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Sources

Madonna v. Marine Le Pen

LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR (France)

TEL AVIV – Madonna has danced herself right into the center of French politics. And the show may not be over yet. During the first stop of her "MDNA" tour in Israel last week, the American pop star melded images of right-wing French leader Marine Le Pen with Nazi imagery.

During her song "Nobody Knows Me," Madonna projected a video in which you can see Le Pen with a swastika on her forehead. Later in the video, Madonna's face morphs into Marine Le Pen, which then becomes Adolf Hitler.

Le Pen, who did surprisingly well in last month's presidential race and is currently running for French Parliament, said that "old singers always want to be talked about, so I understand that she needed to resort to such desperate measures," Le Nouvel Observateur reports. "If she does that in France, we will wait for her," Marine Le Pen added.

Indeed on Monday, Louis Aliot, National Front's No. 2, and Le Pen's partner, threatened to sue Madonna if the same video is broadcast during the singer's Parisian show on July 14.

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Geopolitics

Why The World Still Needs U.S. Leadership — With An Assist From China

Twenty years of costly interventions and China's economic ascent have robbed the United States of its global supremacy. It is time for the two biggest powers to work together, to help the world.

Photograph of Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden walking side by side in the Filoli Estate in the U.S. state of California​

Nov. 15, 2023: Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden take a walk after their talks in the Filoli Estate in the U.S. state of California

Xinhua/ZUMA
María Ángela Holguín*

-Analysis-

BOGOTÁ — The United States is facing a complex moment in its history, as it loses its privileged place in the world. Since the Second World War, it has been the world's preeminent power in economic and political terms, helping rebuild Europe after the war and through its growing economy, aiding the development of a significant part of the world.

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Its model of democracy, long considered exemplary around the world, has gone through a rough patch, thanks to excessive polarization and discord. This has cost it a good deal of its leadership, unity and authority.

How much authority does it have to chide certain countries on democracy, as it does, after such outlandish incidents as the assault on Congress in January 2021? The fights we have seen over electing a new speaker of the House of Representatives or backing the administration's foreign policy are simply incredible.

In Ukraine's case, President Biden failed to win support for the aid package for which he was hoping, even if there is a general understanding that if Russia wins this war, Europe's stability would be at risk. It would mean the victory of a longstanding enemy.

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