- Press Review: July 2022 - July 21, 2022
- Press Review: July 2022 - July 14, 2022
- Press Review: June 2022 - July 6, 2022
Joe Biden argued that the U.S. “is prepared to use all elements of its national power” to prevent Iran from acquiring or developing nuclear missiles. Mario Draghi is on the verge to resign as Italy’s PM and the President of Sri Lanka has announced its resignation.
Here is the news that you might have missed from the last press review.
- Prime Minister Mario Draghi Offered His Resignation
- Poland’s National Remembrance Institute Found The Ashes of 8 Thousand WWII Victims
- President Biden Threatens Iran Over Nuclear Weapons
- Gotabaya Rajapaksa Steps Down From His Position as President of Sri Lanka
- Rwanda Banned Sales of Skin Whitening Products
Prime Minister Mario Draghi Offered His Resignation
Since February 2021, Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank (ECB), has been leading Italian politics as Prime Minister. Draghi was appointed by President Mattarella to go through the economic recession – mainly caused by COVID-19 – that the country is still suffering from. This recession has been aggravated by the rising inflation, the devaluation of the euro when compared to the U.S. dollar, and the high prices of natural resources.
The Italian Parliament underwent a vote of confidence on July 14 to confirm Draghi as a fit PM. Even though Draghi won the motion, the votes showed that the 5-Star Movement led by Giuseppe Conte, Draghi’s coalition partner, doesn’t support Draghi as PM anymore.
In a statement, Draghi offered his resignation as he said such behavior form the 5-Star broke the pact of trust, which sustained the unity of the Italian government. Despite Draghi’s will to resign, President Mattarella refused his resignation.
The future of Italy is uncertain. In 2023 new elections will be celebrated and there could be a possible right wing coalition between Matteo Salvini (La Lega) and Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia).
Poland’s National Remembrance Institute Found The Ashes of 8 Thousand WWII Victims
Poland’s National Remembrance Institute (IPN) discovered a mass grave near the Nazi prison camp of Soldau. According to IPN expert Tomasz Jankowski, the amount of human ashes found – 17,5 tons – would mean that at least 8 thousand people were burnt, without adding the death count of the Nazi’s regime.
The Soldau camp was an undercover system for the German dictatorship to “eliminate Polish state elites”, said IPN President Karol Nawrocki. However, those elites were soon replaced by Jews, clergy, and representatives of groups who opposed the III Reich.
Nawrocki also said that the Germans burned the bodies to conceal their crimes, but “IPN is determined to search for the victims and heroes of WW2 and will never allow even one of them to be forgotten.”
President Biden Threatens Iran Over Nuclear Weapons
During a visit to Israel, U.S. President Joe Biden and Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid promoted the Jerusalem U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration, in which both parties confirmed their intention to work closer together. Once again, the U.S. reaffirmed that Israel is its closest regional ally.
On the second day of the Middle East tour, Biden spoke with Lapid and said that the U.S. “is prepared to use all elements of its national power” to prevent Iran from acquiring or developing nuclear missiles.
Biden also accused the Iranian government of using Hamas, Hezbollah and similar Jihadist terror organizations for their own personal profit.
The clash between the US and Iran has always been present, but it was aggravated by former President Donald J. Trump, who had a stronger opposition against their regime, and even enforced military actions against high level Iranian personnel, assassinating General Qasei Soleimani.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa Steps Down From His Position as President of Sri Lanka
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, president of Sri Lanka, sent an email to a parliamentary speaker in which he wanted to make his resignation effective and appointing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president.
The tensions in the capital, Colombo, have been increasing day after day. The citizens decided unilaterally to occupy with force the government’s buildings, especially those concerning Rajapaksa.
The armed forces of Sri Lanka have been granted the use of deadly force in order to prevent protesters from occupying more state-owned buildings and to protect the life of both protesters and politicians.
According to the BBC, Sri Lanka is facing a great economic recession, having so far this year an inflation of 54,6%. Furthermore, the country is undergoing a natural resources crisis, as the government doesn’t have enough fuel for essential services, such as buses, trains or ambulances. Consequentially, fuel’s price has increased astonishingly.
Rwanda Banned Sales of Skin Whitening Products
Since 2018, the government of Rwanda has been trying to ban all cosmetics that can be used to make someone’s skin whiter. With a median salary of nearly 300 euro, the fines for buying and trading those products get to 5 thousand euro, making it a great offense. Not only there’s a disproportionate fine in light of the median salary, but there is the possibility of a two-year maximum incarceration for those found guilty.
The ban comes from the Health Ministry of the country since a prolonged exposure to whitening products can be toxic due to their high amounts of mercury or even steroids.
After the prohibition, the black market emerged. With higher prices than before, because of the fewer stocks, only people with a greater income can buy such products. However, already loads of criminals have been detained by police and armed forces and will be prosecuted.
The Press Review is a bi-weekly column produced by our Newsroom team to highlight the stories that you might have missed from the last month. You can read more about our weekly content on the Newsroom page.
