\n PRESS REVIEW \u2013 Tuesday, June 16: Papers focus on the historic\u00a0Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv that was set on fire by a missile barrage blamed on Russia. Next: a French-Vietnamese woman is appealing against the companies that supplied the deadly Agent Orange chemical during the Vietnam War. Also: an investigation shows that North Korean hackers are stealing Balkan identities. Finally, a cat interrupts the final scene of “Romeo and Juliet” in a theatre in Turkey. <\/p>\n
Ukrainian papers are covering the historic monastery in Kyiv<\/a> that was set ablaze on Tuesday amid Russian strikes.\u00a0The Kyiv Independent explains why Kyiv’s ancient monastery is so important for Ukraine<\/a>.\u00a0It’s “one of the holiest places”, says the headline. The article notes that the monastery, founded at the beginning of the 11th century, is one of Orthodox Christianity’s oldest and most sacred monasteries.\u00a0The paper says that this level of violence against the holy site hasn’t been witnessed since World War II<\/a>, when the Soviets bombed it with explosives.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another Ukrainian paper, Euromaidan Press, says that after reportedly hitting the monastery, Russia<\/a> launched a disinformation campaign with five different scenarios.\u00a0The article says this is a classic move that has been seen before, when Russia has tried to justify strikes on civilian or cultural targets in Ukraine.\u00a0In one scenario, Russian sources are blaming Ukraine for the fire at the monastery, calling it “Ukrainian provocation” or even “self-arson”. In another scenario, they say they struck military targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n Al Arabiya English covers Russia’s response.\u00a0The Russian foreign ministry says that the Ukrainian allegations are a “crude fake”. It claims that Russia simply attacked military factories and actually blames a US air defence missile for damaging the religious site.\u00a0The ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, also accuses Emmanuel Macron<\/a> and other European politicians of rushing and falsely blaming Moscow.<\/p>\n Next, we bring you a story about the struggle of a French-Vietnamese woman who is fighting against the multinational corporations that manufactured the toxic chemical Agent Orange.\u00a0Reporterre looks back at the battle waged for over a decade by Tran To Nga. She is appealing against 14 multinational companies that supplied the US military<\/a> with the highly toxic herbicide known as Agent Orange. This is the chemical that poisoned her and millions of other people during the Vietnam<\/a> War. Le Temps is also covering the battle of the 84-year-old woman. She is challenging the argument that these companies were merely responding to US government contracts.\u00a0If her appeal in France<\/a> fails, Tran to Nga has promised that she will take her case to the European Court of Human Rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, an investigation by Balkan Insight and BIRN reveals that North Korean hackers have been stealing identities from Serbia<\/a> and Bosnia.\u00a0The hackers are doing it to gain freelance work with American and European companies. They use the stolen European names, their photos and email address to create the account.\u00a0The paper says that the aim is to “raise revenues for North Korea<\/a>“. A report shows that “at least a portion” of the revenue was used to help “weapons<\/a> development and production” and other state projects. In 2024, North Korea likely earned between $350 and 800 million from its IT workers online.\u00a0The hackers use Chinese banks and different payment methods, like cryptocurrency<\/a> transactions, which are difficult to trace. If they get caught or a country improves its defences, they move on to the next victim.\u00a0<\/p>\n