Учим английский по новостям

Семнадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский.

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News 1:

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has prepared a draft resolution that equates Belarusian chips with Russian ones. According to it, documents on the Belarusian production of materials and components, as well as on production and technological operations, are equated to documents on the production of a component issued by the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

News 2:

The Board of Directors of the Central Bank at its meeting on March 22, 2024 will keep the key rate at 16%, experts believe. Some admit that an increase to 16.5% or 17% will be discussed, but do not consider this the main scenario.

News 3:

Russian content distributors and online platforms bought 26 films and TV series from Korean media companies for $1.2 million. Streaming companies are also interested in the exclusive purchase of rights to localize content in Russian.

News 4:

Large retailers have begun to look for alternatives to sourcing bananas from Ecuador. Networks began to organize supplies from India, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil and other countries.

News 5:

Russian tourists have booked more hotels abroad for the summer of 2024 than a year earlier, writes the OneTwoTrip service. According to its own data, the share of hotel bookings abroad has increased from 23% in 2023 to 30%. The leaders among the cities were Istanbul, Paris and Rome.

Шестнадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский.

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News 1:

Uzbek Ipak Yuli Bank has asked customers from Russia to provide a personal identification number of an individual (PINFL) so that they can continue to use banking services. The bank's support said that this requirement has been in place since the beginning of 2023. According to customers, the bank has sent out notifications only now.

News 2:

The Pampadu insurance service bought the share of a foreign investor and consolidated 100% of its business in Russian jurisdiction, the company reported. Before this, 42% belonged to a German investment fund.

News 3:

AvtoVAZ has begun mass production of the Lada Vesta with a 1.8-liter engine producing 122 hp. and automatic transmission.

News 4:

The market volume of cloud infrastructure services in 2023 grew by 34%. Analysts attribute the growth, among other things, to an increase in the penetration of cloud services, the transition of “a significant share of users to Russian clouds from foreign ones,” the emergence of new participants and “the focus of large providers on the cloud services sector.”

News 5:

Fraudsters have developed a new scheme to deceive users. On behalf of banks, they send letters about the “new tax on special military operations” and offer to refuse to pay it. By clicking on the link, the “victim” leaves his data when logging into his personal account to the attackers.

Пятнадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский.

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News 1:

The Australian government has imposed new sanctions against 55 people and 37 organizations. The restrictions are aimed at Russian defense, energy, mining companies, media, as well as organizations associated with “Russian procurement networks” in Belarus, Iran and North Korea. The specific list has not yet been published.

News 2:

50-60% of auto component manufacturers in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region left the market after February 24, 2022. Most of these companies were “tied” to automobile factories, and they either froze work or closed. In order to “survive,” the remaining companies have to reconfigure production to produce Chinese cars, experts say.

News 3:

The EU approved the 13th package of sanctions against Russia. It included 106 individuals and 88 legal entities. It is aimed at the military-industrial complex. Some organizations on the list that allegedly help Russia circumvent export restrictions operate in third countries - India, China, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Turkey and Sri Lanka. Components for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles have been added to the list of goods prohibited for export to Russia.

News 4:

Since the mass departure of popular foreign clothing and footwear retailers from Russia, the share of domestic brands in shopping centers has increased by 20% on average.

News 5:

The German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control has issued permission to export German software to Russia. First of all, it concerns industrial SAP software. However, the license applies only to diplomatic and consular missions of the European Union

Четырнадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский.

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News 1:

The Ministry of Digital Development has prepared a bill according to which the government and the Central Bank will be able to determine a list of critical information infrastructure objects - from 2025 they will have to switch to Russian software.

News 2:

Alfa Capital Management Company files a claim in the Moscow Arbitration Court against Euroclear for 248 billion rubles. The company requires the international depository to unblock client assets, as well as pay accumulated coupons and dividends.

News 3:

The Association of Trading Companies and Manufacturers of Electrical and Computer Equipment proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade abandon the idea of labeling consumer electronics, since the Russian market is “sufficiently legal” not to take additional measures against counterfeit goods.

News 4:

Russians began receiving notices on the border with Estonia warning that the Russian-Estonian border could be closed at any time due to “migration pressure.” The same information is posted on the website of the Estonian Border Guard.

News 5:

The Russian Automobile Dealers association said that the shortage of passenger cars on the Russian market has “globally passed”: first, the establishment of a parallel import mechanism helped, and then the influx of Chinese brands.

Тринадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский.

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News 1:

The Korean company MStoryLink began looking for a partner to create a joint venture with him in Russia. The company wants to develop the “My Comics” platform with licensed Asian comics, but it cannot do this on its own and fight piracy, since it does not have sufficient knowledge about the market.

News 2:

At the end of 11 months of 2023, trade turnover between Russia and Turkey amounted to $48.5 billion, which is $11 billion less than the same period in 2022, said Russian Consul General in Istanbul Andrei Buravov, but added: the decrease does not negate the “presence of serious potential” for the development of trade relations between the two countries. He also noted that Russian companies are increasingly opening branches in Turkey.

News 3:

The Foreign Ministry said that the Russian government is studying the possibility of creating an alternative SWIFT payment and settlement infrastructure - because “this will form the financial and economic basis of a multipolar world.”

News 4:

From February 2023 to February 2024, the average cost of short-term rental apartments in the largest Russian cities increased by 11% - to 4,660 rubles per night. One of the key factors influencing prices is the growth of tourist travel.

News 5:

Corporate law, which governs special administrative regions on the Kaliningrad Oktyabrsky Island and on Russky Island in Primorye, “adopts the best practices of offshore jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and the Island of Jersey,” said First Deputy Minister of Economic Development Ilya Torosov. The pace of business relocation to such areas is growing.

Двенадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский.

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News 1:

The Ministry of Transport is working on a new mechanism for financing the reconstruction of regional airfields in 2025-2030. Air hubs want to be divided into two groups with different approaches to the financing scheme. To finance the first one - small airfields - a special fund should appear, which will be filled from fees to the State Corporation for Air Traffic Management. The second group will include larger harbors that are managed by private investors.

News 2:

One of the largest Chinese manufacturers of household appliances, Skyworth, will officially enter Russia. The company sent proposals for the placement of its products in Russian networks, and also agreed on the contract production of televisions at the Belarusian Horizon.

News 3:

The Chinese Chouzhou Commercial Bank, which Russian importers used as the main settlement center, notified clients that it was suspending transactions with Russia. Transactions were stopped not only using SWIFT, but also with the Russian SPFS and the Chinese CIPS.

News 4:

The cost of renting tourist buses this season has increased from 30% to two times. The rise in prices is associated, in particular, with higher fuel prices, the burden of parallel imports of spare parts, higher fuel prices and higher wages due to inflation. The lack of buses leads to higher prices for tours, especially one-day ones.

News 5:

The Federation Council unanimously approved a bill on confiscation of property for “fakes” about the Russian army. The senators noted that the document does not violate the constitutional rights of Russians.

Одиннадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский.

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News 1:

The next round of EU sanctions against Russia will not include new import bans or “big names,” sources tell Reuters. This decision is due to the desire to adopt restrictions by February 24, 2024. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that new European sanctions against Russia will affect individuals and legal entities that help sanctioned persons bypass the restrictions.

News 2:

In 2023, almost a third (27%) of entrepreneurs had difficulty finding financing. In particular, one in five (19%) found it difficult to find an investor. Another problem last year was the staff shortage, which was reported by 20% of founders.

News 3:

In January-December 2023, Russian citizens made 27 million trips abroad, according to statistics from the FSB border service. This is 17% more than in 2022. Also, the number of trips for tourism purposes increased by 35% year on year.

News 4:

The Russian government has simplified the procedure for admitting Russian transport companies to international road transportation: from September 1, 2024, this process will take not 20, but five working days. The number of documents that must be provided to obtain admission will also be reduced.

News 5:

The sanctions have affected the safety of Russian aviation, writes The Wall Street Journal. In 2023, operators in Russia recorded at least 74 incidents compared to 36 in 2022. At the same time, the company also includes in its statistics incidents not related to sanctions, such as bird strikes.

Десятый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский.

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News 1:

The volume of cash in circulation in Russia in January 2024 decreased by 540 billion rubles - this is the maximum drop since March 2022, according to Central Bank data. The drop is due to seasonal factors.

News 2:

Kaliningrad Avtotor plans to begin mass production of electric cars of its own design in 2025, and show the first copies in 2024, said Valery Gorbunov, head of the board of directors of the auto holding.

News 3:

Chinese AI chip manufacturer Sophgo has entered into a distribution contract with a Russian company. Softlogic became the partner. Based on Chinese chips, Softlogic plans to develop and produce domestic servers for AI. The company is also negotiating with two Russian companies to supply them with chips as a distributor.

News 4:

Russian gambling zones are experiencing a shortage of specialists, the Association of Entertainment and Event Tourism Operators (unites all legally operating gambling zones in Russia) reported. The personnel shortage is 15%; in the next two years, due to the expansion of the industry, it will grow to 25%. Experts attribute this to the development of domestic tourism and the specificity of professions.

News 5:

IKEA still has assets in Russia. On the balance sheet of Ikea Torg, to which the Federal Tax Service arose the day before, there is a distribution center with a total area of about 180 thousand m² in Yesipovo, near Moscow. There is talk on the real estate market that the IKEA structure does not want to sell the warehouse in Esipovo, but is instead ready to rent it out.

Девятый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский.

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News 1:

The Ministry of Economic Development has prepared step-by-step instructions for conducting foreign trade barter transactions. The document describes the mechanism for determining the equal value of exchanged goods and services, standard forms of contracts and governing regulations.

News 2:

The State Duma has developed bills to reduce the requirements for air taxis. The authors propose to separate transport into a separate category of aviation and partially abolish regulation, leaving safety control.

News 3:

The volume of transfers from Russia to Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan fell by 12% over the year, to $7.7 billion. Experts explain the dynamics by the fact that some citizens returned to Russia, some found income outside the country, and some faced restrictions on transfers due to sanctions.

News 4:

The permanent representatives of the European Union agreed on the European Commission's initial measures to use Russia's frozen assets to restore Ukraine. The income received by the European company Euroclear from the Russian frozen assets will be kept in special accounts until EU member states unanimously agree on how to spend it.

News 5:

Lipetsk Motorinvest, the official distributor of Chinese Dongfeng passenger cars in Russia, has agreed to assemble the first batch of crossover models ix5 and ix7 at the Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad. Assembly will be carried out from vehicle kits “obtained by semi-disassembling finished vehicles.”

Восьмой выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский.

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News 1:

Angola is forcing the Russian company Alrosa to leave the Catoca diamond mine (41% owned by Alrosa, 59% owned by the Angolan state-owned company Endiama). The joint project became “toxic” due to sanctions imposed against Russia. The confrontation has been going on for several months: Alrosa wants compensation for the development of the field, Endiama wants the Russian company to leave without any demands.

News 2:

In 2023, the authorities conducted 350 thousand business inspections (compared to 1.5 million in 2019 and 339 thousand in 2022). Half of them were in the private sector (building control - 23%, social facilities - 20%, state-owned enterprises - 7%).

News 3:

The share of loans issued for the purchase of used cars in 2023 amounted to 15% of the total volume of their sales in Russia. In total, Russians spent 5.8 trillion rubles on used cars

News 4:

Azerbaijan will resume the work of the representative office of the state tourism agency in Russia in 2024, said the country's ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbul ogly. It stopped working due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

News 5:

The Moscow Arbitration Court satisfied the claim against Google from 2GIS, which obliges it to return the application to Google Play. But lawyers doubt that this measure will help restore service in the store.

News 6:

The version of the bill on self-ban on loans, which deputies prepared for the second reading, proposes to allow Russians to apply for a ban not only through Gosuslugi, but also in banks.