine Der Spiegel.
SPAIN
An early heat wave
The Iberian Peninsula suffered an unusual heat wave at the end of April. Temperatures approaching 40°C were recorded on the 28th in Andalusia, including 38.7°C in Cordoba. “Scientists predict that summers will get longer and longer,” recalls the daily El Mundo, adding that “Spain is moving towards a future in which the temperature will reach 50°C”, which will have a “huge impact”. Affected by a catastrophic drought, the country has already seen 54,000 hectares go up in smoke in 2023 (as of April 23), compared to 17,126 over the same period in 2022, according to the European information system on forest fires.