PRESS REVIEW - Thursday, May 14: The Cannes film festival opens in a tense climate as strikes loom and anger boils over sexual abuse allegations against multiple high profile French directors. Also: Kuwait’s emir names a new government just days after dissolving parliament, prompting concerns regarding political freedom in the country. Plus, the prestigious Westminster dog show enters its last day of pomp and glamour in New York for 2,500 canines! Finally, a footballer is accused of having sent his twin to play for him in a match!
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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?