In the papers
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
By Catherine NORRIS-TRENT / FRANCE 24
The Los Angeles Times (USA)
The LA Times described the atmosphere in which it said “thousands of Chinese Americans” took to Sunset Boulevard to protest against media coverage of the furore surrounding the Beijing Olympics. The demonstrations particularly targeted CNN - and the Los Angeles Times delved into the row surrounding commentator Jack Cafferty controversially labeling the Chinese government “goons and thugs”
Le Parisien (France)
This newspaper detailed the scenes in the French capital as pro-Chinese protesters took to the streets. The Parisien said there were around a thousand marchers, mostly students. The paper described the very angry tone of the demonstration, with witness accounts of photographs being taken of journalists covering the events to allegedly be kept on record.
Journal de Dimanche (France)
It wasn’t just the demonstration that was making waves in the French press– Christophe Girard, an aide to the mayor of Paris, gave an interview to the Sunday newspaper the Journal de Dimanche labelling the Dalai Lama “reactionary”, with “rigid doctrines.”
The Journal de Dimanche also ran an article on preparations ahead of the funeral of the very influential poet and intellectual Aimé Cesaire. The paper said the funeral would take place in Martinique in the French West Indies amid great “pomp and ceremony”.
The New York Times (USA)
The final day of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the Big Apple prompted an editorial in the New York Times examining the pontiff’s stance on immigration. The article pointed out that the Pope had raised the issue several times during his visit, including during a meeting with President George Bush. A Republican Congressman has accused Pope Benedict of “faith based marketing’” – trying to keep Latinos faithful to the Catholic Church. The New York Times pointed out that out of the USA’s 65 million Catholics, 18 million are Latino.
News of the World (UK)
The British tabloid The News of the world claims to have uncovered a fresh royal scandal – this time surrounding Prince William and an army helicopter. The paper says that during a training exercise William stopped off to perform a few manoeuvres in girlfriend Kate Middleton’s garden, as the young lady and her parents looked on. The claims come only a week after reports claimed William and his brother Harry were flown to a stag night party on an island off the southern English coast in an army plane. Critics in the News of the World article were quoted as saying this is unacceptable amid claims of equipment shortages fro British troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
