An aerial view of the site in Guangxi where China Eastern flight MU5735 crashed on Tuesday killing 132 people.
(Credit: VCG / Getty Images)
UK inflation accelerates to 30-year high of 6.2%
英国通胀飙升至6.2%，达30年最高
UK inflation rose to a 30-year high last month, putting fresh pressure on chancellor Rishi Sunak to announce greater support for households when he delivers his Spring Statement last Wednesday. The Office for National Statistics said the consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 6.2 per cent in February, up from 5.5 per cent in January and the highest rate since 1992. The recent surge has been driven by soaring global prices for energy, petrol, food and durable goods: the ONS said the biggest factors driving the February increase came from transport, furniture and household goods. Prices for clothing rose especially rapidly in February, but food inflation also picked up to an annual rate of 5.1 per cent. (The Financial Times)
2月，英国通货膨胀升至30年来最高水平，财政大臣里希·苏纳克压力倍增。3月23日，他在《春季声明》中宣布，将以家庭为单位，提供更多支持。英国国家统计局（ONS）表示，2月，消费者价格指数（CPI）同比上涨6.2%，达到了1992年以来的最高点，而1月CPI为5.5%。全球能源、汽油、食品、耐用品的价格猛涨，拉动了这次CPI飙升。ONS表示，2月上涨最主要是交通、家具、家居用品带动的。服装价格在2月上涨尤其迅速，但食品通胀也提高到同比5.1%的水平。
Rising prices for petrol have helped to drive inflation to a 30-year high.
(Credit: Lewis Whyld / PA)
U.S. reinstates① 352 product exclusions from China tariffs
美国恢复352项中国输美商品的关税豁免
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said last Wednesday it has reinstated 352 expired product exclusions from U.S. “Section 301” tariffs on Chinese imports, well short of the 549 exclusions that it was previously considering. The reinstated product exclusions will be effective retroactively② from Oct. 12, 2021, and extend through Dec. 31, 2022, USTR said. They cover a wide range of the initially estimated $370 billion worth of Chinese imports that former president Donald Trump hit with punitive③ tariffs of 7.5% to 25%. The list released by USTR includes industrial components such as pumps and electric motors, certain car parts and chemicals, backpacks, bicycles, vacuum cleaners and other consumer goods. A spokeswoman at China’s commerce ministry said last Thursday the U.S. decision was beneficial to normalizing the trade flow of those products, and hoped bilateral trade relations would get back on a normal track. (Reuters)
3月23日，美国贸易代表办公室（USTR）表示，按照“301条款”对华加征关税的商品中，已恢复352项中国进口商品的关税豁免，这些商品此前获得的豁免已经过期。该数字（352）远低于此前考虑的549项。USTR表示，恢复的关税豁免将前溯至2021年10月12日开始生效，持续至2022年12月31日。美国前总统唐纳德·特朗普曾对部分中国商品征收7.5%至25%的惩罚性关税。据一开始的估计，这些商品总计达3700亿美元。此次恢复的关税豁免涵盖其中的多种商品。USTR公布的清单包括泵、电动机等工业部件，某些汽车零部件和化学品，背包、自行车、吸尘器等消费品。3月24日，中国商务部一名女发言人表示，美国这一决定有助于相关产品的正常贸易，希望双边经贸关系回到正常轨道。
【注释】
① reinstate: [ˌriːɪnˈsteɪt] vt. to return (something) to its previous position or status 恢复
② retroactively: [ˌretrəʊˈæktɪvli] adv. from a particular date in the past rather than from the present date 回溯地
③ punitive: [ˈpjuːnətɪv] adj. inflicting or intended to inflict punishment; (of a tax or other charge) extremely high, severe 作为惩罚的；（税等）过高的
U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai
(Credit: REUTERS / Rebecca Cook)
Taliban renegeon① promise to open Afghan girls’ schools
塔利班违背承诺，决定不开放阿富汗女校
The Taliban last Wednesday abruptly reversed their decision to allow girls’ high schools to reopen last week, saying that they would remain closed until officials draw up a plan for them to reopen in accordance with Islamic law. The news was crushing② to the over one million high school-aged girls who had been raised in an era of opportunity for women before the Taliban seized power in August last year — and who had woken up thrilled to be returning to classes last Wednesday. One 12th-grade student in Kabul said the decision had stamped out③ her last bit of hope that she could achieve her dream of becoming a lawyer. In recent months, the international community has made girls’ education a central condition of foreign aid and any future recognition of the Taliban. Under the Taliban’s first rule, from 1996 to 2001, the group barred women and girls from school and most employment. (The New York Times)
塔利班原定让女子中学上周开学复课，但3月23日突然撤销了这一决定。塔利班表示，女子中学将继续关闭，直至政府拟定方案，使女校开放符合伊斯兰法律。阿富汗有超过100万名适龄女性。消息一出，她们都伤心不已。她们成长的时代给女性带来了机遇，直至去年8月塔利班掌权。因为要重返课堂，她们在3月23日早上醒来时非常激动。喀布尔一名12年级的学生说，她希望可以实现梦想，成为律师，但塔利班的这个决定扑灭了她最后一点希望。最近几个月，国际社会将女子教育作为外国援助和未来给予塔利班政权任何形式承认的核心条件。1996年至2001年第一次掌权时，塔利班禁止女性入学，也不允许她们从事大部分工作。
【注释】
① renege on: to break (a promise, an agreement, etc.) 违背
② crushing: [ˈkrʌʃɪŋ] adj. used to emphasize how bad or severe something is 压倒的，使人受不了的
③ stamp out: to put out (a fire) by bringing your foot down heavily on it 熄灭（火）
(Credit:AFP)
Elon Musk revs up① crowd at German Tesla opening
特斯拉德国工厂开幕，马斯克点燃全场
Dancing and joking with visitors, Elon Musk personally handed over the first made-in-Germany Tesla cars to 30 buyers at a ceremony marking the opening of the company’s new €5 billion “Gigafactory” in Germany。 The event was attended by Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, and the economy minister Robert Habeck。 “This is a great day for the factory,” Musk said, describing it as “another step in the direction of a sustainable future”。 The eccentric entrepreneur, who earlier challenged President Putin to “single combat” over Ukraine, has won praise in Germany for slicing through red tape② to get the factory built in only two years, in marked contrast with Berlin’s new airport, the completion of which was delayed by nine years。
Tesla fended off③ environmental objections that the factory risked damaging the surrounding nature reserves by drawing off large quantities of water。 Tesla had only conditional permission for the project, meaning it could have been forced to tear down everything if the authorities had ruled against it。 (The Times)
特斯拉造价50亿欧元的德国“超级工厂”开工运营。开业仪式上，埃隆·马斯克跳起了舞蹈，与来访者开玩笑，还亲自将第一批德国制造的特斯拉汽车交付给30名客户。德国总理奥拉夫·朔尔茨与经济部长罗伯特·哈贝克出席了仪式。马斯克说：“对于这座工厂来说，这是重要的一天。”他还将这座工厂称为“向可持续发展的未来迈出的又一大步”。早些时候，这位特立独行的企业家曾挑战俄罗斯总统普京，要以乌克兰为赌注与之“单挑”。马斯克无畏德国繁琐的程序，用仅仅两年时间就完成了工厂的修建。与之形成鲜明对比的是柏林的新机场，拖了9年才得以竣工。这令马斯克在德国赢得赞誉。特斯拉抵挡住了环保方面的反对声音：新工厂将大量使用水，有破坏周围自然保护区的风险。当时，特斯拉只得到了该项目的条件许可，这意味着如果有关部门裁定项目违规，特斯拉将被迫全部拆除。
【注释】
① rev up: to stir up, excite 刺激，激发
② red tape: official routine or procedure marked by excessive complexity which results in delay or inaction 繁文缛节
③ fend off: to defend oneself against (someone or something) 挡开
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, Dietmar Woidke, the premier of Brandenburg, and Elon Musk at the launch of Tesla’s “Gigafactory”
(Credit: Patrick Pleul / DPA / Getty Images)
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