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Published on: 04/29/2026 - 06:47 Modified on: 04/29/2026 - 10:35

On the front page of the press on Wednesday: the daily more precarious situation of Gazans, still facing Israeli bombings, despite the "ceasefire"; the visit of King Charles to the United States; the story of a young Russian deserter; and the unprecedented marketing coup from “Visit Rwanda”, sponsor of the four semi-finalists of the Champions League – including PSG, winner Tuesday evening of the first leg against Bayern at the end of a breathtaking encounter.

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In the press, Wednesday April 29: the continuation of Israeli strikes in Gaza, where five people were killed on Tuesday, including a 9-year-old child, according to AFP sources. In the Palestinian enclave, the security and humanitarian situation is deteriorating a little more every day, despite the "ceasefire" announced last October. In a report published Tuesday, cited by Libération, the NGO Doctors Without Borders warns in particular of the way in which the Israeli army uses water deprivation as a “punitive weapon”.

While the world's eyes have turned towards Iran and Lebanon, Le Figaro reports how the "yellow line", the Israeli demarcation line, has, meanwhile, continued to advance towards the west of Gaza - a "new territorial reality" which "rejects a little more inhabitants every week towards areas that have become uninhabitable". More than ever, Gazans find themselves caught between the Israeli army and Hamas, which took advantage of the so-called "truce" "to reassert its control", according to Le Figaro.

The newspaper claims that the Islamist movement has recruited "new administrative executives", "while seeking entry into the new governance" promised by the Trump administration. The future of Gaza, which was discussed during the discussions which began Monday in Egypt between the "Peace Council" created by Donald Trump and a delegation from Hamas. Purpose of the meeting: to implement the second phase of the American plan, of which Libération recalls that it notably provides for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the disarmament of the Islamist group – more isolated than ever diplomatically, because of the war in Iran and Lebanon.

King Charles avoids angry topics in the United States

The international press is widely reporting on the current visit of King Charles to the United States. The Guardian looks back on his intervention in front of Congress, a plea in favor of the alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States in these times of disunity. The royal speech carefully avoided angry subjects, unlike the press cartoonists. Chappatte, for the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, shows a demonstrator from the "No Kings" movement, opposed to Trump's authoritarian drift, assuring King Charles that "it's not for (him)".

And Morten Morland for The Times jokes about the American-British “special crush”. “We are so close,” Trump said of King Charles, “that his Prime Minister is in trouble for hiring a friend of a friend of mine and his brother.” An allusion to Keir Starmer's troubles, for having hired Peter Mandelson, former British ambassador to the United States who was very close to the child criminal Jeffrey Epstein, just like the ex-Prince Andrew.

The Epstein affair that the new British ambassador to the United States – Peter Mandelson’s successor, therefore – mentioned very little diplomatically. The Financial Times reports the leak, which is quite unfortunate, of a conversation recorded in mid-February, where Sir Christian Turner considered "extraordinary" the fact that the Epstein scandal "has not affected anyone" in the United States and declared "not to like" the expression "special relationship" between London and Washington, the only "special relationship" of the United States being according to him "probably with Israel", and not with the United Kingdom.

In Ukraine, “even the lazy people couldn’t get demobilized”

Also in the diplomacy section, the announced resignation of the American ambassador to Ukraine, less than a year after her appointment. The Financial Times, again, affirms that “Julie Davis is frustrated by the lack of support” from President Trump in kyiv, according to sources familiar with the matter. The British daily notes that this imminent departure "leaves a crucial diplomatic post vacant, while peace discussions are at a standstill and Russia is preparing for a summer offensive."

An offensive in which Mikhail, a 20-year-old Russian deserter, will not participate. Now a refugee in Armenia, he says in a telephone interview with Libération that he was lured by promises of endorsements and “huge” pay – more than 19,000 euros for one, 2,800 for the other, or five times the median salary, before realizing that he would end up as cannon fodder. In addition to the ultra-violence of the front, it testifies to the permanent racket of which the soldiers are also victims at the hands of the officers.

After 18 months in the army, he concluded that "everything can be bought, except the termination (of his) contract": "Impossible, he assures us. With us, even the deadbeats couldn't get demobilized." Taking advantage of a 19-day leave, and following the advice of the “Idite Lesom” collective, “Fuck off”, whose mission is to prevent as many Russians as possible from taking up arms. Mikhail fled to Armenia, where he says he has no illusions about the future. He knows that Europe will not welcome him.

The “unprecedented marketing stunt” of the sponsor “Visit Rwanda”

Football, to finish, with the start of the semi-finals of the Champions League and already a first winner. Le Monde returns to the “unprecedented marketing coup” of the sponsor “Visit Rwanda”, associated with the four semi-finalists of this competition: PSG, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Atlético Madrid. The newspaper tells how the brand, whose logos are everywhere, from stadiums to players' jerseys, is put at the service of the "soft power" strategy of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, in power since 2000 and whose objective is to clean up the image of a country accused of repressing human rights on its soil and of waging a war in eastern DR Congo in support of the M23. So much for the sometimes dull behind-the-scenes side of football.

On the field side, it's a different atmosphere, at least for PSG, who offered a prodigious match on Tuesday evening against Bayern, beaten 5 goals to 4. The spectacle of "total football", according to L'Equipe. The sports daily pays a vibrant tribute to a “hysterical monument”. Thank you for this moment.

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