HUNGARY
The triumph of Orban, a headache for Brussels
His victory was expected, but its magnitude stunned Hungary: Viktor Orban won nearly two-thirds of the seats in Parliament on April 3 and is back for a fourth term as Prime Minister. “Orban will remain a subject for the European Union, with even more disputes over our fundamental values and resistance to a hard line against Moscow”, warns Politico. Despite his condemnation of the Russian invasion and his monitoring of European sanctions, the leader, in power since 2010 and close to the Kremlin, refuses to supply arms to kyiv and opposes any energy embargo against Russia.
SERBIA
Vucic, a re-elected Moscow ally
A candidate for entry into the European Union, Serbia re-elected outgoing President Aleksandar Vucic with more than 60% of the vote. A triumph, from the first round. “With this result, the conservative and populist leader consolidates his power for this second term, believes the Financial Times. The head of state is under strong international pressure because he refuses to join the sanctions against Russia. His line is not likely to change: a large part of his voters support Putin’s campaign in Ukraine. And still resents the West for the bombing of Belgrade in 1999.”
People stand near a mass grave in the Ukrainian town of Boutcha (northwest of kyiv), April 3, 2022.
afp.com/Sergei SUPINSKY
UKRAINE
North of kyiv, mass graves of the Russian army
Russian troops, repelled by Ukrainian forces, retreated from the vicinity of the capital kyiv. In the villages occupied for a month, journalists and NGOs discover hundreds of corpses. “When the Russian military forces abandoned the village of Boutcha, they left the streets strewn with the lifeless bodies of civilians”, testifies the special envoy of the Wall Street Journal, which describes a city ravaged by fighting, elderly people burned alive in their garages and corpses attacked by wild animals. Despite the evidence of these war crimes, Moscow denies any massacre in the region.
ISRAEL
A wave of attacks weakens the government
Three attacks hit the Jewish state in the space of a week, two of which were committed by Israeli citizens in the name of Daesh (Islamic State organization). “Israel had not suffered such a terrorist wave since the second Palestinian Intifada twenty years ago”, underlines the information siteAl-Monitor. The coalition of eight political parties in power finds itself destabilized by these attacks which it was unable to prevent. “Its initial response was hesitant, but the government has recovered by adopting strong counterterrorism measures while maintaining its course of openness with the Palestinians,” Al-Monitor added.
PAKISTAN
A troubled prime minister
To save his head, Imran Khan chose to dissolve the National Assembly on April 3. The Prime Minister, faced with an economic crisis and accusations of corruption, had just lost his parliamentary majority and risked being removed from power by a motion of no confidence. “By pulverizing the parliamentary process, this leader has plunged Pakistan into the dark abyss of a constitutional crisis”, the daily indignantly dawn. The last few weeks have been marked by a rift between the army and Khan who, unlike his generals, refuses to condemn the invasion of Ukraine.
CHINA
Covid-19: Shanghai cut off from the world
In pursuit of its “zero Covid” strategy, China decreed total containment of Shanghai and its 25 million inhabitants on March 31. Despite extremely strict health rules, the country is facing an unprecedented wave of contamination due to Omicron, with 13,000 cases detected every day. “As the hospital system in Shanghai is about to be overwhelmed, medical teams and equipment are arriving from all over the country to overcome the epidemic”, acknowledges the official newspaper in English. GlobalTimes. A new variant has reportedly been detected in the neighboring province of Jiangsu.
Control of access to the tunnel leading to the Pudong district in confinement, March 28, 2022 in Shanghai
afp.com/Hector RETAMAL
COSTA RICA
Chaves, surprise president and anti-system
Renowned for its stability, the “Switzerland of Central America” opted for a radical change by electing, on April 3, the “anti-system” candidate Rodrigo Chaves. For 27 years, this economist had a career at the World Bank, which he left in 2019 after accusations of sexual harassment. “A first-time candidate and at the head of a new party, Mr. Chaves faces the challenge of building a team of nearly 1,000 professionals occupying key positions in his administration,” writes the local daily. The Nation. The new president will have to live with a parliament where only 10 deputies out of 57 are won over to his cause.