News, actualités, Nachrichten, noticias, notícias

Reading the news in the language we are learning is a wonderful way to train that language and get to know the culture and the way speakers of that language see the world. News media around the world usually organize themselves in an identical structure. Furthermore, some of the world news is the same, so one can read the same news in newspapers from different countries. This will give you the chance to compare the way each country sees the world, what they value, and the words they use to describe the same things.

Nowadays, some reference media have versions in different languages. For example, Euronews is available in 17 languages, including Arabic and Persian. However, be aware that it doesn’t necessarily mean that all versions have the same news or, if they have, the article will be exactly the same. Editions are independent from each other. National media may also have news available in different languages. For example, Deutsche Welle (DW) is a German TV channel and its website is available in 29 languages.

Below, we compare the basic structure of news media in English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.


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Keyword: PLACES | “Prisoners of Geography” by Tim Marshall

“Prisoners of Geography” is a book about geopolitics. It is written in a very easy-to-read manner, but with all the depth needed to fully understand what really is going on in the world. Most of the time, reporters fail to give us the news with the necessary depth for us to comprehend the events which are unfolding. Many grey areas are left unexplained and many layers remain to be unveiled.

In this book, we can find answers to some of the most pressing geopolitical issues that shape the world today. Why is Russia always looking to expand its territory and influence the neighbouring countries? How is China challenging the USA as a world superpower? How did the USA become a world superpower? Other topics are also explored about Europe and the geography that shaped its nations, Africa and its difficulties for developing itself economically, the Middle East and its eternal conflicts, India and Pakistan and their constant mutual threats as well as their relationship with Afghanistan, the history of Korea’s division, Japan after the World War II, the geographical reasons why Latin America struggles in the global economy… and the Arctic. The readers’ view of the world will definitely change.

Tim Marshall is a British journalist specialized in foreign affairs. He was in the field during the Balkan wars in the 1990s, Kosovo’s bombardments in 1999, and the “Arab Spring” in 2010. He also followed on site the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria. Besides reporting throughout Europe, USA, and Asia, he was a Middle East Correspondent in Jerusalem and a Europe Correspondent in Brussels. After more than 30 years interviewing different people, from those in the field doing the fighting to world leaders making the decisions, he now dedicates himself to writing and analysing.

Tim Marshall wrote a second book, “The Power of Geography: Ten Maps that Reveal the Future of Our World”, detailing issues regarding some of the regions analysed in the first book plus other regions that were not included, like Australia… and the Space. Then, he furthered the Space topic in a third book, “The Future of Geography: How Power and Politics in Space will Change our World”.