UNITED STATES
Police violence, bis repetita
In Memphis (Tennessee), Tyre Nichols, an African-American FedEx employee, died at the age of 29, three days after his long beating by five police officers, also black. After the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis in July 2020, this murder revives the complex debate on the training of police officers and their brutality, in particular vis-à-vis blacks. “The emphasis on the responsibility of the police officers involved, and not on the institution to which they belong, perpetuates the belief that the problems are due to a few individuals”, laments the washington post. In 2022, 1,186 people died in interactions with police.
UKRAINE
Tanks for kyiv: green light from Scholz
After months of hesitation, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave the green light on January 25 to the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. To the 14 tanks provided by Berlin will be added those promised by a series of other countries – Poland, Canada or even Norway. “Western support for Ukraine has reached a new milestone, both militarily and politically,” sums up the Spiegel. The pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin will increase, as will perhaps the chances of pushing Russia out of Ukraine.” For their part, the United States announced the same day the delivery of 31 tanks Abrams.
CZECH REPUBLIC
A pro-European ex-general in the presidency
Petr Pavel on January 17, 2023 in Prague
© / afp.com/Michal Cizek
Change of course in the Czech Republic. Former NATO general Petr Pavel won the presidential election on January 28 against populist billionaire Andrej Babis. Elected with a comfortable lead (58% of the vote), he will replace outgoing President Milos Zeman in March, criticized for his closeness to Russia and China. “The 61-year-old new president ran as an independent and promised to reduce polarization in this Eastern European country increasingly divided by cultural and political divides, recounts Politico. Mr. Pavel is a strong supporter of closer ties with the European Union and the adoption of the euro.”
ISRAEL
Bombings in Jerusalem
The tension is returning to the highest point in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On January 26, an Israeli army raid killed ten Palestinians in Jenin, in the West Bank, before an attack killed seven Israelis the next day, in front of a synagogue in Jerusalem. “The two camps are locked in this spiral, worries the Israeli newspaper Haretz.
Killing Palestinians leads other Palestinians to commit attacks; the murder of Jews leads the government and law enforcement into increasingly aggressive operations, causing the deaths of more Palestinians.”
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
The Pope on a visit for peace
(ARCHIVES) Pope Francis (center) waves to the crowd during a visit to Bangui, Central African Republic, November 30, 2015.
© / afp.com/GIANLUIGI GUERCIA, –
Thirty-eight years after the last visit of a sovereign pontiff to Kinshasa – at the time, it was John Paul II – Pope Francis set foot on Congolese soil on Tuesday January 31 for a three-day stay under the sign of peace and reconciliation. “The timing couldn’t have been better, notes The East African. The sovereign pontiff arrives in a region subject to strong tensions between the DRC and Rwanda. The two governments accuse each other of supporting armed groups hostile to their country.” The Democratic Republic of Congo has nearly 6 million internally displaced people due to violence in the east of the country.
IRAN
A military compound under attack
On the night of January 28, a series of explosions and fires affected Iranian cities. While the Tehran government remains silent on most of these events, it explained that it foiled a drone attack on an ammunition factory in Isfahan, in the center of the country.
“We have little information on the military complex targeted or the extent of the damage, but Isfahan is an important center for missile production, research and development in Iran,” explain it New York Times. Several sources indicate that these offensives were carried out by Israel.
JAPAN
The urgency of the demographic crisis
“The survival of the nation” is at stake, warned a report in December. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised on January 23 “unprecedented measures” to halt the decline in the birth rate – less than 800,000 births in 2022. In a “work-oriented” economy, the value of family often takes second place , Explain The Diplomat. “The growing pessimism of young people about the future, combined with the stagnation of the economy, is also accelerating the demographic crisis”, adds this media. To encourage the Japanese to have more children, the government should notably propose new allowances.