Prince Harry is to marry US actress Meghan Markle. The couple officially announced the news on Monday outside Kensington Palace in London, though they actually got engaged earlier in November. They hope to marry in the spring. Prince Harry, 33, is fifth in line to the British throne. Ms Markle is 36.
Prince Harry said he knew Ms Markle “was the one” he wanted to marry “the very first time we met.” He added that he was “thrilled” to be engaged. Ms Markle said she was “So very happy, thank you.”
Ms Markle’s engagement ring was designed by Prince Harry. It features two diamonds, which belonged to his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. In the centre of the ring is a diamond from Botswana.
Why do the clocks go back in October and forward in March in the UK and Europe? It’s an interesting question with an interesting answer. The clocks go forward in the spring to make the most of daylight hours. They go back in the autumn to allow more daylight hours in the mornings in the wintertime.
Benjamin Franklin, who was one of the US founding fathers, first proposed the idea in 1784. He said jokingly that Parisians should get out of bed early, to economise on their candle use.
Today, let’s talk about school etiquette. It is a hot topic in some schools currently. School etiquette is about students social behaviour in school, especially in the classroom. With the new school term having started, students in some schools have been sent home for wearing the wrong sort of school uniform.
In Norfolk, England, one new headmaster is asking parents to make sure their children are in bed every night by 9pm and up by 6.30am. Students have also been told that their mobiles will be confiscated for up to four months, if they use them in class. If a student is feeling sick, a bucket will be provided for them to vomit into. The idea of this strict regime is to improve standards in the school in question, and to ultimately improve exam results.
What do you think about plastic bottle recycling? It’s an interesting question that the Scottish government is taking action on. They aim to introduce a deposit return scheme, whereby you can get money for depositing your plastic drinks bottles, glass bottles, and aluminium cans, into recycling containers. The Scottish government wants to tackle litter and clean up its streets.
Having a deposit return scheme could also have a huge impact on decreasing the amount of litter found on Scottish beaches. Certainly, it will save money for local authorities, and it will help the recycling industry.
How safe is your office or tower block, if there is a fire? It’s a hot topic, following the dreadful news story about the recent London tower block fire at the Grenfell Tower, in White City, London.
How could the fire have happened? Apparently, it was a faulty fridge, in a fourth floor flat of the building that caused the terrible fire. It spread rapidly, mainly because of non-fireproof cladding that had recently been fixed to the outside of the building.
So, if you work in a high rise office, or live in a high rise tower block – just how safe are you in it? Safety standards seem to vary in each country. Are there regular fire drills in your tower block? Do the occupants assemble a safe distance away from the building?
Last night, at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena, pandemonium broke out, when a bomb went off at the end of the concert. The audience was just beginning to leave the arena, when the lone terrorist struck.
Many people were killed, with countless others injured, caused by the terrorist’s nail bomb going off. Concert-goers said there was a massive explosion, with nuts and bolts littering the ground. Panic then followed, with people fleeing.
So far, 22 people have died, including several children. A total of 119 people were injured, some critically. The bomber was instantly killed. People who were at the concert said security did not check bags at the Arena.
Last week, in the UK, the NHS (National Health Service) was held to ransom by malware stolen from the NSA (National Security Agency), in America. The Nissan car plant in Sunderland was also hit by the hackers.
The virus was unleashed across the world and spread at unprecedented speed. So far, more than 99 countries have been affected, with more than 57,000 victims. The virus, known as WannaCry, and variants of that name, has spread itself across the world, using email.
The ransomware software encrypts files. It then asks for a digital ransom of US$300, to be paid by Bitcoin, before control is safely returned.
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is to retire from public engagements from the autumn of this year. The announcement was made at Buckingham Palace yesterday.
When someone said to the Duke, who is 95, “I’m sorry to hear you’re standing down, sir,” he replied, in his typically humorous way, “Well, I can’t stand up much longer!”
The decision was made by Prince Philip himself. Her Majesty the Queen has given her husband her ‘full support’ to step down. He will be 96 in June.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has announced there will be a general election in the UK on June 8. Her decision to hold a snap election comes after she repeatedly claimed she was initially against the idea. She said that her change of mind is because opposition parties, and unelected peers in the House of Lords, were jeopardising her government’s preparations for Brexit.
The Prime Minister said, “We need a general election, and we need one now.” She added, “I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion. But now, I have concluded, it is the only way to guarantee certainty for the years ahead.”
British Prime Minister, Theresa May, on Tuesday, signed the official letter needed, to give notice to leave the EU. Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty allows a country to withdraw from the European Union. No country has ever done this before. It is a historic day for the UK.
The notification letter was presented to European Council President, Donald Tusk, on Wednesday 29th March. He said on Twitter, “After nine months the UK has delivered. #Brexit.” He went on to say, “There is no reason to pretend that this is a happy day, neither in Brussels nor in London. After all, most Europeans, including almost half the British voters, wish that we would stay together, not drift apart.” Many people in the UK, and throughout the EU itself, are against the UK leaving the EU.
