Latest news

Bernardo Arevalo. Santiago Billy / AP 

 

Political situation in Guatemala  

Challenger Arevalo: Voters want sensible alternatives  

 

Bernardo Arevalo was the big surprise in Sunday's presidential election in Guatemala. With around twelve percent of the votes, he made it to a second round of elections, even though he was far behind in the opinion polls, several media write.  

 

At a press conference on Monday, Arevalo, who is the son of the country's first democratically elected president, thanked voters for "their courage".  

 

- We believe that the voters have been saddened by a political system where the same old gang always returns and that they wanted a sensible alternative, he said.  

 

Guatemala has recently moved in an increasingly authoritarian direction. But Arevalo's electoral success is a sign that there is hope that democracy can be restored, says Will Freeman, a Latin America expert at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.  

 

- I judge that, at least for the moment, it is good news, he tells The Guardian. 

 

In the second round, Arevalo faces the favorite Sandra Torres.  

 

Kyriakos Mitsotakis is sworn in as Prime Minister. Thanassis Stavrakis / AP  

 

The election in Greece 

Mitsotakis sworn in again – promises continued reforms  

 

In Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of conservative New Democracy, was sworn in as prime minister on Monday, writes AFP. It will be Mitsotaki's second term since he won the election by a crushing margin this weekend. 

 

In his inaugural address, Mitsotakis promised to continue the reforms he initiated during the previous term. Among his election promises are also major investments in public healthcare and improving safety on the Greek railways.  

 

Mitsotakis won a first election back in May but then failed to gather his own majority. Instead of trying to form a coalition, he called new elections, a gamble that paid off. The new election gave New Democracy 158 of the 300 seats in parliament.  

 

 

AFD members, Robert Sesselmann in the middle. Martin Schutt / AP  

 

Political situation in Germany  

The far-right AFD takes power in a first German region 

 

In Germany, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AFD) party has won a local election for the first time, several media outlets write. It happened in the town of Sonneberg in Thuringia in the former East Germany, where the party's candidate Robert Sesselmann was elected to the position of "Landrat" - regional manager.  

 

The Guardian writes that several observers believe that the victory can give the party momentum for next year, when several federal states, not least in the east, hold elections.  

 

Even at the national level, the party has made strong progress over the past year. In several surveys, the AFD is at around 20 percent and is thus equal in size to the ruling Social Democrats. The largest is the conservative opposition party CDU at 26 percent. 

 

According to SvD, however, it is unlikely that the party will gain government power because all other parties have promised not to cooperate with them. However, the party's success can make it very difficult to form stable governments.

 

 

Janet Yellen. Janet Yellen. Photo: Ludovic Marin / AP 

 

US Treasury Secretary to China  

 

The American finance minister Janet Yellen plans to visit China for talks with Chinese counterparts, TT reports.  

 

The visit is expected to take place in early July. Earlier in June, the US foreign minister, Antony Blinken, also visited the country and met, among other things, President Xi Jinping.  

 

The visits come after major tensions in the relationship between the countries.