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Do You Want to Buy A Piece Of Facebook?

Facebook is the most popular “social networking” website in the world and it may be for sale soon. Or at least part of it.

A “social networking” website is one that lets people meet and chat with each other—not face-to-face, but over the Internet. Facebook and Twitter are two popular social networking websites.

Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook with some university friends in 2004. Recently, he decided to “go public” with Facebook. In this case, that means people he doesn’t even know will be allowed to buy a share (part) of the company.

Right now, Facebook is privately owned by some individuals and companies. Zuckerberg himself owns 24 per cent or almost one-quarter of Facebook–the largest portion.

When a company “goes public,” it is given a value (for instance, Facebook is said to be worth $100-billion) and that value is divided into “shares.” Those shares, which each represent a tiny piece of the value of the company, are then offered for sale.

News Politics

Some Canadian Immigration Policies Changing

Last month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper outlined some new rules about immigration to Canada.

Immigration is when someone comes from another country to live in Canada.

People who want to immigrate because of their work must apply and say what work they want to do when they get here.

Harper presented the immigration rules in January at a special meeting in Switzerland.

He said Canada will still look at all people who want to come to Canada — including people who are in danger in their own homeland, and family members of people already here.

However, people with certain skills and money-making ideas will now top the list.

Breaking News News

Attawapiskat Residents Getting Some New Homes

Some Attawapiskat residents will soon be moving into new “modular” homes.

Attawapiskat is a remote community in northern Ontario. Last year, the government there declared a state of emergency because residents were living in conditions that were very unsafe.

Canada’s government promised to help fix the housing problems in Attawapiskat.

The first modular home has reached the first nations community, and the second is on its way.

News Sports

Maple Leafs, Red Wings To Square Off In Winter Classic

It’ll be the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. the Detroit Red Wings out in the fresh air on New Year’s Day.

It’s called the Winter Classic, and it’s an annual outdoor hockey game that features NHL teams playing on an outdoor rink.

Today, the NHL announced which teams will be playing in the special game. The game counts as a regular-season game.

Although it’s still 11 months away—the next Winter Classic will be held on Jan. 1, 2013—fans are excited. Because it’s outdoors, things like snow, rain and glare from the sun can affect the game, which makes it all the more interesting for spectators.

Environment News Science

12-Million-Year-Old Plant May Soon Be Extinct

Cycads, a very rare type of plant, are in danger of becoming extinct because of poachers.

Poaching usually means to hunt animals illegally. In this case, trees are being taken from the wild.

They are then secretly sold for a lot of money – up to $100,000 each – to people who collect unusual plants.

The first cycads existed during the time of the dinosaurs, during the Jurassic period. The kinds of cycads that are alive today have been around for 12 million years.

They look like a cross between a fern and a palm tree, and they can take hundreds of years to grow to their full size.

Entertainment News Sports

Super Bowl Commercials Don’t Disappoint

Many people like to fast-forward through commercials on TV.

However, there is one time when many people want to watch the commercials. And that’s during the Super Bowl football game.

The Super Bowl was played last Sunday.

It has become a tradition that the commercials shown during the Super Bowl are particularly interesting to watch. Many of them are funny.

For instance, in a Volkswagen ad, a dog sees a Volkswagen go by his house. He wants to chase it, but he’s too fat to fit through the doggie door.

So he starts exercising himself to get in shape.

He chases his own tennis ball, and he swims laps in a pool.

Eventually, he is able to fit through the doggie door and chase the car.

Environment News Science

Europe In The Grip Of A Cold Snap

Some countries in Europe are experiencing a bitterly cold winter.

Ukraine, in eastern Europe, has been especially hard hit. More than 100 people have died there in the last week, as temperatures dropped as low as -30C. Many of the people who froze to death were homeless people living in the city’s capital, Kiev.

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, there have been avalanches and strong winds. The country declared a state of emergency.

One woman in Croatia had to have neighbours help her give birth to her baby after the ambulance could not reach her because of a blizzard. She later named her baby Snjezana, which is Snow White in Croatian.

News Sports

The Giants Take The 2012 Super Bowl

Yesterday, The New York Giants and the New England Patriots faced off in the year’s most important football game — the Super Bowl.

The game was played in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The two teams had faced each other at the Super Bowl before, four years ago. And just like the game back in 2008, the Giants won.

The final score this year was New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17.

It was a terrific contest between two great football teams, two fantastic coaches, and it was also a rematch between two great quarterbacks.

Entertainment Kids News

Ontario Place Closing Until 2017

One of Ontario’s most famous landmarks is closing.

Ontario Place will shut down for five years, to be transformed “into an innovative provincial landmark,” according to its website.

The attraction opened in 1971; at the time, it cost $29 million. It was created by the Ontario government to help revitalize the city’s lakefront area. Ontario Place is located downtown, on the shores of Lake Ontario.

The provincial government built Ontario Place as a family-friendly amusement park for Torontonians and as a way to attract more tourists to the city.

Kids News Sports

14-Year-Old Wins Golf Tournament

Fourteen-year-old Lydia Ko has become the youngest person — male or female — ever to win a professional golf tournament.

The teen won the New South Wales Open golf tournament on Jan. 29.

Ko was born in South Korea but moved with her family to New Zealand in 2003. She is the world’s top amateur golfer.

Ko won the tournament by four strokes. That means that the person who came in second took four more shots than Ko did, to complete 18 holes of golf. (In golf, unlike most sports, the winner is the person with the lowest score.)