Jury selection has begun in the first ever criminal trial of a former US president, with Donald Trump accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Dubbed Trump's "Trial of the Century" by The New Yorker, the case relates to a hush-money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, to cover up an alleged affair that she had with him in 2006,  when he was married to his current wife Melania.

But more than the fraud allegations, said Jeffrey Abramson on CNN, "it is about Trump's alleged attempt to win the 2016 presidential election by burying a last-minute story that could have cost him votes". It is a story of sex, money and, ultimately, power.

What are the allegations against Trump?
In the run-up to the 2016 election, Daniels's agent contacted the National Enquirer about the alleged affair, and the magazine's editor then contacted Trump's friend and lawyer Michael Cohen. Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford) claims that Cohen negotiated a $130,000 fee to buy her silence that he paid himself, before being reimbursed by the Trump Organization in instalments identified on company records as "retainer" payments for "services rendered".

Prosecutors argue that Trump could have lost the 2016 election had the affair claims been made public, so the case is about him "lying his way into office", said The New Yorker. Trump's lawyers say the payment was meant to spare him and his family embarrassment, not to help him win the election. He has denied all 34 counts against him and has also denied having sexual encounters with Daniels.

What will it mean for Trump?
Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations in 2018 related to the payments. But the verdict at Trump's trial "may well depend on whether the jury of 12 understands the gravity of the matter", said Abramson. "The case will require jurors to focus on the actual charges and not become distracted by the tawdry sexual details surrounding the case."

In the Republican primaries, Trump used his legal woes to "cast himself as a victim, which fired up support among GOP voters and boosted fundraising", said Fox News. Leaving Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday, he told reporters: "It's a scam. It's a political witch hunt. It continues, and it continues forever. We are not going to be given a fair trial and it is a very sad thing."

The lighting of the Olympic torch today comes amid a "dampening" of enthusiasm for the Paris Games in an increasingly "fractious" France, commentators warn.

"We're ready for this final straight," said Paris Olympics chief organiser Tony Estanguet at a press conference to mark the 100-day countdown. But the French capital's "often hard-to-please residents appear in no mood for a party yet", said France 24.

'Security threats' and 'faecal' pollution
With the clock ticking down until the Games kick off on 26 July, France's "bitter politics and gloomy mindset are dampening the mood" among a "fractious" public, said The Japan Times. The build-up has been "marred by rows" that go to "the heart of a bitter national debate about identity and race".

Security fears are also growing amid mounting global tensions. President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that the opening ceremony might be moved from the River Seine to a new location if the authorities decide that the risk of an attack, potentially by drones, is too great. Asked if the Kremlin would seek to disrupt the Olympics, Macron said he had "no doubt".

Another potential threat is sewage pollution in the Seine, where swimming events are due to take place. In an analysis by the Surfrider Foundation, only one out of 14 water samples from the river were found to be safe for swimming. Bacteria, including "pollution of faecal origin", remains dangerously high in the river, said the non-profit environmental organisation.

'Mountains of scepticism'
The Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee has "mountains of scepticism to dispel" in France and beyond, said The Associated Press. The $13 billion cost of the 2021 Tokyo Games and the "unfulfilled promises of beneficial change" for 2016 host Rio de Janeiro triggered widespread anger, and the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi were "tarnished by Russian doping".

But many previous predictions of Olympics doom have proved incorrect. Journalists emit "cyclical loud buzzing noises before every set of Summer Games", said George Vecsey in The New York Times in 2004. Reporters will "continue to fret on schedule", because it's "in our job description".

Estanguet acknowledged last week that "before this kind of big event, there are always many questions, many concerns". But the Paris edition would make his nation "proud", he said.

The number of holidaymakers choosing to go it alone is rising, whether in escorted groups or independently. And it is an active choice, not forced by an inability to find a travelling companion. 

"Rather than a function of necessity or compromise, holidaying alone has become the ultimate indulgence in 2024: a rare chance in this ultra-demanding world to put one's own needs and priorities first," said the London Evening Standard.

One factor fuelling the independent travel trend may be an after-effect of the pandemic's enforced isolation, which "emboldened" people with a 'now or never' attitude".

That solitude can have benefits for our well-being. Research by Netta Weinstein, a professor of psychology and clinical language sciences at the University of Reading, has shown that there is a big difference between imposed solitude and chosen solitude, reported The Guardian.

"Having space gives us time to connect with ourselves, and connecting with ourselves benefits our wellbeing," said Weinstein. A key factor appears to be the sense of autonomy we get from being alone.

Research by online travel agent Opodo.com in 2023 revealed that 41% of us prefer to travel alone, reported The Telegraph. The main attraction of a solo trip is being able to do what you want, when you want. 

"It puts us in control of decision-making", giving us the option "to linger for hours in a museum without our partners or children having a meltdown". And apart from the sightseeing, solo travel "gives us tranquil time for personal reflection and growth".

Liz Truss has kindly offered to 'save the west'. But who will save her from her delusions?
Gaby Hinsliff in The Guardian
Liz Truss has written a book about her time in Downing Street, says Gaby Hinsliff, but "given the brevity of her stay at No 10 it's arguably less a memoir" than a "kind of extended Tripadvisor review". Calling it "Ten Years to Save the West" suggests "faintly deluded levels of self-belief". The former PM's demise "is ultimately nobody's fault but her own", but "as with a spoilt child", some of the blame belongs to those who "for years overindulged the Conservative party".

Whisper it, but Joe Biden might be the Jews' greatest ever friend
Anshel Pfeffer in The Jewish Chronicle
Joe Biden "surpassed his own record as an unparalleled ally of Israel when he created an ad-hoc international coalition" to protect Israel from Iranian attacks, says Anshel Pfeffer. This "not only saved Israeli lives but has opened a way for Israel out of the strategic quagmire into which the Netanyahu government has led the country".  The US president could be the "staunchest ally of the Jewish people in history". 

The Sydney church terror attack is a wake-up call for Australians
Terry Barnes in The Spectator
"Two very public stabbing outrages in a matter of days" have "rattled and angered" Australians, says Terry Barnes. They had become "accustomed to think that mass killings and attempted killings are things that are, tragically, commonplace elsewhere, but unlikely to happen Down Under". But this view has been "shattered" and Australians have seen that "we are simply unready and unprepared to deal with mass killings". Now, "lessons need to be learned quickly".