Politics this week (2020.04.18) Part.01

Donald Trump said that data suggested America was past the peak of the covid-19 outbreak, as he mooted guidelines to reopen the economy. The president created a council to look at the options, some of whose members were surprised to be included. Earlier he started a row with state governors who are trying to co-ordinate the lifting of some restrictions. He claimed they needed his permission; the constitution says they don’t. When a journalist asked Mr Trump what he had done all February to prepare for covid, he called her “disgraceful".

• moot
  • [usually passive] 提出……供讨论
• guideline
  • guidelines[pl.] 指导方针，行动纲领
• council
  • a formal meeting to discuss what action to take in a particular situation 协商会议
    • hold a council
  • 地方议会
    • a city/county/borough/district council 市/郡/自治市/区政务委员会
  • （顾问、立法、研究等）委员会
    • the Medical Research Council 医学研究会
• row
  • 争吵
    • have a row with sb
  • 严重分歧
• lift
  • 解除（限制）
    • lift a ban/curfew/blockade 解除禁令/宵禁/封锁
• disgraceful
  • very bad or unacceptable; that people should feel ashamed about 不光彩的，可耻的，丢脸的

Mr Trump said he would suspend American funding to the World Health Organisation, accusing it of pushing “China’s misinformation” on the coronavirus.

• suspend
  • 暂停，中止；延缓，推迟
• push
  • to try hard to persuade people to accept or agree with a new idea, buy a new product, etc. 力劝……接受，推销
• misinformation
  • (常指故意提供的) 虚假消息

Bernie Sanders bowed out as the sole remaining challenger to Joe Biden and endorsed his hitherto rival for president. Mr Sanders said he was endorsing Mr Biden now so they can unite the Democratic Party in trying to defeat Mr Trump in November’s election.

• bow out
  • 退出，告别（尤指一度成功的事业）
• endorse
  • （公开）赞同，支持
• hitherto
  • [adjective] until this time 迄今的；
  • [adverb] 迄今
• rival
  • 竞争对手
• unite in (doing) sth
  • （为某事）联合，团结
• Democratic
  • 民主党的

A sailor serving on the USS Theodore Roosevelt died from covid-19. More than 600 crew members have now tested positive, including the former captain, who was sacked by the navy after he asked for help. He was fired for seeking assistance outside the proper lines of communication.

• sack
  • (informal) 解雇，炒鱿鱼
• lines of communication
  • A line of communication is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base.

South Korea went ahead with legislative elections despite the covid-19 epidemic. Turnout was high. The ruling Minjoo (Democratic) party won an outright majority in the unicameral national assembly. Before the election Minjoo had been governing in coalition with several smaller parties.

• go ahead (with sth)
  • （尤指经某人允许，或有人表示怀疑或反对后）开始做，着手干
• legislative
  • [only before noun] (formal) connected with the act of making and passing laws 立法的，制订法律的
• turnout
  • 投票人数；出席/到场人数
• outright
  • complete and total 完全的，绝对的
• unicameral
  • （议会）一院（制）的
• assembly
  • 议会
• coalition
  • （尤指多个政治团体的）联合体，联盟

Migrant workers protested in Mumbai and other Indian cities as the government extended the country’s three-week-old lockdown by a further three weeks. The workers want to be able to return to their home villages, but are not able to because of the suspension of public transport. The govenment did relax restrictions on farming and construction work.

• protest
  • （公开）反对，抗议
• suspension
  • 暂缓，推迟，延期

Bangladesh hanged Abdul Majed, one of a group of former army officers who killed the country’s founding father, Mujibur Rahman, during a military coup in 1975. Majed had been convicted of murder in absentia in 1998, and had been in hiding in India until last month. The current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, is Mujib’s daughter.

• hang
  • 绞死，施以绞刑
• coup
  • 政变
    • to stage/mount a coup 发动政变
• convict
  • 定罪，宣判……有罪
• in absentia
  • 缺席
• hiding
  • 躲藏，隐藏

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen began a unilateral two-week ceasefire aimed at stemming the spread of covid-19. Shortly after the move was announced, Yemen confirmed its first case of the virus (though it has carried out little testing). Years of war have devastated the country’s health system.

• rebel
  • 反政府的人，叛乱者
• unilateral
  • 单方的
• stem
  • 阻止，封堵，遏止
• devastate
  • 彻底破坏，摧毁

Despite calls for a ceasefire in Libya, fighting between the internationally recognised government and forces led by Khalifa Haftar, a rebellious general, countinued. The government seized two towns, Surman and Sabratha, on the coast. But it struggled to deal with a power cut in the besieged capital of Tripoli.

• Libya
  • 利比亚🇱🇾
• recognise
  • （正式）认可，接受
• rebellious
  • 叛乱的，造反的
• general
  • 将军
• seize
  • （常指通过暴力突然）夺取，攻占，控制
• power cut
  • 供电中断
• besiege
  • to surround a building, city, etc. with soldiers until the people inside are forced to let you in 包围，围困