Scientists stunned after mouse performs ‘mouse-to-mouse resuscitation’

The US has suspended military aid to Ukraine after US President Donald Trump had a particularly hostile meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky last week. According to the The New York Times, the White House says the aid will be reinstated when Trump has determined that Ukraine is seriously committed to peace negotiations with Russia.

This news broke early on Tuesday – too late for the front pages. But the European press focuses on what the bloc needs to do to ensure Ukraine’s protection. French paper Le Figaro looks ahead to an extraordinary EU summit that will be held later this week. On the agenda: saving Ukraine in the short and long term and establishing a roadmap to find funds to ensure its security. Le Monde, meanwhile, focuses on Europe‘s search for a peace plan. In its editorial, the paper lambasts French MPs after a national debate on Ukraine on Monday. The paper accuses opposition MPs of focusing on the 2027 presidential elections in France instead of the very real challenges ahead.

Elsewhere, the British newspaper Daily Express quotes Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has vowed that Britain will lead from the front to protect Ukraine and stave off the Russian threat to Europe. Starmer is the indeed the focus of the front of Politico’s website. His first seven months in leadership have been complicated, resulting in his waning popularity. But his leadership on Ukraine – hosting a summit at the weekend, welcoming Zelensky and a successful visit to the White House in which Trump even sang his praises – have helped transform his image. Starmer has gone from a leader who’s been compared to an “HR manager” to an unlikely wartime envoy. His unshowy style is seen as a welcome – and stark contrast – to that of French President Emmanuel Macron.

The Ukrainian press, meanwhile, looks at how the nature of the war has changed in the past three years. The Kyiv Independent looks at how drone technology has dramatically evolved. Russia has increased domestic production of different types of drones: reconnaissance, combat drones and decoys. It’s made it very difficult for Ukrainian troops to distinguish between them and has overloaded the air defence systems. The New York Times explains in a photo essay that while the early stages of the war were fought with traditional weapons, the conflict has since been transformed. Today, drones do most of the killing and are responsible for 70 percent of deaths and injuries. Drone pilots attack with joysticks and video screens, in the safety of bunkers often kilometres away from the front line, giving troops the feeling of having “a thousand snipers in the skies.”

In other news: French paper Aujourd’hui en France/Le Parisien looks at violence against football referees. It comes after Olympique Lyonnais coach Paulo Fonseca almost came to physical blows with referee Benoît Millot during his team’s Ligue 1 match against Brest. The violent gesture, in which he went head-to-head with the referee over a red card, has draw shock and ire. It comes just days after Pablo Longoria, the boss of Olympique de Marseille, was implicated in accusations of corruption. Longoria has been suspended for 15 matches. Fonseca could also face a heavy penalty for his violent gesture towards the referee. Le Parisien calls for courageous actions, from Lyon – who it says should fire its coach – and from the French League and its disciplinary commission, who it says need to understand that suspensions and fines are not enough.

Finally: scientists have been left astounded after observing lab mice actively trying to save each other. In a series of experiments, they observed mice fighting to revive their unconscious siblings who had been drugged to knock them out – you can see them pawing, licking and then pulling the tongue away to clear the airways. It’s strikingly similar to human mouth-to-mouth and the study was published in the journal Science. A video by New Scientist is also available! 

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