Vocabulary / News in brief, summer 2018 To shake hands (WITH) “he shook hands with Kim” / “they shook hands” : serrer la main de…./se serrer la main A summit meeting : un sommet / une rencontre officielle To be confident (that something will happen) = to be convinced that…. : être sûr / certain que… (to be self-confident : avoir confiance en soi) Thrilling : passionnant, captivant

A dramatic event : un événement spectaculaire

To raise eyebrows (= to cause surprise) : étonner, faire tiquer, faire jaser To get drenched (to get soaked) : se faire tremper, être trempé To disrupt the midterm elections : nuire aux / perturber les élections de mi-mandat Fake news, fake accounts : les fausses nouvelles, de faux comptes To sow = spread misinformation : répandre de fausses informations Disposable cups : des gobelets jetables a consumer : un consommateur / the consumer society : la société de consommation To launch / the launch of a campaign : lancer / le lancement d’une campagne To break free from…. : se libérer de, s’affranchir de To take accountability = responsibility for : reconnaitre, admettre sa responsabilité The growing plastic pollution crisis : le problème grandissant de la pollution plastique To wreak /e/ havoc : faire des ravages, semer le chaos Flooding and landslides : des inondations et glissements de terrain A natural disaster, catastrophe /i/ : une catastrophe naturelle Wildfires : des feux de forêt To unveil : dévoiler, révéler Weaken : affaiblir / strengthen : renforcer The depth ... : la profondeur au sommet du pouvoir)

(from depths of despair : du plus profond du désespoir …. To pinnacles of power :

To be critical OF someone : être critique vis-à-vis de…

Sharp criticism : des critiques acerbes, sévères

To pay a tribute to someone : rendre hommage à To express one’s grief : exprimer sa peine, sa douleur to mourn : être en deuil, pleurer quelqu’un The flags are flown at half-mast : les drapeaux sont en berne

Summer 2018 : News in Brief On June 11, President Trump shook hands with Kim Jong-Un of North Korea and offered a major concession during the first summit meeting between their nations, a momentous step in an improbable courtship between the world’s largest nuclear power and the most reclusive one. Mr. Trump told reporters that he was suspending joint military exercises with South Korean forces and that he was confident the North Korean leader would begin dismantling his nuclear arsenal “very quickly.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------World Cup 2018 came to an end with France defeating Croatia 4-2 in an epic final in Moscow. The thrilling match was no less than a dramatic event. The presentation ceremony too had its fair share of drama when it started raining, with one particular thing on the podium raising many eyebrows. Standing on the stage, Russian President Vladimir Putin was the only one who was offered an umbrella, while others, including Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and French President Emmanuel Macron, got drenched. It was seen as a show of power from Putin, who had privately met with the French president an hour before the final to discuss Syria, Iran and Ukraine - issues on which they deeply disagree. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Facebook announced on July 31 that it had identified a political influence campaign that was potentially built to disrupt the midterm elections, with the company detecting and removing 32 pages and fake accounts that had engaged in activity around divisive social issues. On Aug. 21, the company found and removed 652 additional fake accounts, pages and groups that were trying to sow misinformation globally. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Starbucks, which has more than 28,000 stores worldwide, announced on July 9 it will stop using disposable plastic cups by 2020, after more than a dozen leading environmental organizations announced the launch of “Starbucks: Break Free From Plastic” — a global campaign demanding that Starbucks take accountability for its contribution to the growing plastic pollution crisis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Natural disasters wreaked havoc across the globe. In July, record torrential rains across western and central Japan unleashed flooding and landslides in several residential areas, killing dozens, and a fast-moving wildfire near Athens killed at least 91 people, making it the deadliest one in Europe in more than a century. In August, California battled approximately 17 large wildfires simultaneously, including the largest in the state’s recorded history. In Kerala, India, heavy monsoon rains have caused some of the region’s worst flooding in nearly a century, killing more than 300 people and displacing thousands. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------On Aug. 2, the Trump administration unveiled its long-awaited proposal to dramatically weaken an Obama-era regulation designed to limit vehicle emissions, which contribute to climate change. The proposal would freeze rules requiring automakers to build cleaner, more fuelefficient cars, including hybrids and electric vehicles, and unravel one of President Barack Obama’s signature policies to combat global warming. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Aretha Franklin, universally acclaimed as the “Queen of Soul” and one of America’s greatest singers in any style, died on Aug. 16 at her home in Detroit. She was 76. John McCain, the proud naval aviator who climbed from depths of despair as a Prisoner Of War in Vietnam to pinnacles of power as a Republican congressman and senator from Arizona and a two-time contender for the presidency, died on Aug. 25 at his home in Arizona. He was 81. Franklin -a supporter of president Obama- and McCain-a respected Republican politician- had both been critical of the Trump presidency, and the White House was slow in expressing its grief. As fans and supporters praised the singer and the senator, their tributes echoed with sharp criticism of the current president.