Republicans Prepare For U.S. Election In November 2012

Mitt Romney speaking in Washington D.C on February 11, 2011. Image: Gage SkidmoreThere are two main political parties in the United States: the Republicans and the Democrats.Right now, the Republicans have to choose someone to run for president against Democrat Barack Obama, in time for the presidential election on Nov. 6.To pick a Republican candidate, every state in the U.S. holds an early election called a primary.The front-runner in the Republican race is Mitt Romney, who was the Governor...

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Cruise Ship Runs Aground In Italy

The cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, sinks after running aground: Image RvongherIt began like any other cruise, with more than 4,200 people aboard the Costa Concordia.However, the scene became tragic on Saturday as the massive ship ran aground a few hundred metres off the tiny island of Giglio near Tuscany, Italy.Rocks tore a 50-metre gash down one side of the hull and the ship took on water.By Sunday morning five people were dead and 10 unaccounted for. Two of the victims were French and one...

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Stephen Hawking Turns 70

Stephen Hawking turned 70 on Jan. 8.Cosmologists – scientists like Hawking who study the origins of the universe – gathered in Cambridge, UK, to pay tribute to him.Hawking was a mathematics professor at the University of Cambridge for 30 years. He retired from that job in 2009. He still works for Cambridge, in cosmology research.Hawking is a mathematical genius, who changed the way scientists think about the universe.One of the things he figured out is that black holes should emit radiation. His...

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The Euro’s Tenth Birthday Not A Happy One

This year, the “euro” celebrates its tenth anniversary.The euro is a unit of money (or “currency”) that is used by 17 countries in Europe.It wasn’t always that way. Before the euro, every country had its own currency. For instance, France had the franc, Italy had the lira, Germany had the Deutschmark and so on.The euro was created in 2002 when a group of European politicians and financial leaders decided it would be helpful if they had the same type of money.The idea of the euro was to make it...

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Cairo’s “Taxis Of Knowledge”

This article was originally published on TKN in Nov. 2011.Cairo, the capital city of Egypt, has a lot of traffic. Commuters often find themselves stuck in a traffic jam, unable to move.One book store came up with an ingenious program to help the people who take taxis in the city. They call it, “The Taxi of Knowledge.”Alef Books gives taxi drivers five free books, which they can place in the back seat of their cab.Passengers can read a good book while they’re stuck in traffic.The taxi driver gets...

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