Category Archives: Politics

Headlines: Russia Seizes Ukrainian Nuclear-Power Station, British Heatwave

Tensions are rising at Europe’s largest nuclear-power station, which Russian forces are using as a military base. We ask what the risks are, and whether they can be headed off.

Britain’s summer heatwave was deadly—but figuring out how deadly was no easy task. And discovering the real value of the “social capital” outside family and work relationships.

News: Trump FBI Search, U.N. & Turkey Leaders In Ukraine, Mexico Violence

A Florida judge has given the Justice Department a week to decide what to make public regarding the search of former President Trump’s home.

The UN secretary general met with the presidents’ of Ukraine and Turkey in Lviv, Ukraine. A wave of violence in Mexico kept Tijuana residents at home after a cartel allegedly called for a curfew.

Previews: The Economist Magazine – August 20, 2022

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Will Donald Trump run again?

And, if he does, would Republicans pick him as their nominee?

What kind of prime minister will Britain get?

It will be a technocrat who knows what to do, or a politician who knows how to do it

World Journalism: New Internationalist – Sept ’22

September-October 2022, Issue 539

Railways can be a world unto themselves. When properly managed, this can mean it’s easier to get things done on the railways than in other parts of an economy. That should be a huge opportunity for reducing climate emissions by getting passengers off the roads and out of the skies. But unless we re-purpose rail networks to serve the interests of people – and not those of the empires and corporations which built them and run them to this day – we can’t succeed. This edition explores how we can make a start on this task.

WILL BOLSONARO’S SPENDING SPREE LEAVE ANY WINNERS?

With an election looming, Jair Bolsonaro has set an economic timebomb for Brazil, writes Leonardo Sakamoto.

Previews: New Humanist Magazine – Autumn 2022

Making sense of war

Polishing the crystal ball

The intelligence community often fails to make accurate predictions. Amy Zegart, an expert brought in to improve analysis in the United States, sets out what can be done to overcome our cognitive biases.

Improving analysis to prevent nuclear catastrophe isn’t just a matter of history. Great power competition is back. Russia and China are trying to rewrite the international order along authoritarian lines.

News: U.S.-Taiwan Trade Talks, Ukraine Strikes Back At Russia In Crimea

A.M. Edition for Aug. 18. Recent explosions at a Russian air base and an ammunition depot in Crimea have made the Russian-occupied peninsula the latest battleground in the Ukraine war.

WSJ European security correspondent James Marson explains what the attacks signal about Ukraine’s capabilities and Russia’s ability to fight the war in southern Ukraine. 

Preview: The Guardian Weekly – August 19, 2022

19 August Guardian Weekly

Joe Biden’s political capital is riding high after a key plank of his legislative programme came to fruition. But the US president has greeted this “hot streak” in his usual quiet fashion. For his predecessor, it was a decidedly rough week after his home was raided by the FBI, looking for official documents that Donald Trump had held on to after his presidential term had ended. The reaction was a typical explosion of rage and accusation. David Smith, our Washington bureau chief, follows this compare-and-contrast theme to see which of the two men, who at this juncture still look likely to face each other again in the 2024 presidential election, came out on top.

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News: Indonesia’s Widodo, Russia-Ukraine, France Exits Mali, Mexico Cartels

As Indonesia celebrates its independence day, we discuss President Joko Widodo’s plan to act as a diplomatic bridge between Russia and Ukraine. Plus: French troops officially leave Mali, cartel-driven violence in Mexico and the latest aviation news.