Category Archives: Politics

Saturday Morning: News And Stories From London

Monocle on Saturday, June 17, 2023: Putin calls Prigoshin and Wagner’s mutiny ‘treason’; Monocle’s contributing editor Andrew Mueller reviews the morning’s newspapers and we discuss what’s next for Nato.

Plus: a look ahead at the next episode of ‘The Foreign Desk’ and the Ukrainian women making craft, not war.

Preview: New York Times Magazine – June 25, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 23, 2023) – In this issue, Christopher Cox on the risk that California’s dams will fail; Charlie Savage on his connection to Pink Floyd and “The Wizard of Oz”; Dan Kois on Lorrie Moore; and more.

Suddenly, It Looks Like We’re in a Golden Age for Medicine

We may be on the cusp of an era of astonishing innovation — the limits of which aren’t even clear yet.

By DAVID WALLACE-WELLS

The Trillion-Gallon Question: What if California’s Dams Fail?

Oroville Dam’s spillways.

One superstorm could send walls of water sweeping through populated areas. There’s not much time to act.

News: Global Financial Summit In Paris, Titanic Submersible Search Ends

The Globalist Podcast, Friday, June 23, 2023: Nations look to shake up the world’s financial architecture in Paris, an examination of the technology being used in the search for the lost submersible near the wreck of the Titanic and a round-up of the morning’s papers.

Plus: lessons from Monocle’s 2023 Quality of Life series and what’s behind a new wave of Moroccan filmmakers.

Previews: The Economist Magazine – June 24, 2023

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The Economist Magazine- June 24, 2023 issue:

Investors must prepare for sustained higher inflation

The costs of taming price rises could prove too unpalatable for central banks

At first glance the world economy appears to have escaped from a tight spot. In the United States annual inflation has fallen to 4%, having approached double digits last year. A recession is nowhere in sight and the Federal Reserve has felt able to take a break from raising interest rates. After a gruesome 2022, stockmarkets have been celebrating: the s&p 500 index of American firms has risen by 14% so far this year, propelled by a resurgence in tech stocks. Only in Britain does inflation seem to be worryingly entrenched.

Building Ukraine 2.0

For Russia’s war to fail, Ukraine must emerge prosperous, democratic and secure

Ukraine’s war is raging on two fronts. On the 1,000km battlefront its armies are attacking the Russians’ deep defences. At the same time, on the home front Ukraine is defining what sort of country it will be when the fighting stops. Both matter, and both will pose a severe test for Ukraine and its backers.

America wants to lower tensions with Iran. Good

Now is the time to buy some time

Iran cannot rival Ukraine and Taiwan for headlines, but it could soon prove as dangerous as either. Its nuclear-weapons programme has put its regime in a position to dash for a bomb. Because full-blown negotiations are impossible, the threat could yet draw the Middle East into war—including through American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. That is why it is good that the Biden administration is seeking to lower tensions.

News: Reconstruction Of Ukraine Summit, Narendra Modi In NYC & Washington

The Globalist Podcast, Thursday, June 22, 2023: The UK and Ukraine host a joint reconstruction summit in London, Narendra Modi is accused of weaponising yoga and we check in with the Paris Air Show.

Plus: we head to Vienna for the latest episode in our Quality of Life series. Matt Wolf brings us news from the theatre world and Monocle’s Fernando Augusto Pacheco interviews South African musician, Bongeziwe Mabandla.

News: Counteroffensive In Ukraine, Paris Air Show 2023, China-South Korea

The Globalist Podcast, Wednesday, June 21, 2023: Ukraine’s counteroffensive and the challenges facing NGOs, the latest from the Paris Air Show and illegal Chinese “police stations” in South Korea.

Plus: a spotlight on Copenhagen and the Grammy Awards’ new African category.

News: France Shuns Euro ‘Sky Shield Initiative’, West Bank Raids, Hindi Film Ban

The Globalist Podcast, Tuesday, June 20, 2023: France challenges the ‘Sky Shield initiative’, a new German-led air-defence plan.

Plus: violence breaks out in the West Bank, the rise of Hindu nationalism in Nepal and the latest music news.

Opinion: U.S. & India Draw Closer, UK As An AI Power, Lula Can’t The Amazon

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (June 12, 2023) Three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why India is indispensable to America, how to make Britain an AI superpower (10:35) and Lula’s unsustainable plans to save the Amazon (18:45).

Joe Biden and Narendra Modi are
drawing their countries closer

India does not love the West, but it is indispensable to America

India’s prime minister has been afforded the honour of a state visit by President Joe Biden. Mr Modi will be one of the few foreign leaders, along with Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Volodymyr Zelensky, to address a joint session of Congress more than once. 

How Britain can become an AI superpower

Rishi Sunak’s enthusiasm is welcome. But his plans for Britain fall short

Britain, says Mr Sunak, will harness ai and thus spur productivity, economic growth and more. As he told an audience in London this week, he sees the “extraordinary potential of ai to improve people’s lives”.

Lula’s ambitious plans to save the Amazon clash with reality

A Kayapo tribe member walks on a highway during a protest in Brazil.

The Brazilian president faces resistance from Congress, the state oil company and agribusiness

 “There should be no contradiction between economic growth and environmental protection,” he said. Yet Lula’s green agenda is suffering setbacks.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – June 26, 2023

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The New Yorker – June 19, 2023 issue: Edward Steed’s “A Loveliness of Ladybugs” – In his cover for the June 26, 2023, issue, Ed Steed heralds summer, depicting some colorful Coccinellidae—the scientific term for the family of small beetles colloquially known as the ladybug, a swarm of which is collectively called a loveliness. I talked to the artist about the joy of painting, an affection for the little things, and the luck of the ladybugs.

What Can We Do About Pandemic-Related Learning Loss?

Pages falling from a calendar onto a student working at a desk.

Remote school was devastating for many students. In Richmond, Virginia, a plan to switch to a year-round calendar brought promise and pushback.

By Alec MacGillis