Fake it till you make it

🧠 Vocabulary challenge​
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Which of these is the meaning of the word 'instigate'?

(A) to make someone feel frightened, nervous, or less confident

(B) to cause an event or action to happen, especially something bad

(C) to start an official process or plan

(D) to look closely at facts, a situation, or a crime to discover the truth

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(answer at bottom of email)

3 big stories…

1. UAE-Israel flight chaos

On a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, the Omani co-pilot stabbed the Indian pilot and attempted to crash the plane. While the plane lost altitude, other plane crew and passengers overpowered the co-pilot and restrained him. A secondary pilot and co-pilot team who were on the plane regained control and landed the plane. More in yesterday's and today's episodes.

2. US failed execution

Convicted murderer Christa Pike was first in the news this week because she was expected to become the first woman executed in Tennessee for 200 years. The story took a turn on Wednesday when a court blocked the execution, but a few hours later the Supreme Court said that the execution should go ahead. On Wednesday evening, Pike was given a lethal injection intended to kill her. However, she did not die. A second dose was administered, but she still didn't die. Her lawyers have said that she was then taken to hospital, where doctors are now trying to save her life.

3. France student protests

Across France, secondary school students protested throughout this week, with clashes with police reported in many cities, and fires started in some schools. Students were complaining about large class sizes, a lack of teachers, long hours at school, among other things.

… and one you might have missed.

A Nigerian man has been charged with creating a fake government agency and receiving around a million dollars of funding for it. Adeniyi Adeyemi has been accused of forgery and impersonation for running the "Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council". Adeyemi appears to have secured funding for an office, faked official letters and met with representatives of foreign governments.

🔍 Find the synonym​
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Somewhere in the "3 big stories... and one you might have missed" sections above, find a synonym for the word "immobilised".

Statistic of the week

The United States is continuing to expand its lead as the world's top oil producer. The US became the top oil producer around 2015, and has continued to increase production while other producers have remained mostly flat. Despite being the biggest producer, the US is not the biggest exporter, as the US consumes most of the oil it produces. Saudi Arabia and Russia export more oil than the US. In terms of the 'oil export surplus', which means calculating the value of oil exports minus the value of oil imports, the US is not even in the top ten.

🌍 World news question​
​

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that a west-coast oil pipeline would help to export additional oil to which growing market?

Quote of the week:

— NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte

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Stephen’s view

Do you know the phrase "Fake it till you make it"?

The story of Nigerian Adeniyi Adeyemi might be the ultimate case of this phrase.

Adeyemi invented a government agency called the "Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council" and appointed himself as Director General.

Adeyemi created social media accounts, some of which still exist, and obtained a government-style web address.

Adeyemi somehow managed to secure around $1 million in government funds (although it isn't clear if he actually received them).

Adeyemi met with bureaucrats and businessmen, including the Thai and Vietnamese ambassadors to Nigeria. He also hosted meetings and events in the name of the "Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council."

I would love to know whether Adeyemi thought that he would get away with this forever, or whether he knew that one day real officials would find out that he was a fake official.

But the fact that he could operate like this for more than a year brings another phrase to mind - "blowing hot air". This means that someone is speaking highly about themselves or their business, despite there not being any meaning or substance to what they say. Perhaps all the people who met with "Director General" Adeyemi are so used to meeting with bureaucrats blowing hot air, that their meeting with a fake bureaucrat like Adeyemi seemed perfectly normal.

Have a great weekend.
Stephen

P.S. Send me a sentence with "fake it till you make it" or "blowing hot air" and I'll tell you if it's correct.

P.P.S. Thank you to everyone who sent me warm wishes for my move to Spain!

ANSWERS​
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(don't look until you've answered all three questions!)

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🧠 VOCABULARY CHALLENGE : (B) instigate means "to cause an event or action to happen, especially something bad".

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🔍 Find the synonym : A synonym for "immobilised" is "restrained" (in the first paragraph).

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🌍 World news question : Asia.

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