Readable, teachable news.
Friday, December 27, 2024
The conservative party won the election in Greece last Sunday and around the world, economists and other people involved with the world’s money heaved a collective sigh of relief.
If another party had won the election, many people were predicting that Greece might stop using Euros as its currency.
That move would likely have affected many countries around the world including those in Europe and North America.
On Friday night Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk over Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
More than 100,000 people gathered to watch the feat, which has taken more than two years and help from many people, including NASA engineers, to accomplish.
Nik Wallenda is a descendant of the famous “Flying Wallendas” family of acrobats.
The stunt was incredible, not just because no one has ever done it before but because it took a lifetime of training and a lot of physical and mental strength to perform.
Niagara Falls creates a lot of mist, which drenched Wallenda most of the time he was on the tightrope. Swirling winds threatened to knock him from his perch, 200 feet in the air above the thundering falls.
The government of Canada had a sleepover, and all of the MPs were invited.
In fact, attendance was mandatory.
What’s really happened is that the Members of Parliament stayed up all night working.
They were voting on a bill, but the way they did it was very unusual—and very interesting.
It all started when Stephen Harper’s Conservative government introduced Bill C-38.
Bill C-38 is an enormous 425-page bill covering all kinds of things including budget items.
The opposition party (the NDP) wanted to protest the fact that the government bundled all of those extra items into the bill.
They say that when too many items are bundled that way, none of the items can be looked over and properly discussed.
The LA Kings are the kings of hockey, for the first time in their history.
On Monday night, the Kings won hockey’s ultimate prize — the Stanley Cup.
Their quest for the Stanley Cup has been 45 years in the making.
Their dream became a reality after they beat the New Jersey Devils 6-1 in the sixth game of a seven-game series.
The win can be attributed in large part to a five-minute major penalty against one of the Devils’ players early in the game. During that penalty the Kings scored three goals.
The game then really opened up in favour of the Kings. Jonathan Quick, the Kings’ goalie, was solid in net. In fact, he was fantastic for the entire playoffs, setting NHL records. He was named playoff MVP (Most Valuable Player), and was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy.
Last week Spain’s Prime Minister asked for $125-billion to help the country’s failing economy.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the country needs the money to save its banks.
For months the country has tried to avoid seeking outside help.
There are 17 countries that use the Euro as their currency. Spain is the fourth of these countries to request a bailout. In this case a bailout is when other countries lend a country money to help prop up its economy.
Because its economy is so large, the need for a bailout is troubling for the European union. For instance, the Spanish economy is five times larger than that of Greece (another country that is suffering from economic problems).
Usually countries’ economies affect each other. That’s because they buy and sell things from and to each other. So if one country’s economy isn’t doing well, it affects other countries.
Canadian-owned I’ll Have Another was a favourite to win the Belmont Stakes horse race this year.
The race was held last Saturday.
If he’d won, he would also have won all three of the major horse races and become the U.S. Triple Crown winner, every horse-owner’s dream.
However, it wasn’t to be.
Just before the big race, his trainer announced that the horse had tendonitis in his left front leg and would not be able to race. The owner decided to retire the colt from racing.
The good news is that I’ll Have Another will recover from his injury and will be fine. It’s likely that the horse will become a stud, which means that he will father other colts which may go on to become excellent race horses themselves. In that way, I’ll Have Another’s legacy will live on.
Toronto is banning plastic shopping bags in stores.
Starting in January 2013, you’ll have to bring your own reusable bag to the store to cart your goods away.
More than 250 million bags end up in landfill every year, never breaking down into compost, according to a report by CBC News.
Plastic bags can also clog drainage systems and, when they are washed out to sea, can hurt fish and other marine animals.
When someone’s done the same job for 60 years, she deserves a party. And that’s what happened in London, England this week.
The party for Queen Elizabeth II lasted four days.
On the first day, she attended the Royal Derby, a big horserace held every year.
The second day, more than a million guests lined the River Thames and watched the Queen and members of her family float along in the royal barge, majestically surrounded by a flotilla of 1,000 boats. A flotilla is a group of small boats together on the water.
Governments from just a handful of countries have flown into space.
But never has a private company successfully sent a spacecraft into space.
Not only is it extremely expensive, but it’s incredibly risky. There are a million things that can go wrong.
Last month an American company called Space Exploration Technologies – better known as SpaceX – made history by sending its unmanned Dragon spacecraft into space.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been sent to prison for life.
Last year, as part of the Arab Spring protests* Mubarak was forced from government. He had been in power for nearly 30 years.
During the anti-Mubarak protests, Mubarak’s security forces fired on the protesters, killing more than 850 people.
Recently, a judge found Mubarak guilty of participating in those killings and sentenced him to life in prison.
