World and Press March 2
March 2 2023 • No 6 • 75th Year of Publication • Original Pressetexte aus britischen und US-amerikanischen Medien € 3,00 [d] Sprachtraining • Landeskunde • Vokabelhilfen • Übungsmaterial IN FOCUS B2–C2 • Opinion: After the hoopla, all that’s left is the NFL’s violence • Science: A WWII weapons bunker has a new mission Pages 2/3 USA • Texas: Why do we still celebrate Texas Independence Day? • Business: Exxon ‘predicted climate crisis but deceived public’ Pages 4/10 BRITAIN • Church of England: How far will its historic slavery fund stretch? • Scotland: A community crofting experiment to help repopulate the Highlands Pages 6/7 OTHER TOPICS • Entertainment: ‘Based on a true story’ (except the parts that aren’t) • Society: As Asian societies age, ‘retirement’ just means more work • Jobs: Lying for the job – is it worth the risk? • Communication: Americans are making a new dash for Morse code Die Nr.1 unter den Vokabeltrainern. Pages 8/9/11/14 Get the vocabulary trainer! www.phase6.de/wp/0623 | Photo: New York Times Residents of Earle, Ark., elected 18-year-old Jaylen Smith as mayor. They hope that his energy and sense of purpose can improve the town’s fortunes. Read more on page 5 A nonprofit in Montana is working to restore the shortgrass prairie, where bison and their complex and productive ecosystem can thrive again. Read more on page 13 The war in Ukraine, one year on: An even more dangerous phase may await EDITORIAL • UKRAINE As Ukraine braces for Russia’s spring offensive, weapons are slow in arriving, and political strains among Western supporters are increasing. Observer editorial Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shakes hands with US President Joe Biden in Kyiv on 20 Feb. 2023. | Photo: Sven Simon/The Presidential Office of Ukraine/Picture Alliance 1 RUSSIA’S full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began a year ago this week, was an extraordinary and unexpected event that has changed the world in which we live. Long-held assumptions about peace in Europe, post-Cold War relations with Moscow, and NATO’s diminished standing were shattered overnight. The war has revolutionised German defence policy, silenced French talk of “strategic autonomy”, boosted EU unity, revived US commitment to the transatlantic alliance, dramatised the global North-South divide, reduced the UN to the role of hand-wringing bystander, and given the UK an opportunity, after Brexit, to show it still has an international role to play. 2 The fallout from Russia’s illegal, unprovoked attack, ordered by its president, Vladimir Putin, has caused immense economic and social disruption reaching beyond Europe. Vital grain exports from Ukraine to Middle Eastern and African countries faced a Black Sea naval blockade. Fragile, post-COVID global supply chains were further damaged, fuelling a cost of living crisis. Europe’s over-dependence on Russian gas and oil was painfully exposed. As Western sanctions bit, Putin deliberately weaponised energy prices, attempted nuclear blackmail, and sought a closer alliance with China. Under air and missile attack, millions of refugees fled Ukraine. Thousands of civilians have died – and are still dying. 3 The war has revealed the divided loyalties and moral confusion of many fence-sitting | Photo: New York Times governments, including India, Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey. It also delivered a cruel blow to the foundations of international law: the UN Charter and a paralysed Security Council. While both sides are accused of atrocities, the behaviour of many Russian soldiers, involving murder, torture, and systemic rape, has been and is appalling. Investigations into Russian war crimes, genocide, and the crime of aggression are in train. But it remains uncertain whether those chiefly responsible, from Putin down, will face justice. 4 The fact the sovereign, democratic nation of Ukraine has survived, unbowed and unconquered, is possibly the most remarkable outcome of the conflict so far. Few expected it to hold out for more than a few days. Then again, few expected the mighty Russian army to perform as incompetently as it did in the weeks after 24 February 2022. It squandered the advantages of superior numbers and surprise, lost vast amounts of men and materiel, and was forced, humiliatingly, to withdraw north of Kyiv. Last autumn, it suffered additional, significant battlefield reverses. The performance of Ukraine’s defenders has been inspirational and heroic. Continued on page 12 Die Nr.1 unter den Vokabeltrainern. €3,50 [a] CHF5,40 [ch] 0 – 1 TO BRACEfor s.th. s. für etw. wappnen — assumption Annahme — to diminish verringern; abschwächen — defence policy Verteidigungspolitik — to revive wiederbeleben — North- South divide Nord-Süd-Gefälle — bystander Zuschauer(in) 2 fallout Auswirkungen — disruption (fig) Verwerfung — vital lebensnotwendig — naval blockade Seeblockade — supply chain Liefer kette — cost of living Lebenshaltungskosten — overdependence übermäßige Abhängigkeit — to bite spürbar werden — nuclear blackmail h.: Drohung, Atomwaffen einzusetzen — air and missile attack Luft- und Raketenangriff 3 fence-sitting unentschlossen; neutral — foundations Grundfesten — international law Völkerrecht — to paralyse lähmen — atrocity Gräueltat — torture Folter — appalling entsetzlich — in train im Gange — chiefly in erster Linie — to face justice zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden 4 sovereign souverän — unbowed (fig) ungebrochen — unconquered unbesiegt — mighty mächtig — to squander vertun — superior numbers Übermacht; Überzahl — materiel Wehrmaterial — humiliatingly auf erniedrigende Weise — to withdraw abziehen — battlefield reverse Niederlage auf dem Schlachtfeld
