Taliban Sweep through Herat Province as Afghan Advance Continues

THE GUARDIAN: Fears grow for Kabul government after militant group seizes two key border crossings

The Taliban has swept through western Herat province, seizing two key border crossings to Iran and Turkmenistan, and much of the countryside beyond city limits.

It was the latest part of Afghanistan to collapse in the face of a rapid militant advance, during which they have taken control of areas far beyond their original southern strongholds. Their speed has fuelled fears the government in Kabul could fall within months.

In Herat, the civil war era warlord Ismail Khan called up his supporters overnight, and deployed armed units to guard key parts of the city and its outskirts. He is in his mid-70s, but called on all armed men in the city to join the fight and promised to go to the frontline himself. » | Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul and Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat | Friday, July 9, 2021

La Lituanie va construire un mur à la frontière avec la Biélorussie

LE QUOTIDIEN : La Lituanie a annoncé vendredi qu’elle allait construire un mur à la frontière avec le Bélarus, suite à une forte augmentation du nombre de migrants arrivant via ce pays.

Les forces armées de Lituanie, pays membre de l’Union européenne et de l’Otan, ont d’ores et déjà commencé à installer des barbelés le long de la frontière, une mesure rapide destinée à dissuader les migrants, pour la plupart originaires du Moyen-Orient et d’Afrique, de passer du côté lituanien. “La première étape est une clôture en fil de fer barbelé. Dans un deuxième temps, nous allons construire une clôture physique”, longue d’environ 550 kilomètres, a déclaré la ministre lituanienne de l’Intérieur, Agne Bilotaite. » | LQ/AFP | vendredi 9 juillet 2021

Call Me By Your Name | Official Trailer HD (2017)

Aug 1, 2017 • CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman.

It’s the summer of 1983 in the north of Italy, and Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17- year-old American-Italian boy, spends his days in his family’s 17th century villa transcribing and playing classical music, reading, and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel).

Elio enjoys a close relationship with his father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture, and his mother Annella (Amira Casar), a translator, who favor him with the fruits of high culture in a setting that overflows with natural delights. While Elio’s sophistication and intellectual gifts suggest he is already a fully-fledged adult, there is much that yet remains innocent and unformed about him, particularly about matters of the heart.

One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming American scholar working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio’s father. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of the setting, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.


I am no film buff, but I streamed this movie two Christmases ago. It put more than a little sparkle into what would otherwise have been a pretty dull Christmas for me. If you’re feeling blue, try this fix: it is sure to buck you up. It did me; no end!

Actually, I found the movie by chance; I stumbled upon an ad for it online. God knows how it got there! You know the kind of ad I mean: one of those often bothersome ads dangling in the ether in the corner of your screen. So, without further ado and out of more than a little boredom, I clicked on it. Thank God! I had never heard of the film before. Watching that film turned out to be a Christmas-changer for me! I cannot tell you how many times I watched it over the Christmas period because I lost count!

The film hits all your senses – head on! You’ll feel as if you’re in Italy with all the characters. In a grand, old villa. It’s rather mesmerizing; it’s certainly delightful, too. Truly delightful! Warning: It is not for those without an iota of fantasy, for the boring, or for the prudes. If you are easily shocked, don’t watch it! The movie will take you on a ride. You might even end up in seventh heaven! Go for it! And enjoy! © Mark

Democracy Now! Top US & World Headlines — July 9, 2021

Climate Change in the Desert | DW Documentary

Jun 30, 2020 • Climate change is leaving its mark on Morocco’s oases, too. Sandstorms are becoming more and more frequent, groundwater levels are sinking and palm trees are shrivelling up and dying. An age-old way of life is in danger.

Halim Sbai says an oasis really is a paradise. But drought and desertification are now taking their toll on oases like M'hamid El Ghizlane in southeastern Morocco where he grew up. The survival of a whole region is at stake. Over hundreds of kilometers between the Anti-Atlas Mountains and the Sahara desert there is one palm-fringed oasis after the next. Close to two million people live in these settlements. Up to now, many earned their living by harvesting dates from the palm trees. But this is proving more and more difficult. Decreasing and irregular rainfall is having a devastating impact on the trees and their yields.

Halim Sbai is planting new palm trees and preserving as much precious water as he can in a bid to keep the oasis of M'hamid El Ghizlane and the region’s traditional way of life alive. Up to now, he has also been supplementing his income with earnings from tourism. Global warming could put an end to all this.

Jetzt auch in der Schweiz: Ehe für alle kann kommen

Jun 11, 2020 • Das Schweizer Parlament hat den Weg dafür freigemacht, homosexuelle Paare heterosexuellen gleichzustellen. Heißt: Ehe für alle, Adoptionsrecht und die Möglichkeit künstlicher Befruchtung für lesbische Paare.

Der Weg wurde vom Ständerat am 1. Dezember 2020 für „Ehe für Alle“ freigemacht; das Referendum soll am 26. September dieses Jahr stattfinden. – Mark

Gladys Berejiklian Faces Instability Within as a Covid Storm Brews Outside

THE GUARDIAN: Disgruntled cabinet colleagues touting a plan B are making NSW premier’s job of imposing a lockdown on the public even harder

The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, emerged from her crisis briefing at the Department of Health on Friday looking more stressed – with good reason.

All the signs are that NSW is losing control of this outbreak of the Delta strain of Covid-19, despite the increasingly stringent lockdown rules.

“To 8pm last night there were 44 cases of community transmission. Regrettably, 29 of those were either partially or fully exposed to the community and that is the number that is really concerning us,” Berejiklian said on Friday.

“It tells us that both the case numbers and unfortunately the number of people who may be exposed or have been exposed in the community is going to go up.” » | Anne Davies | Friday, July 9, 2021

Cold, wet and windy weather ahead for Sydney could pose added risk in Covid lockdown »

NSW Covid update: stronger restrictions for Sydney as Gladys Berejiklian flags lockdown extension »

Attacke in Spanien: «Vom Patriarchat getötet»

TAGES ANZEIGER: In Spanien stirbt ein 24-jähriger homosexueller Mann nach einem Angriff auf offener Strasse. Zehntausende protestieren gegen das Hassverbrechen.

Es war am vergangenen Samstag gegen drei Uhr morgens, als der 24-jährige Samuel L. zusammen mit ein paar Freundinnen vor einer Diskothek im galicischen A Coruña stand. Erst am Tag zuvor hatte die Region im Nordwesten Spaniens die Discos nach langer Corona-Pause wieder aufgemacht. Samuels Freundinnen sagten hinterher, er habe per Video telefoniert, da habe ihn ein anderer junger Mann angepöbelt: Er solle aufhören, ihn zu filmen, wenn er nicht wolle, dass er ihn umbringe. Er habe Samuel einen Faustschlag verpasst. Dann hätten sich noch mehr Leute, sechs oder sieben, auf Samuel gestürzt, ihn geschlagen und getreten und mit abfälligen Ausdrücken für Homosexuelle beschimpft. Samuel L. überlebte diese Attacke nicht, er starb kurze Zeit später in einem Spital. » | Karin Janker aus Madrid | Donnerstag, 8. Juli 2021

Bangladesh: plus de 50 morts dans le gigantesque incendie d'une usine

LE POINT : Au moins 52 personnes ont péri et une trentaine ont été blessées selon les autorités vendredi dans un gigantesque incendie qui a ravagé une usine près de Dacca au Bangladesh, où de nombreux ouvriers ont dû sauter par les fenêtres pour échapper au brasier.

On ignorait encore vendredi le nombre total de personnes qui se trouvaient dans le bâtiment de six étages situé à Rupganj, une ville industrielle proche de la capitale. Et des familles continuaient d'attendre des nouvelles de leurs proches près de l'usine qui était toujours la proie des flammes. » | Source AFP | vendredi 9 juillet 2021

James Taylor : How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)

ClioHughes : Siccome trovavo solo versioni live, ho pensato di caricare la canzone originale. Tutti i diritti riservati ©

The Eagles : Lyin' Eyes (Remastered)

Nov 1, 2018 • Provided to YouTube by Rhino/Elektra

The Eagles : Hotel California (Remastered)

Nov 1, 2018 • Provided to YouTube by Rhino/Elektra

Pro LGBT Protest against New Hungarian Law

EURONEWS: Hungarian civil organisations protested against a new law that Budapest says cracks down on paedophilia and critics argue is an attack on the LGBT community.

In Budapest, protesters set up a 10-metre tall heart balloon in the colours of the rainbow. The EU has also expressed outrage over the law.

This is a homophobic and transphobic law that blames the LGBTQ community for the crimes against children. So it makes consensual love of two people equal to a crime. It is unacceptable. – Dávid Vig Director of Amnesty International Hungary

But late modifications included a ban on the "display or promotion" of homosexuality and gender reassignment to under-18s, as well as restrictions on sex education in schools. » | Catriona O’Sullivan | Updated: Thursday, July 8, 2021

The Guardian View on Risking England’s Health: Not Everyone Can Choose to Stay Safe

THE GUARDIAN: For too many, Johnson’s ‘freedom day’ will bring fear rather than release

“The purpose of the state is freedom,” the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza wrote. Its aim is to liberate everyone from fear, he argued, “so that they may live in security so far as is possible, that is, so that they may retain, to the highest possible degree, their right to live and to act without harm to themselves and others”.

Boris Johnson might nod in approval at the first part of the statement. But the plans for axing Covid restrictions in England, which the prime minister set out this week, fall far short of Spinoza’s fuller formulation. A more cautious relaxation would have been widely welcomed. Charging ahead in this gung-ho manner, scrapping almost all legal restrictions and failing to introduce mitigation measures (such as air purifiers in schools), or even uphold existing ones (such as compulsory masking), maximises the risk. The government is freeing some to return to aspects of life that they have sorely missed. But in doing so, those people risk serious harm to themselves and others. » | Editorial | Thursday, July 8, 2021

Adoption of Bitcoin as Legal Tender in El Salvador Is Seen as Unwise by 77% of Residents

THE RIO TIMES: Last June 9, the Legislative Assembly approved the Bitcoin Law, which gives legal tender to this crypto-asset together with the US dollar.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender in El Salvador is seen as a poor or unwise decision by 77.5% of the population, according to a university survey released this Thursday.

The Centro de Estudios Ciudadanos (CEC) survey of the Universidad Francisco Gavidia (UFG) shows that 24 % consider the decision as not correct and 53.5 % as not correct at all. In comparison, 12.9 % say it is correct and 6.5 % very correct.

Last June 9, the Legislative Assembly approved the Bitcoin Law, which gives legal tender to this crypto-asset together with the US dollar.

The initiative, which does not include other cryptocurrencies or the underlying projects, was approved with the votes of 62 of the 84 deputies in the Parliament, with a large majority of the ruling party, without further debate or parliamentary discussion.

The measure, which generated doubts among local banks and the population due to the limited information disclosed by the Government, will come into force next September 9. » | Latin America News | Friday, July 9, 2021

More El Salvador news here »

Cigarettes: les gagnants et les perdants de trois années de flambée des prix

LE FIGARO : GRAND DÉCRYPTAGE - Emmanuel Macron l’avait promis: le prix du paquet est passé dimanche à 10 euros. Son plan a fait baisser les ventes… et a aussi rempli les caisses de l’État.

Dix euros. Ce dimanche 1er novembre, le prix moyen du paquet de cigarettes a franchi ce cap symbolique. Les marques les moins chères sont vendues 9,90 euros et Marlboro, leader du marché, 10,40 euros. Mission accomplie pour Emmanuel Macron, dont c’était une promesse de campagne présidentielle. À son entrée en fonction, le prix du paquet était compris entre 6,50 et 7 euros.

Sa première ministre de la Santé, Agnès Buzyn, avait décidé un «choc de prix» afin de réduire la consommation de tabac, responsable d’un décès sur huit en France. Son objectif: 5 millions de fumeurs en moins et la «première génération sans tabac» en 2027. Pour obliger les industriels à augmenter les prix, le gouvernement a lancé un plan de hausses régulières de la fiscalité sur les produits du tabac, étalées sur trois ans, et qui s’est donc achevé dimanche. » [ € ] | Par Keren Lentschner et Service Infographie | Publié : dimanche 1 novembre 2020 ; lundi 2 novembre 2020

Pour l'amour de Dieu, arrêtez d'agresser les fumeurs ! - Mark

Un abonnement numérique du Figaro, formule sans engagement, est disponible ici »

L'étau se resserre autour des assassins du président haïtien Jovenel Moïse

LE FIGARO : Le commando armé responsable de l'assassinat du président haïtien, tué mercredi, était composé de 26 Colombiens et de deux Américains originaires d'Haïti. Parmi eux, trois sont morts et huit sont en fuite.

L'étau s'est resserré jeudi 8 juillet autour des assassins du président haïtien Jovenel Moïse,< /a>, la police ayant annoncé l'arrestation de 15 Colombiens et de deux Américains d'origine haïtienne, tandis que la controverse montait dans le pays au sujet du rôle de la police et de la légitimité de l'exécutif de transition.

L'assassinat du président Moïse, criblé de balles à son domicile dans la nuit de mardi 6 à mercredi 7 juillet, a été perpétré par un commando armé de 28 assaillants, selon la police. Outre ces dix-sept personnes, trois Colombiens ont été tués et huit autres sont toujours en fuite, selon Léon Charles, le directeur général de la police haïtienne. La police avait indiqué jusqu'alors avoir tué «quatre mercenaires». » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | jeudi 8 juillet 2021

President Jovenel Moïse’s Assassination: Haiti Seizes 2 American Suspects »

Afghanistan : «Pas inévitable» que le pays tombe aux mains des talibans après le retrait américain, selon Biden

LE FIGARO : Le président américain a par ailleurs annoncé que le retrait des troupes serait achevé le 31 août.

Le président américain Joe Biden a déclaré jeudi 8 juillet que le retrait des troupes américaines d'Afghanistan serait «achevé le 31 août», et assuré que la prise de contrôle du pays par les talibans n'était «pas inévitable».

Le démocrate a souligné que les Américains avaient «atteint leurs objectifs» dans le pays, à savoir lutter contre la menace terroriste. «Ce n'est pas inévitable», a-t-il dit en réponse à une question sur une possible victoire des talibans, qui multiplient les offensives militaires dans le pays. Joe Biden a aussi assuré que les autorités afghanes avaient «la capacité» d'assurer la continuité du gouvernement. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | jeudi 8 juillet 2021

Iran and Russia Move to Fill Diplomatic Vacuum in Afghanistan

THE GUARDIAN: Iranian foreign minister meets Taliban negotiators in Tehran, while Turkey offers troops to protect Kabul airport

Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and Russia have moved to fill the military and diplomatic vacuum opening up in Afghanistan as a result of the departure of US forces and military advances by the Taliban.

In Tehran the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, met Taliban negotiators to discuss their intentions towards the country, and secured a joint statement saying the Taliban do not support attacks on civilians, schools, mosques and hospitals and want a negotiated settlement on Afghanistan’s future.

The Taliban side was led by Abbas Stanekzai, a senior negotiator and head of the group’s political bureau in Qatar, while the Afghan government side was led by the former vice-president Yunus Qanooni.

Three other Afghan delegations were in Tehran at the same time. The value of the joint statement promising further talks is contestable, but Tehran’s diplomatic activism underlined fears in Iran about a spillover created by a prolonged civil war on its long border.

Estimates suggest as many as 1 million Afghans will pour over the border to avoid the fighting or Taliban rule. Iranian social media showed Afghan forces deserting two of three customs offices along the border at Islam-Qata and Farah. With an estimated 700km of its border with Afghanistan now in Taliban hands, Iran does have much choice but to take an active interest. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Friday, July 9, 2021

Christmas has come early for Putin this year! – Mark

In Forceful Defense of Afghan Withdrawal, Biden Says U.S. Achieved Its Objectives »

Brexit ‘Divorce Bill’ Higher Than UK’s Forecasts, Brussels Estimates

THE GUARDIAN: Figure of £40.8bn buried in EU’s 2020 accounts dismissed by UK as not reflecting amount it will pay

The UK’s Brexit “divorce bill” is €47.5bn (£40.8bn) according to estimates from Brussels that are higher than the government’s forecasts.

The first tranche, €6.8bn, is due for payment by the end of the year.

The final bill, buried in the European Union’s consolidated annual accounts for 2020, is significantly higher than an earlier estimate from the UK’s fiscal watchdog.

In 2018 the Office for Budget Responsibility put the Brexit bill at €41.4bn (£37.1bn). During the Brexit negotiations, British government officials said the final bill would be around £35-39bn.

The bill covers the UK’s share of EU debts and liabilities during 47 years of membership, such as paying for infrastructure projects, pensions and sickness benefits for EU officials. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Thursday, July 8, 2021