Tag Archives: Writing

World Economic Forum: Top Stories – Nov 9, 2024

World Economic Forum (November 9, 2024) – The top stories of the week include:

0:15 Finfluencer financial advice revolution – A finfluencer is a content creator on social media who shares information on budgeting, saving and financial investments, among other topics. Finfluencers use blogs, podcasts or videos to get their message out. They help widen financial access to groups who didn’t have it before.

3:49 These vegetables grow in-store without soil – Instead of soil, they use plugs of rockwool, irrigated with nutrient-rich water in a method called hydroponics. They come in different sizes producing from 2,000 to 15,000 plants monthly. These farms have a tiny environmental footprint. The largest models can grow as much as a 3-hectare farm.

5:44 Telehealth platform empowers millions – Altibbi offers 24/7 access to online doctors along with accessible, up-to-date medical information. It offers a cheaper, more accessible alternative to in-person consultations but it also aims to ‘change the narrative’ around the patient-doctor relationship.

8:43 ‘Underwater tractors’ replant seagrass – They were created by Reefgen, an UpLink Top Innovator. The robot scoots over the seabed, steadily and carefully restoring the ecosystem. Reefgen’s technology aims to aid conservation efforts by augmenting the efforts of human restorers.

#WorldEconomicForum

The New York Times — Saturday, November 9, 2024

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With Trump Tariffs Looming, Businesses Try to ‘Run From a Moving Target’

Companies are filling their warehouses or looking into moving factories as they weigh President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on foreign goods.

California Shifts Rightward on Crime in an Election Fueled by Frustration

Voters in the Democratic-run state overwhelmingly approved a measure to impose harsher sentences for crimes and were on their way to ousting two progressive district attorneys.

Residents Return to Find Homes Reduced to Rubble After California Fire

The Mountain fire has torn through more than 20,000 acres and destroyed more than 130 structures in Ventura County. “It’s just devastating,” one resident said.

As Trump’s New Term Looms, Hochul Considers Reviving Congestion Pricing

Gov. Kathy Hochul, facing pressure from supporters of the contentious tolling plan, is said to be exploring options for adopting it in some form.

The New York Times — Friday, November 8, 2024

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How Trump Won, and How Harris Lost

He made one essential bet: that his grievances would become the grievances of the MAGA movement, and then the G.O.P., and then more than half the country. It paid off.

How Trump Connected With So Many Americans

Donald Trump’s campaign was a blend of comedy, fury, optimism, darkness and cynicism. “He gets us,” some voters concluded.

For Black Women, ‘America Has Revealed to Us Her True Self’

Kamala Harris’s resounding defeat affirmed the worst of what many Black women believed about their country, even as some looked to the future with a wary determination.

Resist or Retreat? Democratic Voters Are Torn About Whether to Keep Fighting.

Many who became activists during the first Trump administration are questioning if they can summon the strength to do it all over again.

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Literary Arts: Granta Magazine – Autumn 2024

Granta | The Home of New Writing

Granta Magazine (November 7, 2024): The “China” issue feautures At a time when China has become a unifying spectre of menace for Western governments, this issue of Granta seeks to bring the country’s literary culture into focus.

  • Featuring fiction by Yu Hua, Zou Jingzhi, Yan Lianke, Jianan Qian, Shuang Xuetao, Mo Yan, Zhang Yueran, Ban Yu, Yang Zhihan and Wang Zhanhei.
  • Essays by Xiao Hai and Han Zhang, as well as a conversation between Wu Qi and Granta.
  • Photography from Feng Li, Haohui Liu and collaborators Li Jie and Zhang Jungang.
  • And poetry from Huang Fan, Lan Lan, Hu Xudong and Zheng Xiaoqiong.

The Economist Magazine – November 9, 2024 Preview

Welcome to Trump’s world

The Economist Magazine (November 9, 2024): The latest issue features: Welcome to Trump’s world

Donald Trump’s victory was resounding. His second term will be, too

Congress is not likely to be much of a constraint on him

Losers from Labour’s budget

Businesses and farmers will be hit with more tax

Germany’s political mess

Olaf Scholz finally runs out of patience with Christian Lindner

In praise of open-source AI

Their critics dwell on the dangers and underestimate the benefits

The best TV of 2024

The small screen claims some riveting shows this year, both new and returning

Read full edition

The New York Times — Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024

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‘Trump’s America’: Comeback Victory Signals a Different Kind of Country

In the end, Donald J. Trump is not the historical aberration some thought he was, but instead a transformational force reshaping the modern United States in his own image.

With Political Victory, Trump Fights Off Legal Charges

By triumphing at the ballot box, Donald Trump can dispense with federal charges against him while postponing or derailing other pending cases that have dogged him.

Harris Asked Voters to Protect Democracy. Here’s Why It Didn’t Land.

In more than 200 interviews, voters worried not about an endangered country, but about paying rent.

Pariah, Felon, President-Elect: How Trump Fought His Way Back to Power

After the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, even many Republicans believed the former president’s political career was over. He proved everyone wrong.

Country Life Magazine – November 6, 2024 Preview

Country Life Magazine (November 5, 2024): The latest issue features

The legacy

Kate Green salutes Lt-Col John McCrae for giving us the poppy as a symbol of remembrance

Fake it ’til you make it

Nature’s mimics and frauds are full of cunning survival tricks, as Laura Parker discovers

Gentleman’s Life

  • Simon Mills walks a wardrobe tightrope
  • Matthew Dennison charts the rise and fall of the waistband
  • Hetty Lintell’s pick of the latest fashions in orange, brown, pink and more
  • Harry Pearson finds there’s nothing like a ’tache to divide opinion
  • Nicholas Foulkes marvels at rare métiers d’art timepieces
  • Jonathan Self examines the allure of the exotic menagerie
  • Tom Parker Bowles savours oysters, the food of love

Emma Ridgway’s favourite painting

The Foundling Museum director selects a captivating, life-size portrait of performing choir girls

The Sound and the Fury

Carla Carlisle tries to look on the sunny side, but remains on the alert for ‘tragedy and trouble’

Nine towers on high

John Martin Robinson examines two Lancashire powerhouses: Lathom House and Knowsley Hall

London Life

  • Get your skates on at Somerset House
  • Jo Rodgers seeks out the best Sunday roasts
  • William Hosie toasts London pubs

A life lived, a dream dreamt

Inscriptions etched by soldiers are a window into the First World War, suggests David Crossland

Are you feeling Broad-minded?

The wondrous wetlands of East Anglia are a marshy, manmade marvel for John Lewis-Stempel

Whispers of winter

Lia Leendertz weighs up the chances of an Indian summer

Conversations on conservation

A 1974 country-house revolution was a major turning point for our old buildings, says Simon Jenkins

Digging for victory and veg

The Anderson shelter was a war-time lifesaver in more ways than one, reveals Russell Higham

Interiors

Bright ideas with Amelia Thorpe

Swaying in rhythm

Tilly Ware applauds the bold planting in The Old Vicarage garden at Wormingford, Essex

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson harnesses the nutritious punch of cauliflower

Foraging

John Wright urges caution as he extols the virtues of blewits, the most tasty of wild mushrooms

Travel

  • Rosie Paterson shares the latest in luxury travel news
  • Mark Hedges celebrates a mile-stone birthday in style at a villa in Mallorca
  • Pamela Goodman gets a buzz on a Spanish holiday

The bare Bone

Mary Miers assesses the career of Sir Muirhead Bone, the first of Britain’s Official War Artists

The New York Times — Tuesday, November 5, 2024

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A Grim Trump and an Upbeat Harris End the Race Hitting Opposite Notes

The moods and messages were more different than ever as the presidential rivals made one last scramble through battleground states, their ambitions riding heavily on Pennsylvania.

How Americans Feel About the Election: Anxious and Scared

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump have framed the presidential race as an existential battle. Voters are heeding their warnings.

Trump Promises to Bring About a New Era of Christian Power

The Republican presidential nominee has pledged enhanced access to the White House. “It will be directly into the Oval Office — and me.”

Quincy Jones, Giant of American Music, Dies at 91

As a producer, he made the best-selling album of all time, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” He was also a prolific arranger and composer of film music.

The New York Times — Monday, November 4, 2024

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Harris and Trump Battle to the Wire in Swing States, Times/Siena Polls Find

Donald J. Trump has improved his standing in Pennsylvania even as late-deciding voters appear to be breaking for Kamala Harris.

Trump’s Wild Claims, Conspiracies and Falsehoods Redefine Presidential Bounds

Throughout his life, Donald J. Trump has bent the truth to serve his needs, never more so than on the campaign trail to win back the White House.

Weary, Troubled and Nervous: Americans Flood the Early Vote

Nearly 75 million people have cast early ballots, making their voices heard amid worry about the process, the outcome and democracy itself.

Abdi Nageeye and Sheila Chepkirui Win New York City Marathon

A riveting competition ended with one-on-one clashes in both the men’s and women’s races, and with three Kenyans on the women’s podium.

The New York Times — Sunday, November 3, 2024

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Trump, Preparing to Challenge the Results, Puts His 2020 Playbook Into Action

Step by step, Donald J. Trump and his allies are following the strategies that caused chaos four years ago. Election officials say they are ready this time.

Russia Showers Cash on Men Enlisting in Ukraine War, Bringing Prosperity to Some Towns

With fewer men willing to fight, Russia is focusing on cash incentives for those who sign up, seeking to avoid an unpopular draft while still increasing the ranks of soldiers.

They Want to Ensure That, This Time, White Women Vote for a Woman

Donald Trump has won white women, the country’s largest voting bloc, for two elections running. White female Democrats are trying to stop that from happening again, but it may be an uphill fight.

Surprise Hit of the Campaign TV Ad Season: Giving Voters Permission to Go Rogue

Both parties are running ads that tell voters it’s OK to break from their party. “You can vote any way you want. And no one will ever know,” one says.