In the headlines: the pandemic spoils the festival of the Olympics in Tokyo
Audio 05:25
Others demonstrate at the entrance to the stadium to express their opposition to the holding of the Games.
July 23, 2021 © REUTERS - Issei Kato
By: Véronique Rigolet Follow
10 mins
Publicity
Despite a colorful opening ceremony, these “
Pandemic Games
”, as the Japanese press calls them, will of course not be “
the great expected celebration
” of Olympism.
"
While the Games are supposed to bring together the whole world, these Olympics are those of social distancing,
" regrets the
Washington Post,
which describes "
empty stadiums and bleachers, no supporters, no natural crowd noise, no contact
". "
And even the few official visitors,
adds the daily,
must no doubt wonder if their presence is justified or even necessary
".
No more enthusiasm in the Japanese press which, like the
Japan Times,
headlines "the
many challenges that Prime Minister Suga must now take up
", in particular that of "
keeping his promise to ensure the success of the Games. by preventing the spread of Covid infections
”. "
And the situation is far from being that of a safe and secure Olympiad while the number of new cases of infections in Tokyo has just reached its highest level for 6 months,
" said the
Asahi Shimbun
for his part.
.
"It's
hard to imagine a more sinister setting for the Olympics
", headlines
Le Soir
, the Belgian daily which highlights that "
if these Games go badly in terms of health, the consequences could be dramatic while less than 20% of Tokyoites have been fully vaccinated
”.
The Japanese government "
will count the days until August 8
", the closing date of the Games, further emphasizes the
Washington Post
for whom these "
Joyless Olympics will be endured more than celebrated
".
China rejects any WHO investigation on its soil into the origins of the virus
More than a year and a half after the start of the pandemic, and already more than 4 million deaths since the first cases identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019, Beijing has just addressed a categorical no to the WHO by denouncing "
A new phase of study completely devoid of common sense and full of arrogance towards science
", underlines the
Global Times
which thus takes up the criticisms of Chinese scientists to better denounce "
the political instrumentalisation of this research
, which, according to the daily,
exists only to stigmatize and demonize China
”.
“
The
United States is stepping up its political conspiracy around the theory of the“ laboratory leak
”in Wuhan, further criticizes the
Global Times,
which demands that the Americans first investigate at home. The nationalist newspaper puts before a petition signed "
by 7 million Chinese Internet users, to request an investigation by the WHO on the laboratory of Fort Detrick
", the medical institute on infectious diseases of the American army. The White House condemns for its part "
the irresponsible attitude
" of the Chinese, reports for its part the
Wall Street Journal
, which underlines that this controversy will undoubtedly be "
on the menu of the discussions that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Cherman will have in China on Sunday
”.
United States sanctions Cuba
Financial sanctions "
against the Cuban Minister of Defense and a unit of the special forces of the Ministry of the Interior
, explains the
Washington Post,
all directly involved in human rights violations during the crackdown that followed the large protests on the island this month
”.
"
And this is only the beginning,
" argues the American daily, which reports that after initially considering easing the sanctions against the Castro island, "
the upheavals underway in Cuba, the unprecedented demonstrations of the Cuban people and the violence of the crackdown placed the Biden administration on a new timetable, "
and moved it" away
from anything that could be considered a concession to the Communist government
. " Measures which intervene, the Post continues, "
as President Biden faces increasing pressure from Congress, militant groups and Cuban Americans
", so that it takes "
decisive measures in favor of the pro-democracy demonstrators
".
Kim Jong-un declares war on South Korean k-pop
For the "great leader" North Korean, "
the cultural and ideological slippages are more dangerous than all the weapons of the enemies of North Korea
", reports the
Wall Street Journal
which quotes information from the Seoul spy agency .
Kim Jong-un would thus reproach young people for "
not being North Korean enough
", and has therefore just forbidden them "
to use expressions borrowed from pop music or South Korean series
".
It is also forbidden to "
kiss in public, or even to dress, to comb your hair like the popular stars of the South
".
Still according to Seoul, “
watching a South Korean series can now be worth 15 years in prison, the death penalty for those who distribute such media,
”considered“
dangerous poisons
”to state ideology.
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