US sanctions 'will not stop Russia,' West has to 'open its negotiating position'

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, October 24: Papers react to Donald Trump's sanctions on Russia's energy sector. Next, NBA head coach and player were arrested in a takedown of gambling operations. Finally, we take a look at the finalists of the Comedy Wildlife awards.

Papers are reacting to Trump's fresh sanctions on Russia's top oil firms. The New York Times says that after “months of restraint,” Trump moves to blacklist Lukoil and Rosneft. The paper says it will hit Russia “where it hurts”. The paper says that, however, the sanctions “may not shift the course of Russia’s war in Ukraine,” even if Russia is facing deepening economic problems. An opinion piece in the British paper The Guardian says that these new sanctions “will not stop Russia”. The article says that the sanctions “increase the pressure,” but after years of sanctions, Russia has adjusted. It reminds us that the EU is preparing its 19th package of sanctions, but since China is backing Moscow, they are less effective. The opinion piece concludes that these sanctions will not end the war any time soon. What is needed, instead, is a more open negotiating position from the West, and a deal “somewhat more favourable to Russia than the West would prefer”. The Wall Street Journal explains why the sanctions are coming just now. Finally, The Moscow Times cites Russia's foreign ministry that said Russia has now developed a "strong immunity" to sanctions. 

Next: NBA head coach Chauncey Billups and NBA Miami Heat player Terry Rozier were arrested in a takedown of two gambling operations. They were arrested, along with 30 other people, on two different accounts: sports betting and Mafia-backed poker schemes, reports the Associated Press. The coach was charged with scamming high-stakes card games. A scam involving the Cosa Nostra crime family. Terry Rozier was accused in a separate scheme of using private information about players to win NBA bets.

The first case is a seven-million dollar poker scam. They used a combination of high-tech methods and old-school gambling tricks, explains The New York Post. The indictment said that the years-long scam depended on “advanced wireless technologies” and a network of operators who monitored the games remotely and communicated with handlers inside the room. Card shuffling machines took the center stage of the scam - they were set up to secretly transmit exactly what cards each player would get in their hand, even if the player cuts the deck, reports Wired Magazine. It all works with a tiny hacking device slipped into the shuffling machine and a camera that observes every card in the deck before it’s dealt. Then, the information is transferred via Bluetooth. The sports columnist of The Washington Post says that it chips away from the "most precious asset games have: integrity". He says that the magic of sports is built on competition and unpredictability, and when that’s gone, its value disappears. 

Finally, the finalists of Nikon’s comedy wildlife photography awards have been announced, reports The Guardian. We take a look at some of our favourites before the announcement of the winner on the 9th of December. 

You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday.