Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The basketball season is winding down. This weekend, the playoffs begin.
There are 16 teams in the playoffs. Eight are in the Eastern Conference and eight are in the Western Conference. The final four winning teams will play in the NBA Conference Finals.
The Toronto Raptors, the only Canadian team in the NBA (National Basketball Association) did not make the playoffs this year.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has accepted a plan to end the war in his country, but the rebels who want him out of power say they will never accept such a plan.
Last Sunday, the president of South Africa and several other African leaders met with Gadhafi to talk to him about a “ceasefire” which would stop the fighting. They called the plan a “roadmap to peace.” They asked the countries that are helping the rebels to stop their attacks on Gadhafi’s targets in order to give the peace plan a chance to succeed.
Two years ago, six-year-old Sam Pointon landed his dream job at the National Railway Museum in England. He became the museum’s Director of Fun, a position he still holds today.
While on holiday with his family, his father noticed in the newspaper that Andrew Scott would be retiring after 15 years of being the museum director.
Sam’s hobby was trains. He loved everything about them.
On May 2, Canada is having a federal election. Before an election, the candidates work hard to let Canadians know what their ideas are and what they will do for the country if they win the election. They’re trying to get people to vote for them by speaking directly to Canadians.
One of the most important ways in which they can get their ideas across is a “debate.” There will be a debate on Tues., April 12 in English at 7 p.m. EST. There will be another debate with the same people but in French, on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST
Last week, Portugal asked the European Union to help it pay its debts. They did it because they owe so much money – €80-billion, or more than $109-billion Canadian dollars. (€ is the symbol for euros, the money used in many countries in Europe.)
Portugal is the third country in Europe to ask for this kind of help recently. The first country was Greece and the second was Ireland.
All three country’s leaders have suffered for their decisions about their country’s money.
With only a few games left to play in the National Hockey League season, it’s a good time to look at how well or in some cases, poorly the Canadian teams performed.
Canada has a total of six hockey teams. From east to west they are: The Montreal Canadiens, The Ottawa Senators, The Toronto Maple Leafs, The Edmonton Oilers, The Calgary Flames, and The Vancouver Canucks.
The Montreal Canadiens had quite a good season. They won 43 games and earned 93 points. This success guaranteed them a spot in the playoffs and a chance to win the Stanley Cup. All that remains to be seen is who they will play in the first round.
In 1986, Rick Hansen went around the world in a wheelchair – through 34 countries – to raise money for spinal cord injuries.
Hansen’s “Man In Motion Tour” was a major achievement, covering more than 40,000 kilometres. Many people see Hansen as a Canadian hero.
It has been 25 years since Hansen’s historic tour and in that time his foundation has raised more than $200 million to help people with spinal cord injuries.
Sometimes weird can be good.
Weird can be funny too, as demonstrated on the popular YTV show That’s So Weird. The Canadian television show is a sketch comedy program about a group of teenagers working at a fictional television station called So Weird TV.
That’s So Weird has been running for two seasons. The episodes are made up of silly commercials and even sillier television shows. Skits include spoofs of real-life TV programs like Degrassi: The Next Generation, This Is Daniel Cook and the UFC. They have even poked fun at the Twilight movies and Glee.
There will be a federal election in Canada on May 2.
Every Canadian who is 18 years or older and is registered to vote – even people in prison or who are out of the country – may vote.
Although there are many people who are up for election, there are five main ones—one of whom will win.
Each person who is up for election is a member of a different “political party.”
A “political party” is a group of people who all think the same way about things. They think the same way about how a country should be run, how it should spend its money and what is most important.
They will no longer be serving Whoppers at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, after the fast-food restaurant closed down in the food court there recently.
Canada’s largest hospital for children made the choice to close down the Burger King because of its unhealthy options such cheeseburgers and French fries, which are high in fat and salt.
The hospital is meant to offer healthy food choices for the visitors and staff. A doctor at Sick Kids named Vishal Avinashi started a Facebook group called, “Burger King should NOT be allowed to operate at Sick Kids Hospital.” There are 269 members in the group, and more are joining each day.
Avinashi tried to raise awareness of the messages that the hospital is sending by offering unhealthy options. He says the hospital is, “setting the wrong example” by allowing fast-food restaurants to sell unhealthy food there.
