Monocle Radio (December 20, 2024): Is the time finally ripe for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas? Plus: Ukraine’s Ark Project with Czech help, why the US government could shut down on Saturday and the world’s first luxury theme park.
The world’s richest man led the charge to kill a bipartisan spending deal, in part by promoting false and misleading claims about it.
Government Lurches Toward Shutdown After House Tanks Trump’s Spending Plan
Dozens of right-wing Republicans joined Democrats in opposing a bill ordered up by President-elect Donald J. Trump to tie a government funding extension to a two-year deferral of the debt limit.
Funding its war against the United States, the Taliban reaped millions from boom towns trading opium, heroin and meth. Victorious, the group crushed the trade, leaving ghost towns in its wake.
With Guilty Verdicts, Rape Victim’s Ordeal in France Becomes a Message of Hope
Dozens of men who abused Gisèle Pelicot were convicted, including the man who invited them to do so: her husband of 50 years. She wanted the public trial to show rape victims they were not alone.
The Globalist Podcast: Border tensions in Syria continue as Israel claims it will maintain a buffer zone in the country. Plus: a look at Asheville’s hurricane recovery, a flick through Monocle’s Greece handbook and how Portugal’s passports are getting a makeover.
Still stinging from the election, President Biden is pushing for his final priorities but has largely absented himself from the national conversation about Donald Trump after warning repeatedly that he was a threat to American democracy.
President-elect Donald J. Trump has never been shy about his desire to see his enemies punished. But he often shows a measure of caution about taking credit for potential prosecutions himself.
A Rift in Trump World Over How to Make America Healthier
Statements by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk tap into a dispute over whether lifestyle changes or drugs are a better way to treat obesity.
This was a year in which billions of people living in more than 80 countries had the right to cast their democratic votes in elections. But with democracy around the world under ever-greater threats – from attacks on freedom of speech, equality of participation and plurality of media to name a few – how did the election process bear up? Jonathan Yerushalmy and Oliver Holmes find reasons for hope amid the pressure.
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The big story | France and the shadow of the Pelicot trial The mass rape case, in which verdicts and sentencing are expected this week, has horrified the world. But this is not French society’s first attempt to confront a sexually abusive culture, writes Kim Willsher, who has witnessed the harrowing proceedings in Avignon
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Spotlight | How Ukrainian power plant workers keep the country running As winter closes in, Shaun Walker visits a Soviet-era coal-fired thermal installation to explore how it has held up to Russian attacks
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Opinion | After the fall of Assad, the least Syrians deserve is our optimism With the tyrannical dynasty gone, it’s important not to impose a negative script on what comes next. Syrians deserve support and hope, argues Nesrine Malik
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The shamelessness of Fifa’s process in awarding the 2034 tournament to Riyadh was a display of contempt for governance, democracy and good sense, writes Barney Ronay
What else we’ve been reading
With France on its fourth prime minister in a year and Germany facing a snap election in February, Paris and Berlin correspondents Jon Henley and Deborah Cole explain why the driving forces of the European Union are in the doldrums. An excellent primer to understand what will be a shaky start to next year for European politics. Isobel Montgomery, deputy editor
Monocle Radio (December 18, 2024): The European Union is reopening its delegation in Syria while France is sending envoys to Damascus. How can diplomacy help rebuild the country?
Then: we look at what Moscow describes as “inevitable retribution” towards Ukraine following the killing of a top general. Plus: Ecowas approves three-nation exit from the bloc, Taiwan gets new US-made tanks to boost its defences and ‘Le Monde’ newspaper turns 80.
A Ukrainian official said Kyiv was responsible for the assassination in Moscow of Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of Russia’s radioactive, chemical and biological defense forces.
One of Europe’s powerhouses is losing its competitive edge, and the political class can’t agree on why — or what to do about it.
Elon Musk and SpaceX Face Federal Reviews After Violations of Security Reporting Rules
Federal agencies have opened at least three reviews into whether the company and its leader complied with disclosure protocols intended to protect state secrets, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Unable to find effective treatments at home, veterans with brain-injury symptoms are going abroad for psychedelics like ibogaine that are illegal in the U.S.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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