Happy New Year!

 

 

I WISH YOU A HAPPY 2013!

Nelson Mandela returns home after 18 days in hospital

Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, has returned home after spending Christmas in hospital.

The 94-year-old went in 18 days ago with a lung infection and gallstones.
Jacob Zuma the current president, said Mr Mandela was in "good spirits" and will continue to get treatment at home until he's fully recovered.
Nelson Mandela's one of the most famous men in the world, and news of his illness had many people in South Africa and across the globe worried.
He has been admitted to hospital three times in the past two years, but this has been his longest stay.
Mr Mandela's family said they were sad he couldn't be with them on Christmas Day, but he was visited by his wife Graca Michel and President Zuma. (CBBC Newsround)

Den Gamle By Open-Air Museum

Den Gamle By - "The Old Town" - was founded in 1909 as the world's first open-air museum of urban history and culture.
75 historical houses from all over Denmark shape the contours of a Danish town as it might have looked in Hans Christian Andersen's days, with streets, shops, yards, homes and workshops.
At the moment two new neighbourhoods are being built - from the 1920s and 1970s. Furthermore Den Gamle By consists of several museums and exhibitions.
You can visit living rooms, chambers, kitchens, workshops and museums all year round, and you can meet the people and characters of yesteryear throughout the museum from Easter to 30th December.
Den Gamle By is like af nest of boxes: Open it, and one intriguing layer after another is revealed as you move in deeper.
Den Gamle By is under the patronage of the Danish Queen and it is one of Denmark’s few 3 star attractions in Guide Michelin and the only one outside the capital area. (Den Gamle By)

Greenland

Greenland is blessed with a peaceable people that has never waged war with anyone, and people generally show great openness to visitors.

The population of Greenland is predominantly Inuit, a people bearing an affinity and solidarity with the Inuits of Canada, Alaska and Siberia. It is only 140 years since the last immigration from Canada took place. The Greenlandic people are few in number: 55,000 in an enormous country. Approx. 20 percent of the population was born outside Greenland.  Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but since the introduction of Home Rule in 1979 Greenland has moved towards relative independence based on parliamentary democracy. Today fishing is the all-dominating trade and accounts for 95 percent of total exports, but in the hunter districts of the outer areas, the seal and whale catch is of great importance. It actually forms the stable existence for one fifth of the Greenlandic population. For millennia the philosophy has been to live at one with nature. The hunters live with nature and follow the natural seasons. In South Greenland ruins from the norse (viking) settlers 1,000 years ago are well preserved, including the ruins of the first Christian churches on the North America continent. The symbols of the ancient culture are still alive even in the larger towns. Many people build and use their own kayak as you’ll see in every harbour. The old drum dance is performed by a growing number of artists. The musical and theatrical life is largely based on myths and sagas conveyed in a modern form.

Arts and crafts often express perceptions of ancient myths. The tupilaks - small grotesque figures carved in narwhal or walrus tooth or reindeer antler - were originally evil spirits. Today they are popular souvenirs, and many skilled artists carve the tupilaks - each and every with a unique character.  (Greenland Guide)

Icelandic rice pudding

Ingredients

• 2 handfuls of dried fruit, such as cranberries, sour cherries and blueberries
• 3 tablespoons caster sugar, plus extra to taste
• 120g pudding rice
• 750ml milk
• 250ml double cream
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla pod
crème fraîche and fresh redcurrants, to serve

Method

Rice pudding is an old English favourite, but it’s also really big in Iceland. They like to serve it with a sharp sauce made from red fruit, which cuts through the richness of the creamy sticky pudding beautifully – clever and absolutely delicious!

Put the dried fruit in a stainless steel pan with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and enough water to cover. Put on the hob and heat gently for 10 minutes, then add 5 tablespoons of cold water and whiz in a blender. Push through a sieve, taste and add a little sugar if necessary. Place the rice, milk, cream, remaining sugar and cinnamon in a deep pot and heat gently. Score the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape the seeds out, adding both to the pot. Stir well and bring gently to the boil.

Simmer very gently for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every now and then until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is just cooked. Spoon the cooked rice pudding into a serving dish, swirl the fruit sauce into it and top with a dollop of crème fraîche. Scatter with fresh redcurrants before serving. (JamieOliver.com)

Newtown shooting: Obama calls for new US gun controls

US President Barack Obama has called for change to America's gun controls.

Americans have been left in shock after 26 people - including 20 pupils - were killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook school in the US state of Connecticut on Friday.
"These tragedies must end and to end them we must change," Mr Obama told people at a vigil at the school in Newtown on Sunday.

'Not alone'

"I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation," Mr Obama also said in his speech.
"You are not alone in your grief. All across this land of ours we have wept with you."
Mr Obama said he would use whatever powers he had to try and stop this kind of thing from happening again.
It's thought there are 300 million guns in the US, where the laws aren't nearly as strict as they are in the UK.
The US Constitution, which sets out the country's rights and freedoms, says people are allowed to keep and bear arms. (CBBC Newsround)

My Wish

This is also "my wish" for all of you.

Christmas

Finland has world's best education system

A new report into world education shows Finland has the best system. The global study is called "The Learning Curve" and is from the British magazine "The Economist". It aims to help governments provide a better education to students. The 52-page report looked at the education system in 50 countries. Researchers analysed millions of statistics on exam grades, literacy rates, attendance, and university graduation rates. Asia did well in the report, with South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore finishing second, third, fourth and fifth. The United States came 17th in the study, while Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia filled the bottom three positions in the top 50.

The Learning Curve reported on five things that education leaders should remember. The first is that spending lots of money on schools and teachers does not always mean students will learn. Second is that "good teachers are essential to high-quality education". The report said teachers should be "treated as the valuable professionals they are, not as technicians in a huge, educational machine". Numbers three and four are that a country's culture must have a strong focus on the importance of education, and parents have a key part to play. Finally, countries need to "educate for the future, not just the present." The report said: "Many of today's job titles…simply did not exist 20 years ago." (Breaking News)

Nyasasaurus Parringtoni thought to be oldest dinosaur

Dinosaur scientists have found what they think is the oldest known dinosaur.

It's called Nyasasaurus Parringtoni and is about 12 million years older than what we thought was the earliest dinosaur.
It walked on two legs, was up to three metres long and could have weighed 60kg - the same as many people weigh!
The find suggests millions of years passed between the first dinosaurs and them becoming dominant on land.
The scientists can't say if it's the earliest dinosaur ever because its fossil skeleton was incomplete. (CBBC Newsround)

Last day to find missing £64 million lottery ticket

There are just hours left for a lottery winner to claim almost £64 million but no one knows who has the EuroMillions ticket.

Someone bought it in or around Stevenage and Hitchin in Hertfordshire.
If nobody comes forward by 11pm, their chance will be gone, making it the UK's biggest ever unclaimed prize.
People in the area are hunting everywhere in a desperate attempt to try to find the missing ticket.
The missing ticket holder matched five numbers - 5, 11, 22, 34 and 40 - and the Lucky Star numbers - 9 and 11.
Ricky's on the hunt... (CBBC Newsround)