The opening of the new police station A debate has been going on for some time. What should Austria do with the apartment where Hitler was born? Hitler was born in a small Austrian town on the border close to Germany. The apartment where he was born was visited by many neo-Nazis. Neo-Nazis want the return of Nazism... After much debate, the building was renovated and opened as a police station. I hope that will stop the neo-Nazis... Read more here: https://www.theguardian.

A chef in South Korea served a dessert with ant powder. Ants are not an approved insect, so it is illegal to serve in South Korea. The chef could go to prison. The restaurant is in Gangnam in Seoul. The restaurant is a two-star Michelin restaurant. Michelin stars are the most prestigious awards given to restaurants. Michelin restaurants have 1, 2 or 3 stars. Three stars are the best. The ants were used to add flavour to a sorbet dessert. Sorbets are a kind

Sam Neill has died. Sam Neill was a famous actor born in Northern Ireland but lived in New Zealand. He was famous for many different roles in movies but perhaps most famously Jurassic Park (1993). A revolutionary film for its special effects. Also, he lived close to Queenstown in New Zealand and came to the supermarket I worked at many times. I never spoke to him directly... I wish I had said "hello" or told him "Jurassic Park was great!". Goodbye Sam... I'l

Nuigurumi Shrine (plush/cuddly toy shrine) In Shintoism, everything has a god. The sea, the sky, the mountains,... there are gods for everything. Today I learned there are gods for cuddly toys! Cuddly toys (or plush toys) are soft toys loved by kids and adults. Most children have a few cuddly toys, but many adults keep and treasure them too. Now there is a shrine for those toys. Nuigurumi Shrine is in Nantan city, Kyoto prefecture. People can have ceremonies for their cudd

Shoko Kawata A mayor in Japan will take maternity leave and it made some people upset. In May, Shoko Kawata announced she will take maternity leave to give birth. She is the mayor of Yawata in Kyoto prefecture. In Japan, women can take maternity leave, but that doesn’t apply to mayors. She plans to take 4 months off and her deputy mayor will take on responsibilities in that time. Her announcement caused headlines across Japan as she will be the first mayor to take maternit

One of the pumps working A company in the Artic is trying to strengthen the sea ice. They pump water up onto the ice on cold days to that the water will freeze then thicken and strengthen the ice at the beginning of summer. This is a test to see if they can do it on a larger scale. The test area was a small patch of sea in the sea near Canada. The test area stayed frozen while the water around melted. It is possible that there will be no sea ice in the summer in the next f