News of the week

• Top Iranian regime general killed by US [spp-timestamp time="00:00:43″]
• Australia ravaged by terrible fires [spp-timestamp time="00:01:45″]
• Former Renaud-Nissan director escapes Japan to avoid trial [spp-timestamp time="00:02:48″]
• Anti-abortion, anti-PMA ad campaign pulled from Paris metro [spp-timestamp time="00:04:05″]
• Explanation of the week's vocabulary [spp-timestamp time="00:04:53″]

Every Saturday, HelloFrench publishes a podcast that immerses you in the news of the week. Each press review is accompanied by a transcriptionof a vocabulary list and a quizto help you 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 December 29, 2019 - January 4, 2020

1. Tensions between the US and Iran. One of the Iranian regime's top generals killed by an American raid.
2. Australia ravaged by terrible fires. An area equivalent to twice the size of Belgium has already gone up in smoke. 
3. Carlos Ghosn, ex-director of Renaud-Nissan, flees Japan and takes refuge in Lebanon to avoid his trial. 
4. In Paris, an anti-abortion and anti-PMA advertising campaign removed from the metro.

Tensions are running high between Iran and the United States. General Soleimani, one of the Iranian regime's top generals, was killed by an American drone strike in Iraq on Friday. The order to [tooltips keyword="assassinate" content="murder"] the warlord was given by Donald Trump alone, without consulting Congress. Very popular in Iran, the general was considered the symbol of Iranian foreign policy. The Islamic State guarantees a [tooltips keyword="vengeance" content="revenge"] in [tooltips keyword="retaliation" content="retaliation"] of the American action. Bombs have already fallen this Saturday in Baghdad in the area of the American embassy and on a base housing American soldiers. No casualties were reported. Americans, for their part, are divided. Pro-Trump supporters consider the President's decision courageous and necessary. Democrats, on the other hand, are voicing strong opposition, and demonstrations are taking place in the streets. They fear an [tooltips keyword="escalation" content="escalation"] of violence between the two countries. On social networks, there is even talk of World War 3.

Since September, Australia has been [tooltips keyword="fires" content="fires"] [tooltips keyword="ravagent" content="devastate"]. 6 million hectares, an area twice the size of Belgium, has already been completely [tooltips keyword="partie en fumée" content="go up in smoke"]. Far from calming down, the situation could last for several months yet. The cause? Global warming, leading to a longer and stronger fire season. At least 23 people have lost their lives and more than 480 million animals have died. This estimate only takes into account [tooltips keyword="oiseaux " content="birds"], reptiles and [tooltips keyword="mammifères " content="mammals"]. The toll could be much higher if we add insects, [tooltips keyword="frogs" content="frogs"] or [tooltips keyword="bat" content="bat"]. One thing's for sure, these fires will have a huge impact on Australia's ecosystem. Since Friday January 4, hundreds of people [tooltips keyword="trapped" content="trapped"] in a town in the south of the country, surrounded by flames, have begun to be evacuated by boat. More than 100,000 people in the south-east of the island have already been forced to leave their homes to escape the forest fires. 

A [tooltips keyword="leak " content="escape"] worthy of a James Bond movie for the former [tooltips keyword="PDG " content="CEO"] of the Renaud-Nissan Alliance, Carlos Ghosn. Suspected of [tooltips keyword="embezzlement" content="Embezzlement"] between 2011 and 2015, he was arrested in Japan in November 2018. After several months in detention, then a [tooltips keyword="house arrest" content="under house arrest"] in Tokyo, with a ban on seeing his wife or speaking to his son, the businessman was awaiting his trial in spring 2020. After learning that his trial would be postponed and would not take place this year, he decided to put into practice a plan to organize his escape. Last Sunday, he fled to Lebanon, his family's home country. In a press release, Carlos Ghosn explained that he had set up this operation to avoid what he saw as unfair Japanese justice. The former boss boarded a private jet and flew via Turkey to Beirut. Many areas remain unclear as to how he organized his escape. These [tooltips keyword="zones d'ombres" content="grey zones"] leave room for many theories, such as the following: Carlos Ghosn organized a concert at his home and hid in a musical instrument case to be taken to the airport. A theory denied by his entourage.

In Paris, an anti-[tooltips keyword="avortement " content="abortion"] and anti-[tooltips keyword="PMA " content="medically-assisted procreation"] advertising campaign in train and metro stations has sparked controversy this week. While parliament voted in favor of a law [tooltips keyword="en faveur " content="support"] medically-assisted procreation for all women and it will soon be debated in the Senate, the pro-life association "Alliance-Vita" decided to hit back. Slogans include "Society will only progress if it respects life" and "Society will only progress if it respects motherhood". [tooltips keyword="Indignée " content="outraged"], like many other Internet users, the Mayor of Paris has called for the immediate withdrawal of this poster campaign from stations and subways.

Vocabulary of the week

Enrich your French vocabulary, download our list of key words for the week of December 29, 2019 to January 4, 2020.

🎖The general, the generals (plural) He's the highest-ranking person in the army.

⚰️Assassiner (verb) to assassinate someone means to kill them, to make them die.

✈️The drone It is a very small plane without pilot, which is piloted by remote control. It can be equipped with a camera, to film, or weapon.

👀Revenge It is the fact of taking revenge, of committing acts against someone who has done us wrong.

🙅Retaliation It's a retaliation, it's what you're going to do to get back at someone. Generally, violent actions.

👱The victim It is a person who suffers an accident, who will suffer a situation or the actions of someone.

📈Climbing (expression) as in "escalating violence": it means that a situation is getting worse, getting worse, getting stronger. In this context, it means escalating violence. The word "escalade" is more often used to refer to the sport of climbing.

🔥The fire It's a big fire that causes a lot of damage.

😱Ravager (verb) something or someone destroys, damages or devastates a place or a person.

🔥To leave in smoke (verb and expression) There's nothing left, everything has been destroyed by fire. This expression is also used figuratively to say that there's no hope left. For example, you might say: "I've lost my voice, my dream of becoming a singer is going up in smoke." 

🐦Bird: is a type of animal with feathers, wings and a beak. Birds generally fly.

🐨🐕🐒🦁Mammal: is a type of animal that, like humans, nurses. Examples include koalas, kangaroos, cows, dogs...

🐍🦎Reptile: is a type of animal covered with scales. Examples include snakes, lizards, crocodiles...

🐝🐛The insect: a small animal with six legs, often with wings. Examples include flies, bees, ants...

🐸The frog :

🦇The bat:

🔐To be tricked, to trick someone (verb) : It means you've been tricked, you can't get out of a situation or a place. You're caught in a trap, a pitfall, and so you're having trouble getting out.

🌾Ecosystem: it's an environment with all the species that live in it.

🏃Evacuate (verb): leave a place. 

👨‍💼Le CEO: is the boss of a company, the leader, the head of a company.

🏃Take flight (verb + expression): to leave, to escape, to evade. Generally, we flee because we want to avoid someone or some situation.

💸Embezzlement: is when you steal money from your company, from the state if you work for it, or from someone who trusted you to manage their money.

⛓Detention: is when you're put in prison, the fact of being in prison.

🏠Being under house arrest: This means that you are obliged by the law to live in a specific place. Usually, this means your home, which becomes a kind of prison. 

🌫Blurred areas, shadowy areas (expression): we use these expressions to say that everything is not clear, we do not have a perfect visibility on how the situation happened. 

🤰🏽Abortion: is the act of terminating a pregnancy while pregnant. Abortion can be natural or induced. It is also called abortion: voluntary interruption of pregnancy. 

💉PMA: medically assisted reproduction. These are medical techniques to help fertility, procreation. 

👍Be in favor of of something or someone: it means you're for it, you agree with an idea.

😳Being outraged: to be shocked by a situation, to be scandalized.