A coin to mark Henry VIII anniversary

The Royal Mint is marking the 500 year anniversary of King Henry VIII’s reign by making a limited edition 5 pounds coin. The “coins are fit for a King” because they are made out of four different materials: platinum, gold, silver and cupro- nickel, so everyone can buy one according to what their wallet allows. The coins will cost between 9 pounds 99 to a whopping 4,400 pounds. The coin will also show the words Rosa Sine Spina, meaning “rose without a thorn”, which featured on coins in 1509. This coin will honor the “love him or hate him" monarch that is famous for having been married six times and his very large appetite.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8089561.stm




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It looks like a very nice coin. I watched the series "The Tudors" and it gave met the chance to learn about Henry VIII. He was very young when he became the King of England and made a lot of mistakes. He changed the history of England forever and reinvented the church. As Thomas More said in The Tudors, “When the lion knows his own strength no man can stop hem” and that is what happened after Henry VIII realized that he was the King and that people had to listen to him. A lot of people were killed because they did not want to accept that Henry VIII was the King and the head of the Church.

Mum finds missing son via Facebook

Avril Grube is a mother whose son was abducted 27 years ago, but they have been reunited thanks to Facebook. In 1982 her ex- husband Joseph Paros told her that he was going to take their son to the zoo but, instead he took him on a plane to Budapest where they disappered. Avril was devastated and contact the British and Hungarian embassies without any success.
Last October her sister Beryl Wilson tapped his name into Facebook and found him. Mother and son have meet and are making up for lost time, the only problem they face now is the fact that the does not speak English and that they have to use a translator.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6386101.ece



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This is a story with a happy end and shows, how important this community websites are in the society of today. I also have a Facebook page and I use it to keep contact with my friends in America en Europe. You can find anyone you want and the fact that you can put pictures and chose who you want to be your friend helps you keep it the way you want. My best friend Ana Catarina lives in America and we keep track of each other via de Facebook. I also found a lot of my childhood friends and we keep very good contact because of this community website.

Gurkha veterans can settle in Britain

The Gurkha are people from Nepal who, take their name from the eight century Hind warrior Saint Guru Gorakhath.The Gurkhas have been part of the British Army for almost 200 years, but they receive a much smaller pension (at least six times less ) than British soldiers, on the grounds that the cost of living is much lower in Nepal. But today Home Secretary Jaqui Smith announced that the Gurkhas that have served for al least four years in the British Army are welcome to live in Britain and have the right to get the same pension has the rest of the Army.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6333820.ece





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I was very sad to find out that the British Government did not treat all this veterans the same way. I already know that there were some differences when I read the book “White Teeth” because, there was an Indian war veteran that did not get the respect he deserved from the Army solders because of the is background, but now I realize that the book was not all fiction. This article made me realize that Britain is more racist than I thought, and the people from Nepal and India were helping the English to protect there colonies or there nation. Because of that they should be treated with the same respect and any British officer.

To much talent in one team

Sir Alex Ferguson has been the manager of Manchester United 20 years. He just won the English Premier League and is ready to play against F.C. Barcelona in the final of the UEFA Champions League Cup in Rome on Thursday the 21 May at the Camp Nou. He is ready for the challenge but has at the moment important decisions to make about the future of two of these star players Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. If the keeps Ronaldo he will have to let Tevez go but there are not a lot of managers with this luxury problem because both players are in outstanding form and he has to let one go. Sir Alex is used to make this hard decisions because in let David Beckham go in 2003 to Real Madrid and he was like a son to him, he will always do what is best for this team.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5304825/Carlos-Tevez-and-Cristiano-Ronaldo-rekindle-spirit-of-George-Best-with-protests.html





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I really admire Sir Alex Ferguson because he has been the manager of Manchester United for almost 20 years. He has been also very successful with the team and had a lot of good players in this team. Manchester United seems like big family were there are rules that need to be respected by the players and that keeps them out of trouble and there lives in the right track. About Ronaldo and Tevez I think that it is time for Sir Alex to let Ronaldo go, because he has been very disrespectful to this team and the manager by talking to the media about some private issues of the team. Let him go and see how long he is going to stay on top without the rules and discipline of Sir Alex.

Promoting new writing and reading for children

Cristy Burne and the runner-up, Ruth Paterson.

The Francis Lincoln Diverse Voice Children’s Book Award is an attempt to promote new writing for children, especially by or about people whose culture and voice are currently under-represented.
Children need to learn about the lives and concerns of others, and reading seems a very good way to achieve that in the classroom or at home .Learn to connect with classmates whose lives experience are very different from the one’s they have. Reading is fun and children can learn a lot about themselves and others. The world is made of all sorts of children and the diversity will contribute to social and cultural tolerance.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/schoolgate/2009/05/should-childrens-books-be-more-multicultural.html




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I had no idea that people in Britain did not read books about other cultures. If you go down in the article and read the comments of the people some of them are very aggressive. I think that you should read what you like and be open to other cultures. The world is made of people and children and the diversity is what makes the human species successful. Why should you not give children the chance to learn about other cultures and people without seeing any color? Teach children to read about other so they have a better understating of the world we live in.

Four British soldiers killed in Afghanistan

It was a bloody day for the British Forces in Afghanistan, three soldiers and one Royal Marine died. The troops died in three separate incidents, two of them in a suicide bomb attack, another during a reconnaissance patrol with the Afghan army and the last soldier in his Jackal vehicle when it was hit by a roadside bomb. The number of deaths of UK service personnel since 2001 is now 156. Many of the attackers come over the border from Pakistan after having been trained in al-Qaeda camps run by jihadists. According to a head of the British arm” it is going to be long difficult summer fighting a campaign against the Taliban
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/5296520/Four-British-soldiers-dead-in-Afghanistan-as-Army-chief-warns-of-difficult-summer.htmlv



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How many soldiers still have to died for the Government to realize that it is time to let the Afghan people deal with there problem with the Taliban. So many children are going to grow up without a father because someone decided that all Taliban’s are terrorists. Why can we just try to find a way to solve the problem without sending so many good men to there grave. Start talking to the Taliban and get a peaceful solution. A new generation is going to grow up without a father and with a lot of hate for the Muslim world. They are going to miss an important person in their lives because of this War were nobody is winning. Children are losing one of their parents and what are we winning? Nothing, let the troops come home.

One more unexpected rising star in Britain’s Got Talent

Britain’s Got Talent latest singing sensation is a 37 year old pizza delivery man named Jamie Pugh He wowed the judges with his performance of” Bring Him Home” from “Les Miserable”. Although he was very nervous he managed to amaze the judges and got three yes. According to Simon Cowell the only thing that he has to do is to learn to believe in himself and he has a good chance of winning. Just like Boyle he gave a tear jerking performance and is just a normal person with an incredible talent. Britain’s Got Talent final is going to be very interesting with singing talent has Susan, Jamie, little Hollie and more special performance it is going to be an amazing television night.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1177761/Exposed-Britains-Got-Talent-star-Jamie-Pugh-performed-West-End.html



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I am very excited to see who is going to win because there is a lot of talent this time.
Susan Boyle and Jamie Pugh are not the only talent that has been discovered in the show. There is also the 10 year old Hollie Steel a small little girl with the voice of a grown up women. She is just fantastic and has a long way to go. This television show is about the talent and not how old you are. For some people is not fair that Hollie a 10 year old girls will compite against Susan Boyle a much older woman, but it is not about the age but about the talent and that is what makes this show such a success. I can wait to see the program and get amazed about this real talented people let the best one win.

Attack on the Dutch Royal Family

The day of the Queen is one of the most important National holidays in the Netherlands. Every year the Queen chooses a city to visit. This year it was Apeldoorn and something unexpected happened. A 38 years old man named Karst Tates attempted to attack the Royal Family while they were parading in an open top bus. His plan was to crash into the royal bus. His car narrowly missed the bus which was carrying Queen Beatrix and her family and crashed into a monument after ploughing through bystanders. He killed six people including three children and one police officer. Later the attacker also died in the hospital. Crown Prince Willem Alexander and this wife, Princess Maxima were chocked and what started has a great day ended in a terrible tragedy for the Dutch people.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/01/dutch-royal-car-driver-dies



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Well I have been living in the Netherlands for nine years and one of my favorite’s holidays is the day of the Queen because everywhere you look is orange, and you get the chance to see the whole Royal Family together in a very informal way. You can sale or the old thinks you have in your house and everyone seems very happy in this day. On this day Holland looks like a small village because everywhere you go you see the same thinks. People selling old thinks dressed in orange and happy. hope that this incident does not change the way people celebrate the Queen’s Day because this would make Dutch people loose a little bit of their identity.

Trio found not guilty of helping in the 7/7 London bombers

The three British Muslims were today found not guilty of helping in the 7 July bombers in London that killed 52 people and injured 700. The suicide bombings occur during the morning rush hour and their target was the London public transport system.
A jury at Kingston court unanimously found Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil not guilty of conspiring with the four bombers to cause explosions, after deliberating for seven days, but that does not mean that they are free to go. Ali and Shakil have been convicted of conspiracy because they attended a place used for terrorism training. Saleem was cleared of all the charges and is now calling for an inquiry into this prosecution.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/28/july-7-london-bomb-trial

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Well I was surprise that the British Government did not follow the example of ex- American President George Bush and send them to Guantanamo Bay detention camp and torture them.
They had a fair trail but I still think that just because you went to see a training camp that the Government sees has a terrorist camp does not make you a terrorist. But it is better to be save than sorry. At this moment in the world everyone that is not white is considered a terrorist. Maybe it is time we give the Muslim people a chance because they are not all bad. They just have very different beliefs, we have to start saying to ourselves “do not judge the book for is cover”. That is what we are doing right now and that does not make us better that George Bush or the people that are torturing the detainees in Guantanamo Bay.

This is how the British Government goes out

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/cartoon/

Swine Flu already in the UK

Britain's Prime Minister says that is country is one of the best prepared to deal with an outbreak of the Swine Flu. The first case has already appeared in the UK in Polmont near Falkirk and it is a young couple that had been to Mexico for the honeymoon. The Government is advising people not to travel to Mexico and three of the major travel companies have stopped all there flights
The World Health Organization is not realising any details but they are working on the development of a vaccine.
(What is swine flu?
Swine flu is a respiratory disease, caused by influenza type A which infects pigs.
There are many types, and the infection is constantly changing.
Until now it has not normally infected humans, but the latest form clearly does, and can be spread from person to person - probably through coughing and sneezing)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8021916.stm
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I have been following the news about the Swine Flu since it started because it is very interesting to see how the different Goverments deal with. I was also very interested in seeing how long it would take until the first cases would show up in Europe. Well I has surprised that it went faster than I was expecting, but people to travel a lot so it was very stupid of me to think that maybe we would not have any cases in Europe. This new disease in animals made me realise that maybe I would live longer if I just became a vegetarian.

Father tries to sale Oscar child ( Topic for Speakes' Corner)

A reporter from the News of the World went to Mumbai on a undercover investigation to try to buy child star Rubina Ali’s from the eight time Oscar winner movie Slumdog Millionaire. The investigator made contact with the father of Rubina saying that he had heard that he was considering having this daughter adopted. He told her father that he was acting for a wealthy Arab sheik that lived in Dubai. Rafiq the father of the young start replied “Yes we are considering Rubina’s future”. After a couple of meetings with the father and uncle they finally started talking about money and how much they wanted to have for the adoption of the girl. They started getting greedy because has the father said “The child is special now. This is not an ordinary child. This is an Oscar child." So he wanted 200,000 pounds. According to the father is meeting never happen and he would never sale this child he has been heard by the police and how everyone is waiting for the undercover journalist to come up with is evidence.
(181 words)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6140494.ece




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I was amazed by how easy is to buy a child in India. I also read the article on the website of News of the World http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/271325/Slumdog-Millionaire-star-Rubina-Ali-who-played-Latika-is-offered-for-sale-by-dad-Rafiq-Qureshi-to-the-News-of-the-Worlds-Fake-Sheikh.html . People in India are trying to escape poverty by selling their children to complete strangers that they do not know anything about. It looks to me like a very good place for pedofiles to get very young children. I hope that has not happen but I have my doubts. This article also brings to light the poverty in India. Rubina started in a movie that won eight Oscars and still lives in one of the pores places in India the slum called Poor Man’s Colony.

Fat people blamed for Global Warming

Some British scientists are saying that fat people contribute more to Global Warming because they require more food and fuel than a person of average weight. Overweight people use the car more often and that adds to the environmental damage. Each fat person is said to be responsible for emitting a ton more of climate-warming carbon dioxide per year than a thin one. According to the World Health Organization an extra billion tons of CO2 a year is created. The truth is that we are all responsible for the environmental burden and blaming it on this group of people that have many issues is not fair. This people make poor food choices or consume too much, but becoming an environmental hazard that seems just ridiculous.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2387203.ece



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I choose this article because I think that it is very stupid. Fat people have a lot of problems and most of them consume more food than they should because they are depressed. The Government should help them and not let articles like this show up in the media. They are very hurtful and make you think that the only think that fat people do is get into a car and buy food. This is a group of people that have very low self confidence and do not need to accused of something so stupid in a daily newspaper. If what the article says is true we should all look for country with only skinny people. I would not be able to go live there but I am happy to be a fat person.