Press Review

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, March 24: The Turkish and international papers react to the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival. Elsewhere, Chahinez Daoud's murderer goes on trial, as femicide continues to be a serious problem in France. Also, the Taiwanese president is taking a tougher stance on China. Finally, two campaigners are calling out a number of French bars, accusing them of not giving punters their money's worth.

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, March 21: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sends a warning to Vladimir Putin, insisting that the Russian leader should fear British nuclear weapons. Elsewhere, Ronen Bar is removed as the head of Israel's domestic intelligence agency, leading to protests and backlash against PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Also, it's the first ever World Day for Glaciers. Finally, Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry is elected the first ever female president of the International Olympic Committee.

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, March 20: The papers in the Arabic world react with anger as Israel resumes its bombardment of Gaza, although many of the Israeli dailies defend the move. Elsewhere, several candidates vie to be the new president of the International Olympic Committee, with the campaign turning increasingly sour. Finally, the blobfish completes an extraordinary comeback to be named New Zealand's "fish of the year".

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, March 19: We look at reactions in the press after US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr issues a rare rebuke of Donald Trump. Also: cartoonists react to Trump and Vladimir Putin's phone call on Ukraine. Finally, we discover the best of the best in British wildlife photography.

We begin with a very public spat between US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr and US President Donald Trump. As The Washington Post reports, it dates back to events over the weekend. Last Saturday, Chief Judge for the US District Court for DC James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to turn around an aircraft deporting alleged gang members to Venezuela. The Trump administration justified the flight by the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, previously invoked only during wartime. The planes continued to their destinations but the White House has said it did not defy the judge's directive. The order, though, prompted Trump to rant against Boasberg on social media, calling him a "radical left lunatic" who "should be impeached".

Throwing around the word "impeached" did not go down well in the US Supreme Court. In a statement, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr issued a sharp, rare rebuke that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. It's the most public battle between the two since 2018, as Politico notes.

The reaction in the press has been mixed, however. The Guardian'swriter argues that Judge Roberts, a conservative justice, has paved the way for the impunity that enabled Trump to run for and win a second term. Steven Greenhouse reminds us that Roberts, since becoming chief justice in 2005, has sought to boost corporate America and consolidate Republican power. He was also author of the "startling" ruling that gave presidents far-reaching immunity from prosecution last year. This also helped lay the groundwork for Trump’s increasingly authoritarian presidency. Greenhouse asks: how could Roberts not realise that this would only serve to embolden Trump even more?

The conservative US magazine National Review offers a different perspective, saying it’s quite possible that Trump's alleged noncompliance with the Boasberg order on the planes could be evidence in a future Democrat-led impeachment trial of Trump. If that were to happen, the chief justice would be presiding but he has now destroyed his impartiality with this statement. For that reason, the Review says it would have been better to refrain from publicly scolding the president.

We turn next to reaction from the illustrated press on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s Tuesday phone call on Ukraine peace talks. The announcement of a 30-day pause on bombing energy infrastructure is seen sceptically by Chapatte, the Swiss paper Le Temp’s cartoonist, who sees Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky being strangled by the telephone cord itself. Andy Bunday, meanwhile, sees a phone with limited options in the Oval Office. Press one to disarm Ukraine, press two to give away land, press three to give away power plants, press four to bar Ukraine from NATO.

One of the most visual cartoons is from Pete Songi, who evokes the "art of the dealski". He sees Vladimir Putin in his bathtub with a bath mat emblazoned with MYKRAINE, and the coalition of the killing, with a hockey helmet in the corner. Among the agreements between the two leaders is, bizarrely, that Russia and the US play a game of ice hockey, prompting British tabloid The Sun to ask "What the puck?"

Finally: we bring you the winners of the British Wildlife Photography awards. Simon Withyman won the Urban Wildlife category for his picture of a Bristol fox. Also in Bristol, John Waters won the Animal Behaviour category with a picture of fantastical speckled wood butterflies. One of the most striking snaps is from the winner of the Young Photographers category. Teenager Ben Lucas set up a GoPro camera inside an abandoned packet of chips and then waited to snap a gorgeous ground-view shot of pigeons approaching the leftover chips!

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, March 18: The Belgian and Rwandan press react very differently to a diplomatic spat between the two countries which had led to the expulsion of diplomats on both sides. Also: two astronauts struck in space for nine months prepare to head back to Earth. Plus, Ohtani fever hits Japan as the LA Dodgers and their Japanese superstar play two MLB games against the Chicago cubs in Tokyo.

We begin with the diplomatic spat between Belgium and Rwanda. The European Union imposed sanctions on three senior Rwandan military commanders and the head of the state mining agency after the offensive by M23 fighters in DR Congo. The M23 is comprised of Congolese Tutsis, as Belgian paper Le Soir notes. UN experts have noted that the M23 has benefited from logistic and military support by Rwanda, including drones. The Rwandan government has denied these allegations thus far. As a result: both Rwanda and Belgium have expelled diplomats from their respective countries in what Le Soir calls a violent but predictable break-up. In its editorial, the paper says the anger stems from the fact Brussels was at the forefront of the accusations against Rwanda. The paper adds: "The Rwandan President is wrong and he knows it. If anyone's territorial sovereignty is being violated, it’s that of Eastern Congo, which is rich in minerals and fertile land."

It's quite a different story from the Rwandan press which focuses on Rwandan President Paul Kagame. The New Times headlines on what Kagame has outlined as Western hypocrisy. One of Rwanda’s gripes is that it is accused of supporting the M23 rebels but the West has not condemned DR Congo, whom Rwanda accused of supporting another rebel group, the Hutu-led Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. For The New Times, the DFLR is a "genocidal" group. In its editorial, the Rwandan daily says instead of supporting efforts for lasting peace, Brussels has chosen to fuel tensions by backing the Kinshasa regime. It adds: "The people deserve a future shaped by peace, stability and regional cooperation. Not one dictated by the lingering shadows of colonial exploitation."

It's been nine months since NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams got stuck in space. They are finally heading back to Earth. What was meant to be an eight-day mission but Wilmore and William's stint in space lasted much longer – nine months. Their odyssey was plagued by technical problems and political controversy. NASA has relied on Elon Musk’s Space X to ferry crews to the space station since 2020. Musk says he offered to bring the astronauts earlier but was rebuffed by the Biden administration, The Washington Post reports, something the former president denies. The astronauts certainly put their time in space to good use. Williams conducted two space walks and now holds the record for total space walking time by a female astronaut: over 62 hours in her three-decade career! The British daily The Guardian looks at the physical toll of being stuck in space on the body. It’s not pretty: struggles with walking due to lack of gravity for extended periods of time, plus fluid buildup causing swollen eyeballs, dizziness and bad eyesight. Luckily these are mostly temporary conditions.

The LA Dodgers are playing the Chicago Cubs in a special Tokyo series starting this Tuesday. The New York Times notes that the games are part of the Major League Baseball’s ambitions to increase the popularity of baseball worldwide. The Dodgers and Cubs will play two season opening games today and tomorrow in Japan. The LA Dodgers' Japanese star Shohei Ohtani is the highest paid baseballer in the American league. Ohtani, The New York Times says, is Japan’s answer to Babe Ruth, a rare player who can pitch and hit at the highest level. The Japan Times reports that as Ohtani's teammates are discovering, he is revered in Japan and his face is everywhere – promoting green tea and sake, on trains and vending machines. With TV programmes tracking the team's flight path, talk shows talking about Ohtani's diet, fashion choices and home decor … and tickets selling for up to $10,000, Ohtani fever has well and truly gripped Tokyo as Japan prepares to welcome a national sporting hero back home!

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, March 17: British PM Keir Starmer says he is willing to station troops in Ukraine for years to come, while one medic on the frontline believes a ceasefire will never work. Also, Saudi Arabia is cracking down on so called “immoral activities”. Plus, domestic workers from Kenya are dying in droves in the Kingdom. Elsewhere, the US box office is faltering as one Chinese film smashes records. Finally, Chicago goes green once more for St. Patrick's Day.

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, March 14: We look at reactions from the European papers as Vladimir Putin says he's open to a ceasefire but says the conditions need to be reworked. For the press, the Russian President is dictating his terms. Also, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces sweeping changes to the National Health Service. And, a major breakthrough in research on Parkinson's disease. Finally, Donatella Versace will step down from the Versace fashion house after thirty years. 

Reactions from the European press over a proposed peace plan between Ukraine and Russia. President Vladimir Putin says he supports a US-brokered peace plan, in theory, without offering any guarantees. The feeling in the press is that he’s very much in control. French paper Liberation says a "cease-what" on its front page sarcastically. In its editorial, Libe notes that Putin was seen in military fatigues visiting Kursk earlier this week. He also appeared to make US envoy Steven Witkoff wait while he met with Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko. Putin continues to play his "deadly game of poker against the West," the daily says. 

For Le Figaro, it's the "yes, but" response of Putin that complicates Donald Trump’s hopes of brokering a ceasefire. The paper also picking up on Putin's behaviour in Kursk, as one who believes he is close to victory. Le Soir, the Belgian paper notes Putin plays the ambiguity card and keeps the pressure on as he dictates his terms while der Taggespiegel sees it as an outright rejection by Putin of the ceasefire deal. Syrian cartoonist Fahd Bahady echoes those sentiments – portraying a Donald Trump dove of peace pooping all over Zelensky. 

The Kyiv Independent chooses to focus on Volodymyr Zelensky's evening address on Thursday in which he said Putin is afraid to admit to Donald Trump that he doesn’t want a ceasefire because he wants to keep killing Ukrainians. He also added that Moscow is demanding for impossible conditions to postpone ceasefire talks for as long as possible.

The Italian daily Corriere della Sera looks in detail at what Putin wants in exchange for a ceasefire: notably that Ukraine gives us four regions occupied by Russian soldiers, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as well as provinces still in Ukraine’s hands. For the Italian daily, in Putin’s eyes, Europe should be relegated to a marginal role and his neo-imperial, 19th century vision corresponds to that of Trump.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made sweeping changes to the National Health Service, which is dominating front pages there. Starmer announced a restructuring plan to abolish the NHS England body to cut red tape and bring management of the health service under the health ministry. The move will lead to several thousand jobs lost but will save the government hundreds of millions of pounds a year. For the Daily Telegraph, Starmer’s taking on an £800-million gamble. The Guardian notes that the NHS England is financed by the government but runs independently. It was established just over a decade ago by the conservatives in what Wes Streeting, current health minister calls a disastrous reorganisation that needed to be scrapped. The tabloid Daily Mail rejoices in the decision, saying patients will be put before bureaucracy and care will be improved. The government has said the job losses will be because of the duplications of jobs within both the NHS and Health ministry.

Staying on the topic of health: Australian scientists are hailing what they hope could be a huge breakthrough in the fight against Parkinson's disease. Twenty years ago, PINK 1 was identified as the protein linked to Parkinson’s disease, but for two decades, no one knew what the protein looked like or how it switched on with the onset of the disease. A hallmark of Parkinson’s disease is the death of brain cells. Researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research based in Victoria, Australia have determined how the mutation switches on. They can use this discovery to find a way to switch it off and notably slow down the progression of Parkinson's, which is the fastest growing neurodegenerative condition in the world. 

Finally: Donatella Versace, sister of Gianni Versace is stepping down as chief creative officer of her family fashion house after nearly 30 years. The Times of London reports that she stepped in to take over the company after her brother was murdered in 1997. She will stay on as chief brand ambassador. Dario Vitale, former image director of Miu Miu is the new designer. Donatella Versace oversaw a pivotal era in fashion and iconic dresses like Jennifer Lopez’s barely-there jungle dress in 2000 that was so researched it actually launched Google’s "image search" function! Her departure also coincides with an end to an era in fashion – high octane, glossy and molto sexy, the Times says.

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, March 12: The papers analyse the news that Ukraine is ready to accept a 30-day ceasefire. Also, the former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, is arrested after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity. Elsewhere, Saturn has many more moons than previously thought. Plus, billionaire Richard Branson wants space flights to take off from the UK. Finally, PSG beat Liverpool on penalties in the Champions League.

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, March 11: Reactions in the press after a US oil tanker and cargo ship collided in the North Sea. The Italian daily La Repubblica looks at the nefarious Greek port where the tanker was refuelling, a port know to have distributed Russian oil. The Columbia University pro-Palestinian student leader Mahmoud Khalil is arrested amid fears he could be deported. And, a pizza shop in Australia outrages all by putting orange slices on its latest creation!

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, March 10: The Canadian papers react to Mark Carney winning the Liberal leadership race, as he is set to become the country's next PM. Also, JD Vance's cousin gives an interview detailing his time on the frontline in Ukraine. Plus, former tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky discusses fighting for his country. Elsewhere, the Kuwaiti government has stripped thousands of people of their nationality over the past year. Finally, an Italian pooch wins the top prize at “Crufts”.