Form Time 1 Our World:People, Politics, Key Events - AWS

Form Time 1
Our World:People, Politics, Key Events

Brexit: a mini,mini look ahead

As you know, the next 10 months are all about the UK and the EU trying to come to a
final deal (agreement) on certain things.

There has to be an agreement otherwise, in 10 months time, there is the risk that, whilst
the UK would definitely be outside of the EU, it wold have left without a ‘deal’. From an
economic point of view, most people think this would be a disaster.

The UK has 3 key ‘asks’ that it wants the EU to agree to over the next 10 months:
 A free trade agreement between the UK and the EU, with no additional taxes to be
  paid on any goods going between them
 To allow British financial and other business firms to keep doing business with the EU,
  without any additional restrictions or difficulties
 No extension to the above 10 months time limit to get an agreement

Brexit: a mini,mini look ahead

From the EU side, they have 3 key priorities that they want out of the coming 10 months
of negotiations:
 To be allowed full access to fish in British waters, without lots of restrictions
 Agreeing that some existing things must remain in place, for example allowing the
  European Court of Justice to still have influence in the UK
 A ‘level playing field’ on trade rules so that the UK does not obtain a competitive
  advantage over the EU.

So what is likely to happen over the next 10 months?
 Expect to see lots of arguments- and lots of compromises!

Boris: £500,000 quid and Big Ben
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for the public to crowdfund the above
sum of money so that Big Ben can bong to mark Brexit.

Big Ben is the 160 year old famous Westminster clock – it is currently silent due to a
four year planned renovation.

The Prime Minister wants it to chime to mark what he has called the ‘historic
moment at 11pm on 31 January 2020 when we leave the EU’.
The money is needed to pay for immediate repairs, to get the clock able to chime.

Your thoughts? A good idea…..or just a silly stunt?

Brendan: a bit of a storm
Storm Brendan hit the UK last week.
We all experienced the rain and wind whilst we were at school.

But what was it like elsewhere during the storm?
   Ireland got ‘hammered’ on Monday night, with thousands of homes losing power
   Parts of Scotland and England had winds of up to 80 mph
   Railways and ferries were badly disrupted
   Airplanes were forced to divert and land elsewhere
   Barriers were put up in Newcastle’s Quayside because of
    fears of a tidal surge
   The roof of a shop in Slough High Street was completely
    blown off (see picture)

Meghan: a battle with the newspapers

Meghan: a battle with the newspapers

The Duchess of Sussex (Prince Harry’s wife) has announced that the couple are
suing the Mail on Sunday newspaper.

The newspaper has managed to get hold of a private letter that Megan wrote
to her father. They have then published this letter in the newspaper for all its
readers to see.

Meghan accuses the paper of misusing her private information.

The Mail on Sunday rejects the claims and says there was "huge and legitimate"
public interest in publishing the note.

The paper argues in legal documents that members of the Royal Family,
including the duchess, "rely on publicity about themselves and their lives in
order to maintain the privileged positions they hold and promote themselves".

Discussion: has the newspaper gone too far this time?

Donald Trump: a President on trial

The President of the USA, Donald Trump, has been impeached.
Impeachment is the legal word used when there is a charge of misconduct against someone
who holds a very senior public office in the United States.
It means an official has abused their public power and position in some grave way, usually
criminally.
Trump is accused of pressuring Ukraine to dig up damaging information on one of his main
rivals for the presidency in 2020, Joe Biden, and his son Hunter.

It is an incredibly serious charge.

Donald Trump: a President on trial

Impeachment: what actually happens?

In the USA, the political establishment is based in the United States Congress.
Congress is split into two houses:
 The House of Representatives (aka the lower house)
 The Senate(aka the upper house)

 The House of Representatives decide by a vote whether to impeach someone
 The Senate holds the impeachment trial and decides if the impeached official is
  guilty

The House of Representatives have voted by a majority to impeach Donald Trump.

Donald Trump: a President on trial

In the past, the USA has impeached around 15 judges as well as 2 former
Presidents of the USA, notably:

 Andrew Johnson (impeached in 1868 over illegally removing his Secretary of
  War and other linked illegal acts)

 ‘Bill Clinton (impeached in 1988) – for having an inappropriate sexual affair in
  the Oval Office, and then lying to cover it up.

His trial in the Senate has just started.

Click on this video

Form Time 2
Our World: Art, Culture & Environment

Our Sculpture of the Week

 The sculpture overleaf is by an artist called Alexander Milov.

 It is a sculpture made out of metal bars and was placed on a beach.

   Task
   Discuss what ideas /message you think he was trying to get across:
   The title of the sculpture was ‘Love’
   Look at the frame itself and the different ways people are facing

Our Photograph of the Week

                             Incredible photographic
                             image of a large eagle
                             in flight.

                             It took the Norwegian
                             photographer 3 years of
                             waiting and planning to
                             capture this image.

Our World: other news in photographs

France: firefighters gather to protest against recent attacks on colleagues. On New Year’s
Eve two were injured after a projectile was thrown on to the window of their truck, and last
weekend three were stabbed by a person they had come to help.

Holland: a new born rhino with its mother at Burgers’ Zoo. It is the 11th broad-lip rhino from the
zoo’s breeding programme

Africa: a boy swats at a swarm of desert locusts filling the air near his village. The most serious
plague of desert locusts in 25 years has been spreading across east Africa

Spain: A horseman jumps over a bonfire in the Spanish village of San Bartolomé de
Pinares during the opening of the Luminarias festival.

UK: an engineer tinkers with his engine at the 24th Model Engineering
Exhibition at Alexandra Palace, London

UK: the above is a photograph of a new ‘steak’ for sale
What do you think it is made of?

Peas and seaweed!

20 seconds competition! Can you spot someone in the crowd who is world famous at the
moment?

Our Planet: the environment

Click on this video to hear David Attenborough’s message to
World Leaders

Our Art of the Week

Loving Science: Fact of the Week

                            There is enough DNA in an
                            average person’s body to
                            stretch from the Sun to Pluto and
                            back – 17 times