Press Review

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.

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 20: Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's new book "Original Sin" shows that Joe Biden's cognitive decline was far more severe than portrayed. It comes as the Democrats are accused of covering for him during his presidency. Also, reactions after Britain and the EU sign agreements that effectively turn the page on Brexit. And, a sculpted bust of Jim Morrison, stolen from his Père Lachaise gravesite thirty-seven years ago turns up in a French police investigation!

The reactions are coming in thick and fast from the press this Tuesday after the publication of journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's book, "Original Sin". The book explores Joe Biden's mental and physical decline during his time as US president. It comes just days after the Bidens’ revealed that he has metastatic prostate cancer.

As Rolling Stone notes, the book claims that Biden’s cognitive decline was more severe behind the scenes than what was publicly visible. Furthermore, his inner circle actively engaged to cover up his diminishing memory. It’s prompting much soul searching within the Democrat Party, Rolling Stone says. The authors have also faced backlash for not focusing on Biden’s presidency while conservatives accuse the Democrats of a major cover up. 

For the conservative Wall Street Journal, the book reveals a "conspiracy in plain view". Democrat elites and the media couldn’t or wouldn’t see what everyone else saw: "a doddering, senescent president who was frequently incoherent and rambling". The paper adds that "an existential meltdown over Trump made Democrats cling to Biden as a talisman. This talisman that in the end was an almighty curse." The Washington Post has published readers' letters to the editors which paint a similar picture of outrage. One reader says it’s time for Democrats to move on, find new candidates and relegate baby boomers to history. Another says Joe and Jill Biden and the Democrats owe the public an apology. The Economist offers a more tempered viewpoint, saying that Biden did not decline alone but that his party and the press lost altitude along with him.

There are mixed reactions from the British papers this Tuesday after the EU and Britain shook hands on a deal concerning defence, fisheries and energy. The Independent is triumphant: Britain and the EU have turned a page with this Brexit reset deal, the paper declares on its front page. The Financial Times calls it a showpiece summit, hailing this first step towards the reconstruction of trade links between the two parties. It comes nine years after that fateful Brexit referendum vote. The Guardian says in this analysis piece that there are clear benefits but political risks for Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He recognised for the first time yesterday something his predecessors denied for years: that Brexit has damaged Britain. This exposes him to the risk of being accused of betrayal by his rivals and possibly voters.

Not everyone feels this is a victory, however. The pro-Brexit papers are furious. "Kiss goodbye to Brexit, the Daily Telegraph says sarcastically on its front page today, with a picture of Starmer and EU Commission President embracing each other. The Daily Express says that Starmer’s ABJECT SURRENDER is a betrayal to Brexit. The paper is particularly angry over the fisheries deal. It says that in 2016, Britons votes to take back control of its fishing industry ... yesterday’s deal will undo all of that. The Sun chooses to go with a fishing pun: Britain is done up like a kipper, it says on its front page.

Here in France, the government is facing scrutiny over its plan to build a mega prison in French Guiana. This story garnered a lot of attention in France on the weekend and now in the international press. It was first reported on the weekend when French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced plans to build a max security wing during a visit to the overseas department and region. Weekend paper Journal du Dimanche reported that the prison wing would be reserved for Islamic terrorists and drug traffickers. The prison would be near the notorious Devil’s Island, to where prisoners were sent by Napoleon Third in the 1800s. The announcement sparked outcry by Guyanese MPs, who called the decision insulting and disrespectful, The Guardian reports.

The Doors frontman Jim Morrison knew a thing a thing or two about prison, having been sent to prison in 1967 for disrupting public order. He died four years later in Paris where he was buried at the Père Lachaise cemetery. For Morrison’s 10th death anniversary, Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin sculpted a bust in his honour at his gravesite. For seven years, it became a symbolic tribute – fans graffitied the bust, chipped off parts of it to keep as a souvenir. Then it was stolen in 1988. Now 37 years later, French police came across the marble bust while carrying out a totally unrelated fraud investigation. No word yet on who did it, where it’s been hiding for nearly forty years and whether it’ll be returned to Jim’s gravesite, Rolling Stone reports.

Finally, The Times reports that you can now register for wedding gifts at Tescos, Britain’s biggest supermarket chain. Among the choices are the really useful but totally unromantic bundle of luxury toilet paper, kitchen rolls, bin bags, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. According to Tesco, newlyweds would rather practical products than fancy ones these days. You can blame the high cost of living for that!

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 19: The Sunday Times shows a map leaked by diplomats proposing to divide the Gaza Strip into military zones. Also, papers react to pro-European candidate’s win in Romanian elections. Next, the "eternal second" French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau is the new head of the French conservatives. And finally, the polarising love of the Brits: from hating seagulls to spoiling their dogs. 

The British daily The Independent reported that Israel has started a “major new Gaza ground offensive. The paper says that the ground operation was announced after indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar didn’t show much progress. Over the weekend, the Sunday Times reported that the Gaza Strip could be divided into military zones. It based its reporting on maps leaked by diplomats that showed three civilian zones divided by military areas. “Civilians would be forbidden to travel between the sections without permission,” writes the paper, adding that the proposal would prevent Palestinians from moving freely throughout the enclave. That means that Palestinians would be separated from their land and families. 

Next, moving on to Super Sunday – elections this weekend were held in Poland, Portugal and Romania. The pro-European mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, defeated far-right candidate George Simion. Simion is a “nationalist aligned with President Trump, who had been seen as the front-runner,” writes the New York Times. The article calls the win a “setback for Europe’s surging nationalist forces” that will likely “calm fears in Europe”. Politico focuses on the different reactions after the election: "Tate bro tears and EU delight", the headline reads. Andrew and Tristan Tate are popular misogynist influencers who were implicated in a vast investigation into human trafficking and rape in Romania. After Dan’s win, Tristan tweeted “Romania we had a good run”. But for the European Union, Dan’s win is a “huge relief”, writes Politico. In an editorial, Romanian newspaper Bursa writes that “Romania avoided regime change but not systemic crisis”. The country is now entering “a period of fragile transition”.

There has also been Romanian flag controversy on social media. The right-wing candidate, George Simion, seems to have mixed up his own national flag. During the exit polls, he wanted to tweet “I am the new president of Romania” using the flag emoji, but he put the one of Chad instead. The flags are fairly similar, the difference is in the colour shades. That didn’t stop many social media users from making fun of him online. One tweet says, “Chad elects Simion as president – Romania breathes a sigh of relief.” 

In France, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was chosen to lead the French conservative party with more than 70 percent of the vote. Les Républicains is also the party of former Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac when it was known as UMP. French right-wing paper Le Figaro writes that he is the “new hope of the right” and that his victory will help reinforce his reputation “two years away from the presidential election”. The French daily Le Parisien calls the interior minister “the eternal second” saying that up until now, Retailleau has always played a supporting role but now he will be on the front line.

And in the United Kingdom, seagull attacks have risen. The Daily Star reports that "raging gulls" have assaulted half of the British population, or some 35 million "victims" per year. The Brits seem to hate seagulls, but that’s not at all the case when it comes to dogs. The Sunday Times writes about Goodwoof – a festival like Glastonbury but for pampered dogs. It's a two-day event in West Sussex that proposes dog yoga, blow-dries and even tarot card readings that attracted more than 12,000 dogs this year.  

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 16: Romanians head to voting booths for the second round of presidential elections, which pit pro-Europe candidate Nicușor Dan against the populist, hard-right frontrunner George Simion. Who will prevail? Also: The New York Times looks at ground-breaking gene editing therapy which saved the life of an infant and could save many more. It also helps us find out why ginger cats are mostly male (it's a genetic thing).

Romanians head to the polls on Sunday for the second round of voting in a presidential election with huge repercussions for Europe, all because of one man: George Simion. The hard-right populist, a Trump-loving candidate, is tipped to be the winner of this closely fought election. He could take Romania in a new direction, away from the traditional pro-Brussels mainstream. Simion is on the cover of Politico magazine this week. Early polls show his centrist rival Nicusor Dan, the mathematician mayor of Bucharest, catching up, but it's too early to tell. Politico's news site explains that it's been an unusual presidential campaign. The election campaign has been fought largely on TV and social media – neither candidate has spent much time campaigning on the ground. Simion hasn't even been in the country and attended only one debate with his rival.  

Cotidianul, a Romanian daily, references the Politico cover story. It examines the similarities between Italy's Giorgia Meloni, a populist or neo-populist leader, and Simion. The two are most similar in terms of opening up their respective countries to the US. However, the article says that if Simion wins, he will discover, like Meloni, that populism as preached and populism as practiced are two different things – and this could affect his popularity within his own electorate. Romanian business paper Bursa sees Romanians as having a choice between "the plague and cholera". On its front page, it portray the two candidates in futurist outfits. The second round is perceived as a science fiction film, a Romanian-Russian production – in reference to Simion's closeness with the Kremlin.

French daily Le Monde, meanwhile, has published a report by two Romanian journalists on a road trip to meet the Romanian diaspora. More than 60 percent of the Romanian diaspora in Europe voted for Simion in the first round of elections. Journalists Elena Stancu and Cosmin Bumbut hit the road in a campervan, travelling around Europe to document the lives of Romanians who have left the country since it joined the EU. It's believed that two to five million Romanians live in Western Europe. Life is not always easy for them: many take precarious jobs in which they are exploited; a common criticism by Simion.

In some good news for science, an infant boy born with a rare genetic disorder has been healed in groundbreaking gene-editing treatment. KJ, a nine-month-old boy, was born with a genetic disorder that affects one in 1.3 million babies. His parents had a choice: palliative care or cutting-edge technology. They chose the latter. KJ has become the first patient to receive custom gene-editing treatment. The New York Times explains that his disorder was the result of a single incorrect DNA letter in the human genome. Researchers concocted an infusion, covered in fatty lipid molecules which were sent to the liver. Inside the lipids were instructions to command the cells to produce an enzyme that edits the gene. The revolutionary research was built on decades of federally funded research. The problem with rare disorders is that it's not viable for companies to spend time and money on specific treatments. However, this technology can be customised and forgoes long years of development and testing. It offers hope, notably to many people suffering from rare genetic disorders.

Finally: new research in The Times of London has shed light on why 80 percent of ginger cats are male. And it's due to genetics! The ginger colour is caused by a ARHGAP 36 gene within pigment cells. In other mammals like orangutans and humans, the chances of being ginger are pretty much 50-50 because the genetic disruption that leads to the orange colour takes place earlier. In cats, though, it happens on the X chromosome. A male cat (XY), would only need one variant to be ginger whereas the female (XX) chromosome needs two. This explains why most ginger cats are male! 

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 15: We look at a crucial court ruling in EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's "Pfizergate" scandal. But first, Hungary's government examines a bill that would allow it to shut down media or NGOs considered a threat to national security. Plus, Australian researchers find that Barbie's feet have become flatter over time and it's linked to her growing independence!

The Hungarian government is considering an extremely repressive law. There seems to be little interest in the main Hungarian newspapers – except in Telex, one of the last independent news sites in the country. And for good reason: the government is mulling a law that would allow it to monitor, penalise and possibly shut down all independent media and NGOs deemed a threat to national sovereignty. In other words, as Telex notes wryly, the Fidesz party's new bill is similar to the one that has served Russian President Vladimir Putin well in building a dictatorship. Radio Free Europe notes that this bill follows a series of similar repressive moves in the country. In March, Prime Minister Viktor Orban cracked down on journalists and politicians who receive foreign funding. Last month, a constitutional amendment banned public displays of homosexuality and gender diversity, while allowing police to use facial recognition technology. The timing of this bill is particularly interesting. As the Guardian notes, Orban's bill is a move to crack down on dissent ahead of elections in Hungary next year. It comes amid the rising popularity of the Tisza party, headed by Orban's former ally Peter Magyar, who could pose an unprecedented challenge.

Staying in Europe, a tribunal has handed down a verdict against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the Pfizergate scandal. French paper Libération takes us through the scandal, which came to light in 2021 after The New York Times published an article about the negotiations of the biggest ever EU vaccine contract with Pfizer. During the first few months of 2021, von der Leyen exchanged several SMS with Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, in the negotiation of a multi-billion-euro contract for Covid vaccines. For its article about the negotiations, The New York Times made an official request for the SMS, but the EU Commission denied the request. It offered various unclear explanations, saying the messages had the disappearing message function or were deleted. The EU's general court ruled yesterday that von der Leyen failed in her obligation to be transparent. As Politico notes, it raises very interesting issues about the legitimacy of SMS and WhatsApp messages as official documents. The judge's "bombshell ruling", as Politico puts it, indicates that the Commission was wrong to deny access to the messages. The Commission says the messages were too boring to count as documents. The judgment suggests that text messages should be considered official documents, but it’s not at all binding. Public access to officials' SMS will mostly likely continue to not be granted freely.

Finally, we discover a fascinating study led by Australian researchers about Barbie's feet! According to The Conversation, Australian podiatrists were particularly interested in Barbie's feet after a memorable scene from the 2023 film. They decided to study the shape of her feet from 1959 to 2024 – that's 2,750 Barbies in total. What they found is fascinating: basically Barbie's high-heeled feet became flatter over the decades, something that appears to mirror broader societal changes. Barbie ditched her high-heeled posture the more she climbed the career ladder. In the 1960s, you only had tip-toed Barbies. By the 2020s, only about 40 percent wore heels. As Barbie became more diverse and inclusive, but also more athletic and representative in male-dominated fields, her feet flattened. It suggests a correlation between flat-footed Barbie and her emancipation from societal constraints!

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 14: French papers are slightly unsure of what to make of President Emmanuel Macron's three-hour interview on national television. Also, a recent report on the risk of famine in Gaza continues to make front pages, as Israel's aid blockade continues. Next, Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia is scrutinised by American journalists and cartoonists alike. Finally, a maverick mallard has been caught by a speeding camera in Switzerland.

Emmanuel Macron's Tuesday night TV address has left most of the French press a little confused. Le Figaro says that the president tried to defend his record. L'Opinion is also describing it as Macron on the defensive. The president had been relatively discreet in the French media recently. The paper says the interview was a very inconclusive end to Macron's media diet. La Provence is also unsure of what the president's message was. The paper says his interview was "without horizon nor solution". Aujourd'hui en France says that Macron seemed "powerless" after three hours spent defending his eight years in office, without providing much insight on the rest of his mandate.

A UN-backed report published by experts on food security in Gaza has been widely covered in the press and features on front pages this Wednesday. Le Temps in Switzerland features a cartoon by Chapatte on its front page and reads: "In Gaza, children are also killed by hunger". The front page of L'Humanité is quite distressing and it accuses Israel of using hunger as a weapon of war. The BBC warns that the entire Gaza population is at critical risk of famine. The article says that aid groups have said the blockade could be a war crime and that it amounts to a policy of starvation. The New York Times, meanwhile, reveals that Israeli officers have privately admitted that Gaza is on the brink of starvation.

Donald Trump is in Saudi Arabia on the first leg of his Middle East Tour. The Saudi paper Arab News is celebrating the "landmark visit" and highlighting Trump's promise to lift sanctions on Syria. The American press is unsurprisingly slightly more critical of his visit. The New York Times says that although Trump said he had secured $600 billion in Saudi deals, the details provided by the White House were vague and totalled less than half that number. Politico is looking at the star-studded cast in attendance during Trump's visit. It says that three dozen American business leaders were invited by the Saudis. Trump had said that the primary goal of his visit was to extend American business in the region. But the Guardian tells us that while the true value of Saudi investments in the US economy remain hazy, the Saudis' deals with the Trump family business are more obvious. A cartoon in The Telegraph illustrates Trump collecting deals for himself. The Times also has a cartoon that makes light of the apparent double purpose of Trump's trip. The Washington Post is similarly insinuating in its cartoon of the day that the US president is available for purchase.

Finally, an unusual suspect is on the loose after breaking the speed limit for the second time in Switzerland. The Guardian is reporting on this piece of fowl play: a duck has been snapped flying at 52 km/h in a 30 km/h zone in Switzerland.

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