PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, 23 April. A ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia appears to be making progress, albeit extremely slowly. [Editor's note: as this press review aired, it was announced that London peace talks on Ukraine involving top diplomats had been postponed, but that a meeting of lower level officials would still take place.] In France, the Bétherram sex abuse scandal continues to get coverage as Prime Minister François Bayrou's daughter says she was among those abused. Finally, the Guardian brings us new details of Shakespeare's private life on Shakespeare Day.

The press are trying to keep up with the latest developments regarding potential ceasefire talks on Ukraine. The Daily Telegraph has the story on its front page. It headlines with "Trump to let Putin keep seized land". The article says that US President Donald Trump’s latest peace settlement suggests that Putin can keep all of the territory he has seized in Ukraine so far, as part of the US seven-point plan to end the war in Ukraine. The Kyiv Independent says that Zelensky has ruled out recognising Crimea as Russian. At the same time, The New York Times reports that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced he will not attend the next stage of the peace talks. The Kyiv Post, meanwhile, has an article reporting that Putin is open to direct talks with Ukraine. Politico says Ukraine is ready to negotiate, but only if Russia agrees to a ceasefire first. [Editor's note: as this press review aired, it was announced that London peace talks on Ukraine involving top diplomats had been postponed, but that a meeting of lower level officials would still take place.]

The Bétharram scandal continues to reverberate in France, and Prime Minister François Bayrou is accused of turning a blind eye to systemic abuse happening inside the school, which was attended by his children. Paris Match brings us the latest news in what is quite an uncomfortable interview with Bayrou’s daughter Hélène. She says that she too was a victim of abuse during her time at Bétharram. Le Monde notes that Bayrou is expected to attend a hearing of the parliamentary inquiry commission on May 14. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Finally, this Wednesday marks Shakespeare Day, in commemoration of the Bard's birthday and death, and it seems we are lucky to have some Shakespeare gossip from the Guardian. Although Shakespeare was widely assumed to have an unhappy marriage, historians have discovered a new letter written to his wife Anne Hathaway that could suggest the contrary. Meanwhile, LBC reports on the auction of four 300-year-old folios.

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