The most important foreign affairs events of the week

July 3, 2023

“On monday, Israel launched its most intense airstrikes on the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades, and sent hundreds of ground troops into the narrow streets and alleys of a refugee camp in area of less than a quarter of a square mile abutting the city of Jenin, with about 17,000 residents. The Israeli government that took office six months ago is the most right-wing in the country’s history, with ultranationalist ministers who oppose any talks with Palestinian leaders, and it has promised both expanded Jewish settlements in occupied territory and a tougher response to violence. The Palestinian Authority, weakened and viewed as corrupt by many Palestinians, has all but abandoned any effort to police the hotbeds of militancy in the northern West Bank, leaving helpless residents caught in the middle.”

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The verb abut means “to touch or end at one end or side; lie adjacent; to border upon or end at; be next to.”

The noun hotbed means “an environment conducive to vigorous growth or development, especially of something undesirable; a place offering ideal conditions for the growth of an idea, activity, etc, esp one considered bad.”

July 4, 2023

“On Tuesday, Iran officially joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), becoming the group’s ninth permanent member, amidst the 23rd SCO Summit. Iran’s permanent membership was approved during the 21st Summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State in the Tajik capital Dushanbe in September 2021. The country obtained observer status in the organization in June 2005, and in 2008, applied for full membership. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and security organization and was founded in 2001. The current members of the organization are China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran's next step is to join the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that Beijing and Moscow cast as a powerful emerging market and an alternative to the West. Iran formally applied to join the bloc in June 2022.

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The preposition amidst is a variant of amid and means “in the middle of; surrounded by; among; in or throughout the course of; during.”

The verb cast means “to assert in relation to someone or something or cause to be associated.”

July 5, 2023

“On Wednesday, scientists said that the past few days were probably the hottest in Earth’s modern history, as an astonishing surge of heat across the globe continued to shatter temperature records from North America to Antarctica. The spike comes as forecasters warn that the Earth could be entering a multiyear period of exceptional warmth driven by two main factors: continued emissions of heat-trapping gases, mainly caused by humans burning oil, gas and coal; and the return of El Niño. Deadly heat waves have been scorching Texas, Mexico and India. Moreover, off the coasts of Antarctica, sea ice levels this year have plummeted to record lows.”

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The verb surge means “to increase suddenly; to make a dramatic increase in; to rise and move in a swelling manner.”

The verb plummet means “to fall straight down; plunge; to decline suddenly and steeply.”

July 6, 2023

“On Thursday, John Kerry, the US special envoy for climate change, announced that he is traveling to China in order to restart global warming negotiations between the world’s two largest polluters, after almost one year of a freeze in talks. The meeting comes as the highest global temperatures ever recorded, driven by the burning of fossil fuels as well as the climate pattern El Niño, bake both nations and much of the planet. China and the United States are also the two largest investors in clean energy. Their policies have an outsized impact on whether the world will avert the worst consequences of global warming. The United States under President Biden has pledged to cut emissions roughly in half by 2030. China’s emissions continue to grow but Xi Jinping, China’s president, said it will peak its carbon pollution by 2030 and then stop adding it to the atmosphere altogether by 2060.” 

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The adjective outsized means “very large or larger than normal; an uncommon or irregular size.”

The verb avert means “to turn away; to keep from happening; prevent.” 

July 7, 2023

“On Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visited Turkey to talk to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey about supporting Ukraine’s application for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and helping to extend the Black Sea grain deal. After the meeting, Erdogan said that ‘Ukraine deserves NATO membership with no doubt.’ The government in Kyiv views membership in NATO as the ultimate guarantee of its security. Its application in September to join the alliance was made against the backdrop of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Nevertheless, because of the alliance’s bedrock commitment to mutual defense, if Ukraine were admitted to NATO now, the allies would be pulled into the war.”

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The noun backdrop means “the background to any scene, event, or situation.” Close synonyms are “environment”, “atmosphere”, “circumstance”, and “backcloth”.

The adjective bedrock means “basic principles or facts; the fundamental principles, as of a science.”