Politics this week (2020.05.30) Part.02

Electoral officials in Burundi declared the ruling party’s candidate, Evariste Ndayishimiye, the winner in a presidential vote. Opposition parties say the election was rigged. Many dead people reportedly voted.

• electoral
  • [only before noun] 有关选举的
• Burundi
  • 布隆迪🇧🇮
• rig
  • （以不正当的手段）操纵，控制

More lockdown restrictions were eased in England. From mid-June, all shops will be allowed to reopen; outdoor markets from June 1st. The government also announced a UK-wide quarantine on international arrivals from June 8th, including Britons returning from abroad. Ireland, which is in Britain’s common travel area, is exempt.

• Briton
  • 英国人
• exempt
  • [adjective] [not before noun] 免除（责任、付款等），获豁免

By contrast, other European countries started to reopen their borders. Germany said it would lift warnings and allow its citizens to travel abroad from June 15th; it is pushing neighbouring countries to agree on common standards for social distancing. Greece and Italy will allow tourism from June, and Spain from July 1st. Cyprus offered to repay some holiday costs to tourists if they contract covid-19 while visiting the country.

• by contrast
  • 相比之下，相反
• Cyprus
  • 赛普勒斯🇨🇾
• repay
  • 退还；偿还；报答
• contract
  • 感染（疾病），得（病）

The European Commission proposed a new seven-year budget for the EU that includes a €750bn ($825bn) post-covid recovery fund. The fund would distribute to member states €500bn in grants and €250bn in loans, and would be financed by borrowing based on guarantees provided by national governments. The plan builds on ideas proposed by France and Germany, but Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, the “frugal four”, are sceptical.

• budget
  • 预算
• finance
  • [verb] 提供资金
• guarantee
  • 担保，保证
• sceptical
  • having doubts that a claim or statement is true or that sth will happen 怀疑的

A judge on British Columbia’s Supreme Court ruled that extradition proceedings brought by the United States against Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, a Chinese telecoms giant, could continue. The decision means she cannot go home. Her arrest in Vancouver in December 2018 provoked a diplomatic row between Canada and China.

• extradition
  • 引渡
• diplomatic
  • 外交的
• row
  • 严重分歧，纠纷；争吵

Two women became the first same-sex couple to marry in Costa Rica, immediately after it became legal. The ceremony was shown on a three-hour television broadcast about marriage equality.

• Costa Rica
  • 哥斯达黎加🇨🇷

Coronavirus briefs

Countries in the Americas are the new centre of the pandemic, according to the WHO. Infections and deaths in Mexico have doubled over the past two weeks. Brazil now has the world’s second-highest number of cases, prompting the United States (more than 100,000 deaths) to ban non-American travellers who have been to the country.

Russia has also reported sharp increases in confirmed cases and deaths over two weeks; the actual numbers are thought to be much higher.

Spain revised its death toll down by more than 1,900 because of “duplicates” and wrongly attributed deaths.

A test-and-trace system was introduced in England.

India resumed domestic flights, amid much confusion at airports about whether planes would be allowed to land in certain states.

• prompt
  • 促使，导致
• revise
  • 修改，修订（书、估算等）
• attribute
  • 把 … 归因于，认为 … 是由于；认为是……所为（或说、写、作）