25 NOVEMBER : UNITE TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Malala and Indian activist win Nobel Prize

     A child rights campaigner and a child education activist will share the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.                          
     The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the two winners on Friday. They are Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan and India’s Kailash Satyarthi.

    The Nobel committee said the prize was awarded for “their struggle against the suppression of children and young people, and for the right of all children to an education.”It added that the committee considers it important “for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism.”

 Malala Yousafzai becomes the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. She is only 17 years old. She had been pushing for girls’ education in Pakistan for several years when Taliban gunmen shot her in the head in 2012.

Doctors in Pakistan, and later Britain, treated Malala. She has since recovered and continues to fight for women’s rights around the world.

Kailash Satyarthi has been leading a peaceful movement to end abuse of children for financial gain.

The Nobel Committee says he also has assisted in the development of important international agreements on children’s rights.The two winners will split the $1.1 million in prize money.

Nobel officials will present the award on December 10^th in Oslo, Norway.

I’m Caty Weaver.

This report was based on information from VOA’s News Division. George Grow wrote it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 

Nelson Mandela dies

Former South Africa president Nelson Mandela died  at home in Johannesburg, he was 95. The news was broken on state television by the current president Jacob Zuma, who announced that Mandela had departed and was at peace.

South Africans assembled outside Mandela's home in Johannesburg and at his previous residence in Soweto to mourn and pay tribute to the former president. All over the world, others have joined the mourning.
Mandela's legacy and memory has been celebrated and his passing mourned by leaders around the world.
 Rest in peace

Learn a bit more about Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in Mveso, Transkei, South Africa. Becoming actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement in his 20s, Mandela joined the African National Congress in 1942.
For 20 years, he directed a campaign of peaceful, nonviolent defiance against the South African government and its racist policies. In 1993,  Mandela and South African President F.W. de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to dismantle the country's apartheid system.

Click HERE to visit a web with lots of information , videos and pictures about this important figure of our recent history.

Rubbish piling up in Madrid

Spanish garbage collectors have continued their indefinite strike over the government’s proposed lay-offs and wage cuts.

On Saturday, people in the capital Madrid started their fifth day of strike among huge piles of rubbish blocking narrow streets and emitting an awful stench.

After five days of strike, residents are demanding an urgent solution to resolve the crisis. 

 Click on the picture to watch a video 

 City authorities have tried to maintain a basic collection service by sending out rubbish trucks under heavy police escort.

“Nobody likes a strike. The streets are really dirty and it’s disgusting,” said Maravillas Prieto, a teacher from Madrid. “But I understand the workers. They were going to reduce their wages and sack more than 1,000 workers. This is because of the town hall. I blame the town hall completely.”

José Luis Rodríguez, a wedding photographer from Madrid, agreed: “I support the strike. Whose fault is it? I blame the city. They sold all the public services.”

Sober Up in a drunk tank

Drinkers who get so intoxicated they cannot look after themselves would be cared for in holding cells until they sober up and charged for it, as well as being fined for being drunk and disorderly.

Police believe this initiative would act as a deterrent to excessive drinking as well as free up officers from having to deal with late-night drunkenness.

 Adrian Lee, the chief constable of Northamptonshire  said: “I do not see why the police service or the health service should pick up the duty of care for someone who has chosen to go out and get so drunk that they cannot look after themselves".
 It is estimated that it costs between £300 and £400 a night to hold someone in a police cell - more than a night in the Ritz hotel. Is public money being used irresponsably?

Watch the video to learn a bit more about this issue

Jane Austen to appear on Bank of England banknote

Train derailment in Galicia

A train has derailed in north-western Spain, killing at least 78 of its 218 passengers and injuring more than 100.
Click here to read more ( CBS News )

Watch a video as well ( BBC News )

The Rollings return to Hyde Park

British novelist Tom Sharpe dies

British comic novelist Tom Sharpe, who wrote the Wilt series and Porterhouse Blue, has died  at the age of  85.
The writer died in Spain, where he had a home in the coastal town of Llafranc. 

It seems he died due to complications from diabetes
The author, enjoyed huge success with his 16 novels, despite only starting his writing career at the age of 43.

Many of his novels, including Blott on the Landscape, became popular BBC television series.

His last book The Wilt Inheritance was published in 2010.

'Tom Sharpe was one of our greatest satirists and a brilliant writer: witty, often outrageous, always acutely funny about the absurdities of life,' Susan Sandon, Sharpe's editor at Random House, said in a statement.

If you want to read about his life click  here  ( Daily Mail Online )

Click here for  the BBC

The Pompeii of the North

Thousands of Roman artefacts have been unearthed in an archaeological dig hailed as 'the most important excavation ever held in London'.

The site is just yards from the River Thames and alongside a huge building project for new offices on Queen Victoria Street in the heart of London's financial district.

Archaeologists have found coins, pottery, shoes, lucky charms and also uncovered wooden structures from the 40s AD around 40ft beneath the ground.

It has offered experts an unprecedented glimpse into life in the bustling centre of Roman Londinium.

Read more here

Murder charge for paralympic star

South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been arrested over the fatal shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home, local media say. READ MORE

Richard III

Human remains confirmed as those of King Richard III

HUMAN remains discovered buried in the lost medieval Greyfriars church beneath Leicester city centre have been confirmed as those of King Richard III.

The University of Leicester announced on Monday, February 4, that there was overwhelming scientific evidence that the remains, of a battle-scarred man with a spinal curvature, were indeed those of the last

Plantagenet king, whose body was brought to Leicester, stripped and publicly displayed following his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

The remains of the church and the grave were rediscovered last year during a project involving the University of Leicester, Leicester City Council and The Richard III Society.

At a press conference attended by more than 140 journalists, film crew and photographers from around the world, experts from the University of Leicester explained how evidence from the dig was used in conjunction with DNA, genealogy, carbon dating and other scientific methods to confirm the identity of Richard III beyond any reasonable doubt.

Richard Buckley, the University of Leicester archaeologist who led the search for Richard III, said: "It is the academic conclusion of the University of Leicester that the individual exhumed at Grey Friars, Leicester, in August 2012, is indeed Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England.

"Beyond reasonable doubt it's Richard."

As part of the public announcement, Leicester City Mayor Peter Soulsby has also announced that the remains will be reinterred at Leicester's St Martin's Cathedral - just a stone's throw away from where the king's skeleton was discovered.

Peter Soulsby said: "This astonishing announcement is far beyond what anyone expected in their wildest dreams when the search at Greyfriars first began.

An exhibition telling the dramatic story of the search for and discovery of King Richard III is due to open at Leicester Guildhall on Friday, February 8.

Details of the exhibition will be available at: www.visitleicester.info/richardIII

CLICK HERE  to watch a video edited by the BBC informing about the discovery.

International Day against Violence to Women

An original Windhaven song which is dedicated to all victims of domestic violence and spousal abuse.

American Elections Results

Election Results Prezi on Prezi

Meet the President of the USA

Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States in 2008, becoming the first African-American to assume the office. In 2012, he was re-elected to his second term as commander-in-chief.

Do you want to know a little bit more about him? Watch the video below

Obama wins the 2012 Election

Watch Obama´s victory speech ( you have  the full transcript as well )


OBAMA VICTORY SPEECH:
Thank you so much.
Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward.

It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.

Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come.

I want to thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time. By the way, we have to fix that. Whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone, whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference.
I just spoke with Gov. Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign. We may have battled fiercely, but it’s only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service and that is the legacy that we honor and applaud tonight. In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Gov. Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.
I want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, America’s happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for, Joe Biden.

And I wouldn’t be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago. Let me say this publicly: Michelle, I have never loved you more. I have never been prouder to watch the rest of America fall in love with you, too, as our nation’s first lady. Sasha and Malia, before our very eyes you’re growing up to become two strong, smart beautiful young women, just like your mom. And I’m so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now one dog’s probably enough.

To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics. The best. The best ever. Some of you were new this time around, and some of you have been at my side since the very beginning. But all of you are family. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together and you will have the lifelong appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way, through every hill, through every valley. You lifted me up the whole way and I will always be grateful for everything that you’ve done and all the incredible work that you put in.
I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. And that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics that tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special interests. But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turned out at our rallies and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym, or saw folks working late in a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you’ll discover something else.

You’ll hear the determination in the voice of a young field organizer who’s working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. You’ll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who’s going door to door because her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift. You’ll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who’s working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home.

That’s why we do this. That’s what politics can be. That’s why elections matter. It’s not small, it’s big. It’s important. Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy.
That won’t change after tonight, and it shouldn’t. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty. We can never forget that as we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.

But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America’s future. We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers. A country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation, with all the good jobs and new businesses that follow.

We want our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt, that isn’t weakened by inequality, that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. We want to pass on a country that’s safe and respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on earth and the best troops this — this world has ever known. But also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war, to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being.
We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an immigrant’s daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag. To the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner. To the furniture worker’s child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president — that’s the future we hope for. That’s the vision we share. That’s where we need to go — forward. That’s where we need to go.

Now, we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get there. As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts. It’s not always a straight line. It’s not always a smooth path.

By itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won’t end all the gridlock or solve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward. But that common bond is where we must begin.

Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over. And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you, and you’ve made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.
Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together. Reducing our deficit. Reforming our tax code. Fixing our immigration system. Freeing ourselves from foreign oil. We’ve got more work to do.

But that doesn’t mean your work is done. The role of citizen in our democracy does not end with your vote. America’s never been about what can be done for us. It’s about what can be done by us together through the hard and frustrating, but necessary work of self-government. That’s the principle we were founded on.

This country has more wealth than any nation, but that’s not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military in history, but that’s not what makes us strong. Our university, our culture are all the envy of the world, but that’s not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth. The belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. The freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights. And among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That’s what makes America great.

I am hopeful tonight because I’ve seen the spirit at work in America. I’ve seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbors, and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job. I’ve seen it in the soldiers who reenlist after losing a limb and in those SEALs who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a buddy behind them watching their back.
I’ve seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York, where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible storm. And I saw just the other day, in Mentor, Ohio, where a father told the story of his 8-year-old daughter, whose long battle with leukemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been for health care reform passing just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care.

I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father, but meet this incredible daughter of his. And when he spoke to the crowd listening to that father’s story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes, because we knew that little girl could be our own. And I know that every American wants her future to be just as bright. That’s who we are. That’s the country I’m so proud to lead as your president.

And tonight, despite all the hardship we’ve been through, despite all the frustrations of Washington, I’ve never been more hopeful about our future. I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope. I’m not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. I’m not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight.

I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.

America, I believe we can build on the progress we’ve made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.

I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We’re not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.

And together with your help and God’s grace we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth

A different view on the Spanish Crisis

A country full of opportunities ?  This is how Grant Thorton Spain sees it .

( Grant Thorton are nternational business advisors providing assurance, taxation, corporate secretarial, corporate recovery and consulting services ) 

Sandy´s Impact

(CNN) -- Sandy is winding down, having spent much of its fury in the past two days crashing into homes and trees, cutting power and wrecking coastal cities.

It has claimed at least 40 lives in the United States.

Felix Baumgartner´s Jump

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 2012

The next United States presidential election is to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will officially elect the president and the vice president of the United States on December 17, 2012, will be chosen. 

 

Incumbent President Barack Obama is running for a second and final term during this election. His major challenger is former Massachusetts Governor, Republican Mitt Romney

Now learn about the us presidential election system.

Watch the videos and complete the worksheets .

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