According to Agence France Presse, on July 2nd, at least 200 candidates from French President Macron's centrist ruling coalition and the left-wing New People's Front withdrew before the National Assembly elections, working together to prevent far right forces from taking power. Data shows that as of the deadline for the second round of voting registration, at least 200 candidates have withdrawn, with over 110 being members of the left-wing New People's Front, including more than 70 representing Macron's camp. Both sides hope to use this tactical tactic to weaken the National Alliance's chances of winning.

It is reported that inOn June 30th, in the first round of voting in the French parliament, the National Union and its allies, belonging to the right-wing political party Marina Le Pen, received 33.2% of the vote, ranking first; The left-wing New People's Front received 28% of the vote, while the centrist coalition led by Macron received 20.8% of the vote. More than half of the 577 constituencies have three candidates entering the final election. In this case, the third ranked candidate can withdraw to strengthen the possibility of another mainstream political party defeating the National Alliance. In order to obtain an absolute majority in parliament, Baldaira called on voters to support the candidates of his party in the second round of voting, and even hoped to win the support of "moderate left-wing voters who do not accept extremism and radicalism". Atal called on all forces to join hands and prevent the far right from gaining an absolute majority.

02Cambodian court sentences 10 environmentalists to six to eight years in prison

According to comprehensive news from Phnom Penh, on July 2nd, a Cambodian court convicted 10 domestic and foreign environmental activists of conspiring to commit crimes and sentenced them to six to eight years in prison. It is reported that these 10 criminals are from the environmental rights organization "Mother Nature", whose founder Gonzalez Davidson was expelled by Cambodian authorities in 2015. The accusation of offending the monarch this time is related to a political cartoon from an internal online meeting of the team, which was later leaked.

According to informed sources, in the pastFor over a decade, 'Mother Nature' has launched a rights movement against infrastructure projects that damage the environment and 'exposed corruption in Cambodia's natural resource management'. The Cambodian authorities are attempting to "silence criticism of government policies" through this trial.

military

01Many residents in southern Gaza have been ordered to evacuate

According to Gaza news, on July 1st, after a gunfight between the Israeli army and Hamas in southern Gaza, they demanded that Palestinians evacuate the eastern part of Khan Younis, the city of Rafa, and most of the areas bordering Israel and Egypt. Two months ago, Israel also ordered the evacuation of the people of Rafa, and subsequently launched a large-scale ground battle against the city of Rafa. All parties are concerned that the new evacuation order may indicate that the Israeli army plans to launch a long-term battle in the southern region. Spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the Near East, Watic, stated that this evacuation order is expected to affect 250000 people. Witnesses reported that Palestinians evacuated the eastern part of Khan Younis by driving, riding in carriages, donkey carts, or walking, and some people with nowhere to go had to sleep on the streets.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that the Israeli military's operation to eliminate Hamas has entered its final stage, and the Israeli military has almost completed the work of eliminating Hamas' military strength in Gaza, and will continue to strike the remnants of Hamas. But security analysts believe that Israel faces the risk of a long-term conflict with Hamas. They pointed out that Hamas has demonstrated its ability to survive as a rebel organization and has gained the support of the general public in Gaza.

01Double external debt, Laos seeks grace period to avoid default

Bloomberg reported that on June 28th, the Lao Ministry of Finance released a latest report disclosing external debt data. As of the end of last year, the total amount of public debt and public guaranteed debt in Laos reached 13.8 billion US dollars, a decrease of only 1% from the previous year. The scale of these debts is also equivalent to 108% of Laos' gross domestic product. Preliminary data shows that the debt owed to China accounts for about half of Laos' $10.5 billion external debt. International financial institutions and credit rating agencies have warned that the debt burden poses a high default risk for Laos, which has a population of nearly 8 million. Laos was therefore forced to seek more grace from creditors to avoid default due to debt exceeding economic output.

Currently, Laos is attempting to increase income and reduce borrowing and expenses, with the goal of achievingReduce the debt to GDP ratio from 94% last year to 89% by 2025. The authorities expect that the debt will remain high for the next five years, with an annual repayment of approximately $1.3 billion in foreign debt between 2024 and 2028. Data shows that Laos' external debt repayment has surged from $507 million in 2022 to $950 million last year.