The Great March of Return
Earlier this week Palestinians took to the streets for the “Great March of Return” a protest that is part of a six week campaign.
The protests demand that Palestinian refugees and their descendants be allowed to return to their homeland, they are also protesting the blockade of the Gaza Strip and the moving of the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The peaceful protest turned into the bloodiest massacre that Gaza has witnessed since 2014, on Monday 58 people were killed 6 of whom were children and an 8 month old baby, as well as journalists and photographers. More than 2,700 demonstrators were injured at least 1,350 by gunfire along the border fence with Gaza just one day prior to the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba, or Catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were expelled or fled amid the creation of Israel in 1948. Meanwhile only 60 miles away, Israelis and Americans celebrate the relocation of the American Embassy, with Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Netanyahu.
These events have caused public outrage, thousands of people all over the world have shamed Israel for its actions, many were sharing the incredible contrast between the two events happening at the same time, television networks broadcasted the two events live in a split screen.
campaign (kæmˈpeɪn) – die Kampagne
demand (dɪˈmænd) – etw. fordern
homeland (ˈhoʊmˌlænd) – das Heimatland
Embassy (ˈɛmbəsi) – die Botschaft
Massacre (ˈmæsəkər) – das Blutbad
demonstrators (ˈdɛmənˌstreɪtərz) – die Demonstranten
injured (ˈɪnʤərd) – verletzt
gunfire (ˈgʌnˌfaɪər) – die Schießerei
prior (ˈpraɪər) – vorherig
anniversary (ˌænəˈvɜrsəri) – das Jubiläum
expelled (ɪkˈspɛld) – abgeschobenverstoßen, rausgeschmissen
fled (flɛd) – geflohen
relocation (riˈloʊˈkeɪʃən) – die Verlagerung
shamed (ʃeɪmd) – beschämt
contrast (ˈkɑntræst) – der Gegensatz
broadcasted (ˈbrɔdˌkæstɪd) – etw. übertragen
Upcoming Royal Wedding
This week on Saturday, May 19th Prince Harry will marry American actress Meghan Markle. The upcoming wedding poses a huge coordinative challenge with 600 guests, 100.000 visitors and 5.000 journalists expected. Police have been preparing themselves for months now – automatic license plate checking, random car checks, large steel and concrete barriers to stop vehicle attacks, even drains have been searched and sealed.
3.000 police officers will fight against the main threats at the wedding – terrorism, royal obsessives, public protests and petty crimes like pickpocketing. The royal family likes to be accessible to the public as possible, which poses another balancing challenge for the police. The biggest challenge represents the ride in an open carriage through Windsor after the ceremony.
The police try to identify potential troublemakers beforehand. Police helicopters will fly over Windsor with face recognition technology. Not only is the royal wedding a huge security challenge, it will also come at a big cost. For Kate and William´s wedding seven years ago around € 7 million were spent just on security. The wedding will combine old and new traditions and will furthermore be important for the future relationship between the UK and the US.
actress (ˈæktrəs) – die Schauspielerin
to pose (pəʊz) – etw darstellen, etw aufwerfen
challenge (ˈtʃælɪnʤ) – die Herausforderung, schwierige Aufgabe
to prepare (prɪˈpeəʳ) – etw/sich vorbereiten
license plate (ˈlaɪsən(t)s pleɪt) – das Nummernschild
random (ˈrændəm) – willkürlich, wahllos
concrete barrier (ˈkɒŋkri:t ˈbæriər) – die Betonsperre, Betonbarriere
drain (dreɪn) – der Abfluss, Gully
obsessive (əbˈsesɪv) – zwanghaft, besessen
petty crime (ˈpeti kraɪm) – die Kleinkriminalität
pickpocket (pɪkˈpɒkɪt) – Taschendiebstahl
accessible (əkˈsesəbl̩) – (leicht) erreichbar, zugänglich
carriage (ˈkærɪʤ) – die Kutsche
face recognition (feɪs ˌrekəgˈnɪʃən) – die Gesichtserkennung
to combine (kəmˈbaɪn) – etw kombinieren, verbinden
Ebola Outbreak
The World Health Organization is said to be holding an emergency meeting to discuss the risk the world is facing from Ebola spreading from the Democratic republic of Congo.
Between 2014 and 2016 a deadly Ebola outbreak spread in West Africa killing more than 11,000 people. Ebola is an infectious virus that causes internal bleeding and is often fatal. It can spread rapidly through contact with small amounts of bodily fluids, and its early flu-like symptoms are not always obvious.
It is reported that almost 44 people have been infected and 23 have died in the current outbreak. Cases emerged in a rural area with one now confirmed being in the city of Mbandaka.
The city with the the population of about 1 million people is known to be a transport hub on the Congo River, fears of the virus spreading further is threatening the capital Kinshasa and other surrounding countries and cities.
On Friday a panel will decide whether to declare “public health emergency of international concern” or not.
Peter Salama a senior World Health Organization official said that the spreading of the virus to Mbandaka means that there is a major development in the outbreak which would cause a potential increase in cases.
emergency (ɪˈmɜrʤənsi) – der Notfall
risk (rɪsk) – das Risiko
spreading (ˈsprɛdɪŋ) – sich verbreiten, ausbreiten
outbreak (ˈaʊtˌbreɪk) – der Ausbruch
infectious (ɪnˈfɛkʃəs) – ansteckend
internal bleeding (ɪnˈtɜrnəl ˈblidɪŋ) – die innere Blutungen
fatal (ˈfeɪtəl) – tödlich
bodily fluids (ˈbɑdəli ˈfluədz) – die Körperflüssigkeiten
symptoms (ˈsɪmptəmz) – die Symptome
rural (ˈrʊrəl) – ländlich
threatening (ˈθrɛtənɪŋ) – bedrohlich
panel (ˈpænəl) – das Gremium
development (dɪˈvɛləpmənt) – die Entwicklung