Politics this week (2020.05.16) Part.02

Avianca, Colombia’s main airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in New York. Founded in 1919, it claims to be the world’s second-oldest continuously operating airline. Its boss blamed covid-19.

• airline
  • 航空公司
• file
  • 提起（诉讼），提出（申请），送交（备案）
    • to file for divorce 提交离婚申请书
    • to file a petition 提交申诉书
• bankruptcy
  • the state of being bankrupt 破产
    • to file for bankruptcy 提交破产申请

India’s government said it would spend $266bn (10% of GDP) on stimulus measures to diminish the economic damage done by its covid-19 lockdown. Around 120m Indians have lost their jobs over the past two months.

• diminish
  • to become or to make sth become smaller, weaker, etc. 减少；（使）减弱，缩减

Terrorists attacked a maternity ward in Afghanistan, killing 24 people including mothers, badies, medics and a policeman. A suicide-bomber killed 32 mourners at a funeral. The Taliban denied responsibility for both attacks, but the government ordered the army to go back on the offensive, after a period in which it had sought to reduce violence.

• maternity ward
  • 产科病房
  • maternity
    • (modifier) relating to pregnant women or women at the time of childbirth 孕妇，产妇（的）
  • ward
    • 病房
• Afghanistan
  • 阿富汗🇦🇫
• medic
  • (informal) 医生；医学生
• mourner
  • 吊唁者，哀悼者，送葬者
• be on the offensive
  • 发送攻势，主动出击
• seek to
  • to attempt/try to do something 试图，设法

Indian and Chinese soldiers brawled at two different spots along the two countries’ long and ill-defined border.

• brawl
  • to quarrel or fight noisily 打斗，闹事
• ill-defined
  • 不清楚的，不明确的

China announced a ban on imports of meat from four abattoirs in Australia, citing “food safety”. In unrelated news, Chinese officials are furious that Australia is calling for an international probe into the origins of covid-19. China also threatened to impose a tariff of over 80% on Australian barley in response to alleged dumping.

• abattoir
  • = slaughterhouse 屠宰场
• furious
  • very angry 狂怒的，暴怒的
• probe
  • (used especially in newspaper) 探究，详尽调查
• tariff
  • 关税
• barley
  • 大麦
• dumping
  • 倾销

Donald Trump’s administration said work visas given to Chinese journalists would have to be renewed every 90 days. Previously they were open-ended. Liberals fretted that America cannot outdo a dictatorship in curbing reporting, and should not want to.

• administration
  • （尤指美国）政府
• open-ended
  • without any limits, aims or dates fixed in advance 无限制的；无确定目标的；无期限的
• liberal
  • 自由主义者
  • 理解且尊重他人意见的人，宽容的人，开明的人
  • liberalism
    • 自由主义
• fret
  • to be worried or unhappy and not able to relax 苦恼；烦躁；焦虑不安
• outdo
  • to do more or better than sb else 胜过，优于

China warned France not to sell weapons to Taiwan, which is seeking an upgrade of French-made warships it bought in 1991. France said it respected its contractual obligations to Taiwan.

• warship
  • 军舰
• contractual
  • 合同的，按合同规定的
• obligation
  • 义务，责任

A missile fired by an Iranian naval vessel mistakenly struck an Iranian support ship, killing 19 sailors.

• vessel
  • (formal) 大船，轮船
• strike
  • 打，击，碰撞

The IMF agreed to lend Egypt $2.8bn to help it cope with the economic fallout from covid-19. “The global shock has resulted in a tourism standstill, significant capital flight, and a slowdown in remittances,” said the fund. Meanwhile, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi approved changes to Egypt’s state of emergency that grant him and the security services more power. Human-rights groups say he has used the pandemic to tighten his grip.

• cope
  • to deal successfully with sth difficult （成功地）处理，对付
• tourism
  • 旅游业
• standstill
  • 停滞，停顿
• capital flight
  • 资金外流
  • capital
    • 财富；资金；资方
    • 首都
• remittance
  • 汇款
• grip
  • （对 … 的）控制，影响力

Ethiopian troops accidentally shot down a Kenyan plane carrying humanitarian supplies to Somalia, according to a leaked report of the incident.

• Ethiopian
  • 埃塞俄比亚🇪🇹
• Kenyan
  • 肯尼亚🇰🇪
• humanitarian
  • 人道主义的，慈善的
• Somalia
  • 索马里🇸🇴
• incident
  • 严重事件，暴力事件（如犯罪、事故、袭击等）

Three UN peacekeepers were killed when a UN convoy in northern Mali hit a roadside bomb. The peacekeeping mission is the UN’s most dangerous ongoing operation.

• peacekeeper
  • 维和部队士兵
• convoy
  • （尤指有士兵护送的）车队，船队
• Mali
  • 马里共和国🇲🇱
• ongoing
  • continuing to exist or develop 持续存在的；仍在进行的；不断发展的
• operation
  • （有组织的）活动，行动