Follow-Up Global Climate Strike Draws Millions
On Friday, around 2 million people took part in a follow-up Global Climate Strike, closing out a week of climate actions around the world. The marches and protests followed last week’s Global Climate Strike on September 20, which involved around 4 million people.
Climate strikes are protests calling for governments to take action on the climate crisis right away. The strikes were started by Swedish teen Greta Thunberg and have become a worldwide movement.
(Source: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
Friday’s protests were held across the globe, spreading from New Zealand through Asia, Europe, and Africa to North and South America. Ms. Thunberg led a protest of around 500,000 people in Montreal, Canada.
Jacques Chirac, Past President of France Dies
Jacques Chirac, president of France from 1995 to 2007, died on Thursday at the age of 86. Mr. Chirac was involved in French politics for around 40 years. Before becoming president, he served as mayor of Paris, and France’s prime minister.
(Source: Remibetin [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
Mr. Chirac was known for his strong ties with international leaders and his support of Africa. But he also stood up for France – for example, by refusing to go along with the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, in spite of great pressure. Mr. Chirac was the first French leader to admit that France had helped send Jewish people to German death camps during World War II.
Though Mr. Chirac was later found guilty of misusing public money during his time as mayor, he is remembered fondly by the French for his ability to connect with ordinary people.
Mattel Releases Dolls Kids Can Design
Mattel, the company behind Barbie and Ken dolls, has introduced gender-neutral dolls which allow children to make choices about whether the doll is male, female, or both.
Mattel’s “Creatable World” dolls come as ideas about gender are changing. In the past, gender has normally described whether someone was born male or female. Now some people are challenging the idea that someone must be one or the other.
The dolls come in a range of skin colors with different wigs and outfits. Children can choose between long and short hair, and dress the dolls in a skirt, pants, or both.
(Source: Mattel.)
The toys were created to appeal to both boys and girls. Mattel says they want children to be able to make a connection with their dolls and be able to “express themselves freely”.
136,000 Eggs Spill On Road in Pennsylvania
Tuesday was a bad day to be on the road in Pennsylvania – especially if you were an egg. A truck carrying over 136,000 eggs lost its load, leaving a sticky, crunchy mess on a highway near Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.
The driver had picked up 11,340 dozen eggs, as well as 2,260 gallons (8,555 liters) of “egg product” from Carl Faus Farm, and was heading up Route 125. But as the truck went up a hill, the load shifted and spilled out of the truck.
The eggs and egg product went rolling down the hill as the driver carried on, not aware of what had happened. That part of Route 125 was closed for hours as workers tried to clean up the mess.