The most important foreign affairs events of the week

August 14

“On Monday, markets in Argentina reeled after the shock victory of Javier Milei, a radical libertarian economist and outsider candidate, in the country’s primary poll ahead of its presidential election later this year. Bonds and equities both swung wildly after Milei won more than 30 percent of the vote on pledges to dollarise the country’s economy and dramatically cut spending. The central bank responded quickly by devaluing its official exchange rate by as much as 18 percent to 350 pesos per dollar to stabilize markets. It also lifted interest rates by 21 percentage points to 118 percent as it runs out of means to defend its currency. Argentina constantly swings violently from one political extreme to another, with every fleeting spasm of reform and macroeconomic improvement over the years quickly overpowered by the seemingly irresistible force of simply being Argentina.” 

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The intransitive verb reel means “to be thrown off balance or fall back.”

The adjective fleeting means “passing quickly; ephemeral.”

August 15

“On Tuesday, Russia’s central bank announced the third-largest interest rate increase in a decade to shore up the national currency, the ruble, and dent rising inflation. The central bank’s actions underlined the perilous moment facing Russian economic officials as they try to contain the seismic forces unleashed by the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The war has left policymakers with a seemingly impossible set of tasks: maintaining economic stability while financing the war machine and coping with Western sanctions; taming inflation without pitching the economy into recession.”

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The transitive verb dent means “to have the effect of reducing or slightly injuring.” Close synonyms are “diminish”, “erode”, and “undermine”.

The transitive verb tame means “to subdue or curb; to tone down, soften, or mitigate.”

August 16

“On Wednesday, the German government approved a plan to legalize some recreational marijuana use, paving the way to allow adults to legally buy and possess small amounts of cannabis. The legislation, which would allow adults to purchase and possess up to 25 grams of recreational cannabis for personal consumption through nonprofit social clubs, must still be approved by Parliament. But the endorsement from the three-party coalition’s cabinet was a crucial step toward Germany becoming the first major European country to legalize marijuana. Under current German law, it is illegal to buy cannabis, but not to consume it. Several nations in the European Union have expressed interest in legalization. Malta, the tiny archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, was the first to legalize marijuana.”

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The expression pave the way means “to create a situation in which it is easier for someone to do something or something to happen.”

The adjective several means “being of a number more than two or three but not many.”

August 17

“On Thursday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the number of babies born in England and Wales last year dropped to the lowest in two decades. If this drop continues, the already shrinking working age population would shrink even further in the years ahead. The falling number of births also means demand for public services would continue to grow as the median age of the population rises and increase the need for more migration. The report shows that economic growth will also be affected unless there is a very radical change to the economy, which can somehow produce growth by big productivity gains. The UK fertility rate (1.5) is well below that of France, Denmark or Sweden, but above Germany and most of southern and eastern Europe, according to UN population data. To avoid a demographic crunch, the UK needs both immigration and an array of family-friendly policies in the labor market, housing and welfare.”

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The noun shrinking means “process or result of becoming less or smaller.”

The noun crunch means “a critical moment or situation, especially one that occurs because of a shortage of time or resources.”

August 18

“On Friday, the leaders of Japan and South Korea put decades of frequently acrimonious relations behind them, signing on to a trilateral pact with the US that will deepen military and intelligence co-operation between the three allies. The agreement sets up annual summits between US, Korean, and Japanese foreign and defense officials; establishes joint military exercises; and creates new lines of communication on threats posed by North Korea and China. In addition to securing a long-sought thaw in relations between the US’s most important allies in east Asia, Joe Biden also secured unity in deterring China. The US has bilateral defense treaties with Tokyo and Seoul, but has for decades struggled to convince its two allies to work more closely on regional security arrangements.”

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The intransitive verb thaw means “to become more sociable, relaxed, or friendly; to become or cause to become unfrozen; defrost.”

The transitive verb deter means “to prevent or discourage from acting, as by means of fear or doubt; to prevent or discourage (an action or behavior).”