Author: natixis-ezine

Merriam-Webster chooses vaccine as the 2021 word of the year

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — With an expanded definition to reflect the times, Merriam-Webster has declared an omnipresent truth as its 2021 word of the year: vaccine.

“This was a word that was extremely high in our data every single day in 2021,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor-at-large, told The Associated Press ahead of Monday’s announcement.

“It really represents two different stories. One is the science story, which is this remarkable speed with which the vaccines were developed. But there’s also the debates regarding policy, politics and political affiliation. It’s one word that carries these two huge stories,” he said.

The selection follows “vax” as word of the year from the folks who publish the Oxford English Dictionary. And it comes after Merriam-Webster chose “pandemic” as tops in lookups last year on its online site.
Continue reading

Food gas prices pinch families as inflation surges globally

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By JUSTIN SPIKE, PAUL WISEMAN and VANESSA GERA Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — From appliance stores in the United States to food markets in Hungary and gas stations in Poland, rising consumer prices fueled by high energy costs and supply chain disruptions are putting a pinch on households and businesses worldwide.

Rising inflation is leading to price increases for food, gas and other products and pushing many people to choose between digging deeper into their pockets or tightening their belts. In developing economies, it’s especially dire.

“We’ve noticed that we’re consuming less,” Gabor Pardi, a shopper at an open-air food market in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, said after buying a sack of fresh vegetables recently. “We try to shop for the cheapest and most economical things, even if they don’t look as good.”
Continue reading

President, VP and spouses assist food kitchen for holiday

natixis-ezine

Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, helped a Washington food kitchen prepare Thanksgiving meals for the needy before they left town — like millions of other Americans — to resume their family tradition of spending the holiday on tiny Nantucket island in Massachusetts.

The first family, including children and grandchildren, arrived on the island Tuesday night and were staying at the home of billionaire businessman David Rubenstein, a family friend, as they have previously. The president was expected to return to the White House on Sunday.
Continue reading

Wildfires torched up to a fifth of all giant sequoia trees

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lightning-sparked wildfires killed thousands of giant sequoias this year, leading to a staggering two-year death toll that accounts for up to nearly a fifth of Earth’s largest trees, officials said Friday.

Fires in Sequoia National Park and surrounding Sequoia National Forest tore through more than a third of groves in California and torched an estimated 2,261 to 3,637 sequoias, which are the largest trees by volume.

Nearby wildfires last year killed an unprecedented 7,500 to 10,400 giant sequoias that are only native in about 70 groves scattered along the western side of the Sierra Nevada range. Losses now account for 13% to 19% of the 75,000 sequoias greater than 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter.
Continue reading

Leaders in Paris call for protecting children online

natixis-ezine

Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

By SYLVIE CORBET The Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Internet giants, including social media apps Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat, joined several world leaders to issue a global call to better protect children online at a Paris summit on Thursday.

The call, initiated by France and the U.N. child protection agency UNICEF, acknowledges that “in the digital environment, children can come across harmful and violent content and manipulation of information. Just like adults, children have rights to privacy, which should be respected.”

The text also listed “threats amplified by technology” including cyber bullying, sexual abuse, prostitution, human trafficking, sexual and gender-based violence or violent online radicalization.

“We call upon all governments, online service providers and relevant organizations to stand up for children’s rights in the digital environment,” it said.
Continue reading