Various dictionaries have been revealing their “words of the year”, including “permacrisis”, “goblin mode”, “gaslighting”, and “homer”. Not in your vocabulary yet? We’ll give you all the info you need on the words people are talking about and why. For the first time, Oxford Dictionaries asked the public to vote for its word of the … Continue reading “Words of the Year: Talking about 2022”
Maxwell Alejandro Frost is 25, the minimum age to be a candidate for the House of Representatives. And he just won a seat in Florida: he’ll be the first member of Gen Z to sit in the U.S. Congress. Frost was standing for Florida District 10, a safe Democrat seat in his native Orlando. He … Continue reading “At 25, He’s Heading to Congress”
The midterm elections will take place in the U.S. on 8 November. What are these elections held half-way through a presidential term, and what is at stake this year? The midterms are held two years into the 4-year presidential term. They can, and in fact often do, change the course of the Presidency. There are … Continue reading “What’s at Stake in the U.S. Midterm Elections?”
The British Conservative Party has announced that its new leader, will be Rishi Sunak, former Chancellor of the Exchequer. He will become Britain’s third Prime Minister in less than three months. Mr Sunak will succeed Liz Truss, whose Premiership lasted just 45 days, after she replaced Boris Johnson as Prime Minister on 5 September. Ms … Continue reading “UK’s First British Asian Prime Minister”
The instant that the queen died, her eldest son and heir, Charles, became Britain’s new monarch. Charles had been first in line to the throne for 70 years since the accession of his mother and was the longest-serving Prince of Wales. Prince William now replaces Charles as heir to the throne, followed by his three … Continue reading “The Queen is Dead, Long Live the King!”
On 8 September, the British Royal Family announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96. Britain’s longest reigning monarch had been on the throne for 70 years, which had been marked this summer by Platinum Jubilee celebrations. She was immediately succeeded by her son Charles, who will be known as King … Continue reading “The End of an Era”
Boris Johnson learned who would replace him as British Prime Minister on 5 September: Liz Truss. The change came after Mr Johnson admitted he had lost the faith of his own cabinet and MPs and the Conservative Party held a two-month long election to choose a new leader. It may seem surprising that Britain can … Continue reading “Bye-bye Boris”
The Irish Central Statistics Office recently announced that the country’s population had surpassed 5 million for the first time since the Great Famine (1845-49). A notable event in a country whose history and culture have been marked by waves of emigration. This excellent infographic would be a great addition to Shine Bright 1e File 9 … Continue reading “Irish Population Returns to Pre-Famine Levels”
On 24 June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned one of its own “landmark rulings”, a rare event. There had already been leaks that the Court would reverse the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that limiting a woman’s right to an abortion was unconstitutional. There had been legal challenges to Roe v Wade for decades, but … Continue reading “A Landmark Ruling Overturned”
7 July will be the first edition of World Kiswahili Language Day. The United Nations designated the official day in recognition of a language that is spoken by 200 million people across Africa. It is gaining in popularity and could one day replace English and French as a lingua franca native to the continent. In … Continue reading “Spreading Swahili”
