SRI LANKA
An island on the brink
The presidential palace overrun, the prime minister’s residence burnt down and chaos all over Sri Lanka. “After three months of protests against a government unable to stem the crisis, demonstrators stormed places of power in the capital Colombo on July 9 and showed a rare display of general anger,” points out the Indian newspaper The Hindu. President Rajapaksa, on the run, has announced his resignation. Sri Lanka is facing inflation of more than 50% since the start of the year, fuel shortages and soaring food prices.
RUSSIA
An American basketball player “political hostage”
African-American basketball player Brittney Griner, two-time Olympic champion with the United States, has been languishing in a Russian prison for six months for bringing a vaporizer and cannabis cartridges to Russia. Accused of drug trafficking, the American pleaded guilty on July 7 and faces ten years in prison. For her supporters, she has been a victim of the diplomatic conflict between Washington and Moscow since the start of the war in Ukraine. “The punishment does not match the alleged offense and it is clear that Griner is a political hostage, believes the Los Angeles Times. She must be freed.”
JAPAN
Shinzo Abe struck down
He was killed at point-blank range by a lone gunman on July 8, while campaigning for parliamentary elections in Nara. Political heavyweight, Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister for more than eight years, “will have restored Japan to the world stage after years of economic and diplomatic stagnation”, notes the FinancialTimes. His political longevity “allowed him to centralize power and enact radical reforms”, particularly in economic matters, to which he gave his name, the ‘Abenomics’. He also brought Japan closer to the United States and Australia, anticipating rising tensions with China.
LATVIA
Returning from military service
Faced with the Russian threat, Latvia announced on July 5 the restoration of military service from 2023. “This general defense service will be reintroduced gradually over the next five years, explains the Baltic News Network.The first stage will take place on January 1, when volunteers can join the troops.” All men aged 18 to 27 will then have to serve for one year in the military, and women on a voluntary basis. Latvia had abandoned compulsory military service in 2007 after joining NATO.
A border guard inspects the fence erected between Latvia and Russia near Pasiene on April 10, 2019.
afp.com/Wojtek RADWANSKI
NIGERIA
Hundreds of jihadists on the run
After the attack carried out by Boko Haram on July 5 in the suburbs of the capital Abuja, several dozen jihadists are free. Attackers affiliated with the Islamic State organization blew up the walls of Kuje prison with explosives shortly before midnight. Nearly a thousand detainees were released. The next day, 580 prisoners – but no terrorists – had been caught by the police. “President Muhammadu Buhari said he was very disappointed with the Nigerian intelligence services”, points out the Nigerian online media Premium Times. Based in northern Nigeria, Boko Haram has been around for twenty years.
UZBEKISTAN
The rebels of Karakalpakstan
The July 4 crackdown on protesters in the autonomous province of Karakalpakstan resulted in 18 deaths, 243 injuries and more than 500 arrests. The protest movement followed a constitutional reform project aimed at disenfranchising the vast northwestern region of the country. The idea was then abandoned by President Mirziyoyev, at the head of Uzbekistan (35 million souls) since 2016. “This reversal indicates that the head of state could return to a mode of government a little more modern, as at the beginning of his mandate”, speculates AlJazeera.
UNITED STATES
“Independence Day”: shooting in Chicago
A new shooting has mourned America in Highland Park, near Chicago, during the 246th Independence Day. On July 4, a young man fired into the crowd from a rooftop, killing seven adults and wounding twenty others. During the long holiday weekend, another 200 people were shot dead in the United States, including eight in Chicago. Democrats in Illinois say initial gun control measures taken by Joe Biden last month fall short. However, “they are working behind the scenes to obtain a total ban on assault weapons and large capacity magazines”, reveals the Chicago Sun-Times.
Corentin Pennarearear, Axel Gyldén and Charles Haquet