Plus: Slim pickings for foodies on Valentine’s Day, Parma’s monumental museum complex, and – and reviews of Impressionists on paper, experimental art in the Eastern bloc, and Africa and Byzantium at the Met
Deeply entwined with its cultural heritage, the mountainous territory carries a historic tradition of craft metalwork – as a center for the production of hand-crafted ornaments, teapots and spiritual artefacts, destined for temples, and held in high regard by India’s king dynasties.
But the craft has entered a point of decline, continued by just a handful of artisanal metalworkers who fight for its preservation.…
The Globalist Podcast (November 30, 2023) – As Cop 28 begins in Dubai, Politico’s Suzanne Lynch discusses the controversy over the UAE’s motives for hosting the summit and what is expected to come out of it.
Also, William Yang on Taiwan’s economic ties with India, a Saudi Arabian investment fund’s purchase of a stake in Heathrow, Interpol’s centenary and why France tops our Soft Power Survey.
The Globalist Podcast (November 23, 2023) – Israel and Hamas are due to exchange hostages this morning but will it actually happen and what comes next?
We also discuss the virtual G20 summit, hear why Poland’s plans to create a major aviation hub have hit turbulence and assess what the calls for an Olympic Truce at the Paris games is all about. Plus: we meet iconic sculptor Antony Gormley.
The Globalist Podcast (November 13, 2023) – ‘Haaretz’ journalist Allison Kaplan Sommer from Tel Aviv discusses the latest updates from the Middle East and we discuss urban warfare in Gaza with expert Antônio Sampaio.
We get a roundup of the day’s headlines with Vincent McAviney, discuss a meeting of Indian and US ministers in New Delhi, and assess the outcomes of last night’s presidential debate in Argentina.
Its backers should pray for a speedy victory—but plan for a long struggle
The war in Ukraine has repeatedly confounded expectations. It is now doing so again. The counter-offensive that began in June was based on the hope that Ukrainian soldiers, equipped with modern Western weapons and after training in Germany, would recapture enough territory to put their leaders in a strong position at any subsequent negotiations.
Western countries have for too long acquiesced to the Indian government’s abuses
For years, India objected to Western strategists lumping it together with its violent and chaotic neighbour in the phrase “Indo-Pakistan”. Now recognised as a fast-growing giant and potential bulwark against China, India claims to have been “de-hyphenated”. Yet the explosive charge aired this week by Justin Trudeau suggests that diplomatic recalibration may have gone too far. Canada’s prime minister alleges that Indian agents were involved in the murder in Vancouver of a Canadian citizen sympathetic to India’s Sikh separatist movement.
Consider the historical precedents
Debate about artificial intelligence (ai) tends to focus on its potential dangers: algorithmic bias and discrimination, the mass destruction of jobs and even, some say, the extinction of humanity. As some observers fret about these dystopian scenarios, however, others are focusing on the potential rewards. ai could, they claim, help humanity solve some of its biggest and thorniest problems. And, they say, ai will do this in a very specific way: by radically accelerating the pace of scientific discovery, especially in areas such as medicine, climate science and green technology.
In the next decade regional tensions will build in India
The world has been seeing the bright side of India. In August it landed a spacecraft on the Moon. In the latest quarter gdp grew at an annual rate of 7.8%, making it the world’s perkiest big economy. Narendra Modi, the prime minister, has just hosted a g20 summit where other leaders, including Joe Biden, courted Asia’s rising behemoth. Yet inside India the talk has turned to whether Mr Modi’s hunger for power and dreams of national renewal could lead him to bend the constitution.
Boomers Daily 