Monocle on Saturday, October 14, 2023: A look at the week’s news and culture with Georgina Godwin. Also in the programme: David Bodanis reviews the morning’s papers and Meryl Halls, managing director at the Booksellers Association, tells us about Bookshop Day.
Category Archives: News
The New York Times — Saturday, October 14, 2023
Israel Sticks to Call for Gaza Evacuation and Readies a Possible Invasion

The United Nations and others condemned the call for more than a million people to leave northern Gaza, and Israel softened its initial 24-hour timetable.
For Jewish New Yorkers, Shared Grief Puts Divisions on Hold

Usually lively and often fractious, political conversations are set aside among the large community of Jews in the city.
Thousands Flee Northern Gaza as Israeli Evacuation Order Stirs Panic
Some residents fear a start of another permanent displacement. Gaza authorities said at least 40 people were killed when Israeli airstrikes hit some vehicles heading south.
Across U.S., Chinese Bitcoin Mines Draw National Security Scrutiny
Microsoft reported one site in Wyoming because of its proximity to a data center and nuclear missile base. Records show other cryptocurrency facilities have ties to the Chinese state.
News: Israel Issues North Gaza Evacuation Order, EU-China Trade Relations
The New York Times — Friday, October 13, 2023
Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Worsens as Israel Prepares a Possible Invasion

As Israel retaliates for the Hamas assault last weekend and plans a potential ground attack, its airstrikes have left Gazans without power, water and medical care.
As Israel Prepares for War in Gaza, Debate Is Over How and How Long

The country’s new unity government agrees that Hamas must be destroyed so it can never attack Israel again, but there is little appetite for a reoccupation.
The Retired Israeli General Who Grabbed His Pistol and Took On Hamas
By rushing to confront the attackers himself, Israel Ziv has become a public symbol of Israel’s former military successes — and its failure this time.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Closest Friends Become His Foes in Courtroom Clash
The FTX founder’s criminal trial has made clear just how much his inner circle has turned against him.
News: Israel Readies For Ground Assault Of Gaza, Zelensky Meets With NATO
The Globalist Podcast (October 12, 2023) – Israel forms a unity government as fighting with Hamas continues. A former CIA officer tells us how Israeli and US intelligence could have missed what Hamas had planned.
Plus: Volodymyr Zelensky makes a surprise visit to Brussels for a Nato meeting and Thailand’s new prime minister courts foreign investment.
The New York Times — Thursday, October 12, 2023
Israel Forms Unity Government and Bombs Gaza in the Wake of Hamas Attack

Following the deadliest assault on Israel in half a century, the country is vowing to crush Hamas, and both sides are bracing for an escalating war.
How Israel’s Feared Security Services Failed to Stop Hamas’s Attack

Israel’s military and espionage services are considered among the world’s best, but on Saturday, operational and intelligence failures led to the worst breach of Israeli defenses in half a century.
A Texas Community Attracts Migrant Home Buyers, and Republican Ire
The development near Houston offers cheap land and unconventional financing to buyers, many of them undocumented immigrants. Gov. Greg Abbott has called for hearings.
Who Runs the Best U.S. Schools? It May Be the Defense Department.
Schools for children of military members achieve results rarely seen in public education.
News: Hamas’ “Sheer Evil” War, Netanyahu’s Failure, Finland Gas Pipeline Leak
The Globalist Podcast (October 11, 2023) – The latest from Israel and the implications for Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future as the conflict between Israel and Hamas enters its fifth day.
Plus: a leak in a Finnish gas pipeline is ‘not an accident’ and how businesses are changing Tokyo’s skyline.
The New York Times — Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023
Israel Retakes Towns Near Gaza as Its Military Readies Major Offensive

“The next step is to move forward, go on the offense,” an Israeli general said, as the country called up more reservists in response to devastating attacks by Palestinian gunmen who killed more than 900 people.
Washington Rallies Behind Israel, but a Lasting Consensus May Prove Elusive

Democrats and Republicans put aside an increasingly partisan divide over Israel to condemn the Hamas attack. But that support may be harder to maintain as Israel retaliates.
‘It’s Not a War or a Battlefield. It’s a Massacre.’
A Times reporter and photographer visited an Israeli village raided by Palestinian gunmen.
Nowhere to Hide in Gaza as Israeli Onslaught Continues
Residents and health authorities say that mosques, hospitals and schools are being targeted by airstrikes.
News: Israel-Hamas War, Right-Wing Populism In Europe, Poland Elections
The New York Times — Tuesday, October 10, 2023
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Israel Orders ‘Complete Siege’ of Gaza and Hamas Threatens to Kill Hostages

Israel mobilized 300,000 reservists amid signs that it could be preparing for a major ground invasion of Gaza, and it bombed hundreds of sites, including mosques and a marketplace.
Attack Ends Israel’s Hope That Hamas Might Come to Embrace Stability

Israel had considered Hamas a terrorist organization but one that could play a useful role for Israel in the Gaza Strip, which the group controls. Now, senior Israeli officials say, Hamas must be crushed.
‘I Just Hope That They Are Alive’: How Hamas Abducted 150 Israelis
Palestinian militants kidnapped scores of Israelis in an unprecedented attack that took the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into unknown territory. Their relatives recount how they were captured.
Russia’s Economy Is Increasingly Structured Around Its War in Ukraine
The nation’s finances have proven resilient, despite punishing sanctions, giving it leeway to pump money into its military machine.