Apparently this ad cost £5 million! Money well spent? Judge for yourself ...
COMMENT A big chunk of that £5 million must have gone to The Smiths, who allowed a cover of their song 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' to be used in the ad. Predictably, this has not gone down well with Smiths fans ...
This cartoon by Mac from The Daily Mail relates to the public sector strikes over pension reforms which are due to take place in the UK today.
Three unemployed youths are walking past a news hoarding announcing more 'gloom and doom' (Britain's economic outlook over the next few years is for declining growth and rising unemployment). One of the youths comments, 'It's not fair. If only I had a job, I'd be on strike today'. In the background, we can see a long queue outside the Jobcentre.
GRAMMAR You can use if only + past simple to express a wish for something to be different than it actually is: • If only I had more free time, I'm sure I'd be less stressed and more cheerful (i.e., I don't have enough free time). • If only I knew more people, I wouldn't feel so lonely (i.e., I don't know many people).
The Daily Telegraph says the Government spending cuts will mean six hard years ahead for households. Full story >>
VOCABULARY Pain is the feeling of unhappiness that you have when something unpleasant or upsetting happens. • As cities and counties recover from Hurricane Irene, they are facing increasing financial pain dealing with the clean-up costs.
Retail sales post double digit gains from the prior year as the appeal of Cyber Monday goes global. Jeanne Yurman reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: Cyber Monday sales are up as its appeal goes global. According to IBM, online sales had already jumped 15 percent from the prior year only half way through the day. Matt Donovan, Managing Partner of advertising firm, McCann Erickson in New York says social networking and more sophisticated online shoppers around the world are translating into greater couch commerce. MATT DONOVAN: "This is a little bit different. It's expanded beyond the shores of the U.S. It's a really exciting time for shoppers in other markets to take advantage of the deals they can see with U.S. retailers particularly when you add the discounts or the free shipping . It becomes a really attractive offer." REPORTER: Using a social listening tool, McCann is able to monitor Cyber Monday activity in real time. Interactive Assistant, Michael Nguyen, is on the front lines. MICHAEL NGUYEN, INTERACTIVE ASSISTANT, MC CANN ERICKSON: "Well we can see that the chatter around Cyber Monday is really become global. So we have the most in the United States obviously but we're getting chatter from Europe, from China, from Australia, from South America." REPORTER: But driving the rising sales are rampant deals, discounts and free shipping, which some fear could take a toll on margins and possibly sales from coming weeks. Adrienne Tenant of Janney Capital Markets says retailers are in a tough spot. ADRIENNE TENNANT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, JANNEY CAPITAL MARKETS: "I kind of think all bets are off. You're just going to run that giant promotion every weekend now until Christmas. And the wild card in recent years has been week five of December, what happens with gift cards and what happens with all of that traffic that comes in after Christmas returning all the gifts." REPORTER: Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, shoppers have been on a binge. The reality is that many in the U.S. are still under severe financial pressure and retailers remain concerned they could close their wallets just as easily as they opened them in the past few days. Jeanne Yurman, Reuters.
This cartoon by Paul Thomas from The Daily Express relates to the strike planned for tomorrow by public sector workers over changes to their pension rights.
A grandmother is standing outside her front door holding a placard which reads 'Hands off my pension'. One of her grandchildren remarks, 'It's nothing to do with the strike—Gran just hates us asking her for pocket money!'
COMMENTARY The cartoon should be easy enough to understand. 'Hands off' is a shortened form of 'Keep your hands off', a rather aggressive way of telling someone not to touch or interfere with something. Pocket money is money given to children by their parents (or grandparents), usually every week.
The Daily Mail says the Chancellor will reveal some toddlers are to be given free places in nursery as part of a plan to help mothers back to work. Full story >>
VOCABULARY A nursery is a place where children who are not old enough to go to school are looked after. • The company runs its own workplace nursery for employees.
Greenpeace's latest report, entitled 'Who's Holding us Back?', reveals how a handful of major corporations are adversely influencing governments, and polluting the political process on climate legislation. According to the report, Eskom, BASF, BHP Billiton, Shell, and Koch Industries are among those obstructing decisive action on climate change.
To coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference, which begins in Durban today, Greenpeace have released a controversial direct communication campaign profiling President Obama, Prime Minister Harper, Manuel Barroso Head of the European Commission (below) and President Zuma. The artist renderings have the leaders faces composed of corporate logos and challenge the leaders in Durban to “Listen to the people, not the polluters”.
COMMENTARY The tagline 'Show us what you're really made of ...' is a play on words. If you look carefully, you will see that the image is made up of corporate logos. And if someone shows you what they are made of, they show you what they can achieve, or what they are really like.
Delegates from nearly 200 nations will meet in Durban, South Africa, this week to discuss international action on climate change. Their goal: to reach a new legal agreement on greenhouse gas emissions.
Here’s Kenya’s NTV.
“Countries around the world are still deadlocked on how to stop or slow down global warming. An international treaty signed in 1997 known as the Kyoto Protocol, meant to regulate how much of the problematic gasses countries can emit, expires next year. And there is a rush to finalize a new deal.”
The Kyoto Protocol set different targets for developing and developed nations. Because of that, the U.S. never ratified the protocol. Now, The New York Times reports other nations are raising the same concerns.
“The protocol is up for renewal next year with some major countries, including Canada, Japan and Russia, saying they will not agree to an extension unless it is fundamentally changed to remove the unbalanced requirements ... That is similar to the U.S. position, which is that any successor treaty must apply equally to all major economies, including fast-growing developing countries like China and India.”
The other big issue at Durban will be the establishment of a $100 billion fund to help poor countries deal with the damage caused by climate change. But details of how the fund will be handled are still up in the air..
The BBC explains.
“Developing countries say the public coffers of industrialised nations should be the main source, whereas western governments say the bulk must come from private sector sources. That is unlikely to be resolved until the end of next year. But finalising the fund's rules in Durban would be a concrete step forward.”
The U.N. body’s targets include cutting greenhouse emissions in half by 2050 and limiting global warming to less than two degrees. But with all the funding and legal debates expected at Durban, the way forward looks uncertain.
But there’s some hope as individual governments take it upon themselves to cut emissions outside of any treaty. A delegate from Australia, where the government just passed a carbon tax, told VOA News...
“I think it’s hard to get nearly 200 countries to agree. And what we’re finding is that a lot of countries are doing more domestically than perhaps they’re prepared to agree to internationally.”
The summit begins Monday and is scheduled for two weeks. Activists are hoping to organize an Occupy protest for the duration of the summit.
The Guardian says that an extra £5bn of capital investment, funded by spending cuts elsewhere, will form the centrepiece of an overall £30bn national infrastructure programme due to be announced by UK Chancellor George Osborne on Tuesday as part of an attempt to prevent the country from sliding back into recession. Full story >>
VOCABULARY If you stave off something bad, or if you stave it off, you succeed in stopping it happening for a while. • The Detroit City Council plans to announce details of its recommendations to help the city stave off financial collapse.
Greenpeace activists chain themselves to a railway track in protest against a nuclear waste transport train in Germany. Marie-Claire Fennessy reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: A train carrying 150 tonnes of reprocessed nuclear waste makes it way through northern Germany. It's final destination is a storage site at Gorleben. But many oppose its journey and storage with protesters along the way blocking its path. In Willerdingen, Greenpeace activists have chained themselves to a railway track. GREENPEACE SPOKESMAN TOBIAS RIEDL: "These activists are demonstrating against the thoroughly dishonest nuclear waste policy of the German government. It wants to send this nuclear waste transport to Gorleben despite the fact that radioactive emissions are far too high. The planned storage facility in an old salt mine is completely inappropriate and unsafe for nuclear waste disposal." REPORTER: Despite over 10,000 police involved in securing the trains passage, the Greenpeace protest took them by surprise. POLICE SPOKESWOMAN WIEBKE HENNIG: "We have various hotspots throughout this transport operation as we have to survey the whole passage. Over the last few years Greenpeace has always surprised us with very creative ideas. So they obviously managed to do so again this year, even though we tried to protect the rails as well as possible." REPORTER: The train carries 11 containers of highly radioactive waste, which protesters say could endanger the environment and population if there was an accident enroute. In the wake of Japan's nuclear crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to shut down eight of Germany's nuclear power plants. Marie-Claire Fennessy, Reuters.
This cartoon by Schrank from The Independent on Sunday relates to next Wednesday's public sector strike in the UK.
COMMENTARY The ship going over a waterfall is a metaphor for the British economy, which is currently facing another recession. The group of people at the prow of the boat are striking public sector workers. One of them shouts, 'Everybody out!', which is the traditional rallying cry for workers to 'down tools' and come out on strike (see below). There is, however, a play on words, as 'Everyone out!' could also be construed as a call for everyone to get out of the boat. Whichever way you look at it everyone is doomed!
ORIGIN During the 1970s in the UK this phrase ('Everybody out!') was synonymous with militant union activity. It was used when workers were called out on strike, although more often in drama and literature than in reality. The work that made the phrase known was the 1960s BBC sit-com 'The Rag Trade', where it became a catchphrase. The show was set in a clothing factory and virtually every episode included the shop-steward Paddy (Miriam Karlin) blowing a whistle and shouting "Everybody out!" [source: The Phrase Finder].
The Sunday Express says families are facing a Dickensian Christmas with at least 100,000 Britons relying on food parcels because they cannot afford to eat. Full story >>
VOCABULARY If you say that someone is starving, you mean that they are very hungry. • An "animal lover" who did not feed her flock of pets properly for more than a month has had her starving cats and dogs taken from her.
France's last traditional beret maker has fought off cheaper foreign competition but now says the euro zone crisis has brought it to the brink, as banks restrict lending. Joanna Partridge reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: Along with the Eiffel Tower and baguettes - it's one of the national symbols of France. The beret. The hat is worn by everyone from fashionistas to the French military. The south west of the country became the centre of the beret-making industry in the 1950s, using wool from sheep in the nearby Pyrenees mountains. But now there's only one traditional beret maker left - and it might be forced to close down. Beatex, based in the town of Oloron Sainte Marie, has been battling against cheaper foreign competitors since the 1970s, but now the euro zone crisis has brought it to the brink. Beatex Chairman Pierre Lemoine says while the company has enough orders, it can't access credit. PIERRE LEMOINE: "At the moment we're facing a cash-flow problem. I have to manufacture berets that will be paid for in two, three, four, or five months. That means I have to pay my workers and the social security charges even though I won't be paid myself for five months. So I need cash or a bridging loan from the bank to handle this financial hole." REPORTER: Beatex's 50 workers currently make around 200 000 berets a year - around half of those are for the French military and NATO forces. The local mayor has also joined the fight to save the company. BERNARD UTHURRY, MAYOR OF OLORON SAINTE MARIE: "Beatex even has a special partnership with NATO and that underlines the credibility of the company. They could even bring out more original types of beret. But the company has a problem balancing its books and we have to try and resolve this problem together." REPORTER: Beatex is currently holding talks with banks and local government. But if they fail, the company is warning that a national icon will no longer be made in France. Joanna Partridge, Reuters.
The Guardian says union leaders are being urged to call off next week's strikes or risk losing the Government's latest offer on pensions. Full story >>
VOCABULARY To scupper a plan or an attempt means to cause it to fail. • Governments risk sparking climate anarchy if they scupper the world's existing law on global warming.
Popular British retailer Marks & Spencer returns to Paris in time for seasonal shopping frenzy. Penny Tweedie reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: The UK's iconic chain store, Marks and Spencer is known for its ready meals, its sensible clothes and perhaps most of all its lingerie. And it's proved a formula which has just won back its place in the heart of Paris along the Champs Elysees. M and S closed in Paris ten years ago after management decided to end their foray into Western Europe to concentrate on the UK. But locals were so upset they started a condolences book. Now fans have had their way and with the help of model Rosie Huntingdon Whitely, a new store opened its doors for the first time on Thursday. Marks and Spencer Chief executive, Marc Bolland said their outlook had now changed. MARC BOLLAND: " So in Paris ten years ago life was less for shoppers here around the Champs-Elysees. And now all the brands, Louis Vuitton heavily invested, all the brands find the Champs-Elysees with this international appeal, the place to be. So that has changed in ten years. And we felt we wanted to be here. We have changed also a lot in the sense that we have brought our new brands of our own, we have brought our new product, but we have much more choice than in the past." REPORTER: Local shoppers queued round the block for their first glimpse of the new Marks and Spencer. Many were clearly delighted at its return. SHOPPER PAUL: "It's just interesting to be here to see one of our own home stores open. So we're looking to see what's different. But the real star on Marks & Spencer is my wife." SHOPPER JENNY: "He wouldn't know what was different anyway" SHOPPER SOPHIE: "It's super. I missed it. I was just waiting for news on the opening. So, I'm really happy," REPORTER: Investing in one of France's most expensive pieces of real estate when the euro zone is facing financial meltdown and earnings are 10 percent down in British stores may seem like a financial director's nightmare. But Marks and Spencer is planning five more Paris stores and looking for sites to set up some of its Simply Food outlets Penny Tweedie , Reuters.
COMMENT It's not often you get to see such an orderly queue in Paris!
