Gaza City Evacuation Order, French Government Falls, New Banksy Comes And Goes

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

French daily Libération splashes a multi-layered, tongue-in-cheek headline on its front page after Prime Minister François Bayrou’s crushing defeat in a confidence vote (364-194) — a “super slap.” The pun is a nod to the infamous footage of Bayrou slapping a schoolboy back in 2002, while it also riffs on the recent death of Supertramp cofounder Rick Davies. Bayrou is expected to present his resignation today, leaving President Emmanuel Macron to pick a successor or call elections. His downfall followed a failed austerity plan to cut France’s €3.4 trillion debt which included scrapping bank holidays and freezing welfare. With no majority, he was brought down by a left-right alliance. France is now set for its fifth prime minister in under two years.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Israel orders residents of Gaza City to evacuate. The Israeli military has urged all residents of Gaza City to “evacuate immediately” on Tuesday morning as it plans to expand its military operation in the city in northern Gaza “with great force.” This comes after Israel’s security cabinet last month approved a plan to take control of the enclave’s most populous city and what it portrays as Hamas’ last remaining stronghold. Meanwhile, Tunisian authorities have denied claims that the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), Gaza-bound vessels carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists including Greta Thunberg, was targeted by a drone at a port in Tunisia. Follow our coverage of the Israel-Palestine war here.

• Russian air strike on Donetsk region kills at least 20. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that a Russian glide bomb killed at least 20 civilians on Tuesday after it struck the village of Yarova in the Donetsk region as pensions were being distributed. Zelensky urged “strong action” from the international community “so that Russia stops bringing death.”

• Nepal’s prime minister resigns as violent anti-corruption protests escalate. Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has announced his immediate resignation as protests against a ban on social media platforms and government corruption escalate, leaving at least 19 people dead so far. The announcement comes after protesters set fire to the home of an ex-prime minister and vandalized the homes of several leaders. The mass demonstration started on Monday as opposition to a social media ban which has since been lifted early on Tuesday but was fueled by growing frustration against “nepo kids” and lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children. 

• Thai court orders ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve one year in prison. Thailand’s Supreme Court has ruled on Tuesday that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve a year in jail over convictions for corruption and abuse of power. This marks another blow to the political dynasty, after Thaksin’s daughter, who previously served as prime minister, was removed from office last month over a leaked phone call. 

• Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s largest hydropower dam. Ethiopia has officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on a tributary of the River Nile on Tuesday, a $5 billion project which has stoked years of tension with downstream Egypt. Cairo fears that the hydropower dam, Africa’s largest, could restrict its water supply during periods of drought. From the Worldcrunch vault, here’s an in-depth piece on the project, translated from French: Ethiopia’s Great Renaissance Dam Risks Diplomatic Blowup.

• Murdoch family reach deal on control of media assets. A years-long succession battle within Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media empire has drawn to a close, after his children reached a settlement on the control of the 94-year-old mogul’s companies after his death. Murdoch’s son Lachlan will remain in charge of the news group, ensuring the ongoing conservative leaning of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post in the future, while three siblings are exiting the business altogether.

• News Quiz! Two influencers who had planned a trip to France accidentally ended up on a plane headed for Tunisia. What happened?

A. They used ChatGPT to book their vacation
B. They trusted a TikTok “life hack” for cheap flights 
C. An airline employee misheard their destination
D. They fell asleep on the baggage carousel
[Answer below]

📣 VERBATIM

“Every person is now a target.”

— The U.S. Supreme Court lifted restrictions on ICE immigration raids in California, allowing federal agents to resume roving patrols which critics say amount to racial profiling. The unsigned order, backed by the conservative majority, bolsters Donald Trump’s hardline immigration agenda amid intensified raids in Los Angeles. California leaders were prompt to criticize the decision, with Governor Gavin Newsom saying “Trump’s private police force now has a green light to come after your family — and every person is now a target.”  

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

💻 ASML, the Dutch heavyweight in European technology, is investing 1.3 billion euros in French artificial intelligence start-up Mistral, making it the continent’s leading AI company and saving it from being taken over by an American investor.
— FRANCE INTER

🎬 Action movies or comedies for very masculine men, which are far away from the “woke dictatorship,” actually show guys in crisis who are constantly getting corrected by their daughters or female equivalents and are always scared of being replaced by younger versions of themselves.
— PIKARA

🧒 “Try and talk about war with a child and tell me how the absurd attempt of explaining so much stupidity and folly feels,” writes Argentine journalist and father of two Ignacio Pereyra.
— RECALCULATING