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7th February 2013British English edition

Issue Number 190

Newsademic.comThe informative easy to read introduction to world news

In this issue

Siberian Nesski found?Protesters and police in EgyptPresident of France in MaliSubglacial lakes in AntarcticaExplosion in Mexico CityDung beetle navigationNew bells for Notre DameAmazon rainforest censusAfrican Union meetingUnderwater hotel plansAbdication in the NetherlandsKiller cat figuresNightclub fire in BrazilPride and Prejudice anniversaryGroundhog Day predictionRemembering the HolocaustSyria attacked by Israel?New Tang PrizesStalingrad, 70 years onGlossary Crossword and Wordsearch Puzzle

The grave and skeleton of King Richard the Third (University of Leicester)

On 4th February a press conference was held at the University of Leicester, in the UK. Crowded in the room were televi-sion cameras from seven different coun-tries and over 140 news reporters. All had gathered to hear an announcement about a human skeleton that had been dug up five months earlier.

A team of experts from the university spoke. Each talked about the many sci-entific tests they had carried out on the skeleton. They then declared that the results of all these tests proved that the bones, which had been found under a local government car park, in Leicester, were those of King Richard the Third (1452 – 1485).

The University of Leicester team said the discovery of the king’s grave was ‘truly astonishing’. Some have even de-scribed it as the most exciting archaeo-logical story of modern times. Others

said finding the king’s body has finally solved a 528-year-old mystery.

Richard the Third was killed at the Battle of Bosworth. He was the last Eng-lish king to be killed in battle. In history King Richard is often described as an evil or bad man, who had a hunched back and a withered, or deformed, arm. It was said that he walked with a limp.

However, many historians do not be-lieve this. They argue that the reason the king is thought of in this way is because it was how William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) portrayed him in his famous play, Richard the Third. Yet Shakespeare’s play was written over 100 years after Richard’s death.

Richard’s elder brother was King Ed-ward the Fourth. The King asked Rich-ard, who was the Duke of Gloucester, to look after the north of England. Richard therefore spent much of his time in the

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northern city of York where he be-came very popular.

When King Edward died in 1483 the crown passed to his eldest son, Prince Edward. Edward was only 12 years old when his father died. His uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, was therefore given the job of look-ing after the country until the prince was old enough to become king.

Edward and Prince Richard, his nine-year-old younger brother, were sent to the Tower, a large castle in London. Soon afterwards Richard announced that his elder brother’s marriage had been unlawful. This meant Prince Edward could not be-come king. Richard was crowned instead becoming King Richard the Third. The two young princes in the Tower disappeared and were never seen again. Many people believe their uncle arranged to have his neph-ews murdered as part of his plan to become the new king.

The heads of some wealthy Eng-lish families persuaded Henry Tu-dor, who was living in France, to challenge Richard for the throne. Henry was related to the English royal family through his mother. In 1485 Henry landed in Wales with a small army. He then travelled north to get more men to join him.

King Richard decided to intercept Henry’s soldiers as they marched to-wards London. The two armies met at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Where the battle took place is not far from Leicester. During the fighting some of Richard’s main supporters decided to change sides. Richard was killed. He was 32 years old. His body was stripped and taken to Leicester on the back of a horse. There it was quickly buried in Greyfriars Church, which was part of a Franciscan friary.

After the Battle of Bosworth, Henry Tudor was crowned King

Henry the Seventh. His dynasty, the Tudors, included two of England’s most famous monarchs, Henry the Eighth (1491 – 1547) and Elizabeth the First (1533 – 1603). Many histo-rians believe that the Tudors deliber-ately made up the stories about King Richard being a bad and evil man.

During Henry the Eighth’s reign a decision was made to close all the monasteries. The Franciscan friary and Greyfriars Church in Leicester were knocked down. Other build-ings were then put up. Over time the exact place where the church used to be was forgotten. A local legend says that when the church was knocked down Richard’s body was dug up and thrown into a nearby river.

LeicesterBattle of

Bosworth

London

York

ENGLAND

Wales

FRANCE

Some local historians suspected that Richard’s body was still in the grave in which he was buried. Sev-eral years ago they decided to try to find it. Using old maps they worked out where the Greyfriars Church used to be. They believed the site was now a local government car park. Eventually they managed to persuade the University of Leicester to assemble a team of archaeologists to dig up the car park to see if this was true.

Soon after the team started dig-ging they discovered a few human

bones. At the time they were more interested in trying to find the re-mains of the walls of the church. Once they found these they realised that the previously discovered bones were in a grave that had been inside the church. They then carefully un-covered the rest of them.

The grave looked like it had been dug very quickly. It was too small for the body inside it. Yet, what sur-prised everyone was that the skele-ton had a curved, or bent, spine. Af-ter all the bones had been uncovered they were taken to the university.

Scientific tests showed that the bones were those of a man aged about 30 who had died in the late 1400s. Furthermore the person had been struck on the head by a metal weapon. The body had been buried without any clothes with the hands tied together. The curved spine meant that one of the man’s shoulders would have been higher than the other. Yet neither of his arms was deformed.

Genealogists, people who study families and their history, managed to track down a man who was a dis-tant relative of Richard’s sister. He is a 17th generation nephew of King Richard. DNA tests showed that this person and the man whose skel-eton was found under the car park are related.

Even though King Richard the Third’s bones have just been found an argument has already be-gun about what should happen to them. The plan is to re-bury them in Leicester Cathedral. Yet officials from the city of York disagree. They insist the bones should be re-buried in their cathedral, York Minister. This, they argue, is because York was where Richard spent much of his time. What’s more Richard met his wife in this part of the country and his son was buried nearby.


SIBERIAN WATER MONSTER?

Several Russian newspapers have recently reported that a team of di-vers may have found the remains of a strange animal at the bottom of a lake. The lake, called Labynkyr, is in a remote part of Siberia, in eastern Russia. Local legends say that some type of beast, or ‘water monster’, called the ‘Devil’ of Labynkyr, lives in the lake.

The lake is mysterious. It has an area of 45 square kilometres (17 square miles) and an average depth of 52 meters (171 feet). However, under part of the lake there is a long trench, which is much deeper.

Lake Labynkyr

The winter months in Siberia are very cold. Lakes in this part of Russia freeze over at this time of year. Yet, even though its water gets very cold, Lake Labynkyr never completely freezes. It’s thought that there is some form of volcanic spring at the bottom of the lake. If true, it could mean that warm water coming up from deep underground stops the lake freezing.

Local people claim to have seen a ‘monster’ in the lake many times. It used to be known as the ‘Devil’. Yet more recently people have been calling it ‘Nesski’. This name comes from the more famous Loch Ness Monster. This ‘monster’ is supposed to live in a large lake in Scotland, in the north of the UK. Many peo-ple believe that ‘Nessie’ exists. Yet,

even though several scientific in-vestigations have been carried out at Loch Ness, no large animal has ever been found in the loch.

In 1953, a well-known Russian geologist, or a scientist who stud-ies rocks, claimed that he had seen a ‘water monster’ in another near by Siberian lake, called Lake Vorota. Last year scientists from the Uni-versity of Moscow made some unu-sual recordings at Lake Labynkyr. One team, using special scanners, detected a large underwater object. The readings showed that the ob-ject was moving near the bottom of the lake and it was too big to be some type of fish. The scientists were unable to explain what it was. Some people even suspect that there could be some form of underwater tunnel that connects Lakes Vorota and Labynkyr.

On 1st February scientists from the Russian Geographical Society, using diving equipment, entered the lake. This was the first time that this had been done.

The divers collected some sam-ples of underwater plants. The newspaper reports said that using an underwater scanner the divers also saw an unusual image. It looked as if it was the bones of a large animal on the bottom of the lake. However, because of the depth, and very cold water temperatures, they were un-able to bring it to the surface.

POLICE AND PROTESTERS IN EGYPT

A video film that was shown on television in Egypt, on 1st Febru-ary, has shocked many people. The film showed a man, who had been stripped of his clothes, being beaten with sticks by seven riot police. The police then dragged the man along

the ground and threw him into the back of a police van.

The man had been taking part in a demonstration in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The demonstration was one of many that have taken place in the country over the last few weeks. Those taking part want Egypt’s new president, Moham-ed Morsi, to make changes as to how he governs the country or to resign.

Recently, there have been many problems in Egypt. Nearly two years ago Hosni Mubarak, who had been Egypt’s president for 30 years, was forced to step down. This happened after tens of thousands of people demonstrated against him. They ac-cused Mr Mubarak and his advisers of being corrupt, or dishonest. Elec-tions, they claimed, were fixed to make sure that the president and his supporters always won. The protest-ers were also angry with the police. They claimed they had too many

NEWSCAST

GARDEN RICHES — A couple in the UK have made a surprising discov-ery. When they bought their house, over 30 years ago, the previous owner left a long stone trough-like container in the garden. Three of its sides have figures carved on them. The couple used the container as a planter, or a place to grow certain types of plants. Recently they saw a picture of a Roman sarcophagus, or stone coffin, in a newspaper. Their planter, they thought, looked very similar. They contacted an expert who confirmed that it was a Roman sarcophagus. What’s more the ancient coffin is worth about £100,000 (US$157,000). This, the expert explained, was because it was made for a wealthy Roman and is at least 1,800 years old.


powers and often arrested people without giving any reason.

After Mr Mubarak stood down leaders of the army took over. They promised to arrange elections for a new parliament and president. A group called the Muslim Brother-hood did well in the parliamentary elections. The election for a new president was held in June last year. Mr Morsi won. He is also a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. This or-ganisation is both a religious and a political group.

Mohamed Morsi, president of Egypt

While many people in Egypt sup-port the Muslim Brotherhood many others don’t. These people complain that the new constitution, or rules by which the country is to be governed, which Mr Morsi agreed to, contains too many religious laws. They be-lieve that Egypt should be a secular state. This means that religion and the way in which the country is gov-erned would be kept separate.

The protesters are also angry with the police. The police are part of the Interior Ministry. During the time when Mr Mubarak was presi-dent the police were known to be brutal when dealing with anyone who caused trouble. Those who were arrested were often beaten. The protesters claim that since Mr Morsi became president he has done nothing to change the Interior Min-istry. They also accuse Mr Morsi of telling the police to use force against the protesters.

However, senior officials at the Interior Ministry blame the protest-ers. Many of the demonstrations are not peaceful. For example, recently some protesters threw firebombs at the presidential palace. When this happens riot police have had to use force to stop them.

The man in charge of the Interior Ministry said that during the recent protests over 400 police officers were injured. Other ministers have said that the number of demonstra-tions is having a serious effect on Egypt’s economy. Even the head of the army has warned that the politi-cal unrest could lead to the collapse of the country.

The police have now apologised to the man who was filmed being beaten. People who work closely with Mr Morsi said they too thought the incident was shocking. Howev-er, they insisted that protesters using violence or damaging government buildings was not acceptable.

FRENCH PRESIDENT VISITS MALI

On 2nd February, François Hol-lande, the president of France, was greeted by cheering crowds in the city of Timbuktu, in Mali. Dion-counda Traoré, Mali’s interim presi-dent, was there to meet him. Six days earlier French soldiers working with the Malian army had recaptured the city from several groups of armed Islamic militants.

Many people in the crowd shouted ‘Vive la France’ (long live France). For the past year the northern part of Mali, including Timbuktu, has been under very strict Islamic rule. Many women in the crowd wore brightly coloured clothes. These clothes, they said, were not allowed when the militants were in charge.

Later in the day Mr Hollande and the Malian president travelled to Bamako, Mali’s capital city. There they were greeted by more cheer-ing crowds. Many said they were thankful for what France had done. Bamako is in the southern part of the country, which was not occupied by the militants.

MALINIGER

ALGERIA

Bamako

Azawad

TimbuktuKidal

Gao

LIBYA

Mali is a former French colony. It became an independent country in 1960. In recent years the Malian army and some of the Tuareg tribes-men (often called the Tuareg rebels) have fought against each other. The Tuareg are a nomadic tribe. Its members mainly live in the north of Mali and in parts of Niger, Algeria, and Libya. The Tuareg rebels are members of a group called the Na-tional Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (NMLA). Azawad is the name they use for the northern part of Mali. The NMLA want Azawad to be a separate country.

Ten months ago the NMLA man-aged to take over most of northern Mali. Several Islamic militant groups helped them. However, these groups said they wanted to control the whole country and run it according to very strict Islamic laws. The militants then seized control of the larger cities of Timbuktu, Goa and Kidal. In January they began threatening several towns in the south. President Traoré asked France for help.


French troops and warplanes then attacked the militants. Working with the Malian army they quickly recaptured Timbuktu and Goa. A number of countries in West Africa, including Chad, have now also sent troops to Mali to assist the French and the Malian army.

The NMLA has disagreed with the Islamic militant groups. It says it will no longer work with them. Re-cently the NMLA even announced that it supported what France had done.

French troops have been near the northern city of Kidal for sev-eral days. Many Tuaregs live in the city. The NMLA said it did not want the Malian army to enter Kidal. Be-cause the NMLA had been fighting against the Malian army for many years it was worried about what the army’s soldiers would do. There-fore, on 5th February, the French forces arranged for soldiers from Chad to occupy the city.

Even though the militant groups have been forced out of the north-ern cites they have not been de-feated. It’s thought that they are now hiding in the mountains in the north of Mali near the border with Algeria.

François Hollande, president of France

An operation called the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) has been planned. At least ten African countries will take part. They will send around 6,000 soldiers to Mali. These sol-diers will help to keep the peace and make sure that the militant groups do not come back.

President Traoré says that new elections are being planned. These will be held by the end of July. Pres-ident Traoré has also said that he is willing to speak with NMLA lead-ers. However, he insists that they must give up their idea of Azawad becoming a separate country. While Mr Hollande was in Bamako he de-clared that as long as Mali needed their help French troops would re-main in the country.

ANTARCTICA’S SUBGLACIAL LAKES

On 27th January a team of Ameri-can scientists working in Antarctica made a special announcement. They said that they had managed to suc-cessfully drill through a thick layer of ice to a subglacial lake. The fol-lowing day they were able to pull

up some samples of the lake’s water and sediment, or mud.

A subglacial lake is a body of water that is covered by thick ice. Scientists think there are at least 350 subglacial lakes in Antarctica. It’s likely, they say, that rivers, deep un-der the ice, connect some of them. These lakes and rivers do not freeze because of geothermal heat rising from the centre of the Earth.

Many scientists think there is a good chance that Antarctica’s sub-glacial lakes will contain some life forms. These creatures will prob-ably be microbes and possibly tiny worm-like organisms called nema-todes. If they exist, the life forms will have been living in these sun-less lakes for hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of years. Scientists believe they might provide clues as to how tiny life forms first evolved on the Earth.

The Earth isn’t the only place in our Solar System that has subglacial lakes. Astronomers think Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, has an ocean of water underneath its thick crust of ice. The water under Europa’s ice could, say scientists, be similar to that found in a subglacial lake. So if living organisms are found in lakes deep under the ice of Antarctica there might be life forms on Europa.

Scientists are also interested in the sediment at the bottom of these lakes. It too would date back hun-dreds of thousands of years. At that time Antarctica was not covered in ice and had a much warmer climate than it does today.

The American scientists are not the only team that has been trying to reach one of Antarctica’s subgla-cial lakes. For many years Russian scientists have been working above Lake Vostok. This is the largest known subglacial lake in Antarctica.

NEWSCAST

FEATHERED THIEF — A man from the UK had some money stolen by an unusual thief when visiting New Zealand. The man had been travelling around the country in a campervan. He stopped and got out of the van to take some photographs. Then a couple told him that they had seen a bird take something out of his campervan and fly away. When he returned the man discovered that the bird had stolen a small cloth bag. In-side was NZ$1,100 (£585). The thief was a kea, which is a type of parrot. Keas are known to be clever birds. This is not the first time they have caused trouble. Last year a kea stole another visi-tor’s passport.


It has an area of almost 15,700 square kilometres (6,060 square miles). This means of all the lakes in the world it is one of the biggest. The ice above Lake Vostok is about 3.8 kilometres (2.4 miles) thick.

Last year the Russian team said it had managed to finally finish drill-ing down to Lake Vostok. Water samples were collected and taken back to Russia. However, so far, no discoveries of life in these samples have been announced. Some think it’s possible that the kerosene used in the drilling process contaminat-ed the water samples. If true these samples could not be used for sci-entific investigation. Kerosene is a type of fuel that stays liquid at very low temperatures.

Within the last few months a sci-entific team from the UK started to drill down into Lake Ellsworth, an-other subglacial lake. Yet they had several problems with their equip-ment and decided to give up.

Hot water drilling equipment used by the American team of scientists in Antarctica

The drills used by the UK and USA teams have been specially designed. Unlike the Russians’ ice core drill they use hot water made from melted snow. These hot water drills are much quicker. But the holes they make freeze up quickly, so there is not much time to collect samples.

The American team has drilled into a subglacial body of water called Lake Whillans or the Whillans Ice

Stream. Neither Lake Ellsworth nor Lake Whillans has as thick a cover-ing of ice as Lake Vostok. The water in Lake Whillans, for example, is under about 800 metres (2,600 feet) of ice.

Soon after they managed to get some water samples members of the American team confirmed that they contained very tiny cells. It is a sign, they said, that there is some form of life in the lake. However, more tests will need to be done to find out if these microscopic cells are actually alive.

MEXICO CITY EXPLOSION

A huge explosion occurred on 31st January at the headquarters of Pemex in Mexico City, the country’s capital. At first it was not known if it was an accident or a bomb. But four days later officials said they were sure that the explosion was caused by a gas leak.

Pemex, which stands for Petróle-os Mexicanos, is Mexico’s govern-ment-owned oil company. It has nearly 150,000 workers. In Mexico Pemex is a very important organi-sation. This is because the govern-ment spends some of the money the company makes on other important things, such as building schools and hospitals.

The explosion happened at a complex, or group, of buildings called the Pemex Executive Tower. Around 10,000 people work in the complex, which includes a 51-sto-rey tower, or skyscraper, and several other large buildings.

The explosion happened in a 14-storey building at 3:45 in the afternoon. This was about the time that the workers inside were fin-ishing their shift. The explosion

occurred in the basement. It was powerful enough to cause the col-lapse of several of the floors above.

Emergency rescue teams imme-diately rushed to the Pemex com-plex. The police stopped all cars and people from entering the sur-rounding area. All those working in the other buildings in the complex were evacuated.

Pemex tower, in Mexico City

The explosion killed at least 37 people. Over 120 were injured. Helicopters as well as ambulances were used to take people to several hospitals in the city. The follow-ing day rescue workers continued their search of the badly damaged building. Members of the army and sniffer dogs helped them. These dogs are trained to find people who are trapped under collapsed buildings. A crane was also used to remove some of the larger pieces of concrete.

Enrique Peña Nieto, the presi-dent of Mexico, visited the complex and some of the hospitals where the injured were being treated. At first many people thought that some type of attack or bomb must have caused the explosion.


However, Pemex officials de-clared that it had happened in part of the complex where there was a lot of electrical equipment. Later it was confirmed that a leak had led to a build-up of gas. An electrical spark then ignited the gas and it was this that had caused the deadly blast.

The day after the incident Pemex’s boss said that the explosion would not affect the company’s oil-producing operations.

DUNG BEETLES AND THE MILKY WAY

A scientist from South Africa has completed some tests with dung beetles that appear to have some surprising results. Her experi-ments seem to show that the bee-tles are able to use the Milky Way in the night sky to navigate, or to work out in which direction they should travel.

Dung beetle with its dung ball

Dung beetles are also known as scarab beetles. They are found nearly everywhere in the world. The beetles feed on dung from grass-eat-ing animals. Some types live in the dung while others make balls out of it. These beetles then push the balls towards a burrow, which they have dug, or to a safe place. Here the dung can be eaten. These dung balls are even bigger than the beetles that

make them. If they are not quick in hiding their dung balls other scarab beetles may try to steal them.

Dung beetles are able to push these balls in a straight line. This is not easy. When pushing a ball of this size there would be a tendency of turning to one side or the other or even going round in a circle.

Milky Way

In the past the scientist had al-ready shown that dung beetles were able to use the position of the Sun or Moon to help them go in straight lines. However, they also seemed to be able to do this on moonless nights. She decided to try to find out how.

The scientist set up an experiment in the planetarium in Johannesburg, in South Africa. A planetarium is a theatre that is used to teach peo-ple about the night sky. It normally has a domed ceiling on which a map of the stars and planets can be projected.

Dung beetles, with their dung balls, were put in a large circular shaped arena, or container. The sides were blacked out so the only thing that the beetles could see was the planetarium’s ‘night sky’ above them. When the planetarium showed a starry night the beetles were able to go in straight lines. They were also able to do this when only the faint band of light, known as the Milky Way, could be seen.

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System. On a clear

night it looks like a dim band of light going across the sky. Even though this faint light comes from billions of stars it is not possible to see them without using a powerful telescope.

On some nights throughout the year the Milky Way is very close to the horizon. When this position was recreated on the dome of the plane-tarium the dung beetles were unable to see it and became confused. This suggests that, on moonless nights, the beetles rely on the Milky Way to push their dung balls in a straight line. It’s possible, the scientist says, that many other animals and insects also use the Milky Way to work out where they are going.

NOTRE DAME’S NEW BELLS

On 31st January two trucks with a police motorcycle escort carried nine large church bells through the streets of Paris, the capital of France. The trucks took the new bells to No-tre Dame cathedral, in the centre of the city. There, hundreds of people had gathered to greet them.

Notre Dame is one of the larg-est and best-known churches in the world. Every year it is visited by millions of people. This year is a special one for the cathedral as it marks its 850th anniversary. Work first began in 1163 and it took 90 years to complete the building.

Several years ago, as part of the forthcoming anniversary celebra-tions, it was decided to replace the bells in one of the towers. In the 1790s, during the French Revo-lution, some people damaged or destroyed many things inside the cathedral. Most of the bells were removed and melted down so the metal could be sold or used for other things.


In 1856 four bells were rein-stalled in Notre Dame’s north tower. However, their sound has now be-come discordant, or out of key with the main tenor bell in the south tow-er. This is probably because these smaller bells were made, or cast, from poor quality metal.

Eight of the new bells were cast in the town of Villedieu, in northern France. These will be hung in the north tower. Each has been named after a saint. The ninth, and largest of the new bells, called Marie, was cast in the Netherlands. It weighs six tonnes. This bell will be used inside the south tower alongside the main tenor bell. The new bells took 18 months to make and are expected to last for at least 200 years.

Notre Dame

The nine new bells have now been put on display at the cathedral. They will be installed in the towers on 25th February. Then, on 23rd March, they will be rung and heard for the first time. This is the day before Palm Sunday, which is an important event in the Christian calendar.

AMAZON RAINFOREST CENSUS

The government of Brazil has an-nounced that it will carry out a four-year study of the Amazon rainforest. It describes the study as being simi-lar to a census, but instead of count-ing people it will record all the trees.

Venezuela

BrazilBolivia

Peru

Ecuador

ColombiaSuriname

French GuianaGuyana

AmazonRainforest

The Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world. Most of it is in Brazil. Yet parts of the rain-forest are also in Peru, Bolivia, Ec-uador, Colombia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname.

Most scientists agree that the Amazon rainforest is one of the world’s best defences against global warming and climate change. This is because its many millions of trees absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. Many think that world temperatures have been increasing over the last 150 years. One of the main reasons for this is believed to be the burning of fos-sil fuels - oil, gas and coal - which has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Most sci-entists think that this extra carbon dioxide is acting like a greenhouse and causing higher temperatures and changes in the climate.

Over the last 30 years environ-mentalists have become worried about how many trees in the Ama-zon rainforest have been cut down. Cutting down large numbers of trees is known as deforestation.

One of the main causes of defor-estation in the Amazon is farming.

Trees have been cleared for cattle farms and for growing soya beans. Another cause is illegal logging. This is when groups of people unlawfully cut down the trees, transport the wood and sell it in other countries.

In recent years the Brazilian government has passed several laws that make it illegal to clear the rainforest. The number of trees be-ing cut down has now been greatly reduced. Yet there are other prob-lems. For example, satellite images show that a large area of the rainfor-est is being affected by a drought, or lack of rain. The drought in this part of the forest began eight years ago. Some think it is the result of climate change.

Satellite pictures have also shown where illegal logging has taken place. However, these images, officials say, do not record what is happening beneath all the leaves on the trees.

Amazon rainforest

The tree census will collect infor-mation about the different species of trees and where they are growing. It will also record details of the types of soil in which they grow. Offi-cials believe that once they have an accurate record it will be easier to understand what is happening to the rainforest and where and how it should be best protected.

Even though the census is ex-pected to take four years officials say they will show what has been completed year by year.


AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT

Many leaders of African Union (AU) member countries attended a meeting, or summit, on 27th and 28th January. These two-day AU summits are held twice a year. Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general, or leader, of the United Nations (UN) was also invited.

African Union (AU) flag

The AU, which was set up in 2001, has 54 member countries. All are in Africa. The organisation is sometimes described as being simi-lar to the European Union (EU). The only African country that has cho-sen not to be a member of the AU is Morocco.

The organisation is based in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. This is where most AU summits take place. The AU’s headquarters is a new building in the capital city. The build-ing, which opened one year ago, was paid for by the government of China and built by a Chinese company.

Over the last 15 years the Chi-nese government has spent large amounts of money in Africa. The African continent has many of the natural resources that China needs. These include oil, gold, platinum, copper, and diamonds as well as other precious gems and miner-als, which are all used by Chinese factories. China has helped a num-ber of nations in Africa to develop these natural resources. It has also

built roads, schools, and hospitals in many African countries.

The African Union (AU) has two leaders. One is called the chairper-son, or Assembly Chair. The other is the chair of the African Union Com-mission, or Commission Chair. This position is the more powerful of the two. The person who is the Assem-bly Chair does the job for 12 months whereas the Commission Chair is elected for a four-year term.

The president of Benin, Boni Yayi, has been the Assembly Chair for the last 12 months. During the meeting he handed over to the new chairperson, Hailemariam De-salegn, who is the prime minister of Ethiopia. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is the new chair of the African Un-ion Commission. This was the first AU summit of which she has been in charge. Ms Dlamini-Zuma, who is from South Africa, is the first woman to be elected as the AU’s Commission Chair.

UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon and the AU’s Commission Chair, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma

The violence and recent fighting in Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and North and South Sudan were all discussed. These four countries are members of the AU. North and South Sudan be-came separate nations in 2011. Yet they continue to argue about where the border between them should be. These arguments are the cause of frequent outbreaks of violence. In the eastern parts of the DRC there

has been fighting between a militant group and government troops.

Several militant Islamic groups took over the northern part of Mali 12 months ago. Last month France sent warplanes and specially trained troops to stop the militants moving into the southern part of the country. A number of African countries have also recently sent soldiers to Mali to help. However, several people at the summit said that African countries had known about the problem for over one year. They complained that it had taken far too long for anything to be done about it.

An operation, called the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) has been planned. This will include troops from many African countries. Their job will be to help Mali recover from the recent fighting and to make sure it does not start again. The day after the summit ended a special meeting, or donor conference, was held at the AU building. This was to ask Afri-can countries to donate money that will be used to pay for the AFISMA operation.

UNDERWATER HOTEL

The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building is in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Recently plans have been announced for the construction of another record-breaking building in Dubai. This building is not another skyscraper but, if it is ever completed, it will be the world’s largest underwater hotel. Some people have even described it as a ‘human aquarium’.

Called the Water Discus Hotel it has been designed by two com-panies, one from Poland and the other from Switzerland. Computer-


generated images of the hotel show that it will be made up of two large discs. One will be below the sea and the other above it. Several legs and a vertical pipe-shaped shaft will connect the two discs. The lift and stairs that will take guests to the un-derwater part of the hotel are within the shaft.

Computer generated image of what the Water Discus Hotel may look like if completed

There will be up to 21 rooms in the disc under the sea. It will also contain a bar and a place were di-vers can both enter and leave. This disc will be about ten metres (33 feet) below the surface of the sea. The hotel will also be ‘moveable’. So if any problems arise where it has been set up it can always be moved to another place. What’s more the discs have been designed so that they will float. Therefore if a serious accident or natural disaster occurs they will act like lifeboats. Helicopters will be able to land on top of the upper disc.

The hotel has been designed so that it can be built in modules, or separate parts. These can then be put together where the hotel is to be located. It may also be possible to add extra modules to make the ho-tel even bigger. The modules will probably be built in Gdansk, a city in Poland that used to be known for shipbuilding.

The companies that plan to build the Water Discus Hotel claim

that several organisations in other countries, such as the Maldives, are also interested in their new de-sign. The companies say the unu-sual building will take about five years to complete. It will not have the first hotel room beneath the sea, yet it will be the world’s big-gest underwater hotel. There is an underwater hotel in the USA, but it is much smaller. The Maldives also has a hotel with one underwater room.

QUEEN OF THE NETHERLANDS ABDICATES

On 28th January a short, pre-recorded speech, made by Queen Beatrix, was shown on television in the Netherlands. In the speech the Dutch Queen, who is 75 years old, announced that she had decided to abdicate, or give up the throne.

Queen Beatrix’s abdication means that her son and eldest child, Willem-Alexander, Prince of Or-ange, will become the country’s new monarch. He will be the Neth-erlands’ first king since the death of his great-great-grandfather, William the Third, in 1890.

Queen Beatrix, her eldest son, Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife Princess Máxima

Soon after the televised speech the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, spoke. He praised Queen Beatrix for the way she had led the country since she became queen in

1980. He also said that Prince Wil-lem-Alexander and his wife were ready to take over as the new king and queen.

The Netherlands is a constitu-tional monarchy. So although the Dutch king or queen is head of state he or she has few powers. In con-stitutional monarchies a country is run by the prime minister and has an elected parliament. The prime min-ister is usually the leader of the po-litical party that has the most seats in the parliament.

The UK and Japan are exam-ples of other constitutional monar-chies. However, in these countries it would be very unusual for the mon-arch (known as the emperor in Ja-pan) to abdicate. Here the monarchs continue to rule their countries until they die. Yet, over the last 100 years, abdication has almost become a tra-dition in the Netherlands.

Queen Beatrix’s grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina, abdicated after being on the throne for nearly 58 years. At the time she was suffering from ill health. Her daughter, Queen Juliana, took over. She reigned for 32 years. Then, when she was 71 years old, Queen Juliana chose to abdicate in favour of her daughter Queen Beatrix. During her televised speech Queen Beatrix said she had decided to abdicate because she be-lieved it was time to hand over to a younger generation.

Prince Willem-Alexander is 45. He is married to Máxima Zor-reguieta, who is from Argentina. The Prince and his wife have three young daughters. Prince Willem-Alexander has served in the Royal Netherlands Navy. He studied his-tory at university and has trained to be a pilot.

Queen Beatrix’s husband, Prince Claus, died in 2002. She has been a


very popular monarch. The Queen’s official abdication will be on 30th April. This is a national holiday that is held every year to celebrate the reigning monarch’s official birth-day. This year’s holiday is more im-portant than usual. This is because it is also a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the end of the occu-pation of the country by the army of the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1813.

On 30th April there will be a special service in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Dur-ing the investiture service Prince Willem-Alexander will officially become the new king.

The Nieuwe Kerk, which is about 600 years old, is traditionally used for royal occasions in the Neth-erlands. For example, it is where Queen Beatrix formally became queen in 1980 and where the wed-ding of Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima was held 11 years ago.

KILLER CATS

A new study by a group of American scientists suggests that cats kill bil-lions of small mammals and birds in the USA every year. The scientists say that the effect that cats, both fe-ral and pets, have on the country’s wildlife is much greater than previ-ously thought.

The scientists used local stud-ies that were done in different parts of the country. They then used the results of these smaller studies to ‘scale up’ or estimate total figures for the whole of the USA.

In one of the local studies very small video cameras were attached to 60 cats. The cameras recorded

everything the cats did during the day and night. The videos showed that most of them spent at least a third of the time hunting and killing small animals. As well as smaller birds the cats kill mice, voles, rab-bits and shrews.

In the USA it is estimated that there are about 84 million pet cats. The study shows that, on average, each year a pet cat kills between eight and 21 small mammals. Dur-ing the same period they also kill between four and 18 birds. How-ever, the numbers for feral cats are much higher than this.

Feral cats, which are often called ‘strays’, are not pets. They have ei-ther left the houses in which they used to live or have been abandoned by their owners. Feral cats will breed in the wild and sometimes live in groups, or colonies. It is diffi-cult to work out the exact number of feral cats in the country. The scien-tists say there could be between 30 and 80 million of them living wild in the USA. The scientists believe that each feral cat kills as many as 338 small mammals and 46 birds each year.

Cat with bird

These figures could mean that, every year, cats, both domestic and feral, kill about 20.7 billion small mammals and 3.7 billion birds, in

the USA. Cats, the scientists ex-plain, are therefore the reason for far more deaths of small animals and birds than man-made causes. These include being hit by cars, the use of certain chemicals and poisons and birds flying into tall buildings or large windmills.

Currently animal welfare groups will catch feral cats and then neuter them. This means they are no longer able to breed. The cats are then re-leased again. This, the scientists say, can make the problems worse as it can encourage cat owners to aban-don their pets.

The scientists believe the best way to lower the affect that cats have on wildlife is to catch the strays and put them down, or kill them in a humane way. If this does not hap-pen, they say, the numbers of certain birds, such as the American robin, and small mammals could become dangerously low.

NEWSCAST

DESSERT CHAMPIONS — The Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, or the Pastry World Cup, was held in the city of Lyon, in France, on 27th and 28th January. Teams from 22 countries took part. Each team had to make a set number of des-serts in less than ten hours. These included three frozen and three chocolate desserts, one ice sculp-ture, one sugar and one chocolate creation and 12 plate-sized des-serts. The first Pastry World Cup was held in 1989. So far countries from Europe, such as France, Italy, Spain and Belgium, have won most of the competitions. This year the French team was awarded the top prize of €21,000 (£18,150). Japan was second and Italy third.


The scientists also recommend that pet cats should be kept inside for longer and not be allowed to wander around the streets. Others say the best way to stop cats killing so much wildlife is to make sure that they wear a collar with an attached bell. The noise of the bell would alert animals and birds that a cat is approaching. They therefore have time to fly or run away.

NIGHTCLUB FIRE IN BRAZIL

On 28th January the government of Brazil announced that there would be three days of mourning in the country. This was to remember all those who had died in a fire, which had happened the previous day. The fire was in a nightclub in the city of Santa Maria, in the south of the country.

At the time of the fire Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, was attending an official meeting in Santiago, the capital of Chile. After hearing the news she imme-diately returned to Brazil and went to Santa Maria. She then visited the hospitals where many of those who were injured in the fire were being looked after.

The fire began at about two o’clock in the morning when a music group was performing on stage. The nightclub was very full. Some reports said as many as 1,300 people were inside when the fire started. Many were students from a local university. At least 235 people died and over 100 were badly injured.

Local officials are investigating how the fire started. However, many of those who managed to escape said it began after one of the members of the music group lit a flare on the

stage. Flames then quickly spread after part of the ceiling caught fire.

Firefighters rushed to the night-club but by the time they arrived many of those still inside had died from breathing in toxic, or poison-ous, smoke. The front door was the only way in or out of the nightclub. The firefighters used axes to break through windows and walls to try to rescue those trapped inside.

The following day the police ar-rested several people. They included the member of the music group who lit the flare and those who own the nightclub.

Dilma Rousseff, president of Brazil

Officials said there were several reasons why so many people died in the accident. Too many people were in the nightclub, fire extinguishers did not seem to work and there was only one way in and out. What’s more fireworks of any type should not have been used inside the building.

In Brazil, as in many other coun-tries, nightclubs, theatres, cinemas, bars, and restaurants need to have ‘safety’ certificates, or permits. Lo-cal officials grant these permits after a building has been inspected. These inspections are supposed to make sure that there are evacuation plans, emer-gency lighting and enough emergency exits and fire extinguishers.

Some reports have said that the fire safety certificate of the Santa Maria nightclub expired about six months ago. Many people are there-fore wondering why the nightclub

was allowed to stay open if it did not have an up to date safety certificate.

In the days following the fire the government ordered many other places, where people gather in large numbers, to be re-inspected. More than 150 restaurants, nightclubs and bars were found to have prob-lems even though they had safety permits. These problems included blocked emergency exits as well as fire extinguishers and alarms that did not work. A number of those in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the two largest cities in Brazil, have been ordered to close.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AT 200

Pride and Prejudice was first pub-lished on 28th January 1813. So, this year, 28th January, marked the nov-el’s 200th anniversary. Jane Austen wrote the famous book, which has become one of English literature’s most popular novels.

Jane Austen (1775 – 1817) had four novels published during her lifetime, and two soon after she died at the age of 41. She writes about the society of her time, especially about romances between young people. Her novels are also very satirical. They make fun of people who were concerned with their importance in society.

Her best known books include Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. The main charac-ter in Pride and Prejudice is Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She is the sec-ond oldest of five daughters. Her father is a country gentleman, but the family is not very wealthy. Elizabeth’s mother, Mrs Bennet, is mostly concerned with making sure all her daughters marry rich men who will give them a high place in society.


This map shows countries to which news stories refer in this issue. Visit www.newsademic.com for more detailed world maps.

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In the story Elizabeth meets a wealthy landowner called Mr Darcy. They eventually marry. However, Elizabeth must overcome her preju-dice, and Mr Darcy his pride, to see and bring out the good qualities in each other.

Portrait of Jane Austen

Most women living in Jane Aus-ten’s time had very limited choices of what they could do. It was important for young women to find a husband because there were few opportunities

for women to earn their own money and be independent.

At that time the status of an un-married woman was not very high. Women could not go to university and were often educated at home during their childhoods.

Jane Austen herself never mar-ried. She depended on her male rela-tives for money. Sense and Sensibil-ity, her first book, was published in 1811. She became known as a writer during her lifetime. Yet then she was not thought to be the great writer many people believe she is today.

One thing for which Jane Austen is famous is the style of her writing. Experts describe it as ‘polished’ and ‘elegant’. Her satirical comments are expressed very precisely and cleverly. Often the most satirical characters point out others’ faults in such a way that other characters,

who aren’t as clever, don’t even realise it!

It is estimated that over 20 million copies of Pride and Prejudice have been sold around the world. Many films, for both cinema and television, have been made of the book.

GROUNDHOG DAY

To many people living in the USA and Canada 2nd February is known as Groundhog Day. On this day special celebrations are organised in many different towns. Accord-ing to folklore if it is cloudy when a groundhog comes out of its burrow on this day then spring will come early. But if it is sunny the winter will last for another six weeks.

The groundhog is a large ro-dent that lives in many parts of North America. It grows up to 60


centimetres (24 inches) long and weighs around three kilograms (6.6 pounds). Groundhogs live un-derground. They have strong front legs with thick claws, which they use to dig their burrows. Ground-hogs mostly feed on certain types of plants and berries. Yet they will also eat insects, grubs and snails.

Groundhogs hibernate, or go into a deep sleep, during the winter. Their hibernation begins around mid Oc-tober. It is not until early February that groundhogs wake up again and start to emerge from their burrows.

Groundhog Day announcement at Punxsutawney, in Pennsylvania, in the USA

On 2nd February in North America many people ask - did the groundhog see its shadow? Sup-posedly, if the day is sunny and the groundhog comes out of its burrow it will see its own shadow. Fright-ened by the shadow the groundhog will then go back underground and winter will last for another six weeks. However, if it is cloudy then the groundhog will emerge from its burrow, as there will be no shadow to be afraid of. This means spring will come early.

In the USA the Groundhog Day tradition began in the state of Penn-sylvania. It’s believed that it origi-nally came from Germany. Over 100 years ago many people emigrat-ed from Germany to Pennsylvania, so the custom was probably brought with them. However, in Germany

the tradition may have had some-thing to do with badgers, another animal that burrows underground. This is because groundhogs are only found in North America.

The biggest Groundhog Day cel-ebrations take place in a town called Punxsutawney, in Pennsylvania. This event was first held over 100 years ago in 1887.

Nowadays the Groundhog Day event at Punxsutawney is organised by a group called the Inner Circle. They keep a groundhog that is known as Punxsutawney Phil. Early in the morning on 2nd February, wearing top hats, bow ties and dark coats they hold a special ceremony at a place called Gobbler’s Knob. It is not unusual for as many as 40,000 people to attend.

During the ceremony Punx-sutawney Phil is taken out of a wooden container, which is on a stage. The container looks like a tree stump. The groundhog is then held over the top of the stump to see if the animal casts a shadow. A mem-ber of the Inner Circle then tells the waiting crowd if spring will come early or winter will last for another six weeks. This year Punxsutawney Phil had no shadow so the predic-tion is that spring in North America will come early.

HOLOCAUST AND HITLER’S RISE TO POWER REMEMBERED

In Germany two important dates were marked on 27th and 30th Janu-ary. The first was the annual Inter-national Holocaust Remembrance (or Memorial) Day. The second was the 80th anniversary of the day in 1933 when Adolf Hitler, the head of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, became the German leader, or chancellor.

The Holocaust is the name given to the mass murder of millions of people. These included around six million Jews and two million Roma, or Gypsies, by the Nazis during the Second World War (1939 – 1945).

After the end of the war dif-ferent countries remembered the Holocaust on different days. Then, in 2005 the United Nations (UN) decided to designate 27th January as International Holocaust Remem-brance Day. This day was chosen because 27th January 2005 was an important date. It was the 60th an-niversary of the freeing of all those held in the Auschwitz-Birkenau (of-ten called Auschwitz) camp, in Po-land, by advancing Russian soldiers.

Before the Second World War began, Nazi officials in Germany set up special camps. Later these became known as concentration camps. Many people who disagreed with the Nazi ideology were sent to them. There, some were killed and others were forced to work as slave labour.

Recent photograph of one of the entrances to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp

After the war began more con-centration camps were set up in other countries. The Nazis sent mil-lions of Jewish and Roma people, from many European countries, to these camps in overcrowded trains. They were often told they were be-ing moved to new homes.

However, when they arrived at the camps some were forced to


work while many others were mur-dered. Thousands died of starvation or disease. In some camps, such as Auschwitz, hundreds of thousands were killed in gas chambers and their bodies were burnt.

After the war ended, many of the people who ran the camps were put on trial for what they had done. Those found guilty were executed.

On 30th January 1933, Paul von Hindenburg, who was president of Germany at the time, appointed Hit-ler as chancellor, or head of the Ger-man government. The Nazi Party had got 37% of the votes in an elec-tion the previous year. Soon after becoming chancellor Hitler banned all other political parties and began to rule Germany as a dictator.

Topography of Terror museum, in Berlin

As part of the 80th anniversary of Hitler’s appointment Angela Mer-kel, the current German chancellor, opened a special exhibition. This has been organised by the Topography of Terror museum in Berlin, Germa-ny’s capital city. This new building was constructed on the site where the headquarters of the Gestapo, or the Nazi secret police, used to be. In many parts of the city large street posters were put up. These showed the pictures of well-known people who were affected by Hitler’s rise to power.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day Mrs Merkel said that Ger-many had ‘an everlasting respon-sibility for the crimes of National

Socialism, for the victims of the Second World War and, above all, for the Holocaust’.

On the anniversary of Hitler’s appointment as chancellor, Norbert Lammert, the speaker of the Bun-destag, or lower house of the Ger-man parliament, spoke. He said that every day people needed to be re-minded what the Nazis did, so their crimes would never be repeated.

DID ISRAEL ATTACK SYRIA?

Late on 29th January and in the ear-ly hours of the following day there were several huge explosions at a scientific research centre in Syria. The centre is at a place called Jam-raya, which is not far from Damas-cus, Syria’s capital city.

Soon afterwards army officials in Lebanon claimed that Israeli warplanes had secretly flown over their country and attacked the re-search centre. In the following days the government of Syria also ac-cused Israel of carrying out the at-tack. It insisted that it had a right to retaliate.

Israel is thought to have carried out these types of secret air attacks before in Iraq, Syria and Sudan. Last October a factory close to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, was mysteriously destroyed. It’s thought that it was used to make rockets and other types of weapons, which were being sent to some of Israel’s ene-mies. Israel was accused of carrying out a secret air strike on the factory. Yet each time this happens Israel neither admits nor denies that it had anything to do with the attacks.

For the last 22 months there has been an uprising in Syria. Armed groups, or rebels, that want the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad,

to resign have been fighting against the Syrian army.

There are two main religious groups in Syria: Sunni and Shia Muslims. The majority of the popu-lation is Sunni. The Assad family are members of a small religious group called Alawites. This group is connected to the Shia branch of the Islamic faith. Most of the people who oppose Mr al-Assad are Sunni Muslims and the majority who sup-port him are Shia. Traditionally Syr-ia has received a lot of support from Iran, the main Shia-led country in the Middle East.

Some people believe that the rebel forces in Syria are now win-ning the war. However, the Syrian army has better equipment. It is also thought to have chemical weapons. These are believed to be different types of highly poisonous, or toxic, gasses. These types of weapons are very dangerous and can quickly kill

NEWSCAST

POPPING RECORD — Students at a high school in Hawthorne, in the USA, have claimed an unusual world record. The record they set was for the most people popping bubble wrap at the same time. Bub-ble wrap is a plastic material that is often used for packing break-able items. The plastic sheets are covered in small air filled bubbles. Some people admit to not being able to stop themselves squeezing and popping bubble wrap bubbles. Over 350 students crowded into the school’s gym. In two minutes they managed to jump on 743 square metres (8.000 square feet) of the packing material. The school has a connection with bubble wrap. This is because it was invented in Haw-thorne in 1960.


many thousands of people. How-ever, Syria has never admitted that it has any chemical weapons.

Several countries, including the USA, have warned Syria not to use chemical weapons. Recently Israel has said that it is concerned about the fighting in Syria. It worries about what will happen to the Syri-an army’s weapons if Mr al-Assad’s regime is defeated.

TURKEY

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MediterraneanSea

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Jimraya

It’s thought that Israel attacked the research centre at Jamraya be-cause weapons called SA-17s were being loaded onto trucks at the time. These weapons are Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles. Even though Syria has complained about the attack on its research cen-tre it has not said what was hap-pening there nor if it was used to store weapons.

Some people think the Israelis knew where the trucks were go-ing. The SA-17s, they suspect, were about to be taken across the border into Lebanon. There they would be handed over to a group called Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is a political group that also has a large number of well-equipped armed fighters. It is based in the southern part of Lebanon next to the border with Israel. In 2006 Hezbollah fought a successful 33-day-long war against Israel. In the past the group is known to have received support and weapons from both Iran and Syria.

Many people therefore think that Israel launched an airstrike to de-stroy the anti-aircraft weapons be-fore they arrived in southern Leba-non. If they had not done this, they say, Israeli warplanes would be in danger if another war with Hezbol-lah broke out in future.

TANG PRIZES

On 28th January, Samuel Yin, a wealthy businessman from Taiwan, announced the set up of a new or-ganisation. Called the Tang Prize Foundation it will award four spe-cial prizes. Some people have al-ready nicknamed the new awards ‘the Asian Nobel Prizes’.

Mr Yin is the boss of a large, suc-cessful company called Ruentex. He named the prizes after China’s Tang dynasty. This dynasty ruled China for around 300 years over 1,000 years ago. Mr Yin says he has great admiration for the Tang dynasty. This, he explains, is because it is known as a time of learning about both science and culture.

The prizes will be awarded every two years. They will be given to peo-ple who have completed important research in four subjects. These are: the ‘rule of law’, the study of China, or Sinology, (this does not include works of literature), biopharmaceu-tical science and sustainable devel-opment. Biopharmaceutical science is the making of medical drugs from bacteria, plant and animal cells.

Mr Yin, who will provide the money for the new awards, said that ‘setting up the Tang Prizes has been one of my biggest dreams’. He chose these subjects because they are not included in the five Nobel Prizes. These are for peace, chemistry, phys-ics, medicine, and literature.

Mr Yin hopes that the new awards will make the world a better place. This, he says, will be achieved by encouraging more research that helps humankind and promotes the understanding of Chinese culture.

The Nobel Prizes are awarded every year. They are named after the Swedish chemist and busi-nessman who invented dynamite, Alfred Nobel. Before he died in 1896, he arranged for part of his large fortune to pay for all future Nobel Prizes.

At the time of Alfred Nobel’s death the same king ruled Norway and Sweden. This explains why both countries have a part in award-ing Nobel Prizes.

Samuel Yin and the president of Academia Sinica, in Taiwan

A committee, or group, of aca-demics from Sweden selects the winners of the prizes for chemistry, physics, medicine, and literature. The Peace Prize is awarded by a group of five people selected by Norway’s parliament. Nobel prize winners receive a gold medal and a sum of money. Today this is about US$1.2 million (£770,000).


Similar to the Nobel Prizes the Tang awards can be won by peo-ple from any country. The winners of the Tang Prizes will be selected by an organisation called Academia Sinica. This is a large research acad-emy that has a very good reputation. It is based in Taiwan. Each Tang Prize winner will receive around US$1.7 million (£1.1 million).

The first Tang Prizes will be awarded in 2014.

STALINGRAD ANNIVERSARY

Thousands of people attended a special parade in the city of Volgo-grad, in Russia, on 2nd February. The parade through the city’s streets was held to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of one of the most important battles in the Second World War (1939 – 1945).

‘Stalingrad’ was the German army’s first big defeat in the war. Many people believe it was this bat-tle that eventually led to Nazi Ger-many’s final surrender.

‘The Motherland’ statue, in Volgograd

In 1925 Volgograd was renamed Stalingrad (Stalin City), after Joseph Stalin. In the 1920s Stalin became the leader of the Russian-led Soviet Union, which he ruled as a dictator until he died in 1953. He was there-fore Russia’s wartime leader during the Second World War.

In later years Russian leaders ac-cused Stalin of being responsible

for the deaths of millions of people in the Soviet Union. Many starved to death from a lack of food be-cause of the changes Stalin made to how farms were run. Anyone who disagreed with him was in dan-ger of being sent to a work camp, where thousands died from the cold or disease. For these reasons, in 1961, Russian officials decided to change the name of Stalingrad back to Volgograd.

Having defeated France and oc-cupied large parts of Europe Nazi Germany invaded Russia in 1941. Within a short period of time the German army had advanced close to Moscow and Leningrad (now called St Petersburg), the two larg-est cities in Russia. Farther south it approached the city of Stalingrad on the River Volga.

The Battle of Stalingrad was fought in freezing temperatures amongst the ruins of the city and the surrounding countryside. It is be-lieved to have been one of the fierc-est ever fought. Some even claim that it was the bloodiest battle in human history. Around 1.5 million people, including about 40,000 civilians, are thought to have died during the bat-tle, which lasted for five months.

Towards the end of the battle the Russian Red Army managed to surround the German forces in Stal-ingrad. Before this happened Ger-man military commanders wanted to withdraw their soldiers from the city. Yet the leader of Nazi Ger-many, Adolf Hitler, refused to allow them to do so. In the end, on 2nd February 1943, the commander of the German forces surrendered to the Russians. Over 90,000 German soldiers were taken prisoner.

After the Battle of Stalingrad the Russians managed to force the rest of the German army to retreat.

Eventually, in 1945, the Red Army captured Berlin, the capital of Ger-many. Hitler killed himself and Ger-many surrendered.

In Volgograd several impor-tant buildings damaged in the bat-tle have been preserved. There is a huge memorial statue, on a hill overlooking the city. Called ‘The Motherland Calls’ or ‘The Moth-erland’ it is a statue of a heroic woman holding a sword. When the memorial was finally finished in 1967 it was the tallest statue in the world. Many thousands of Russian soldiers, who died in the battle, are buried nearby.

After the parade Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, met many of the old soldiers, or veterans, who had fought at Stalingrad. Nearly all these people are now over 90 years old.

Before the 70th anniversary of the battle many people said that they wanted Volgograd to be renamed Stalingrad again. Officials decided that the city could use its former name on 2nd February as well as five other days during the year. Each is an anniversary of an important event that happened in the Second World War.

Newsademic.comEditor: Rebecca Watson

Acknowledgements:News story photographs by gettyimages

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ISSUE 190 GLOSSARY PUZZLE

INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the crossword. The answers are highlighted in orange in the news stories. There are 25 words highlighted and you need 20 of them to complete the crossword. Once you have solved the crossword go to the word search on the next page

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ACROSS

2 Noun An official count of a population 3 Noun An official resignation from a throne 6 Verb To come out of 7 Adjective Able to continue successfully over a long

period of time 8 Noun An unfair feeling or opinion for or against

something, that is not based on having all the facts 12 Noun The ceremony of appointing a new monarch 13 Noun A system or method of government 16 Adjective Describes a type of writing that criticises

people or ideas in a humorous way 17 Verb To remember or celebrate a past event or person 18 Noun A line of powerful people or rulers from the same

family 19 Noun The opinion that people have about something

or someone

DOWN

1 Noun A tank or pool or bowl filled with water for keeping live fish

4 Verb Made polluted or dirty 5 Verb To stop something or someone on the way to a

destination 8 Verb Showed or described someone or something in a

particular way in a book, film or play 9 Noun Group of people who work during a set period of time 10 Noun The ideas and beliefs that determine the actions of a

group of people, political party, or country 11 Noun The period of time between one generation and the

next, usually considered to be about 25-30 years 14 Noun Likely that a certain outcome will happen 15 Noun People or vehicles, usually from the police or military,

that travel with an important item or person to make certain it, or he or she, arrives safely


ISSUE 190GLOSSARY PUZZLE CONTINUED

INSTRUCTIONS: Find 19 of the 20 crossword answers in the word search. Words can go vertically, horizontally, diagonally and back to front. After finding the 19 words write down the 20th (or missing) word under the puzzle.

C O M M E M O R A T E M G U D B D E

S O G N U V R E G I M E M Z Y P X R

A O N C I I S T Y I A R J Y N C C U

T W O T F L R S N C E I X Q A Q E T

Z H J E A P P A Z P N K R P S D O I

D I D G S M N R U V L E A K T W I T

E G W R B H I T E Q R L D O Y D C S

Y M Q E R X A N Z J A X X N E N H E

A R P M C T J Q A T U U W O E L W V

R H E E I O Q R L T R D L Q L T W N

T Z B O Y G V A C E E O I J U S S I

R K N X J G C R C A G D C C S V H U

O R P H K I U E T Y P E P S E X I S

P M M C R E N K T G U T S G E G F R

R Z T I E S C P V A N C D A Q J T P

L O T M U T U U N O I T A C I D B A

S A L S K F X N O I T A R E N E G P

S U S T A I N A B L E G R U K E R O

MISSING WORD ANSWER =

ISSUE 189 A

NSW

ERS

D O M E S T I C A T E D E V O U T P

E E Y R L I Y D I T J P A I H M J R

L R N U U G R M Q K K U V M C L B O

E A K E L M G Q T O T I Y I Z M V P

G B T K V M K U T O B R D A Q W K O

A R S A C R E D N R O A Y M C B R R

T T T O F Z E O A S M W X H O B N T

I R S C Z I M T L O A Q F S N J V I

O A I A O Y E U N S B Y W O V Z B O

N M V O K S P R U I R P I A O J I N

E P I P F M T O G J M T B R Y Q A A

K L T X O E N E G F A S D G S U D L

I E C C Z E Z G L R A Z Z L R E I U

M M A H G G I K E L M D R C B J M L

X F Y I I U T D Z D E X O X U J I U

R D D J U G O Y U V K P E I D Y E D

V N O R I M U I T R O S N O C A B M

I N A U G U R A T I O N W P W U Z J

If you wish to earn additional Demics log in to www.newsademic.com, go to the Prize Competitions area and submit the missing word. Puzzle entries must be submitted by 10 pm on 20th February 2013 (GMT/UTC).*

C O N S U M E R

* Only applies to those who have purchased a Newsademic Individual or Family Subscription

Demics are tokens that Individual and Family Subscribers can earn. They are awarded for answering this Glossary Puzzle and/or the Daily News question – accessible by logged in users – correctly. Demics earned can be used by Family and Individual Subscribers in the Newsademic online store.

GET EXTRA DEMICS*

M1

N2

T3

I4

O

O I5

N T E R V E N E D

M C6

I7

A D E

A8

U T O N O M Y C9

O N S O R T I U M I R

D N A P G A

I D10

V C11

U L E T

C D12

E V O U T O G S13

A C R E D N I

L Y M U V14

O O

E P15

R O P O R T I O N A L U N

G U A B S

F16

A T A L L T R P17

T D18

O M E S T I C A T E D

I O O T L

C19

O N S U M E R N E L

N Y S E

T

A20

C T I V I S T S

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