J K Rowling Against Scottish Independence
J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, announced last week that she is giving one million pounds to the Better Together campaign.
Post Tagged with: "England"
Was Stonehenge Built for Prehistoric Rock Music?
For many years, archaeologists have wondered why the people who built Stonehenge – a prehistoric monument in the south of England – used huge rocks that came from more than 300 kilometres away.
Now, a team of researchers believes the rocks may have been chosen because they produce musical sounds.
Take Our Fun Quiz: 2013 In Review (Part I)
How much do you know about the news that happened in 2013?
Take our quiz and see how much you remember about these stories from the past year. The link beside each question will take you to the TKN article that will give you the answer.
1) First Nations, Inuit and Metis people came together to form a movement for peaceful protest. What did the group call itself?
2) Chris Hadfield is famous for _____________. (Note: There are many possible correct answers for this one — fill the blank with what you know about Hadfield.)
Future King Of England, Baby Prince George, Christened
The tiny heir to Britain’s throne had a big milestone event this week.
Prince George had his christening.
In this case, a christening is a religious Christian ceremony during which a baby is baptized with holy water.
The water used in the ceremony was from the River Jordan. The river has significance to Christians because it is where Jesus was baptized, according to the Bible.
The three-month-old son of Prince William and Kate Middleton is third in line to the British throne. In other words, he could one day be the King of England.
The ceremony took place in St. James’s Palace in England.
There were only 22 people at the christening, but they included some pretty big names.
The Queen was there, as well as the three other people who are next in line to claim her throne.
“I Am Malala” – A New Memoir By Malala Yousafzai
It was a year ago this week that the world came to know young Malala Yousafzai.
The girl, who is now 16, was riding a bus on her way home from school in Pakistan.
Two men, who were members of a terrorist organization in Pakistan, came on the bus and attacked Malala. The group known as the Taliban, doesn’t agree with girls getting an education.
Malala had been writing online about the importance of girls going to school and about her own love of learning.
The Taliban wanted to stop Malala—but their actions created a world-wide outpouring of affection for the brave girl, who has since nearly fully recovered from her ordeal.
Malala was taken to a hospital in England, where she had a life-saving operation. She now lives and goes to school in England.
Prince Harry Spends A Night In A Giant Freezer
Britain’s Prince Harry spent a night in a giant freezer, to prepare himself for a race to the South Pole in November.
He will be doing the 15-day trek with a team of wounded British soldiers.
His team will compete against teams from the United States and the Commonwealth.
This week, the 29-year-old prince spent a day and nearly a whole night in the cold chamber, with the occasional 10-minute break.
AP reported that when asked what the worst part of his chilling experience was, the prince said, “Going in.”
Peanuts Recalled For Not Stating “May Contain Peanuts”
A supermarket in England is taking packages of peanuts out of their stores because their containers do not say they “may contain peanuts.”
Booths is a grocery store chain; they have 29 locations in northern England. They pulled 300 of the packets off their shelves after a health agency issued an allergy alert.
The alert was issued because the food didn’t have a warning telling the customer that it might make people with allergies get sick.
The containers are labelled as “Whole Hearted Roasted Monkey Nuts.”
“Monkey nuts” is a British nickname for peanuts in the shell.
The allergy alert was issued by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which is in charge of ensuring food safety in the United Kingdom.
Britain’s “Iron Lady” Dead At The Age Of 87
Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of England from 1979 to 1990. That was the longest time for any British prime minister since the early 19th century.
Thatcher was Britain’s only female prime minister and she was considered an important leader around the world.
On Monday Thatcher died of a stroke; she was 87 years old.
When she was Prime Minister, Thatcher was considered by most people to be very strong-willed. Her nickname was “The Iron Lady.” Once when her own Conservative party members asked her to tone down her a hard decision, she said to them: ‘The lady’s not for turning.’
On the other hand, Thatcher had a vision for her country and she was loyal to it to the end.
She believed strongly in lowering government spending, letting private companies buy government agencies and letting companies compete with each other without government help.
When a terrorist bomb, meant for her, killed five people, she made a speech that evening telling her own party that the British would never give in to terrorism.
Pterosaur Named After Girl Who Discovered It
Like many children, Daisy Morris loves to collect fossils.
Unlike other children, however, Daisy’s hobby has led to a pterosaur being named after her.
A pterosaur is a type of flying reptile closely related to dinosaurs.
The species Daisy discovered is now known as Vectidraco daisymorrisae, or “Dragon from the Isle of Wight.”
Daisy, who lives in England, was five years old in 2008 when she and her mother were taking a walk along the beach. She noticed some black bones—about 40 mm long– sticking out of the mud and she dug them out.
The family took the bones to a fossil expert at Southampton University in England.
Malala Yousafzai Attends Her First Day Back At School
Yesterday, Malala went back to school.
For girls in many countries — for instance, Canada or the United States — that statement would not be very startling.
But Malala Yousafzai is a 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was attacked for trying to get an education, and for speaking up for other girls who wanted an education.
She became known around the world as a hero for her courage in fighting for the rights of girls in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, a militant and terrorist group known as the Taliban believes that girls should not be educated. In 2009 they issued a ban that said girls are not allowed to go to school. Last October, when Malala was travelling to school, members of the Taliban attacked and seriously injured her. She was taken to a hospital in Britain, where doctors saved her life.
It has been a long road back to recovery for Malala, but yesterday she went back to school, this time in England.
Her father walked her to her first day at Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham.
She said it was the most important day of her life.
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