Tag Archives: May 2023

Travel & Culture: Secrets Of Mont-Saint-Michel

FRANCE 24 (May 24, 2023) – Located in France’s Normandy region, the Mont-Saint-Michel is one of the most iconic and photographed places in the country. Every year, the site attracts some 2.5 million visitors.

Built 1,000 years ago, the tidal island and its abbey, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, have stood the test of time and survived through the centuries. Our France 2 colleagues report on some of its secrets, with FRANCE 24’s Guillaume Gougeon.

Travel: Is Seville The Most Beautiful City In Spain?

DW Travel (May 24, 2023) – Have you ever been to Seville? This city in the south of Spain is considered the birthplace of flamenco, and offers in addition fascinating historical architecture and every type of delicious tapas bar.

Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:17 Old Town and Seville Cathedral 00:46 Setas de Sevilla or: Mushrooms of Seville 01:16 Royal Alcázar of Seville 02:31 Torre del Oro 02:55 Tapas bar El Rinconcillo 03:44 Flamenco show at Los Gallos

We visited the Andalusian capital to see if it really is as beautiful as people say. And while we are there, we’ll show you round everything you should do while you’re here.

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – May 26, 2023

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Times Literary Supplement (May 26, 2023) – Alan Jenkins on Martin Amis, Young Russian fascists, The Rossettis at Tate Britain, Writers at the Hay Festival, Seamus Perry on ‘Byron’s Voice’.

Taking life sentence by sentence

Martin Amis, a talent for our time By Alan Jenkins

Martin Amis, 1995

In the Foreword to The War Against Cliché: Essays and reviews 1971-2000, a career-spanning collection of his journalism (literary and other), Martin Amis recalled how, when they started out in the early 1970s, he and his friends and colleagues touchingly assumed that literary criticism was as essential to civilization as literature itself was. Furthermore, “the most fantastic thing about this cultural moment” was that, in the debate between the Two Cultures, Art vs Science, “Art seemed to be winning”.

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – May 26, 2023

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The Guardian Weekly (May 26, 2023) – Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s surprise turn at last weekend’s G7 meeting in Hiroshima was the climax of a round of shuttle diplomacy in which the Ukrainian president secured yet more funds and equipment from western nations. 

Patrick Wintour ponders the complex wider issues at stake for western leaders who realise that more constructive relations with the global south could also be the key to containing an increasingly belligerent China.

E-cigarettes have been seen as useful and less health-damaging devices for weaning smokers off tobacco. But there are growing international fears at the rise of disposable e-cigarettes, which are fuelling a boom in vaping among children. Michael Safi looks at how different countries are responding, from sales curbs to outright bans.

News: Crisis In Lebanon, U.S. & India In The Pacific Islands, South Korea

Wednesday, May 24, 2023: Political and financial instability in Lebanon; the US and India vie for influence in the Pacific Islands as China looms large; and South Korea’s Nuri rocket is set to launch from the Naro Space Center.

Plus: the biggest news coming out of the 2023 European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE). 

#TheGlobalistPodcast #Podcasts #News

Front Page: The New York Times —- May 24, 2023

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China and Russia, Targets at G7 Summit, Draw Closer to Fend Off West

Beijing’s harsh reaction to the G7 communiqué stems from fears of a U.S.-led coalition in Asia to contain China’s rise, analysts say.

Beijing and Moscow are holding visits this week as alarm grows in China that Western countries backing Ukraine are turning their attention to Asia.

McCarthy, Bracing for Defections, Eyes a Fraught Path to a Debt Limit Deal

Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden will need to make compromises in order to reach a deal on the debt ceiling.

With right-wing Republicans all but certain to oppose any bipartisan compromise, the speaker has a narrow path to push one through the closely divided House.

Surgeon General Warns That Social Media May Harm Children and Adolescents

The report by Dr. Vivek Murthy cited a “profound risk of harm” to adolescent mental health and urged families to set limits and governments to set tougher standards for use.

After Uvalde, a Cemetery Anchors Families of Victims

One year after 19 children and two teachers were killed at a Texas elementary school, the families of the victims have forged a new community, channeling their grief into action.

Travel & Photography: Old Quarries In Wales

Kyle McDougall Films (May 23, 2023) – “I’m back in North Wales for two days of film photography, exploring the old abandoned slate quarries and making work for my ongoing project. Lots of rain, a broken camera, and an incredible landscape.”

North Wales is a region within Wales, a country in the U.K. Snowdonia National Park is a vast, rugged area with waterfalls and trails, including routes up Mount Snowdon. Medieval Conwy Castle has 8 huge towers, plus battlements with sea views. It’s near the resort town of Llandudno, with North Shore Beach. Other castles include 19th-century Penrhyn Castle, with Gothic stairways, and waterside Caernarfon Castle. 

War Scenarios: Ukraine’s Four Counteroffensives

Wall Street Journal (May 23, 2023) – Ukraine is on the brink of launching its counteroffensive against Russia. Russia now occupies 17% of Ukrainian territory, a stretch of landmass roughly equivalent to the size of Iceland with 900 miles of frontline.

Video timeline: 0:00 The stakes for the counteroffensive 0:53 The current Russia-Ukraine War situation 4:09 Ukraine’s counteroffensive scenarios 6:42 Potential results from the counteroffensive

Ukrainian troops’ current offensives have been limited to the Donbas region. WSJ spoke to retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, who breaks down four likely scenarios that the Ukrainian forces might attempt to kick off their counteroffensive.

Design: A Tour Of Arthur House In Melbourne

The Local Project (May 21, 2023) -Located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and a short distance from the Yarra River, Arthur by Oscar Sainsbury Architects (OSA) is an architects own house that extends upon the ideas of family living and connection to nature.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Architects Own House 00:31 – Designing for Yourself 00:59 – The Initial Design Ideas 01:13 – Encouraging Usage of the Garden 01:33 – A Focus on the Garden 01:56 – The Original Double Brick House 02:12 – The Central Part of the House 02:58 – Challenges Designing with Heritage Homes 03:39 – The Materials Used 04:35 – Favourite Aspects of the Home

As the owner, architect and builder, OSA dances across the separate realms with ease in order to deliver a home that allows the family to grow in place. Following a desire to open up an architects own house to the outside, OSA uses contemporary methods of design, allowing for the family to easily manoeuvre about.

With the house tour of an architects own house beginning at the double-bricked façade, OSA has additionally maintained three of the original bedrooms, with two facing the street and one opening up to the rear decking. Designed to be the central part of the house, the kitchen is laid out to encourage flow and connection from the private quarters and into the public living spaces. Known to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, the owner and architect has incorporated functionality by allowing it to serve its purpose as well as be easy to live and entertain in.

Paris Views: A Walking Tour Of The Île de la Cité

ART VISION TV (May 23, 2023) – Ile de la Cité, once known as Lutetia, is the oldest settlement in Paris, and boasts more than its fair share of Paris sights: the Pont Neuf, the Pont de l’Archevêché and Notre Dame cathedral, to name only three.

Its location bang in the middle of Paris, with Châtelet to the north and Saint-Germain-des-Prés to the south, makes it the central crossroads of the city, which grew outwards from here. When you’ve finished visiting all the sights, take one last admiring look at the magnificent facade of Notre Dame, then stroll along the banks of the Seine and stop to watch improvised concerts by wandering musicians, for whom this area is a prime performance venue.

Ile de la Cité is also the perfect place for a riverside picnic. At night, the bridges are beautifully lit, and there is a feeling of midsummer magic.

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