On 11 September 2001, the world watched in horror and disbelief as first one plane and then a second crashed into the Twin Towers of the NYC’s World Trade Center. Then news spread of a third hijacked plane heading to the Pentagon and a fourth that crashed en route to Washington, D.C., thanks to the … Continue reading “9/11 20 Years On”
The Global Partnership for Education has a simple goal: to ensure that all children everywhere have the possibility to go to school. The organisation, founded in 2002 is holding a Global Education Summit co-hosted by the U.K. and Kenya on 28-29 July to persuade donors to finance its goals for 2021-2025. Since the creation of … Continue reading “Education for All”
The Residential School system which removed indigenous children from their families and forced them to assimilate, was described by a Canadian government as “cultural genocide”. Indigenous groups searching for information have carried out searches of schools looking for the traces of children who died there. Since May, more than 1,000 sets of remains have been … Continue reading “Terrible Legacy of Canadian Residential Schools”
In Shine Bright AMC File 19 A Tale of British Cities, we mentioned that Liverpool had been threatened with losing its UNESCO World Heritage status because of property develop plans in the historic heart of the city. On 21 July 2021, the announcement was made: UNESCO has stripped Liverpool of the status. And on 28th, … Continue reading “Liverpool Loses Unesco World Heritage Status”
Queen Elizabeth II has awarded a George Cross medal to the National Health Service. It is one of the highest honours that can be awarded to British civilians, for “acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger.” On 5 July, the 73rd anniversary of the creation of … Continue reading “Queen Honours NHS Heroes”
England’s football players have been taking the knee at Euro 2020 to protest against racism but one in particular has been standing up for Britain’s poorest children. Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has been campaigning for the astonishing 20% of English* children who qualify for free school meals, one of the indicators of poverty in … Continue reading “Marcus Rashford: Football Against Food Poverty”
Juneteenth (19 June) marks the day when the most distant part of the United States received news of the end of slavery. On 19 June 1865, the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas finally discovered that Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had actually freed them two-and-a-half years earlier. As of 17 June 2021, it will be a … Continue reading “Juneteenth Becomes a Federal Holiday”
This giant sculpture has been installed as a message to the G7 leaders meeting for a summit in Cornwall, England. It’s made entirely of electronic waste and is designed to draw attention to the environmental problems caused by the 53 million tonnes of phones, tablets, computers and other electronic devices discarded every year. The sculpture, … Continue reading “Mount Recyclemore”
The Five Eyes Alliance is a very discreet intelligence-gathering agreement between five major Anglophone countries: the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It was created during the Cold War with the former Soviet Union. But it is currently in turmoil over the five nations’ relations with China. The Alliance has existed in its … Continue reading “Five Eyes”
New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland has become the first Native American to lead the Department of the Interior, which manages federal lands and natural resources, and includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Since 1824, the BIA has been in charge of federal services to the 574 federally recognised Native tribes and 1.9 million American Indians … Continue reading “The First Native American U.S. Interior Secretary”