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Cartoon: Cameron's G8 Communiqué

This cartoon by Morten Morland from The Times shows UK Prime Minister David Cameron presenting the final communiqué at the end of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland. He predicts that trade will flow, corporations will pay tax—and the weather will stop being weird.

COMMENTARY
Although Cameron succeeded in persuading his fellow G8 members to sign the Lough Erne declaration, a commitment to end corporate tax evasion and clear up tax havens, the cartoonist shows he is sceptical about the chances of this happening by adding the comment about the weather (which, of course, Cameron did not say anything about). In fact, a group of leading scientists and meteorologists meeting at the Met Office on Tuesday to discuss the UK's unusual weather patterns in recent years predicted that Britain could expect “a cycle of wetter summers” for up to the next ten years. Read more >>

VOCABULARY
1. If you describe something as weird (rhymes with 'cheered'), you mean that it is very strange or unusual and difficult to explain. • He's got some really weird ideas.
2. A communiqué (pronounced 'communikay') is an official statement or report, especially to the media.

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Reuters Video: Australian crash victim develops French accent

Australian Leanne Rowe suffered a head injury in a car crash eight years ago, leaving her with a rare case of Foreign Accent Syndrome and an unwelcome French accent. Miriam Berger reports. 

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Leanne Rowe, a born and bred Tasmanian, used to speak like most other Australians. But eight years ago a bus crash forever changed her life - leaving her with a French accent. The rare condition is known as Foreign Accent Syndrome - and Rowe says that it has made her feel anxious, depressed and reclusive.
LEANNE ROWE: "I prefer night time because its very peaceful. Not many people about."
REPORTER: University of Sydney psychologist, Dr Karen Croot, says the syndrome is caused by tissue damage to area of the brain responsible for speech.
PSYCHOLOGIST, DR KAREN CROOT: "It's just an accident, an accident of chance that happens to that person. That what happens to their speech, happens to overlap with the features of a known accent."
REPORTER: Dr Robert Newton has been the Rowe family doctor for decades.
LEANNE ROWE'S DOCTOR, ROBERT NEWTON: "She turned up after having a nasty head injury eight years ago speaking with a French accent. I couldn't believe my ears."
REPORTER: But the rarity of her situation does not comfort Rowe, who is still awaiting a formal diagnosis.
LEANNE ROWE SAYING: "It makes me so angry because I am Australian. I am not French."
REPORTER: There have been only 62 cases of Foreign Accent Syndrome recorded globally in the last 70 years, including two Australians.

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Words in the News: Reckless

The Guardian reports that a parliamentary commission says bank bosses should face prosecution if their actions lead to bailouts. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
If you say that someone is reckless, you mean that they act in a way which shows that they do not care about danger or the effect their behaviour will have on other people. • He is charged with causing death by reckless driving.

Cartoon: G8 Arm Wrestling

In this cartoon from The Telegraph, Adams uses arm wrestling as a metaphor for the wrangling over the war in Syria at the G8 summit. 

A bare-chested President Putin is shown arm-wrestling the other members of the G8—a reference to his hard-line stance over arming the Syrian opposition. UK Prime Minister and summit host David Cameron walks away, his hand throbbing, while the other G8 leaders nervously await their turn. The one exception is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is shown relaxing with a cup of tea and a newspaper. It looks like Putin is beckoning him with his finger, but I could be wrong.

NOTE
Russian President Vladimir Putin is known for his displays of physical prowess, and actually took part in an arm wrestling contest back in 2011.

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Reuters Video: A G8 scoop—ice cream-flavored world leaders

Residents in the Northern Irish town of Enniskillen are enjoying world leader-inspired ice cream created especially for the G8 summit. Tara Cleary reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Nuts about Obama? Or do you prefer a White Russian? A store in Northern Ireland is making eight different ice creams in honor of the G8 summit being held nearby. Manager Una Lilley says some research went into choosing flavors.
UNA LILLEY, CENTRA STORE MANAGER: "In Nuts about O'Bama we found out that he liked toasted nuts so he likes pecans, he likes almonds, so we have lured them through the gelato that we have created for him. When that information wasn't available we sort of picked things that were obvious to each country."
REPORTER: Customer Genevieve Murphy's favorite is "Black Forest" representing Germany's Angela Merkel.
GENEVIEVE MURPHY: "This is my second time getting the Black Forest with the cherries because they are so delicious."
REPORTER: Flavors like tiramisu, macaroon and green tea have been enticing customers, but Lilley says she'd also like to see some of the ice creams' namesakes in the store.
UNA LILLEY: "The ultimate goal would be to see any of the world leaders come through the door, so, I mean, our doors are open and they are all very welcome, we'll take them all."
REPORTER: Now that's what you call a melt-in-your-mouth marketing move.

WORDPLAY
1. A scoop is:
a) an exciting news story which is reported in one newspaper or on one television programme before it appears anywhere else.  
b) an object like a spoon which is used for picking up a quantity of a food such as ice cream. 
2. If you are nuts about someone or something, you like them very much. Nuts are also small hard fruit with a very hard shell that grows on some trees. 

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Words in the News: Run Out

The Guardian says that David Cameron used a dinner at the first night of the G8 summit to try and build consensus for a political transition in Syria. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
If something runs out, it becomes used up so that there is no more left. • The program will have to stop once the money runs out.

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Cartoon: Cameron Meets President Putin at N° 10

BACKGROUND
David Cameron met the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, yesterday for talks on the Syrian crisis amid fears that differences between Moscow and the west are pushing the two sides towards a new cold war. The meeting, on the eve of the G8 summit in Lough Erne, came as the US president, Barack Obama, prepares to arm the rebels, saying the US administration is convinced the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against its own people. Putin has made no secret of his opposition to any move by the west to supply arms to the Syrian opposition. Full story >>

THE CARTOON
The cartoon, by Paul Thomas from The Daily Express, shows Cameron and Putin holding a press conference (the furry things in the foreground are microphones) beside the fireplace in Number 10. Putin says, "That's enough about Syria — now, is Kate expecting a girl or boy?"

EXPLANATION
The cartoon plays on the widespread speculation about the gender of the royal baby, which is due in mid-July. (On her last public appearance before the birth, Kate wore pink, leading some to wonder if she was giving us a not-so-subtle hint about the baby.)

VOCABULARY
If you say that a woman is expecting a baby, or that she is expecting, you mean that she is pregnant.

ALSO SEE
• Adams comment cartoon (The Telegraph)
• Gary Barker cartoon (The Times)

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Reuters Video: From factory floor to store—the journey of jeans

How far does a typical pair of jeans travel before it ends up in your closet — and at what cost? Reuters tracks the garment supply chain, from factories in Bangladesh to retailers near you.

Words in the News: Heatwave

The Daily Express reports that a "tropical heatwave" is expected to hit Britain this week, with temperatures reaching a peak of 90°F. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
A heatwave is a period of time during which the weather is much hotter than usual. • Near-record temperatures in Pakistan have claimed hundreds of lives and devastated crops in the third major heatwave in four years.

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Cartoon: Father's Day Intel

Today is Father's Day, and in this cartoon from The Columbus Dispatch, Nate Beeler makes a connection between this annual celebration and the U.S. Prism surveillance programme.

In the cartoon, President Obama is telling a little boy, "We turned up nothing. I'd just go with the standard Father's Day 'New Tie." Behind him, we can see an NSA intelligence officer spying on the boy's father, who is sitting in front of the TV eating popcorn (the TV is bugged).

EXPLANATION
We are meant to assume that the boy asked the President to use Prism to get some intelligence regarding what present he could give his father for Father's Day. However, they discovered nothing, so Obama suggests the boy just give him a tie, which is the classic Father's Day fall-back present. 

VOCABULARY 
1. Turn up is a phrasal verb meaning to find. • Our efforts to trace him turned up nothing.
2. If you go with something, you decide or agree to accept it. • A 10% discount? I think we can go with that.

MORE FATHER'S DAY CARTOONS
• Google Images
• Cagle Post 

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Reuters Video: Google's net empire soars skyward

Google launches technology-laden helium balloons that aim to bring the Internet to remote parts of the world. Andrew Raven reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Could helium-filled balloons bring high speed Internet to the most remote parts of the world? Google thinks one day, they might. The tech giant is launching balloons in New Zealand as part of a bold experiment. Powered by solar panels, and laden with computers, Google says the balloons can beam down wireless signals at 3G-like speeds. That could be a game-breaker in areas with little infrastructure, says Google.
GOOGLE X CHIEF TECHNICAL ARCHITECT, RICHARD DeVAUL: "Sometimes if you want to make a huge big leap, you have to try something crazy."
REPORTER: The balloons fly at twice the height of a commercial plane and one can provide web access to an area of over 1200 square kilometres. While they can stay aloft for about 100 days, they can't remain in the same place. So Google's plan is launch a host of balloons into the winds of the stratosphere, creating a network that provides constant coverage.

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Words in the News: Sack

The Observer reports that more than 5,000 untrained teachers who have been allowed to work in academies and free schools under Michael Gove's education reforms will be sacked if Labour wins the next election, unless they gain a formal qualification within two years. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
The sack is being told by your employer that you can no longer continue working for a company, etc, usually because of something that you have done wrong. • Her work was so poor that she was given the sack.

Cartoon: Hands Up If You're One Of The Good Guys

BACKGROUND
President Barack Obama has authorized direct US military support to Syrian rebels after concluding that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has crossed a red line by using chemical weapons against its own people. Read more >>

THE CARTOON
The cartoon by Morten Morland from The Times shows Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron standing on top of a building with boxes full of weapons, including grenades and rocket launchers. Down below in the street, a violent conflict is raging. Obama calls out, "Hands up if you're one of the good guys!"

EXPLANATION
One reason why the Obama administration has hesitated so long over arming the Syrian opposition is the risk of seeing U.S. weapons fall into the hands of extremist groups among the rebels. In fact, it is virtually impossible to know where the weapons will end end up, and some rebel groups are reported to be fighting each other. Hence Obama's rather desperate attempt to identify "the good guys".

LANGUAGE
"Hands up" is an expression meaning "Put your hands in the air". Although this expression is used when ordering someone to surrender (Hands up! We've got you surrounded.), it is also used, as here, when asking people to identify themselves or volunteer. For example, a teacher might say to her class, "Hands up if you know the answer."

ALSO SEE
• Bob cartoon (The Telegraph) 

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Reuters Video: UK PM promises tax crackdown at G8

As security tightens in Northern Ireland ahead of Monday's G8 summit, Hayley Platt takes a look at the issues likely to be on the leaders' agenda.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Security tightens in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland ahead of next weeks' G8 summit. The remote location was specifically chosen by the British government to deter potential trouble-makers. Twenty-six years ago it was the target of an IRA bomb attack which killed eleven people and injured dozens more. Police say they're not taking any chances.
CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT PAULINE SHIELDS: "The threat across Northern Ireland is classified as severe and that's what it was prior to G8 and the arrival of G8 hasn't changed that."
REPORTER: British Prime Minister David Cameron says the G8 is an opportunity for Northern Ireland to shine.
DAVID CAMERON: "That summit is a great opportunity to show the world a Northern Ireland to the world that is open for business, for investment and for tourism."
REPORTER: He's promised to put tax evasion and agressive avoidance at the heart of the meeting, estimated to cost governments around the world around $3 trillion dollars a year in lost revenue. It follows public outcry over revelations that companies like Starbucks have used clever tax planning and exploited loopholes to reduce their taxes. Simon Wagman is a partner at chartered accountants Blick Rothenberg. He says it's difficult to say whether the G8 summit will bring meaningful tax reform.
SIMON WAGMAN: "Will the likes of Google and Amazon pay more tax in the UK? They may do, they may not do. But they certainly may pay more tax globally. And if it's into a US coffer, if it's into another EU jurisdiction, that's raising tax which can only be good. Obviously each government will have their own axe to grind as to whether it's coming to their coffers to spend on their own infrastructure and the costs that they need within their territory. So I'm sure there will be a lot of talk and I'm sure there will be things that come out of it because it's such a hot topic but realistically who knows what's going to happen?"
REPORTER: It's an issue close to the heart of these protesters who chose to demonstrate against capitalism in London's Canary Wharf, home to banks such as Barclays and JP Morgan. They're accusing governments of failing to take action against large companies dodging their tax responsibilities, and say ordinary people are paying for the financial crisis. The two-day G8 summit of world leaders gets underway on Monday.

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Words in the News: Dishonours

A shamed water boss, a police chief criticised over a child murder and a hedge fund baron who funds the Tories receive awards in the Queen’s Birthday Honours today. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
The Mail's headline is a play on the word honours. In Britain, the honours list is the list of people who have been selected to receive titles or awards from the Queen because of their achievements. However, The Mail doesn't think that some of this year's recipients deserve their honours, so they've changed it to "dishonours". Dishonour is a state in which people disapprove of you and lose their respect for you. • Profumo served penance for parliamentary dishonour with more than 30 years of charity work among the poor in the East End of London. Note that dishonour is an uncountable noun and not usually used in the plural form.

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Words in the News: Gong