Le Parisien (France)
"Plan Emploi : tout ce que vous devez savoir"
Starting today’s press review here in France with the reaction to President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to tackle the country's rising unemployment, which he has pledged to cut to 5 percent by the end of his term in 2012. Le Parisien has an article called “everything you need to know about the employment package”. The measures are aimed at revamping the private sector, making short term contracts more flexible, creating more jobs in general and limiting the ramifications of the global economic crisis. Crucial to this are subsidised contracts, which Sarkozy plans to increase by 100,000 in next year’s budget.
Le Figaro (France)
"Urgence Sociale"
The editorial in Le Figaro is broadly supportive of these reforms, hardly surprising considering its reputation for being right of centre. Le Figaro says that politically speaking; these changes need to be implemented and will open up the way for long-term employment reform.
Libération (France)
"Plan-plan contre le chômage"
Left wing French daily Liberation is more critical. It’s front page dismisses Sarkozy’s plan to tackle unemployment as “boring” and the editorial inside says his strategy is formulaic and lacks any real substance.
USA TODAY (US)
"Voting 08 – What could go wrong?"
Moving on to preparations for the US elections less than a week away and USA Today focuses on whether or not the voting systems in place are up to the job. It comes eight years after a confusing punch-card system helped put George W Bush in power. In 2004 they switched to touch screen at a cost of 16 million dollars although this was fundamentally flawed because there was no printed record of votes which raised suspicions about the figures. This time around; at an additional cost of 7 million dollars, touch screen machines have been shelved in favour of the old-school but reliable system of paper and a pencil. However votes will then have to be fed through paper-read optical scanners which could cause delays or confusion. Inside the paper, there is a picture showing voters queuing up to cast their ballot early…. and a list of possible problems. They include human error, allegations of voter registration fraud and voter suppression, problems with registration and problems with equipment.
The Wall Street Journal Europe (Europe)
"Microsoft uses aggressive tactics to battle low-cost rivals for Africa”
The Wall Street Journal Europe has a two-page special report on Microsoft’s battle to conquer sub-Saharan Africa. It’s one of the poorest places on earth and described in the article as one of the last great computing frontiers. In Namibia for example, only around 200 of the country’s 1600 schools have even a single computer. The main obstacle blocking the software giant is Linux, a low cost alternative to Windows. Microsoft has been accused of dirty tactics to persuade governments to replace Linux with Windows on thousands of school laptops through incentives. Microsoft says it’s simply trying to bridge the digital divide between computer use in rich and poor countries….in sub Saharan Africa there are an estimated 10,000 computers serving 750 million people. But critics say Microsoft’s efforts to oust Linux are steering “cash strapped governments away from the cheapest, most sensible solution by locking African government agencies" into costly long-term licensing contracts.
Die Velt (Germany)
“Baby boom in Gelderland”
And finally, a small Dutch community has experienced a surprising baby boom, nine months after a power cut plunged its 23,000 inhabitants into darkness for two days. The blackout occurred in December last year when the blades of a helicopter accidentally severed high-voltage cables providing power to nine villages in the Gelderland province. Last month the region registered a 44 percent increase in child births. A spokesperson said that while many inhabitants set off to find warmth in other towns during the winter blackout, some residents found “some heat among themselves”.
