Daniel Barenboim announces he has Parkinson's disease
'I know that many people have been concerned about my health and I have been very touched by the support I have received over the last three years. I would like to share today that I have Parkinson's disease,' he said in a statement released on Thursday. 'Looking ahead, I am planning to maintain as many of my professional commitments as possible. If I am unable to perform, it is because my health does not allow me to.'
'As ever, I consider the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra my most important responsibility. It is essential for me to ensure the orchestra's long-term stability and development.
Barenboim, who was born in Argentina to Jewish parents, jointly founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999 with Palestinian-American academic Edward Said. Based in Seville, the orchestra consists of musicians from countries across the Spanish world and the Middle East – of Egyptian, Iranian, Israeli, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, and Hispanic background.
The musician is a lifelong supporter of the two-state solution to the Israel Palestine conflict and a frequent critic of Israeli government policy.
'You can't make peace with an orchestra,' Barenboim said in an interview in 2008, 'but one can create the conditions for understanding and awaken the curiosity of each individual to listen to the narrative of the other. The Divan was conceived as a project against ignorance. It is absolutely essential for people to understand what the other thinks and feels, without necessarily agreeing with it.'
His statement continued: 'I will continue to conduct the Divan whenever my health allows me to. At the same time, I will take an active role in ensuring that the Divan has the opportunity of working with other excellent conductors going forward.'
'I have been navigating this new reality of mine and my focus is on receiving the best available care. I thank everyone for their kindness and well wishes.'
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Scotsman
23 minutes ago
- Scotsman
The first casualty of war is truth
Bruce Whitehead On Monday morning the news was sinking in of the killing of six journalists in Gaza as they reported on Israel's relentless war on a largely civilian territory occupied by starving families. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... I am sick of writing about atrocities in Gaza. In 2009 I drove there with humanitarian aid collected by Scottish Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith groups, after up to 1400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died when Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert – recently invited onto British TV news programmes as a 'moderate' – breached a six-month ceasefire by ordering the killing of seven Hamas fighters. With a dozen vehicles we travelled through eastern Europe to deliver first aid, food, toys and healthcare supplies to areas of Gaza City flattened by Israeli bombs. As a journalist I witnessed the effects of bombardment on innocent civilians which killed an estimated 300 children. Crushed concrete buildings, donkey carts picking their way through mounds of rubble. 16 years on, western journalists are barred from Gaza, so it's impossible to verify Israel's claims about the conflict on the ground. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad With the deaths of Al Jazeera's Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa and freelancer Mohammad al-Khaldi – sheltering in a cloth tent near a hospital – Israel has almost snuffed out the last source of evidence of its genocidal campaign. The BBC still has its own freelancers sending footage of the slaughter of starving Palestinians in food queues, but surely they too are in mortal peril. I have called on my union, the National Union of Journalists, to demand that the Foreign Minister David Lammy summon the Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely for a formal British diplomatic protest. Many of my former BBC and ITN colleagues work for Al Jazeera, and this is the latest in a long and shameful tale of targeted Israeli raids on journalists. In May I paid tribute on behalf of the NUJ to all journalists killed at work, at Workers' Memorial Day in Princes Street Gardens. My words then are appropriate today: 'The deaths of journalists remind us yet again that the first casualty of war is Truth.'
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump must tell Putin truth about Ukraine at Alaska summit
Russia's invasion of Ukraine poses a particular challenge for evangelicals. Many of us are deeply connected to Ukraine's people and churches. Yet some of Trump's statements have repeated inaccurate Russian narratives, which risks obscuring the truth and undermining support for Ukraine. To be fair, President Trump has sometimes spoken accurately about the war. Perhaps he sees this as a negotiation tactic, but I hope that in private he is clear with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet Aug. 15 in Anchorage, Alaska. Even so, public falsehoods about the conflict increase the likelihood of an unjust resolution, emboldening Russia to repeat its aggression elsewhere. Trump falsely says Ukraine started war against Russia For example, in February, Trump repeated Russian talking points, suggesting that Ukraine provoked the war. That framing shifts blame from the aggressor (Russia) to the victim (Ukraine). Again, at times he has acknowledged Russian aggression, but the inconsistency is deeply troubling. Like many American evangelicals, I'm not neutral in Russia's war on Ukraine. Our seminary, the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, has an extension center in partnership with Kyiv Theological Seminary. Our students live with this war every day. Sadly, when I visited them 2024, Christians there urged me to ask American evangelicals to stop believing Russian propaganda about the war. Talbot is not alone with such relationships. Ukraine has been called the "Bible belt of Europe," with a vibrant evangelical movement and strong partnerships with American churches. Most major denominations have ministry partners there. Many congregations know firsthand that Ukraine - not Russia - is the victim, regardless of political talking points. Opinion: The key to success at Trump-Putin Alaska summit on Ukraine? Low expectations. These relationships create a unique responsibility for evangelicals. We must pray for leaders, and we must stand for truth, whether or not it is politically convenient. The truth matters not only for the war's cause, but also for Ukraine's record on religious liberty. Ukraine is far from perfect. Yet the difference between life in free Ukraine and life under Russian occupation is stark, especially for Christians. In Russian-controlled areas, religious freedom has been harshly suppressed, as documented in "A Faith Under Siege." The Kyiv Independent recently documented a crackdown on Christians who refuse to align with the occupiers. The "sects" Russia claims to suppress are often evangelicals. Critics of Kyiv often say Ukraine "persecutes Christians," citing restrictions on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. But this situation requires context: Elements of the UOC have long been linked to Moscow's influence, raising concerns about its role as a conduit for Kremlin-backed activity. And most Orthodox believers in Ukraine now belong to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, recognized in 2019. To be clear, I do not support restricting religious speech or practice, yet understanding the situation beyond talking points is essential. Ukraine is not perfect on religious liberty, but Russia's record on religious tolerance is unmistakable. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Another persistent falsehood is that Ukraine somehow started the war. But the facts are simple: Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022 - after seizing Crimea in 2014 and fueling war in the Donbas. This timeline is indisputable. Yet in April, Trump remarked, "You don't start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles." Russia also claims it is "liberating" Russian-speaking Ukrainians from a "fascist" regime in Kyiv. This is a familiar tactic in Russian history - using a false narrative of liberation as a pretext for invasion. It is a lie Russian rulers have told for centuries. Any vision for peace must prioritize truth: Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia started this war. And any honest path toward peace must begin there. Some Americans believe supporting Ukraine is not worth the risk. We all long for the war to end. The fact is that you can end a war at any time - if you are willing to give the aggressor what it wants. But that's not peace. It is surrender. American Christians must pray for Ukraine - and for peace On Friday, negotiations start in Alaska, but they should not begin with the aggressor's talking points. Russia began this war. Russia remains the enemy of peace. Facts matter and American evangelicals should say so, regardless of political cost. Opinion: Gen Z is returning to Christianity. Data proves it. Our brothers and sisters in Christ across Ukraine are counting on us to do just that. Let us pray for Ukraine, for justice, for protection and for peace. And let us pray for President Trump - that he would speak the truth about the war and work toward a just resolution. We don't have to agree with every Ukrainian decision nor, for that matter, endorse every U.S. policy. But we must care about truth. As Jesus said, "The truth will set you free." And on this point, the truth is clear: Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine is the victim. My prayer is that the truth sets Ukraine free. I pray that President Trump negotiates from truth - and that truth leads to freedom, in Ukraine and beyond. Ed Stetzer is the dean at the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and a distinguished visiting scholar at Wycliffe Hall at Oxford University.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump's relationship with Putin is full of twists and turns
It won't be easy after a summer of increased Russian attacks and mounting threats by Trump against Russia's economy. "If it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly," Trump told reporters on Aug. 14. "And if it's a good meeting, we're going to end up getting peace." More: It was sold in 1867, but some Russians want Alaska back from the US The presidents will meet one-on-one, followed by a Russian-American lunch. European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have conducted days of panicked diplomacy in the lead-up to the high-stakes summit, which they were not invited to attend. Trump has said repeatedly that territorial concessions will be necessary to end the war. But he says he won't cut a deal when he sits down with Putin that forces Ukraine to give up land. Instead, he says, he'll "feel out" Putin and see if there's an agreement to be had. More: Why is Alaska the 'most strategic place' for Trump-Putin meeting? It will be their seventh time meeting as the leaders of their respective countries; the first six of those happened during Trump's first term. Trump has also contradicted himself over the years about when he first met the Russian leader. Here's a look at the two leaders' journey from bromance to "bulls----," tracing how the Trump-Putin relationship started and stopped: 'Stablemates' Trump pondered whether Putin could become his "new best friend" in a social media post on June 18, 2013, before the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. The real estate mogul told NBC : "I do have a relationship, and I can tell you that he's very interested in what we're doing here today." But the news outlet later reported that a meeting between the two never came to fruition. Trump then claimed during a presidential primary debate in 2015 that they got to know one another as "stablemates" on an episode of CBS' "60 Minutes" that Trump taped in New York - and Putin taped in Moscow. More: Putin-Trump 'bromance' broadens post-sanctions "I got to know him very well because we were both on '60 Minutes.' We were stablemates," Trump said. Nevertheless, Trump would go on to say on the campaign trail, in February 2016, that he had "no relationship" with Putin. "I'm saying that I'd possibly have a good relationship. He's been very nice to me," Trump said on April 28, 2016. Dmitry Peskov, a longtime spokesman for the Russian president, said in August 2016 that Putin had never had "any contacts with Trump." Trump rejects Russian meddling in 2016 At a news conference on July 27, 2016, Trump asked Russia "to find" deleted emails of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, during comments about allegations of Russian hacking. "I will tell you this, Russia: If you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said. At the same news conference, Trump said: "I never met Putin, I don't know who Putin is." "I've never spoken to him. I don't know anything about him other than he will respect me," Trump said. Trump routinely dismissed reporting that Russia had hacked the Democratic National Committee throughout the general election - and beyond. He said during a presidential debate with Hillary Clinton on Sept. 27, 2016: "I don't think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. She's saying Russia, Russia, Russia. Maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia. But it could also be China. But it could also be lots of other people. It also could be someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK?" Trump at his second debate with Clinton on Oct. 27, 2016, said, "Maybe there is no hacking." "But they always blame Russia. And the reason they blame Russia, because they think they're trying to tarnish me with Russia. I know nothing about Russia," Trump said. But he acknowledged, on Jan. 11, 2017, as president-elect that Putin's government was involved. "As far as hacking, I think it was Russia. But I think we also get hacked by other countries and other people." Trump's complicated relationship with Putin his first term The Justice Department appointed a special counsel on May 17, 2017, to investigate alleged ties between Trump campaign officials and Moscow as part of a probe into Russian meddling in the U.S. election. Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein tapped former FBI director Robert Mueller to lead the investigation. "As I have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know: There was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity," Trump said in response. Trump's first in-person meeting with Putin took place nearly two months later in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017. They met again in Helsinki, Finland, at a July 16, 2018 summit. At a joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki, Trump emphasized that there was "no collusion" between his campaign and Russia. He said the allegations "had a negative impact upon the relationship of the two largest nuclear powers in the world." At that press conference Trump notably, rejected the intelligence community's assessment that Russia hacked the DNC. "I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia," Trump said. "I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." The following year, the Department of Justice released a redacted version of Mueller's report on April 18, 2019. The investigation did not find evidence that Trump's campaign coordinated with Russia to meddle in the election. More: Trump said he'd end Ukraine war in 24 hours. Now his patience with Putin is wearing thin. Roughly two months later, Trump met with Putin during another G20 Summit. "We have had a very, very good relationship. And we look forward to spending some pretty good time together," Trump said at a meeting with Putin in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019. Trump's relationship with Putin, and Zelenskyy was complicated in his first term. He was impeached on Dec. 18, 2019, by the House of Representatives for a July phone call, in which he was asked Zelenskyy to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden. He was acquitted by the Senate on Feb. 5, 2020 and lost the presidential election that year to Biden. Trump says he'd solve Ukraine war in one day Trump's relationship with Putin came under scrutiny again during the 2024 presidential campaign, this time over concerns that he'd abandon Ukraine and would not defend America's allies from Russian aggression. At a Conservative Political Action Conference appearance on March 4, 2023, Trump said that if he were elected, he'd resolve the war in one day. "I'll meet with Putin, I'll meet with Zelenskyy. They both have weaknesses, and they both have strengths. And within 24 hours, that war will be settled. It will be over. It will be absolutely over," Trump said at a CNN town hall on May 10, 2023. Trump told Biden at their debate on June 27, 2024, that if he won, he'd have the Ukraine war settled before he was inaugurated. Trump also pledged during his only debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, on Sept. 10, 2024, that he would end the Ukraine war before he took office, if elected. On Jan. 7, said he'd resolve the war within his first six months in office. Trump's relationship with Putin takes a dive Trump said he was considering sanctions on Russia on his second day in office, in response to a question from USA TODAY. Of a possible meeting with Putin, Trump told reporters: "Anytime they want." Trump spoke to Putin for the first time since returning to office on Feb. 12, 2025. It was the first time any American president had spoken to Putin since his February 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine. The president berated Zelenskyy on live TV a little more than two weeks later in the Oval Office. But by April 24, 2025, it was Putin who he was blasting in a Truth Social post. "I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!" Trump wrote. After meeting with Zelenskyy in the Vatican while both men were in town for Pope Francis' funeral, Trump openly questioned whether Putin was deceiving him about ending the war. "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?' Too many people are dying!!!" Trump wrote on April 26, 2025. Trump told reporters the next month that he'd be willing to fly to Turkey to participate in direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But after Putin declined to attend, Trump indicated on May 15. 2025 on Air Force One that the war would not be resolved until he and Putin held their own summit. "Look, nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together, OK?" Trump said. Days later, on May 19, 2025, the president held a two-hour call with Putin that left Trump feeling optimistic. He said Russia and Ukraine would "immediately" begin negotiations toward a ceasefire. Yet, after Russia continued aerial attacks on Kyiv, Trump lit into Putin on May 25, 2025. "I'm not happy with what Putin is doing. He's killing a lot of people, and I don't know what the hell happened to Putin. I've known him a long time. Always gotten along with him, but he's sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don't like it at all," Trump said. That same day Trump said on Truth Social that Putin had "gone absolutely CRAZY." Trump's last known conversation with Putin took place on July 3, 2025. Trump told reporters it did not yield progress. At a Cabinet meeting on July 8, Trump exploded. "We get a lot of bulls---- thrown at us by Putin," he said. Six days later, at meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump gave Russia 50 days to make a peace deal with Ukraine or face secondary tariffs and new sanctions. Trump later changed the deadline to Aug. 8 and put a higher tariff on India, which he linked to that country's purchase of Russian oil. But instead of announcing additional sanctions that day, Trump said an Alaskan summit with Putin had been planned. Strained relations with Putin, 25% chance of success As he prepared for the summit, Trump said on Aug. 13 that he did not expect Putin to quit attacks on civilian infrastructure, just because he'd asked him to. "I've had that conversation with him. I've had a lot of good conversations with him. Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home, or a rocket hit an apartment building, and people are laying dead in the street," Trump told reporters. He blamed past allegations of Russian collusion for his inability to deter Putin and suggested Mueller's investigation was the beginning of the end of his positive relationship with Putin. "I knew him very well. I got along with him great, actually. I had to go through the Russia, Russia hoax. And it was actually, it was a strain on the relationship," Trump said. Trump said in an Aug. 14 radio interview with Fox News that he thought the summit had a 25% chance of success. "This meeting sets up the second meeting. The second meeting is going to be very, very important because that's going to be a meeting where they make a deal," he said. Of the talks with Putin, he said: "It's like a chess game."
