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Weekly Summaries

14th of June – 21st of June

Elections in Israel

The former Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu was “formally ousted” by Israel’s parliament last Sunday. The new coalition government was then approved by a single vote (60 to 59) and one abstention. Israel’s new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is said to be further right than Netanyahu, will be replaced by the centrist leader Yair Lapid in two years. In total, the new coalition government is made up of eight parties — including an independent Arab party for the first time in Israeli history — who have little in common due to their wide distribution among the political spectrum. This could mean trouble for the new government in the future, although they have announced that as the new coalition government, they will focus more on domestic issues instead of issues that divide them to provide some stability. The first step that the new Israeli coalition took on Tuesday was to announce their plans to “repair Israeli ties with the US,” the New York Times reported. However, at the same time, the Israeli military bombed parts of the Gaza Strip in the early morning hours last Wednesday after incendiary balloons were sent by the Hamas into southern Israel. So far, there have been no reports of casualties.

The G7 Summit in Cornwall

The first-in-person summit since the pandemic first began concluded last week. The countries that attended were the US, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the UK. Although the G7 countries were not able to reach agreements on all topics they wanted to address, they have planned a range of new policy approaches. You can read more about the G7 summit on Cornwall here: https://econir-web.com/2021/06/20/the-g7-summit-in-cornwall/

Other News

  • Ebrahim Raisi has won the election in Iran, becoming the new President. However, voter turnout, especially among the younger generation, was very low.
  • During the NATO summit, President Biden “reaffirmed his commitment to the alliance,” according to the New York Times. The union has also taken a harder stance towards China and Russia, saying that China’s growing military power and influence around the world may “present challenges.”
  • President Biden met with President Putin in Geneva. The meeting was described as “positive” by President Biden and as “constructive” by President Putin, with outcomes such as an agreement to “open U.S.-Russia talks on cybersecurity and arms control” (the New York Times) being made.
  • Britain and Australia have made a free-trade agreement, which is Britain’s first major trading deal since it left the European Union last year.
Categories
Weekly Summaries

17th of May – 23rd of May

Israel and Gaza reach a cease-fire

At the beginning of last week, Israel continued to conduct airstrikes on the Gaza Strip while Hamas fired rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip. Some say that such levels of violence were last seen in 2014. During a phone call with President Netanyahu of Israel, President Biden reportedly expressed “support for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas,” according to the New York Times. Furthermore, Egypt has been continuously working with the United Nations, in the hopes of reaching a cease-fire. Foreign ministers of the European Union have also called for an “immediate cease-fire.” A cease-fire appears to now have finally been reached after 11 days of fighting, coming into effect at 2 am local time on Friday. Both sides claimed victory and there were celebrations both in Gaza and in the West Bank.

Other News

  • In “Nowhere Land” on Mars China has successfully been able to land a rover, even releasing the first photos that were shot of Mars this week
  • Around 8,000 people crossed the border from Morocco to Spain, with Spain reacting by troops, military trucks, and helicopters into Ceuta
  • In Indonesia, a lawsuit pursued by citizens aims to force the government to address the pollution in the metropolitan area of Jakarta