In the spotlight: the Olympics open in Tokyo, as the race against the Covid continues
Audio 05:40
The shadow of Covid-19 hangs over the Tokyo Olympics.
© AP / Kiichiro Sato
By: Véronique Rigolet Follow
10 mins
Publicity
Even if "
the nerves are alive and the criticisms are sharp, the Olympics are moving forward
", headlines the
Washington Post
which underlines that two days before the opening ceremony, the sporting kickoff was given with the first softball competitions, despite "
a further increase in contamination in Tokyo
". "
Nearly 80 people have been declared positive
", among the participants in the Olympics "
including at least 8 athletes
", reports for its part
Asahi Shimbun
, the Japanese daily, which yesterday demanded the cancellation of the Games. "
Contamination declares the Covid Games open
", cruelly ironically in the title for his part
The Age
, the Australian daily which considers that the "
determination of the IOC and of Japanese Prime Minister Suga to organize these games in the midst of a pandemic is difficult to reconcile with the Australian response to the pandemic
".
Australia doubly locked and under confinement "
with an infection rate of 0.12% while in Tokyo
", specifies the daily "
the rate is 18%
". Despite general skepticism, the
Washington Post
explains,
"
it is financial, legal and political forces that continue to drive the Games inexorably forward
." A cancellation would have cost "
billions of dollars and years of legal battles
", underlines the
Post
, while for its part the
Wall Street Journal
estimates that the shortfall for Japan already amounts to "
20 billion dollars
" , because of the pandemic.
State of Israel implicated in Pegasus spy scandal
"
The security officials of the United States and the European Union suspect links between the NSO, the Israeli company that developed the Pegasus software, and the Israeli intelligence services
", headlines the
Washington Post
which explains that according to these same officials "
it would be foolish to think that NSO did not share sensitive national security information with the Israeli government
", especially, adds the American daily, that "
the company was founded by former officers of the Israeli intelligence services
”.
For
Haaretz
, it is also a virtual certainty, "
where Netanyahu went, the NSO followed
", headlines the Israeli newspaper which explains the states implicated "
Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Morocco , India and Mexico
”(among others), accurately reflect the list of countries with which“
Israel has improved diplomatic relations in recent years - under the tenure of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
”.
Israel has thus become "
the boss of the cyber industry and has promoted the sale of spyware around the world,
" says the
Haaretz
.
Climate: China under water as the American West and Siberia burn
While part of the world is under water, another part of the planet is burning, reports the international press, with startling photos of the effects of this climate change on the front page. Flooded landscapes in China, fire ravaging California, "
thousands of residents have been called to evacuate,
" in British Columbia in western Canada, says
New York Times
as
Wall Street Journal
reports how firefighters had to "
leave the front lines in their fight against one of the biggest fires in Oregon
".
The Bootleg fire which already extends over "
more than 1,000 km2
", specifies for its part the
Times
which explains that it has become "
so powerful that it produces clouds of fire, columns of smoke and ashes that can turn into a tornado of fire
”.
Similar images far away in northeastern Siberia, where the taiga is on fire, reports the
Guardian
, “
1.5 million hectares have already gone up in smoke and people are suffocating in smog, an acrid haze that the lungs burn
”, explains the Russian correspondent of the British daily.
As fast as a plane, the Chinese Maglev train levitates at 600 km
It is the star on the front page of Chinese dailies today, the Maglev "
the fastest land vehicle in the world
", proudly headlines the
Global Times
, a super TGV that literally levitates at a speed of 600 km / h thanks to its an "
electro-magnetic levitation
" technology
.
A revolution in the transport of vast China which will make it possible, for example, to "
connect Shanghai to Beijing in just 2h30
", explains the Chinese daily, "
whereas it takes 3 hours by plane and 5h30 by conventional high-speed train
".
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