SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
Washington losing influence
Gathered in Los Angeles from June 6 to 10, the 9th Summit of the Americas set new goals in the face of the Latin American migration crisis, fueled by political repression, violence or extreme poverty in Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti. The idea? Better distribute refugees on the continent. Organized under the aegis of the Organization of American States, this summit was marked by the boycott of the presidents of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, who protested against the absence of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua – these three dictatorships had not been invited by Joe Biden. the wall street journal sees it as a “loss of influence of the United States in the region” to the benefit of China.
UNITED STATES
Capitol: Trump at the center of the conspiracy
Nearly 20 million people watched on June 9 the first conclusions of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the responsibility of Donald Trump in the assault on the Capitol. She said that this event was “the culmination of an attempted coup”, which had benefited from the “encouragement” of the ex-president, beaten by Joe Biden in November 2020. The affair will go is she in court? “Criminal charges against Mr. Trump brought by the administration of the man who defeated him would further inflame an already polarized country,” worries the New York Timeswhile hearings are still in their infancy.
IRAN
Nuclear program alert
In March, an international agreement with Tehran seemed within reach. “Today he is on the verge of bankruptcy,” says The East-The Day. On June 8, Iran announced that it had disconnected 27 surveillance cameras from its nuclear installations in order to prevent the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from accessing the images. In response, the IAEA voted a call to order against the Islamic Republic. “The indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran for the reactivation of the nuclear agreement are going through an area of turbulence that some already consider fatal,” reports the Lebanese newspaper.
King Philippe of Belgium and Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi, at Kinshasa airport, June 7, 2022 in the DRC.
afp.com/Arsene Mpiana
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
The King of the Belgians in Kinshasa
For the first visit in twelve years of a Belgian monarch, King Philippe took his time: six days spent crisscrossing the country, from Kinshasa – the capital – to Lubumbashi (South-East) ending with Bukavu, Has been plagued by violence from armed groups for almost thirty years. At the heart of this historic move, the “deep regrets” expressed on June 8 by the sovereign, who recalled the “colonial past based on exploitation and domination” and pledged to help the country in terms of health, education or security. “King Philippe has made the big difference between the past and the future,” says The evening.
CHINA
Beijing raises its tone on Taiwan
“We will fight at all costs and until the end” against the independence of Taiwan. This June 12, the Chinese Minister of Defense, Wei Fenghe, was offensive about the fate of the island, during the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore. “Taiwan is a key strategic partner of the United States in the region, but Beijing has never ruled out the use of force to bring this island back into its fold, which the authorities consider to be a secessionist province”, underlines the South China Morning Post. The day before, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin denounced Beijing’s “provocative and destabilizing” military activity in the region.
UKRAINE
The surprise visit of Ursula von der Leyen
In kyiv, on June 11, the boss of the European Commission met President Volodymyr Zelensky for the second time since the start of the Russian invasion. On the menu of the discussions, the project of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. “The German has never hidden her desire to support Ukraine on its way to the EU”, recalls The Free Belgium, but “the question is sensitive, as it divides the Twenty-Seven”. Ursula von der Leyen insisted on the reforms to be carried out to better fight against corruption, a scourge which today remains one of the greatest obstacles to her integration.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in kyiv on June 11, 2022.
afp.com/Sergei SUPINSKY
QATAR
More gas coming for Europe
While the European Union is looking for an alternative to Russian hydrocarbons, Doha announced on June 12 that it had chosen TotalEnergies as the first partner to develop North Field, the largest gas field in the world (10% of known world reserves), whose liquefaction must increase from 77 to 126 million tonnes by 2027. Good news for the French group which, with this investment of 2 billion dollars, thus compensates for its “withdrawal” from Russia. “The project will strengthen Qatar’s position as the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas and help secure long-term supplies to Europe,” the Qatari media said. Al Jazeera.