1
Flooding in Pakistan has killed more than 1,000 people
Pakistan's massive floods killed more than 1,000 people
As of 31 August local time, abnormal heavy monsoon① rains and melting glaciers triggered floods that have submerged a third of Pakistan and killed at least 1,191 people, including 399 children. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the flooding “the worst in the history of Pakistan”. Around a half million of those displaced are living in organised camps, while others have had to find their own shelter. Pakistan has received nearly 190% more rain than the past 30-year average in the quarter through August this year, totalling 390.7 mm (15.38 inches). The United Nations has appealed for $160 million to help with what it calls an “unprecedented② climate catastrophe”. Global aid are set to arrive, carrying planeloads of tents, food and medicine from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates as the scale of the devastation unfolded. (Reuters)
As of August 31, local time, Pakistan's unusually strong monsoon rains and flooding caused by melting glaciers have inundated a third of the country's territory, killing at least 1,191 people, including 399 children. Pakistani Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif called the floods the worst in Pakistan's history. Some 500,000 of the displaced are currently living in organized relief camps, while others have had to seek refuge on their own. From June to August this year, Pakistan received nearly 190 percent more precipitation than the average of the past 30 years, accumulating 390.7 millimeters (15.38 inches). The United Nations is appealing to the international community to donate $160 million to tackle "unprecedented climate catastrophe" . As the scope of the disaster expands further, global relief supplies such as tents, food and medicine from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates will arrive by air.
【Notes】
① monsoon: [mɒnˈsu:n] n. the rain that falls during this period 雨季的降雨
(2) unprecedented: [ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd] adj. that has never happened, been done or been known before unprecedented; Unprecedented; There is no precedent
(Credit: The Guardian)
2
Germany rejects Poland’ s claim it owes €1.3tn in war reparations①
Germany rejected Poland's demand for €1.3 trillion in war reparations
Germany has rejected a Polish parliamentary report claiming it owes its eastern neighbour €1.3tn for damages caused during the Second World War, saying the question of wartime reparations is “closed”. “The federal government’s position is unchanged,” a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said on Friday. “In the view of the government this matter is closed”. Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of Poland’s ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, on Thursday presented a report assessing the financial damages caused by Nazi Germany’s invasion and occupation of the country during the Second World War. Speaking on the 83rd anniversary of the invasion in 1939, Kaczyński said a parliamentary committee had calculated the total losses amounted to② 6.2tn złotys, roughly €1.32tn. The German government argues Poland waived③ its right to war reparations in 1953, as part of an agreement in which its eastern bloc④ ally East Germany ceded⑤ territories beyond the Oder-Neisse border to Poland and Russia. According to the foreign ministry, Germany has paid about €74bn in reparations since the end of the war, mostly to Israel and western European states or individuals living in those countries. (The Guardian)
The Polish parliament issued a report saying Germany should pay Poland 1.3 trillion euros in reparations to compensate for the damage it had inflicted on its eastern neighbor during World War II, which Germany rejected, saying the issue of war reparations had been "settled." "The position of the German government has not changed," a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said on September 2, local time, "in Germany's view, this matter is over." Yarosław Kachins, leader of Poland's conservative ruling Law and Justice Party, published a report on September 1 assessing the economic damage caused by Nazi Germany's invasion and occupation of Poland during World War II. On September 1 of this year, the 83rd anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, Kaczynski said that the Polish parliamentary committee calculated the total losses to 6.2 trillion zlotys, or about 1.32 trillion euros. The German government argued that in 1953 Poland had explicitly waived its war claims in an agreement under which Poland's then eastern bloc ally, the GDR, ceded territory beyond the Oder-Neisse border to Poland and Russia. Since the end of World War II, Germany has paid about 74 billion euros in reparations, mostly to Israel and Western European countries and individuals living in them, according to the German Foreign Ministry.
【Notes】
① reparation: [ˌrepəˈreɪʃn] n. money that is paid by a country that has lost a war, for the damage, injuries, etc. that it has caused（战败国的）赔款
② amount to: to add up to sth; to make sth as a total 总计；共计
③ waive: [weɪv] v. to choose not to demand sth in a particular case, even though you have a legal or official right to do so 放弃（权利、要求等）
(4) bloc: [blɒk] n. a group of countries that work closely together because they have similar political interests
⑤ cede: [siːd] v. to give sb control of sth or give them power, a right, etc., especially unwillingly 割让；让给；转让
(Credit: CGTN)
3
Mexico restores large mural “War and Peace” to be displayed at celebration
Mexico restored the large mural "War and Peace" and will be exhibited at the celebrations
The mural “War and Peace” will be on display on three walls of the San Salvador Municipal Building in October 2022. When structural defects in the building and the risk of collapse were reported in 2015, the mural was dismantled① and kept in the Cabañas Museum, which means that it has not been seen since then but, as the restorer comments, “it is in a very good state of conservation, and the intervention is based on building its new frame”. Meanwhile, 40 panelists from Mexico and countries such as Chile, Cuba, France and Argentina will participate the mural celebration. The mural celebration will be approached from the perspectives of heritage, its social dimension, resistance, its validity as public art, gender awareness and public policies. The artists’ manifesto② was to make “ideological propaganda for the good of the people” and give art “a purpose of beauty, of education and combat for all.” (AP News)
The mural "War and Peace" will be on display on three walls of the Municipal Building of San Salvador in October 2022. In 2015, there were reports assessing the building's structural defects and risk of collapse, so the mural was demolished and preserved in the Cabanias Museum, meaning it has not been on public display since then, but as the restorers put it, "it was well preserved, and the restoration was mainly to build a new framework for it". At that time, 40 experts from Mexico and Chile, Cuba, France, Argentina and other countries will participate in the celebration of the mural exhibition. The celebration will explore the work from all angles, including cultural heritage, its social dimensions, resistance, utility as a public art, gender awareness and public policy. The artists' manifesto was "ideological propaganda for the benefit of the people" and endowed art with "the purpose of beauty, education, and fighting for all."
【Notes】
① dismantle: [ dɪsˈmænt(ə)l] v. to take apart a machine or structure so that it is in separate pieces 拆开，拆卸（机器或结构）
② manifesto: [ mænɪˈfestəʊ] n. a written statement in which a group of people, especially a political party, explain their beliefs and say what they will do if they win an election 宣言
(Credit: AP News)
4
US life expectancy falls for second straight year
Life expectancy in the United States has fallen for two consecutive years
The average life expectancy of people in the United States dropped for a second consecutive① year in 2021, with the decline to 76 years and one month representing a fall of almost a full year from 2020, according to a government report released on Wednesday. In the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated American lifespan has shortened by nearly three years. The last comparable decrease happened in the early 1940s, during the height of World War II. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials blamed COVID-19 for about half the decline in 2021, a year when vaccinations became widely available but new coronavirus variants caused waves of hospitalizations and deaths. Other contributors to the decline are longstanding problems: drug overdoses, heart disease, suicide and chronic liver disease. “It’s a dismal② situation. It was bad before and it’s gotten worse,” said Samuel Preston, a University of Pennsylvania demographer. (AP News)
According to a government report released on August 31, life expectancy in the United States fell for the second consecutive year in 2021, falling to 76 years and 1 month, down nearly 1 year from the previous year. In 2020 and 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic is raging, life expectancy in the United States has shortened by nearly 3 years. The last time such a decline occurred was at the height of World War II in the early 1940s. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe that the number one reason for the decline in life expectancy in the United States in 2021 is the covid-19 pandemic. Although vaccination is widely available in 2021, the variant strain of the new crown virus has led to a large number of hospitalizations and deaths. Other causes of decline include long-standing problems such as drug overdose, heart disease, suicide and chronic liver disease. Samuel Preston, a demographer at the University of Pennsylvania, said: "This situation is frustrating. It used to be bad, now it's worse. ”
【Notes】
(1) consecutive: [kənˈsekjətɪv] adj. following one after another in a continuous series continuous, uninterrupted
② dismal: [ˈdɪzməl] adj. (informal) not successful; of very low quality bad, bad
(Credit: AP News)
5
“Zombie ice” from Greenland will raise sea level 10 inches
Greenland's "zombie ice" melts or raises global sea levels by 27 centimeters
Zombie ice from the massive Greenland ice sheet will eventually raise global sea level by at least 10 inches (27 centimeters) on its own, according to a study released Monday. Zombie or doomed ice is ice that is still attached to thicker areas of ice, but is no longer getting fed by those larger glaciers. That’s because the parent glaciers are getting less replenishing① snow. Meanwhile the doomed ice is melting from climate change, said study co-author William Colgan, a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. “It’s dead ice. It’s just going to melt and disappear from the ice sheet. This ice has been consigned② to the ocean, regardless of what climate scenario③ we take now.” Although 10 inches doesn’t sound like much, that’s a global average. Some coastal areas will be hit with more, and high tides and storms on top of that could be even worse, so this much sea level rise “will have huge societal, economic and environmental impacts,” said Ellyn Enderlin, a geosciences professor at Boise State University. (NBC News)
According to a study released on Aug. 29, melting "zombie ice" on Greenland's giant ice sheet alone would raise global sea levels by at least 10 inches (27 centimeters). Zombie ice, also known as dead ice, refers to ice that attaches to thicker glaciers but cannot be replenished by new ice sources. The zombie ice cut off is due to the fact that the mother glacier receives less snowfall replenishment. William Colgen, a glaciologist at the Danish and Greenland Geological Survey, said that at the same time, dead ice is melting due to climate change. "It's dead ice that will melt and disappear from the ice sheet. Regardless of the climate regimen that humans adopt now, this ice will eventually melt into the ocean. "While 10 inches doesn't sound like much, it's the global average. Erin Endering, a professor of earth sciences at Boise State University in the United States, said that some coastal areas will be more affected, in addition, large tides and storms may become more severe, so that sea levels will rise by this magnitude "will have a huge impact on society, economy and the environment."
【Notes】
① replenish: [rɪˈplenɪʃ] v. to make sth full again by replacing what has been used 补充；重新装满
② consign: [kənˈsaɪn] v. ~ sb/sth to sthto put sb/sth somewhere in order to get rid of them/it （为摆脱而）把…… 置于，把…… 交付给
③ scenario: [səˈnɑːriəʊ] n. a description of how things might happen in the future 设想；方案；预测
(Credit: China Daily)
6
Xi hails role of CIFTIS as key platform
Xi Jinping praised the China International Fair for Trade in Services as an important platform
The 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing from Wednesday to Monday marks the 10th year that China is hosting the fair. Covering an exhibition area of more than 15,200 square meters and focusing on nine themes, including financial, educational, healthcare and supply chain management services, this year’s CIFTIS will see booths set up by more than 1,400 enterprises, including 446 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders, said the Ministry of Commerce. In a letter to congratulate the opening of the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing, Xi said the CIFTIS is a crucial platform for China to expand opening-up, deepen cooperation and pioneer innovation. China is ready to work with other countries to uphold real multilateralism, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. (China Daily)
The 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services was held in Beijing from August 31 to September 5, the 10th year that China has hosted the fair. The Ministry of Commerce said that the exhibition area of this year's service trade fair is more than 15,200 square meters, focusing on 9 themes such as finance, education, medical care and supply chain management services, and more than 1,400 companies will set up booths, including 446 Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders. President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the opening of the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing, pointing out that the Service Trade Fair is an important platform for China to expand opening up, deepen cooperation and lead innovation. China is willing to work with all countries in the world to uphold genuine multilateralism, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation.
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(Credit: Xinhua)
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