Monday, August 14
The most important foreign affairs events of the week | ||
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August 7 | ||
“On Monday, scientists at the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed that July was officially the hottest month ever recorded, at around 1.5C warmer than the average for the period 1850 — 1900. They said 2023 was the third-warmest year ever, and that global average sea surface temperatures reached record highs in July. The record heat was fuelled by man-made climate change, which contributed to the Antarctic sea ice extent reaching its lowest ever level for July. Antarctica faces a catastrophic cascade of extreme environmental events as global warming increases, which will affect climate across the world. Under the obligations of the Antarctic Treaty that came into force in 1961 and its subsequent 1998 protocol on environmental protection, signatories must protect the region from the “considerable stress and damage” it faces from accelerating ice melting and rising temperatures,” the scientists said. | ||
Click here to read more about the issue. | ||
The transitive verb fuel means “to support or worsen/heighten the activity or existence of (something).” | ||
We use across as a preposition (prep) and an adverb (adv). In this example, across is a preposition, used to emphasize that something is happening at the same time in many places. A good substitution for this preposition, in this context, would be throughout. | ||
August 8 | ||
“On Tuesday, the Chinese government released worrisome economic data. China’s exports fell by the most since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, deepening concerns over the country’s economic growth. Exports fell by 14.5 per cent year on year, the most since February 2020. Imports fell by 12.4 per cent. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast declines of 12.5 and 5 per cent respectively. A weaker climate for global trade is one of the main sources of pressure on policymakers in Beijing, who are also grappling with a weak property sector and a limp recovery since anti-pandemic measures were lifted at the end of last year.” | ||
Click here to read more about the issue. | ||
The adjective worrisome means “causing worry or anxiety.” Remember to avoid worrying in formal writing. | ||
The phrasal verb grapple with means “to have difficulty in understanding or managing something.” | ||
Grammar points: | ||
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* Another commonly used form of this expression in the business world is "year over year". | ||
August 9 | ||
“ On Wednesday, President Biden escalated his confrontation with China by signing an executive order banning new American investment in key technology industries that could be used to enhance Beijing’s military capabilities, the latest in a series of moves putting more distance between the world’s two largest economies. The order will prohibit venture capital and private equity firms from pumping more money into Chinese efforts to develop semiconductors and other microelectronics, quantum computers and certain artificial intelligence applications. Administration officials stressed that the move was tailored to guard national security, but China is likely to see it as part of a wider campaign to contain its rise. The new order comes at perhaps the most fraught moment in the U.S.-China relationship since President Richard M. Nixon and Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger opened a dialogue with Beijing in the early 1970s.” | ||
Click here to read more about the issue. | ||
The transitive verb tailor means “to make, alter, or adapt for a particular end or purpose.” | ||
The adjective fraught means “marked by or causing distress; emotional.” | ||
August 10 | ||
“On Thursday, The United States and Iran reached an agreement to win the freedom of five imprisoned Americans in exchange for several jailed Iranians and eventual access to about $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue. As a first step in the agreement, which comes after more than two years of quiet negotiations, Iran has released five Iranian American dual citizens. When the Americans are allowed to return to the United States, the Biden administration will release a handful of Iranian nationals serving prison sentences for violating sanctions on Iran. The United States will also transfer nearly $6 billion of Iran’s existing assets in South Korea. The breakthrough comes as Washington and Tehran remain unable — despite extensive efforts — to reach an agreement to address tensions around Iran’s advancing nuclear program and heavy U.S. sanctions. More than a year of talks to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which President Donald J. Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018, collapsed last summer.” | ||
Click here to read more about the issue. | ||
The noun breakthrough means “an act of overcoming or penetrating an obstacle or restriction; a major achievement or success that permits further progress, as in technology.” | ||
The transitive verb address means “to begin to deal with; to direct the efforts or attention of (oneself).” | ||
August 11 | ||
“On Friday, a UN-led operation to remove over one million barrels of crude oil from a rusting supertanker off Yemen was safely concluded, preventing the immediate threat of a massive spill in the Red Sea. The tanker was abandoned off the Red Sea port of Hudaydah after civil war broke out in 2015. Prior to the conflict, it was used to store and export oil from fields around Ma’rib, but the fighting brought production, as well as maintenance of the vessel, to a halt. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly, who has led UN system-wide efforts on the Safer since September 2021, reported that the oil on board the FSO Safer was in good condition, meaning that it could be sold – a process that will require negotiation between Yemen’s warring sides.” | ||
Click here to read more about the issue. | ||
The adjective rust means “deteriorated from oxidation, or as of ability, resulting from inactivity or neglect.” | ||
The noun halt means “a suspension of movement or progress, normally temporary.” | ||
