Many countries are sending aid to Nepal after a serious earthquake took place there on Saturday.
Nepal is located between China and India. One of its best-known features is Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth.
Breaking News
Crimea Has The World’s Attention
Some events are happening in Crimea and the world is taking notice of them.
The small peninsula of Crimea, attached to the country of Ukraine, sits in the middle of Europe. Crimea is about half the size of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia; about two million people live there.
Crimea is at the centre of a major political battle between Russia and Ukraine. The rest of world is watching that conflict closely.
World Mourns the Death of Nelson Mandela
The world is mourning the passing of one of the greatest leaders of our time.
Nelson Mandela is dead at 95.
He died on Thursday in Johannesburg, South Africa, from a lung infection.
Mandela was a symbol of freedom for the people of South Africa.
“Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father,” South African President Jacob Zuma said in an announcement.
He called this, “the moment of our deepest sorrow.”
John Greyson And Tarek Loubani Freed From Egyptian Jail
Two Canadians who were jailed in Egypt have been released.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Removed From Office
A judge has ruled that the mayor of one of the largest cities in North America has to step down.
Toronto’s Mayor, Rob Ford, has been removed from office–in other words, forced to stop being the mayor.
The judge’s decision takes effect two weeks from now. That’s when Ford must be out of his office.
Ford was elected in 2010 and had another two years to go, in his term as mayor.
Ford was found to have violated “conflict of interest” laws.
That’s because when Ford was a councillor, he raised some money for the football team he coaches, using City Hall stationery.
The city’s integrity commissioner — the person who advises elected officials about ethics — told Ford he had to give the money back. Ford refused.
When he became mayor, Ford asked council to reverse the decision.
In other words, he asked councillors to vote to let him keep the money and not have to give it back. Ford also voted in that vote.
The judge said that the mayor voting in this way was a conflict of interest.
U.S. Embassy In Libya Attacked
An “ambassador” is a person who represents one country—in another one.
For instance, Canada has ambassadors in many countries around the world. They are high ranking diplomats who represent their country. They typically work from offices called embassies.
The U.S. has many ambassadors stationed around the world, representing the United States.
The U.S. has an embassy in Libya, in Northern Africa.
Libya has been in the news this year because it was part of the Arab Spring, in which some countries’ people protested against corrupt governments.
On Wednesday, the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three embassy staff were killed.
Facts are still emerging about the incident—about why it happened and what the U.S. reaction to it will be.
Giant Slumber Party In The House Of Commons
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.
LA Kings Take Home The Stanley Cup
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.
Spain Asks For Financial Bailout
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.
Brett Lawrie Loses His Cool (Column)
On Tuesday, Brett Lawrie — a baseball player for the Toronto Blue Jays — lost control of his emotions during a game.
Lawrie was batting, and the umpire made a couple of calls that Lawrie disagreed with.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), there are four umpires including the home-plate umpire.
He is the one who decides if a pitch was a “ball” or a “strike.”
The pitcher pitches and when the ball crosses home plate the umpire makes a quick decision as to whether it was a good pitch (called a strike) or a bad pitch (called a ball).
If a batter gets three strikes against him he strikes out.
If a batter gets four balls against him he gets a ‘walk’ and is allowed to go to first base.
