News articles in

This map highlights the countries that news stories in issue 64 refer to. To increase its size click anywhere on the map. You will then have three sizes to choose from. read more ...

Over half the world’s people rely on rice as their main source of food. Many Asian countries grow rice. It is also produced in South America, the USA, Mexico, Egypt, Italy and a number of African countries. Thailand is the world’s biggest exporter of read more ...

Bertie Ahern is the leader of the Fianna Fáil political party. He has been prime minister of Ireland for 11 years. (In Ireland the prime minister is known as the Taoiseach – pronounced t-shock.) On 2nd April Mr Ahern made a surprise announcement. He said read more ...

Jet aircraft use fuel called kerosene. It’s made from oil, so like other fossil fuels it produces large amounts of carbon dioxide when burned. Environmentalists claim carbon dioxide from aircraft fuel is one of the main causes of global warming. The read more ...

Over 150 years ago a British archaeologist discovered a strange circular-shaped clay tablet in what is now Iraq. The tablet was found in the ruins of the ancient capital of Assyria. The tablet shows drawings of stars and a type of alphabet, or text, read more ...

Staufen is a town of 8,000 people in the Black Forest, in Germany. The town has many old buildings. The town hall was built in 1546. Recently town officials decided to make some repairs to the town hall. They also wanted to install new heating. The read more ...

Nicosia is the capital city of the island of Cyprus. Since 1964 many parts of the city, including the main shopping area on Ledra Street, have been divided. Cyprus was a British colony. It became an independent country in 1960. The population is a mixture read more ...

Using new technology, scientists have been able to ‘see’ inside what appear to be lumps of solid rock. These scientists have reported finding hundreds of insects that are millions of years old inside the rocks. This means the insects would have been alive read more ...

From eight o’clock to nine o’clock in the evening on 29th March many people in different countries took part in Earth Hour. Earth Hour is promoted by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). It was first organised in Sydney, in Australia, in 2007. People and read more ...

Unusual beauty pageant — An unusual beauty contest has taken place in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The prize money is worth dirham 36.4 million (£5 million). The competitors in the contest are camels. Owners bring them from read more ...

Member countries of the European Union (EU) import a lot of bananas from countries in Africa and the Caribbean, and from island nations in the Pacific Ocean. All these places were former colonies of different European countries. Many of the colonies read more ...

In Canada there is an annual seal hunt. This year’s hunt began on 28th March. Hunters are allowed to kill an agreed number of harp seals. The animals are killed for their blubber – or fat – meat, and skins. The Canadian government keeps a check on the read more ...

Michael Bloomberg is the mayor of New York City, in the USA. Last year he announced an environmental plan to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide his city produces. The mayor’s plan, called PlanNYC, includes planting more trees, using less water and read more ...

Scientists from the World Meteorological Organization predict that the Earth’s temperature will be cooler in 2008. They say a weather event, called La Niña, is the cause of the lower temperatures. La Niña affects the sea and atmosphere in an area of the read more ...

International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) was celebrated on 2nd April. It is an event that takes place on, or around, the same date every year. ICBD is celebrated with events in 70 countries around the world. Each year a different country is chosen to read more ...

Argentina is one of the biggest growers of wheat and maize in the world. It is also a large producer of beef cattle. In Argentina more meat is eaten per person than in any other country. Large amounts of food grown in Argentina are sold, or exported, to read more ...

Elections for both the president and members of parliament were held in Zimbabwe on 31st March. The two main political parties taking part were ZANU-PF, led by President Robert Mugabe, and Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Robert read more ...

Leaders of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) member countries met for a summit – a series of talks – from 2nd to 4th April. The meeting was held in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. NATO was first set up by the USA in 1949. If one NATO member is read more ...

Like many other countries, Australia is trying to find ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide it puts into the atmosphere. Most comes from burning fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – which are used for transport, heating, cooking and making read more ...

Every year the Arab League holds a meeting, or summit. The organisation is a sort of club for Arab states. Members agree to help each other with trade, communications, health and travel arrangements. Each state also makes a promise never to attack another read more ...

On 27th March, a new terminal began operating at London’s Heathrow airport, in the UK. The terminal will only be used by one airline – British Airways – for both international and local flights. Heathrow is one of the largest and busiest airports in the read more ...

Bacteria are microscopic living cells. They can be found all over the Earth. Humans have millions of bacteria living inside them and on their skin. Most bacteria are harmless and some are even useful. But there are types that can cause infections and read more ...

HAVE YOU READ . . .? Henry, aged 14, lives with his mother, stepfather, half-sister and grandmother in a British coastal town in 1949. Nobody has many luxuries because it is only four years since the end of the Second World War. Food is still rationed and read more ...

You can complete the Glossary and Sudoku Prize competitions online and submit your entry by using the links below: Those wishing to enter Glossary Prize competitions will need to complete the crossword before attempting the wordsearch. Issue 64 crossword read more ...