Monday, February 6

The most important foreign affairs events of the week

January 30, 2023

“The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, visited Israel last week amid tensions between the Israeli government and Palestinians. Blinken called for both parties to take ‘urgent steps’ to restore calm and avoid escalating violence. The Secretary also reiterated US support for a two-state solution as ‘the best way’ to bring security to the two sides and affirmed that the US has ‘an enduring goal of Palestinians and Israelis enjoying equal measures of freedom, security, opportunity, justice and dignity.’ Failure to do so, he said, would be ‘detrimental to Israel's security and to its long-term identity as a Jewish democratic state.’”

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The adjective enduring means “lasting; continuing; durable.”

The adjective detrimental means “causing damage or harm; injurious.” It is sometimes followed by “to”.

January 31, 2023

“On January 31st, it has been three years since Britain left the European Union. Now, recent polling has shown a clear trend toward voters, with hindsight, considering Brexit a mistake. There are only three areas of Britain where the majority of people still think Brexit was a good idea, all of which are located in Lincolnshire (in England’s Northeast region) and all currently have a sitting Conservative MP. In the remaining 629 constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales, more people now think Britain was wrong to leave the EU than those who remain happy with the outcome.”

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The noun hindsight means “perception of the significance and nature of events after they have occurred; the ability to understand, after something has happened, what should have been done or what caused the event.” 

The noun constituency means “the body of voters or the residents of a district represented by an elected legislator or official.” 

February 1, 2023

“The US State Department informed the Congress that Russia was not complying with the New START, the only nuclear arms control treaty remaining between the two nations, which jeopardizes a source of stability in their relationship. The US called on Russia to return to compliance by allowing inspectors onto its territory, as it had done for more than a decade, and by agreeing to hold a session of the commission, in which officials could discuss issues related to the treaty and nuclear arms control. When Russia suspended inspections, it said that U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine made it too difficult for its inspectors to get access to the United States. However, the State Department said that was false.”

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The intransitive verb comply means “to act in accordance with another's command, request, rule, or wish.” The noun compliance means “the act of complying with a wish, request, or demand; acquiescence.”

The transitive verb jeopardize means “to expose to loss or injury; imperil; to put in jeopardy; hazard; risk.”

February 2, 2023

“The United States and the Philippines announced a joint effort to accelerate the implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. The agreement, originally made in 2014, allows the United States to build and operate facilities on Philippine military bases, but was stalled under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte between 2016-2022. Since taking office, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has unmistakably shown interest in cultivating warmer ties with Washington. The claim by many analysts, however, that Marcos is reinvigorating the Filipino-American alliance is only part of the story. More fundamentally, Marcos’ actions can be described as ‘flexible enmeshment’, which may help the Philippines generate some measure of “strategic ambiguity” toward China that can better force Beijing to the bargaining table.”

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The transitive verb reinvigorate was highlighted here due to its spelling. It is NOT “revigorate” but reinvigorate.

The noun enmeshment means “the condition of being entangled or implicated.” The transitive verb enmesh means “to entangle or catch in or as if in a mesh.” Close synonyms to enmeshment are “embranglement”, “embroilment”, and “entanglement”.  

February 3, 2023

“The Brazilian Navy had begun an operation to sink the decommissioned aircraft carrier São Paulo, packed with an undetermined amount of asbestos and other toxic materials, about 220 miles off the country’s northeastern coast. The ghost ship had been rejected entry by multiple ports after concerns over toxic material. This toxic material aboard São Paulo could disrupt ecosystems, kill animals and plants and poison marine food chains with heavy metals, according to IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental agency. The former warship was built in France in the late 1950s and served the French navy under the name "Foch." It reportedly sailed for 37 years. Brazil bought the ship for $12 million in 2000 but deactivated it in 2017 as it spent more time in port than at sea.”

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The transitive verb decommission is a military term and means “to take (a ship or a military base, for example) out of active service or use; render inactive; to dismantle or remove from service (a nuclear reactor, weapon, ship, etc which is no longer required).”

The noun asbestos means “any of the fibrous amphibole and serpentine minerals, esp chrysotile and tremolite, that are incombustible and resistant to chemicals. It was formerly widely used in the form of fabric or board as a heat-resistant structural material.” In Portuguese it means “amianto”.