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

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

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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 the withdrawal of American [tooltips keyword="soldats " content="soldiers"] from the country. The text also calls for the opening of negotiations between the various movements present in the country. The withdrawal of U.S. troops will begin immediately, down to 8,600 of the current 13,000 within 135 days. This 18-year war is the longest the United States has ever waged. For their part, the Taliban must respect their [tooltips keyword="engagements" content="commitments"]: not to threaten the security of the USA and its allies, and to bring negotiations within the country to a successful conclusion. Driven from power in Afghanistan by America after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Taliban are in constant conflict with the Afghan population.

Victory for women's rights in Scotland. The © are now free for all women. Parliament has passed a law allowing tampons and [tooltips keyword="sanitary pads" content="sanitary pads"] to be donated free of charge in pharmacies and shelters that are part of the distribution network. This operation, which helps to combat menstrual [tooltips keyword="precariousness" content="poverty"] and promote gender equality, has cost the Scottish government 29 million euros.

The César ceremony for French cinema was a mixed bag on Friday. Director Roman Polanski was nominated in 12 categories for his film "J'accuse". Winner of 3 Césars, including Best Director, many actors and actresses were disgusted by the awards. Accused of the [tooltips keyword="viol" content="rape"] of a 13-year-old girl in 1977, the director fled the USA to avoid his trial, where he faced a sentence of up to 50 years' imprisonment. Now accused of [tooltips keyword="violences sexuelles" content="sexual abuses"] by 12 women, Polanski is still considered a fugitive by INTERPOL. He has the right to travel to three countries which cannot [tooltips keyword="extrader " content="deliver"] him: France, Poland and Switzerland. The awards were therefore a source of great tension and misunderstanding for both the film world and the general public. In fact, the director's team did not attend the ceremony, in view of the tensions generated by the nominations. 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 ruled the country from 1981 to 2011, forced to [tooltips keyword="resign " content="resign"] during the Arab Spring. The first president to stand trial, he was [tooltips keyword="life sentence" content="life sentence"] for being [tooltips keyword="accomplice" content="associate"] in the deaths of 846 demonstrators during the Egyptian revolution. He was finally acquitted in 2017.

Insects [tooltips keyword="vers " content="worm"] found in baby milk packs in France. Several parents have found these insects in cans of powdered milk. Danone, the manufacturer, asked families to send in the cans for analysis and to find out how the bugs got there. 5,000 families were affected, and one of the babies even vomited up 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 "d'accord", in everyday life, to say yes: "- Is it okay if we eat a pizza? - D'accord".

■ 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're going to 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're in a difficult situation, usually because you don't have much money. The term "menstrual precariousness" is used to describe 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: this is a prize you receive, a trophy you get for something you've done. For example, in the context of a competition, you can be rewarded.

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

■ Incomprehension: we don't understand a situation or we don't want to understand it because what has happened is shocking.

■ En demi-teinte: this expression 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.

■ An accomplice: someone has helped someone else to do something. The accomplice is not the direct perpetrator of the act, but has participated in it.

■ Being acquitted: justice says you're 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.