The Globalist Podcast (October 20, 2023) – The latest from the Middle East; why the US battle for the next House Speaker has descended into chaos; and a look ahead to the weekend’s elections in Argentina.
Plus: we discuss Russia’s nuclear presence in Belarus and get the theatre news from critic Matt Wolf.
The Globalist Podcast (October 19, 2023) – Journalist Stefanie Glinski brings us the latest on the Israel-Hamas conflict from Jerusalem.
We also take a look at Olaf Scholz’s trip to Egypt and an attack on a synagogue in Berlin. University College Dublin’s Scott Lucas talks us through the chaos in Congress as Jim Jordan scrambles for enough support to be the next US House Speaker. Plus: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to North Korea.
The Guardian Weekly (October 20, 2023) – The new issue features escalating events in Israel and Gaza that continue to cause deep distress and alarm, with several thousand people known to be dead or wounded on either side of the border. US president Joe Biden was expected to visit Israel this week, amid growing expectations of a ground invasion of Gaza and fears of a wider regional escalation.
Also, a primer on the historical background to events by Chris McGreal, while on the opinion pages the Israeli author and historian Yuval Noah Harari and Guardian US columnist Naomi Klein provide thoughtful and grounded perspectives.
There was sadness for many Aboriginal Australians after a move to recognise Indigenous people in the country’s constitution was rejected in a referendum, as Sarah Collard and Elias Visontay report. Also from Oceania, Henry Cooke examines what aspects of Jacinda Ardern’s political legacy might survive after New Zealand elected a new conservative government.
From Egypt to Hong Kong, the 2010s were a decade when mass protest movements looked set to change the world. But in most cases, the hope embodied by many massive street demonstrations was soon crushed by authoritarian regimes. Vincent Bevins asks organisers and others who were there where it all went wrong.
Archaeology Magazine (November/December – 2023):
4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets illuminate the personal lives of Mesopotamian businesswomen
By DURRIE BOUSCAREN
Excavations at the ancient Anatolian city of Kanesh in Turkey have revealed a district where merchants from the distant Mesopotamian city of Assur in Iraq lived and worked. Some 23,000 cuneiform tablets, mostly dating from about 1900 to 1840 B.C., have been found in the merchants’ personal archives in Kanesh.
The parents of an Assyrian woman named Zizizi were furious. Like many of their neighbors’ children, their daughter had dutifully wed an Assyrian merchant. Sometime around the year 1860 B.C., she had traveled with him to the faraway Anatolian city of Kanesh in modern-day Turkey, where he traded textiles. But her husband passed away and, instead of returning to her family, Zizizi chose to marry a local.
Excavations in Sichuan Province reveal the lost treasure of an infamous seventeenth-century warlord
A Roman noblewoman’s devotion to Isis outlasted even an emperor’s ban on foreign cults
Around 55,000 years ago, a resourceful band of modern humans made a home in southern France
Investigating the mythic origins of the Roman Empire’s ultimate adversary
Archaeology Magazine (September/October 2023):
In 1708, Peter the Great destroyed Baturyn, a bastion of Cossack independence and culture
By DANIEL WEISS
On November 2, 1708, thousands of Russian troops acting on the orders of Czar Peter I, known as Peter the Great, stormed Baturyn, the Cossack capital in north-central Ukraine. The Cossack leader, or hetman, Ivan Mazepa—who had been a loyal vassal of the czar until not long before—had departed with much of his army several days earlier to join forces with the Swedish king Charles XII, Peter’s opponent in the Great Northern War (1700–1721). The fortified core of Baturyn consisted of a citadel on a high promontory overlooking the Seim River and a larger adjoining fortress densely packed with buildings, above which soared the brick Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. The citadel and fortress were each surrounded by defensive walls, earthen ramparts, and moats whose sides were lined with logs. Although they sustained heavy losses, the Russian forces managed to seize Baturyn, which proved to be a key victory.
Across the ancient world, people adopted the big cats as sacred symbols of power and protection
CT scans offer researchers a virtual look deep inside a mummy’s coffin
Archaeologists unearth evidence of a 500-year-old resistance movement high in the Andes
How Hittite kings forged diplomatic ties with a shadowy Greek city-state
It is also home to many Egyptian artisans and workshops involved in the production of traditional crafts and souvenirs. The name Khan el-Khalili historically referred to a single building in the area; today it refers to the entire shopping district.
Uploaded April 12, 2023: A walking tour starting at Talaat Harb Square in Abdeen, and exploring the historic neighborhoods and architecture of downtown Cairo before strolling through the bustling markets under Al Azhr Bridge.
Video timeline: 0:00 Intro 4:20 Al Sharifain Passage 7:07 Qasr Al Nil Street Abdeen 11:24 Mustafa Kamil Pasha 13:20 Ex-Davis Bryan Building 15:37 Adly Building 19:34 Opera Square 22:13 Al-Kakhia Mosque 23:23 Suuq el Ataba Electronics Market 32:34 Suuq el Ataba Furniture Market 37:35 Abd El-Aziz Street 40:25 Attaba Square 44:24 Al Azhar Market Under Bridge 48:30 El-Gaish Open Air Market
Filmed and edited by: 4K World Wanderings
Video timeline: 00:00 Introduction 00:46 Tiles 07:13 Fez 14:40 Papyrus 22:13 Dyehouse 27:27 Stone Carving
A simple online search will show you just how diverse our planet is. Yet it isn’t until you see these surreal destinations with your own eyes that you can both appreciate their beauty and untamed power. Travel is one of life’s great pleasures and there are many different ways to fill up your passport. Yet venturing to some of the most unique sights will do more than just fill your camera with Insta-worthy pictures. From inhospitable deserts to magical caves and everything in between, this video will show you why you should never stop exploring.
Boomers Daily 