This cartoon by Kipper Williams from The Guardian relates to news that supermarket chain ASDA has opened a string of Santa's grottos at stores across Britain. A spokesperson for ASDA said the grottos were designed to encourage people to start saving for the festive season. Staff dressed as elves have been handing out Christmas savings cards. Read more >>
The cartoon shows Santa with his long white beard relaxing on a sun lounger somewhere near the sea. He's wearing sunglasses, red and white polka dot bathing trunks, and a bobble hat. A reindeer hands him his mobile phone, saying, "It's ASDA" (obviously, they want Santa to interrupt his holiday to go and work in their grotto).
COMMENT This story attracted over 150 comments on the Guardian website, so it's obviously something people feel strongly about. It's true that Christmas does seem to come earlier each year in the UK.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS • Should we ban all Christmas decorations in shops before December 1st? • Has the spirit of Christmas been ruined by consumerism? • Why do people have this obession with Christmas?
Spanish and French leaders, Mariano Rajoy and François Hollande, affirmed their commitment to the euro at a meeting in Madrid, and encouraged the European Central Bank to buy bonds. Joanne Nicholson reports.
TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Another day, another meeting between some of Europe's leaders. Spain's Mariano Rajoy is hosting French President François Hollande But next week's hotly anticipated European Central Bank meeting is what everyone's waiting for - it's expected the bank's terms of engagement in the bond market will be revealed. And Hollande, along with Rajoy, is in favour of the ECB moving into unchartered territory. FRENCH PRESIDENT FRANCOIS HOLLANDE: "One of the missions of the European Central Bank is the price stability. Another ECB mission is the monetary policy. When you see such wide gaps in yields without a justification from the economic point of view, I think that could be a justification for an intervention in the name of monetary policy." REPORTER: A successful Italian bond auction on Thursday suggested growing confidence among investors. Italy sold more than 7 billion euros of debt, and its 10-year yield was well under the 6 percent pain threshold. ECB President, Mario Draghi, has said the bank will buy bonds but only after a country makes a request for aid from the euro zone's rescue fund. And he's also got to keep Germany happy - it sees the policy is a disguise for financing governments. Spain's Rajoy still insists he doesn't need anything other the already agreed 100 billion euro bank bailout - at least not until the the ECB's strategy becomes clear. But he's also promising to not to hit Spaniards too hard. SPANISH PRIME MINISTER MARIANO RAJOY: "I'm telling you now that in the next budget I will not raise either personal income tax or value-added tax. We will try to draw up a budget that allows us to meet our deficit promises with the European Commission." REPORTER: But another Spanish region - Catalonia - called for government help this week, and the recession there is deepening, making the need for a Spanish bailout ever more likely. Joanne Nicholson, Reuters.
The Independent is one of many newspapers leading on ParalympicGB's success at the first day of the games, but also reports on the 2,500 foreign students desperately fighting to avoid deportation after their visas were suddenly cancelled. Full story >>
VOCABULARY Deportation is the act of forcing somebody to leave a country, usually because they have broken the law or because they have no legal right to be there. • Several of the asylum seekers now face deportation.
Here in France, the new school year officially starts on September 3rd, and I imagine that children will be returning to school around now in many other countries too. The latest lesson from Cartoons for the Classroom, entitled 'Back to school in a connected age', features a couple of cartoons which look at the problems caused by the use of technology in classrooms. This one is by Jeff Parker, the editorial cartoonist for Florida Today. I particularly liked it because it's not so far from the truth ...
DISCUSSION Some schools have
embraced smart phones as
research tools, but others
ban the devices. What is
the policy in your school?
COMMENT Call me old-fashioned, but I can't help feeling nostalgic for the days when students didn't have smartphones and computers to distract them during lessons.
After Spain's wealthiest region, Catalonia, asks for a bailout the Spanish central government rebuffs speculation of a full sovereign rescue. Ivor Bennett reports.
TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: From a distance, Catalonia's a picture of tranquility. But take a closer look and the cracks soon appear. Hospitals and nursing homes have lost state handouts while infrastructure funding has also been frozen - some of the tell-tale signs of austerity biting. Catalonia's request for a 5-billion Euro bailout is no surprise to the region's elderly, who are now taxed one euro for each medical prescription. PENSIONER ENRIQUETA: "It is all very bad because ill people need care, but sometimes the authorities just don't take care of them. But that is the way it goes now." REPORTER: Catalonia still finances some construction like this new university campus. But post bailout terms could force the cement mixers to stop turning. Catalonia is the third Spanish region to ask for state help, despite being the wealthiest. With three more expected to follow suit, the Government's 18 billion euro bailout fund is suddenly looking a lot smaller. The regions aren't the only ones with problems. The country's second quarter GDP contraction was much worse than expected although Spain's economy minister insists its finances are under control. SPAIN'S ECONOMY MINISTER LUIS DE GUINDOS: "The government knows exactly what the problems of Spanish society are. It has taken measures that have laid the foundation to correct those problems and we have a roadmap which we will continue to apply." REPORTER: But Tuesday's visit from the European Council President was the first in a series by EU leaders. And Manoj Ladwa from TJ Markets says it shows a bailout is edging ever nearer. MANOJ LADWA HEAD OF TRADING, TJ MARKETS: "A full blown Spanish bailout is on the books and is increasingly likely. Despite the fact that we're seeing 10-year yields dip back beneath that crucial 7% level, we've got increasingly high unemployment, a property market and banking market that's suffering very badly, and there seems to be little hope for recovery for the Spanish economy." REPORTER: Spirits weren't dampened though at Spain's annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, where 120 tons of ripe tomatoes turned the streets the same colour as the economy. Spain hopes the ECB can stop the rot next week with new measures to help its debt costs. But a crucial longer term bond auction the same day could still leave the country red-faced. Ivor Bennett, Reuters.
The Daily Telegraph has a fantastic picture from the opening ceremony of the Paralympics and a quote from London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe as its headline. Full story >>
VOCABULARY If someone or something dazzles you, you are extremely impressed by their skill, qualities or beauty. • Sir Tom Jones has dazzled a near-capacity crowd during an energy-packed Belfast performance which belied his 72 years.
This cartoon by Mac from The Daily Mail connects the Paralympic Games, which start today, with the story of the "Essex lion" (a roaming 'lion' which caused an extensive police operation after being spotted in a field in Essex, and is now believed to have been a pet cat).
It's nighttime. A one-legged man is shown racing away from a caravan park on crutches, hotly pursued by a lion. A passer-by, who hasn't noticed the lion, comments, "Makes you proud to be British, doesn't it? Look at that chap training hard for the Paralympics".
NOTE The 'lion' was originally spotted near near a caravan site in St Osyth, Essex.
GRAMMAR 1. Note the use of the tag question "doesn't it?". For more on tag questions, see here. 2. Normally, one would expect "It makes you proud ...", but the subject pronoun is sometimes dropped in informal speech.
VOCABULARY Chap is an informal word for 'man', commonly used in British English. • Come on, chaps, let's go for a drink!
Many of us are increasingly shopping online or on our smartphones, but UK consumers won’t have ever visited a virtual store. Britain's biggest retailer, Tesco, has just trialled its first virtual shop at London’s Gatwick airport where instead of shelves of products, shoppers scan a barcode to purchase their groceries. Joanna Partridge reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: A new meaning to shopping on the go. For the busy passengers at London's Gatwick airport, Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, just trialled the UK's first virtual shop. The interactive store allows holidaymakers to buy groceries using their smartphones, and arrange for them to be delivered to their home on their return. PTC We're all used to buying things online and many of us already use our smartphones to order our groceries. But this is a store of different kind. All the products here are virtual, you just need your smartphone and the Tesco app. You open up the barcode scanner and then scan the barcode of one of the virtual products. Hearing that beep, that means the product has been added to your basket, and is ready for checkout. The "shelves" in the virtual store display 80 items on 4 screens - although customers can search for all available products. RICHARD DAVIS, PASSENGER: "The whole size of it, that really when I walked in here, that sort of caught my eye. But yeah it does look really useful." MARIE ALFORD, PASSENGER: "Anything that's going to make life easier, is good, good news." RYAN DHANDA, PASSENGER: "Yeah I'd give it a go, it's pretty handy." REPORTER: That might be part of the challenge Tesco and other retailers face. Many customers like the idea of shopping online, but haven't yet got around to doing it. Although the amount spent using mobile devices is soaring. The Centre for Retail Research says UK consumers are expected to spend 4.5 billion pounds in 2012, up 53% on 2011. It's a different story in South Korea, where Tesco trialled its first virtual store. Many more consumers there use smartphones than in the UK. The "stores" in train stations and at bus stops in Seoul were aimed at time-pressed commuters. Treeva Fenwick from Tesco says more British shoppers might soon buy using their phone instead of visiting an actual store. TREEVA FENWICK: "Around 25% of all of our online grocery orders involve a smartphone in some way, around half of us own one in this country and it's estimated that by 2016, 90% of all mobile phones in the UK will be smart. So it's really important that we anticipate those trends and what this trial is all about is seeing how customers respond to the technology." REPORTER: This virtual store may be a way for the world's third biggest retailer to advertise buying groceries online. But as our use of smartphones grows - Tesco hopes online retail will soon take off, regardless of the location of the store. Joanna Partridge, Reuters.
The Independent leads with a picture of the start of the Paralympic torch relay at Stoke Mandeville hospital, alongside a story alleging that staff at one of the Paralympic sponsors have been reported to regulators for professional misconduct. Full story >>
VOCABULARY A sponsor is a person or company that pays for a show, broadcast, sports event etc. especially in exchange for the right to advertise at that event. • A web design firm is the new sponsor of Leicester Cobras wheelchair basketball club.
This cartoon by Paul Thomas from The Daily Express relates to the hunt for the so-called 'Essex lion'. On Monday, British police said they were investigating reports of a lion being spotted in a field near the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea in the eastern county of Essex. Latest reports say that the police have now called off their search for the mystery big cat (which could have been a dog), but only after after scrambling two helicopters and armed officers.
The cartoon shows a pride of lions somewhere on the African plains. The male lion is reading a 'Wish You Were Here' postcard, supposedly from his cousin Albert who says he is on holiday in Clacton. However, the lion in the cartoon thinks it's a hoax.
VOCABULARY A hoax is a deliberate attempt to make people believe something that is not true. • A secretly leaked picture of a screw from an Apple iPhone that has been making the rounds on the internet has turned out to be a hoax started by a Swedish company.
COMMENT The Essex lion is a classic silly season story. The silly season is a period (usually late summer) when the mass media often focus on trivial or frivolous matters for lack of major news stories. Other legendary British creatures include the Beast of Bodmin, the Surrey Puma, and, of course, the Loch Ness Monster.
Residents in New Orleans and the gulf coast of Mississippi prepare for tropical storm Isaac to hit on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Sarah Charlton reports.
TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Buildings are boarded up in New Orleans to protect against the onslaught of Tropical Storm Isaac. Bourbon Street is the centre of the city's party scene. But business has slumped with news of the incoming weather. Tropical Storm Isaac is closing in, threatening to make landfall as a Category 2 Hurricane overnight on Tuesday (August 28). It will arrive on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which decimated New Orleans and the coastline in 2005. CAREY FOLEY, TOURIST FROM NEW JERSEY: "Our flights were cancelled so we are going to be here for the hurricane so we are battening down the hatches. But thinking of Katrina, when we came down we were aware that it was the seven year anniversary so that is definitely on our minds and we are just hoping that the city doesn't get hit again so brutally. It doesn't deserve it." REPORTER: Mississippi was quietly awaiting the high winds and rain, with beachgoers far from deterred by the severe weather warning. DAYMOND JOHNSON: "Going about it normally. I've been through one before so I know how to prep for it a little bit." REPORTER: A state of emergency has been declared in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Evacuation orders have also gone into effect in a number of areas. Many are hoping to escape a repeat of Hurricane Katrina, which killed scores of people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
A poll by The Guardian shows voters want George Osborne to be moved in the Prime Minister's reshuffle. Full story >>
VOCABULARY A cabinet reshuffle is a change in the members of the British Cabinet, decided by the Prime Minister, in which some members are given different jobs, some members lose their jobs, and new members are brought in. • Burma has announced a major cabinet reshuffle, which analysts believe will push forward the nation's reformist agenda.
This cartoon by Adams from The Daily Telegraph is inspired by the death of the American astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.
The year is 3012 AD, and Armstrong's iconic footprint is still present on the moon's surface. But wait a minute, something is missing. Oh yes, it's the Earth.
COMMENTARY Of course, the planet Earth will probably still be here a thousand years hence, so the cartoon can be seen as a metaphor for the end of the human race, a more likely scenario in view of all the various ecological and societal problems we face.
VOCABULARY AD stands for anno domini, which is Latin for 'in the year of the Lord', in other words after the birth of Jesus Christ. BC (before Christ) is used to denote years before the start of the epoch.
Fold up bike owners from across the globe gather in Oxfordshire, UK, for the 5th Brompton Folding Bike World Championships.
TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Seven hundred and fifty men and women struggle to get on their bikes at the fifth annual world folding bike championships. The first ones to unfold start their track around Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England which is a world heritage site. The strict dress code bans all things Lycra and requires a jacket and a tie. This British twist appealed to Susan Todzy who is from the U.S. SUSAN TODZY: "They want us to dress like we would bike to work and it's fun and crazy." REPORTER: The 13-kilometer race is not just about winning but also about folding bike camaraderie. Michael Hutchinson from Northern Ireland won the race for the second time. MICHAEL HUTCHISON: "I'd hate to not be here and not be doing this, it's just too much fun." REPORTER: And the coveted prize? A brand new bike to take back home.
Armed police were last night hunting for a lion believed to be on the loose in Essex. Residents were told to stay indoors after the beast was spotted in fields near Clacton. Full story >>
VOCABULARY If a person or an animal is on the loose, they are free because they have escaped from a person or place. • A dangerous child sex offender is on the loose after going missing from Dover.
