India and Pakistan conflict: Can (or will) they pull back from the brink?

It’s 80 years today since the signing of the armistice ending the Second World War. We look at poignant front pages from the British press. Eighty years on, the Daily Mirror believes the era of post-war peace is over. The British daily republishes this cartoon from May 8^th, 1945, by Philip Zec. Here you are, don’t lose it again, this WW2 vet says of victory and peace in Europe. The I also headlines on VE day, Victory in Europe day ... 80 years of hope. It's not the only story dominating the I: escalating violence between India and Pakistan is also making headlines.

World leaders are trying to pull India and Pakistan back from the brink after India launched deadly missiles against its neighbour yesterday. Delhi says it is retaliating against a deadly terror attack in Kashmir last month in which Pakistan is accused of being involved. The bellicose tone is very much present in the Indian press. Operation Sindoor – as was named by Prime Minister Narendra Modi – takes the terror fight to Pakistan, Business Standard says, carefully underlining what Indian authorities say was a "measured, non-escalatory attack". The belligerent tone is also apparent in the Hindustan Times with its bold title: "Sindoor serves justice". Free Press Journal, another Indian daily sees the strikes as "Pakistan punished" while The Hindu’s editors accuse Pakistan of using terrorism as a low-cost instrument of war against India for decades. Islamabad also harboured Osama bin Laden despite claiming to be an ally in the war on terror, the paper says.

There is a lot of strong language from the Pakistani press too. Pakistan Today quotes the Pakistani Prime Minister as describing the strikes as a "heinous attack by India", one which will not go unpunished. In its editorial pages, the paper calls it a "dastardly attack" but one in which Indian leadership should be embarrassed. The editors saying that five Indian fighters were downed in the attack yesterday and that Pakistan’s air forces were able to intercept and respond to Indian air strikes. Nonetheless, the paper calls on the international community to step up before "the restraint is gone". In a piece published by the daily Dawn, journalist Zahid Hussain underlines the importance of the media and decries their lack of objectivity. Shortly after the Kashmir attack, the Indian media, most of them controlled by business groups linked to the right-wing Hindu nationalist BJP party, blamed Pakistan, without waiting for an investigation. In Pakistan, some of the media often uses religion to whip up bigotry, Hussain adds, denouncing the weaponisation of the media.

Here in France, Paris Saint Germain fans are celebrating a thrilling win over Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals yesterday. There is jubilation from French sports daily L'Equipe which hails a "liberated" Paris Saint Germain which triumphed with a 2-1 win over Arsenal. Le Parisien celebrates PSG's second Champions League final - they'll face Inter Milan in Munich at the end of the month. There is devastation however from the British sports pages: "Art ache", says the Star Sport, for Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta. Daily Telegraph admits that the Gunners are "down and out in Paris".

Finally: the Guinness Book of Records has attributed a new record to a woman with the largest Minions collection! The Washington Post reports that Liesl Benecke from Perth, Australia has amassed more than 1000 pieces of Minions memorabilia after falling in love with the yellow creatures fifteen years ago! She has bobbleheads, blankets, Lego sets, water bottles, shower curtain and even two tattoos. She also keeps a giant, three-foot-tall stuffed Stuart in her car. Her dedication to the Minions has now put her in the Guinness Book of Records!

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