Press Review

PRESS REVIEW – October 28, 2025: First, the trial of Brigitte Macron's online harassers has started in Paris, with 10 people stand accused of spreading fake news and fuelling conspiracy theories about the French first lady. Next, Hurricane Melissa is made worse by climate change. Also, hundreds of Turkish referees have been caught betting on football matches. Finally, a surfboard is reunited with its owner after years of drifting.

Ten people are on trial after being accused of cyber-harassment against French First Lady Brigitte Macron. Le Figaro takes a look at how the accused are defending themselves. Liberation says the defendants are "sinking into absurdity". FranceInfo explains who the online abusers are. La Croix has an analysis piece that looks at how to stop conspiracy theories online.  

Elsewhere, Hurricane Melissa is heading towards Jamaica and widely expected to cause a lot of damage. PBS discusses how climate change is fuelling Melissa's ferocity. There are also a number of other climate change stories in the press. The French independent paper Reporterre talks about what they call "601 climate bombs". The Guardian, meanwhile, has an article on uncontacted Indigenous peoples who are at risk of dying out within the next 10 years. The New York Times discusses a leaked memo by Bill Gates, who seems to have shifted his perspective a little and warns against a "doomsday outlook".

In Turkey, an extraordinary sports story has been rocking the world of football. Libération reveals that a five-year investigation has found that hundreds of Turkish football referees have betting accounts. The head of the Turkish football federation has said that they will face disciplinary action and many risk years-long bans from refereeing.  

Finally, The New Zealand Herald is covering the story of a long-lost surfboard that has been reunited with its owner after more than a year of floating around the oceans. 

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, October 27, 2025: First, the Louvre heist continues to make headlines as papers wonder if it might have been an inside job. Next, President Javier Milei wins big in Argentina's midterm parliamentary elections. Also, bear attacks are on the rise in Japan. Finally, the cutest Halloween tradition sees sausage dogs flood the streets of Shropshire.

The Louvre heist is back on the front pages after two suspects were arrested in connection to the theft of France's crown jewels. Le Figaro says that police are closing in on the robbers. Le Parisien has a photo of the investigators gathering evidence, and says that the suspects were experienced thieves who were previously known to French authorities. Le Monde is also going through all the new evidence. It says that police used more than 150 DNA samples and security camera footage to track the criminals down. The New York Times, meanwhile, suggests the heist might be an inside job. It features interviews with three former jewellery thieves who believe the robbers had to have known someone on the inside to get away with the daring heist. The Telegraph also says that detectives have uncovered evidence that suggests it could have been an inside job. 

In Argentina, President Javier Milei has won crucial midterm elections. The Argentinian paper Clarin calls it "Milei's surprise victory". The conservative paper La Nacion explains the reasons behind his triumph. El Liberal asks if the result will feed into the government's national agenda. The Wall Street Journal says that Milei has won a mandate for his Free Market Revolution.

Elsewhere, Japan is seeing a rise in deadly bear attacks, which are haunting the country and resurrecting century-old nightmares, according to the South China Morning Post. The Guardian reports that Japanese authorities have released a list of tips on how to survive bear encounters – tips which might be useful.

Terrifying monsters have been haunting Shropshire, too, during Shrewsbury's annual sausage dog Halloween walk. 

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, October 24: Papers react to Donald Trump's sanctions on Russia's energy sector. Next, NBA head coach and player were arrested in a takedown of gambling operations. Finally, we take a look at the finalists of the Comedy Wildlife awards.

Papers are reacting to Trump's fresh sanctions on Russia's top oil firms. The New York Times says that after “months of restraint,” Trump moves to blacklist Lukoil and Rosneft. The paper says it will hit Russia “where it hurts”. The paper says that, however, the sanctions “may not shift the course of Russia’s war in Ukraine,” even if Russia is facing deepening economic problems. An opinion piece in the British paper The Guardian says that these new sanctions “will not stop Russia”. The article says that the sanctions “increase the pressure,” but after years of sanctions, Russia has adjusted. It reminds us that the EU is preparing its 19th package of sanctions, but since China is backing Moscow, they are less effective. The opinion piece concludes that these sanctions will not end the war any time soon. What is needed, instead, is a more open negotiating position from the West, and a deal “somewhat more favourable to Russia than the West would prefer”. The Wall Street Journal explains why the sanctions are coming just now. Finally, The Moscow Times cites Russia's foreign ministry that said Russia has now developed a "strong immunity" to sanctions. 

Next: NBA head coach Chauncey Billups and NBA Miami Heat player Terry Rozier were arrested in a takedown of two gambling operations. They were arrested, along with 30 other people, on two different accounts: sports betting and Mafia-backed poker schemes, reports the Associated Press. The coach was charged with scamming high-stakes card games. A scam involving the Cosa Nostra crime family. Terry Rozier was accused in a separate scheme of using private information about players to win NBA bets.

The first case is a seven-million dollar poker scam. They used a combination of high-tech methods and old-school gambling tricks, explains The New York Post. The indictment said that the years-long scam depended on “advanced wireless technologies” and a network of operators who monitored the games remotely and communicated with handlers inside the room. Card shuffling machines took the center stage of the scam - they were set up to secretly transmit exactly what cards each player would get in their hand, even if the player cuts the deck, reports Wired Magazine. It all works with a tiny hacking device slipped into the shuffling machine and a camera that observes every card in the deck before it’s dealt. Then, the information is transferred via Bluetooth. The sports columnist of The Washington Post says that it chips away from the "most precious asset games have: integrity". He says that the magic of sports is built on competition and unpredictability, and when that’s gone, its value disappears. 

Finally, the finalists of Nikon’s comedy wildlife photography awards have been announced, reports The Guardian. We take a look at some of our favourites before the announcement of the winner on the 9th of December. 

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, October 23: Papers discuss US President Donald Trump's expanding operation in the Caribbean Sea. Next: Iranian woman held in France conditionally released in a potential prison swap. Also: The Islamic State is resurging again in Syria. Finally, we take a look at elephant migration and its challenges... 

US President Donald Trump’s war on drugs with South America’s cartels is intensifying. “Trump beats the drums of war for direct action in Venezuela”, writes The Washington Post. There are dozens of warships, planes and thousands of US troops newly deployed in the Caribbean Sea. Trump declared an “armed conflict” with drug trafficking groups. The article says that the US president seems determined to start a new war. Some say that the ultimate goal is to topple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The New York Times reports that the US also struck boats in the Pacific, expanding the operation. And after the Pacific, the US President threatened to expand the drug war to land, reports the Miami Herald, citing Trump. His strikes have been described as “extrajudicial killings,” but the president said he has the right to attack, calling it a national security issue. 

Donald Trump also directly accused Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president, of being a “drug trafficking leader”. An editorial in El País says that “Colombia and the US need each other”. It says that for decades, the relationship between the two countries has been a paradigm of strategic alliance in Latin America and what’s happening now was “unthinkable just a few years ago”. The editorial calls the escalation between Petro and Trump “not only a diplomatic dispute” but a “profound deterioration of trust and strategic calculation”. "Both sides must slow down," writes El País. 

Next: Iranian woman Mahdieh Esfandiari, held in France, was conditionally released on Wednesday. She was arrested in France in February and accused of promoting terrorism on social media, reports Le Monde. The paper writes that France and Iran have discussed her release in exchange for Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, a French couple detained by Iran in May. The decision to free her under judicial supervision was confirmed by the prosecutors’ office, although it had urged the court to keep her detained. Her lawyer confirmed that the prosecutor "strongly opposed” her release but said that the argument was accepted and the court considered that the pre-trial detention was too long. Iranian state-owned Press TV writes that she is an academic who was detained for pro-Palestinian activism. Her arrest drew sharp criticism in Iran, saying it was politically motivated and a violation of free expression. 

Also: The Wall Street Journal reports that the Islamic State is rising again in Syria, exploiting a reduced American presence after the collapse of the Assad regime. American and Kurdish military commanders said that the decentralized militant group is enlisting new recruits and widening its reach. The paper reminds that the Islamic State group became known for public beheadings and the enslavement of women. The Conversation reports that although Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, promised democracy, women are mostly excluded from parliament. In Syria’s recent elections, women won six seats from a total of 210.

Finally, we take a look at a report on elephant migration in Kenya by The Guardian. Each year, elephants wander huge distances, following the seasonal rains; they’ve been doing so for thousands of years. But high-speed roads are disrupting their migration. The article says that some elephants will manage to pass, but others are scared off by the traffic and noise. A proposed highway extension could cut off their migration routes forever. Another problem is clashes between humans and animals, which sometimes lead to deaths. The elephants’ migration routes are often close to where people live. Sometimes people’s homes are even built in the middle of migration routes. And when they have crops there, the animals usually try to get some food, sometimes becoming aggressive with humans. Conservation organisations are working with local people, trying to find a middle ground. Beehive fences, for example, scare off elephants without hurting them and help pollination of the crops. The good news is that local people still want to make cohabitation work.

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, October 22: Papers discuss the cancellation of the Trump-Putin summit. The Moscow Times looks at the current state of the Russian army. Next, an investigation reveals that NATO is involved in a million-dollar corruption scandal. Also: a report reveals the dark side of the business of surrogacy. On another note, mosquitoes have been found in Iceland, in a first for the country. Finally, we take a look at the world's biggest cat show.

After the announcement that the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was cancelled, Trump said that it only risked being a "waste of time". The Kyiv Post says the "sudden reversal" casts fresh doubt on Trump's push for a quick peace deal in Ukraine. The paper quotes an expert who says there are "no miracles in diplomacy", only "the successful execution of a well-planned strategy". An opinion piece in The Washington Post writes that "Russians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity". It estimates that the "collapse" seems to have been triggered by Monday's call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said that Russia can't simply stop fighting because that would mean that Russians "are forgetting the root causes of the conflict".

But the situation on the frontline doesn't seem to be advancing. Russia's summer wasn’t what the Kremlin had imagined, according to an opinion piece in The Moscow Times. The paper calls it a "strategic defeat for the Kremlin". Despite the fact that the Russian army outnumbered Ukrainian forces by three to sixfold in certain areas, it only managed to achieve "limited tactical gains". The opinion piece says that after the "obvious summer failure", Russia is now betting on "terror tactics" for the fall season, like terrorising civilians with drone attacks on energy and gas facilities. The paper adds that the Russian army is also currently facing the dilemma of how to counter Ukrainian long-range strikes. But beyond frontline strategy, there’s another issue. The Moscow Times reports that Russian researchers are now starting to publish data showing that Russian soldiers are confronting PTSD, alcohol abuse and suicidal thoughts after fighting in Ukraine. The paper says that the issue has been discussed before by Western media and researchers, but it's the first time that researchers within Russia are talking about the scale of the problem. The Moscow Times also says that notions of masculinity that are deeply rooted in Russian culture stop many men from seeking professional psychological help. They also fear it could harm their military career.  

Next, a multimedia investigation reveals that NATO is getting involved in a million-euro corruption scandal. It's a collaboration between French paper La Lettre, Belgian newspapers Le Soir and Knack and Dutch investigative media Follow The Money. It reveals that agents and consultants of NATO's support and procurement agency NSPA are suspected of having received millions of euros connected to purchases of explosives and drones. Follow the Money writes that several suspects were arrested across Europe in May. But a few months later, the US dropped charges against four of them, despite what the paper calls strong evidence. Follow the Money quotes experts who say that the American withdrawal from the case shows that the Trump administration "does not want to prosecute corruption".

Next, The Wall Street Journal reports on the dark side of the business of surrogacy. The paper calls it a "multibillion-dollar business" where "sometimes the money goes missing". Couples often use escrow accounts to handle the large amounts of money they have to deal with. But these companies, part of an industry that's loosely regulated, handle millions of dollars with almost no oversight. There are reports of escrow companies using their clients' money to fund a recording studio, a yoga business or buy bitcoin. Millions were stolen by one employee to feed an online gambling habit. The paper says that the lack of regulation often means that parents and surrogates can't recover their funds if the money goes missing. 

An unexpected species has been found in Iceland: mosquitoes. That’s a first for the country, which was one of the few places in the world without the insects; the other being Antarctica. The Guardian says that this shows that global warming is making Iceland more hospitable for insects. Glaciers are also collapsing, inviting fish from warmer climates. The article says that Iceland is warming "at four times the rate of the rest of the northern hemisphere". 

Finally, nearly 10,000 people and 550 cats have attended one of the world's largest cat shows in Cleveland in the search for a "once-in-a-lifetime" cat. National Geographic reports that it was organised by the Cat Fancier Association – the world’s largest registry of pedigreed cats. 

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, October 21: French papers react to former president Nicolas Sarkozy's imprisonment. Also, the posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's victims, is out. Next, a scientific breakthrough helps blind people see again. Finally, "water sommeliers" try to convince customers that water is worth up to $100 a bottle.

The imprisonment of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is dominating the front pages in France. A former head of state in prison is a first in the history of France’s Fifth Republic and a first in Europe, according to Courrier Picard. The paper calls it an “unprecedented” sentence that’s “a sign of democratic health”. Sarkozy “in the shadows”, reads the front page of left-wing paper Libération, which believes the event has been “over-dramatised”. Right-wing paper Le Figaro calls it a “personal ordeal” for Sarkozy and a “political shock” for the country. The paper reports that the former president is determined to “regain his freedom quickly”. The newspaper says that Sarkozy is a victim of “judicial despotism” and that he is accused on an “unfindable crime”. Le Figaro interviewed Sarkozy two days before his imprisonment, with Sarkozy saying that his life is “a novel”. In a sentimental description, the paper says that this Tuesday he will experience the “spectacle of humiliation” – quite the opposite of what he lived as president.

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron received Sarkozy at the Elysée Palace. Macron considered the move “normal, on a human level,” “given the context,” Le Monde reports. Meanwhile, France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has said that he will visit Sarkozy in prison, to ensure proper “security conditions”. He added that the minister of justice can visit “any prison and any inmate whenever he wants”. Communist paper L’Humanité says that Sarkozy has been given special treatment that highlights the “culture of privilege" in the prison system. The paper says that Darmanin is seemingly not concerned about other pressing issues like record prison overcrowding. 

Turning to other news, the posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's victims, is published this Tuesday. It’s called “Nobody’s Girl” and was finished shortly before her death in April, when she took her own life. She called herself “Epstein’s perfect victim”, The Times reports. When she was only 17 years old, Prince Andrew was one of many men accused of sexually abusing her. He denied the allegations and said that the now-infamous photo of him, Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell was fabricated. In a review, The Telegraph calls the memoir “a stomach-turning study in depravity”, adding that it's a book that "truly matters”. The Telegraph says that while reading it, there are times where you think: “How much can a person endure?” The Guardian focuses on the part where the book reveals that Andrew tried to hire “internet trolls” to hassle Giuffre. In the book, she repeats her allegations that she was forced to have sex with the prince on three different occasions. The memoir comes amid “growing pressure for Prince Andrew to be officially stripped of his titles”, the paper notes.

Next, a "revolutionary" microchip implant is helping blind people see again, The Times reports. The chip inserted in the back of the patient's eyeball is connected to high-tech glasses containing a video camera that sends signals to the brain. Some 84 percent of the trial group – older people with age-related blindness – “could read letters, numbers and words” within one year of the operation. The article says that the research is an example of how tech devices can lead to medical breakthroughs. 

Finally, not all water is made equal. High-end water is part of the fine-dining experience of some restaurants, The Wall Street Journal tells us. The article follows Magdalena Kalley, who went to a Michelin-starred restaurant in Los Angeles for its famous water menu. It’s a detailed book describing each water’s origin and flavour profile. Kalley shares that she is “obsessed” with French Evian water and its “taste and texture”. The “water sommelier” who created the menu says the restaurant makes about $100,000 a year in water sales. But not everyone is buying the marketing, as fancy water sometimes reaches a pricey $100 per bottle.

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 – October 20, 2025: First, the unbelievable robbery at the Louvre Museum is all over the French papers. The details of the brazen seven-minute heist are also being discussed internationally. Next, the use of swearing has been underestimated, according to scientists. A Guardian article looks at the functions and uses of "bad words". Finally, the latest sumo wrestling championship in London has won the hearts of sports fans worldwide.

The unbelievable burglary at the Louvre is all over the French papers. Aujourd’hui en France calls it the "heist of the century". La Dépêche du Midi just asks: who stole the Louvre jewels? The event is widely discussed in the inside pages. Aujourd'hui en France quotes a museum worker who describes the vulnerability to burglaries, which are on the rise. Le Monde takes a look back at other burglaries at the Louvre. Le Figaro questions the security infrastructure at the Louvre, noting that an "embarrassing report" warned about the Louvre's delay in updating security standards. Le HuffPost says that the robbery is being politically instrumentalised. 

The burglary is making front pages around the world. In Belgium, Le Soir also calls it the "heist of the century". La Republica talks of a "big hit" and says that Napoleon's jewels could interest buyers in Russia, China or even the United States. La Stampa, meanwhile, talks of the ghosts of the Louvre. El Pais has a photo of the industrial lift the robbers used to break into the museum's Apollo Gallery. Meanwhile, The New York Times looks at the "seven brazen minutes of the heist". The Telegraph says that this robbery has cemented Paris as the "home of the heist".

The Guardian has a long read about the usefulness of swearing. Scientists say that the power of swear words has been overlooked for too long. One study found, for instance, that people are able to keep their hands in icy water much longer if they are able to swear. 

Finally, The Times reports that Hoshoryu from Mongolia has won the Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It is the first time in the last 20 years that a sumo tournament has taken place outside of Japan. The competition has taken the internet by storm, mainly because of the photos of the Rikishi (sumo wrestlers) visiting the UK.

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, October 17: In rare comments, the head of Britain's MI5 warns that China is a daily national security threat, sparking outrage over why charges were dropped against two men accused of spying on Britain for China. Also: the first New York mayoral debate took place with the cost of living, rent and Israel taking centre stage. Plus: the British Museum will roll out the pink carpet this weekend for its inaugural fundraising Pink Ball!

We start with a China spying scandal that’s dominating the British front pages. In rare public comments on Thursday, Ken McCallum, the head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, said that China poses a daily threat to British security, words echoed on the front of the Daily Mirror. His comments have now put pressure on British authorities – notably the government and prosecutors – to explain why charges levelled against two men, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, for spying for China were dropped just before they were due to stand trial. The case was widely considered a slam dunk but the Daily Mirror explains that prosecutors believed China was not considered an enemy of the UK at the time that these state secrets were alleged divulged to Beijing, which was 2021-23. As The Wall Street Journal explains, the British opposition has used this case to attack PM Keir Starmer, accusing him of pandering to the Chinese state by dropping the case to expand bilateral trade ties, something Starmer has vehemently denied.

The story is garnering lots of opinions in the editorial pages too. The Daily Mirror says the British government needs to decide where it stands on China: is it a foe or a trade friend? Meanwhile, the Chinese state-run press Global Times relays comments from Chinese ministries as vehemently denying the allegations of spying, while noting that the scandal has been turned into a "partisan brawl" in the UK.

In New York, the first debate between candidates in the mayoral election race took place on Thursday night. The vote pits the Democratic candidate and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani against former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent. The third candidate is the Republican Curtis Sliwa, founder of the unarmed crime prevention non-profit Guardian Angels. As The New York Times reminds us, the elections has huge stakes – the mayoral budget of New York is $100 billion and the mayor is in charge of running America’s largest school system and biggest local police department. The New York Times calls the first debate "bitter and combative". Mamdani attacked Cuomo on issues like affordable rent in New York City, while Cuomo tackled him over his limited political experience and his views on Israel. Mamdani is a fierce critic of Israel and was forced to reiterate his belief that Hamas should lay down its arms, after previously refusing to answer the question. The wide-ranging debate also asked candidates about their average grocery bill and rent and rather randomly, whether the candidates would participate in a New York parade!

However, it appears there was no clear winner from the debate. The Conservative tabloid New York Post deplores Mamdani's "vile views and worse politics". He flopped in the debate, it says, with his answers defensive and him appearing like a petulant graduate student. Nonetheless, it concedes that if Mamdani did badly, Cuomo did worse, failing to halt Mamdani's march to mayoralty in New York. Politico disagrees, however. The website declares Mamdani the winner of the debate, adding that there were no major slip-ups on his part and that he dominated much of the two-hour debate with his affable, calm demeanour.

Finally, this weekend the British Museum is hosting the inaugural Pink Ball, its equivalent of the Met Gala. The Times of London reports that some 800 guests will grace the pink carpet rolled out at the British Museum for the inaugural fundraising Pink Ball. Tickets will be sold for £2,000 each. It's the brainchild of Nicholas Cullinan, the director of the British Museum. He denies that it's just a copy of the Met Gala, saying the focus will be on the diversity of culture with guests from academia, film, literature, music, sports and politics. This year's theme is inspired by India, so Indian food will be served and the event co-hosted by Isha Ambani, an Indian businesswoman, with music provided by Anoushka Shankar.

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, October 16: Following the recent ceasefire deal, Palestinian detainees and Israeli hostages share harrowing accounts of their experiences. Also, Seoul reports that around a thousand South Koreans are being forced to work in “inhumane conditions” in Cambodia. Finally, a new scientific theory suggests that aliens may have simply given up trying to contact humans.

After the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees, more details are emerging about their treatment. The Guardian reports that Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti was assaulted by Israeli prison guards, according to his son, who said the family fears for his life. Barghouti was reportedly beaten unconscious by eight guards while being transferred between prisons.

Al Jazeera cites health officials in Gaza who say they found signs of torture on Palestinian bodies returned by Israel. According to the medics, many of the Palestinians were handcuffed and blindfolded, suggesting that so-called “field executions” may have taken place. Similar accounts have been published by the Palestine Chronicle, describing systematic torture and a “brutal system of repression inside Israeli prisons”.

An opinion piece in the Israeli left-wing daily Haaretz asks, “Will Israelis one day say of their country’s atrocities: ‘I was against it’?” It argues that cruelty in Israeli society is becoming “ever more sophisticated to protect [its] spoils,” and that perhaps one day some will grasp the full scale of the atrocities committed in the Gaza Strip.

Similar horror stories have also been recounted by Israeli hostages. The Jerusalem Post reports on Rom Braslavski, who says he was forced to convert to Islam and fast during Ramadan, held in solitary confinement for two years, and subjected to severe psychological abuse. The Times of Israel quotes the families of freed hostages as saying that “the road to recovery is going to be a very long one,” painting a picture of starvation, suffering, and both physical and psychological trauma.

Turning to South Korea, a scam scandal has shaken the country. Geo reports that around 1,000 South Koreans are being held captive and forced to work in online scam centres in Cambodia, according to Seoul. The news comes just weeks after the death of a South Korean student, linked to the criminal networks controlling these centres.

The Korea Herald says that Seoul has banned travel to scam-related areas of Cambodia amid a surge in reported “abductions”. Authorities also announced plans to repatriate around 60 South Koreans “detained in Cambodia”. The Cambodia Daily reports that the two governments have agreed to cooperate in dismantling the cybercrime networks. The paper adds that there are growing calls for “regional cooperation to dismantle human trafficking and cyber-scam networks” across Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos.

The Korea Times describes the ordeal of those rescued. One man said he was lured by false online job offers promising high salaries and a better life in Cambodia, but on arrival was taken directly to a voice-phishing operation. When he refused to cooperate, he was beaten with metal pipes. Another man said he was forced to work with his ankles chained and handcuffed to his bed at night. The captives were identified only by room numbers – such as 1323. After several failed escape attempts, they eventually made it out.

Amid growing tensions, Cambodia is seeking to ease the situation. The South China Morning Post reports that the country’s interior ministry released a social media video featuring a South Korean woman praising Cambodia as a “peaceful and warm country”, saying that what appears in the media “isn’t the full picture”.

Finally, from Earth to space: The Guardian reports on a new theory dubbed “bored aliens”. The idea suggests that if extraterrestrial civilisations exist, perhaps they’ve simply stopped trying to contact Earth. The researchers behind the theory propose that these aliens may have explored the cosmos before embracing what they call “radical mundanity”. In other words, they may be more advanced than humans – but have either lost interest or lack the technology to reach out. This contrasts sharply with other theories suggesting that aliens are so advanced it’s beyond our capacity to perceive them.

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, October 15: Papers focus on French PM Sébastien Lecornu’s suspension of the pension reform, with some describing it as a “surrender to the left”. Meanwhile, in Russia, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for his first visit since the fall of the Assad regime. Also, Die Zeit publishes an exclusive on the life of former dictator Bashar al-Assad. Finally, Donald Trump criticises Time magazine’s “really weird” choice of cover photo.

After French PM Sébastien Lecornu’s policy speech yesterday, the spotlight is on the suspension of the pension reform. The Times headlines: “French PM freezes Macron’s state pension reform”, noting that Macron’s political legacy now hangs in the balance. The news dominates French front pages. Left-wing Libération welcomes the “major decision”, acknowledging it “doesn’t resolve the political crisis” but removes, for now, the threat of a no-confidence vote and potential dissolution. Right-wing Le Figaro criticises Lecornu for “sacrificing the pension reform to satisfy the Socialist Party”, calling the concession “huge” and a reversal of one of Macron’s few second-term reforms.

An editorial in The Wall Street Journal brands the suspension a “surrender to the left”, defending the reform as “modest” despite backlash. The increase in retirement age from 62 to 64 would still have left France below the European average. French Catholic daily La Croix says “the totems of Macronism are wavering”, adding that political instability since September has widened the gap between the French public and their representatives.

In Russia, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is expected on Wednesday for talks with Vladimir Putin, marking his first visit since Bashar al-Assad’s ousting. Saudi paper Arab News reports on the meeting, while Lebanese L’Orient-Le Jour highlights a thaw in relations, describing the new Syrian regime’s rapprochement with Moscow as “a useful card in building the new Syria”. The article notes how former jihadist leader Al-Sharaa is now engaging with Assad’s longtime ally, reflecting improved ties after months of mistrust.

Meanwhile, Assad himself remains in Moscow under Kremlin restrictions, according to German newspaper Die Zeit. Dubbed “The Silent Butcher”, Assad lives quietly in luxury apartments in a skyscraper complex known as “Moscow City”, avoiding politics and public appearances. Despite his low profile, he reportedly survived a poisoning attempt last month, per the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Finally, Time magazine’s latest cover praises Trump’s Gaza ceasefire, but the former US president is displeased. The Washington Post reports Trump criticised the “really weird” cover image, saying the magazine “deserves to be called out.” Though he found the story “relatively good”, he called the picture “possibly the worst of all time”, continuing his long-standing fixation with Time covers, including his 2016 and 2024 “Person of the Year” editions.

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