Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The enormous cruise ship, The Costa Concordia, no longer lies on its side, rusting in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tuscany, Italy.
Salvagers spent 19 hours—and more than $824-million—setting it upright.
It was the largest salvage operation of its kind.
The 13-deck Costa Concordia was carrying 4,200 people on Jan. 13, 2012 when its captain steered it too close to the shore.
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.
The new pope has been chosen; he will be known as Pope Francis.
The pope was selected by cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy last Wednesday.
In a special meeting known as a “conclave,” the cardinals voted to elect Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina to be the new pope.
The pope is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and its more than a billion followers around the world. It is the first time a pope from Latin America has been chosen.
The new pope was chosen after the last pope, Pope Benedict XVI, resigned. It was the first time in 600 years a pope had resigned.
Eat like they do in the Mediterranean and you’ll live to a ripe, old age. Or at least a little longer than you might otherwise have done.
A new study has found that people who eat a Mediterranean diet are less likely to suffer heart-related problems like a heart attack or a stroke.
The Mediterranean region comprises the 18 countries, plus Portugal, that border the Mediterranean Sea. It includes Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Egypt, Israel and Turkey.
People there eat lots of extra-virgin olive oil and nuts as well as fruit, fish, chicken, wine, beans and salads. They tend not to eat a lot of baked goods or pastries.
In a historic move, the Pope has resigned his position as head of the Roman Catholic Church.
He is the first pope to resign in 600 years.
Pope Benedict XVI (Benedict the 16th) announced his decision on Monday.
He said he has been losing strength and can no longer perform the tasks required of him. He is 85 years old.
On Wednesday, the general manager of the Toronto Raptors basketball team took care of some unfinished business.
Bryan Colangelo made a huge trade, to get superstar player Rudy Gay.
It all started back in 2006. At that time, Colangelo held the “number-one overall draft pick.” That meant he could choose any eligible player and add them to his team.
He travelled around the world, looking for the perfect person to add to the Raptors.
Researchers were investigating a mural painted by Italian artist Vasari in Florence, Italy last year.
They had a hunch that on a wall behind Vasari’s mural, another mural might be lurking — one painted by the famous Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci.
The researchers were right.
They put a probe with a camera on it through the first mural.
Underneath, they found the Leonardo painting, The Battle of Anghiari.
The research team was led by scientist Maurizio Seracini and included specialists from the National Geographic Society, several universities and the City of Florence.
The Pope’s butler is on trial.
The Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church around the world. The current Pope is Pope Benedict XVI.
The Pope’s butler is named Paolo Gabriele.
His job is to look after the personal needs of the Pope—for instance, serve the Pope his meals and help him dress.
Naturally, he has access to some very private areas of the Vatican, like the Pope’s bedroom and other rooms.
For months, Italian media have been publishing private information about the Catholic Church. No one knew where the media got the information.
It looks like the butler may have done it.
Europe’s central bank thinks it has a good plan to help countries like Greece, Spain and Italy. Those countries are struggling because they took on too much debt.
The idea is that the European Central Bank will agree to buy some of the debt.
In return, the troubled countries must agree to spend less money and to put their finances in order.
When countries lend money to other countries, they receive small payments called interest.
When a country borrows too much money, some of the people who lent the money begin to worry that they won’t get their money back. So they demand higher and higher interest payments.
This puts pressure on countries that are already having trouble paying back all the money they borrowed.
It pushes their debt even higher.
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.
