Video timeline: 00:00 – The Saudi normalisation deal 00:42 – Israel and Saudi Arabia’s history 01:10 – How to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 02:26 – Will the deal happen?
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Politics: The Guardian Weekly – February 9, 2024
The Guardian Weekly (February 8, 2024) – The new issue features ‘Final Straw’ – What’s eating Europe’s Farmers?; Joe Biden’s Middle East masterplan; Can anything stop the AI deepfakes? and The Pet Shop Boys are back in town…
If you live in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland or Greece, you may well have already run into one of the numerous roadblocks or protests formed in recent weeks by furious farmers. If you’re in Spain and Italy, take cover – because they are coming to you soon, if not already.
In this week’s cover story, we explore what has proved to be the final straw for Europe’s farmers. A combination of rising costs, environmental rules and grievances over EU policies, coupled with more localised complaints, seem to be the factors driving the convoys of tractors. But far-right and anti-establishment parties, who could make major gains in forthcoming European parliament elections, have also picked up on the protests as part of their agenda against EU influence.
Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis and Europe correspondent Jon Henley delve into the protests (if not the piles of steaming dung being dumped on the continent’s roads, as illustrated wonderfully by Neil Jamieson on this week’s cover), and ask what can be done to placate them.
News: German Chancellor Scholz U.S. Trip, Congress Debates Ukraine Funding
The Globalist (February 8, 2024): We discuss German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to Washington, as he tries to bolster US support for Ukraine.
Plus: Dutch coalition talks, fashion news and the UAE’s luxury property boom.
The New York Times — Thursday, February 8, 2024
Netanyahu Spurns Hamas Offer for Gaza Cease-Fire
The Israeli prime minister said that the proposed deal would leave Israel vulnerable to attack and that its forces were preparing to expand their operations.
The United States Has Been a Bulwark for Ukraine. What Happens if Support Collapses?
American officials concede there is nothing on the horizon that could match the power of a new, $60 billion congressional appropriation to support its war against Russian aggression.
From Ferguson to Gaza: How African Americans Bonded With Palestinian Activists
The relationship became closer during protests over police brutality, but brings political risks, like straining the alliance between African Americans and Jews.
King Pushed for Transparency on Diagnosis. He Raised Questions in the Process.
The king has let people know more about his health than other monarchs, but a decision to keep private the form of cancer he has is leading to speculation in lieu of facts.
Research Preview: Nature Magazine- February 8, 2024
Surprise find: a blood-based immune system is discovered in the gut
Immune guardians called complement proteins are manufactured by gut cells and help to protect against pathogens.
Black-hole observations solve cosmic-ray mystery
Data from an African observatory show that jets from a collapsed star are capable of producing some of the Galaxy’s fastest particles.
Obesity drugs have another superpower: taming inflammation
The blockbuster medications that reduce body weight also reduce inflammation in organs such as the brain, raising hopes that they can treat Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Feb 9, 2024
Times Literary Supplement (February 7, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Cancel Culture’ – The limits of academic free speech; An Auschwitz memoir; Wittgenstein’s bombshell; Horrible legions and Dutch artobiography…
News: Gaza War Talks, GOP Rejects Israel Aid, Border And Ukraine Bill Debated
The Globalist (February 7, 2024): We discuss the bill worth $118bn (€109bn), which will be debated by the US Senate today.
Plus: protests in Senegal after parliament delays the presidential election, Marine Le Pen meets with the Alternative for Germany party and we catch up with J A Bayona, director of ‘Society of the Snow’.
The New York Times — Wednesday, Feb 7, 2024
Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump’s Claim of Absolute Immunity
The ruling answered a question that an appeals court had never addressed: Can former presidents escape being held accountable by the criminal justice system for things they did while in office?
What Israeli Soldiers’ Videos Reveal: Cheering Destruction and Mocking Gazans
An analysis of social media videos found Israeli soldiers filming themselves in Gaza and destroying what appears to be civilian property. The footage provides a rare and unsanctioned window into the war.
More Than a Fifth of Hostages in Gaza Are Dead, Israel Says
As Israel and Hamas inch closer to a deal to free hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a cease-fire, the military disclosed that at least 30 of the captives still in Gaza have been confirmed dead.
Republican Impeachment of Mayorkas Fails Amid G.O.P. Defections
In a stunning defeat, the House rejected impeachment charges against the homeland security secretary, as rank-and-file lawmakers balked at what they considered a misuse of the process.
The New York Review Of Books – February 22, 2024
The Case for Disqualification
The Supreme Court must decide if it will honor the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment and bar Donald Trump from holding public office or trash the constitutional defense of democracy against insurrections.
In Search of the Rare and Strange
In Dürer’s Lost Masterpiece, Ulinka Rublack traces the global connections of the merchants who were the creative agents of the European art market in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
Dürer’s Lost Masterpiece: Art and Society at the Dawn of a Global World by Ulinka Rublack
The Forest Eaters
In 2017, the Brazilian journalist Eliane Brum moved from São Paulo to a small city in the Amazon. Her new book vividly uncovers how the rainforest is illegally seized and destroyed.
Banzeiro Òkòtó: The Amazon as the Center of the World by Eliane Brum, translated from the Portuguese by Diane Whitty
Classical Music: Top New Releases – February 2024
- Nordic Symphonies: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Nor…
- J.S. Bach: Mattäus Passion: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/JSB…
- Poulenc: Piano Music: https://PianoClassics.lnk.to/PoulencP…
- Field: 18 Nocturnes: https://PianoClassics.lnk.to/Field18N…
- Chopin: Études: https://PianoClassics.lnk.to/ChopinLP…
- Vivaldi: Sonatas for 2 Violins: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Viv…
- Antonioni: My River, Music for Strings: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Ant…
- Muffat: Componimenti Musicali: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Muf…
- Reicha & Neukomm: Quintets: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Rei…
- Viotti: Violin Concerto No.22; Cherubini: Symphony in D: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Vio…
- Duarte: Works for Solo Guitar: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Dua…
- Music for Viola & Piano by Reinecke, Schumann, Vieuxtemps, Wieniawski, Sibelius and Bridge: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Mus…
- Pejacevic: Chamber Music: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Pej…
- Dvorak: 2 Serenades: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Dvo…
- Tales from Sardinia: https://brilliant-classics.lnk.to/Tal…
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