The Daily Mail features a story on Scotland Yard identifying new suspects in Madeleine McCann's disappearance in 2007. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
A suspect is a person who the police or authorities think may be guilty of a crime. • Police have arrested a suspect in a series of killings and sexual assaults in the city.
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BACKGROUND
This cartoon by Mac from The Daily Mail relates to news that scientists have extracted stem cells from human embryos created in a laboratory.
The breakthrough could lead to customised cells to help treat and even cure a range of diseases, from Alzheimer’s to multiple sclerosis.
However, it also raises the spectre of babies being cloned in laboratories. Full story >>
THE CARTOON
A man is lying on the sofa reading the newspaper, which has a front page story about the "Cloned Babies Breakthrough". We are meant to deduce that his wife, who is surrounded by dozens of little clones of herself, has just come back from the cloning clinic. She must have just told her husband about the procedure because he replies, without looking at her, "Go on. They took a sliver of your skin and put it in a test tube - then what?"
VOCABULARY
1. A sliver of something is a small thin piece or amount of it.
2. A breakthrough is an important development or achievement.
3. A clone is an animal or plant that has been produced artificially, for example in a laboratory, from the cells of another animal or plant. A clone is exactly the same as the original animal or plant.
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TRANSCRIPT
TELLER: The Ayes to the right, one hundred and thirty. The Noes to the left, two hundred and seventy-seven.
REPORTER: British Prime Minister David Cameron may have been glad he missed this particular parliamentary vote. The Conservative party leader - on a trip to the United States - was spared the embarrassment of having to witness on Wednesday a rebellion from his own party within the House of Commons. Tory rebels voted against Cameron in protest at his stance on the European Union - they want Cameron's promise of a 2017 referendum on British membership of the EU to be legally binding. Although the revolt was defeated, around a third of Conservative lawmakers voted against the prime minister, raising questions about Cameron's leadership. The centre right Tory party - in a ruling coalition with the Liberal Democrats - has 305 members of parliament. 116 of them voted against the government.
NOTE
For more on House of Commons voting procedure, see Wikipedia.
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The Daily Telegraph's front page lead says Education Secretary Michael Gove has claimed campaigners against the Government's planning reforms are opposing social mobility, aspiration and the family. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
If you call someone a nimby, you are criticizing them because they do not want something such as a new road, housing estate, or prison built near to where they live. Nimby is an abbreviation for "not in my backyard". • We cannot let a small minority of extreme environmentalists and NIMBY activists take away a special part of California's culture.
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This cartoon by Paul Thomas from The Daily Express relates to Prince Harry's seven-day tour of the United States. The Prince has attracted cheering crowds and huge media attention wherever he has gone, and the tour has been widely hailed as a success.
In the cartoon, Prince Harry is shown as the new face of the Statue of Liberty. Someone at the top of one of the many New York skyscrapers comments, "The Americans have really taken Prince Harry to their hearts."
IDIOM
If someone takes you to their heart, they welcome you like a friend or family member. See here for more "heart" idioms and expressions.
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TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: One bag of larvae please! In some parts of the world, these little critters, which come from the palm weevil beetle are the snack of choice.
INSECT CONSUMER, STEVE ABADA: "They nourish the body, they are not too fatty but have lots of good ingredients. if you eat these all the time, you will rarely get sick."
REPORTER: Now, a new report by the United Nations says eating insects like the beetle could be the answer to fighting world hunger. Insects contain the same amount of protein and minerals as other meats and healthy fats that doctors recommend as part of a balanced diet. They're also great for local economies. In the forests around the village of Dzeng, it's grasshopper season and women are busy collecting the jumpy insects, which they will sell at market. While they have been doing this for many years, population growth and forest fires have led to some species becoming virtually extinct. Afton Halloran works with the Edible Insects program run by the U.N. She says insect breeding and conservation is vital to boosting global food security.
AFTON HALLORAN, CONSULTANT FOR FAO EDIBLE INSECTS PROGRAM: "Insects have a huge potential for both feed and food. We are already seeing developments in terms of using insects as animal feed. and also being incorporated onto menus and processed foods. While we won't be seeing insects on the table for Sunday lunch any time within the next decade, we know that insects have a huge potential, and we hope that slowly but surely this can be realized."
REPORTER: Authors of the new report say barriers to enjoying insect dishes are psychological - in a blind test carried out by researchers, nine out of 10 people preferred meatballs made from meat and mealworms to those made entirely of meat.
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The Daily Telegraph leads with claims that David Cameron has warned oil bosses should face criminal prosecutions if found guilty of price fixing. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
If the authorities prosecute someone, they charge them with a crime and put them on trial. • The police have decided not to prosecute because the evidence is not strong enough.
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© Chappatte in "Le Temps" (Geneva)
BACKGROUND
This cartoon by Chappatte from "Le Temps" relates to the clothing factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed 1127 people. Following the disaster, western clothing companies which use such factories to make cheap clothes were criticized for sacrificing people's lives for profit.
However, several global retailers including Benetton, H&M, and Primark, have now signed a pact to improve safety at Bangladesh factories after worker rights groups that said they would put pressure on brands that did not sign the agreement.
THE CARTOON
A woman is looking in surprise at the label on a garment in the sale. The label says, "60% cotton. 20% sweat. 20% blood. Made in Bangladesh."
EXPLANATION
The cartoonist has modified the usual type of clothing label, which gives the composition of the material used in its manufacture. In this case, "sweat" refers to the sweatshops where the clothes are made, and "blood" to the lives lost in disasters like the one in Dhaka.
NOTE
Compare this cartoon with those by Adam Zyglis and Clay Bennett, which also use the label idea.
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TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Trounced in the smartphone market that it once used to own, BlackBerry unveiled new steps it's taking to turn itself around, including a new model and expanded services. BlackBerry CEO Thornsten Heins contends BlackBerry's comeback is on track.
THORSTEN HEINS, CEO, BLACKBERRY: "You know it hasn't been that easy and you also know there is still a lot of work to do, but man, we have reached solid ground with this company."
REPORTER: It's coming out early with a mid-tier smartphone for emerging markets ahead of Apple's rumored phone targeting a similar market. Heins showed off the Q5, which comes in four colors and sports a physical keyboard. He wouldn't name a price but said it'll go on sale in July. Once aimed purely at business users, BlackBerry is trying to appeal to a more general audience. It's opening up its very popular messaging service, BBM, to users of rival Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms. BlackBerry pulled out the stops at its pow-wow, showing off celebrity supporters like singer Alicia Keys. But it struck a sour note with investors. The stock fell roughly four percent on the news. And analysts like Evercore Partners Mark McKechnie weren't impressed, either.
MARK MCKECHNIE, TELECOM EQUIPMENT ANALYST, EVERCORE PARTNERS: "My sense is that it's a bit too late. They're trying to do a few things we can get into later on the server side. But I think the momentum of Android and Apple probably too strong for them to make a meaningful comeback and be a fraction of their size that they were in the past."
REPORTER: In just the past year, BlackBerry's operating system saw its shrinking market share more than halved to 3 percent, putting it in third place - just ahead of Microsoft's 2.9 percent. Google's Android and Apple's iOS command more than 90 percent. Without an ecosystem like Apple's collection of phones, tablets, computers and content, analysts say BlackBerry will remain stuck in second gear.
IDIOMS
1. pull out (all) the stops: to make the greatest effort possible to achieve something
2. strike a (+ adjective) note: to express or evoke feelings or opinions of a particular kind
3. stuck in second gear: not performing to their best potential and not moving toward their goal very fast
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Allegations that BP and Shell colluded to inflate oil prices are the focus of The Daily Telegraph's front page. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
To rig something is to arrange or influence something in a dishonest way in order to get the result that you want. • A commission was appointed to ensure the lottery was not rigged.
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BACKGROUND
Today's cartoon by Schrank from The Independent relates to UK Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to the White House on Monday for discussions with President Obama about the conflict in Syria, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the strengthening of economic ties. At the end of their meeting, the two leaders held a joint press conference (see previous post), which provides the inspiration for the cartoon. Unfortunately for Cameron, events back home in the UK overshadowed his visit:
EXPLANATION
If you refer to a politician or a government as a lame duck, you mean that they have little real power, for example because their period of office is coming to an end. In David Cameron's case, he is seen as a lame duck because he has lost control of his party over the question of Europe.
HISTORICAL NOTE
The phrase lame duck was coined in the 18th century at the London Stock Exchange, to refer to a stockbroker who defaulted on his debts. In the literal sense, it refers to a duck which is unable to keep up with its flock, making it a target for predators. [Source: Wikipedia]
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TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Syria is certain to be the main topic of discussion between President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron during a visit to the White House. But the two are also working on a trans-Atlantic trade deal. Cameron says the two countries participate in more than $17 billion of trans-Atlantic trade every month.
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON: "President Obama and I have both championed a free-trade deal between the European Union and the United States and there is a real chance now to get the process launched in time for the G8. So the next five weeks are crucial. To realize the huge benefits this deal could bring will take ambition and political will. That means everything on the table, even the difficult issues and no exceptions. It is worth the effort. For Britain alone, an ambitious deal could be worth up to 10 billion pounds a year, boosting industries from car manufacturing to financial services."
REPORTER: And with the discussion of trade and economic growth comes the thorny issue of taxes.
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON: "I am an unashamedly pro-business politician but as we open up our economies to get business growing we need to make sure that all companies pay their taxes properly and enable citizens to hold their governments and businesses to account. Today, we've agreed to tackle the scourge of tax evasion. We need to know who really owns a company. Who profits from it. Whether taxes are paid and we need a new mechanism to track where multi-nationals make their money and where they pay their taxes so we can stop those that are manipulating the system unfairly."
REPORTER: The two leaders are laying the groundwork for the upcoming G8 meeting in Ireland.
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The Daily Express reports that Tory MPs have threatened a revolt after David Cameron dismissed calls to rush forward a referendum on European Union membership. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
A revolt by a person or group against someone or something is a refusal to accept the authority of that person or thing. • The prime minister is facing a revolt by party activists over his refusal to hold a referendum.
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Despite what you might think, Speaking Frog has nothing to do with French people learning English; it's a site which features
videos and transcripts of speeches by famous people, past and present, real and fictional. The nice thing about the site is that the videos and transcripts are presented side by side, so that you can read the transcript, or refer to it, as you watch. Here, for instance is Barack Obama's Second Inaugural Address from January 2013.
You can find a list of recent posts here.
ALSO SEE
• 10 famous speeches in English, and what you can learn from them (English Trackers)
• Famous Speeches (History.com)
• Great Speeches of the Twentieth Century (The Guardian)
• American Rhetoric
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TRANSCRIPT
An economy is a tricky thing to control, and governments are always trying to figure out how to do it.
Back in 1776 economist Adam Smith shocked everyone by saying that what governments should actually do is just leave people alone to buy and sell freely among themselves.
He suggested that if they just leave self-interested traders to compete with one another, markets are guided to positive outcomes 'as if by an invisible hand'.
If someone charges less than you - customers will buy from them instead – so you have to lower the price or offer something better.
Wherever enough people demand something, they will be supplied by the market – like spoilt children – only in this case, everyoneʼs happy.
Later free-marketeers like Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek, argued that this ʻhands offʼ approach actually works better than any kind of central plan.But the problem is, economies can take a long time to reach their ʻequilibriumʼ, and may even stall along the way. And in the meantime people can get a little frustrated, which is why governments usually end up taking things into their own more visible hands instead.
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