ALERT: Occupation of South Lebanon by Israel: “A new Nakba” – In the press
In breaking news, the following story has emerged from the international scene.
On the front page of the press this Wednesday, April 1, was the announcement yesterday by Israel of its intention to occupy part of South Lebanon, once the war is over. Relations are in good shape between France and Japan, whose ambassador in Paris has become the darling of social networks. The exit, in football, of Italy, which will not be able to participate for the third consecutive time in the World Cup. And the project for the future “Trump library” – which is not an April Fool’s joke. The +: Receive the France 24 Press Review every morning on your iPhone or any other mobile. And also always on your PC by becoming a fan on Facebook… On the front page of the press, the announcement yesterday by Israel of its intention to occupy part of South Lebanon, once the war is over. L’Orient Le Jour, the Lebanese newspaper denounces “a sinister program” according to which “more than 600,000 evacuated residents would be prevented from returning to their homes” and “all the houses in the villages on the border with Israel would be demolished.” The fear of losing their home forever pushes some residents to refuse to leave, despite the bombings. La Croix went to meet these Lebanese who “remain”. In Tyre, where 13,000 inhabitants remained, to which must be added 18,000 displaced people, including 3,500 children, a soldier testified: “Leaving would mean suffering the fate of the Palestinians in 1948. It is a new Nakba that the Israelis have in mind for the Shiites and the inhabitants of the South. I would rather die at home under their bombs than flee from them.” Residents between two fires, those of the Israeli army and those of Hezbollah, just like UNIFIL, the UN interim force. Three peacekeepers killed in twenty-four hours in the south of the country. According to Le Monde, UNIFIL is the UN mission “having recorded the most victims” with 342 soldiers killed since its deployment in 1978. A force reduced to “impotence” and of which the Israeli ambassador in Paris, quoted by France Info, is requesting the “disappearance” on the grounds that it “is of absolutely no use” and has given, according to him “legitimacy to Hezbollah”. The war in the Middle East, which was included in the discussions between France and Japan, where Emmanuel Macron is traveling. This visit is presented by the Elysée as an opportunity to “re-enchant” exchanges between Paris and Tokyo which are already in good shape, and to which the new Japanese ambassador in Paris is certainly contributing. Presented by Le Figaro as “a real bridge” between the two nations, Hideo Suzuki has become the star of social networks by sharing his wonder for French heritage, as when he feasts on sugar waffles at Mont Saint-Michel, or when he buys, upon his arrival in France, the latest album of Asterix in Lusitania, with this comment: “When I walk in France, I consult “Le Tour de Gaule d’Asterix” rather than the Guide Michelin. Hideo Suzuki was probably delighted with the victory of the Japanese football team last night in a friendly match against England. Beaten 1 to 0, the Three Lions were “japanned”, passed to the Blue Samurais pan – were “japanized” according to the Daily Mirror, whose play on words is quite untranslatable. But mamma mia! What can we say about the performance of the Azzuris, beaten by Bosnia on penalties? “Tutti a casa!”, “All at home!”: for Corriere dello Sport, this failure “is not just a simple setback”, since it is the third time in a row that Italy has been eliminated from the World Cup, but “the tangible failure of an entire system”. “The tragedy is that it is no longer a drama, it has become a habit. We are like that, we are almost worthless, and we are eliminated.” La Repubblica quips: “Everyone at home? But we are already there, this is where we live, we no longer leave the stands of our mediocre championship. “Italy still on the ground”: L’Equipe evokes “an endless fall” and an “enormous disillusionment for a whole generation of Italian players”. Ciao Italia. The Italians will therefore not go to the United States, where the project for the future Trump library was presented yesterday. This project, with an estimated cost of one billion dollars, was presented by one of Donald Trump’s sons. The Financial Times explains that this is a tradition, that the president is invited, like all his predecessors, to build his “presidential library” to preserve the memories of his mandates. A huge glass tower in the middle of Miami, an Air Force One in the lobby, an escalator, and a huge golden statue of Trump himself, his fist raised: “Even by Miami standards (…), even in a place known for its Lamborghinis, its Brazilian facelifts and its aspiring billionaires, President Trump’s project stands out and looks more like a tower of ego than a museum,” says The Miami Herald. Inevitably, the project provoked a deluge of mockery and misappropriation on social networks. We make it clear for those who doubt it, that this is not an April Fool’s joke. I confess that the idea crossed my mind. Besides, do you know where this tradition of April 1 pranks and jokes comes from? According to National Geographic, historians disagree on the origins of this custom, which some trace back to ancient Rome, where the feast of Hilaria was celebrated after the spring equinox to celebrate its arrival. In France, we have “April Fools”, a possible reference to the Christian tradition of Lent, a period of fasting where fish is authorized or even recommended, according to La Provence. For The Conversation, there is no more debate because in any case, “the golden age of April 1 jokes is over”, the American site explains that in these times of “fake news”, “information is going through a crisis of confidence”, and many are those who “hesitate to take the slightest initiative likely to increase public distrust”. How unfortunate! Find the Press Review every morning on France 24 (Monday to Friday, 7:20 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. Paris time). Also follow the Revue des Hebdos every weekend in multicast.
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Source: This article was originally published in another language by France 24 – Infos, news & actualités – L'information internationale en direct and has been translated and adapted for our global English-speaking audience. Read the original article here.