Research Preview: Science Magazine -January 26, 2024

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Science Magazine – January 25, 2024: The new issue features ‘Pump It Up’ – Pushing water uphill to store green energy…

How giant ‘water batteries’ could make green power reliable

For times when wind and solar fall short, some utilities are turning to an old technology called pumped storage hydropower

A ghostly quasiparticle rooted in a century-old Italian mystery could unlock quantum computing’s potential

Before he disappeared, Ettore Majorana made a strange prediction. Researchers are still hunting for the truth about him—and his namesake particles

Current Affairs: Prospect Magazine – March 2024

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Prospect Magazine (March 2024) The latest issue features ‘How The Government Captured The BBC’ – A faceless fixer – and a broadcaster in a state of ‘permanent cringe’…

To whom do we owe shelter?

We do not choose where we are born. That creates rights—and obligations—that we should all seek to honour

Conflict, human rights abuses and climate change have led to a doubling of the global refugee population in the last seven years, and yet the response of many wealthy countries has become increasingly insular and myopic. Constant demands to slash international aid, along with punitive immigration policies and hateful rhetoric, mark a shift away from humanitarian values. The UK’s Rwanda scheme epitomises this trend: it would normalise the mass deportation of asylum seekers and undermine prohibitions on returning refugees to dangerous countries. At the same time, citizens of wealthy countries appear increasingly indifferent to the plight of those who perish in the Mediterranean or along other perilous routes.

How the government captured the BBC

© Photography by Sara Morris, post-production by the Retouching Shed

Ukraine’s fate, Europe’s choice

Friendly fire? Ukraine’s chief commander, Valeriy Zaluzhny, is said to have a frosty relationship with Zelensky © Ukraine President’s Office / Alamy

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – January 26, 2024

The Guardian Weekly (January 25, 2024) – The new issue features ‘True Colours’ – What the AFD really wants for Germany; The fading hopes for Middle East Peace; Trump’s victory and DeSantis’s doomed campaign…

Events in the Middle East continue to unfold at a bewildering pace, with pockets of conflict opening up across the region. Diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour rounds up a week of flashpoints and assesses increasingly slim hopes for controlling the situation. And Oliver Holmes provides a revealing profile of Yemen, one of the most unchanging and least visited countries in the Middle East.

The Weekly went to press before news of Donald Trump’s victory in the New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday night, but you can catch up with all the latest Guardian coverage and reaction here. In the magazine, David Smith delivers a postmortem on Ron DeSantis’s doomed campaign, while Jonathan Freedland argues that Trump’s march to the White House can still be stopped.

Our long-read features take somewhat divergent paths this week. First, Charlotte Edwardes meets Gary Lineker, the former England footballer turned TV presenter whose penchant for regularly airing his liberal worldviews has made him public enemy No 1 for Britain’s anti-woke brigade.

Then, Chananya Groner unearths a remarkable story of factionalism and messianic fervour within New York’s Hasidic Jewish community, stretching back 30 years, which led to secret tunnels recently being discovered beneath a Brooklyn synagogue.

And in Culture, Charlotte Higgins meets the classical musicians Dalia Stasevska and Joshua Bell, who are resurrecting a long-forgotten Ukrainian concerto as a gesture of defiance to Russia.

Finally, we’re on the lookout for your best photographs of the world around us. For a chance for your picture to feature in the magazine, send us your best shot, telling us where you were in the world when you took it and why the scene resonated with you at that particular time.

News: Far Right Stokes Europe Farmer Protests, Independents Shun Trump

The Globalist Podcast (January 25, 2024) Farmers across Europe take to the streets. Do their protests link with the far-right movement in the EU?

Then: the Philippines refuses to help the ICC’s drug-war probe, we assess the Red Sea disruption’s effect on global trade and look at the women serving in Ukraine’s armed forces. Plus: the diplomacy of alcohol as Saudi Arabia prepares to open its first liquor store – serving diplomats only.

The New York Times — Thursday, January 25, 2024

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New Hampshire and Iowa Reveal Broader Weaknesses for Trump

Donald Trump seen walking out from behind a blue curtain.

As Donald J. Trump pivots to a general election, early results point at the rough road ahead with critical independent voters.

Modi Opens a Giant Temple in a Triumph for India’s Hindu Nationalists

The temple inaugurated by the prime minister is on the disputed site of a centuries-old mosque destroyed in a Hindu mob attack that set a precedent of impunity in cases of violence against Muslims.

After Early Primary Victories, Republicans in Congress Fall in Line Behind Trump

The former president’s win in New Hampshire has melted away much of the remaining opposition to him among Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Biden Receives Endorsement from United Automobile Workers Union

The group, which endorsed President Biden in the 2020 election, made the self-described most “pro-union president in history” work for its official approval.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine- January 25, 2024

Volume 625 Issue 7996

Nature Magazine – January 24, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘Brain Drain’ – A hub for the outflow of Cerebrospinal Fluid…

A quantum fix makes e-commerce more tamper-resistant

Light pulses with specific quantum properties could be harnessed to send digital ‘contracts’ between buyer and seller.

How an exercise habit paves the way for injured muscles to heal

Mice that work out regularly have higher levels of a molecule that promotes muscle regeneration than sedentary mice do.

Flexible geothermal power makes it easier to harness Earth’s inner heat

Next-generation plants that respond to demand could be key to making a low-carbon energy source more economically appealing.

Residential Design: The Onze22 Towers In Brazil

Dezeen (January 24, 2024) – French-Brazilian studio Triptyque has completed an 85-metre-high residential development in São Paulo that offers its occupants indoor-outdoor living.

Onze22 consists of two towers, with the largest containing 24 storeys. Balconies wrap the building on three sides, allowing apartments to extend outdoors.

Read more on Dezeen: https://www.dezeen.com/?p=2022497

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Jan 26, 2024

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Times Literary Supplement (January 24, 2024): The latest issue features ‘The Rich Are Always With Us’ – Ferdinand Mount on taming the plutocrats; Empire’s balance sheet; Who is Charles III?; Silvia Townsend Warner’s revival and ChatGPT goes to college…

News: Trump Wins New Hampshire Vote, Turkey Votes Sweden Into NATO

The Globalist Podcast (January 24, 2024) The latest from the all-important face-off between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire primary.

Plus: the Turkish parliament votes on Swedish accession to Nato, Germany’s six-day train strike begins and the latest business news.

The New York Times — Wednesday, Jan 24, 2024

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Trump’s Win Adds to Air of Inevitability as Haley Sharpens Edge

The former president’s victories in Iowa last week and in New Hampshire on Tuesday leave his main Republican rival, Nikki Haley, with an uphill battle.

Stripped, Beaten or Vanished: Israel’s Treatment of Gaza Detainees Raises Alarm

A U.N. office said Israel’s detention and treatment of detainees might amount to torture. It estimated thousands had been detained and held in “horrific” conditions. Some were freed wearing only diapers.

Israeli Soldiers Clearing Buffer Zone in Gaza Die in Blast

On the deadliest day for Israelis since the ground invasion against Hamas began, about 20 soldiers were killed as they prepared to level buildings near the border.