PRESS REVIEW - Monday, January 19: Portugal on track for a rare second round of presidential elections. In other news, new details emerge of the massacres in Iran, while the new normal is one of mass fear and major police presence. Finally, the Dull Men's Club meet up in a London pub to be in like-minded company.
In Portugal, “a second vote to define the country” in the words of Publico. This as presidential elections were close enough to go to a second round, in which voters will be invited to choose between the Socialist party and the far-right Chega party. Although centre-left Seguro came out well in front of the far-right runner up Ventura, Expresso points out that Ventura’s result was the same as Marine Le Pen’s in 2022, hinting at what could be the beginning of a fast upward trajectory. An analysis in Diario de Noticias explains that the two candidates will now be vying for the votes of the traditional right-wing.
From Iran, a report in Italian La Repubblica describes the “battle of the hospitals”: where injured protestors were further brutalised by security forces, taken from their beds, some led outside to be shot. Meanwhile the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal have reports from the ground since the protests ended, painting a picture of eerie silence, and massive police and army presence in the streets.
And, finally, the Dull Men's Club met in a London restaurant over the weekend, and The Times had the exclusive: this is a group of men (even if women are technically allowed in too) who take pride in their eccentric hobbies. Among them, a pothole artist, a man who collects and curates photos of dustbins, and an international dignitary in conkers.
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