The news of the week of February 23 to 29, 2020

• Afghanistan: a historic [tooltips keyword="agreement" content="agreement"] signed between the United States and the Taliban. [spp-timestamp time=”00:00:44″]
• [tooltips keyword="sanitary pads" content="sanitary products"] [tooltips keyword="free" content="free"] for women in Scotland. [spp-timestamp time=”00:01:40″]
• Polanski awarded at César Awards in France. [spp-timestamp time=”00:02:10″]
• Death of Hosni Mubarak. [spp-timestamp time=”00:03:30″]
• Bugs found in baby milk packages. [spp-timestamp time=”00:04:34″]
• Explanation of the week's vocabulary

Every week, HelloFrench publishes a podcast that immerses you in the news of the week. Each press review is accompanied by a transcript, a vocabulary list and a quiz, so you can improve your French and test yourself.

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Transcription

Hello,

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

In the spotlight for this week of February 23-29, 2020

• Afghanistan: a historic agreement signed between the United States and the Taliban.
• In Scotland, sanitary protection is now free for all women.
• The filmmaker Roman Polanski awarded three times at the César Awards: awards that generate anger and incomprehension.
• Death of the 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="soldiers" content="soldiers"] from the country. The text also calls for the opening of negotiations between the different movements in the country. The withdrawal of U.S. troops will begin immediately, with 8,600 of the current 13,000 troops to be withdrawn within 135 days. This 18-year war is the longest the United States has ever fought. For their part, the Taliban must respect their [tooltips keyword="commitments" content="commitments"]: not to threaten the security of the United States and its allies and to carry out negotiations within the country itself. Driven out of power in Afghanistan by America after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Taliban are in constant conflict with the Afghan people.

Victory for women's rights in Scotland. The © are now free for all women. The parliament has indeed voted a law that allows to give free tampons and sanitary pads in pharmacies or shelters that are part of the distribution network. This operation, which helps to fight against menstrual [tooltips keyword="poverty" content="poverty"] and to promote gender equality, is costing the Scottish government 29 million euros.

A ceremony of César of French cinema in half-tone this Friday. The director Roman Polanski was nominated in 12 categories for his film "J'accuse". Rewarded by 3 César, including best director, many actors and actresses said they were disgusted by these awards. Accused of the [tooltips keyword="rape" content="rape"] of a 13-year-old girl in 1977, the director had fled the United States to avoid his trial, where he faced a sentence of up to 50 years in prison. Now accused of [tooltips keyword="sexual abuse" content="sexual abuses"] by 12 women, Polanski is still considered a fugitive by INTERPOL. He has the right to travel to three countries that cannot [tooltips keyword="extradite" content="deliver"] him: France, Poland and Switzerland. These awards have therefore been a vector of great tension and misunderstanding by both the film world and the general public. The director's team was not present at the ceremony, given the tensions that these nominations caused. Also 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="resign" content="resign"] during the Arab Spring. First president to be tried in court, he was [tooltips keyword="life sentence" content="life sentence"] for being [tooltips keyword="accomplice" content="associate"] in the death of 846 protesters during the Egyptian revolution. He had finally been acquitted in 2017.

Some [tooltips keyword="worm" content="worm"] found in baby milk packages in France. Several parents have indeed found these insects in the cans of powdered milk. Danone, the manufacturer, asked the families to send them the cans in order to carry out analyses and understand how these insects got there. 5 000 families were concerned 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 23-29, 2020.

■ Agreement: people, after discussions, find a compromise, all say "yes" to a decision. We also use the expression "okay", in everyday life, to say yes: "- Is it okay if we eat a pizza? - Okay".

■ Negotiations: when people who don't have the same opinion talk to make a decision together, decide together and thus agree.

■ Immediately: right away, without waiting.

■ Commitment: the promise to do something, when you say you will do something.

■ Sanitary protection: the products used by women during their periods, during their menstruation.

■ The tampon: it is a hygienic protection, a compact piece of cotton that women can insert to prevent blood from flowing during their period. The blood will be sponged, captured by this small mass of cotton.

■ The sanitary napkin: this is a protection that women use during their period. It is an absorbent strip to put in her underwear.

■ Gender equality: this is parity between men and women, the fact that women and men are equal, that there are no differences between them in society.

■ To fight against: to fight against something.

■ Free/free: it's not paid for, you don't have to give money, it's offered.

■ Menstrual precariousness: the precariousnessMenstrual precariousness is when you are in a difficult situation, usually because you don't have much money. Menstrual precariousness refers to women who are too poor to afford sanitary protection and are therefore forced to miss school or work during their periods.

■ The pharmacy: it is a store, a store where we go to get medicine to treat ourselves or hygiene products like soap, skin creams...

■ Reward: it's a prize you get, a trophy you get for something you've done. For example, in a contest, one can be rewarded.

■ Anger: is when you are angry, really not happy. It's a feeling.

■ Misunderstanding: one does not understand a situation or does not want to understand it because what happened is shocking.

■ In half-tone: this is an expression that means that a situation is nuanced. It is neither really good nor really bad. A situation is neither really sad nor really happy.

■ Rape: is when a person undergoes forced sexual intercourse, one person forces another to have sex with them against their will.

■ Sexual violence: this is an assault on someone, a person is subjected to sexual acts without consent. It can be a rape, touching...

■ Fugitive: someone who has escaped, who does not want to face justice, who is on the run.

■ To extradite someone/extradition: to hand someone over to the police of another country, to send someone back to a country where they have committed a crime and are going to be arrested.

■ Tension: is when there is nervousness, when a situation is not calm, not serene, not appeased.

■ Being found guilty: the justice system said that he was the perpetrator of the acts he was accused of.

■ Life sentence: it means that justice imprisons someone for life, he must stay in prison until he dies.

■ Accomplice: one helped a person do something. The accomplice is not the direct perpetrator, but participated in the act.

■ Being acquitted: justice says you are not guilty.

■ The worm: it is a beast, a small, squishy animal, an insect that has no legs.

■ Performing tests: doing tests. For example, we can run blood tests, to make sure that everything in our body is fine.

■ Vomiting: we are sick and the contents of our stomach come out through our mouth.