Monocle on Sunday (September 29, 2024): Georgina Godwin, Terry Stiastny, and David Schlesinger on the weekend’s biggest talking points.
We also speak to Monocle’s contributing editor Andrew Mueller in London, foreign correspondent Hannah McCarthy in Beirut, and Monocle’s editorial director Tyler Brûlé in Paris on the latest from Lebanon. Plus: Monocle correspondent Mary Fitzgerald on her trip to Kyiv with Brussels think tank Friends of Europe, and Monocle’s Balkans correspondent Guy De Launey on the latest news from the region.
Monocle on Saturday (September 28, 2024): The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly concluded this week but what did it achieve? What can we expect from Keir Starmer’s meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday?
And what is behind the surge in popularity of South Korean skincare in the UK? Georgina Godwin and international broadcast correspondent, Nina dos Santos, discuss this and more of the week’s news and culture. Plus: Monocle’s Gunnar Gronlid attends the opening of the world’s first commercial CO2 capture-and-storage facility in Norway, and we get the latest on The Book Hive, a UK-based independent bookshop and publisher, with the owner, Henry Layte.
In the space of a few days, the focus of Israeli military operations appears to have shifted decisively from Gaza in the south to Lebanon in the north.
A dizzying escalation between Israel and Hezbollah began last week with exploding pagers and walkie-talkies and culminated in a ferocious Israeli bombardment of alleged Hezbollah military targets, killing hundreds of people.
With Iran’s support, the Lebanon-based Shia militia has conducted a background conflict with Israel since the 1980s. Is this the intensification that finally signals all-out war?
Five essential reads in this week’s edition
1
Spotlight | The brutal truth behind Italy’s migrant reduction A Guardian investigation reveals EU money goes to forces involved in abuse, leaving people to die in the desert and colluding with smugglers
2
Technology | Why aren’t humanoids in our homes yet? The development of robots is dogged by technical and safety challenges. But the dream of a multipurpose domestic droid lives on, writes Victoria Turk
3
Feature | An Israeli and a Palestinian discuss 7 October, Gaza – and the future Could Couples Therapy’s Orna Guralnik and former participant Christine try to understand one another without the conversation breaking down?
4
Opinion | Zelenskyy needs Biden to back his plan to win peace In besieged Kharkiv, Timothy Garton Ash saw how Ukraine is approaching a perilous moment. To turn the tide, it needs to decisively knock back Russia
5
Culture | Chappell Roan on sexuality, superstardom and the joy of drag She’s gone from obscurity to the A-list, but not without struggle. Kate Solomon talks to the singer about teenage angst and her queer inspirations
A top Israeli military official hinted to soldiers of a possible ground invasion as the United States and France drafted a cease-fire proposal to try to stave off a broader conflict.
The son-in-law of former President Donald J. Trump has said he has intentionally moved slowly to invest investors’ money, which came primarily from foreign entities.
The United Arab Emirates is expanding a covert campaign to back a winner in Sudan’s civil war. Waving the banner of the Red Crescent, it is also smuggling weapons and deploying drones.
The alliance between Kamala Harris and Laurene Powell Jobs is a genuine friendship that has thrust the press-shy billionaire philanthropist into the political spotlight.
Israel said it was striking Hezbollah targets with “high intensity” to keep the campaign as short as possible, as the Lebanese militants maintained their own cross-border barrage.
In his final U.N. speech, President Biden framed his decision to drop his bid for re-election as a lesson that “some things are more important than staying in power.”
Democrats see an opportunity to win over right-leaning Americans who have recoiled from Donald Trump. The challenge is coaxing them off the sidelines.
These Maternity Homes Offer Sanctuary, but It Can Feel Oppressive
Unregulated homes are proliferating amid abortion restrictions and a housing crunch. Some limit residents’ movements, contacts and day-to-day decisions.
President Biden is beginning to acknowledge that he is simply running out of time to help forge a cease-fire and hostage deal with Hamas, his aides say. And the risk of a wider war has never looked greater.
New polls from The New York Times and Siena College showed Donald J. Trump ahead in Arizona and leading in tight races in Georgia and North Carolina.
U.S. Inquiry Into N.Y. Mayor’s Foreign Ties Said to Include 6 Countries
Federal prosecutors investigating Mayor Eric Adams and his campaign’s ties to Turkey issued subpoenas in July for records related to 5 other countries.
A leader of the Iranian-backed militia said its latest barrage was “just the beginning,” and an Israeli military official said, “Our strikes will intensify.”
Her record as a prosecutor navigating both paths has left her open to criticism that she either betrayed liberal ideals or prioritized them over law and order.
Monocle on Sunday (September 22, 2024):Emma Nelson, Yassmin Abdel-Magied and Stephen Dalziel on the weekend’s biggest talking points. We also speak to Monocle’s editorial director Tyler Brûlé in Zürich and Monocle’s correspondent in New Delhi, Lyndee Prickitt, for the latest headlines.
Prime Minister Edi Rama says he wants to give members of the Bektashi, a Shiite Sufi order, their own Vatican-style enclave as a way of promoting religious tolerance.
The allegiances of this group of voters — roughly three million people in seven battleground states — are up for grabs, and polling shows they’re pessimistic about the country’s future.
Attacks on Hezbollah Alter Balance of Power in Long-Running Fight
A focus on mutual deterrence had kept intermittent clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border from spiraling into a major war. That changed this past week.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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