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Humpday recommendations 10/05/2022

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Listen: “The Prince.” Much of the attention at China's big Communist Party gathering later this month will focus on Xi Jinping. Yet the most influential Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping is still a black box in many ways. Want to learn more about Xi and what makes him tick? Check out this 8-episode podcast series by Sue-Lin Wong, China correspondent for The Economist. — Carlos

Watch. “Fauda.” Meaning “chaos” in Arabic, this gritty series focuses on an Israeli intel unit working against the backdrop of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The main character, Doron, comes out of retirement to tackle an enemy he once thought was dead … and chaos ensues. Doron and his crew drive home the personal and psychological toll of working in Israeli intelligence thanks to scenes filled with anger, love, violence, and loss. — Tracy

Listen: “The Waste Land,” by TS Eliot as read by Alec Guinness. I would listen to Alec Guinness read the warning label on a package of baking soda. Much better to hear him read the masterwork of a masterful poet. — Willis

Watch: “Hold Me Tight.” In this new film by French filmmaker Mathieu Amalric, Clarissa, a 40-something mum of two, wants to stay with her family so she ... runs away. Adapted from a play, this movie is about women’s grief. Clarissa is played by the pensive Vicky Krieps, one of my favorite actors. – Gabrielle

Kneel: Before Zod. I haven’t watched “Superman II” in probably 35 years but wow does it hold up well. This is the one where Superman gives up his powers in order to be with Lois Lane, just as the unflappably pitiless, leather-clad General Zod arrives with his goons to enslave the planet. Do you recall how it all ends? Lois Lane can’t remember a thing… (Btw, since I haven’t seen this film since I learned to read, I noticed for the first time that it was written by Godfather author Mario Puzo?!) — Alex

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Ukraine has won Trump's favor. Can it keep it?
- YouTube
Winning Trump's favor is one thing. Keeping it is another.Just four months after their tense Oval Office meeting on February 28, 2025, Donald Trump welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara with a noticeably warmer tone. For Ukraine, that's an encouraging shift—but hardly a guarantee of lasting American support. [...]
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on June 18, 2026.

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on June 18, 2026.

REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
The US and Iran are back at war.On Monday, President Donald Trump announced the United States would reimpose its naval blockade of Iran, effective Tuesday afternoon. Iran responded by declaring the Strait of Hormuz closed to all traffic that does not route through its preferred corridor and coordinate with Iranian authorities. Brent crude, which [...]
The demolition of the border fence between Spain and Gibraltar in La Línea de la Concepción, on July 15, 2026.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo attend a ceremony marking the demolition of the border fence between Spain and Gibraltar in La Línea de la Concepción, on July 15, 2026.

Samuel Vega/JNA Press/Sipa USA
A physical border falls, a digital one risesSome 118 years after it was installed, the border fence between Spain and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar fell on Tuesday, after the European Union and the United Kingdom clinched a long-awaited deal last year over how to manage the border in the wake of Brexit. But while one wall falls, [...]
China’s economic engine cools
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China’s economy posted one of its slowest quarterly growth rates on record. The slowdown was hardly a surprise: earlier this year, Chinese officials set the country’s lowest growth target since 1991. The weak growth is not coming from a decrease in manufacturing. In fact, exports rose 27% year over year in June. Instead, it’s coming from sluggish [...]