In the spotlight: the “disappointing” WHO report on the origins of Covid-19
Audio 04:57
The WHO team responsible for investigating the origins of Covid-19, upon their arrival at Wuhan airport on February 10, 2021. © REUTERS - ALY SONG
By: Véronique Rigolet Follow
10 mins
Publicity
"
The uncertainty about the origin of the virus remains total
", headlines the Swiss daily
Le Temps
like a large part of the international press which does not hide its disappointment after having had access to the report which leaked yesterday. - well before its presentation on Tuesday afternoon at WHO headquarters.
"
All that for that
", laments
Le Soir,
which points out that after 27 days of investigation in China, the WHO experts do not comment
on
"
the place where the pandemic started, nor on the animals that have could transmit the virus
”.
"
Mink, pangolin, rabbit, civet, dog, cat or even badger-ferret
", there is no shortage of candidate-hosts - the Belgian newspaper still tracks but "
the WHO does not decide
".
"
The origins of the virus remain unclear,
" abounds the
New York Times,
which points to the shadow of China which "
tried on several occasions to hijack the investigation to its advantage
".
The American daily particularly expresses doubts about one of the conclusions of the report which "
rejects as extremely improbable
" the possibility that the virus has emerged from a Chinese laboratory.
Doubts shared by almost all of the press, with the exception of course of the Chinese state press which welcomes it loudly and also insists on the fact that the WHO report "does not
" not rule out that the virus could have emerged outside of China
”.
"
We may never find the true origins,
" said an expert in the
New York Times
, who stressed that it is unlikely that China will accept "
a new independent study on its soil
".
China tightens grip on Hong Kong electoral system
The Chinese leaders approved "
a radical revision of the electoral system
", explains the
Guardian
"
so that the city is governed only by the patriots
", faithful to Beijing and to the Chinese CP.
"
This is the latest measure to stifle the democratic movement in Hong Kong, after the national security law
", comments the British daily which recalls "
the dozens of activists currently prosecuted or imprisoned
".
With the repression against the Uyghurs, the
Guardian
further notes
, “the
withering away of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong is one of the main fronts that is opening up between the West and China
”.
An arm wrestling that Beijing does not seem to fear, quite the contrary.
Comment from the Chinese state press this morning: "
Under external pressure, the central government has never shown any sign of retreat,
" notes the
Global Times
for which the sanctions imposed by Western countries are "
a desperate struggle and which will prove to be useless
”.
US justice under pressure as the trial of Derek Chauvin opens
Especially after the broadcast yesterday of the video of the last moments of George Floyd, suffocated under the knee of the police officer Derek Chauvin.
“
The world saw the last few minutes of George Floyd.
He will now see if he obtains justice,
"warns the
Washington Post
columnist
who believes that this video has"
revolutionized the thinking of American society on race and justice
".
"
Under the slogan"
Black Lives Matter ", millions of people across the country and around the world have taken to the streets,
" he notes again, recalling that "
the American criminal justice system is also in trial, and let the whole world watch
”.
This is what worries the editorialist of
TagesSpiegel
who asks himself "
what pain can calm a troubled America?"
10, 25, 40 years old?
And should the policeman also be found guilty of being a racist
?
“Asks the German columnist who worries“
that in the end, too many people will be disappointed
”.
An Italian mafioso, on the run, caught up with his passion for cooking
He had been leading a quiet life in Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic for 7 years,
-
the
Guardian
tells us
- and it could have gone on for a long time if this Mafioso from the Calabrian N'Drangheta had not succumbed to the pleasure of sharing his passion for Italian cuisine.
He posted a culinary tutorial on YouTube, where he took care not to show his face but where we clearly see his tattoos.
Sufficiently distinctive for the police to identify him and therefore come and arrest him, not for his cooking but for cocaine trafficking.
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