Week in Review (22nd – 26th May)

President Trump visits Israel

It is his first foreign trip since he became president. Trump will have talks with both Israelis and Palestinian leaders this week. A peace deal between both parties would be the ultimate goal but he leaves it up to both sides to talk peace and gives mixed signals.

He planned to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which would be a huge gesture towards Israel. All branches of the Isreaeli government are located in Jerusalem. But now the president is stalling. Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital but neither claim is recognized internationally and the city remains the core conflict between both sides.

During his election campaign Trump was rather supportive of Israel and held a softer position towards the settlements. Now the president changed his attitude and is more in the middle, promising both sides his support and understanding.

Foreign (ˈfɒrɪn) – ausländisch, fremd

leader (ˈli:dəʳ) – der Anführer

peace deal (pi:s di:l) – der Friedensvertrag

embassy (ˈembəsi) – die Botschaft

branch (brɑ:n(t)ʃ) – der Zweig, hier: die Filiale

to be located (lə(ʊ)ˈkeɪt) – sich befinden

to stall (stɔ:l) – hinhalten, verzögern

both (bəʊθ) – beide

claim (kleɪm) – der Anspruch

to remain (rɪˈmeɪn) – verbleiben

core conflict (kɔ:ʳˈkɒnflɪkt) – der Kernkonflikt

rather (ˈrɑ:ðəʳ) – ziemlich, eher

supportive (səˈpɔ:tɪv) – unterstützend

towards (təˈwɔ:d(z)) – in Richtung, hier: gegenüber

settlements (ˈsetl̩mənt) – die Siedlungen

attitude (ˈætɪtju:d) – die Haltung, Einstellung

Suicide bomber at Ariana Grande concert in Manchester

A suicide bomber killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in the Manchester Arena on Monday earlier this week. The police treat it as a terrorist attack and they are trying to find out if the man worked alone or if he had a network behind him.  The bomber was a young man from Syria.

The explosion took place outside the concert hall right after the concert came to an end and everyone was trying to exit the arena, triggering chaos inside. People were hurt by shrapnel from the bomb and also by people stomping over each other. Britain now announced second highest threat level. This attack is the deadliest since the terrorist attack in 2005. The police presence in the capital has been stepped up.

Manchester reacted quickly and with empathy – people offered places to stay for the night and taxi drivers offered free rides home or to the hospital. On social media many people also thanked the Muslim taxi drivers and helpers from Manchester.

Suicide (ˈsu:ɪsaɪd) – der Selbstmord

to treat (tri:t]) – etwas behandeln

network (ˈnetˌwɜ:k) – das Netzwerk

to trigger (ˈtrɪgəʳ) – etwas auslösen

to be hurt (hɜ:t) – sich verletzen

shrapnel (ˈʃræpnəl) – die Granatsplitter

to stomp (stɒmp) – stampfen

to announce (əˈnaʊn(t)s) – etwas verkünden

threat level (θretˈ levəl) – Gefahrenlevel

presence (ˈprezən(t)s) – Präsenz, Anwesenheit

to be stepped up (step up) – etwas verstärken

empathy (ˈempəθi) – Mitgefühl

to offer (ˈɒfəʳ) – etwas anbieten