Monday, February 13

The most important foreign affairs events of the week

February 6, 2023

“A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of last Monday in south central Turkey, killing thousands of people in Turkey and neighboring Syria. It’s the strongest earthquake the country has experienced in more than 100 years, according to the United States Geological Survey. Dozens of powerful aftershocks followed, including a second, 7.5-magnitude earthquake in southeastern Turkey. The epicenter of the initial quake is near the city of Gaziantep, which houses hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and where the UNHCR runs one its largest operations.”

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The noun aftershock means “a quake of lesser magnitude, usually one of a series, following a large earthquake in the same area.” The term can also be used in figurative speech, meaning “the effect or repercussion of an event; aftermath.”

The transitive verb house means “to provide living quarters for; lodge; to shelter, keep, or store in a house or other structure.”

February 7, 2023

“In February 7, the American President, Mr Joe Biden, delivered a powerful message in The State of the Union Address, calling for unity between parties to develop urgent policies in the country. Within the international sphere, Biden highlighted that inflation has been a global problem because of the pandemic that disrupted supply chains and Putin’s war that disrupted energy and food supplies. Further, he stressed that as the climate crisis is an existential threat, the entire nation must have an obligation to new generations to confront it. Biden also talked about China, a country with which the US is willing to work where it can advance its interests and benefit the world. However, the President said that ‘if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country.’”

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In international politics, the noun sphere means “a range or extent of knowledge, interest, or activity; or the environment within which a person or thing exists, acts, or operates.”

The term supply chain means “the linked activities associated with providing material from a raw material stage to an end user as a finished product.” Be aware of the important term Global Value Chain (GVC) as well.

February 8, 2023

“American intelligence agencies have assessed that China’s spy balloon program is part of a global surveillance effort that hone its ability to gather data and is designed to collect information on the military capabilities of countries around the world. In the past several years Chinese balloons have been spotted operating over Latin America, South America, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Europe. According to US officials, the balloons have some advantages over the satellites that orbit the earth in regular patterns, as they can fly closer to earth and drift with wind patterns, which are not as predictable to militaries and intelligence agencies as the fixed orbits of satellites, and they can evade radar.”

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The transitive verb hone means “to perfect or make more intense or effective over a period of time.” There is also a phrasal verb, hone in, which means “to move or advance toward a target or goal.”

The intransitive verb drift means “to be carried along by currents of air or water.”  Close synonyms are “float”, “sail”, and “wander”. Note that the adjective adrift means “drifting or floating freely; not anchored; without direction or purpose.”

February 9, 2023

“President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine met with the European Union’s 27 heads of government in Brussels, as he capped an European tour in which he sold Russia’s invasion as an existential threat for the continent. Despite acknowledging Europe’s efforts to support Kyiv, including through sanctions on Russia, military aid and by weaning itself off Moscow’s energy supply, Mr Zelensky called for more. The Ukrainian leader is also pushing for accelerated E.U. membership for his country. But EU leaders delivered the delicate message that Ukraine would not be fast-tracked into the bloc.”

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The transitive verb cap means “to apply the finishing touch to; complete.” 

The transitive verb acknowledge means “to admit the existence or truth of something; to express recognition of; make notice of something.”

February 10, 2023

“The Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said that his country won’t be sending weapons to Ukraine, albeit a US push for more support for Kyiv. Conversely, Lula is interested in helping negotiate a path to peace. Brazil’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war is complicated by its reliance on Russia for about a quarter of its fertilizer imports, which are crucial to its enormous agriculture industry. Brazil is Russia’s largest buyer of fertilizer. The South American country is also part of the group of nations called BRICS, together with Russia, China, India and South Africa. All those countries have refused to impose sanctions on Russia and did not reduce their economic relations with Moscow.”

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The conjunction albeit means the same thing as “even though; although.”

The adverb conversely is a sentence modifier that means “in a contrary or opposite way; on the other hand; by contrast.”