USA Today (US)
Chaos onshore in Somalia is driving piracy epidemic

Now that a US-crewed ship has been targeted by Somali pirates, America may be waking up to the scale of the problem.

USA Today has an article detailing the chaos that is Somalia’s collapsed state, showing how the lack of any authority onshore that is favouring piracy – “if you are a criminal you are going to go where the cops aren’t”, is how one expert quoted in there bluntly puts it.

The paper also notes that “piracy was less of a problem under the Islamists, who executed pirates.” One hopes the US may find a less brutal solution to the problem, but as USA Today notes it certainly is another big foreign policy headache for Barack Obama.

Le Figaro (France)
Tchad: le légionnaire tueur avait déjà « dérapé »
Chad: the killer legionnaire had already “messed up”

It appears that the member of the French foreign legion understood to have killed his sergeant and two Chadians while on duty in the Africa country was already on his second chance. Le Figaro reports that the 27-year old Brazilian, who is still on the run, fled the legion once before in Djibouti.

The paper notes that this is the sort of thing that happens in the notorious French foreign legion, a crack unit that often takes damaged people, many of whom have a history of violence, psychological instability and even criminality, and gives them a new identity… and French papers. So once again, questions being raised about the wisdom of maintaining such a force.

Liberté (Algeria)
C’est l’Urne de Vérité
It’s the ballot box of truth

As Algeria votes in its presidential election, expectations are low. The incumbent Abdelaziz Bouteflika is bound to win and  Liberté dis,isses the poll with a cartoon showing a ballot paper going into a shredder.

Of course, in this situation the only thing that can really be of any interest is the turnout, says the paper’s editorial; the only suspense really is in seeing how many people vote.


Libération (France)
Algérie: le pays étouffé
Algeria: the suffocated country

In any case, France’s Libération seems pretty certain that Algerians have little reason to vote with any enthusiasm. Against a beautiful, melancholy photograph on the front page, the paper says Algeria is suffocating, caught between despair and indifference after ten years of Bouteflika.


Corriere della Sera (Italy)
Le leggi «pressappoco» nel Paese sempre a rischio
Haphazard measures in a country at risk

As rescue workers and volunteers rush to the aid of the victims of Italy’s earthquake, in the Corriere della Sera Gian Antonio Stella notes how Italians always seem to do well under pressure – whether it’s a natural disaster or a big international event to be organised in short time – but are hopeless at pre-planning. A new report shows that two thirds of Italian towns and villages are in areas at risk from earthquakes, landslides or volcanic eruptions, yet little is done in advance to prepare for eventual disasters, and indeed, until recently homes were still being built on the slopes of Vesuvius, an active volcano. Stella says it’s amazing that such a superstitious country – there are no number 13 seat numbers or 13th floors for example – still refuses to acknowledge these dangers until disaster strikes.


New York Times (US)
Bonding With Their Downward Facing Humans

What could be more relaxing than yoga? Apparently, doga. That’s when you take your dog to yoga class. It’s a phenomenon sweeping the US according to the New York Times. A picture in the paper shows clearly how a dog can help with those stretches.

Of course some purists are not very happy about it – one yoga instructor says it’s running the risk of “turning a 2,500 year old practice into a fad”, and though harmony with all beings, including dogs, is certainly a yogic principle, “yoga class may not be the best place to express that.”

That’s putting it politely. Doga teachers, however, say people and dogs find it really helpful, and the times when the four-legged friends fail to actively participate – they just bark, for example, and eat treats – are the exceptions rather than the rule…