Tag: Germany

News Politics

East German Man Receives Contest Prize 45 Years Later

Gunter Zettl won a radio contest in 1969.

He correctly identified a song the radio station played, and he sent a postcard to the station with the name of the song (“Painter Man,” By The Creation).

Last week, 45 years later, he was finally given his prize.

The reason for the delay was political.

Following World War II, in 1945, Germany was seperated into two states: East Germany and West Germany.

At the time, Zettl was a teenager living in East Germany. Pop music was banned in East Germany at the time.

News Politics

Stores Near G8 Summit Location Getting Temporary Facelift

Some businesses in Northern Ireland are getting a facelift before some of the world’s most powerful leaders meet there later this month.

The G8 Summit will take place in Ireland, June 17 to 18.

The G8 Summit brings together the leaders of eight of the world’s wealthiest countries. They are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US. The European Union is also represented at the meeting.

More than 100 businesses in a small town called Belcoo have been “spruced up,” according to news agency Reuters.

Some businesses have been made more attractive with fake store fronts. Some ugly and crumbling buildings have been torn down. Others have been covered by huge billboards, according to Reuters.

The businesses are near a golf course where the G8 leaders will meet.

So instead of Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper or U.S. president Barack Obama seeing ugly storefronts, they’ll see posters of nice storefronts instead.

More than $3-million dollars have been spent by the government in Northern Ireland to make the villages look nicer.

At one store, which used to be a butcher’s shop but is now empty, colourful stickers have been put on the windows to make it look like it’s busy inside, Reuters reported.

News

WWII Bomb Successfully Defused In Germany

A whole town in Germany had to be evacuated last week, while an enormous bomb was successfully diffused. Diffused means dismantled so it wouldn’t blow up.

The bomb was from World War II (WWII). It had been dropped on Germany by the Allies (the coalition of countries, including Canada, that fought Germany in the war) in the mid-1940s.

There are many unexploded bombs in the country, but this one – at 1.8 tonnes – was one of the biggest. There was another, smaller, bomb there too, which had been dropped by U.S. forces.

The bombs had been laying at the bottom of the Rhine river in a town called Koblenz.

When the water level in the river fell, due to a dry period, the bombs were discovered.

Because they had been sitting in water for a long time, they were very dangerous.

Sports

The Loss That Felt Like A Win

One sports writer called it, “a loss that felt like a win,” and indeed it was.

The Canadian women’s soccer team lost its first game 2-1 to Germany in the Women’s World Cup in Berlin on Sunday.

But during that game, one player in particular showed what she was made of–courage, skill and determination.

Going into the match, Germany was heavily favoured to win.

They had already won the World Cup twice before. In 2007 they won the Cup without giving up a single goal.

In fact, they haven’t given up a single goal in competition since October.

But something happened around half-time.

Kids Lighter

If You’re Inviting People On Facebook… Click “Private”

When Thessa’s birthday was coming up, she decided to throw a party. After all, it wasn’t every day a girl turned 16!

So, as many kids do these days, Thessa posted an invitation to her party on Facebook. She wanted all of her friends to come.

But she made a big mistake. She forgot to set her Facebook invitation to “Friends Only.”

More and more people saw the invitation and signed up to come to the party.

They sent it to their friends and told more people about it… and before long, more than 15,000 people had confirmed on Facebook that they were coming to the party.

Health

E. Coli Outbreak In Europe; 2,200 People Ill

There has been a serious outbreak of E. coli in Europe.

At least 2,200 people have gotten sick or shown symptoms and 22 people in Germany have died.

E. coli is short for Escherichia coli. It is a type of bacteria normally found in the body.

Most kinds (or “strains”) of E. coli are harmless and even help the body.

The strains included in the outbreak, however, are a harmful kind, causing food poisoning.

Food poisoning from E. coli usually happens when people eat unwashed vegetables or undercooked meat.