Tag Archives: Stories

Preview: The New Yorker Magazine – Dec 12, 2022

A parent and child are silhouetted against a giant glowing Christmas tree.
Illustration by By Françoise Mouly

The New Yorker – December 12, 2022 issue:

An Anti-Abortion Activist’s Quest to End the Rape Exception

Rebecca Kiessling, photographed by Danna Singer.

For Rebecca Kiessling, helping mothers who’ve conceived children through sexual assault is part of a strategy for curtailing reproductive rights.

So You Want to Be a TikTok Star

illustration of lots of phone screens and girl holding phone

The social-media platform is transforming the music industry. Is that a good thing?

In Praise of Parasites?

A colorful illustration of a variety of parasites, including two leeches and a large tapeworm.

We think of them with revulsion, but a new book wants us to appreciate their redeeming qualities.

At Qatar’s World Cup, Where Politics and Pleasure Collide

The first ten days were soccer as it is, rather than as you want it to be.

News: Winter Support For Ukraine, Turkey In Syria, Qatar Sends Germany Gas

Nato foreign ministers meet in Bucharest to discuss how to support Ukraine in the winter months. Plus: Turkey plans for a ground operation in Syria, Qatar agrees to supply Germany with gas and Art Basel Miami Beach.

News: Russia Strikes More Ukraine Utilities, Moscow Declared Terrorist State

Russia’s latest strikes in Kyiv cause more power cuts, as the European Parliament votes to declare Moscow a state sponsor of terrorism. Turkey threatens to launch a land operation against Kurdish militants in Syria and the European Space Agency wants to send more people to the moon.

Missile attacks on Ukraine’s battered power grid are an “obvious crime against humanity,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the UN Security Council. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to take action to stop Russian airstrikes targeting vital infrastructure that have once again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in.

“Today is just one day, but we have received 70 missiles. That’s the Russian formula of terror,” Zelenskyy said via video link to the Council chamber in New York. He said hospitals, schools, transport infrastructure and residential areas had all been hit. “When we have the temperature below zero, and millions of people without energy supplies, without heating, without water, this is an obvious crime against humanity,” he told the meeting in New York. In his speech,

Zelenskyy called for the adoption of a UN resolution condemning energy terror. Ukraine is waiting to see “a very firm reaction” to Wednesday’s airstrikes from the world, he added. The Council is unlikely to take any action in response to the appeal since Russia is a member with veto power. However, Zelenskyy called for Russia to be denied a vote on any decision concerning its actions.

“We cannot be hostage to one international terrorist,” he said. “Russia is doing everything to make an energy generator a more powerful tool than the UN Charter.” Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya responded by complaining that it was against Council rules for Zelenskyy to appear via video and rejected what he called “reckless threats and ultimatums” by Ukraine and its supporters in the West.

Sunday Morning: Stories & News From Zurich, Lisbon, London And Hong Kong

Monocle’s editorial director Tyler Brûlé, Fabienne Kinzelmann and Oliver Strijbis discuss the weekend’s biggest news stories. Plus, check-ins with our friends and correspondents in Hong Kong, Lisbon and London.

Stories: Russia Launches Missiles, Poland Village Damaged, Trump 2024 Bid

We report on Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid. Plus we bring the latest from Kyiv following a wave of Russian missile attacks across Ukraine, the world population hits 8 billion, and the latest business news.

Photography: National Geographic – Dec 2022

Picture of a person wearing a silver head-to-toe suit holding a rake standing on black rocks with blue sky and pink clouds in the background, surrounded by a yellow border.

National Geographic – December 2022: Clad in protective gear, military emergency specialist Armando Salazar makes his way across sizzling rock as he helps scientists collect samples during the fall 2021 volcanic eruption on La Palma, one of the Spanish Canary Islands.

Blue Cypress Lake, Florida // Mac Stone

A stream of light in the night sky over a swampy area in Florida

Qaanaaq, Greenland // Kiliii Yüyan

Two people pushing baby strollers across ice in the arctic

World Economic Forum: Top Stories – Nov 11, 2022

World Economic Forum – Stories of the Week, November 11, 2022:

  • 0:15 The World’s Fastest Shoes – These inventors have made the ‘world’s fastest shoes’. They let you walk at 11kph, which is the speed of a run. The shoes are called Moonwalkers and they’re powered by a tiny electric motor that turns 8 wheels on the base of the shoe.
  • 1:37 These Cities Are Facing a Housing Bubble – Years of low interest rates and cheap mortgages have increased demand among homebuyers but the supply of housing has not grown at the same rate. This mismatch has caused house prices to shoot up around the world, creating housing ‘bubbles’. When these bubbles burst, prices can plummet and experts say rising interest rates could be the pin that pops them
  • 2:53 First Female Crash Test Dummies – The crash test dummy most often used as a stand-in for women Is just a scaled-down version of the male dummy. At 149cm tall and weighing 48kg, it’s actually the size of a 12-year-old girl. The new crash test dummy is 163cm tall and weighs 62kg, taking into account the physiology of the female body. It was created by Astrid Linder and her team in Linköping, Sweden.
  • 4:22 This Company Is Making Chocolate Healthier – The world’s biggest chocolatier has created a new, healthier chocolate. Which contains 50% less sugar, 60-80% more cocoa and zero processed additives. Second-generation’ chocolate uses a new method of preparation. Growing, fermenting and roasting the cocoa beans differently reduces their bitterness without the need for lots of sugar.