The business paper Les Echos agrees with the World Health Organisation's decision to declare the swine flu a pandemic: "Since less than 150 people in the world have fallen victim to the illness people are quite rightly asking whether the WHO hasn't gone too far … [But] the Geneva institution has taken the right action. It has stuck to the criteria which define a pandemic, in particular the presence of several independent trouble spots on different continents. The H1N1 swine flu is without doubt a pandemic, and by expressing a scientific reality the WHO was only doing its job. But this doesn't necessarily mean it's a dangerous pandemic, and this qualitative assessment of the threat is lacking on the global health authority's scale of risk. It is regrettable that the WHO has not yet got as far as giving an assessment of the dangerousness of the virus in addition to its assessment of how widespread it is." (12/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Jean-Françis Pécresse

The Spanish daily El Correo has soothing words for its readers following the decision of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to classify the swine flu as a pandemic: "So far the effects of the illness have been mild in the great majority of diagnosed cases; and the mortality rate compared to the number of infected persons is infinitely lower than that for a normal flu epidemic. By declaring it a pandemic - the first of the 21st century - the WHO wants to send a precise message to all health authorities: that they shouldn't waste their energy on trying to work out the exact pattern of infection but rather focus on those who are infected with the virus." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health Policy, » Health and Medicine, » Global

The liberal Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel finds panicked reactions to the announcement of a pandemic exaggerated: "What we have is a presumably very high number of infections on the one hand and relatively few fatalities on the other. According to the WHO, 144 people have died from swine flu until now. Of course every death is one too many. But from an epidemiologist's point of view, swine flu is nowhere near as severe as 'normal' flu which kills thousands every year in Germany alone, not to speak of the millions of victims of past pandemics. Swine flu is hence a pandemic that is not. True, it has spread all over the world, but without disastrous consequences. However just because it does not pose a threat now, that doesn't rule out it's doing so in future. Nevertheless it would be a mistake to concentrate all of our current resources, including vaccine production, on the new virus. At present we must do all we can to limit as much as possible the spread from humans to humans." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health and Medicine, » Science / Research, » Global
All available articles from » Hartmut Wewetzer

Chemist and scientific journalist Simon Rozendaal welcomes the measures taken by the Dutch government to counter swine flu in his blog on the website of the right-wing liberal news magazine Elsevier: "The Mexican flu is a strange virus. It is not particularly virulent, perhaps even less dangerous than the flu that goes around each winter. But it does share a peculiar characteristic with the Spanish flu of 1918: not only small children and the elderly fall ill, but also young people of around 25. It does not seem illogical to me that viruses can become more dangerous in the course of an epidemic. Of course, a virus doesn't gain anything by killing off its host en masse. That is the counter-productive strength of the Ebola virus, which consequently will never pose as great a threat as the flu or Aids viruses. But yes, mutations can happen, and if later on in winter the Mexican flu starts killing one percent of those infected instead of one in a thousand as it does now, the number of victims could rise very swiftly." (12/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Simon Rozendaal

The daily Berlingske Tidende is struck by the current Iranian presidential elections: "The campaign was so lively that there is hope for a record turnout. Who will gain from this is another question. But whoever wins, experience unfortunately shows that even the most reform-minded soon come into conflict with the Ayatollahs and the many councils. ... On the one hand it is clear that people want reform. On the other hand we know from experience that there are many traditionalists, especially in the countryside, who made sure [current incumbent Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad was elected the last time around. ... Should [challenger Mir-Hossein] Mousavi win, it remains uncertain that he will be able to fulfil the reform expectations he has aroused. But it would be a refreshing new start for Iran and the world if the sombre Ahmadinejad were voted out." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Elections, » Iran

The liberal Swiss daily Corriere del Ticino comments on the visit of Libyan head of state Muammar al-Gaddafi to Rome and the reactions of Rome's residents to his eccentricities - such as spending the night in a tent: "Since he landed the Libyan colonel … has been making his way across Rome to spend the night in his beloved tent. … To sleep in a public park is an eccentricity that true Romans simply can't understand, so they have gone and pasted the area surrounding the park with 'No Camping' signs. … But the real question Romans are asking is why on such an occasion a security apparatus is rolled out that makes the city the safest place in the world, only to be dismantled as soon as the visit ends, leaving the city to return to a normality that is characterised by equally disturbing matters of everyday security? … The Romans are waiting expectantly and with an air of congenial and calm irony for Gaddafi's next eccentricity. They asked him half jokingly to donate his tent to the earthquake victims in Aquila." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Italy, » Libya
All available articles from » Alessandro Leto

In the central Spanish town of Benavente a court has ordered the investigation of a murder committed during the Spanish Civil War. It will involve the opening of a mass grave and the identification of the victims. The left-liberal daily El País welcomes the decision: "The judge in Benavente, Tania Chico, has made a decision which, at least for the living relatives of those civil war victims of Francoism and for modern Spain, which has kept their memory alive, can only be described as historic. … That the current state has taken so long to react to the demands of the families of victims of Francoism should give Spanish citizens today pause for thought. This is not about reopening old wounds, as is sometimes claimed, but about closing them: that democratic Spain recognises these victims of an injustice." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » History, » Remembrance culture, » Spain

The Portuguese daily Diário de Notícias sees José Manuel Barroso's candidacy for a second term in office as EU commission president as good for Portugal's image: "As far as Barroso is concerned there is a kind of schizophrenia in Portugal, especially among politicians. Those who share his political ideology defend him. Meanwhile those who belong to different political factions also defend him but do so cautiously. Among the latter there are those who ask what Portugal gains from his term in office. But this, of course, is not the right question, above all because this is not his function. What Portugal gains from Barroso being president of the EU Commission goes beyond political differences of opinion. To name a simple example: Barroso boosts Portugal's image in the same way [FC Internazionale Milano coach] José Mourinho boosts Portugal's image in football. In other words, Portugal only stands to gain from the EU Commission's president being Portuguese." (11/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Portugal, » Europe

The Bosnian state television recently showed images of the internationally wanted war criminal Ratko Mladić dancing and celebrating in the Serbian capital Belgrade. The daily Delo comments: "The fact that two heinous war criminals [Mladić und Radovan Karadžić] have been able to live freely in Belgrade for years clearly reveals the political and social reality of post-war Serbia, which despite numerous opportunities has never gone through a catharsis. At the same time the images underscore the urgency of the aims of the international community, which has suffered numerous political and moral setbacks in the former Yugoslavia. Karadžić's extradition was a political gesture by the Serbian government, not an ethical one. Political action knows no limits. Mladić's smile of complacency and absolute security broadcast by the Bosnian television offers ample proof of that." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Serbia, » Bosnien
All available articles from » Bostjan Videmsek

The European elections in Bulgaria were marred by the buying and manipulation of votes by economic interest groups. A similar scenario is expected in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The daily Dnevnik comments: "Nineteen years after the first multi-party elections we are once again running the risk that citizens lose the free vote. Huge organisational and financial resources are being used to exert increasing influence on controlled elections. The upcoming elections are decisive, not just for the preservation of the status quo but also for the conservation of the party structures that the perestroika [restructuring] of the totalitarian regime created. … Key political players from those times are prepared to go to any lengths to ensure their own survival by pretending we live in a representative democracy, free market economy and constitutional state." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Antony Todorov

Left-wing publicist Tamás Mészáros comments in the left-liberal weekly 168 Óra on the results of the European elections in Hungary: "People weren't surprised by the dramatic but nevertheless predictable defeat of the governing socialists, nor by the rise of the extreme right which has been in the offing for some time now, nor by the clear success of the conservative opposition party Fidesz. What was far more surprising was the number of votes the extreme right Jobbik party was able to gather [almost 15%], and the accompanying massive advance of the far right in Hungary. Or to put it differently: the alarming extent to which racist, anti-Semitic Hungarianism has gained a foothold. Another surprise was the catastrophic results of the Free Democrats [just under 2%], which pretty much signals the demise of liberalism in Hungary. ... These two facts have shaken Hungarian democracy to the core. ... The immune system of Hungarian society is disgracefully weak. As the European elections show, those in the centre are even ready to join hands with the extreme right." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Elections, » Hungary
All available articles from » Tamás Mészáros

After more than 60 years the Czech criminal police has revealed who was responsible for the greatest post-war crime against Germans in what was then Czechoslovakia. The German-language weekly Prager Zeitung applauds the move: "For decades the crimes perpetrated against Germans during the expulsion were hushed up, swept under the carpet or even flatly denied. Only a few enlightened intellectuals were bold enough to lay a finger in their own wound. It has now become possible to talk about these crimes without immediately being labelled a traitor. In addition, it makes no sense to hush up these facts in view of the lively discussions, particularly among the younger generation, which do not shy away from topics of history concerning both countries. Many of these young people - much like the generation of 1968 - will go on asking questions, want to know what happened and demand answers." (11/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Remembrance culture, » Germany, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Bernd Rudolf

Russian historian Dina Khapaeva, one of the founders of the Russian Smolny Institute in St. Petersburg, says in an interview with the weekly magazine Dilema Veche that the myth of the Second World War is probably the last that keeps the Russian nation together: "I don't mean to say that the war is a myth and nor do I deny that it was a great tragedy which brought terrible suffering to the people. All I'm saying is that today, as in Soviet times, it is still being instrumentalised for political purposes. … They [the Russians] don't realise that the Second World War, and particularly what was known as the Great Patriotic War, was also a great crime committed by the Soviet government, the Communist Party and the Soviet generals against their own soldiers and their own people. This myth turns Stalin into a war hero who triumphed over evil in the form of fascism, and which justifies the cruelties and crimes of the Soviet regime by claiming that the Soviet army freed the world from the worst fate. … This myth prevents reflection on the criminal nature of Stalinism, which is used as the main vehicle for historical revisionism in Russia today." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » History, » Remembrance culture, » Russia, » Romania
All available articles from » Mircea Vasilescu

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU have granted Romania a 20 billion euro loan under strict conditions. The money is badly needed, writes the daily Gândul: "The memorandum signed between Romania and the IMF foresees transferring responsibilities from the government to the Fund. Every three months the government must show that it has used the public money solely for the purpose of economic recovery. ... In addition the ministries must submit all available information to the IMF on businesses in which the state is a shareholder; it must show how and to what end money was spent, and whether the restructuring plan was taken into account. In other words the 'black holes' are under observation, and the good news is that this observation is not only being done by the state, because with the exception of the energy sector, the number of profitable state-owned enterprises is tiny." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Inflation, » Romania
All available articles from » Victor Rotariu

Times of crisis often give birth to particularly creative ideas, the daily Postimees writes, bemoaning the fact that this is hardly the case in Estonia: "Many economists and politicians see the global crisis as proof that we're all living in the same village. Nevertheless the ways of dealing with the crisis vary widely from country to country. ... Cities and financial centres like Hamburg, Dubai, Shanghai and Mumbai have started to form alliances and economic associations similar to the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages. Tallinn had the chance of making use of its tremendous geographic location, and Scandinavia is considered one of the most innovative regions in the world. But instead Estonia is falling further and further behind in competition rankings, as a recent Eurobarometer study has shown. When two Estonians get into an argument there are always three opinions being hashed out. Why can't we finally establish some order here and make our small state more flexible?" (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Economic Policy, » Estonia
All available articles from » Martin Kala

As of July, computers in China may only be sold with a pre-installed filter-software that blocks access to certain Internet sites. The International Herald Tribune takes a dim view of the plan: "The last thing China needs is to force the installation of software that could cause millions of computers to crash. That would feed new resentment against a government already accused of gross incompetence after thousands of children died in the collapse of shoddily constructed schools in the 2008 earthquake. International manufacturers probably could force the government to reverse the new rules by threatening not to sell their products. But they have no history of standing up to Beijing. If Beijing does not reconsider its foolhardy decision, the new rules would take effect on July 1. Our advice to Chinese consumers: Buy your PC now." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Online media, » China

Real Madrid, the Spanish football team that has won the most championships, wants to buy star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for 93 million euros. The conservative daily Die Welt comments: "Is football about to annul the rules of proportionality during its summer break? No, the old free market game of supply and demand is at play here. Ronaldo is an extremely sought-after player, almost unique in his skills. He who wants him has to reach deep into his pockets - even if the sum seems fantastically high. One thing's for sure, it's not reimbursable. But because Florentino Pérez, a property tycoon and billionaire, has become president of Real Madrid money no longer matters. People like Pérez see transfers like that of Ronaldo or Kaká as a gift to the fans. The fans love them for it; this is enough reward for their vanity. But what people like Pérez fail to understand is that sums like this are offensive in times like the present." (12/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Sport, » Spain
All available articles from » Patrick Krull