This weekend marks the 974th anniversary of the death of King Duncan I of Scotland by Macbeth. Shakespeare took many liberties with the actual history, but the background to the death remains essentially correct. But Shakespeare portrays Duncan as elderly and wise, whereas he was quite young and not particularly distinguished. In fact, his nickname was An t-Ilgarach, “the Diseased” or “the Sick”. He led an army into Moray, Macbeth’s stronghold, in 1040, and he was killed in action at Bothnagowan by the men of Moray.
King Duncan I of Scotland
Macbeth
Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority are facing a midnight deadline for the peace negotiations. The report is that Egypt has presented an 11-point proposal to the two sides that includes “an opening of border crossings with Gaza, coordination with the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority to rebuild the territory and a commitment by militants to stop building tunnels to attack Israel”. Apparently there is not much optimism that the negotiations will be successfully concluded. But, as is the case with most negotiations, it is difficult to tell whether the sides are deliberately engaging in a game of brinksmanship in order to induce concessions.
35 refugees from Afghanistan were found trapped inside a cargo container in Great Britain. The refugees were clearly trying to escape from desperate conditions, and made arrangements with people who were more than willing to take their money without providing any security. Refugees are some of the most vulnerable people in the world, and there are few states that attempt to protect them from the hazards of flight. There are more than 50 million refugees in the world today, and about half of them are children.
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