Politics: The Guardian Weekly-September 20, 2024

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The Guardian Weekly (September 12, 2024) – The new issue features ‘The Hunt For Yahya Sinwar’ – Julian Borger On Israel’s Elusive Prime Target…

The last sighting of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who is widely accused of unleashing the Gaza war, was from a retrieved Hamas security video that was apparently recorded three days after the 7 October attack on Israel.

Since then an estimated 41,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in a furious and devastating Israeli bombing response. Yet the prime target Sinwar has remained at large and apparently unscathed.

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Spotlight | Another apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump
Violence and instability have become a feature, not a bug, of US political life, writes Washington DC bureau chief David Smith

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Environment | Darién Gap migration rush creates a pollution crisis
Isolated communities on the Colombia-Panama border are sounding the alarm over poisoned rivers and cultural erosion after a surge in migrants crossing their ancestral lands, finds Luke Taylor

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Feature | The age of rage
Anger has come to def ine the public mood – felt in the posts of social media warriors and harnessed by populist agitators. Psychoanalyst Josh Cohen asks why are we so mad, and how can we navigate to calmer waters

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Opinion | The return of border checks in Germany
The German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s border clampdown threatens the entire European project, argues Maurice Stierl – no wonder the continent’s rightwing populists are cheering

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Culture | Michael Kiwanuka on faith, family and fulfilment
The Mercury prize-winning musician explains to Alexis Petridis how he went from being a ‘slight weirdo’ to wowing Glastonbury – and why he thinks more people are turning to religion

National Geographic Magazine – October 2024

October 2024 Issue

National Geographic Magazine (September 19, 2024) The new issue features ‘AMAZON’ – Mysterious. Majestic. Mortal. A Remarkable Journey to one of the Most Important Places on Earth….

A one-of-a-kind journey into the Amazon

Trek to the Amazon’s steep mountain origins

Follow the hidden trails of elusive Andean bears

Swim with golden fish in the hidden headwaters

Feel the river’s power where it meets the sea

Technology Quarterly: ‘Chipmaking & AI’ (Fall 2024)

Technology Quarterly: Silicon returns to Silicon Valley

The Economist (September 19, 2024): The latest issue of TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY is focused on:

Silicon returns to Silicon Valley

AI has returned chipmaking to the heart of computer technology, says Shailesh Chitnis

The semiconductor industry faces its biggest technical challenge yet

Node names do not reflect actual transistor sizes

How to build more powerful chips without frying the data centre

AI has propelled chip architecture towards a tighter bond with software

Researchers are looking beyond digital computing

The end of Moore’s law will not slow the pace of change

The Economist Magazine – September 21, 2024 Preview

The breakthrough AI needs

The Economist Magazine (September 19, 2024): The latest issue features The breakthrough AI needs…

The breakthrough AI needs

A race is on to push artificial intelligence beyond today’s limits

Let Ukraine hit military targets in Russia with American missiles

Hitting back at the forces blasting Ukrainian cities is legal and proportionate

Saving Britain’s universities

Domestic students have been paying less in real terms every year

How the world’s poor stopped catching up

Progress stalled around 2015. To restart it, liberalise

Who’s winning in Pennsylvania?

A flood of money, advertising and consultants have left the race for the state a virtual tie

Peak woke: the numbers

Our statistical analysis finds that woke opinions and practices are on the decline

News: More Explosions In Lebanon As Israel Targets Hezbollah Leadership

Monocle Radio Podcast (September 19, 2024): Lebanon sees further explosions of digital devices as Hezbollah vows retaliation. We unpack the latest and explore the broader concerns for global security.

Plus: Colombia’s president declares an end to peace talks with the ELN, the Dutch try to opt out of EU migration rules and a look at Uzbekistan’s disco scene.

The New York Times — Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024

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Second Wave of Blasts Hits Lebanon as Hand-Held Radios Explode

At least 20 people were killed and more than 450 others wounded, Lebanese officials said, a day after pagers exploded across the country and killed 12 people, in an attack widely attributed to Israel.

Waves of Small Explosions Cause Chaos Inside Hezbollah

Two series of coordinated attacks targeting the group’s wireless devices caused thousands of injuries, piercing the group’s rank and file and raising questions about how it will respond.

The Fed Makes a Large Rate Cut and Forecasts More to Come

Fed officials kicked off rate cuts with a half-point reduction, confident that inflation is cooling and eager to keep the job market strong.

Trump’s Talk of Prosecution Rattles Election Officials

The former president has long claimed, despite evidence to the contrary, that elections are corrupt. What if he carries through with threats to prosecute the officials who run them?

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – Sept. 19, 2024

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Nature Magazine – September 18, 2024: The latest issue features ‘Jumbo Jets’ – Record-breaking beams from a supermassive black hole…

Brain region boosts avoidance of unpleasantness and pain — in mice

Discovery could help to identify ways to prevent relapse into opioid usage.

The Amazon’s gargantuan gardeners: manatees

The aquatic mammals disperse seeds of their favourite foods as they migrate, according to a serendipitous study of their poo.

Plagued by mosquitoes? Try some bite-blocking fabrics

Scientists create textiles with just the right weave and yarn to keep biting insects at bay.

Islands are rich with languages spoken nowhere else

Extremely remote islands are more likely than less isolated ones to have a high number of endemic languages.

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Sept. 20, 2024

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Times Literary Supplement (September 18, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Autumn Fiction’ – Rachel Kushner, Olga Tokarczuk, László Krasznahorkai and Sally Rooney; Craig Brown on The Queen; A very Yorkshire horror; China’s Britain complex and The Looting of America…

The New York Times — Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024

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Exploding Pagers Targeting Hezbollah Kill 11 and Wound Thousands

The Iranian-backed militant group, which uses pagers to safeguard communications, blamed Israel for the attacks in Lebanon. Israel declined to comment.

Secret Service Told Trump It Needs to Bolster Security if He Keeps Golfing

The agency’s acting director, Ronald L. Rowe Jr., met with Donald J. Trump on Monday in the aftermath of the apparent assassination attempt on Sunday.

What We Know About the Deadly Floods in Central Europe

At least 17 people have died and thousands have been displaced. “Relief is not expected to come before tomorrow, and more likely, the day after,” an official in Austria said.

Instagram, Facing Pressure Over Child Safety Online, Unveils Sweeping Changes

The app, which is popular with teenagers, introduced new settings and features aimed at addressing inappropriate online contact and content, and improving sleep for users under 18.

Science Focus Magazine – October 2024 Preview

New issue: A cure for ageing | BBC Science Focus Magazine

BBC Science Focus Magazine (September17, 2024) The latest issue features ‘A Cure For Aging’ – How Medicine is tackling the final frontier of health

Secrets of the Pyramids

The technical knowledge of Egyptian architects once again exceeds expectations. Was Egypt’s oldest pyramid, the Step Pyramid of Djoser, built using some seriously high-tech kit? And what’s with the huge, unexplained cavity that’s been discovered in the Great Pyramid of Giza?

Living fossils

Meet the creatures for whom time has almost stood still. These animals give us a glimpse into what life was like millions of years ago, and show us just how resilient some groups have been to the calamitous events that have consigned others – such as the dinosaurs – to extinction.

A mysterious UFO

There’s a mysterious object hurtling at one million miles per hour across the Milky Way. It’s moving so fast that it could exit the Milky Way entirely – and scientists are still trying to figure out what it is. Not quite a planet and not quite a star, so what is it?

Proba-3

The Proba-3 mission aims to unravel the mysteries of the Sun’s atmosphere by creating artificial eclipses on demand. But achieving this feat means teaching two spacecraft to perform a complicated dance with an unprecedented level of precision. If the mission is successful, scientists will be able to study the Sun’s corona in unprecedented detail, ushering in a new era for space observation.

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Impostor syndrome: Ever feel like you’re an impostor, who’s bluffing their way through life? You’re not alone. Even the world’s most brilliant minds suffer from the fear of being ‘found out’. But what causes impostor syndrome? And more importantly, how can you overcome it?

Q&A: Boost your general knowledge! This issue: How do I break free of blame culture? How often should I change my toothbrush? How are identical twins created? Did dinosaurs have fleas? Why does my computer screen look so weird when I take a picture of it? What’s the smelliest animal? And more.

Sleep gadgets: A bad night’s sleep can follow you for days, making you tired and grumpy. Our tech experts have rounded up the best gadgets to help perfect your sleep routine and make the most of your shut-eye.

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious