Day 1,638: cosy up, despot, stingy

Brazil’s impressive record was marred, however, by Lula’s habit of cosying up to Mr Putin and Venezuela’s despot, Nicolás Maduro. As a result, Brazil misses out on the award.

Poland had a remarkable 2023: its economy withstood the shock of the war next door; it continued to host nearly 1m Ukrainian refugees; and to deter Russia it raised its defence spending to above 3% of gdp, giving its stingy nato peers an example to emulate.

The Economist’s country of the year for 2023

Artwork of the day 
Portrait of a Man with the Medal of Cosimo
Sandro Botticelli
Date: 1474
Style: Early Renaissance
Genre: religious painting
Media: wood, tempera
Location: Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
Dimensions: 57.5 x 44 cm

Word of the day 
cosy up: to be very friendly to someone with the hope of getting an advantage:
despot: a person, especially a ruler, who has unlimited power over other people, and often uses it unfairly and cruelly:
stingy: unwilling to spend money:

Quote of the day
“It always smelled like it was raining outside, even if it wasn't, and you were in the only nice, dry, cosy place in the world.”

― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye