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☆ I own an energy-efficient, weather-proof dome home. Here's my advice for those who want to own a dome home too.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Pamela Voss and her husband own a geodesic dome home on 15 acres of land in eastern Texas. When my husband and I first walked into our 4,000 square-foot Texas dome home in spring 2021, I thought to myself: "Oh my God, this is so cool." Dome homes in our area aren't prevalent enough to have comps, so we fought back and asked if they could use traditional homes of a comparable price. Sometimes, skylights and windows in dome homes can leak at the edges because of how they are built. Keep in mind that many dome homes also need a cupola, which is a gazebo-like structure at the highest point of the dome.

Persons: Pamela Voss, Voss, we've, you've Organizations: Service, Texas Farm Bureau Locations: Texas, Wall, Silicon

Germany's property sector is in stress, underscoring a major change of fortune for real estate in Europe's largest economy after an end to the era of cheap money. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File PhotoFRANKFURT, Aug 11 (Reuters) - A Munich-based property developer said on Friday it had filed to open insolvency proceedings with a local court, in the latest sign of stress in Germany's real estate sector. Weakness in real estate has also emerged in the United States and Sweden. Germany is Europe's largest economy and the biggest real estate investment market on the continent. The property sector accounts for roughly a fifth of Germany's economic output and one in ten jobs.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Euroboden, Tom Sims, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Euroboden GmbH, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Partner, Centrum Group, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Germany's, Europe's, Munich, Berlin, United States, Sweden

☆ The Return of Manual-Wind Watches
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Ming Liu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The lack of a rotor generally allows manual-wind movements — and, ultimately, their exterior cases — to be smaller, which suits the current trend for small watches. Bulgari also played with size in developing its manual-wind BVL 100 Piccolissimo movement, introduced last year. “Our very important clients were saying that they had so many high-jewelry watches but found it was a pity that the tiny batteries soon ran out,” said Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, the brand’s production creation executive director. A mechanical movement is forever.”The Piccolissimo first was used in Bulgari’s high-jewelry Serpenti Misteriosi watches, but this year it made its way into the new Mediterranea high-jewelry collection, presented in Venice in May. Manual-wind movements highlight a watch’s vintage look.

Persons: Patek, Calatrava, Bulgari, ”, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, “, Marino Grande, Panerai Locations: Tokyo, Venice, Geneva, California

☆ Homeowners living in dome-shaped houses say they protect against natural disasters and save them money on bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Dome homeowners said the structures' energy efficiency saves them money on energy bills. Geodesic dome homes — like this one, pictured in Baiting Hollow, New York — are designed to withstand natural disasters. Voss's home is built out of a geodesic dome, which means their roof is made of triangle-shaped pieces. Courtesy Pamela VossSouth said one bonus of monolithic domes is that the construction yields less waste than geodesic domes since it's one continuous piece of material. Bremner also said monolithic dome homes can be more leak-proof than geodesic domes since no individual components can come apart.

Persons: Pamela Voss, I'd, Voss, South, Chris Ware, Bryan Bremner, Pamela Voss South, Bremner, " Voss Organizations: Service, Getty, Census, CBS News, National Weather Service, New York Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, Texas, New York, Washington, Voss, South

☆ 3 Young Irish Writers and Their ‘Difficult Second Books’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Imogen West-Knights | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In recent years, Irish novelists, and particularly Irish women novelists, have published some of the most compelling English-language literary fiction. Not just Sally Rooney, whose three novels to date have sold millions of copies worldwide, but a whole host of women have written books which, taken together, suggest a new contemporary Irish literature that focuses on the precarity of modern working life, as well as intimacy and its failings. Naoise Dolan, 31, Megan Nolan, 33, and Nicole Flattery, 33, are three of the better-known members of this cohort. Dolan’s 2020 debut novel “Exciting Times” was the story of a love triangle set in Hong Kong; “Acts of Desperation,” from Nolan and published in 2021, charted the life of a young woman in an abject relationship; and Flattery also published her debut, “Show Them A Good Time,” a collection of deadpan and appealingly peculiar short stories, in 2020. All three have also released a second book this year: Dolan’s is an acerbic comedy of errors about an impending wedding called “The Happy Couple,” Nolan’s “Ordinary Human Failings” follows an Irish family after one of its members is accused of a terrible crime, and “Nothing Special” is Flattery’s tale of a young woman who gets a job as a typist at Andy Warhol’s Factory.

Persons: Sally Rooney, Naoise Dolan, Megan Nolan, Nicole, ”, Nolan, Andy Warhol’s Factory Locations: Hong Kong

☆ Marijuana farmers in Colombia push government to find a place for them
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Cajibio CNN —On a recent Friday morning, about 200 coca and marijuana farmers gathered in the small town of Cajibio, southwestern Colombia, to hear the government out. More than 200,000 farmers of drug crops live in criminality in Colombia because their harvest is illegal, according to COCCAM, a workers’ union representing farmers involved in cocaine and marijuana production. Meeting between Colombia's government and drug farmers in Cajibio. Opponents of legal marijuana, like rightwing opposition leader German Vargas Lleras, say legal weed would only push more people into drug consumption, and celebrated the collapse of the latest regulation effort. “This is not about me or you getting high, it’s about the farmers and the producers,” Miranda told CNN.

Persons: Gloria Miranda, Yulier Lopez, Lopez, Ivan Duque, Cajibio, “, Stefano Pozzebon, Gustavo Petro, Petro, Juan Carlos Losada, ” Losada, Losada, German Vargas Lleras, ”, ” Lopez, Luis Cunda, Cunda, Colombia Stefano Pozzebon, CNN Cunda, Miranda, ’ Chris Alexander, ” Miranda, Nestor Osuna Organizations: CNN, Justice Ministry, Colombian, Liberal, ’, Human Rights Watch, New, Losada Locations: Cajibio, Colombia, UNODC, Colombian, CNN Colombian, Colombia’s Cauca, COCCAM, Cauca, ‘, Miranda, Caloto, United States, Uruguay, Latin America, Denver, Colorado, New York State, Bogota

☆ ‘Barbie’ Box Office to the World: The Pandemic Is Officially Over
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Brooks Barnes | More About Brooks Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

One high-end theater in the Washington, D.C. suburbs went all out on promotion, with pink lights to highlight “Barbie” and a wall of movie posters featuring both films. Another theater in Arlington, Va., had it worse: The air conditioning went out, leading to a sweltering experience. Studio executives have long pointed out that moviegoing begets moviegoing — that the habit of watching movies in theaters is crucial. “Challengers,” a sports drama involving a love triangle and staring Zendaya, has already been pushed from September to April. “Oppenheimer” helped fuel “Barbie” and vice versa, with their simultaneous release nicknamed Barbenheimer and movie fans captivated by their wild incongruity.

Persons: “ Barbie ”, draping, ”, Jeff Goldstein, Harrison Hood, Maansi Srivastava, Barbie ”, Zendaya, “ Oppenheimer, Barbenheimer, Robert Oppenheimer Organizations: Warner Bros, AMC, New York Times, Hollywood, “, SAG, Universal Pictures, National Association of Theater Locations: Manhattan, Washington, Arlington , Va

☆ How a YouTube Sensation Spends His Sundays
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Lia Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And it was a really, really awesome show. It was the Brooklyn United, they’re an all-Black marching band, kids who are basically raising money for the organization. And we hear in the distance, “ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta.” Some people in the back clued me in that it was a marching band. I was like, “Get over here!” And people made way and they came right in. They came right on in and just killed it.

Persons: they’re Organizations: Brooklyn United

"I am worried because we are in a deep real estate crisis. And the real estate crisis needs clear, structured and downright radical steps to fix it," Mattner said. For years, Germany's property market has been seen as a safe haven, becoming a major draw for foreign investors. Recent data shows the stress the property sector is facing as the European Central Bank hikes interest rates, with little respite in sight. The fall is "catastrophic," said Andreas Beulich, head of the Federal Association of Independent Real Estate and Housing Companies.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Andreas Mattner, Mattner, Tim, Oliver Mueller, Mueller, Scholz, Danyal, Andreas Beulich, Mathias Duesterdick, ”, Andreas Naujoks, Simone Zapke, Emma, Victoria Farr, Matthias Inverardi, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, German Property Federation, German Construction Industry Federation, Reuters Graphics, European Central Bank, Federal Association of Independent, Housing Companies, Centrum Group, ECB, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Germany's, Europe's, Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT, Baden, United States, Sweden

☆ Look closely: Tesla workers appear to flash a hand signal for the Cybertruck
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Workers flashed a hand signal in a photo with Tesla's first Cybertruck built at its Austin factory. The photo shows several workers using their thumb and index finger to make an angular shape. Tesla workers appear to have created a hand signal in honor of the EV company's Cybertruck. Pictures of the workers' hand signals quickly took off on Reddit and in a Tesla Motors Club thread. Dozens of Tesla workers made the hand signal in a photo that was posted on the company's Twitter account.

Persons: Twitter Tesla, Elon Musk, Tesla, Franz von Holzhausen, Insider's Nora Naughton Organizations: company's, Tesla Motors, Twitter, Elon Locations: Austin, Austin , Texas, Texas

Investment in the critical minerals pipeline grew by 20% in 2021 and by 30% in 2022, led by lithium, copper and nickel. Although prices of some critical minerals such as copper have eased over the last year due to recession in the "old economy", prices for most critical minerals remain well above historical averages as supply struggles to catch up with demand. Production trends for nickel and cobaltLIMITED DIVERSIFICATIONThere has been only limited success in diversifying the geographical sourcing of critical minerals in recent years, the IEA said. China, which already dominates lithium processing, accounts for half of the world's planned new lithium chemical plants. Moreover, China's move to control exports of gallium and germanium underlines the concentration of supply in a host of smaller, esoteric metals that feed into the critical minerals landscape.

Persons: China's, IRENA, David Evans, Mark Potter Organizations: International Energy Agency, Investment, IEA, International Renewable Energy Agency, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Canada, Australia, China, Indonesia, United States, Europe, South America

☆ ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’: Lola Tung on Growing Up Alongside Belly
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Christopher Kuo | More About Christopher Kuo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lola Tung was taking classes as a first-year acting student at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, when she heard the news. She had just been selected to play the lead in a new Amazon series called “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” based on the best-selling young adult novel by Jenny Han. “I was just in shock because I didn’t expect this,” Tung, 20, a New York City native, said in a video interview last month. The romantic tension captivated teen and young-adult viewers when the series debuted in 2022 and helped turn the show into a social media sensation. The hashtag #TheSummerITurnedPretty has accumulated millions of views on TikTok as users post fawning videos in support of “Team Conrad” or “Team Jere.”

Persons: Lola Tung, Jenny Han, “, ” Tung, Tung, Isabel Conklin, —, Conrad, Christopher Briney, Jeremiah, Gavin Casalegno, Conrad ”, Jere, ” Organizations: Carnegie Mellon University, “ Locations: Pittsburgh, New York City, Wilmington, N.C

☆ 'Skiplagging' to save money on plane tickets is only possible because airlines are breaking one of the basic laws of geometry
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Andy Kiersz | Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

That means buying cheaper tickets with a layover in their actual destination city instead of a direct flight. This only works because air fares violate the "triangle inequality," one of the basic laws of geometry. One of the most basic laws of geometry is something called the "triangle inequality." But that clearly is not always the case, and that violation of the triangle inequality is what makes skiplagging possible. If airlines want to fight skiplagging, a good first start would be making airfares into a geometrically-accurate metric.

Persons: skiplagging, Brian Hayes Organizations: Flyers Locations: layover, New York, Amsterdam, London

☆ With a world-class workforce and a booming economy, North Carolina repeats as America's Top State for Business in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Scott Cohn | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

North Carolina Gov. North Carolina ranks first in the all-important Workforce category of CNBC's study. Strong workers fuel GDP, solid state finances North Carolina's strong workforce helped feed its performance in other categories. "It's clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education," Cooper said on May 24. Abortion rights demonstrators gather to protest in Raleigh, North Carolina, after the Supreme Court's decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health case, June 24, 2022.

Persons: Bosch, Roy Cooper, Joe Biden's, Melissa Sue Gerrits, Josh Wright, Charlotte, it's, You've, Wright, Cooper, Tricia Cotham, Cotham Organizations: State, Business, North Carolina, CNBC, North Carolina Gov, Getty, Apple, Triangle, Democrat, Raleigh, U.S . Labor Department, Commerce Department, Federal Housing Financing Agency, Census, ATTOM Data, Technology, Innovation, Capital, Republican, Republicans, General, Jackson, Anadolu Agency Locations: North Carolina, Lincolnton, Greensboro, Goldsboro, American, Durham, Wolfspeed, Durham , North Carolina, East Coast, America, Alaska, Massachusetts, North, Raleigh , North Carolina, Dobbs

☆ Alcaraz and Rune Wimbledon clash an appetiser for tasty future rivalry
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Both aged 20, born six days apart, the young guns who will be contesting the first men's Wimbledon quarter-final involving two players aged 21 or under in the professional era. A potential Wimbledon final between defending champion Djokovic and Alcaraz is the talk of the town, but with a 16-year age gap it is likely to be an intense but short-term rivalry. That is why there is so much excitement brewing about Wednesday's Alcaraz and Rune quarter-finals showdown - it could well be a juicy foretaste of things to come. "You're hoping, as Djokovic and Nadal wind down, you're hoping Alcaraz and Rune in particular step up and have a great rivalry because all sports need it." We played together since we were 12 years old," top seed Alcaraz said after his fourth-round win over Italian Matteo Berrettini on Monday.

Persons: Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, Italy's Matteo Berrettini, Hannah Mckay LONDON, Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Alcaraz, Rune, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Djokovic, they've, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Wednesday's, Matteo Berrettini, Rune's, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Daniil Medvedev, Christopher Eubanks, Eubanks, Arthur Ashe, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Martyn Herman, Ken Ferris Organizations: Lawn Tennis, Croquet Club, Italy's Matteo Berrettini REUTERS, Wimbledon, U.S, Nadal, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

It's time to buy shares of Transocean , according to Citi. "Transocean is also favorably positioned geographically with the greatest exposure to the Golden Triangle region (Brazil, [Gulf of Mexico], West Africa) amongst peers," Gruber continued. Dayrates refer to the daily costs drilling project operators pay to drilling contractors to rent an oil rig. Transocean shares were up 2.7% Wednesday premarket. RIG YTD mountain RIG in 2023 —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

Persons: Scott Gruber, Gruber, Transocean, Dayrates, EBITDA, —, Michael Bloom Organizations: Citi Locations: Transocean, ., Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, Sea, Norway

☆ For Yusef Salaam, a Landslide Just Might Be the Best Revenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | More About Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Six years ago, Mr. Salaam moved to Georgia; Harlem had become so expensive. He sees the lack of affordable housing as the area’s chief concern, and he is committed to working with developers to create more. Mr. Salaam’s ascent suggests the political appeal of lived experience over the attraction of outlier ideologies that have been cultivated at a privileged distance. Despite what he suffered at the hands of a warped system, Mr. Salaam maintains a position on policing that is comparatively moderate, calling for better and more sensitive policing, not a world without it. One of his political supporters is a former corrections officer who first encountered Mr. Salaam in a Lower Manhattan courthouse in the early stages of his long ordeal.

Persons: Salaam, Ms, Jordan, Harlemites, Brown, George Floyd, “, ”, Derrick Taitt, “ It’s, I’ll, Taitt Organizations: Calhoun School, Mr, Community Association of, East Harlem Locations: Georgia, Harlem, Lower Manhattan

It also defies protests from a minority of activist investors who want oil companies to be more closely aligned with global efforts to mitigate climate change. An oil and gas price rally driven by energy producer Russia's invasion of Ukraine translated into record profits for the energy majors. That has increased confidence in the most costly, high-risk offshore exploration that can also deliver the highest rewards. Wood Mackenzie analysts predict a continued increase in activity, forecasting offshore exploration and drilling activity to grow by 20% by 2025. Wood Mackenzie meanwhile predicts the commitment of up to $185 billion to develop 27 billion barrels of oil reserves, with international oil companies focused on the higher-cost, higher-return deepwater developments.

Persons: Olivier Le Peuch, Baker Hughes, Wood Mackenzie, Leslie Cook, TotalEnergies, Yujnovich, QatarEnergy, Shell, Graff, La Rona, Ron Bousso, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Shell, BP, SLB, Reuters, International Energy Agency, Barclays, West Africa –, Nambia's Petroleum, Thomson Locations: Namibia, Ukraine, Gulf of Mexico, South America, West Africa, NAMIBIA, Canada

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Persons: —, you've, Wells, Banks, Foster, Ally, you’ll, Charles Schwab, Chase, Wells Fargo Organizations: Service, Bank of America, Credit Union, Chevron, Alliant Credit Union, Express, American Express, FDIC, Reading Chevron, Axos, Axos Bank, Blue Federal, Blue Foundation, NOVA, Capital, Schwab, Savings, Chase Bank, Overdraft, Chase, locator.chase.com, Green, Banking, The Bancorp Bank, Stride Bank, N.A, CIT Bank, Bank, FDIC CIT Bank, CIT, Connect, Citi, Member FDIC Citi, BBB, Consumers Credit, Credit, Consumers Credit Union, Delta Community Credit, Community Credit, Utah Free, Discover, Discover Bank, FDIC Discover, Falcon International, International, Falcon International Bank, International Bank of Commerce, American, Laredo Federal Credit Union, Latino Community Development Center, North Carolina, Community Credit Union, Latino Community Credit, Navy Federal Free, Federal Free, NCUA Navy Federal Free, Navy Federal Credit Union, Department of Defense, Premier, LifeGreen, Regions Bank, City Federal Credit, River City Federal Credit, Federal Credit, City Federal Credit Union, Employees Credit, NCUA, State Employees Credit Union, Member, Service Credit Union, American Consumer, Security, Security Service, UT, Stripes, Security Service Credit Union, The Security, Synchrony Bank, . Bank, U.S, Bank's Locations: Chevron, Colorado and Wyoming, NY, LA, TX, VA, NJ, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, CA, CT, FL, Chicago , Illinois, eDocuments, Metro Atlanta , Georgia, Kentucky , Texas, Georgia, Texas, AZ, Arizona , California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Laredo, North Carolina, Charlotte, Piedmont Triad, North, American, City, River City, River, San Antonio , Texas, Bexar County, Europe, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Colorado , Texas, Utah

☆ You May Not Have Asked; He Answered Anyway
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Dan Piepenbring | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I know that time travelers may have sunk the Titanic by visiting it in excessive numbers. By now you can see that “The Theory of Everything Else” is all over the map. Its broadness is mainly an asset — it makes the book suitable for beach reading or for mainlining before a dinner party. Schreiber brings a formidable amount of research to bear, and he’s careful never to mock any of his subjects, even those who may deserve it. But he’s sometimes too adept at quarantining the weirdness, too certain of where the rational ends and the irrational begins.

Persons: Schreiber, William McKinley, Nancy Reagan, Sylvester Stallone’s, Bram Stoker, Queen Elizabeth I, Dan Piepenbring, Charles Manson, Dan Schreiber, William Morrow Organizations: CIA Locations: Bermuda

☆ The Women of ‘Don Carlo’ Portray a Moment in History
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( David Belcher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Across the monumental, hourslong opera “Don Carlo,” two female characters take a journey unparalleled in Verdi’s canon of 28 operas. Just two real-life characters from history caught in a love triangle that rocked 16th-century Spain. For her and Yulia Matochkina, a Russian mezzo-soprano, it’s a chance to delve into two of Verdi’s most complicated and fully realized female characters. It portrays a real-life Spanish prince, Don Carlo, and Elisabeth of Valois, a French princess, who are secretly in love, although she is betrothed to his father, King Philip II of Spain. But for many, it’s the women who move the story forward and offer perhaps the richest characterizations in Verdi’s repertoire.

Persons: Don Carlo, ”, Nicholas Hytner’s, Lise Davidsen, Elisabeth of Valois, Yulia Matochkina, it’s, “ Don Carlo ”, Friedrich Schiller, King Philip II of Spain, Princess Eboli, Carlo, Rodrigo Organizations: Royal Locations: Spain, Norwegian, Russian

PARIS, June 29 (Reuters) - French minerals group Imerys (IMTP.PA) on Thursday announced plans to mine lithium in the UK and said the site could supply two-thirds of batteries for Britain's electric vehicles by 2030. Imerys aims to produce around 20,0000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate equivalent by the end of the decade at its mining site in Cornwall, southwest England, in partnership with British Lithium. Imerys' UK development, and its previously announced plan to mine the metal in central France, would reduce Europe's current reliance on imported lithium for batteries, CEO Alessandro Dazza said. In its UK partnership, Imerys has taken an 80% stake and will draw on British Lithium's processing technology and existing pilot for battery-grade lithium, the French group said. In the search for battery minerals, traditional energy companies, including Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), are also looking at emerging technologies to boost lithium supply.

Persons: Imerys, Alessandro Dazza, Kemi Badenoch, Dazza, Gus Trompiz, Clara Denina, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Jason Neely, Sonali Paul, Susan Fenton Organizations: Global, Exxon Mobil, Thomson Locations: Cornwall, England, British, France, Europe, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Britain, Imerys, Paris, London

☆ New Madrid gallery brings royal treasures under one roof
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A visitor walks past the sculpture "Felipe II" by artist Pompeo Leon at the Gallery of Royal Collections in Madrid, Spain, June 29, 2023. REUTERS/Juan MedinaMADRID, June 29 (Reuters) - Madrid opened a long-awaited multi-million-dollar gallery on Thursday, bringing hundreds of masterpieces from the royal collection, including works by Caravaggio, Velazquez and Goya, under one roof. A third of the exhibits - themselves just a fraction of the total collection - will continue to move between those institutions, officials said. "The museum is born with the vocation of being a cultural and tourist key point in Madrid, Spain and Europe," Ana de la Cueva, head of National Heritage, the state-owned organization that manages the royal collection, told reporters. She said officials hoped the museum would persuade tourists to extend their stay in the city by at least one day, boosting revenues.

Persons: Felipe, Pompeo Leon, Juan Medina MADRID, Caravaggio, Velazquez, Goya, Prado, Reina, Thyssen, Spanish Habsburg, Bernini, Ana de la Cueva, Emma Pinedo, David Latona, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Royal Collections, REUTERS, Reina Sofia, Fontana, National Heritage, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Almudena, Spanish, Bourbon, Rome's Piazza Navona, Europe

☆ ‘The Great Gatsby’ Review: Raising a Glass to an American Tragedy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Maya Phillips | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There ain’t no party like a Jay Gatsby party — in “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s debonair poster boy of American ambition and the nouveau riche never lets the festivities stop. Neither does Immersive Everywhere’s “The Great Gatsby: The Immersive Show,” a jovial feast for the senses that never, in its lagging two-and-a-half-hour running time, truly rises above the status of a mere attraction. Gatsby’s neighbor, Nick Carraway, narrates Gatsby’s tragic — and, ultimately, fatal — fall from the world of the rich and famous. Gatsby hopes to woo Nick’s cousin Daisy, with whom he had a love affair that he’s never forgotten. Main plot points, including major introductions and confrontations, are played as set scenes that everyone witnesses together in the main space.

Persons: Jay Gatsby, ”, Scott Fitzgerald’s, riche, Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Daisy, he’s, Tom Buchanan, Alexander Wright, Rob Brinkmann, Joél Acosta, Nick Locations: “

☆ Berlin and Paris 'missing in action' as EU lacks leadership in defence, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The crucial capability gap in European defence is still political leadership," the Munich Security Report on European Defence said. The annual Munich Security Conference, usually held in February, is an influential global gathering of top policymakers and analysts to debate defence and security challenges. The report said Germany and France in particular were "missing in action" at a time when European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and EU top diplomat Josep Borrell are driving EU support for Kyiv and joint procurement initiatives. "Under the (Chancellor Olaf) Scholz government, Germany has faced recurrent criticism for its absence in EU defence questions," it said. "The onus is on Germany and France to win back trust," the report said, adding that time was of the essence in speeding up defence cooperation.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Sarah Meyssonnier, Ursula von der Leyen, Josep Borrell, Chancellor Olaf, Scholz, Sabine Siebold, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Weimar, REUTERS, Munich Security, European Defence, Munich Security Conference, European Commission, Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, BERLIN, Germany, Europe, Ukraine, Munich, Russia

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