PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, June 4: An investigation into the US farming industry finds that lobbyists led a campaign to discredit animal rights activists. Next, a "visionary" or a "jerk"? American op-eds analyse Elon Musk's short-lived time in office. Also, French papers discuss porn sites and their access ban on French users in protest at a new age verification law. Finally, a 200-year-old condom is displayed in one of Europe's biggest museums. 

An investigation by Wired magazine says that lobbyists for the farm industry led a campaign to "surveil, discredit, and suppress" animal rights activists for nearly a decade. The magazine says it consulted hundreds of emails and internal documents that show the "secretive and long-running collaboration" between the FBI and the Animal Agriculture Alliance, which represents the interests of American farmers and ranchers. According to Wired, the Alliance spied and served as an informant for the FBI. People working there went undercover at meetings of activists, for example, and sent the recordings to law enforcement. Wired says that the documents demonstrate the industry's mission and efforts to convince the authorities that activists are a "bioterrorism" threat to the United States. 

Also in the United States, Elon Musk's short-lived time in Trump's office has prompted continuous coverage from the press. But an opinion piece from The Washington Post says it's wrapping up its Musk coverage. "After this, I am never thinking about Trump’s favourite weird billionaire again," writes the author. The article is entitled "All the unforced errors of Elon Musk" and the author calls the billionaire himself a "walking, breathing unforced error". It says that with his Tesla background and his "creative genius", Musk had to do "literally nothing"” to safeguard his reputation. But for "some unknown reason he decided to insert himself in politics", becoming a real "jerk". The piece then criticises Musk – from his relationship with his estranged trans daughter to his time as head of DOGE. It adds that "Musk's short tenure represents the most terrible personification of the Trump administration". But not all op-eds are as critical. An opinion piece in the left-wing paper The New York Times calls Musk a "visionary", saying that yes, he can be "volatile and reckless" but that those who dismiss him as an idiot "haven't been paying close attention". The article says that his vision goes way beyond politics and towards "interstellar colonization". The paper writes that if he succeeds in that mission, his time in the White House will be just "a minor detail" in his story – and not how he will be remembered. 

We turn next to France, where well-known porn sites have banned French users from accessing them in a protest against France's new stricter age verification requirements. French daily Le Parisien writes that porn sites "aren’t bluffing", calling the ban a "poker move". It cites Pornhub's parent company Aylo, which claims that the new regulation is obliging adult sites to collect highly sensitive personal information and that this is putting user security at risk. The company also argues that the regulation might push users to migrate to "darker corners of the internet" that don't ask users to verify their age at all. Right-wing paper Le Figaro writes that from the age of 12, more than half of all underage boys visit porn sites every month. The paper cites a study saying that porn exposure "remains massive" – the number of young people visiting these sites has risen by 36 percent. 

We finish with another sex-related story: a central piece in one of Europe's biggest museums. A 200-year-old condom is going to be displayed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, The Times reports. The curator says that it was probably a souvenir from a French brothel and not an actual condom for use. On closer examination we can see a scene comprising three clergymen and a nun. She is pointing at one of them saying "Voilà mon choix" or "Here is my choice". The museum says that the condom provides an insight into "sexuality and prostitution in the 19th century". 

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

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, June 3: We look at reactions from South Korea as voting gets underway in a snap presidential election. Also: The New York Times profiles a star influencer who is raising awareness about female genital mutilation with unfiltered videos on the topic. French tenniswoman Loïs Boisson stuns at Roland Garros after booking her spot in the quarter-finals and defeating world n° 3 Jessica Pegula. Plus: Ncuti Gatwa's "young, beautiful and queer" Doctor Who comes to a premature end.

South Korean voters head to the polls for snap presidential elections after months of political turmoil and the ousting of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. The vote is dominating the South Korean press this Tuesday. The Korea Times prints a front-page picture of the leading candidates in this election: Lee Jae-Myung from the liberal Democratic party and conservative leader Kim Moon-Soo. The centrist paper also underlines that the next president will assume office immediately. There will be no customary 60-day transition period. That prospect also raises concerns about the government’s readiness to manage state affairs. Koreans will no doubt be hoping for stability in the country, both political and economic – US President Donald Trump's tariff war has wrought havoc on the Korean economy. This is perhaps why the Korea Herald calls it the D-DAY showdown.

You can also grasp the gravity of the election with an editorial from the Korea Times. The paper says the "future of the country hinges on this election". While the editors are encouraged by the high number of early voters – despite high levels of voter apathy and frustration, they remind us that elections are not a choice between good and bad but the lesser of two evils. The conservative daily Korea Joongang Daily, meanwhile, likens this election to a recent Korean box office hit, "Yadang: The Snitch", which examines political and institutional corruption. The paper encourages voters to scrutinise candidates carefully, saying loyalty, sentiment or empty promises should not sway votes. The highly progressive paper The Hankyoreh offers rousing words for its readers: "It's time for voters to shine and create a brand new Korea."

In other news: The New York Times publishes a moving portrait of a social media influencer and female genital mutilation survivor. She also appeared on our Perspective programme with Stuart Norval a few years ago. The New York Times describes Shamsa Sharawe as a "sweary and self-possessed British anti-cutting campaigner", one who’s perfect for the TikTok generation and who has garnered a cult following there. She talks frankly about enduring female genital mutilation at the age of six in her village and about regrowing the flower, or undergoing genital reconstruction surgery, two years ago. The paper pays tribute to a woman at the "vanguard of a new generation of FGM survivors in the West". This generation is candid about their trauma, aware of their rights and unafraid to criticise revered national institutions.

There's a new French hero at Roland Garros – tenniswoman Loïs Boisson! The world n° 361 and wildcard at the Grand Slam pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the French Open by defeating world n°3 Jessica Pegula in three sets. Her exploits have earned her the cover of L’Equipe, which calls her "The Boisson sensation." Her victory comes at a particularly fraught time, when Roland Garros organisers are under fire for a lack of women's nighttime matches. Indeed, The Wall Street Journal recounts that when the match started, the court was practically empty. Most people preferred to eat lunch than watch a match they thought would be a blowout. They were wrong and the court was fully packed by the time Boisson served for match point. She is the first French tenniswoman to reach the quarter-finals since 2017. She'll face Mira Andreeva on Wednesday and will be hoping to pull off a second upset! 

Finally, he was the first Black man to embody the title role in the Doctor Who franchise, but now Ncuti Gatwa is being replaced. He becomes the actor who embodied the role of Doctor Who for the shortest amount of time. Gatwa, who appeared in the hit series "Sex Education", was supposed to give Dr Who a refreshing, modern makeover: "black, young, queer and beautiful", as the Guardian notes. But now he's being replaced. Ultimately, the Guardian says, several issues converged – Gatwa's Doctor Who cried a lot, which perhaps cheapened the other times he cried, combined with a few sub-par episodes. The decision has earned this rebuke in Gizmodo, equivalent to being put in the naughty corner​​​​: "Doctor Who needs to go away and think about what it did." The website says Gatwa's Doctor Who deserved so much more. 

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

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, June 2: French papers discuss the "day of jubilation" after PSG's Champions League win. Next, the media analyse Ukraine's "bold" strike on Russia's military aviation. Also, papers report on Bulgaria's fight against the adoption of the euro. Finally, we bring you some health news: from Ozempic's questionable long-term effects to good news in cancer treatment research.

After Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League victory on Saturday, the story is still on the front pages of most French dailies. Left-wing Libération writes that "Paris is well worth a jubilation". The paper says that the win resonated across France all weekend. In a similar tone, Le Parisien's front page says "Day of jubilation". The Parisian daily is talking about Sunday's festivities across Paris, and how fans got to celebrate with their beloved football stars. The paper calls it "A sweet madness". But with two people dead and hundreds arrested, the victory wasn't that sweet. Right-wing daily Le Figaro also mentions the post-win violence on its front page, where the title of an editorial reads "Paris can no longer be a party". The article condemns the aftermath of the match and all the "sirens, knives, injured police officers and even deaths". It says that "thugs" and "gangs" tried to invade the ring road around Paris and the Champs-Élysées. “The issue is no longer one of security, it's one of culture," says the article, blaming "uncivilised barbarians" for causing the destruction. An article in L'Opinion says that "on Saturday evening, euphoria gave way to chaos". It asks how a football win can "generate such an impulse for hatred and destruction", adding that scenes in London, Madrid or Manchester after a victory aren't the same. 

After a major attack on Russia's military aviation on Sunday, Kyiv claims it has destroyed nearly 40 aircraft and struck thousands of kilometres inside Russia's borders. The Financial Times calls it a "bold" strike "deep inside Russian territory". The Ukrainian intelligence service, the SBU, says they'd been preparing the operation for over a year. In an opinion piece, The Washington Post says that "Ukraine just rewrote the rules of war". It adds that the Ukrainians revealed a vulnerability that shows the need for a "massive investment in counter-drone systems". Ukrainian daily The Kyiv Post writes that US President Donald Trump wasn't given a heads-up about the attack. An official told the paper that the operation was "purely Ukrainian" and the US didn't have anything to do with it. As for reactions from the Russian side, Radio Free Europe's team in Siberia spoke to Russians there, who "appeared to be shaken". "Now the war has reached us too," they told the paper. The article writes that many Russians had thus far only seen and felt the war from afar. 

Moving to Eastern Europe, Bulgarians have been protesting against the adoption of the euro. The Bulgarian Telegraph Agency reports that protests have been held in several cities across the country. The demonstrators are asking for a referendum vote so that they can choose whether to keep the Bulgarian lev or switch to the euro. Radio Free Europe reports that it will be decided this week whether the euro will be adopted from next year, with the European Commission expected to greenlight the move. The paper notes that this comes despite the many protesters who carry Russian flags and have expressed anti-European sentiments. Some Bulgarians say they fear that adopting the euro will lead to even more corruption and inflation in the country. According to a survey, 50 percent of Bulgarians are against the euro's adoption.

We finish with some health news. British daily The Standard reports that using weight loss drugs might not lead to the desired effects, according to research. It talks about side effects like so-called Ozempic teeth or oral health problems and more serious health issues like hypoglycemia. The results are also not long-lasting, as a lot of people who stop taking the drug return to their original weight within a year. On the brighter side, the fight against cancer is advancing. The Financial Times reports that AstraZeneca has unveiled a drug that can stop mutating tumours before they start to grow. AstraZeneca said that it hopes to become "the number one cancer company globally". The Independent writes about another study, this time on colon cancer. Researchers have found that regular exercise can reduce the risk of death by more than a third. The scientists hope the findings will show doctors that including exercise plans is crucial for cancer patients. 

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

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, May 30: The papers react to Israel's new plans for settlements in the West Bank. Next, cannabis has been found in Haribo's iconic cola sour candy. Finally, a new "e-tattoo" device helps track mental workload. 

Israel has announced that it's expanding its settlements in the West Bank, in one of its biggest such moves in decades. The American TV channel CBS News says that the announcement has sparked global criticism. The article reminds us that the majority of the international community views settlements as illegal and as the main obstacle to resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict. French left-wing paper Libération says that Israel is "sprinting to annex Palestinian territories". The paper writes that the new plan wants to "dismember" what's left of Palestine. The UK has also condemned the move, the British daily The Independent says. It cites Britain's Middle East minister Hamish Falconer, who wrote on X that the 22 new settlements are a "deliberate obstacle to Palestinian statehood" and that they "further imperil the two-state solution". An opinion piece in Israeli left-wing paper Haaretz writes about the West Bank's "bulletproof vest theory, calling it "not only wrong, but dangerous". The theory encapsulates the idea that settlements serve as a barrier against terror attacks. The opinion piece says that this shifts the blame from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies. The paper dives deep into past examples of why the theory didn't work and concludes that "[today,] the goal of the settlement enterprise isn't security but to create pretexts for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians".

We turn next to the Netherlands, where an uncommon ingredient has been found in sweets. The Dutch paper De Volkskrant reports that cannabis has been found in bags of Haribo cola candy. Several people, including children, felt dizzy and had health complaints after eating the sweets. Some 8,000 kilograms have been recalled. The British daily The Guardian adds that drug smugglers are increasingly using children's candy as a cover-up. They sometimes inject THC into the candy and make THC copies of popular brands that can be found online. 

Finally, researchers have found a new way to track mental workload. The Guardian reports on a new device called an e-tattoo that can be attached to a person's head. It's a "real-time mental workload decoder" that can warn people they need a rest before it's too late. The e-tattoo is lightweight and wireless, the paper explains. It is made from a thin conductive material and electrodes that detect stress. Researchers say it could be very useful for pilots and healthcare workers, for instance, where it's crucial to prevent fatal incidents caused by extreme fatigue or stress.

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

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, May 29: The US press look at the effects of Donald Trump's deportation policy – from a likely "unconstitutional" detention to a booming small-town economy. Plus, Elon Musk is officially quitting DOGE – what's next? Finally, after eight years of Mongolian dominance, Japan is celebrating a new "yokozuna" – a sumo grand champion.  

The Wall Street Journal reports that the detention of former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil is likely "unconstitutional", according to a US judge. Khalil is a pro-Palestinian activist who became a deportation target after participating in protests. And while the ruling isn’t final, it suggests that Trump's deportation efforts will face "significant roadblocks in court", according to the paper. For now, however, despite the partial ruling, he is still being held in a detention centre in Louisiana.

An article in The Washington Post focuses on another detention centre in Louisiana. It's one of the biggest ICE facilities in the United States and its presence is an economic win for locals in Winnfield. "In detention alley, a small town benefits from a big ICE facility," reads the headline. Many Winnfield residents live in poverty and the presence of ICE agents means that their businesses are doing better – there are more people getting haircuts, dining and shipping in the town, resulting in "muted criticism of the president’s immigration policies," according to the article. "To locals, they're customers, relatives, neighbors." The Washington Post also cites a local sheriff who says that the "benefits of the detention center greatly outweigh the negatives". An exclusive NBC piece helps us better understand the current deportation numbers. "Trump administration has ramped up deportations but is still far below pace it wants," reads the headline. In April alone, the ICE deported more than 17,000 people, says the paper. But Trump is still far behind his Inauguration Day promise to deport "millions and millions". In a bid to ramp up deportations, the ICE has been adding local jails and increasing deportation flights. But if he wants to reach Barack Obama's record in 2013, Trump has to deport at least two times more people per month. In 2013, then-president Obama reached a record number of 430,000 deportations in a single year.

Elsewhere in the US, Elon Musk is officially quitting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Financial Times writes that Musk is stepping down from the Trump administration after just five months in office. Musk originally wanted to stay with DOGE until next summer, the paper says. He made the announcement on his social media platform X, thanking Trump for "the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending". He also said that the DOGE mission will become a way of life for the government. This comes right after his exclusive interview with American TV channel CBS News. Musk said he felt "disappointed" by Trump's domestic policy bill, dubbed the "big beautiful bill act". According to Musk, it only increases the budget deficit and undermines DOGE's work. It is still unclear if Musk has any other projects planned, but The Washington Post reports that Tesla investors are asking the board to make Musk work full-time – 40 hours per week – after his recent focus on politics. The paper says that investors are frustrated over Musk's role in the US government and the effect it had on Tesla's sales and reputation. 

Finally, Japan is celebrating a new yokozuna: a grand champion in sumo, the country's national sport. Japanese man Onosato is the first in eight years to win the title after years of Mongolian dominance. The Japan Times calls it a "historic week for Japan’s national sport". The new champion is only 24 years old and some have called him the "saviour of Japanese sumo", according to The New York Times. 

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

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, May 28: Israeli papers react to 600 days war in Gaza. Next, fierce debate over inhaling xenon gas – a new method used by mountain climbers aiming to break speed records. And, Donald Trump’s golden redecoration of the Oval Office is labeled a "Rococo nightmare" by The New York Times.

Israel is entering its 600th day of war in Gaza. Right-wing Israeli paper The Jerusalem Post marks the day with a front page, putting the names of more than 1000 Israeli victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks. In another analysis, the paper writes that "the Middle East is transformed". “Six hundred days since Hamas acted on a jihadist fantasy to destroy the Jewish state.” The paper says that the group carried out a “pogrom” that would have made “Nazis proud”. The analysis adds that the inability to bring hostages home shapes how many Israelis view the war. The left-wing Israeli paper Haaretz, however, has a different take. The headline of a critical opinion piece by Israel's former prime minister Ehud Olmert wrote that "Enough is enough. Israel is committing war crimes". The article says that Israel is “waging a war without a purpose, without goals or clear planning and with no chances of success”. It calls Netanyahu’s government a “criminal gang” that is carrying out a “private political war” that is transforming the enclave into a "humanitarian disaster area".

Next to Mount Everest, where the use of a new method helping to speed up mountain climbing, has been polarising locals and climbers. The New York Times reported that a group of Britons scaled Everest in less than a week. An unusually fast time, since climbing high altitudes, can lead to nausea, headaches and in some cases even death. That’s why climbers usually spend some time adjusting at the Everest base camp. But the Brits inhaled xenon gas to help them adjust to the thin air faster and shrink the timeline dramatically. The use of the gas however is fiercely debated – its use remains unclear and some mountain climbers call it unethical. The Everest guide who took the British climbers gave an interview to the Associated Press, defending his move. He said that using xenon gas can make climbing Everest not just faster but also better for the environment. Using it would reduce the amount of waste, like oxygen masks, thrown away in the wild. The climb prompted an official investigation by the Nepalese government. The Guardian reported that Nepalese sherpas fear that the gas could encourage more inexperienced climbers to climb the peak. “The true significance of climbing Everest lies in the traditional way it has been approached,” a local sherpa told the Guardian. 

And finally to the Oval Office, where Donald Trump has been redecorating. The New York Times calls it a “Rococo nightmare”. The redesign has been “significant” says the paper, with a “parade of golden objects”. Just outside the Oval Office, the US president has put a copy of his mug shot on the New York Post front page in a Versailles-like golden frame. There are also two new gilded mirrors that the paper calls “quintessentially Mr. Trump”. 

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

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, May 27: First, the tit-for-tat between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin after Russia's assault on Kyiv continues to make headlines. Also, Israeli papers are divided on how to cover the most recent Jerusalem marches. And, Namibia will be celebrating their first ever Remembrance Day to commemorate the genocide of the Herero and Nama people. Next, Eritrea's national football team will be playing its first game since January 2020. Finally, Brigitte Macron's shove makes waves in the papers.

Trump and Putin's tit-for-tat comments are widely discussed in the papers, the BBC sums it up in their headline: “Kremlin calls Trump emotional after US president says Putin is crazy”. Trump’s comments came after Russia launched the largest drone assault on Kyiv in the last three years, which killed several civilians. The New York Times says that although he condemned the killings, he has not made Putin pay the price. It says that Trump has never followed through with his warnings, resulting in a "strategic void in which Trump complains about Russia’s killings but is unwilling to make Putin pay even a modest price”. CNN says that the president might be shifting his perspective on “what looks like an increasingly futile US effort” to find peace in Ukraine. Meanwhile, cartoonists in the Times and the Guardian make light of the fading bromance.

Jerusalem saw marches and celebrations for Israel’s Jerusalem day, which were covered very differently in the Israeli papers. Jerusalem Post have a peaceful looking photo of celebrants waving Israeli flags for Jerusalem day. The Times of Israel reports that far-right protestors chanted “death to Arabs”, and held up banners calling for the expulsion of Palestinians. The left-wing paper Haaretz is also covering the march, it says that the hate filled Jerusalem March demonstrated the far right’s true goal for Gaza.

Namibia will be celebrating Remembrance Day tomorrow. The Namibian daily New Era has it on their front page today, reminding everyone that Remembrance Day is tomorrow. It is the first time Remembrance Day will be celebrated to honour the victims of the genocide against Namibia’s indigenous Herero and Nama populations between 1904-1908. It is thought that up to 110,000 people were murdered by the German Empire. The German paper Stern is also covering this story. In May 2021, Germany recognized the atrocities as genocide for the first time, but they did not apologise. The article says that although the German government pledged to provide reconstruction aid worth 1.1 billion euros, it ruled out reparations.

Eritrea is holding a small football tournament for the 32nd anniversary of the country’s "independence". L’Equipe reports that the Red Sea Boys, Eritrea’s national football team are going to play again for the first time since January 2020. Le Monde is also talking about the team’s return and travel ban. It features an interview with French historian Gérard Prunier, who doubts that this tournament should be taken as a sign of newfound openness.

Finally, Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have been in the spotlight after a video emerged of Brigitte Macron slapping or shoving her husband Emmanuel Macron as they landed in Vietnam. “Nonsense” according to Macron in the New York Times. The president later said they were just “joking” as reports the Guardian.

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

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, May 26: The American-Israeli aid plan for Gaza is widely scrutinised in the press, as obscure private contractors are involved. Next, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe has refused to weaken the European Convention on Human Rights. Meanwhile, a series of power cuts threatened the closing ceremony of the Cannes Festival in the south of France. Also, two sports stars have emotional retirement parties. Finally, snails are celebrated in Catalonia.

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, May 26: The American-Israeli aid plan for Gaza is widely scrutinised in the press, as obscure private contractors are involved. Next, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe has refused to weaken the European Convention on Human Rights. Meanwhile, a series of power cuts threatened the closing ceremony of the Cannes Festival in the south of France. Also, two sports stars have emotional retirement parties. Finally, snails are celebrated in Catalonia.

Israel’s latest strikes on Gaza killed dozens of people over the weekend, but many papers today are focussing on the IDF’s plan to take over Gaza. The Times of Israel goes over the IDF's proposal to capture 75 percent of the Gaza strip in next few months. The joint Israeli and American proposal for a new aid delivery mechanism, which is supposed to start today, has also caused alarm in the papers. The Washington Post discusses the aid plan and the “Foundation for Gaza”. According to Haaretz, the foundation would oversee aid distribution in Gaza, supported by two private military organisations, which Libération explores in more detail. Questions on the transparency of the Israeli aid plan have led to the resignation of the CEO of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as announced early this morning by Arab News.

In Strasbourg, RFI says that the Council of Europe has refused to weaken the European Convention of Human Rights. A group of nine countries asked for a reinterpretation of the European Convention of Human Rights on questions of migration. The Guardian said that the European Court of Human Rights ruled against many of the nine countries who signed the letter, which might have motivated the move. It says that more than 30 cases are pending at the court against Latvia, Lithuania and Poland after allegations of pushing people back into Belarus to prevent them from claiming asylum.

French authorities have launched an investigation into the blackouts that struck the Cannes film festival. The story is on the front page of the French paper Aujourd'hui en France. It says that multiple power cuts occurred over the weekend, which were later claimed by an anarchist group targeting the Cannes festival. Libération says that French authorities are still investigating the acts of sabotage that left 200,000 homes without power. Variety reports that the Cannes closing ceremony went ahead as planned. The Palme d’Or was attributed to Iranian Director Jafar Panahi for his film “It was just an accident”. Vogue summarises the best bits, from outfit bans to the red-carpet bee attack.

While many papers like Marca are celebrating Rafael Nadal’s teary retirement ceremony at Roland Garros, another sports star was making an equally teary departure in the UK. The Daily Mail reports that broadcaster and former England international footballer Gary Lineker has stepped down from his role as presenter of Match of the Day. The Guardian says that the host was forced to step down after 26 years in the job after he shared an anti-Semitic social media post, which he later deleted and apologised for.

Finally, although France is known for its snails, it is the Catalans who celebrated the slimy delicacies this weekend. The Times reports on the three-day festival, in what looked like a large-scale gastropod gastropub.

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

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, May 22: Lots of reactions from the South African press after Donald Trump "ambushes" South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a meeting at the White House. The New York Times looks at Brazil's herculean efforts to dismantle a deep-rooted network of Russian spies. And, a diplomatic match made in heaven: Taiwan nominates a heavy metal singer as envoy to Finland – the world's capital for heavy metal music bands!

Reactions from the South African press after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s meeting with Donald Trump in the White House. South African daily Mail & Guardian recalls how the meeting started off cordial enough – Ramaphosa even brought along two South African golf stars as a nod to Trump’s favourite sport. But things veered off course after a journalist asked Trump what it would take to see there isn’t a genocide in South Africa. To this, Ramaphosa said, it would take listening to South Africans. And then: Trump showed him a video he claimed was proof of calls for a white genocide in South Africa – clips of South African politician Julius Malema chanting an anti-farmer song. Video clips also showed what Trump purported were the burial sites of over 1000 white farmers. In reality, it was a memorial procession from September 2020.

Ambush is really the word that defines a lot of the South African front pages today. Daily News saying as much on its front page after that calamitous meeting between Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump. The Sowetan saysRamaphosa "survived the ambush". The paper impressed that he staged "a pushback against lies of a white genocide in South Africa". 

In its analysis, the New York Times says Trump cast himself as a protector of persecuted white people. He publicly dressed down the South African president based on a fringe conspiracy theory.

The US daily also reports that Brazil is trying to dismantle a network of Russian spies in the country. This fascinating investigative report looks at how Russia used Brazil as a sort of assembly line for producing Russian spies. The goal was not to spy on Brazil but for its spies to become Brazilian with passports. Brazil’s painstaking investigative work, which began after the war in Ukraine, involved dismantling the network, piece by piece. It dealt a devastating blow to Putin’s spy program. Times takes us through Operation East which was led by the same counterintelligence agents who investigated former president Jair Bolsonaro. They combed through millions of Brazilian identity records in search of patterns. It began in 2022 with the arrest of Victor Muller Ferreira aka Sergey Cherkasov. Authorities discovered his real birth Brazilian certificate citing a deceased Brazilian woman as his mother. Yet, upon further investigation – they discovered she never had children. Consequently, this network of ghosts began to unravel.

In Ireland, a controversial rapper has been charged with a terror offence. The Belfast Telegraph reports that Mo Chara, rapper of the Irish language rap group Kneecap, was charged with a terror offence. It dates back to last November when the group displayed a flag in support of Hezbollah during a concert. Videos also emerged of the band allegedly calling for deaths of MPs. They later denied support for the groups and apologized. In the UK, Hezbollah and Hamas are declared terrorist organisations, which means it’s illegal to express support for them. Irish news site Breaking News reports that it's not the group's first run-in with the law. Last month at Coachella, Kneecap ended their set with three messages on a screen accusing Israel of genocide and war crimes which sparked outrage in the US. They also commissioned a mural in Belfast of a burning Land Rover, the vehicle used in policing in Northern Ireland, which some say glorified terrorism.

Finally, Taiwan has a new rock star envoy to Finland. Freddy Lim founded the Taiwanese heavy metal band Chthonic which is known as the Black Sabbath of Asia. He has now been named envoy to Finland. And his nomination is apt – the band is well known in Finland having recorded four albums with a Finnish label. As the Brooklyn based website Metal Injection notes, Finland has the most metal bands per capita – 80 for every 100k citizens. So where better than Finland to appoint a heavy metal singing ambassador!

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

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, May 21: The humanitarian situation in Gaza is on most front pages today, many of them picking up on a UN report which suggested that 14,000 babies could die if aid does not get through. Israel seems to be losing the support of many of its allies. Also, a medical journal has found that teenagers today are facing an unprecedented health crisis. And, a local Chicago newspaper has published a summer reading list almost entirely made up of fake books.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is on most front pages today. The Independent’s front page calls the Gaza hunger crisis “utterly intolerable". Although Israel said it would let in some aid, the BBC reports that although the Israeli government let 93 trucks into Gaza, no aid has been given out so far. The Times of Israel looks at a UN statement issued on Tuesday, which said that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza if aid does not get through quickly. The Jerusalem Post is reporting on the backlash faced by Israeli opposition politician Yair Golan after he said that "a sane country does not kill babies as a hobby”. La Croix meanwhile says that his comments might be the start of a critical reflection on Gaza.

Israel is not only facing domestic criticism. The international community has been adding pressure on Israel recently. the Guardian's front page also quotes David Lammy’s speech to the House of Commons, where the foreign secretary has since announced the suspension of talks with Israel and imposed sanctions on three individuals and four entities related to the settler movement. Le Monde says that the EU has agreed to re-examine “the EU-Israel Association Agreement”, which forms the basis of the bloc’s trade ties with Israel. Meanwhile, the Times is reporting that Donald Trump is also growing increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu.

A report published in The Lancet has found that adolescents and young children have never been unhealthier. The National Geographic reports that this generation is facing unique threats on a scale never seen before. The article says that teenagers are having to grapple with the influence of new global technologies. It says that today’s adolescents are the “first cohort of humans who will live their entire life experiencing the growing reverberations of climate change”. The Guardian says that half a billion young people will be obese or overweight by 2030.

A local newspaper in Chicago has come under fire for an AI mishap. The Chicago Sun-Times has just published a summer reading list with books that don’t exist. The tech news site 404 media was the first to report that AI had partially generated the list. Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun Times has issued a statement apologising to its readers.

Finally, The Hollywood Reporter brings very joyous news that Peppa Pig has a new baby sister Evie. Evie Pig will be making her screen debut on March 30.

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