World and Press February 2
February 2 2022 • No 4 • 74th Year of Publication • Original Pressetexte aus britischen und US-amerikanischen Medien € 2,50 [d] Sprachtraining • Landeskunde • Vokabelhilfen • Übungsmaterial IN FOCUS B2–C2 • Opinion: At last, a sports body puts an athlete first | Photo: Picture Alliance European countries desperate for a long-term and reliable source of energy to help reach ambitious climate goals are turning to nuclear power. Read more on page 3 Since the 1940s, British voters have gradually lost faith in their political leaders, raising questions about the health of the UK’s democratic system. Read more on page 7 | Photo: Picture Alliance Page 2 USA • Society: America’s next wave of opioid misery is already here • Climate: Roundabouts in Carmel, Indiana Pages 4/5 BRITAIN • Housing: Scottish islanders launch Airbnb rival • Charity: BBC News weatherman raises over million in drumathon Pages 6/16 OTHER TOPICS • Zimbabwe: Children can walk to school as landmines cleared • Barbados: Country cuts ties with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II • Australia: Avocado glut leaves farmers crushed • Football: What you need to know about the Qatar World Cup • Science: The Double Asteroid Redirection Test Pages 8/9/11/12/13 Get the vocabulary trainer! www.phase6.de/wp/0422 Is Putin bluffing on Ukraine? GEOPOLITICS The United States and Britain suggest a conflict is imminent, but some European allies disagree. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before their meeting in Geneva in January to negotiate a solution regarding Ukraine. | Photo: Getty Images By Adam Taylor 1 WHEN IT comes to assessing the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, there is a major geopolitical divide. The United States, along with its ever-close foreign policy ally Britain, has warned that Russian troops massing on the border of Ukraine suggest that Moscow could start a major conflict on European soil. And yet even with this risk, some European nations closer to the action remain skeptical. 2 Germany has been particularly resistant to the prevailing wisdom in Washington and London. Berlin has ruled out supplying Ukraine with defensive weapons so far; British Royal Air Force planes even avoided German airspace when delivering antitank weapons to Ukraine, instead taking a longer route over the North Sea and Denmark. 3 There are many reasons for the divide, but one key difference is in views of the Russian president and his intentions, according to Liana Fix, an expert on Russia at Berlin’s Körber Foundation. Many in Europe think Vladimir Putin is bluffing, she said. “In Europe, the perception was that Russia is building up the military threat to gain concessions,” Fix, currently on a sabbatical in Washington as a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, [said]. “Whereas the perception here seems to be that military escalation is perhaps the most probable path ahead.” … 4 There are plenty of officials and experts who believe that Russia does not seek a conflict and its military buildup is a ploy designed to force concessions from the West. However, there is disagreement on whether his de- mands, which include an end to the eastern expansion of military alliance NATO, should be met. 5 Historian and military strategist Edward Luttwak wrote on Twitter last week that Putin was “bluffing” on Ukraine, as invading the country would start a war that it “cannot afford to fight.” “To invade Europe’s largest country with less than 200,000 troops would not end the crisis victoriously for Russia,” Luttwak wrote, adding that even if no European country will send troops, “they will send weapons.” 6 Russia has surprised everyone and began major international aggression before under Putin – Chechnya from 1999, Georgia in 2008, Syria from 2015, and even not-so-covertly in breakaway regions of Ukraine from 2014 – and still frequently engages in lowerlevel international acts. But a fullscale invasion of an enormous country – which borders the European Union, is well-supplied with Western arms, and has a largely hostile population – may be a very different proposition. 7 Russian officials have capitalized on this uncertainty, accusing the United States and its allies of “hysteria” on Monday. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last week that Russia would not take any aggressive actions at all. “We will not attack, raid, or invade Ukraine,” he told Russian media. And some European officials appear to have doubts about the U.S. and U.K. accounts, too. Continued on page 12 Die Nr.1 unter den Vokabeltrainern. €2,80 [a] CHF4,50 [ch] 0 – 1 TO BE IMMINENT“"ImIn´nt‘ bevorstehen — allies “"œlaIz‘ Verbündete — to assess “´"ses‘ einschätzen — divide Kluft — foreign policy Außenpolitik — to mass h.: zus.ziehen 2 to be resistant s. widersetzen — prevailing vorherrschend — wisdom Weisheit; h.: Einschätzung — to rule out ausschließen — defensive weapons “dI"fensIv‘ Verteidigungswaffen — airspace Luftraum — antitank weapons Panzerabwehrwaffen 3 – 4 intention Absicht — foundation Stiftung — perception “p´"sepS´n‘ Wahrnehmung; Sichtweise — threat Bedrohung; (fig) Drohkulisse — to gain concessions “k´n"seS´nz‘ Zugeständnisse erhalten — official Regierungsmitarbeiter(in) — to seek anstreben — military buildup Aufrüstung — ploy Trick — to force erzwingen — to meet demands Forderungen nachkommen 5 – 6 historian “hI"stO…ri´n‘ Historiker(in) — military strategist “"strœt´dZIst‘ Militärstratege(-in) — to invade a country in ein Land einfallen — victoriously “vIk"tO…ri´sli‘ siegreich — Chechnya “"tSetSnI´‘ Tschetschenien — not-so-covertly “"k´Uv‰…tli‘ nicht ganz so heimlich — breakaway “"--Æ-‘ abtrünnig — full-scale invasion Großinvasion — well-supplied gut versorgt — hostile “"hÅstaIl‘ feindselig — proposition Unterfangen 7 to capitalize on s.th. aus etw. Kapital schlagen — uncertainty “øn"s‰…t´nti‘ Ungewissheit — to accuse s.o. of s.th. “´"kju…z‘ jdm. etw. vorwerfen — hysteria “hI"stI´ri´‘ Hysterie — Deputy Foreign Minister stellv. Außenminister(in) — to raid überfallen — account Darstellung
