Podcast #11 News Review from February 23 to 29, 2020

News of the week of February 23 to 29, 2020

• Afghanistan: a historic [tooltips keyword=”accord” content=”agreement”] signed between the United States and the Taliban. [spp-timestamp time=”00:00:44″]
• [tooltips keyword=”Protections hygiéniques” content=”sanitary products”] now [tooltips keyword=”gratuites” content=”free”] for women in Scotland. [spp-timestamp time=”00:01:40″]
• Polanski awarded at the César ceremony in France. [spp-timestamp time=”00:02:10″]
• Death of Hosni Mubarak. [spp-timestamp time=”00:03:30″]
• Insects found in baby milk packages. [spp-timestamp time=”00:04:34″]
• Vocabulary of the week explained

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Transcription

Hello,

Welcome to the Hello French news review, the podcast that immerses you in the week's news to help you improve your French.

Headlines for this week of February 23 to 29, 2020

• Afghanistan: a historic agreement signed between the United States and the Taliban.
• In Scotland, sanitary products now free for all women.
• Filmmaker Roman Polanski awarded three times at the Cesar ceremony: awards that generate anger and incomprehension.
• Death of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
• Worms found in baby milk packages in France.

Historic news for Afghanistan. The United States and the Taliban have just signed an agreement in Doha. After a year and a half of negotiations, the agreement provides for a withdrawal of American [tooltips keyword=”soldats” content=”soldiers”] from the country. The text also encourages the opening of negotiations between the different movements present in the country. The withdrawal of American troops will begin immediately to reach 8,600 soldiers from the 13,000 currently present, within 135 days. This 18-year war is the longest the United States has ever waged. For their part, the Taliban must respect their [tooltips keyword=”engagements” content=”commitments”]: not to threaten the security of the USA and its allies and to successfully carry out negotiations within the country itself. Driven from power in Afghanistan by America after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Taliban have been in constant conflict with the Afghan population.

Victory for women's rights in Scotland. Sanitary products are now free for all women. Parliament has indeed voted a law that allows free distribution of tampons and [tooltips keyword=”serviettes hygiéniques” content=”sanitary pads”] in pharmacies and community centers that are part of the distribution network. This operation, which helps fight menstrual [tooltips keyword=”précarité” content=”poverty”] and promotes gender equality, costs the Scottish government 29 million euros.

A bittersweet Cesar ceremony for French cinema this Friday. Director Roman Polanski was nominated in 12 categories for his film "J'accuse" (An Officer and a Spy). Awarded 3 Cesars, including best director, many actors and actresses said they were disgusted by these awards. Accused of the [tooltips keyword=”viol” content=”rape”] of a 13-year-old girl in 1977, the director had fled the United States to avoid appearing at his trial, where he faced a sentence of up to 50 years in prison. Now accused of [tooltips keyword=”violences sexuelles ” content=”sexual abuses”] by 12 women, Polanski is still considered a fugitive by INTERPOL. He is allowed to travel in three countries that cannot [tooltips keyword=”extrader” content=”deliver”] him: France, Poland, and Switzerland. These awards were therefore a source of great tension and much incomprehension from both the film industry and the general public. The director's team was not even present at the ceremony, given the tensions surrounding these nominations. Also in the world of cinema this week, film producer Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of rape and sexual assault at his trial. The final sentence will be handed down on March 11. He faces up to 25 years in prison.

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak died this week at the age of 91. He had led the country from 1981 to 2011, pushed to [tooltips keyword=”démissionner” content=”resign”] during the Arab Spring. The first president to be tried before the courts, he was [tooltips keyword=”condamné à perpétuité ” content=”life sentence”] for being an [tooltips keyword=”complice” content=”associate”] in the death of 846 protesters during the Egyptian revolution. He was ultimately acquitted in 2017.

[tooltips keyword=”vers” content=”worm”] found in baby milk packages in France. Several parents indeed found these insects in powdered milk boxes. Danone, the manufacturer, asked families to send them the boxes in order to carry out analyses and understand how these insects got there. 5,000 families were affected and one of the babies even vomited one of the worms.

Vocabulary of the Week

Enrich your French vocabulary - download our list of key words for the week of February 23 to 29, 2020.

■ L'accord (the agreement): people, after discussions, find a compromise, all say "yes" to a decision. The expression "d'accord" is also used in daily life to say yes: "- Ca te va si on mange une pizza ? - D'accord" (Does pizza work for you? - OK).

■ Les négociations (the negotiations): when people who do not share the same opinion talk to make a decision together, decide in common, and thus reach an agreement.

■ Immédiatement (immediately): right away, without waiting.

■ L'engagement (the commitment): the promise to do something, when one says they will do something.

■ Les protections hygiéniques (sanitary products): products used by women during their periods, during menstruation.

■ Le tampon (the tampon): a sanitary product, a compact piece of cotton that women can insert to prevent blood from flowing during their periods. The blood is absorbed, captured by this small mass of cotton.

■ La serviette hygiénique (the sanitary pad): a protection that women use during their periods. It is an absorbent strip to place in one's underwear.

■ L'égalité des sexes (gender equality): parity between men and women, the fact that women and men are equal, that there are no differences between them in society.

■ Lutter contre (to fight against): to battle against something.

■ Gratuit/gratuite (free): it is not paid for, no money needs to be given, it is offered.

■ La précarité menstruelle (period poverty): "précarité" is when one is in a difficult situation, generally because one does not have much money. We speak of "précarité menstruelle" to describe women who are too poor to buy sanitary products and therefore are forced to miss school or work during their periods.

■ La pharmacie (the pharmacy): a shop where you go to get medicine or hygiene products like soap, skin creams...

■ La récompense (the award/reward): a prize received, a trophy received for something one has done. For example, in a competition, one can be rewarded.

■ La colère (anger): when one is upset, really not happy. It is a feeling.

■ L'incompréhension (incomprehension): not understanding a situation or not wanting to understand it because what happened is shocking.

■ En demi-teinte (bittersweet/mixed): an expression meaning that a situation is nuanced. It is neither really good nor really bad. A situation is neither really sad nor really joyful.

■ Le viol (rape): when a person is subjected to forced sexual intercourse, one person forces another to have sex against their will.

■ Les violences sexuelles (sexual violence): assaults against someone, a person subjected to sexual acts without consent. It can be rape, inappropriate touching...

■ Le fugitif (the fugitive): someone who has escaped, who does not want to face justice, who is on the run.

■ Extrader quelqu'un/l'extradition (to extradite someone/extradition): to deliver someone to the police of another country, to send someone back to a country where they committed a crime and will be arrested.

■ La tension (the tension): when there is nervousness, when a situation is not calm, not serene, not peaceful.

■ Être reconnu coupable (to be found guilty): the court has determined that the person was the perpetrator of the acts they were accused of.

■ Condamner à perpétuité (to sentence to life): it means that the court imprisons someone for life, they must remain in prison until death.

■ Le complice (the accomplice): someone who helped another person do something. The accomplice is not the direct perpetrator of the acts, but participated in them.

■ Être acquitté (to be acquitted): the court says one is not guilty.

■ Le ver (the worm): a creature, a small soft animal, an insect without legs.

■ Effectuer des analyses (to carry out analyses): to perform tests. For example, you can carry out blood analyses to check that everything is fine in your body.

■ Vomir (to vomit): being sick and the contents of one's stomach coming back out through one's mouth.