Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The father of South Africa was laid to rest on Sunday.
Nelson Mandela was an international icon who fought for peace and reconciliation.
During his life, he affected millions of people. He helped bring about the elimination of “apartheid” in South Africa.
Mandela died on December 5 at the age of 95.
On Sunday, he was given a state funeral, in his home village of Qunu, followed by a private graveside ceremony.
Canada Post is phasing out home delivery.
People, particularly those living in urban areas, won’t have their mail delivered directly to their home.
They’ll have to do what most people in rural areas already do—get their mail from a “community mailbox.”
Canada Post says about two-thirds of people in Canada already get their mail this way.
It will be about five years before home delivery is completely phased out.
The elimination of home delivery service is one of a number of things Canada Post is doing to save money.
Time Magazine has named Pope Francis its “Person of the Year” for 2013.
The magazine has been handing out the honour each year since 1927.
Time chose the pope “for his strong leadership, humility and concern for the poor.” They said he has “brought new energy to the church.”
On March 13, 2013, the Catholic Church chose Argentinian-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio to be its new pope; he later selected the name Pope Francis.
The pope lives simply, in a modest apartment. He drives around in a 30-year-old vehicle, although he could—as past popes have done—own expensive cars.
Pope Francis, 77, strongly believes in helping the poor.
The skies wept over thousands of mourners gathered yesterday in a soccer stadium in South Africa to remember Nelson Mandela.
Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, attended along with four former prime ministers: Jean Chretien, Kim Campbell, Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney. Also in attendance was Shawn Atleo, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
Leaders of many other nations attended the memorial service to commemorate “the father of South Africa,” who passed away on Thursday at the age of 95.
But it was U.S. president Barack Obama that brought the crowd to its feet in a standing ovation with his words of praise for Mandela:
He makes me want to be a better man. He speaks to what’s best inside of us. After this great liberator is laid to rest, and when we’ve returned to our cities and villages and rejoined our daily routines, let us search for his strength, let us search for his largeness of spirit somewhere inside of ourselves.
One of the finest baseball pitchers in the history of the sport retired yesterday.
And he went out as a Blue Jay.
Roy Halladay had a distinguished career as a pitcher, with a record of 203 wins and just 105 losses.
He spent 12 years wearing a Blue Jays uniform; the last four years of his career he pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies.
On May 29, 2010, Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in Major League Baseball history. Then, he threw a no-hitter on Oct. 6—only the second no-hitter in MLB post-season history.
He won the Cy Young Award twice and was selected eight times to play in special All-Star games.
In addition to his impressive baseball skill, Halladay is also known as an upstanding person who gave generously to people in need.
Although at the end of his career Halladay played for the Phillies, he wanted to finish his career as a Toronto Blue Jay.
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.”
Imagine winning $50-million in a lottery.
Now… imagine losing your ticket.
That’s what happened to Kathryn Jones, from Hamilton, Ont.
In Nov. 2012, Jones bought a Lotto Max lottery ticket from a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Cambridge, near her work.
She didn’t think much about it at the time. In fact, she even misplaced the ticket–she hasn’t seen it since.
That should be the end of the story.
In 2017, Canada turns 150.
That’s a “milestone” birthday–known as a sesquicentennial–and the government will be doing a lot of special things to celebrate that year.
In anticipation of 2017, the government tested five different logos to decide which one would best represent the country’s 150th.
The logos were designed by the Department of Canadian Heritage, a department in the Canadian government that is responsible for programs relating to the arts, culture, official languages and multiculturalism.
Each logo features the colour red and has a maple leaf, like the Canadian flag.
And each logo features the number 150 and the word Canada.
Lots of people buy books and products from Amazon, an online seller.
They order and pay over the Internet and the books are shipped through the mail or a delivery service like FedEx.
One day, people could get their Amazon deliveries from an “unmanned aerial vehicle” — a tiny flying vehicle that looks like a toy helicopter.
And instead of waiting days to get the parcel, it could be at the buyer’s home in half an hour or less.
The company is working on a fleet of tiny vehicles they call “Prime Air.”
The vehicles are also known as “octocopters.”
It’s customary for the country that will host the Olympic games to send the Olympic flame on a vast relay.
The flame is passed from person to person, travelling around the country, often accompanied by cheering crowds watching the runners along the route.
For the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, the torch is on a journey like no other.
It has moved by runner, troika, reindeer sleigh, dragon boat, go kart, snowmobile, skier, snowboarder, ice-swimmer, speed skater and even on a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker (ship).
