Politics this week (2020.06.06) Part.02

Bolivia’s electoral tribunal agreed with political parties to hold a national election by September 6th. The vote will be a re-run of the one held in October, in which the president, Evo Morales, claimed victory but left office, and the country, after protesters accused him of electoral fraud.

• tribunal
  • a type of court with the authority to deal with a particular problem or disagreement 特别法庭，裁判所
    • a military tribunal 军事法庭
• fraud
  • 欺诈罪，欺骗罪

Israel told thousands of students and teachers to go into quarantine for covid-19. Almost 250 people tested positive for the virus in schools, which reopened last month. Dozens have closed again.

Iran, which has had one of the worst outbreak of covid-19, reported its highest daily number of cases in the past two months. The government warned of a second wave, even as it attempts to reopen businesses, schools and mosques. “People seem to think the coronavirus is over,” said the health minister; it “may come back stronger than before”.

Governments in the Middle East began opening some of the most important sites in Islam, such as the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Worshippers had their temperatures checked and were asked to observe social distancing and wear masks. Islam’s holiest site, the Grand Mosque in Mecca, remained closed.

• al-Aqsa mosque
  • 阿克萨清真寺，“阿克萨”在阿拉伯语中意为“遥远”
• Jerusalem
  • 耶路撒冷
• worshipper
  • a person who worships God or a god 崇拜上帝（或神）的人，做礼拜的人，敬神者
• Mecca
  • 麦加

The UN said Libya’s warring parties have agreed to restart talks over a possible ceasefire.

• warring
  • [only before noun] involved in a war 战争的，交战的，敌对的

A court in South Africa ruled that a ban on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol was unconstitutional. The ban was part of the government’s lockdown regulations to fight covid-19.

• unconstitutional
  • 违背宪法的，违反宪章（或章程）的

A militia leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo was arrested for the murder three years ago of two UN experts, one of whom was beheaded, and their interpreter. They had been investigating abuses of human rights.

• militia
  • 民兵组织，国民卫队
• interpreter
  • 口译工作者

Coronavirus briefs

South Korea temporarily closed some schools that had only just reopened after recording the highest spike in new cases in two months.

The Chinese city of Wuhan tested all of its 10m residents for covid-19 over ten days. The campaign identified just 300 infections, all of which were asymptomatic.

The head of Britain’s statistics agency criticised Matt Hancock, the health secretary, for data published on testing, saying that distinction between actual testing and posting test-kits was “too often elided” during official presentations.

Mexico, which has second-largest number of deaths from covid-19 in Latin America, loosened lockdown measures.

French cafés and restaurants reopened after 11 weeks of lockdown. The joie de vivre is still subject ot social-distancing restrictions.

• asymptomatic
  • 无临床症状的
• elide
  • [verb] 省略（词的部分）发音
  • to strike out (something, such as a written word) 删去，省略
• joie de vivre
  • a feeling of great happiness and enjoyment of life 人生的极大乐趣，生活之乐