Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
CGI influencers
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This week a major US talent agency signed its first ever "virtual client", a CGI character named Lil Miquela. Named as one of Time's 25 most influential people, Miquela has more than 2 million followers on instragram. But is she, as her creators argue, less fake than many of her real-life social media peers?
Razor wire
The bank holiday weekend saw record irregular migrants arrive in the UK via the Channel. But with Spain currently dismantling the razor wire fence along the border with Morocco, the migrants arrive at a time when “fortress Europe” is rethinking its walls.
Pinochet
Sebastian Pinera, Chile’s rightwing president, has appointed a new minister for women’s rights and gender equality – Macarena Santelices, the great-niece of Augusto Pinochet. Under Pinochet's dictatorship, hundreds of women were raped and sexually tortured. The appointment has sparked outrage from many Chilean women, but Santelices has insisted she must be judged on her actions. Does this mark a turning point for a country whose past still casts a lingering shadow over its future?
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Political cartoons for January 19Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Greenland tariffs, fighting the Fed, and more
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Spain’s deadly high-speed train crashThe Explainer The country experienced its worst rail accident since 2013, with the death toll of 39 ‘not yet final’
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Can Starmer continue to walk the Trump tightrope?Today's Big Question PM condemns US tariff threat but is less confrontational than some European allies
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Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
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Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
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US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
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How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
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Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
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Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
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Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
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Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
