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”
Australia’s Prime Minister, Liberal Scott Morrison, has called a federal election for 21 May. “ScoMo” and the Liberals were the surprise winners of the 2019 election and currently have a single seat majority in the 151-seat parliament. Opinion polls are favouring Labor and its leader Anthony Albanese over Morrison, who has been accused of bullying … Continue reading “Australia Goes to the Polls”
On 7 April, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as a Supreme Court Justice — the first ever African-American woman in the court’s 233-year history. Despite hostile Senate hearings, three Republican Senators gave their votes to confirm the nomination. When he fulfilled an election promise by nominating Ms. Brown Jackson, … Continue reading “Historic Supreme Court Nomination”
President Biden will give his first State of the Union Address on 1 March. The State of the Union address is an annual event when both Houses of Congress join to hear the President give a speech about the situation in the country and major initiatives he intends to take in the following months. It … Continue reading “What is the State of the Union Address?”
The Australian government has announced that it now considers koalas an endangered species in three out of five of the states and territories where they are native. Palace populations have declined precipitously in just a decade. The 2019-20 bushfires were the last straw. Koalas, like kangaroos, are marsupials only found in the Australian continent. Because … Continue reading “Koalas in Danger”
The Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier who died on January 6, 2022 at age of 94, was the first Black person to win the best actor Oscar in 1964. He was also a humanitarian who was active during the civil rights movement. Poitier was the youngest of seven children of Bahamian tomato farmers. They used to bring … Continue reading “Sidney Poitier: Death of a Legend”
The Formula One driver is no longer simply Lewis Hamilton, but Sir Lewis after being knighted by Prince Charles. The driver was awarded a knighthood in the 2021 New Year’s Honours list after he won his seventh World Championship. Hamilton received the award at Windsor Castle on 15 December, just days after missing out on … Continue reading “Arise Sir Lewis!”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu had a unique role in the opposition to apartheid and transition to democracy in South Africa. Because he was not a political figure, but an activist and church leader, he was able to speak out when others were censored. He died at the age of 90 on 26 December. Desmond Tutu was … Continue reading “South Africa Mourns Desmond Tutu”
