Category Archives: News

The New York Times — Sunday, September 17, 2023

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In Risky Hunt for Secrets, U.S. and China Expand Global Spy Operations

The nations are taking bold steps in the espionage shadow war to try to collect intelligence on leadership thinking and military capabilities.

Dire Warnings About Libya Dams Went Unheeded

Derna, Libya, has been devastated by flooding from storms this week, which washed swaths of the city into the sea.

“The state wasn’t interested,” said an engineer who published a paper on why Derna’s dams, after decades of postponed repairs, might fail under the stress of a powerful storm.

World’s Largest ‘Baby Exporter’ Confronts Its Painful Past

South Korean adoptees have been returning to the country to hold the government accountable for what they call a corrupt adoption system that went largely unchanged until recent decades.

Texas Attorney General Is Acquitted in Landmark Senate Trial

Senators voted largely on party lines against conviction of the attorney general, Ken Paxton, who had been impeached on charges of corruption and abuse of office.

Saturday Morning: News And Stories From London

Monocle on Saturday, September 16, 2023: A look at the week’s news and culture with Georgina Godwin.

Plus: Terry Stiastny joins us for a look through the morning’s papers, while Monocle’s Julia Lasica takes a look at Ukraine Institute London’s film festival ending this Sunday featuring the ground-breaking documentary, 20 Days in Mariupol.

The New York Times — Saturday, Sept 16, 2023

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U.A.W. Starts Strike Small, but Repercussions Could Prove Far-Reaching

Workers outside a plant hold up signs that read, “UAW; Stand Up; Record Profits; Record Contracts.”

The union targeted three factories: one run by General Motors, one by Ford and one by Stellantis. Prolonged walkouts could hurt the U.S. economy and President Biden.

‘A Ticket to Disney’? Politicians Charge Millions to Send Migrants to U.S.

The journey into the jungle begins, led by a guide from the New Light Darién Foundation.

The Biden administration vowed to “end the illicit movement” of people through the Darién jungle. But the number of migrants moving through the forest has never been greater — and the profits are too big to pass up.

Biden Defends Striking Autoworkers: They Deserve a ‘Fair Share’

White House aides believe the battle between the car companies and their workers underscores many of the president’s policy positions.

Fernando Botero, Artist of Whimsical Rotundity, Is Dead at 91

His voluptuous figures, both in paintings and in sculpture, portrayed the high and mighty as well as everyday people through an enlarging prism.

News: Biden’s Economic Agenda, U.S. To Withhold Aid To Egypt, iPhone 12 Ban

The Globalist Podcast (September 15, 2023) – Are American voters buying “Bidenomics”? We unpack Joe Biden’s latest effort to fine-tune his economic agenda.

Plus: the US plans to withhold millions in military aid to Egypt, a lookahead to London Fashion Week and the latest art news.

The New York Times — Friday, September 15, 2023

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Hunter Biden Indicted on Gun Charges

Hunter Biden outside the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Del., in July.

The Justice Department charged President Biden’s son after the collapse of an earlier plea deal and amid an impeachment investigation by House Republicans.

History Turns Upside Down in a War Where the Koreas Are Suppliers

A photograph released by North Korean state media showing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on Wednesday.

Desperate for munitions for the war in Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia have turned to their allies in South and North Korea, which kept stockpiling arms for decades after their own conflict.

What the Wildfire Stole From One Maui Family

A 7-year-old boy, his mom and grandparents tried to flee Hawaii’s deadliest wildfire in over a century, and ran into impossible challenges.

C.I.A. Discloses Identity of Second Spy Involved in ‘Argo’ Operation

The movie about the daring mission to rescue American diplomats from Tehran portrayed a single C.I.A. officer sneaking into the Iranian capital. In reality, the agency sent two officers.

News: Libya Flood Death Toll Rises, China-Taiwan ‘Living Plan’, Bolsonaro

The Globalist Podcast (September 14, 2023) – Humanitarian efforts ramp up as the death toll from flooding in Libya rises.

Plus: a look at China’s ‘interconnected living’ plan for Taiwan, Brazil begins the first trials of pro-Bolsonaro rioters who stormed the country’s centres of power in January and a flick through today’s papers.

The New York Times — Thursday, Sept 14, 2023

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Libyan Flood Survivor Recounts Horror After Dams Burst

Ruined buildings and debris on a beach.

“We walked out barefoot and saw our friends and neighbors dying,” said a woman from the hard-hit city of Derna. More than 5,000 are reported dead and 10,000 more are believed to be missing.

Russia Overcomes Sanctions to Expand Missile Production, Officials Say

The site of a missile strike in Kyiv in August.

Moscow’s missile production now exceeds prewar levels, officials say, leaving Ukraine especially vulnerable this coming winter.

A Spectacular Marble Cube Rises at Ground Zero

The Perelman Performing Arts Center, a glamorous $500 million project, may yet turn the World Trade Center into a neighborhood, our critic writes.

Former Buildings Chief Accused of Trading Favors for $150,000 in Bribes

The former commissioner, Eric Ulrich, pleaded not guilty, as did five other men, several of whom raised money for the campaign of Mayor Eric Adams.

News: House Impeachment Inquiry Of Biden, Germany Buys India Oil, Ugly France

The Globalist Podcast (September 13, 2023) – The US House of Representatives opens an impeachment inquiry into president Biden. Our Washington correspondent Christopher Cermak has the details.

Also in the programme: why Germany is buying more oil from India, president Macron’s plan to transform what critics call “ugly France” and how a severe lemon shortage is affecting Peruvians.

The New York Times — Wednesday, Sept 13, 2023

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More Than 5,000 Dead in Libya as Collapsed Dams Worsen Flood Disaster

In a catastrophe recalling Hurricane Katrina, a heavy storm burst through dams to unleash their waters on the city of Derna, sweeping away entire neighborhoods.

McCarthy, Facing an Ouster and a Shutdown, Orders an Impeachment Inquiry

Speaker Kevin McCarthy had long signaled he was moving toward an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

The move against President Biden, which Speaker Kevin McCarthy had been signaling for weeks, comes as some far-right House Republicans are irate over spending and threatening to depose him.

‘Wounds Will Need to Be Healed’: Collisions in a Fractured Israel

Israelis are deeply split about what kind of country Israel should be. Four encounters at four recent protests show how that division plays out in daily life.

Theaters of War That Make Up the Fighting in Ukraine

A “striking fist” in the North, and river crossings in the South. Along a jagged 1,000-mile front, the fighting is multifaceted — and relentless.

News: Kim Jong-un Meets Putin, Canadian Politics, Israel Supreme Court

The Globalist Podcast (September 12, 2023) – Kim Jong-un reportedly arrives in eastern Russia for arms talks with Vladimir Putin, as Moscow seeks to replenish its dwindling stockpile. Who has the upper hand and how will the meeting be portrayed for home audiences?

Plus: Israel’s supreme court prepares to rule on its own future and we discuss the British parliamentary researcher accused of spying for China.