Tag: celebrities

Entertainment News

G’bye 2011, Hello 2012 (Year In Review, Part I)

There were many fascinating news stories in 2011.

Today and tomorrow TKN takes a look at some of the most significant news stories from the past year.

Protests and dissent

The year 2011 may be known as the year of “dissent” – the year people protested. In a number of Arab countries — including Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria and Libya — people took to the streets to protest against their governments and many leaders were ousted.

It was known as the Arab Spring.

There were other protests closer to home. In North America and many other places around the world, young people rose up to protest the growing difference between the rich (the one per cent) and the rest (the 99 per cent).

News Politics

North Korea’s Kim Jong-il Dead

The ruler of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, passed away on Saturday.

He died, at age 69, of heart failure.

North Korea’s people know him as “Dear Leader.” They went into the streets to mourn his passing.

However, his death creates a lot of uncertainty about what will happen in North Korea.

Many world leaders are concerned about the situation there now.

One reason is that North Korea has nuclear weapons, so nearby countries like Japan and in particular South Korea, reportedly have their military on “high alert.”

Another reason for concern is that before his death, Kim passed control of the country to one of his sons, Kim Jong-un, who is in his 20s.

Kim Jong-un is largely unknown to other world leaders. In fact, until two years ago, the only picture the CIA had of him was as a student in short pants at a school he was attending in Switzerland.

News Politics

Who Will Fill Jack Layton’s Shoes?

The New Democratic Party (NDP) is going to elect a new leader.

The NDP is Canada’s official opposition party.

The leader of the NDP was Jack Layton. He passed away last August from cancer.

It will be hard to fill his shoes, because he was well respected and liked not just by members of his own party, but by Canadians across the country.

There are nine candidates vying to be leader of the NDP.

On Sunday night they held a leadership debate.

A debate is when candidates talk about the issues, and say why they think they’d make the best leader.

Kids Lighter News

Lady Gaga’s Message To One Toronto School

Students at the Etobicoke School of the Arts had a special guest at their anti-bullying assembly last week.

Lady Gaga sent the Toronto school a specially recorded video message.

The student council president, Jacques St. Pierre, is a huge fan of Lady Gaga.

He had sent emails to several celebrities, asking them to help launch the school’s anti-bullying campaign.

He was thrilled when Lady Gaga read his email and responded.

St. Pierre was the only student at the school who knew about the video until the assembly.

Sports

Sid The Kid Makes His Big Comeback

Canadians — whether they were hockey fans or not — were glued to their TV sets on Monday night.

One of the sport’s greatest players was making his comeback.

Sidney Crosby had been off the ice since early January after suffering two blows that left him with a concussion.

On Tuesday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins’s captain came back into the game. And boy, did he put on a show!

Crosby scored a goal in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the game against the New York Islanders, flipping a backhander over the glove of goaltender Anders Nilsson.

The Penguins ultimately won 5-0 against the lacklustre Islanders.

Crosby took home four points, with two assists and then another backhand goal in the third period.

Not bad for a guy who hadn’t played in 10 months.

News

The Small Horse With The Heart Of Gold

Hickstead, the stallion, was not Eric Lamaze’s pet.

In fact, Lamaze wasn’t even Hickstead’s owner. But he was Lamaze’s work partner and best friend.

So after a race last week in Italy, when Hickstead began to fall over with Lamaze on his back, the horse turned to make sure his rider was clear before he fell all the way down. He didn’t want to hurt his best friend.

The gold medal-winning Hickstead died instantly of heart failure, without pain.

Hickstead and Lamaze were a good match. Both came from troubled backgrounds. Horse experts said Hickstead was too small for international competition and had a temper that no one could tame. Many said he would never be a winner.

Breaking News Politics

Italy’s PM To Step Down

Italy’s prime minister is stepping down.

On Tuesday, Silvio Berlusconi announced that he will resign.

His announcement came after a key vote in parliament indicated that he does not have the support of the majority of parliament.

Italy is in the midst of an “economic crisis” – the country has borrowed more money than it can pay. It has too much “debt.”

Other countries, like Ireland, Portugal and most recently Greece have had similar crises.

However, Italy’s problem is much bigger and arguably more of a problem for the whole European Union (EU). The European Union is a partnership of 27 countries in Europe.

Italy is more than $2.6 trillion in debt.

Entertainment Lighter

Toronto’s Mayor Gets A Surprise Visit

Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford, was caught off-guard by a comedy team called This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

One of the fictional characters on CBC’s This Hour is Marg Delahunty.

She plays a “warrior princess journalist” who often confronts politicians in a funny way.

She “ambushes” them and talks to them about the issues of the day. It’s meant to be funny but often insightful, too.

Last week she tried to ambush Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in the driveway of his home.

There are two sides to the story of what happened next.

According to Marg Delahunty (comedian Mary Walsh in real life), their camera crew ambushed the mayor at 8:30 a.m., in daylight, and in her typical loud-mouthed way she started offering the mayor some advice.

She was trying to tell him that “we bombastic buffoons should stick together.”

Sports

Baseball’s Pujols Hits Three Homers In World Series Game

Many people enjoy the Fall because of the beautiful colours of the leaves, but to baseball fans, the Fall is especially wonderful because it also means the beginning of the World Series.

This year, the two teams competing in the World Series are the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers.

And while both teams are capable of winning the championship–the series is tied at 2-2–the Cardinals have shown they can score a ton of runs, thanks in large part to the play of their first baseman, Albert Pujols.

On Saturday, Pujols played one of the finest games of baseball ever played in the World Series.

Not only did he hit three home runs, he also collected six RBI (Runs Batted In), and hit two singles.

Pujols’ terrific day at the plate put him among baseball’s elite.

Breaking News Politics

Former Libyan Dictator Moammar Gadhafi Is Dead

The former leader of Libya is dead.

Moammar Gadhafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years, had been forced to step down from office when Libyans took to the streets in protest of his brutal dictatorship.

For months, he and his followers fought off the rebels. He maintained to the end that he was still Libya’s ruler.

Then, he disappeared. No one could find him.

All that ended Thursday, when rebel forces shot him to death in his hometown, Sirte.

Gadhafi’s reign over Libya was at times colourful and brutal.

He often acted like an arrogant celebrity, having meetings with dignitaries in an enormous white tent which he set up wherever he went including large cities like Paris and New York.

He had female bodyguards who wore camouflage and high-heels and carried machine guns.