Recently, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in the UK launched a new, high-tech research ship. The $370-million ship has an important job. It explores the Arctic and conducts scientific experiments to learn more about the environment.
Tag: United Kingdom
Scotland Votes On Independence Today
Should they stay or should they go?
That’s the question on the minds of the people in Scotland.
They’re voting on Thursday, Sept. 18. They will either vote to stay within the UK (United Kingdom) or to become independent.
J K Rowling Against Scottish Independence
J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, announced last week that she is giving one million pounds to the Better Together campaign.
Was Stonehenge Built for Prehistoric Rock Music?
For many years, archaeologists have wondered why the people who built Stonehenge – a prehistoric monument in the south of England – used huge rocks that came from more than 300 kilometres away.
Now, a team of researchers believes the rocks may have been chosen because they produce musical sounds.
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.
Peanuts Recalled For Not Stating “May Contain Peanuts”
A supermarket in England is taking packages of peanuts out of their stores because their containers do not say they “may contain peanuts.”
Booths is a grocery store chain; they have 29 locations in northern England. They pulled 300 of the packets off their shelves after a health agency issued an allergy alert.
The alert was issued because the food didn’t have a warning telling the customer that it might make people with allergies get sick.
The containers are labelled as “Whole Hearted Roasted Monkey Nuts.”
“Monkey nuts” is a British nickname for peanuts in the shell.
The allergy alert was issued by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which is in charge of ensuring food safety in the United Kingdom.
Bank Of Canada’s Loss Is England’s Gain
On Monday, Mark Carney made news when he announced that he was leaving his job as Governor of the Bank of Canada to become the Governor of the Bank of England.
The governor of a country’s central bank watches over the country’s money, and sets interest rates for borrowing or lending money to governments and others.
The governor also has to make sure there is enough cash in government accounts to cover all the programs it runs.
The central bank’s governor sets policies and rules for money matters at the highest level.
Carney told reporters that he took the job with the Bank of England because it will be a challenge.
He meant that he wanted to see if he could do a harder, or different, job than what he is doing now.
England is part of the United Kingdom, which is a member of the European Union.
Right now, the European Union is facing big decisions to make sure Europe’s financial future is strong.
Carney will have to help England to make those decisions.
Flotilla A Highlight Of Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations
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.
Scotland May Hold Independence Referendum
For the first time in three centuries, the united part of the United Kingdom may be in trouble.
The Scottish National Party (SNP), the party that runs Scotland day-to-day, is urging the Scottish people to support independence from Britain. However it still wants to keep the Queen as official leader.
Last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Cameron went to Scotland to argue that Scotland should not separate from Great Britain.
Scotland and England have been together since 1707 when the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed under the rule of the British. Ireland and Wales were already under British rule at that time.
