Jerusalem
There is a new development in the ongoing war over Jerusalem. Both, Israelis and Palestinians claim the city as their capital. On Tuesday earlier this week President Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel´s capital and moved their embassy to the city. Until now, all embassies have been in Tel Aviv as a more neutral place.
Other leaders had warned Trump about the consequences. French president Macron and a number of Muslim and Arab Nations warned him that any decision should be “within the framework of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians”. The countries fear that this decision will disrupt the peace process.
Jerusalem is home to key religious sites of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. While Israel occupied the city in the 1967 Middle East War its sovereignty over the city was never recognised internationally. Since then Israel has built many settlements in East Jerusalem, which are home to about 200.000 Jews. These settlements are not legal officially but with his decision Trump reinforced Israel´s position.
development (dɪˈveləpmənt) – die Entwicklung
ongoing (ˈɒnˌgəʊɪŋ) – laufend, andauernd
capital (ˈkæpɪtəl) – die Hauptstadt
to recognise (ˈrekəgnaɪz) – etw anerkennen
embassy (ˈembəsi) – die Botschaft
until (ʌnˈtɪl) – bis
decision (dɪˈsɪʒən) – die Entscheidung
framework (freɪmwɜ:k) – der Rahmenplan, Rahmen
negotiation (nɪˌgəʊʃiˈeɪʃən) – die Verhandlung
to disrupt (dɪsˈrʌpt) – etw stören, unterbrechen
site (saɪt) – die Stelle, der Ort, Platz
to occupy (ˈɒkjəpaɪ) – hier: etw besetzen
sovereignty (ˈsɒvrənti) – die Oberhoheit
settlement (ˈsetl̩mənt) – hier: die Siedlung
to reinforce (ˌri:ɪnˈfɔ:s) – etw verstärken, unterstreichen
Travel Ban
The Supreme Court allowed full enforcement of the travel ban late on Monday evening. That means the government is now allowed to completely reinforce the restrictions on visa applications. This decision keeps a ban on six Muslim countries – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Chad and Yemen. Furthermore, it brings new limits on visitors and immigrants from North Korea and Venezuela with it.
Furthermore, exemptions the lower court ruling made on certain family members of people in the United States are lifted. There were just two dissents against the decision. This ban is the third version of the directive that Trump issued since taking the office. The first version was dated as early as January 2017. The ban could be imposed immediately.
It was a rare win for the White House but they don´t seem surprised and say that the ban helps to protect their homeland and there is no reason why it shouldn’t have been approved. The ban is challenged by courts in Hawaii. Additionally, refugee groups and organisations are angry and say they will fight the decision on the grounds that it goes against human rights and is discriminatory to many people.
to allow (əˈlaʊ) – etw erlauben, ermöglichen
enforcement (ɪnˈfɔ:smənt) – die Durchsetzung, Vollziehung
restriction (rɪˈstrɪkʃən) – die Begrenzung, Einschränkung
application (ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃən) – der Antrag, die Bewerbung
visitor (ˈvɪzɪtəʳ) – der/die Besucher/in, Gast
exemption (ɪgˈzempʃən) – die Befreiung, Freistellung
certain (ˈsɜ:tən) – hier: bestimmte, gewisse
to lift (lɪft) – etw aufheben
dissent (dɪˈsent) – die Meinungsverschiedenheit, Gegenstimme
directive (dɪˈrektɪv) – die Anweisung, Direktive
to issue (ˈɪʃu:) – etw ausstellen, erlassen, erteilen
to impose (ɪmˈpəʊz) – etw durchsetzen, verhängen
immediately (ɪˈmi:diətli) – sofort, gleich
to surprise (səˈpraɪz) – jdn überraschen, erstaunen
should (ʃʊd) – jd/etw sollte (Hilfsverb)
to approve (əˈpru:v) – etw zustimmen
to challenge (ˈtʃælɪnʤ) – herausfordern, anfechten
additionally (əˈdɪʃənəspan data-original-title=””>li) – zusätzlich, außerdem
angry (ˈæŋgri) – zornig, wütend
Putin reruns for presidency
On Wednesday Russian President Putin announced that he would rerun for president. The next election will take place in March 2018. And it looks quite good for him as his approval rates top 80%. Putin is in power since 2000, either as prime minister or president. A win next year would give him a fourth term with another six years in office.
He made the announcement earlier this week in a car-making factory in front of the workers and was met with applause. Workers make up most of his supporters. Putin is lauded as someone who brought back national pride and expanded Moscow´s global clout. Critics on the other hand accuse him of overseeing a corrupt system.
There will be little competition for Putin. The only real opponent is anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny but he probably won´t be allowed on the ballot due to a criminal conviction. Putin´s campaign message might be one against the rest of the world, brought about by the ban of the Russian team from the Winter Olympics and Western sanctions. But the real question remains – who will succeed Putin after his last term?
to announce (əˈnaʊn(t)s) – etw verkünden
to rerun (ˌri:ˈrʌn) – etw wiederholen,
election (ɪˈlekʃən) – die Wahl
approval rate (əˈpru:vəl reɪt) – der Beliebtheitsgrad, Zustimmungsrate
either…or (ˈaɪðəʳ… ɔ:ʳ) – entweder…oder
supporter (səˈpɔ:təʳ) – Anhänger, Befürworter
to laud (lɔ:d) – jdn/etw preisen, loben
pride (praɪd) – Stolz
to expand (ɪkˈspænd) – erweitern, ausweiten
clout (klaʊt) – politische Macht, Einfluss
to accuse (əˈkju:z) – jdn beschuldigen
to oversee (ˈəʊvəʳsi:) – überwachen, beaufsichtigen
competition (ˌkɒmpəˈtɪʃən) – Konkurrenz
opponent (əˈpəʊnənt) – der Gegner, Widersacher
probably (ˈprɒbəbli) – wahrscheinlich
ballot (ˈbælət) – die (Geheim)wahl, Abstimmung
conviction (kənˈvɪkʃən) – die Verurteilung
to remain (rɪˈmeɪn) – verbleiben
to succeed (səkˈsi:d) – nachfolgen