Latest update: 17/05/2009 

- Press review


In the papers
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A look at some of the international press.
By Nadia CHARBIT (text)

 

INDIA ELECTION
 
Gulf news (UAE)
Joy and Sorrow
Gulf news offers a colourful collage of pictures after the decisive victory of the Congress party in India. Celebrations erupted around the country with fireworks, beating drums and dancing in the streets. Meanwhile the BJP losing party offers a sombre contrast, with leaders looking glum at a press conference in New Delhi
 
Times of India New Delhi (India)
Jai ho! Indian voters back the dynasty as usual
The rallying cry of the Congress party is plucked from the sound track of the recent box office hit 'Slumdog Millionaire'. The abovementioned dynasty is of course the Ghandi dynasty, with a picture of the family in 1974.  Who’s the boss? It’s Sonia Ghandi, says the article, which is peppered with Indian terms, making for a fun read: “This was daal-shawal election: the voters went for comfort food when they were offered  an exotic eight-course menu”. But there was one WOW factor says the Times: that’s Raul Ghandi.
 
Raul Ghandi, the son of Sonia Ghandi, is featured on the cover of the Economic Times and is known as the “dimpled darling” or “Junior Ghandi”. He’s heralded as a breath of fresh air, who’ll “usher in a real tomorrow in the grand old Congress party”. The question is: when will he take over from his mother?
 
UK EXPENSE SCANDAL
 
The Independent (UK)
Two in five shun the three main political parties
From political promise to political demise: this has been a rough week for the UK Parliament with the drawn-out expenses claim scandal. According to an exclusive poll, two out of five voters will refuse to vote or select one of the minor parties rather than support the three main parties. As a result, the Greens are set to double their vote in next month’s European elections.
 
The Observer (UK)
But there are others set to gain from the scandal, as portrayed in an Observer cartoon by Riddell. Fat cat bankers are glad to see the heat taken off them and their greedy bonuses for a while, and the far-right BNP party is portrayed whispering violent thoughts to a shocked looking newspaper reader.
 
CRISIS DOs AND DON’Ts
 
The Sunday Age (Australia)
Time to sign up to the sisterhood of the travelling wardrobe
Don’t buy new clothes, DO swap with friends and online. Recessionistas are putting the recreational back into "recreational shopping" by tightening their belts in style. Clothes, accessories, jewellery: sharing is the new splurging. The Age gives a few internet details on how to join in.
 
Le Journal du Dimanche (France)
Divorcing is now a real luxury
Next up, DON’T divorce - not unless can afford it!
The phenomenon coined “living together apart” has arrived in France. Basically, divorcing means the whole family loses spending power… and in a crisis it’s women with kids who are most affected. In the US it’s also a growing trend in the Afro-American population. The daily gives the example of the “nightmare cohabitation” of Simon and Audrey, whose king-size bed now enables them to sleep together without touching.
 
And finally DO start a new sport! An inexpensive one at that: it involves quote “two people, a couple of vaguely S&M wooden paddles and a hollow plastic ball”: it’s….table tennis. New York is getting ready to open a new exclusive ping-pong parlour and vying for a ticket are Susan Sarandon, Ed Norton and rapper 50 cents!
 
 
 

 
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