Spain Steps In After Chile Cancels Climate Meeting
This week Chile was forced to cancel an important United Nations (UN) meeting on the climate crisis because of the protests that have rocked the country. The meeting was planned for December 2.
Spain has offered to hold the meetings in Madrid instead, and the UN has accepted the offer.
The change from South America to Europe has given student climate strike leader Greta Thunberg a challenge. Ms. Thunberg doesn’t use airplanes because of their damaging pollution. She sailed to the US for a September climate meeting and has been traveling over land to Chile.
(Source: Team Malizia.)
Now Ms. Thunberg is looking for a way back to Europe. She wrote online recently, “I traveled half around the world, the wrong way. If anyone could help me find transport I would be so grateful.”
Spain has offered to help Ms. Thunberg, but it’s unclear whether they can help her find a way to travel that doesn’t pollute.
World Championships in Baseball and Rugby
On Wednesday night, the Washington Nationals won the baseball World Series championship by defeating the Houston Astros 6-2 in the seventh and final game of the series. This was the first ever world championship win for the Nationals.
(Source: Andrea Hanks/The White House [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.)
The Nationals are good at turning things around. They started out the season losing 31 of their first 50 games. In the championship game they fell behind 0-2 in the sixth inning. But by the seventh inning, they moved ahead 3-2 and never looked back.
In Japan, the Rugby World Cup came to a close on Saturday with South Africa’s defeating England 32-12. The early scoring in the game was driven by penalties, and South Africa led 12-6 at halftime. In the second half, the Springboks locked in their lead with two tries.
(Source: Carrington & Co/Paul de Lamerie/Roman.b, via Wikimedia Commons.)
It was the third World Cup win for the Springboks, who also won in 1995 and 2007. South African captain Siya Kolisi said, “It was more than just a game for us…all I want to do is to inspire my kids and every other kid in South Africa.”
UK Melts Brexit Coins, Makes Wallace & Gromit Coins
The United Kingdom (UK) will have to melt down around 1,000 coins they created to mark the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU). The exit, known as “Brexit” , was planned for October 31, but was delayed after the UK got more time from the EU.
The UK Treasury, the government group in charge of money, planned to release as many as 10,000 coins with the words, “Peace, prosperity, and friendship with all nations.” on October 31. About 1,000 coins had been made, but they now have the wrong date. The Treasury still plans to release a coin when the UK finally leaves.
(Source: Royal Mint.)
The Treasury had better luck with a 50-pence coin celebrating 30 years of Wallace and Gromit. The coin was designed by Nick Park, who created the characters of Wallace and his dog, Gromit, out of clay. The two have become famous around the world for their funny TV shows and movies.
The Treasury is releasing three versions of the coin: gold, silver, and a specially colored silver coin.