The most important foreign affairs events of the week

May 15, 2023

“On Monday, the results of Türkiye’s elections have shown that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s longtime incumbent leader, will head to a presidential election runoff for the first time in his career after falling short of the 50 percent needed to win in national elections on Sunday. Mr. Erdogan still had the most votes of any candidate, including the opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, as of Monday, upsetting opposition supporters who were expecting a swift victory. Moreover, the right-wing supporters of a third candidate, Sinan Ogan, are more likely to vote for Mr. Erdogan in the runoff, analysts say, increasing his chances of winning the election.”

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We highlighted the new spelling for Türkiye, demanded by the country so as to “represent and express the culture, civilisation, and values of the Turkish nation in the best way.” International organizations like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and NATO have already adopted Türkiye, following a formal request from the Turkish authorities. It is not wrong, however, to keep writing Turkey (for the exam at least).

May 16, 2023

“On Tuesday, the Council of Europe, the main institution governing human rights on the continent, gathered in Iceland with discussions among the heads of state to include what steps they can take to support Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. This was only the fourth gathering since the council was established in 1949, after World War II. Its previous summits were in 1993, 1997 and 2005. Russia became a member of the council in 1996, in the years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but was suspended from it last year, after attacking Ukraine. The council, which is distinct from the European Union, was formed to uphold democracy, human rights and the rule of law on the continent. It has a parliamentary assembly and governs the European Court of Human Rights, which decides cases brought from any member country. ”

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We use between to refer specifically to two things which are clearly separated. We use among to talk about 3 or more things that are not clearly separated because they are part of a group, crowd or mass of objects.

The transitive verb uphold means “to maintain, affirm, or defend against opposition or challenge; to give moral support or inspiration to.”

May 17, 2023

“On Wednesday, Ecuador’s conservative President, Guillermo Lasso, disbanded the country’s opposition-led National Assembly in a drastic move to the country’s democracy. The right-leaning leader faced impeachment proceedings over accusations of embezzlement. This was the second time the opposition had tried to remove Mr. Lasso from the presidency since he took office in 2021. The constitutional measure, never before used, allows the president to rule by decree until new elections can be held, marking a moment of extraordinary political turbulence for the nation. The disbanding of congress provides temporary stability for the country, but it also threatens to undercut the country’s democracy.” 

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The transitive verb disbanded means “to dissolve the organization of (a corporation, for example); to cease to function or cause to stop functioning, as a unit, group, etc.”

The noun embezzlement means “the misappropriation of funds that have been entrusted to one for care or management. Also called peculation.”

May 18, 2023

“On Thursday, China hosted a six-nation summit with Central Asia countries that directly challenges Western dominance by coinciding with this week’s G-7 summit in Japan. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were all in attendance for a two-day event. The primary purpose of the meeting was to secure greater political and economic partnerships between China and its Central Asian neighbors. China and Central Asia have long been vital partners on the global stage. In 2013, Beijing launched its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative in Kazakhstan and has since spent billions of dollars on transportation and infrastructure in the region. China is Central Asia’s largest trading partner. However, just as Central Asia relies on Chinese trade and investment, Beijing depends on Central Asia for key resources. Many Chinese cities rely on natural gas pipelines from Turkmenistan and oil from Kazakhstan.”

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In this context, the transitive verb secure means “to guard from danger or risk of loss; to make certain; ensure; guarantee.”

The intransitive verb rely means “to be dependent for support, help, or supply; to place or have faith or confidence.” Close synonyms are “depend” and “trust”.

*Note: the use of the preposition on in the phrasal verb rely on, as is also the case with depend on. Be careful not to fall into Portuguese imposition with the use of improper prepositions.

May 19, 2023

“On Friday, the Arab League summit took place in Saudi Arabia with the attendance of the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad. This reflects an important shift in how regional actors view the reality of the survival of al-Assad’s government, in ways that are at odds with the West. Syria had been suspended from the group at the beginning of its civil war, in 2011, in the midst of the Arab Spring. In the meantime, United States representatives said that their government did not believe that Syria merits readmission. Despite US disapproval, regaining full-fledged membership in the Arab League marks a major win for Syria’s government.”

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The noun attendance means “the act of attending; the persons or number of persons that are present.”

The expression at odds with means “holding conflicting opinions, beliefs, or intentions; in disagreement.”

The expression full-fledged means “of full rank or standing.”