Year in Review: What Do You Remember?

Week 6, February 5-11, 2024

Dear Friends,

Every day since we started the chat/thread about our memories of 2024 against the background of the world news and combined with our photographs, more of you have joined.

I see your interactions with each other growing as well; I hope all of you will comment on posts and photos. You could also share this post and ask your substack friends to join.

Although more has happened in our lives than our pets' photo poses and adventures, meeting many of your furry friends was lovely when I woke up this morning; I'll ask Luna if she wants to appear in the chat again in the future.

Most of you live in the U.S., and I'm at least six hours ahead of you in Europe. So it's fun to wake up and see and read your memories. Many of the recollections you share are positive. Right now, we all need a community of friends to distract us from an unwelcome U-turn on the path toward tolerance, respect, and democracy.

Of course, there is work to be done, and that is already beginning to shape elsewhere, but after months of mostly political posts, this newsletter will look back at this year for the next six weeks or so from both the news perspective and our personal memories. There is a time and place for everything, and this newsletter is as much about beauty as our challenges.

I collected another mix of news highlights and my pictures from this year. If you have memories, comments, or photos from week 6 to share, please join the chat on Substack. The link is at the bottom of this newsletter.

I was out all day. After a long drive, I just got home on the island, passing Leiden, the Hague, Rotterdam, and several other islands; it is now past midnight. So I have the newsflashes as I shared in the previous days, but I will share personal photos in the article from week six without comments, so I'll let you guess what I share and why while I'm sleeping and read your comments in the chat on Saturday. The link to the chat is at the bottom.

Have a good weekend!

Alexander

Monday, February 5, 2024

A massive wildfire in central Chile killed at least 112 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

The European Union formally approved a €50 billion financial support package for Ukraine.

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

King Charles III of the United Kingdom was diagnosed with cancer following a medical examination.

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that former President Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity in the election interference case.

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Michelle O'Neill became the first Irish nationalist First Minister of Northern Ireland in a power-sharing deal.

Friday, February 9, 2024

Landslides and floods in Davao de Oro and Davao del Norte, Philippines, killed twenty people. In the following days, the death toll increased to 54 people, with 63 others still missing.

Saturday, February 10, 2024

The United States and the United Kingdom launched airstrikes against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen.

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Alexander Stubb was elected President of Finland with 51.6% of the vote.

Remember, you can share your memories and photos in the chat or join to see what others experienced in the fifth week of this year.