November 7, 2022
The most important foreign affairs events of the week | ||
November 7, 2022 | ||
“The COP 27 opened its summit on November 6 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, warned that humanity is on a ‘highway to climate hell’ and that the fight for a liveable planet will be won or lost in this decade. ‘A window of opportunity remains open, but only a narrow shaft of light remains,’ he said. More than 100 heads of state and government from around the world gathered in Egypt to discuss the climate crisis. However, the summit promises to be a fraught and difficult, with little chance of a breakthrough. Countries are meeting in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, a worldwide energy and cost of living crisis, and rising global tensions.” | ||
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The expression shaft of light means “a column of light, a light beam (as from a beacon). | ||
The adjective fraught means “causing or feeling worry and stress”. Close synonyms are “tense”, “uneasy”, or “distressing”. | ||
In this context, the noun breakthrough means “an important development that may lead to an agreement or achievement” or “an act or instance of moving through or beyond an obstacle”. Close synonyms are “advance” or “improvement”. | ||
November 8, 2022 | ||
“After eight months, despite all the difficulties provoked by Russia’s war on Ukraine, Europe is holding firm on maintaining support for Ukraine and tough sanctions on Russia. Even amid rising costs of living, a crisis that has precipitated strikes, protests and gloom, European countries kept their support for Ukraine. Analysts believe that commitment to Ukraine will last as long as the U.S. holds the line. Nevertheless, how long such resolve will last remains the lingering question, especially with the uneasy realization that the war will stretch through winter, and most likely beyond.” | ||
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Do you know the difference between a strike and a protest? The noun strike means “to refuse to work because of an argument over pay or conditions” while the noun protest means “the expression of strong dislike of or opposition to something”. There is also another word, similar to the first two: riot, which means “a situation in which a group of people behave in a violent way in a public place, often as a protest”. | ||
November 9, 2022 | ||
“After the most anticipated 2022 midterm elections, Democrats show resilience in the United States. The American President affirmed that ‘while the press and the pundits are predicting a giant red wave, it didn’t happen.’ Voters ‘sent a clear, unmistakable message that they want to preserve our democracy and protect the right to choose in this country’, added Joe Biden. After securing the Senate, with 50 seats following late victories in Nevada and Arizona, Democrats also won control of the state House in Michigan and were close to doing so in Pennsylvania. Republicans seemed to gain momentum in the closing weeks of the midterms as they attacked Democrats on inflation, immigration and crime. However, abortion rights were a huge motivation for a greater Democrat turnout.” | ||
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The adjective unmistakable means “that cannot be wrong about somebody/something else”. | ||
November 10, 2022 | ||
“Southeast Asia will be the core of diplomatic gatherings for the next ten days, with important summits taking place in the region. ASEAN, the G-20, and APEC will occur in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand in the following days among looming regional and global turmoil, including geopolitical tensions stemmed by the Russia-Ukraine war, and growing strategic polarization between the United States and China. Putin’s likely absence from the coming summits ensures that greater focus falls on the question of U.S.-China rivalry. As they have done for the past few years, both superpowers are likely to use the upcoming string of summits to advance their preferred narratives, and to seek to sway international and regional opinion in their own direction.” | ||
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Here we can highlight an important rule for the use of “the” with acronyms. If you can read the acronym as a word, such as ASEAN, APEC, or NATO, then do not use the article “the”. But if you read the acronym letter by letter, such as the G-20, the EU, or the UN, then use the article “the”. | ||
November 11, 2022 | ||
“Israeli President Isaac Herzog authorized former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government. Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition came in first in last week’s election. If he can form a government with his coalition allies, as is expected, it may end an unprecedented Israeli political crisis that has led to five elections since 2019. Netanyahu will probably ally with far-right controversial figures and religious parties to achieve a stable parliamentary majority.” | ||
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