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Briefly Noted Book Reviews
Mon, 29 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000
“Knife,” “A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages,” “Neighbors and Other Stories,” and “Butter.”
Match ID: 0 Score: 80.00 source: www.newyorker.com age: 0 days
qualifiers: 45.00 travel guide(|s), 35.00 travel(|ing)
‘My example can change minds’: Roma fighting for place in postwar Ukraine
Mon, 29 Apr 2024 10:46:50 GMT
Campaigners across Europe call on Kyiv to recognise contribution of marginalised community
Growing up in Ukraine, Arsen Mednik often found himself singled out – at school children would point at him, calling him “gypsy”, while employers were often reluctant to hire him when they learned he was Roma.
But in early 2022, as Russian forces began their savage occupation of his home town of Bucha, Mednik was among the first Ukrainian Roma to volunteer in the defence of the country.
Continue reading...Government tells operators they must join cooperatives by Tuesday and gradually replace their vehicles with greener options
A three-day strike by drivers of jeepneys in the Philippines began on Monday as transport groups warned that thousands could be pushed off the roads by government modernisation plans.
The jeepney is the backbone of the Philippines’ transport system. The customised, privately-owned buses, which look like a cross between a Jeep and a van and are decorated in flamboyant colours, ply routes in neighbourhood streets and city centres, offering rides for as little as 13 pesos (23 US cents). They have featured in pop songs and films – Pope Francis even travelled through Manila in a jeepney-inspired popemobile.
Continue reading...Rather than bomb down motorways for marathon stretches, the idea was to see new things along the way, such as the great lakes of Germany and a Renaissance town in Italy
How far would you go – and how long would you take – to avoid flying and thoroughly embrace the idea of slow travel? In my case, it was 3,167 miles over three weeks. For nearly a decade I had wanted to do a road trip to Croatia, and to get as much out of the journey as the destination itself. Rather than bomb down the motorway for marathon stretches, the idea was to slow down and see new things.
It seemed we had barely rolled off Le Shuttle (the name Eurotunnel reverted to last spring) before my husband and I were out of France and bouncing along Belgium’s bumpy motorways. After a six-hour drive, Germany’s oldest city, Trier, made a pleasant overnight stop, the reconstructed gothic Hauptmarkt square bathed in late afternoon sunlight. Its summer pop-up bar taught me that the Mosel wine region makes some very drinkable rosés.
Continue reading...The Essex Serpent author’s fourth novel, about a newspaper columnist who lives a double life, mixes themes of faith and physics to powerful effect
Sarah Perry’s third book, Melmoth, remains, to my mind, one of the most complex and brilliant novels of the past few decades: a serious and haunting attempt to wrestle with the darkest elements of the 20th century. Perry remains best known for The Essex Serpent, her bestselling story of science, faith and monsters in late-19th-century England. Her extraordinary and ambitious fourth novel, Enlightenment, might best be thought of as a combination of the previous two books, being almost a sequel to The Essex Serpent and containing within it regular, uncanny echoes of Melmoth.
The book opens in 1997 with the Hale-Bopp comet high in the sky over the (fictional) Essex town of Aldleigh, just up the river from the Blackwater marshes and the half-drowned (and also fictional) village of Aldwinter, setting for The Essex Serpent. Our hero is the unlikely figure of Thomas Hart, “a man of Essex, for his sins”, who is 50, bookish, gay, and a columnist for the Essex Chronicle. He “had about him the melancholy religious air of a defrocked priest” and it’s no wonder: he lives a double life, travelling down to London to pick up men before returning to sit in the pews at the Bethesda chapel, a congregation of Strict and Particular Baptists.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: There were shocking revelations in the first week of the former president’s trial in New York – but the defence’s tactics of sowing doubt and playing for time may just work
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Good morning. Keeping track of Donald Trump’s trials, hearings and campaign stops could make anyone feel like the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia meme where Charlie stands, looking altogether unhinged, in front of a bulletin board covered in conspiratorial red tape.
Last week, Trump’s legal issues stretched across the United States. In New York City, his hush money case began in earnest. In Washington DC, supreme court judges heard his astonishing plea for absolute immunity for any action committed while he was in office. And on the same day in Arizona, a grand jury charged 18 Trump aides with felonies associated with trying to subvert the 2020 election in that state.
Immigration and asylum | The Home Office will launch a major operation to detain asylum seekers across the UK on Monday, weeks earlier than expected, in preparation for their deportation to Rwanda. Lawyers and campaigners said the detentions risked provoking protracted legal battles, community protests and clashes with police.
SNP | Humza Yousaf’s leadership hangs by a thread as he approaches a confidence vote this week, with the Scottish Greens remaining unequivocal that he no longer has their support after he axed their power-sharing agreement. Amid reports that Yousaf is now considering his position, Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater told the BBC: “We will vote in support of a vote of no confidence against Humza Yousaf.”
Public finance | Senior Whitehall officials fear Thames Water’s financial collapse could trigger a rise in government borrowing costs not seen since the chaos of the Liz Truss mini-budget, the Guardian can reveal. Concerns over the potential impact have led officials to believe that Thames should be renationalised before the general election.
Ukraine | Russia has consolidated recent battlefield gains in the east of Ukraine, and is attempting to break through Ukrainian defensive lines before a long-awaited package of US military assistance arrives at the frontline. After a surprise Russian attack in the rural settlement of Ocheretyne, Ukrainian security officials described the situation in the Donbas region as “very difficult”.
Air travel | A 101-year-old woman has been regularly mistaken for an infant because an airline’s booking system was unable to compute her date of birth. The woman, named only as Patricia, was born in 1922, but the American Airlines system apparently does not recognise that year, defaulting instead to 2022.
Continue reading...With tourists struggling to access the two primary digital payment apps, Alipay and WeChat pay, Beijing has put measures in place to make cash payments easier
For 18 years, Liu Yau-li has been bringing tourists to China. In that time she’s seen the full evolution of China’s digital payment system. Twenty years ago, she says, everyone used cash. But today it’s not unusual to find places that can’t or won’t accept cash at all, particularly after the pandemic when much of the world grew wary of handling shared items.
If visitors want to enjoy convenient travel, she says, they’re better off downloading one of the major payment apps and hoping it works for them.
Continue reading...US secretary of state to discuss avoiding regional conflict
Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia to try to restart fraught ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, as a delegation from Hamas, expected in Cairo in parallel to the US secretary of state’s visit, said they would provide a response to an Israeli proposal focused on an initial hostage release.
Pressure on international mediators has mounted to secure a swift deal, amid fears of a looming Israeli ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza, where over a million people are now believed to be sheltering. The move risks sounding the death knell on talks to free hostages or find a diplomatic solution to end the conflict.
Continue reading...For years, the political establishment opportunistically railed against sex trafficking. Then came Pizzagate.
The post QAnon Was Born Out of the Sex Ad Moral Panic That Took Down Backpage.com appeared first on The Intercept.
Two-year-old calf one step closer to reuniting with family group after tragic accident that left her stranded in remote lagoon
An orca calf, trapped for weeks in a remote lagoon in western Canada, has freed herself and is travelling towards open waters, hailed as “incredible news” by a growing body of human supporters.
The move puts her one step closer to reuniting with her family one month after a tragic accident left her stranded.
Continue reading...A measure passed by the House seeks to block Americans from traveling to Iran on U.S. passports.
The post House Responds to Israeli-Iranian Missile Exchange by Taking Rights Away From Americans appeared first on The Intercept.
The web has become so interwoven with everyday life that it is easy to forget what an extraordinary accomplishment and treasure it is. In just a few decades, much of human knowledge has been collectively written up and made available to anyone with an internet connection.
But all of this is coming to an end. The advent of AI threatens to destroy the complex online ecosystem that allows writers, artists, and other creators to reach human audiences.
To understand why, you must understand publishing. Its core task is to connect writers to an audience. Publishers work as gatekeepers, filtering candidates and then amplifying the chosen ones. Hoping to be selected, writers shape their work in various ways. This article might be written very differently in an academic publication, for example, and publishing it here entailed pitching an editor, revising multiple drafts for style and focus, and so on...
Thinking about visiting Denmark? From saying hello, to talking about owls in the bog, here’s how learning a little local lingo can enhance your trip and leave you feeling like an egg yolk …
OK, we’ll admit it. Danish isn’t the easiest language to learn – pronouncing certain words involves some invigorating tongue gymnastics and a talent for gulping down glottal stops. With just 6 million native speakers, Danish hardly matches widely spoken Mandarin (941 million speakers) or Spanish (486 million speakers) either.
But mastering a few basics – how to order a coffee or commenting on the weather by talking about windswept pelicans (seriously, read on) – can deeply enrich your experience when visiting Denmark. The Danes are a convivial bunch and will truly appreciate your efforts getting to grips with their Old Norse-descended syntax (no matter how foolish you may feel). Try to speak Danish in a snug cafe or pub and it could lead to some illuminating conversations and lifelong friendships. Heck, you might even be able to watch an episode of The Killing/Borgen with the subtitles off when you get back home too …
Continue reading...The White House brushes off accusations of hypocrisy, courting TikTok while seeking to ban it.
The post As Biden Cheers TikTok Ban, White House Embraces TikTok Influencers appeared first on The Intercept.
The state says EMTALA, a law barring discrimination in emergency medical care, interferes with its abortion ban.
The post Idaho Goes to the Supreme Court to Argue That Pregnant People Are Second-Class Citizens appeared first on The Intercept.
Cruising is booming – 2023 ticket sales have surpassed historic levels and 2024 has seen the launch of the largest cruise ship ever built. But as cruise tourism's popularity has increased, so have the pollution problems it brings. To customers, it may not be evident that any problems exist, since some cruise line companies claim to be becoming more climate-friendly. But the truth can be quite different. Josh Toussaint-Strauss interrogates what impact the world's biggest ships are having on the planet
‘Biggest, baddest’ – but is it the cleanest? World’s largest cruise ship sets sail
‘A good cruise is one that doesn’t come’: Europe’s ports bear brunt of ship pollution
Shipping’s dirty secret: how ‘scrubbers’ clean the air – while contaminating the sea
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.
You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
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Deal to use mapping data from web search giant Baidu is a big step towards launching driver assistance tech in world’s biggest car market
Elon Musk’s visit to China has reportedly reaped immediate rewards with a deal for Tesla to use mapping data provided by web search company Baidu, a big step in introducing driver assistance technology in the world’s largest car market.
Musk made an unannounced visit to China over the weekend. The billionaire posted a picture of his meeting with the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, on X, the social network he took over in 2022.
Continue reading... submitted by /u/Puginator [link] [comments] |
With tourists struggling to access the two primary digital payment apps, Alipay and WeChat pay, Beijing has put measures in place to make cash payments easier
For 18 years, Liu Yau-li has been bringing tourists to China. In that time she’s seen the full evolution of China’s digital payment system. Twenty years ago, she says, everyone used cash. But today it’s not unusual to find places that can’t or won’t accept cash at all, particularly after the pandemic when much of the world grew wary of handling shared items.
If visitors want to enjoy convenient travel, she says, they’re better off downloading one of the major payment apps and hoping it works for them.
Continue reading...Tim Loughton had sanctions imposed on him in 2021 by Beijing, which has close ties to east African country
A former government minister who has had sanctions imposed on him by China has said he was detained and deported by Djibouti as a “direct consequence” of the east African country’s close ties with Beijing.
Tim Loughton, the Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham since 1997, said he was held for more than seven hours at the airport earlier this month, barred entry to Djibouti, and told he was being removed on the next available flight.
Continue reading...Tesla boss reportedly meets Premier Li Qiang in visit aimed at sealing rollout of Autopilot software and transferring data overseas
The Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, arrived on an unannounced visit to Beijing on Sunday where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of full self-driving software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Chinese state media reported that he held talks with the country’s premier, Li Qiang, during which Li told Musk that Tesla’s development in China could be seen as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation.
Continue reading...Girl of between 12 and 16 was making her first appearance at Evo Japan as contests previously finished past her bedtime
A girl scored a win at one of Japan’s top fighting video game contests, in a competitive puzzle game released before she was born.
The girl, known as “Money Idol-chan” after the game she competed in, has grown up playing competitive video games. Since 2022, her parents have run Anegasaki Shooting Star, a tiny arcade on the east side of Tokyo Bay. Her name has not been released and her age has been given only as between 12 and 16.
Continue reading...Despite talk of a Nobel peace prize, Japan’s leader is facing a backlash among voters as key byelection approaches
In the past fortnight Fumio Kishida has been mentioned as a possible recipient of the Nobel peace prize and praised for a speech to congress in which he urged the US not to retreat into isolation.
But since his return to Tokyo after a successful summit with Joe Biden, Japan’s prime minister has been buffeted by domestic political headwinds that this weekend could spell the beginning of the end of his administration.
Continue reading...A little sweet, a little sour, rather sticky – and irresistible!
Two oranges have been sitting in the fruit bowl since 24 January. I can be precise thanks to the boastful photographs of marmalade I took on 25 January, having bought the fruit the day before. Only half the oranges became marmalade (which filled 10 jars and made every surface in the kitchen sticky), so to start with a dozen or so sat in the bowl. They are not bitter oranges, nor are they sweet, which is why they have been consumed so slowly, watching other fruit come, go and succumb to rot (something these last two seem immune to).
They have shrunk, of course, and, like all ageing creatures, developed plenty of fine lines and open pores, but otherwise remain in excellent orange health, while their rich, oily scent is stronger than ever. In her Fruit Book, Jane Grigson notes that the word “orange” can be traced back 3,000 years, to an ancient Indian language called Dravidian, and the word naranga, which means “perfume within”. The fruit and name migrated, first into Persian and Arabic, then to European languages; narancs in Hungarian, naranja in Spanish, which morphed into the Italian arancia and the French narange, and then lost its “n”, giving us orange – both the fruit and the colour.
Discover this recipe and over 1,000 more from your favourite cooks on the new Guardian Feast app, with smart features to make everyday cooking easier and more fun
Continue reading...Parties clash over communal issues in increasingly charged campaign amid concerns unseasonably hot weather affecting voter numbers
India has held the second phase of the world’s biggest election, with prime minister Narendra Modi and his rivals hurling accusations of religious discrimination and threats to democracy amid flagging voter turnout.
Almost 1 billion people are eligible to vote in the seven-phase general election that began on 19 April and concludes on 1 June, with votes set to be counted on 4 June.
Continue reading...Like countless other hostilities, the stealthy Israeli missile and drone strike on Iran doesn’t risk war. It is war.
The post Israel Attack on Iran Is What World War III Looks Like appeared first on The Intercept.
Evidence points to Absolute Standards as the source of a lethal drug the Trump administration used to restart federal executions after 17 years.
The post “Little Home Market”: The Connecticut Company Accused of Fueling an Execution Spree appeared first on The Intercept.
The White House brushes off accusations of hypocrisy, courting TikTok while seeking to ban it.
The post As Biden Cheers TikTok Ban, White House Embraces TikTok Influencers appeared first on The Intercept.
For the first time, government military spending increased in all five geographical regions, Sipri thinktank finds
Global military expenditure has reached a record high of $2440bn (£1970bn) after the largest annual rise in government spending on arms in over a decade, according to a report.
The 6.8% increase between 2022 and 2023 was the steepest since 2009, pushing spending to the highest recorded by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) in its 60-year history.
Continue reading...Four buildings destroyed in blast that also damaged homes in nearby villages
An ammunition explosion at a base in south-western Cambodia has killed 20 soldiers and wounded several others, the prime minister has said.
Hun Manet said in a Facebook post that he was “deeply shocked” when he received the news of Saturday afternoon’s blast at the base in Kampong Speu province. The cause was not immediately clear.
Continue reading...Supporters worry Khan’s life is in danger and with good reason: The military has a long history of killing deposed leaders.
The post Chuck Schumer Privately Warns Pakistan: Don’t Kill Imran Khan in Prison appeared first on The Intercept.
Government tells operators they must join cooperatives by Tuesday and gradually replace their vehicles with greener options
A three-day strike by drivers of jeepneys in the Philippines began on Monday as transport groups warned that thousands could be pushed off the roads by government modernisation plans.
The jeepney is the backbone of the Philippines’ transport system. The customised, privately-owned buses, which look like a cross between a Jeep and a van and are decorated in flamboyant colours, ply routes in neighbourhood streets and city centres, offering rides for as little as 13 pesos (23 US cents). They have featured in pop songs and films – Pope Francis even travelled through Manila in a jeepney-inspired popemobile.
Continue reading...Despite eventual visa backflip by authorities, ABC’s south-Asia correspondent Avani Dias left after being made to ‘feel so uncomfortable’
The south-Asia correspondent for Australia’s national broadcaster, Avani Dias, has been forced out of India after her reporting fell foul of the Indian government, in a sign of the increasing pressure on journalists in the country under Narendra Modi.
Dias, who has been based in Delhi for the ABC since January 2022, said she felt the government had made it “too difficult” for her to continue to do her job, claiming it blocked her from accessing events, issued takedown notices to YouTube for her news stories, and then refused her a standard visa renewal.
Continue reading...Opposition says prime minister targeting Muslim minority with ‘hate speech’ and violating election rules
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been accused of hate speech during a campaign rally where he called Muslims “infiltrators” who had “many children” and claimed they would take people’s hard-earned money.
The opposition accused Modi of “blatantly targeting” India’s 200 million Muslim minority with comments made while addressing voters at a speech in Rajasthan on Sunday.
Continue reading...Thousands of civilians flee as resistance fighters fight to flush out soldiers holed up at eastern bridge border crossing
Fighting raged at Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand on Saturday, both governments said, forcing 3,000 civilians to flee as rebels fought to flush out Myanmar junta troops holed up for days at a bridge border crossing.
Resistance fighters and ethnic minority rebels seized the key trading town of Myawaddy on the Myanmar side of the frontier on 11 April, a blow to a well-equipped military struggling to govern and facing a test of battlefield credibility.
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