Tag Archives: Ukraine

News: Is Iran Ready For “All-Out” War With Israel, Germany-France Politics

Monocle Radio Podcast (October 3, 2024): How close are the Middle East’s two greatest foes to all-out conflict? Then: German chancellor Olaf Scholz and French president Emmanuel Macron meet in Berlin, Singapore’s former transport minister is on trial and we get an update on Hurricane Helene.

Plus: a visit to Christie’s Asia flagship and there’s a reshuffle at Celine.

The New York Times — Thursday, October 3, 2024

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Israel Says at Least 8 Soldiers Are Killed in Clashes With Hezbollah

The cross-border fighting appeared to be the first direct ground confrontation between the two sides since Israel invaded Lebanon this week.

A Wider War in the Middle East, From Hamas to Hezbollah and Now Iran

The main questions now are how much the conflict will escalate and whether the United States will get more directly involved in the defense of Israel.

Stranded in North Carolina’s Mountains, ‘You Can’t Tell That the World’s Going On’

With no way for cars to get into Bat Cave, N.C., food and water have been dropped off by helicopters or carried over the river on foot or by a raft.

The Moment When Vance Dodged a Jan. 6 Question but Said Plenty

JD Vance sailed fairly smoothly through some 90 minutes of Tuesday’s debate with Tim Walz. Then the subject turned to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – October 4, 2024

The Guardian Weekly (October 2, 2024) – The new issue features ‘ 7 OCTOBER 2023’ – The day that changed the world. The Anniversary foreshadows a region on the brink. Plus: the shapeshifting Giorgia Meloni.

Events in the Middle East were moving so rapidly this week that the stunning assassination of the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last Friday, killed by an Israeli heavy bombing raid, already feels quite distant. By Tuesday morning Israeli forces had launched what was called a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Hours later, Iran responded with a barrage of ballistic missiles aimed at targets across Israel.

To put things in some kind of perspective, the coming week also marks the first anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel, setting in motion the brutal chain of events leading to the deaths of more than 41,000 Gazans by Israeli bombing, last week’s dramatic events in Lebanon and Iran’s military response which many now fear leaves the region close to full-blown war.

Five essential reads in this week’s edition

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Spotlight | The ‘marriage competition’ that divided South Sudan
Underage marriage is illegal in South Sudan yet so commonplace it rarely attracts attention. But the case of Athiak Dau Riak, who her mother says is only 14, has gone viral, polarising her family and the country. From Juba, Florence Miettaux reports

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Science | Telescopes that could save us from death by asteroids
The existential threat from a large meteor is real, but two next-generation telescopes are about to make us safer, writes Robin George Andrews

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Feature | The shapeshifter: who is the real Giorgia Meloni?
She’s been called a neo-fascist and a danger to her country. But the Italian prime minister has won over many heads of Europe. Should we be worried? By Alexander Stille

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Opinion | Trump v Harris and a battle between the sexes
There are clear reasons why women are running from Trump, but men are flocking to him – and it’s vital to understand why, argues Jonathan Freedland

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Culture | Will Ferrell’s road trip of trans discovery
Saturday Night Live writer Harper Steele came out as a trans woman in 2022 at the age of 61. Her friend of 30 years Will Ferrell had questions. So what else to do but jump in a van, cross the US, and make a documentary about it? Guy Lodge reports

News: Iran Fires Missiles At Israel, Walz And Vance In Vice Presidential Debate

Monocle Radio Podcast (October 2, 2024): We get the latest from Iran and the US after a long night of activity. Plus: a look at Marine le Pen’s embezzlement trial, the latest design news and a hunt for the oldest DNA.

The New York Times — Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024

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Iran Launches Barrage of Ballistic Missiles at Israel in Retaliation for Assassinations

The 180 missiles fired at Israel on Tuesday evening sharply escalated the conflict between the two countries and threatened to engulf the Middle East in all-out war.

As Crisis Builds, Lebanon’s Government Is Nowhere to Be Found

Already crippled by years of economic decline, political paralysis and other crises, Lebanon has little but its own citizens’ grit to survive the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

In Booming Asheville, Residents Rethink Their Sense of Safety

Worries of flooding had not been top of mind as the mountain-ringed city flourished in recent years as a haven for artists, chefs, brewmasters, entrepreneurs and retirees.

Pete Rose, Baseball Star Who Earned Glory and Shame, Dies at 83

One of the sport’s greatest players, he set a record with 4,256 career hits. But his gambling led to a lifetime ban and kept him out of the Hall of Fame.

News: Israel Advances Into Lebanon, Iran Prepares Missile Strike

Monocle Radio Podcast (October 1, 2024): The latest from Lebanon, Czechia’s coalition crisis, the Mozambican soldiers operating out of Total Energies’ natural gas plant, why sex has returned to cinema and news from the world of architecture. Plus: we report from Paris Fashion Week.

The New York Times — Tuesday, October 1, 2024

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Israeli Military Announces Ground Invasion of Southern Lebanon

The military said it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in villages close to the Israel-Lebanon border.

Adams’s Lawyers Ask Judge to Dismiss Federal Bribery Charge

Lawyers for Mayor Eric Adams of New York filed a 25-page memo arguing that the conduct described in the indictment against him did not meet the definition of bribery.

Helene Killed People Across the South. Here Are Some of Their Stories.

After the Category 4 hurricane made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast and pummeled the Southeast, some victims’ portraits were coming into focus.

Jimmy Carter Approaches the Century Mark, Eclipsing His Presidential Peers

Nineteen months after entering hospice care, the 39th president is set to turn 100 on Tuesday. His birthday wish? A chance to vote for his party’s candidate one more time.

News: Nasrallah Killing Will Change Balance Of Power, Mexico Leadership

Monocle Radio Podcast (September 30, 2024): Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, was killed in a huge Israeli air attack on Beirut. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says that the assassination will change the balance of power in the region. What happens next?

Also in the programme: Mexico bids farewell to Andrés Manuel López Obrador and welcomes its first-female president, Claudia Sheinbaum; Russia eyes a satellite deal in West Africa; and Jakarta braces for a mayoral election. Plus, we discuss the UN’s meeting on the “slow-motion pandemic” and we head to Ibiza Town for a gastronomic tour.

The New York Times — Monday, Sept. 30, 2024

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As Hezbollah Threat Loomed, Israel Built Up Its Spy Agencies

After the 2006 war with Hezbollah, Israel invested heavily to intercept the group’s communications and track its commanders in a shadowy war that ultimately led to the killing of the group’s leader.

Israel Strikes Multiple Fronts, Including Long-Distance Attack on Yemen

The escalation of violence between Israel and Iran-backed proxies across the Middle East threatened to bring the combatants closer to an all-out regional war.

A Wisconsin City Welcomed New Refugees. Then the Angry Billboards Went Up.

Eau Claire had a plan. But opponents, mostly from rural areas, were convinced that the newcomers would destroy their Midwestern way of life.

Trump Allies Bombard the Courts, Setting Stage for Post-Election Fight

Republicans are filing a barrage of election lawsuits in the final weeks of the presidential campaign. The cases may be a road map for a legal battle over the results.

Saturday Morning: News And Stories From London

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.