PRESS REVIEW – Monday, December 1: Papers discuss HIV figures across France. Next, Israeli papers react to PM Benjamin Netanyahu's pardon request – a "resounding no" or a "necessary" act? Also: the "Sunday Scaries" are more common than we might think. Finally, we bring you a love story about a widow, a widower and water aerobics.

For World AIDS Day, French papers are discussing the HIV epidemic across the country. Nearly half a century after HIV/AIDS was discovered, misinformation is extremely widespread, as the French TV channel BFM reports. Almost one in four French people still believe that kissing someone on the mouth can transmit the virus. Some 36 percent believe that the virus can be transmitted by drinking from the same glass or by a mosquito bite. And more than eight out of 10 people think that unprotected sex with an HIV-positive person who is undergoing treatment can transmit the virus. BFM reminds us that when taken correctly, treatment prevents HIV-positive people from transmitting the virus, even during unprotected sex. For some more statistics, The Conversation interviewed epidemiologist Dominique Costagliola. She says that in France, in 2023, more than 180,000 people were living with HIV. The highest figures were recorded in the Paris region: 162 cases per one million inhabitants. 

Elsewhere, Israeli papers are reacting to PM Benjamin Netanyahu's pardon request. For left-wing Israeli paper Haaretz, the decision is clear. In an opinion piece, Haaretz writes that "the only sensible answer to Netanyahu’s pardon request is a resounding no". The article says that even though Netanyahu is asking for a pardon, he isn't willing to admit anything and continues to claim that the cases against him were "fabricated". The paper says that his request is an "aggressive act" by someone who seeks to exploit the institution of the pardon and abolish justice. The right-wing paper The Jerusalem Post has a different opinion. It says that "pardoning Netanyahu is an imperfect but necessary end to the PM's long legal saga". The opinion piece says that the deeper question is what prolonging the trial is doing to the country and whether ending it "might finally allow Israel to move on". The Jerusalem Post says that it's time to close the chapter – "not for Netanyahu, but for the country".

Over in the US, Inc. Magazine talks about the "Sunday Scaries", the dreadful feeling we experience on a Sunday afternoon when we realise that the weekend has almost ended. The magazine says that more than 80 percent of American workers report "Sunday Scaries", with symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, loss of productivity and motivation.

Finally, The Washington Post has a heartwarming story about a widow and a widower who fell in love during water aerobics... and three years later, got married in the pool.

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