 Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from The Voice of America. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Novak. This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower, and we use words and phrases, especially written for people learning English. Coming up on the program, Ashley reports on the recent increase of COVID-19 deaths. Brian Lin has a story on the state of emergency in Papua New Guinea. Dan Friedel reports on last year's record warmth. Jill Robbins and I preview this year's most important world elections, and John Russell presents the everyday grammar lesson. The World Health Organization, WHO, says holiday gatherings and the spread of a new COVID-19 variant led to increased hospitalizations and deaths last month. WHO Director General Tadros Abnam-Gabriasis said Wednesday that nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December. He added that hospitalizations during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries. Tadros said, although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable. Tadros said it was certain that cases of COVID-19 were increasing in other places that have not been reporting case numbers. Tadros said the JN1 variant is now the most common in the world. Since it is an Omicron variant, current vaccines should still provide some protection. Health officials in the U.S. say there is no evidence that JN1 causes more severe disease than recent variants. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, reports that there have been at least 110,000 hospitalizations and 6,500 deaths from the flu since October. The agency added that COVID-19 illnesses were not increasing as quickly as flu illnesses. Still, COVID-19 is putting more people in the hospital than the flu. Maria Vankerkov is the technical lead at WHO for COVID-19. She said there is an increase in respiratory diseases around the world due to COVID-19, flu, and pneumonia. We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the northern hemisphere, Vankerkov said. She added there have also been increases in COVID-19 in the southern hemisphere, where it is now summer. WHO officials suggest that people get vaccinated, wear face coverings, and make sure air can move in and out of indoor areas. Michael Ryan is the head of emergencies at the WHO. He said, the vaccine may not stop you from being infected, but the vaccines are certainly reducing significantly your chances of being hospitalized or dying. I'm Ashley Thompson. The government of Papua New Guinea declared a state of emergency on Thursday after at least 16 people were killed in rioting. After declaring the emergency, Prime Minister James Merapi told a news conference that the government would take steps to prevent further lawlessness. Speaking directly to the people of the South Pacific country, Merapi said, this is your country as much as it's my country. Breaking the law does not achieve certain outcomes. The unrest began Wednesday in the capital, Port Moresby, after hundreds of police officers, soldiers, and other government workers walked off their jobs. The workers had discovered an unexpected pay cut. Government officials later said the reduction was a mistake, calling it a glitch. They said it would be fixed. Australian state broadcaster ABC reported that at least 16 people were killed in the unrest. Rioting in Port Moresby killed nine people, while seven were reported dead in the northern city of Lay. Local video showed thousands of people in the streets of Port Moresby Reuters news agency reported. Many carried what appeared to be looted goods as black smoke rose over the city. The French news agency AFP reported at least 25 people were treated with gunshot wounds at a hospital in the capital. In addition, at least six people were treated for knife injuries, AFP said. Moresby told reporters there was evidence that organized rioting had taken place. He promised the government would secure democracy and the rule of law. He said about 1,000 military troops were standing by to be deployed to areas experiencing further unrest. Reuters reported that violence had eased in the capital Thursday. Many stores, banks, and other businesses were closed as owners sought to repair property damage. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was watching the situation but had not received any requests for help. We continue to urge calm at this difficult time, he told reporters. Australia has in the past supported policing efforts in Papua and the two nations recently signed a security agreement. Papua New Guinea is home to 10 million people and about 800 languages. Farming is an important industry but the country also holds rich resources including gold and copper. Tensions in the country have been rising along with unemployment and living costs. This has led to an increase in violent crime over the past year. Marappi has said improving the security situation will help bring in more foreign investment. I'm Brian Lin. Copernicus, the European Climate Agency, says 2023 broke records for global warmth. The average temperature for the year was 1.48 degrees Celsius above the world's pre-industrial temperature. World climate experts agree that an average increase up to 1.5 degrees or higher could lead to extreme climate disasters. They set the 1.5 degree Celsius mark at a 2015 climate conference in Paris. However, January 2024 is measuring so warm that it is likely to average at or beyond the 1.5 mark for the month, says Samantha Burgess. She is deputy director of Copernicus. Scientists have repeatedly said an average of 1.5 degrees of warming over as much as 30 years would violate the limit. The 1.5 degree goal has to be kept alive because lives are at risk and choices have to be made, Burgess said. The record heat made life difficult and sometimes deadly in Europe, North America, and China, among other places. Climate scientists say heat is not the only problem related to temperature rise. They say severe weather events, such as heavy rains that cause flooding, along with wildfires and extreme dry conditions, are connected to the rising temperatures. For the first time, nations meeting on climate late in 2023 agreed that the world needs to move away from polluting fossil fuels. Copernicus said the average temperature in 2023 was 1.6 degree Celsius above the past record set in 2016. The average temperature was 14.98 degrees Celsius. It was record breaking for seven months. We had the warmest June, July, August, September, October, November, December, Burgess said. It wasn't just a season or a month that was exceptional. It was exceptional for over half the year. Malte Meinchausen is a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. He says about 1.3 degrees Celsius of the warming comes from greenhouse gases with another 0.1 degrees from usual weather conditions such as El Nino. Copernicus records only go back to 1940. Other organizations will announce climate reports for 2023 on Friday. The groups include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US and Great Britain's Meteorological Office. While some national weather offices only have records going back to the 1940s, many scientists agree that this is the warmest period for Earth in over 100,000 years. Copernicus said there were two and nearly three days in 2023 where the world's average temperature was at least 2 degrees above that of the pre-industrial period. In addition, for more than half the year, the world average temperature was 1.5 degrees warmer than in the mid-1800s. I'm Dan Friedle. 2024 will go down as one of the most politically important years in history. More than 60 countries will hold national elections representing half of the world's population. Here is a look at six of the year's most important elections. The US presidential election looks to be a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The two front-runners have very different opinions on America's place in the world. The results in November's race may decide how tough the US will be on China, Russia, and other international rivals. Joseph S. Nye Jr. is the former US Assistant Secretary of Defense. He told VOA that Trump's America First position is attempting to bring isolationism back in foreign policy. That could leave US allies in a difficult position as tensions rise between Taiwan and China and as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars continue. On Russia, Nye said, Trump is likely to be more favorable to Putin. That means pressure to reduce support for Ukraine is very likely. As President, Biden has sent military aid packages to Ukraine and Israel, even as he faces opposition from both parties. Biden is currently behind Trump in the polls in a possible rematch. Taiwan will hold its general elections on January 13. Although small in size, Taiwan has a big influence over the world economy. More than 70% of the world's semiconductors and about 90% of all advanced microchips are made by Taiwanese companies. The question of Taiwan's independence from China is at the center of conflict between the United States and China going into 2024. President Tsai Ing-wen is term-limited and will not be running in January. She has warned the public that China is spreading disinformation online to take votes away from the leading presidential candidate, Li Qingde. Li is the current vice-president. He has angered China over past comments related to Taiwan's sovereignty. Li's main opponents are taking a softer approach to China. Some experts worry that tensions between China and Taiwan could worsen if Li wins the presidency. Russia will hold its presidential election in March. Following its invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, Russia has become the most sanctioned country in the world. The sanctions have harmed its economy and driven Russia closer to China. Experts do not expect Russian President Vladimir Putin to lose in 2024. His top political rivals are jailed, exiled, missing or dead. If Putin wins another six years, Russia will continue the same brutal agenda in Ukraine and increasingly autocratic policies at home, said Sergei Rodchenko. He is a professor of Soviet history at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Experts say the level of success Putin sees in his war with Ukraine may depend on who wins the US presidential election. The European Union is headed for elections in June. Anti-immigration leaders with soft positions on Russia and China are set to push the European Parliament to the right. The Parliament, though, plays only a supervisory role in the EU. European Commission President Ursula Wanderlein has yet to announce whether she is running for reelection. She has shown strong support to Ukraine and has pressed President Xi Jinping to address China's large trade imbalance with Europe. If re-elected, Wanderlein would serve as an equalizing force in an increasingly populist European Union. She would work to balance the often conflicting interests of different member nations with her goal of containing Russia. The election results will decide how much pushback Wanderlein's pro-Ukraine agenda will face from incoming right-wing European lawmakers. That is especially important as Ukraine gets closer to becoming an EU member nation. India holds its general elections this spring. Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling BJP party say the country's religious minorities are facing widespread persecution or unfair treatment. Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda has gained popularity. Violence against Sikh and Muslim Indians has become increasingly common. Modi's government stands accused of killing a Sikh expatriate in Canada last summer and a failed plot to kill a Sikh activist living in New York City in November. Those incidents have affected India's diplomatic ties with the West. Modi has a very high approval rating among Indian voters and appears likely to earn a third five-year term. If he wins, Modi is expected to build on the relationships he has made with both Trump and Biden during his time as Prime Minister. South Africa's ruling party is at its weakest point since it came to power in 1994. The African National Congress, or ANC, is at risk of losing its majority in the legislature. To stay in power, the ANC will likely be forced to form a coalition with other parties. South Africa is the most industrialized nation in Africa, but with a one-third unemployment rate and power shortages across the nation, some young South Africans are turning away from the ANC. Still, it is likely that the ANC will stay in charge for the next five years, said Daniel Silk. He is a South African political expert. The Democratic Alliance, or DA, is the largest opposition party. If the DA wins an unlikely victory, there would be improvement in relations between South Africa and the West, Silk said. Silk said the ANC remaining in power could make way for an even stronger connection between South Africa and China. I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Dan Novak. Consider a time when you heard or read news about business, investments, or politics. Now consider a happy time when you gathered with friends or family. You ate food, had something to drink, and perhaps smiled and laughed. What word might appear often in discussions about our two situations, the news and the family meal? The answer is one word that comes in a verb or noun form, share. Share will be the subject of today's everyday grammar. You will learn about the word's meanings, as well as commonly used structures in everyday situations. Let's start with some definitions. As we said before, the word share has both a noun and verb form. We can compare it to a superhero. Consider Peter Parker. He is a normal young man. But sometimes he becomes Spider-Man. And Spider-Man is all about action. Just as Peter Parker has a normal side and an active side, the word share has a noun form and an active verb form. Let's start with the noun form. When you read business or even political news, you are highly likely to see the noun form. Share suggests the idea of division or splitting something. So, a share can involve value, interest, or ownership that has been divided into parts. For example, a person might buy stock shares in a company. This means that a person is buying partial ownership of a business. Any time you read news about the stock market, for example, the value of the shares of businesses is a central point of interest. Now consider a story about a political dispute. A scandal might happen and one politician might be forced to accept his or her share of the blame for something that went wrong. In this usage, the politician is getting an amount of something, blame, that he or she deserves or is responsible for. You might use the noun form of share when you talk about gatherings with family and friends. For example, friends might get together and decide to pay their share of the bill for a meal at a restaurant. In this case, the friends might divide the bill and pay what they owe individually. What about the verb form of share, you might ask? We often use it to talk about politics. Political parties might share power in a country, for example. We also might use the verb share to describe social gatherings. Family or friends might share food. In this case, the family or friends are coming together and dividing or splitting food among themselves. Everyone gets to eat and drink. Now we can ask the question, what are the most commonly used structures with both the noun and verb forms of share? The most common words that come before share are to and a. That is what Google's Engram viewer tells us. It is a database that contains information from thousands of books. But Engram viewer also gives us an important finding. To share is far more common than a share. So we are very likely to read a sentence like this. The two sides agreed to share power. Or the children decided to share the toys. We are somewhat less likely to read a sentence like this. He bought a share of Microsoft stock. What words are likely to come after share? The two most common structures Google's Engram viewer tells us are share of and share the. So think back to our earlier examples. He bought a share of Microsoft stock. The children decided to share the toys. Let's end this lesson with a quiz. Fill in the blank with the correct word or words. The countries agreed, blank, the profits made from the shipping canal. Here is one possible answer. The countries agreed to share the profits made from the shipping canal. I'm John Russell. You just heard this week's everyday grammar. John Russell joins us now to talk a little bit more about the lesson. Welcome back John. Hi Dan, thanks for having me on the show. Your lesson today explored the verb and noun form of share. Was there something you left out of the lesson? Yes, there were several items I had to leave out. One point in particular comes to mind regarding how we use share to talk about social gatherings. And what is that point? One example used the noun form share to talk about friends going out and paying for their share of a meal. Another example used the verb form of share. As in a family gathered to share food and drinks. Both examples involve the idea of splitting or dividing. That's right, but there is an important difference. In the example where friends pay for their share of a meal, we have a kind of financial exchange. But in the example of the family who share food and drinks, we do not know if there was a financial exchange. There probably wasn't any kind of financial exchange. I see. So we should assume that the verb share means dividing or splitting something. But it doesn't necessarily mean that there is a financial exchange. Yes, that's correct. Thanks for explaining that a little bit more to us John. And thanks again for coming on the show. Thanks for having me. See you next time. And that's our program for today. Join us again tomorrow to keep learning English through stories from around the world. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Novak.