Hump day recommendations, Jan. 15, 2025

Read: A band of brothers, literally. In the early 1970s, two Dutch-Indonesian kids in Amsterdam boarded a boat bound for the US with their parents, a few suitcases, and an upright piano. They settled in Pasadena, California, and started playing music, first with their dad, who was an alcoholic jazzman, and then with their friends and classmates. They became one of the most spectacular and influential rock bands of all time. Alex Van Halen’s book “Brothers,” is a rollicking and insightful memoir of how he and his late brother Eddie (an absolute god among guitarists), reshaped rock music in the late 1970s (the last days before “video killed the radio star”) but also paid a steep price for it. – Alex

Watch: “Mosul” Set amid the battle to retake the ancient Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State terrorists who overran it, this masterpiece of war cinema follows Kawa, a young Kurdish police officer recruited to the Nineveh SWAT team, as they attempt to rescue a family from the warlord who enslaved them. The pervasive sense of fear and aggression are masterfully interspersed with emotional sequences displaying the deep toll that decades of war have taken on ordinary Iraqi families, with Kawa’s loss of innocence parallelling his entire generation’s experience. – Matt

Watch and listen:Weapon of Choice.” Christopher Walken is just not like you and me. Don’t believe me? Set aside three minutes and 52 seconds to watch him take inspiration from Fatboy Slim. – Willis

Watch: A heart break. If you’re a fan of Rosalind Eleazar from “Slow Horses,” be sure to check out the “Missing You” series on Netflix. Inspector Kat Donovan is left heartbroken by the murder of her father — and then by the disappearance of her fiancé. Years later, she’s still struggling to move forward as she begins to unravel the truth behind both mysteries. – Tracy

Go see: “Six” on Broadway or on tour. It’s a hilarious, modern take on the fates of the six wives of Henry VIII that turns historical drama into an electrifying girly-pop concert. – Riley


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Members of the M23 rebel group stand guard at the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo (CADECO) which will serve as the bank for the city of Goma where all banks have closed since the city was taken by the M23 rebels, in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025.
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo and an alliance of militias led by the notorious M23 rebels announced a ceasefire on Thursday after talks in Qatar and, after three years of violence, said they would work toward a permanent truce.

Students shout slogans and burn an effigy to protest the Pahalgam terror attack in Guwahati, Assam, India, on April 24, 2025. On April 22, a devastating terrorist attack occurs in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of at least 28 tourists.
Photo by David Talukdar/NurPhoto

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has blamed Pakistan for Tuesday’s deadly terrorist attack in Kashmir, and he’s takenaggressive action against its government.

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President Donald Trump at a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

On Wednesday, Donald Trump said he would deliver a “fair deal” with China and that he’d be “very nice” to the country after meeting with major retailers. But Beijing denies that there are any ongoing talks and has told the US it must cancel its unilateral tariffs before China will broker any negotiations.