PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, July 9: Papers report on the blazing wildfires in Syria, Spain and France. Over in Russia, where independent media are discussing the "alleged suicie" of a high-profile politician, who was found dead hours after being fired. Also, Elon Musk's Grok chatbot praises Hitler and shares hateful comments on X after its latest update. Finally, magazines discuss Kate Middleton's "fashion diplomacy" during Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Britain. 

Syria is still struggling to tame wildfires that erupted at the beginning of the month in the western parts of the country. Arab News reports that Syria is now seeking assistance from Europe to control the "six-day forest inferno". Because of the exceptional weather conditions and a lack of resources after 14 years of war, Syria needs help. Meanwhile, thousands of kilometres away in Catalonia, fires have ravaged more than 3,000 hectares of land, Spanish daily El Pais reports. The winds there are complicating the work of firefighters.

In France, fires are burning in the south of the country. In Marseille, the blaze has destroyed more than 700 hectares of land. According to a local paper from Marseille, La Provence, the fire now seems "frozen", but not yet "fixed". Locals from the affected regions have spoken to left-wing daily Libération about what they went through, saying "it's unbreathable". Libération writes that we have entered a new reality "to which we are painfully adapting".

We turn next to Russia, where independent papers are discussing the apparent suicide of the country's former transport minister. The Moscow Times writes that the Kremlin is "shocked" by the death of Roman Starovoyt. He was found dead with a gunshot wound hours after being fired by President Vladimir Putin on Monday, this amid media speculation that he was potentially facing corruption charges. Another article from The Moscow Times says that from 2018 to May 2024, Starovoit served as the governor of the Kursk region of Russia. But after Ukraine's surprise incursion last summer, law enforcement made several high-profile arrests. And while he was not arrested or directly investigated, unnamed sources say that suspects in the case have testified against him. Independent paper Meduza's headline says that his suicide "is linked to a case of embezzlement during the construction of defensive lines in the Kursk region". The paper writes that public Russian media aren't connecting the dots between Starovoyt's resignation, his suicide and the corruption charges.  

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is again making international headlines. The Washington Post reports that an unknown individual contacted high-level officials, including three foreign ministers, using an AI-generated "Marco Rubio" voice. The impersonator copied the style of the US Secretary of State "with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts", according to Rubio's office. On another note, "Grok is spewing anti-Semitic garbage on X", reports tech magazine Wired. Elon Musk's chatbot recently praised Hitler online and made a series of deeply offensive remarks, and this is only the latest example. The hateful posts started appearing after a software update last Friday. Musk had claimed that Grok had been "significantly improved" by the update and that users should notice a difference. 

Finally, with the start of the French state visit to Britain yesterday, some papers are commenting on the fashion choices of the leaders. Fashion magazine Vanity Fair calls Kate Middleton's classic Dior outfit a "dazzling display for the occasion". Her outfit is seen as a nod to both France and the late Princess Diana. Vogue looks at her second outfit, a Givenchy dress. The robe was designed by British designer Sarah Burton for the French fashion house – a clear statement of what Vogue calls "fashion diplomacy" and a symbol of the relationship between the two countries.

You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday.