Unconsciously, there are only two weeks left in 2022. Looking back at the end of the year, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is undoubtedly the largest " black swan " of the year. However, one wave has not yet been settled and the smoke of war between Russia and Ukraine has not dissipated. Balkans , "European traditional powder keg" Kosovo , began to "squeak" again.
When many of us are still immersed in the passion of the World Cup, the world has experienced many things this week.
The world changes, and the clouds are clear and the sun is seen. We have selected 5 international hot spots from the past week to "view the world" with you.
has been pushed to the "edge of war"?
Why did Kosovo conflict break out again
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has not yet subsided, and the "powder keg" of the Balkans may be on the verge of detonation.
fuse is that Kosovo authorities arrested a former Serb policeman Deyan Pantic.
It is reported that in order to oppose the Kosovo authorities' "license plate ban" (i.e., Serbs in northern Kosovo are prohibited from using Serbian license plates), hundreds of Serb police including Pantic resigned in November, but the Pristina police arrested Pantic on the 6th.
This move angered the Serbs in northern Kosovo who have long felt bullied. As the situation continues to tense, Serbian President Vucic 10 requested the deployment of Serbian troops and police in Kosovo region.
Serb protesters blocked a major road in North Mitrovica. Source: Reuters
This is the first time that Serbia has put forward the request to deploy troops in Kosovo after the end of the Kosovo War. According to UN Security Council resolution 1244, if the commander of NATO forces in Kosovo approved it, Serbia can deploy military, police and customs personnel to Kosovo Orthodox religious sites, Serb majority areas and border ports.
At this point, NATO entered the market, and the conflict has become a new stronghold for the game of great powers: html On 612, the Russian Foreign Ministry spoke out for supporting Serbia and accused the United States of being mainly responsible for the deterioration of Kosovo's political and security situation. On the same day, EU strongly demanded that the two sides cool down the situation through negotiations. On the 13th, NATO's "big brother" United States spoke, saying that it firmly opposes the return of Serbian troops to northern Kosovo.
High-level demonstrations broke out in Serbia at 12, Belgrade, to support protests against Serb compatriots blocking the road in northern Kosovo. Visual China
And just as all sides were in a sharp confrontation, the leaders of the Kosovo authorities officially signed an application to join the EU on the 14th, meaning that Kosovo officially seeks to become a "European country". , and since Serbia has always adhered to its sovereignty over Kosovo, 's move is undoubtedly an offense to Serbia's "red line".
The figure of a great power behind this conflict has made the current situation even more complex and dangerous. Some analysts believe that if the two sides cannot resolve the dispute peacefully through negotiations in , the Balkan "powder keg" is likely to break out again in conflict or even war. . In the case of the continued stalemate in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the outbreak of another war will bring huge impact to Europe and the world.
Extended reading:
The situation is taking a sharp turn, and another war in Europe has reached the edge of the cliff
Kosovo's situation has been tightened. Serbia demands the deployment of security forces in Kosovo for the first time
Kosovo's situation heats up again, the EU armored vehicle was attacked, Vucic "requests to release people"
Kosovo "seizes power" Serb maximum autonomy City
significantly strengthened defense forces and broke through many taboos
Japan's security policy has undergone a major change
Local time on the 16th, local time, after several months of debate, the Japanese government finalized three newly revised security-related documents at the cabinet meeting - "National Security Strategy", "National Defense Strategy", and "Defense Force Preparation Plan". The three documents of determine the direction of Japan's security policy in the next 5 to 10 years.
In view of its content, some Japanese media believe that this marks a major turning point in Japan's post-war security and defense strategy, and Japan is no longer satisfied with playing the role of "shield" in the US-Japan security alliance.
According to these three documents, Japan will significantly strengthen its defense power, and will double its defense budget within five years. By 2027, the defense expenses will reach 2% of Japan's GDP that year.
This spending of about 43 trillion yen (US$312 billion) over the next five years will enable Japan's military expenditure to meet NATO's standards and enter the ranks of the world's largest defense spending countries.
Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that the government has basically decided that the defense budget for 2023 is 6.8 trillion yen, which will be finalized at a cabinet meeting as soon as next week. The amount also hit a record high, more than 1.2 times the 2022 budget.
In addition, these three documents also show that Japan will break through many post-war taboos, includes further relaxing the "three principles for transfer of defense equipment " to expand weapons exports and deepen military-civilian integration.
Japan's new security strategy has aroused concerns and criticism from all walks of life. On the same day, hundreds of citizens gathered in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Tokyo, raising signs such as "The ability to fight back cannot be lifted" and "oppose the three security documents" to protest.
Further reading:
Japan's security policy has undergone a major change!
Japan revised its security document to pursue the so-called "counterattack ability", and all walks of life oppose
Japan joins the two countries to jointly develop the next generation of fighter jets...
After eight years, the United States restarted the US-Africa summit
Biden Suddenly remembered the "friendship" with Africa?
htmlOn November 15, the three-day US-Africa summit came to an end. After eight years, the United States suddenly changed its previous attitude towards Africa. has recently frequently shown goodwill to Africa, trying to make up for the "diplomatic puzzle" of Africa.In 2014, the United States held the US-Africa Summit for the first time, and then President Barack Obama - the first African-American president of the United States. The US side promised to deepen US-Africa relations and allow US-Africa summits to be held regularly. However, in fact, the second summit took eight years, equivalent to two presidential terms apart.
August 5, 2014, Obama summit in the United States and Africa. Image source foreign media
. During this period, the cooperation between the United States and Africa cannot be said to be a "blank check", but there is a huge gap between promises and reality, which is a foregone conclusion - Obama's "Electric Africa" initiative promises to generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity in Africa by 2020. However, by the end of 2020, the actual power generation is less than a quarter of the promised; Trump "Prosper Africa" initiative claims to double the US-Africa trade volume by 2024 on the basis of US$56 billion in 2019, while in 2021, the US-Africa trade volume is about US$64.3 billion, with an average annual growth rate of only 7%, accounting for only about 1% of the total US foreign trade volume that year.
At this US-Africa summit, in order to make up for the widening "trust gap" between the US and Africa, the Biden administration said a lot of "beautiful words", not only expressed its "focus on the future of Africa", but also promised to invest at least $55 billion in Africa in the next three years, and will appoint a new special representative of the president to implement the promises of this summit.
Some analysts are skeptical of the United States' aid to Africa. Ma Tambo, director of the African-China Research Center at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, believes that the United States' favoritism for Africa is not really out of good intentions of "caring for and helping African countries", but is worried about losing its status in Africa. "How will this fund be used, what conditions are hidden behind it, and whether it can be handed over to African countries to support their own development, these issues are worth thinking about.”
Further reading:
The United States has held a summit after eight years. What is it about?
Before the US-Africa summit was held, White House promised to provide Africa with $55 billion. Experts: Short checks
Fed announced interest rate hike 50 basis points
Key data changes release important signals
local On December 14, U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it would raise the federal funds interest rate target range by 50 basis points to between 4.25% and 4.5%. This is the first time since the Federal Reserve launched this round of interest rate hike cycle in March this year.
Since the beginning of this year, in order to fight inflation , the Federal Reserve has raised the benchmark interest rate at the fastest pace since the early 1980s since March, and has raised interest rates by 425 basis points.
On the same day, the Federal Reserve also released a summary of the economic forecast , which has attracted much attention from the financial market. According to the latest economic outlook, Federal Open Market Committee will expect the growth rate of the US economy next year from September At that time, 1.2% was lowered to 0.5%, slightly increasing the growth rate of GDP from 0.2% to 0.5%.
Extended reading:
The seventh rate hike! A key data change, the Federal Reserve released an important signal
US CPI fell for five consecutive months, how far is the Federal Reserve from the victory of anti-inflation hike
The unconventional radical interest rate hike will come to an end. Will the rate hike be cut next year?
nationally entered Into a state of emergency, six presidents in six years
What's wrong with the political arena of Peru?
After a week of violent demonstrations and protests, The new Peruvian government announced a 30-day national emergency on December 14 local time.
Everything started with a dramatic "big drama" on December 7th - then Peru president Castillo that day In the morning, he suddenly announced the dissolution of the Congress and the establishment of an emergency government. Later that day, he was impeached and dismissed by Congress, and was later controlled by the police. Vice President Boluat succeeded on the same day and became the first female president of the country.
In the following week, violent protests broke out in many places in Peru, and protesters demanded that the new president Dina Boluat step down and restore Castillo's presidency.
This week, Boluat promised to raise The previous election was held, but the protesters still failed to calm the anger of protesters. In some areas, angry protesters blocked roads, airports, and even burned police cars and police stations, and bloody conflicts broke out in many places. According to Reuters on December 14, at least 8 people died in a standoff with the police, of which at least 6 died after being gunshot wounded.
Usu's president usually serves five years, but the United States National Public Radio (NP) R) found that In the six years since 2016, six presidents have appeared in Peru. Some media analyzed that government corruption scandals, conflicts between the executive branch and the parliament, and the lack of a strong political party are important reasons for the long-term turmoil in Peru.
Extended reading:
Peru government declares a state of emergency across the country
Peru protests stranded 300 foreign tourists, and the mayor requests helicopter rescue
[Observer of this issue] Feng Yingyan Zou Feixu
[Poster Design] Zhang Yuqing
[Planning] Chen Meiyu
[Author] Feng Yingyan; Zhang Yuqing; Chen Meiyu; Zou Feixu
[Source] Southern Media Group Southern + Client
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