11/11/2015 Newsround

This is Newsround on Wednesday the 11th of November.

I'm Ricky with this morning's top stories.

Coming up:

The elephants helping to fight fires.

And the incredibly rare pink diamond.

Today is Armistice Day - and at 11 o'clock

a two minute silence will be held across the country to remember those

who have lost their lives in war.

It starts at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month -

the time in 1918 when the guns finally fell silent along the

Western Front in World War I and an armistice, or peace, was declared.

People across the country will be marking the event, and we asked some

of you what you'll be thinking about at 11 o'clock today.

I will be thinking about my grandad and many of the

soldiers who fought in the war and risked their lives to save us.

I will be thinking about the people who died for us so we can be

happy and live in a free country.

I will be thinking about all those soldiers and people that have

risked their lives for us.

To me, it means that I am being very respectful to the people

who took part in the war.

It makes me feel proud of my country and people who suffered for us.

I will be thinking of the people that risked their lives for our

lives, so we can be a proud country.

It makes me feel grateful, and I need to respect it.

I will be thinking about this poppy because it

represents Flanders Field, which was the first poppy to be grown,

and represents new life and hope.

And we want to know if you have anyone you will be remembering today

and what Remembrance Day means to you, so head to our website

and get in touch.

Next, a very rare pink diamond has been sold at auction It's called

"the pink" and it was bought for ?18.5 million at the sale in Geneva

in Switzerland.

The people selling the diamond say that only three pink

stones like this have come for sale over the past 250 years.

No one wonder it was so expensive!

A volcano in Mexico has erupted for the third time in a week,

sending a column of smoke thousands of metres into the sky.

The Colima volcano in the south-west of Mexico has been showing signs

of activity since July.

Over the past months, nearby villages have been blanketed

with thick coats of ash, but no evacuation was needed

for Wednesday's eruption.

Yesterday, we told you about how a famous animal park is

planning to make changes to their killer whale displays

at one of its sites in America.

SeaWorld has said they will phase out entertainment shows

at their site in San Diego to concentrate on showing

the animals in a more natural way.

The decision by SeaWorld comes after years of pressure from campaigners

One person who agrees with that is CBBC wildlife presenter, Steve

Backshall, and he told us why.

Orca are the world's largest species of dolphin, and as you'd expect,

they have a very big brain, they are very intelligent,

they are really social with the other members of their pod, which

usually are members of their own family.

It has also been shown that they will grieve their dead

and they will grieve when their calves are removed away from

them to be taken into captivity.

And this is a creature which can travel 100 miles in a day,

like swimming from London to Birmingham, every single day.

So if you were to take an orca and stick it into, essentially, a

large swimming pool, I think it would be

like having us locked into a

bedroom for the whole of the rest of our lives with one single song in

the

background being played on loop over and over again,

never able to communicate with other members of our friends and family.

I don't think this one species should be kept in captivity.

SeaWorld say they look after the animals well

and have sent us this statement.

Fire fighters in Indonesia, in Southeast Asia, have taken

on some new members to help them look after the local forests.

More than 20 elephants have been trained to help to put out forest

fires in the country's Siak district.

The animals can carry water pumps, hoses and other equipment whilst

out on patrol around the forests.

Next, should we have a national animal in Britian?

In Russia they have the bear and in Australia it's the kangaroo .

So should the humble hegdehog become the symbol for the UK?

Well, Conservative MP Oliver Colville thinks so.

He wants there to be vote on which animal should represent us,

and he's backing the hedgehog.

He thinks it could help save the species, whose numbers have

fallen by more than a third over the last decade, with fewer than

a million left in the wild now.

Finally - it's been a busy few weeks for these guys.

They're are all dressed up as Father Christmas.

These men have just graduated from Santa School in Brazil.

The school prepares them for a very busy December which will see many

of them working in shopping centres - spreading the Christmas joy!

Just enough time to remind you to get involved in a vote that's

taking place right now online.

In a special programme called Bullying:

The Newsround Debate, we're asking you if bullies should

be helped or punished.

Make your choice over on the CBBC website.

We'll reveal the outcome of that vote next week.

That's all from me, do get online and let us know

your Remembrance Day stories.

Newsround is back later this afternoon.

Bye!