ニュースで学ぶ現代英語 23/7/24-28
ニュースで学ぶ現代英語 23/7/24-28
ニュースで学ぶ現代英語 23/7/24 (月) 米のクラスター爆弾供与 ＮＡＴＯ内で温度差
NATO DIVIDED ON U.S. CLUSTER BOMBS FOR UKRAINE
2023年7月10日のニュース
NATO members Spain and Canada have expressed opposition to the U.S. decision to provide cluster bombs to Ukraine.
Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said Madrid respects the decision of a sovereign country but disagrees with the move. And Canada said it does not support the use of cluster munitions.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions banning the weapons has been ratified by 23 of 31 NATO members. The United States and Turkey are among those that have not signed it. Neither Russia nor Ukraine are signatories.
Cluster munitions disperse smaller bomblets that sometimes fail to explode. That poses a long-term risk to civilians.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak emphasized his country is a signatory to the convention.
(Rishi Sunak / British Prime Minister)
“The U.K. is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use.”
ニュースで学ぶ現代英語 23/7/25 (火) 浅草 夏の風物詩“ほおずき市”
TOKYO TEMPLE MARKS SUMMER WITH LANTERN PLANT FAIR
2023年7月9日のニュース
A traditional fair featuring Chinese lantern plants is underway in Tokyo’s historic Asakusa district.
The Hozuki Fair has been held for more than 200 years at the Senso-ji temple to mark the arrival of summer. Visitors bought potted plants with orange-red seedpods that look like paper lanterns. It used to be said that adults and children could recover from illness if they swallowed one of the berries.
(Visitor)
“I bought a plant so my grandchild will grow up healthy.”
(Visitor)
“I’ll give this lantern plant to my grandmother. I want to thank her for everything.”
The market will be held until Monday. According to tradition, anyone who goes to the temple on this date can receive blessings worth 46,000 days of visits.
ニュースで学ぶ現代英語 23/7/26 (水)
タリバン 美容院を閉鎖
TALIBAN SAY BEAUTY SALONS ARE UN-ISLAMIC
2023年7月7日のニュース
Taliban authorities in Afghanistan say they banned beauty salons in the country because the services they offer, including plucking eyebrows, are against Islamic law. The group’s decision is the latest in a series of decrees restricting the lives of Afghan women and girls.
The Taliban said earlier this week salons must close and ordered officials in Kabul to cancel their business permits.
A spokesperson for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice explained the reason for the ban in a video clip released Thursday. He said enhancing a woman’s hair with other people’s hair and plucking eyebrows contradicts sharia law.
The Taliban have been curtailing the rights and freedoms of women and girls in the fields of employment and education since they returned to power in 2021. In most parts of the country, girls may only attend elementary schools.
ニュースで学ぶ現代英語 23/7/27 (木)
新ＳＮＳ“スレッズ” 登録者数１億人突破
META’S TWITTER RIVAL THREADS HITS 100 MILLION USERS
2023年7月11日のニュース
U.S. tech giant Meta’s microblogging app Threads has topped 100 million registered users. The Twitter rival was released just five days ago.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the milestone in a Threads post on Monday. He said he was surprised at how fast people were signing up and that growth was due to “mostly organic demand.”
Meta released Threads last Wednesday. It was immediately available in over 100 countries, including Japan.
U.S. media reports say the app reached 100 million users faster than any other platform in history, beating out ChatGPT, which hit the mark in two months. Video-sharing app TikTok took nine months to reach the milestone, while Meta’s own Instagram took more than two years.
The operator of Twitter has suggested it will take legal action over Threads, which is similar in function and appearance to its platform.
ニュースで学ぶ現代英語 23/7/28 (金)
トランスジェンダーのトイレ訴訟 最高裁判決
TOP COURT: RESTROOM RESTRICTIONS FOR TRANS WOMAN ILLEGAL
2023年7月11日のニュース
Next, a landmark ruling for Japan’s LGBTQ community. The country’s Supreme Court has ruled a workplace’s restriction on which bathroom a transgender employee could use was not legal.
The case involves a worker at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The transgender woman filed a suit in 2015 after she was banned by her government office from using certain women’s restrooms.
A district court found those restrictions to be illegal, but the Tokyo High Court later overturned that ruling.
On Tuesday, Japan’s top court ruled against the bathroom restriction. It says the workplace caused significant inconvenience for the plaintiff while placing excessive priority on the feelings of other employees.
It’s the first time Japan’s Supreme Court has ruled on a case regarding LGBTQ employees in the workplace.
