Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The Bank of Canada recently unveiled the country’s new $20 bill.
The bills, like the recently updated $100s and $50s, are made of a polymer (a type of flexible plastic) instead of paper.
The new bills have a transparent “window” in them.
The new $20 bills are more environmentally friendly than the old bills, because they are more durable so they won’t have to be replaced as often. The government says they last 2.5 times longer than paper bills.
Canada has hundreds of offices around the world in many different countries.
Recently, Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) signed an agreement to share some of their embassies.
The two countries have a “common history and shared values,” Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said in a press release. He said the new arrangement will help Canada save money on office space and resources. It will also allow Canada to have offices in countries where they don’t already have them.
“Canada will be sharing space, as we do with other trusted countries, to get maximum reach at minimal cost to taxpayers,” said Baird.
Baird’s UK counterpart agreed that the two countries share common interests. The most “pressing international issue on our common agenda” is the situation in Syria, said William Hague, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
Do you think you live in an average family?
According to the latest Census of Population, published by Statistics Canada, “average” has changed.
Every five years, Canadians are asked questions about their families and their life.
For instance, “How many people live here?” and “What are their ages?”
Some new information from the 2011 was recently published.
That census counted 9.4 million families in Canada, up 5.5 per cent from 2006.
The other thing a census tells us is what Canadian families look like.
For instance, in 1961 (according to that census) the average family comprised 3.9 people.
In 2011 (according to the most recent census) the average family comprises 2.9 people.
A typical, active kid should probably eat about 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day to stay healthy. (The exact number depends on a person’s gender, age and daily exercise level.)
But let’s say, 1,900.
Now let’s say that kid decides to buy her lunch at McDonald’s; maybe have a Big Mac and large fries.
Starting this week in the U.S., McDonald’s restaurants will show the calorie counts of each of their menu items—right up on the big menu board at the front of the restaurant.
Apple launched its new cell phone last week—the iPhone5.
Although the iPhone5 has some new features, it’s essentially the same phone with a longer screen (see the picture that accompanies this article).
The new phone is thinner, lighter and faster than its predecessors.
It’s less than 8 mm thick.
The screen is now a bit longer, at 4” (measured diagonally), or 10.2 cms. The iPhone4 screen is 3.5” (8.9 cms).
The new iPhone is also faster than the other iPhones.
The kids at many elementary and high schools in Ontario may not be participating in after-school sports or clubs for awhile.
That’s because the teachers who run the programs have been asked by their union to consider stop running them and to stop coaching.
Teachers in Ontario are part of a “labour union.” A union is a group of workers who band together for a common goal.
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.
Andy Murray is having a good year—a very good year.
All of his career, the 25-year-old tennis player has been plagued by the fact that he has never won a major tennis tournament.
On the weekend, he put that doubt to rest by winning the US Open.
The US Open is one of the big four, “Grand Slam” tennis tournaments.
The others are the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon.
Britain has been waiting 76 years for a male player to win a Grand Slam singles event.
Murray had been waiting all his life.
Some amazing kids have been been in the news recently. Here are two who have made big achievements in the sports world.
Lydia Ko recently won the Canadian Women’s Open golf tournament. It’s a tournament for female golfers–adult golfers. Ko, however, is just 15 years old.
Ko lives in Auckland, New Zealand (where she has lived since she moved from South Korea when she was six years old). Last month she travelled to British Columbia, where she faced professional golfers at the Canadian Women’s Open.
Thank goodness for Costa Rica’s strict building codes.
They ensure that its buildings are extremely sturdy and well built. That helps account for the relatively small amount of damage the Central American country suffered after a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake last Wednesday.
The earthquake took place about 140 kms west of the country’s capital, San Jose.
In 1991, another 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook the country but it caused a lot of damage. This time, Costa Rica was saved by its new and updated building standards.
