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Petits textes de l'actualité27 novembre 2006 Warm tributes have been paid to one of France's best-loved actors Philippe Noiret, who has died at the age of 76 after a long illness. "A giant has left us," said French President Jacques Chirac, who described Noiret as "one of the masters of stage and screen," and "one of the most outstanding and captivating figures of theatre and cinema." Noiret, whose trademark hangdog face delighted audiences, began in the theatre making his big-screen debut in the mid 1950s. Over five decades, a string of cinema hits followed, including the hugely popular Franco-Italian comedy "Cinema Paradiso" in 1988. He was given France's highest honour, the "Legion d'Honneur" last year. It was the 1967 production "Alexandre le Bienheureux" in which Noiret starred as a gentle, dreamy farmer that first brought him widespread popular acclaim. He appeared in some 125 films from popular comedies to art house dramas.• tribute : hommage • outstanding : exceptionnel, remarquable • figure : personnage (dans un film) • hangdog : chien battu • audience : public 20 novembre 2006 Fans had been waiting for hours in the rain to catch a glimpse of the happy couple as Tom Cruise tied the knot with Katie Holmes. It was a fairytale setting in Bracciano, just north of Rome. A galaxy of famous guests witnessed the exchange of vows: Jenifer Lopez, John Travolta, Brooke Shields, although David Beckham couldn't make the ceremony as he had to play football. Some fans were left a little disappointed though not to see much of the newlyweds as they whizzed past in their wedding carriages. "I guess it's understandable, after all it's their wedding but they could have made a little appearance," lamented one young girl. "Hey Tommy, come to the window so we can all come home and get some sleep!" shouted another from the crowd. With costumes designed by Armani and music from Andrea Bocelli, all at an estimated total cost of around 2 million euros, it was surely a day neither the bride nor the groom will ever forget.• to catch a glimpse : entrevoir • to tie the knot : se marier • vow : serment, promesse, voeux • newlyweds : jeunes mariés • to whizz : filer, passer à toute allure 13 novembre 2006 The remodelled two-seater version of the Smart car has been unveiled in Stuttgart, Germany. After stopping the production of three other models, makers Daimler-Chrysler are launching the car in the US in 2008. CEO Dieter Zetsche defends the move; "Without any doubt, rising petrol prices have woken up US car-buyers. And Smart is a great solution thanks to its low fuel consumption." Although economical, the Smart can be out-done in kilometers per litre by other cars. With manufacturing costs cut by 12 per cent, Smart hopes to soak up reported losses of nearly 3 billion euros since launching in 1998. Some analysts are sceptical, saying the car is designed to solve a European problem Americans do not have, a lack of space.• to unveil : dévoiler, inaugurer • maker : fabricant • to out-do : surpasser • to soak up : absorber • lack : manque 6 novembre 2006 Passengers flying from European airports are getting used to new rules on how much liquid they can take in their hand luggage. Drinks and items like shampoo and toothpaste are limited to 100 millilitres per container with no more containers than would fit in a one-litre plastic bag. Brussels airport's communication manager Jan Van der Cruysse said: "Probably in the coming weeks and months this is going to become a part of natural life when a passenger flies. They will have to live with the new rules. Passengers already know that they would not be allowed to take scissors and knives on board an aircraft."• to get used to : s'habituer à • item : article • to fit in : tenir dans 30 octobre 2006 A defiant Fidel Castro has issued more footage of himself, as proof that he is on the road to recovery after intestinal surgery. The Cuban leader - appearing in a sports tracksuit -is seen walking freely and heard speaking clearly. His message was to those he called 'enemies' who had declared him dead. "I'm not worried. They said I was dead. Nonsense. But what they say is what keeps me working and fighting." These are the first images released of Castro for six weeks. He carried a copy of the day's newspaper to prove the date. He reveals that he is still active in government decisions and up-to-date with current events before signing off with the words: "Thank you very much. Homeland or death."• defiant : provocateur • footage : séquence filmée • tracksuit : survêtement • up-to-date : à jour, au courant • to sign off : conclure 23 octobre 2006 October 23, 1956 was the date that angry local protests in Hungary turned into a full-blown revolution involving 200,000 people. Hungarians rebelled against Soviet rule. They demanded the return of exiled Prime Minister Imre Nagy, who promised free elections and to withdraw Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. Moscow's reaction, however, was swift and decisive. At dawn on the November 4, Red Army tanks attacked Budapest along with other cities held by the insurgents. Up to 50,000 Hungarians died in the bloody revolt, which cost the lives of 720 soldiers of the Red Army. Nagy's government was overturned, and he himself was executed two years later. Fearing for their lives, an estimated 100,000 Hungarians managed to flee to Austria before the Iron Curtain came down.• to turn into : se changer, se transformer • full-blown : véritable • swift : rapide • to overturn : renverser • to flee : s'enfuir, fuir 16 octobre 2006 The founder of the Benetton group, Luciano Benetton, has announced that he will hand over control to his son Alessandro next year. The 71-year-old Luciano set up what is now Italy's largest clothing maker. He recently said he wants to increase sales by as much as 8% a year for the next decade. Benetton became notorious in the 1980s and 1990s for attention-getting advertising which offended many people, but also drove up sales. The company was founded by Luciano Benetton with his sister and two brothers in 1965.• to hand over to : passer le pouvoir à • to set up : créer • notorious : (tristement) célèbre 9 octobre 2006 Japan's new prime minister has made an immediate diplomatic gain on his first visit to China - the first by a Japanese leader in five years. Shinzo Abe's invitation for a return trip - by the Chinese leadership - has been accepted. Chinese President Hu Jintao called the visit a "turning point" in relations between the northeastern Asian neighbours. Beijing refused summits during the previous Koizumi government because of his visits to the Yakasuni war shrine. Abe got a reminder of the sensitivity of the issue in an earlier meeting, when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged him to approach the question "properly".
• turning point : moment décisif
• shrine : lieu saint
• reminder : rappel 2 octobre 2006 There've been celebrations at the Social Democratic Party's headquarters in Vienna following their surprise victory in Austria's general election. Alfred Gusenbauer's party won the vote by a margin of more than 1.5 per cent - opinion polls had predicted their defeat and it was a remarkable turnaround: the socialists had been badly hit by a corruption scandal involving the Bavag Trade Union bank. For Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel's Popular Party, the loss of seven per cent of the vote was a bitter disappointment - Austria's enjoyed a strong economic performance during his six years at the helm, and he had expected a new term.
• poll : sondage
• turnaround : revirement, volte-face
• to involve : impliquer 25 septembre 2006 Madrid is a city that never sleeps, where going out to dinner when most of us would be tucked up in bed, is par for the course. A new "White Nights" initiative in the Spanish capital is tailormade for its nocturnal inhabitants. For one night only, museums, a myriad of cultural establishments, institutions and monuments were open into the early hours of the morning. Madrid's mayor said the event would allow people to rediscover the city through the language of culture. Paris was the first European capital to launch the idea in 2002. It proved such a huge success that Rome, Brussels, Riga and Madrid have followed suit.
• to tuck up : border (dans son lit)
• par for the course : dans les normes
• tailormade : fait sur mesure 18 septembre 2006 The Pope has been under intense scrutiny amid angry reactions from throughout the Muslim world. Security has been tightened in response around the Vatican. The increased presence of "caribinieri" made many people feel aware that something was going on. One woman said: "You can sense the fear in the air because there are three times as many police around than normal for a Sunday." Others in Rome expressed frustration about the heightened state of alert. "I blame extremists in the Muslim world for taking things out of proportion," one man said. "They always resort to violence when words would be so much better."
• to be under scrutiny : être sous surveillance
• to tighten : renforcer
• hightened : intensifié 11 septembre 2006 Almost 40 Asian and European leaders have opened a summit in Helsinki in Finland. Reporters at the venue say differences over human rights concerns have already complicated relations between various countries. While many of the leaders are keen to focus on how they can boost trade with booming Asian economies, other officials are keen to highlight examples of alleged human rights abuses. That has annoyed many of the Asian countries being targeted for criticism, with calls that only trade should be discussed. But hundreds of protesters outside the summit are also urging the leaders not to ignore a string of controversial issues. Human rights campaigners and anti-globalisation activists were among those who gathered. Police reportedly detained more than 100 people on Saturday.
• venue : lieu (de réunion)
• concern : préoccupation
• to focus : se concentrer 4 septembre 2006 The first test flight with passengers of the new super jumbo Airbus A380 has begun. The plane, carrying several hundred volunteers, took off from Toulouse in France early this morning. The lucky passengers for the historic flight were chosen by lottery from among Airbus employees across the world - their task will be to give user feedback on onboard facilities such as seating, air-conditioning and in flight entertainments. Four test flights lasting between seven and 14 hours will take place over the week. The A380, is due to go in service at the end of the year, becoming the largest passenger plane in the world with the capacity to carry up to 800 people in three classes. But delays in production have threatened the financial stability of its European manufacturers.
• to take off : décoller
• feedback : réactions
• entertainment : divertissement 28 août 2006 Irish budget carrier Ryanair has said it is going to sue the British government for almost five million euros over the delays and cancellations caused by recent increased airport security. The measures were introduced on 10th August after the UK authorities announced they had discovered a terrorist plot aimed at blowing up planes flying from Britain to the US with liquid explosives brought on board in hand baggage. All airlines suffered massive disruption, but Ryanair is the only one planning to sue. Its Chief Executive, Michael O'Leary, said the multi-million euro claim covers cancellations and lost bookings during the week of 10th to 16th August. He accused the airport authorities of introducing "nonsensible and ineffective" measures that are "handing the extremists an undeserved and unnecessary victory." O'Leary said he is suing only to get a return to normal, effective airport security and any money received from a successful claim would be given to charity. The UK's Department for Transport countered that the airline has no legal grounds to bring a civil law suit.• to sue : poursuivre en justice • plot : complot • disruption : perturbation • sensible : judicieux • to counter : riposter 21 août 2006 In a world rife with crises, it can be a forgotten problem. But water - and the lack of it - poses major challenges in the years ahead. Water scarcity around the world is increasing faster than expected, as delegates will hear at a major conference in Sweden. Kevin Noon, a professor of Meteorology from Stockholm University, said: "It is a chance for everyone to come together and look at the global picture of water and water distribution. And I think that what will come out, hopefully, will be an increased understanding of the big picture of what water issues are, all around the world." Representatives from 140 countries are set to take part in the meeting, with alarm bells ringing that global attitudes have to change. Billions in Asia and Africa already face shortages, say experts. Now there is a warning from environmental group WWF that rich countries will have to drastically change their policies to avoid the water crises already facing poorer nations.• rife with : abondant en • to come out : émerger • issue : question, problème • shortage : pénurie 14 août 2006 Europe's postal services market is to open up to competition. The European Commission says it wants to gradually introduce competition in a controlled way under a framework that ensures a certain level of service. The sector has traditionally been monopolised by national operations but some countries, such as Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, are well on the way to a fully opened postal sector, allowing firms from other member states to deliver mail in their lucrative courier and express markets. But some states have been reluctant to follow this road rapidly even though the EU has set a deadline of 2009 for the creation of an internal market in postal services. The EU executive insists it wants to maintain a so-called universal minimum service such as post boxes near homes and offices as well as convenient places to buy stamps.• framework : cadre, structure • to be reluctant to do sth : être peu enclin à faire qch 7 août 2006 There will be an emergency meeting of a Spanish government task force today, to assess the damage caused by dozens of forest fires which have raged across the north of the country. Thousands of hectares are affected across Catalonia and the region of Galicia. High temperatures and weeks of drought have left the countryside dangerously dry. In Galicia, fire-fighters were working overnight to contain more than 40 separate blazes, at least three of which are categorized as serious. In Catalonia, strong winds are fanning the flames, making the job more difficult. Across the border, the Portuguese emergency services fought to contain dozens of fires over the weekend. Ten of the country's 18 regions have been affected. Saturday saw the worst of it so far, according to officials. Some 422 separate incidents were logged. A dozen fire-fighters were affected by noxious fumes after a chemical factory north of Lisbon was engulfed by the flames. An inquiry into the incident has been launched. • drought : sécheresse • blaze : flamme • to fan : attiser, souffler sur • to log : consigner, inscrire • noxious : nocif • to engulf : engloutir 31 juillet 2006 The second piece of good news from Brussels on Thursday tackles a potentially very hairy problem; the use of dangerous chemicals in cosmetics dyes. That monthly trip to the hairdressers to blonde out your roots is not without risks depending on the products used. So the EU has banned 22 substances, not currently used by EU manufacturers, but which can find their way via imports onto the market. After the EU's scientific council identified the risk of bladder cancer with prolonged use of hair dye, the industry had to submit reports for all the substances in use. 115 chemicals have been cleared, but not the banned 22. The ban comes into effect on the first of December. The danger list is available on the ec.europa.eu/ health website. • to tackle : s'attaquer à, aborder • dye : teinture • root : racine • to ban : interdire • bladder : vessie 24 juillet 2006 Troubled European planemaker Airbus appears to have emerged the winner in its long-running battle with Boeing in terms of orders at the Farnborough Air Show. Airbus' orders or commitments total 182 aircraft valued at just under 17 billion euros. Boeing have not released figures but their deals are thought to be worth more than eight billion euros, comprising 79 aircraft. But the American plane manufacturer has performed much better so far this year, with nearly 500 orders to Airbus' 117. Airbus also faces compensation claims from airlines after announcing delays to delivery of their A380s. • to total : s'élever à • billion : milliard • to perform : se débrouiller • claim : demande 17 juillet 2006 While events in the Middle East have dominated the G8 summit of industrialised nations in St Petersburg, leaders today made progress on several pre-planned themes. Russia conceded to European Union demands to support, in principle, transparent and open energy markets although it refused to ratify the international rulebook known as the Energy Charter. Aiming to unblock world trade talks, leaders agreed to give their negotiators a one month deadline to conclude the five-year-long Doha round. US President Bush backed away from public confrontation with his host President Putin over democracy in Russia. But documents were approved on education and fighting infectious diseases. The G8 renewed its pledge to combat AIDS although it offered no detailed plan on funding its ambitious targets. Differences on the merits of promoting nuclear energy and on how to tackle climate change were papered over, although a joint statement does refer to "those of us committed to making the Kyoto protocol a success" - highlighting splits over the agreement which the United States has rejected. • rulebook : règlement • deadline : date limite • to back away from : s'abstenir de • to paper over : dissimuler | |||||||||
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