PRESS REVIEW – Friday, April 3: The papers reflect on 1,500 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Libération and Les Échos report an improving outlook in Kyiv, despite four years of bombing and devastation. In other news, Germans are venting their frustration over delays on the Deutsche Bahn – using fictional money to bet on when trains actually arrive. And finally: “Houston, we have a problem – it’s the toilet.”
The papers look back on the 1,500 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Libération and Les Échos highlight an improving outlook in Kyiv, despite years of bombing and devastation.
In other news, Germans are venting their frustration over delays on the Deutsche Bahn — but with a twist. According to the Times, a website allows users to place bets in fictional money on the actual arrival times of trains, in a country where only 58.5% ran on time last year.
Finally, “Houston, we have a problem: it’s the toilet.” Journalists at the New York Times provide a deep dive into Artemis II’s space toilet, designed for the weightless environment of orbit. One astronaut joked the crew was “pretty fortunate… to have a toilet with a door,” an innovation that cost $30 million, according to the Guardian. Shortly after launch, the toilet malfunctioned, forcing the astronauts to alert mission control, who were able to troubleshoot the problem. The Daily Mail captures the incident in a cartoon, showing an astronaut looking sheepish as two aliens comment, “They want to use our loo.”
