Sunday, February 08, 2026
Sir Ed Davey Calls Trump an “International Gangster.”
Why Trump Is Putting King Charles in Grave Danger | The Daily Beast Podcast
Japan’s Leader Wins in a Landslide, Clearing Way for Hard-Line Agenda
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a sweeping mandate from voters for her economic agenda and tough stances on immigration and China.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan made a big gamble on Sunday, holding a snap election only 110 days after she became the first woman to serve as the country’s prime minister. It paid off, with voters offering a resounding mandate for her economic policies and tough stance on immigration and China.
Ms. Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party won in a landslide, securing an absolute majority in Japan’s 465-member House of Representatives, the lower house of Japan’s bicameral Parliament, according to NHK, the public broadcaster. As of early Monday in Japan, the party had won at least 310 seats, up from 198, NHK said.
The result clears the way for Ms. Takaichi to enact a conservative agenda on defense and social issues and to strengthen her position on the global stage, with President Trump having given her candidacy a ringing endorsement.
The outcome is a remarkable reversal of fortune for Ms. Takaichi’s party, which governed Japan for much of the past seven decades but has suffered a series of bruising defeats in recent years, leaving it in the unusual position of being a minority in both houses of Parliament. » | Javier C. Hernández, River Akira Davis, Kiuko Notoya and Hisako Ueno | Reporting from Tokyo | Sunday, February 8, 2026
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan made a big gamble on Sunday, holding a snap election only 110 days after she became the first woman to serve as the country’s prime minister. It paid off, with voters offering a resounding mandate for her economic policies and tough stance on immigration and China.
Ms. Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party won in a landslide, securing an absolute majority in Japan’s 465-member House of Representatives, the lower house of Japan’s bicameral Parliament, according to NHK, the public broadcaster. As of early Monday in Japan, the party had won at least 310 seats, up from 198, NHK said.
The result clears the way for Ms. Takaichi to enact a conservative agenda on defense and social issues and to strengthen her position on the global stage, with President Trump having given her candidacy a ringing endorsement.
The outcome is a remarkable reversal of fortune for Ms. Takaichi’s party, which governed Japan for much of the past seven decades but has suffered a series of bruising defeats in recent years, leaving it in the unusual position of being a minority in both houses of Parliament. » | Javier C. Hernández, River Akira Davis, Kiuko Notoya and Hisako Ueno | Reporting from Tokyo | Sunday, February 8, 2026
What’s It Like to Eat at a Legendary Paris Brasserie? | Cheers & Chats
Greenland: Between Denmark and Trump | ARTE.tv Documentary
Dec 24, 2025 | Trump wants Greenland to become part of the USA, a future that Greenlanders reject. But what do they want for their homeland? Many in Greenland desire to move beyond being an autonomous territory within Denmark's orbit to become a fully independent sovereign state.
Greenland: Between Denmark and Trump | ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until: 24/11/2030
Greenland: Between Denmark and Trump | ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until: 24/11/2030
Grace Kelly: From Hollywood Star to Princess of Monaco I SLICE History | Full Documentary
Feb 9, 2026 | Considered one of the most beautiful actresses of her time, Grace Kelly remains an icon today. Her life and career are well documented, from her work in Hollywood to her marriage to Prince Rainier and her tragic death in a car accident in 1982.
But do we know the inside story? Who really was Grace Kelly?
Thanks to an exclusive agreement with the Principality of Monaco, this documentary will tell Grace’s life story as it’s never been told before, through the eyes of those close to her and who loved her, including her family – notably Prince Albert of Monaco –, and friends.
For the first time, the Grimaldi family has given access to its private archives, much of which has never been made public before, and agreed to talk us through this intimate material. This comprises many films shot in 8mm, 16mm and super-8 by Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier themselves, which reveal a mother who is quite different to the official image: Free, vibrant, surrounded by her children and participating in family life.
A look back on an icon with a tragic destiny.
Documentary: Her name was Grace Kelly
Directed by Serge de Sampigny
Production: Patrick Spica Productions (2020)
But do we know the inside story? Who really was Grace Kelly?
Thanks to an exclusive agreement with the Principality of Monaco, this documentary will tell Grace’s life story as it’s never been told before, through the eyes of those close to her and who loved her, including her family – notably Prince Albert of Monaco –, and friends.
For the first time, the Grimaldi family has given access to its private archives, much of which has never been made public before, and agreed to talk us through this intimate material. This comprises many films shot in 8mm, 16mm and super-8 by Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier themselves, which reveal a mother who is quite different to the official image: Free, vibrant, surrounded by her children and participating in family life.
A look back on an icon with a tragic destiny.
Documentary: Her name was Grace Kelly
Directed by Serge de Sampigny
Production: Patrick Spica Productions (2020)
Queer | Scene at The Academy (Feat. Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Luca Guadagnino, & More)
Steve Rosenberg: Reading Russia Weekend Extra: Memories of a NATO Visit to Moscow.
Father David: You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
As I have said before, Trump is a pox on America and on the West. — © Mark Alexander
Queer | Official Trailer HD
Même en cas de «guerre», l'Iran ne renoncera pas au nucléaire
LE FIGARO : Le déploiement militaire américain dans le Golfe «ne nous effraie pas», a déclaré dimanche le chef de la diplomatie iranienne.
Alors qu’une première session de pourparlers vendredi entre les États-Unis et l’Iran avaient été jugée « positive », le ministre iranien des Affaires étrangères, Abbas Araghchi, a réaffirmé dimanche que l’Iran ne céderait pas à la demande réitérée de Donald Trump de renoncer à l’enrichissement d’uranium, « même si une guerre nous est imposée » a-t-il souligné.
L’Iran campe donc sur ses lignes rouges, n’acceptant de discuter que de son programme nucléaire et martelant qu’il est en droit de développer du nucléaire civil. Les Etats-Unis, qui ont déployé une vaste force navale dans le Golfe, exigent un accord plus large, incluant la limitation des capacités balistiques du pays et l’arrêt de son soutien à des groupes armés hostiles à Israël. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | dimanche 8 février 2026
Alors qu’une première session de pourparlers vendredi entre les États-Unis et l’Iran avaient été jugée « positive », le ministre iranien des Affaires étrangères, Abbas Araghchi, a réaffirmé dimanche que l’Iran ne céderait pas à la demande réitérée de Donald Trump de renoncer à l’enrichissement d’uranium, « même si une guerre nous est imposée » a-t-il souligné.
L’Iran campe donc sur ses lignes rouges, n’acceptant de discuter que de son programme nucléaire et martelant qu’il est en droit de développer du nucléaire civil. Les Etats-Unis, qui ont déployé une vaste force navale dans le Golfe, exigent un accord plus large, incluant la limitation des capacités balistiques du pays et l’arrêt de son soutien à des groupes armés hostiles à Israël. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | dimanche 8 février 2026
"Empire in Decline": Historian Alfred McCoy on U.S. Aggression in Venezuela, Iran & Beyond
Jan 13, 2026 | As President Trump threatens Iran, Venezuela, Mexico, Greenland and more, renowned historian Alfred McCoy says the United States is "an empire in decline," following a predictable pattern of militarism abroad and political instability at home as it loses power and influence on the world stage. "American politics become increasingly contorted and irrational," says McCoy. "I think the thing to do is to realize that we are an empire in decline, … and it will continue for another decade or two, until American power finally slips away."
McCoy just published his latest book, "Cold War on Five Continents: A Global History of Empire and Espionage," on the impact of U.S.-Soviet imperial proxy wars in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Democracy Now! can be supported here.
McCoy just published his latest book, "Cold War on Five Continents: A Global History of Empire and Espionage," on the impact of U.S.-Soviet imperial proxy wars in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Democracy Now! can be supported here.
“The United States Is An Empire In Decline”
Cuba’s Government Has Lasted 67 Years. Will It Fall Under Trump?
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Trump administration, which has tightened the U.S. chokehold on Cuba by cutting off foreign oil, is betting that this is the Cuban communist revolution’s last year.
Celebrations broke out in front of Miami’s Versailles restaurant nearly 20 years ago after Fidel Castro announced that he was so sick he had to temporarily step down as president of Cuba.
Cuban exiles rejoiced again two years later when he quit for good — and once more when he died in 2016, though his brother Raúl Castro was president at the time.
Now, the country’s economy is in free fall, its electric grid is failing, millions of its citizens have left and the Cuban government is facing off against perhaps its most menacing foe: President Trump.
Mr. Trump has closed off Cuba’s access to oil shipments, helped cripple its vital tourism industry and declared that Cuba’s government is “going down for the count.”
The Trump administration and the many Cuban exiles who have been waiting nearly seven decades for the fall of Cuba’s Communist government said they believed this might finally be their moment.
After years of U.S. presidents trying various economic pressure tactics to hasten the demise of the Cuban government, the Trump administration’s cutoff of fuel has raised the ante drastically because oil keeps the country — from public transit to factories to farms — running.
…
After the U.S. military captured the Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Mr. Trump halted Venezuelan oil to Cuba. Venezuela had long kept Cuba afloat with 35,000 barrels of oil a day in exchange for medical services by Cuban doctors. Read the whole article in today’s NYT HERE ». Y en español AQUÍ.
Celebrations broke out in front of Miami’s Versailles restaurant nearly 20 years ago after Fidel Castro announced that he was so sick he had to temporarily step down as president of Cuba.
Cuban exiles rejoiced again two years later when he quit for good — and once more when he died in 2016, though his brother Raúl Castro was president at the time.
Now, the country’s economy is in free fall, its electric grid is failing, millions of its citizens have left and the Cuban government is facing off against perhaps its most menacing foe: President Trump.
Mr. Trump has closed off Cuba’s access to oil shipments, helped cripple its vital tourism industry and declared that Cuba’s government is “going down for the count.”
The Trump administration and the many Cuban exiles who have been waiting nearly seven decades for the fall of Cuba’s Communist government said they believed this might finally be their moment.
After years of U.S. presidents trying various economic pressure tactics to hasten the demise of the Cuban government, the Trump administration’s cutoff of fuel has raised the ante drastically because oil keeps the country — from public transit to factories to farms — running.
…
After the U.S. military captured the Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Mr. Trump halted Venezuelan oil to Cuba. Venezuela had long kept Cuba afloat with 35,000 barrels of oil a day in exchange for medical services by Cuban doctors. Read the whole article in today’s NYT HERE ». Y en español AQUÍ.
Saturday, February 07, 2026
Chris Hedges on Trump, Epstein and the Decline of American Democracy | UpFront
Feb 7, 2026 | One year into Donald Trump’s return to office, a wave of hard line actions - from volatile ICE raids to growing concern over political pressure on the media - has raised alarm about the expansion of the president’s power.
Then with US midterms approaching, attention is turning to whether there is any meaningful challenge to Republican grip on Congress.
So what happens next? This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with journalist and author Chris Hedges about Trump’s second presidency and whether US democracy is on the decline.
Then with US midterms approaching, attention is turning to whether there is any meaningful challenge to Republican grip on Congress.
So what happens next? This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with journalist and author Chris Hedges about Trump’s second presidency and whether US democracy is on the decline.
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