GERMANY
Triumph for the SPD in Saarland
Everything is going well for the Social Democrats (SPD), who will lead the Saar region alone, after their clear victory on 27th March (43.5%, or 29 seats out of 51). A “national political signal”, notes the Suddeutsche Zeitung, because it is the “first [élection régionale] since Olaf Scholz became chancellor and the CDU has Friedrich Merz as its new party leader”. For their part, the conservatives achieved their worst score since… 1955 (28.5%) in this small Land of less of 1 million inhabitants, bordering the Moselle.They pay in particular for their risky local management of the Covid-19 epidemic.
NORTH KOREA
Kim Jong-un tests his most powerful missile
While the eyes of the world are on Ukraine, Kim Jong-un is sharpening his weapons. The North Korean dictator ordered the firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile on March 24, a first since 2017 for a projectile of this type. Called Hwasong-17, this long-range missile is the most powerful tested to date by Pyongyang. “North Korea refuses to be ignored and may be trying to take advantage of global concern over the war in Ukraine to make its status as a nuclear-weapon state a fait accompli,” explains on CNN Leif-Eric Easley, professor at the University of Seoul.
Photo released on March 25, 2022 by the North Korean agency Kcna of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in front of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile.
afp.com/STR
BRAZIL
A taste of the countryside
In the next presidential election in October, Brazil will have to choose between “good and evil”, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said in front of thousands of supporters gathered in Brasilia on Sunday. In his viewfinder, former President Lula who, “with 43% of voting intentions, is well ahead of the far-right leader”, relief Oh Dia. This meeting had a foretaste of the campaign, although the latter must, according to electoral law, “not start before August 16, specifies the Brazilian daily. But many supporters nevertheless wore ‘Bolsonaro’ shirts. 2022′”.
AFGHANISTAN
Young girls deprived of lessons
After their return to power in the summer of 2021, the Taliban promised that Afghan women would have access to education. Their return was set for March 23, but all middle and high school girls were sent home. “The Taliban have announced a shocking policy reversal, leaving young women betrayed and sparking outrage from the rest of the world,” points to the Qatari media Al Jazeera. In retaliation, the United States canceled diplomatic discussions with the Afghan government, while several dozen demonstrators marched in Kabul.
YEMEN
War hits Saudi Arabia
As the world keeps its eyes on Ukraine, the war in Yemen has just entered its eighth year and is escalating further. Houthi rebels carried out a series of attacks in Saudi Arabia on March 25, causing impressive fires in Jeddah, near the Formula 1 circuit. Oil installations and a power station were targeted. “These attacks come on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the intervention of the military coalition led by the kingdom in Yemen to support the Yemeni government in the face of the Houthis, close to Iran”, indicated The East-The Day.
Smoke rises from a Saudi Aramco oil facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 26, 2022.
afp.com/Andrej ISAKOVIC
UKRAINE
The specter of the split
Failing to quickly take kyiv and overthrow the government of Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin “changes his plans and seeks to divide Ukraine in two, in order to create North and South Korea within Ukraine”, reports The Guardian, citing the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, who anticipates upcoming troop movements in the east of the country. “At the same time, underlines the daily, the head of the self-proclaimed republic of Lugansk announces the “soon to hold a referendum on the accession of this territory to the Russian Federation.”
UNITED STATES
Tense hearings at the Supreme Court
The first black woman to be nominated for the Supreme Court (replacing Stephen Breyer, 83, who resigned), Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson “went to the grill” of questions from senators last week. These hearings were marked by attacks from elected Republicans and by the vibrant tribute of the African-American Democrat Cory Booker who praised the courage of the applicant in the face of the racial innuendos of certain parliamentarians. “About 53% of Americans support Ketanji Brown Jackson, a higher popularity rating than his predecessors,” notes CNN. Senators must now confirm the judge’s nomination by vote beginning April 9.