New York Daily News (US)
President Obama meets Hugo Chavez, and opens door to change in Cuba policy with Raul Castro

Starting off today’s press review with the Fifth Summit of the Americas, which opened in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday.

The New York Daily News has a picture released by Venezuela of US President Barack Obama meeting firebrand socialist leader Hugo Chavez for the first time.

The article says Obama cozied up to the dictators next door, warmly greeting Chavez and signalling an historic thaw in relations with Cuba.


Le Figaro (France)
Cuba à l’heure des choix historiques (Time for some historic choices in Cuba)

This new chapter in US-Cuban relations is the subject of an editorial by Alexandre Adler in France’s Le Figaro newspaper.

He says that that summit has opened up an unprecedented opportunity for the former foes to work together.

The article talks about Cuba’s seismic shift in political allegiances, choosing to side increasingly with centre-left Brazil and Chile.

This alliance is bad news for Chavez who finds himself increasingly isolated and relies heavily on Cuban secret agents for his security.


Le Parisien (Aujourd’hui en France) (France)
Florence Cassez lance un nouvel appel au secours (Florence Cassez relaunches an appeal)

Staying with the French press, the Parisien has an investigation into the Florence Cassez affair.

The 34-year-old Frenchwoman was arrested in December 2005 at the home of her Mexican boyfriend – who was an alleged gangster – where police found several kidnap victims being held for ransom.

She denies knowing anything about it but was found guilty and is now serving a 60-year jail sentence.

During a recent visit to Mexico, Nicolas Sarkozy appeared to have secured her repatriation to serve out the rest of her sentence in France…but now it seems Mexico has changed its mind about letting her go.

The article says Cassez – who has always maintained her innocence - appealed for Sarkozy’s help in a tearful phone conversation yesterday, saying that she feels like France has forgotten her.

Her lawyer says he will pursue the matter at the International Criminal Court if Mexico denies her repatriation.


The Guardian (UK)
Cote d’Azur feels pinch as Britons sell up

Moving on to money matters and property prices have slumped in France’s playground of the rich, the Cote d’Azur.

It’s been one of the most sought after residential locations since the nineteenth century…but now foreigners are selling up and the property market is shivering in the recession.

Sales have plunged 25 percent since the beginning of the year and the price per square metre slumped from 4,000 euros to 3,800 euros.

It’s not just the British who are leaving…the Italians, Belgians and Swiss are also fleeing the French Riviera. Even Russian oligarchs aren’t prepared to pay the inflated prices anymore.

In February, one of the country’s richest men pulled out of buying a £440 million villa in Villefranche-sur-Mer because he said he couldn’t afford the financial burden.


Bangkok Post (Thailand)
Sondhi targeted

Thailand’s troubles now and the front page of the Bangkok Post is dedicated to the assassination attempt of a key opposition leader.

Pictures show his car riddled with bullets and the article talks about fresh fears of political tension and civil unrest in the country.

More than a hundred rounds were fired from assault rifles and a grenade thrown which failed to explode…all of this in the middle of a Bangkok street during the current state of emergency.

Savage attack on Sondhi’s life

The newspaper’s editorial blasts the assassination attempt as a savage act and says the authorities must not let criminals like this turn the city into a war zone.

It urges people not to speculate on whether it was politically motivated for fear of further inflaming tensions between the "red shirt" supporters of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra and the "yellow shirt" supporters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy.