PRESS REVIEW – Friday, June 19: Papers discuss the worsening fuel crisis in Russia. Also: the Major Oak tree from the Robin Hood legend is dead. Finally, articles discuss mums who use cannabis and ask how much is actually too much.
Radio Free Europe‘s headline says that Russia‘s fuel crisis is spreading and the recent Ukrainian strikes are going to make it even worse. The article cites Russian media that describe long lines at fuel stations, while Tatneft, a Russian oil producer, imposed rationing across its petrol stations throughout Russia. Other fuel stations have had to close down.
Meanwhile, an opinion piece in the Russian independent paper, The Moscow Times, says that the fuel shortages are “manageable”, but the “Kremlin‘s options are shrinking”. The article estimates that the current fuel crisis is not as bad as the one Russia saw last year, but the Kremlin needs to act now to prevent a bigger problem. The headline of Novaya Gazeta reads “Petrol by ration, water by the hour, stockpiling food“. Russia is learning to live like this only now, it says. But for the occupied Donbas region of Ukraine, this has been the reality for a while now. The article says that it’s time Russia learns to prepare as “war becomes part of everyday city life”.
Next: in England, a popular tree in the Sherwood Forest has died. The Major Oak is “the ancient tree of the Robin Hood Legend”, The New York Times reports. It was between 800 and 1,200 years old and it outlasted the reigns of six King Henrys and two Queen Elizabeths. The legend is that Robin Hood himself hid in the trunk of the tree. That legend, however implausible, has turned it into a tourism magnet. It’s what made it popular and also what, unfortunately, killed it. There were multiple factors: over-tourism, climate change and misguided efforts to save the tree. The good news is that its acorns have been planted all over Britain.
Finally, papers discuss cannabis use. The Atlantic talks about a new generation of mothers who get high. They say that weed helps them “survive full-time parenting“. They call themselves “garden moms” and often post their “cannabis routines” on platforms like TikTok. For many who struggle with isolation, for instance, cannabis is the medicine they need to take before their work as a mother begins.
The Washington Post, for its part, writes about the newest research on cannabis. As weed enters the daily lives of a growing number of Americans, the article asks: “How much cannabis is too much for the brain?” It turns out that quantity isn’t the most important factor, but instead which age group is consuming the drug.
You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday.
