Latest update: 18/08/2009 

- Press review


In the Papers
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A daily look at some of the stories in the interntional papers.
By Aurore Cloe DUPUIS (text)

 

The Guardian
 
 
 
Afghanistan continues to make the headlines of the British press.
 
The Guardian focused on the story of Richard Hunt. He is the 200th British soldier to have died in the war in Afghanistan.
 
He is 21, and he died from bomb blast injuries. His vehicle was blown up in the Helmand province- a Taliban stronghold.
 
He was taken back to a hospital in England, but he died on Saturday.
 
The Guardian talks about his mother, who told politicians to “get out on the frontline themselves, to see how desperate troops are”
 
She says “Politicians should get off their backsides and see what it’s like for our boys out there”…
 
Politicians are not listening, she says.
 
And violence is likely to increase, says The Guardian. With the Presidential elections, in just two days, Taliban insurgents said they’d do all they can to prevent voters from casting their ballot.
 
The Guardian reported from a village, in the province of Kunduz.
 
The village is controlled by the Taliban and the reporter met with locals there.
 
They say the Government is too weak and corrupt- that’s why they turned to the Taliban.
 
Here’s an example: If you go to a Government Court, they say, officials take four or five years to give a verdict.
 
The longer the case lasts, the more they bribe you, say locals. Whereas with a Taliban Court, the verdict is given in one day.
 
So people tend to trust the Taliban justice more, they say.
 
 
 
 
 
The Age
 
 
The Australian newspaper has a cartoon about the war in Afghanistan.
 
It represents a soldier from the West, struggling to “carry” Afghanistan and drowning in a field of opium poppies.
 
Drugs are a major issue in the country.
 
More than 90% of the world’s Opium is produced in Afghanistan. It represented around $3 billion, and part of that is thought to finance the Taliban.
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Guardian
 
 
 
A young girl, called Maria Mosterd has published a book, where she talks about four years of her life as a prostitute.
 
She was only twelve, when a boy turned her into a “sex slave”. It’s a trend that’s reportedly happening in the Netherlands.
 
What’s called “a lover boy” lures young girls, promises them love, money, status, everything. He then starts to turn them into sexual objects, or even drug mules.
 
This story has panicked Dutch politicians, who are calling for more police action.
 
“It’s shocking” say the locals…In a country where prostitution above the age of 18  is legal, why do “lover boys” even exist, they ask.
 
Maria’s story is now soon to come out in a film.
 
 
 
 
 
China Daily
 
 
 
The China Daily tells us about a luxury resort, in California, that manages to attract clients by letting a room out for $19.
 
But the article warns the room has no beds, no sheets, and no toilet paper.
 
It's only equiped with a tent.
 
People come in, they have to bring their own sleeping bags, inflatable mattresses and torches.
 
The resort's manager says that since the economic crisis, occupancy rates have dropped by around 10%, and so this was a way to kick start the business. 
 
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