00:00 and film festival. It's kicking off the press review today and Dipti's looking at it for us.
00:05 Dipti. That's right, Stuart, the stars are raining down in Cannes, that's what this regional French
00:10 paper says, with a picture of Emma Stone, this year's Oscar winner, who'll of course be making
00:15 an appearance at the festival, but also Uma Thurman, Greta Gerwig, who's heading the jury,
00:20 and the creme de la creme of Hollywood, Francis Ford Coppola presenting his self-financed opus,
00:29 Megalopolis. Now, of course, the festival is also overshadowed by multiple controversies,
00:34 something that Libération, the left-wing paper, is looking at today, notably this rather combustible
00:40 electric climate that is accompanying this festival. There is, of course, threats of
00:45 strikes by freelance festival workers that could greatly impact the running of the festival, also
00:52 multiple accusations of sexual abuse, something that we've talked about a lot in French cinema,
00:58 the French #MeToo movement was already spearheaded by Judith Godrej, who accused
01:04 director Benoit Jacot of sexual abuse, Gérard Depardieu also facing similar accusations, and
01:11 even the head of the French National Centre for Cinema, Dominique Boutonnat, who's also facing
01:19 similar accusations. And in fact, nine women have accused another French director, this is
01:24 Alain Sade, of sexual abuse. This is an exclusive from Elle magazine. And the timing is very
01:30 conspicuous, you might say. This came out just on Monday night, of course, on the eve of the Cannes
01:35 Film Festival, this article from Elle magazine, chilling accusations made by nine women. One of
01:45 those testimonies include a woman who says she was raped, allegedly raped, when she was just 15
01:51 years old, by Alain Sade, when he was more than twice her age at the time. Now, two concerns about
01:58 democracy. This is in Kuwait, after the Emir there approved a new government in the country
02:02 yesterday. It's the ninth such government, though, in just four years. And it's the second time that
02:07 he's doing this, calling this new parliament. The Qatari Emir approved this new government
02:14 after, just two days after he dissolved parliament, without calling new elections,
02:19 which is why there are concerns about the democratic future of this emirate state.
02:23 Drawing into question exactly what his plans are, the Emir, Michel Alamed Al-Sabah,
02:29 who is the focus of this article from Courier International, the French magazine today,
02:35 this new decision, at least according to the magazine, rings the death knell of democracy.
02:40 That's what the headline loosely translates to, the magazine fearing that Kuwait could follow in
02:47 the authoritarian footsteps of its neighbors like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. For the Kuwaiti daily,
02:55 Al-Jarida, the dissolution of the parliament was in the interests of the people and the country,
03:04 it says, according to the paper. It was also imperative to counter the alleged control of
03:09 parliament by the Muslim Brotherhood. There's an interesting article in L'Oréal Le Jour today as
03:14 well where they have interviewed an expert, regional expert, who explains that this situation
03:20 is really the convergence of multiple factors, changes in neighboring Saudi Arabia, but also
03:26 the fact that the Kuwaiti Emir is rather new to the position and quite old, around 83 years of age.
03:34 So he may be also trying to fend off pressure to name a younger successor, which has already been
03:40 a point of contention within his parliament. Now to one of the most prestigious dog shows
03:46 in the world, this is the Westminster Dog Show, concludes today with a winner among 2,500 canines
03:52 to be announced. Yeah, for four days it was all about the dogs at the Billie Jean Tennis Centre
03:58 in Queens. This article is really fun to read, so I recommend you check it out. The reporter spent
04:07 several hours in grooming tents and says that pugs were wheeled out in strollers, Dalmatians posing
04:14 like statues, Basset hounds with ears strapped to their chins so that they wouldn't sweep the asphalt,
04:20 and poodles sculpted into sudsy topiaries. Here are some of the dogs who made their appearance.
04:30 Somewhere there is a dog in there, I think, or maybe that is a dog, this grey dreadlocked
04:35 mass. There were also dogs with unbelievable posture, Stuart, that really puts our posture
04:42 to shame, I think. As this writer notes, whether they win or lose, the dogs are exceedingly well
04:48 behaved. Humans, on the other hand, who had a selection of beer and gin and tonics at several
04:53 concession stands, have more varied results. Yes, quite right too, very true. Finally from Dixie,
04:59 a very strange story, this. A footballer is being accused of having sent his twin brother to play
05:05 for him in Romania, really? Yes, this is actually a true story. They are identical twins, as you can
05:12 imagine, but the Spanish football paper, Maca, the Spanish sports paper, Maca, recounts this curious
05:18 tale of swapped identities and investigation by the Romanian Football Federation has now been
05:23 opened to find out whether Edgar Ie, a former Barcelona and Lusk player, sent his twin brother,
05:31 Edelino, to play for him in five matches for Dinamo Bucharest. The dead giveaway, his brother's
05:36 talent was not comparable and they were astonished to find he didn't speak any English, whereas Edgar,
05:42 having played in several clubs, does speak English. So it turns out you can send in your twin brother
05:48 but you cannot swap talent. Talk about double trouble. If found guilty, the club could lose
05:53 eight points, Stuart. You are Dixie, aren't you? I may be. Who knows? Who knows? Dixie could have
05:59 around there or was it with the press review on France 24?
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